Rene Borg

06 August, 2009

TEAM
UCD looked odds-on-favourites to sweep to their first win of the season with Zoran Skrba and Niall Fox finishing 6th and 7th. Mick Hanney, Gary Condon and John Ahern carved a good gap on the next UCDer, however, as they all finished well in the top-20 and secored a solid 20 point lead for another good win in their inaugural hill running season.

Crusaders new-man-in-the-hills Oscar Nieto Cid showed more good form to lead his team home in 26th for 3rd place supported by another new man, Cathal Lally, and veteran hill runner Gavan Doherty.

The Crusaders AC women ran home to their second victory of the Trail League but sadly no other team finished on the evening for the Ladies.

MEN
1. Boards AC 35 (9 Mick Hanney, 11 Gary Condon, 15 John Ahern)
2. UCD 55 (6 Zoran Skrba, 7 Niall Fox, 42 Philip De Chazal)
3. Crusaders AC (26 Oscar Nieto Cid, 45 Cathal Lally, 59 Gavan Doherty)

WOMEN
1. Crusaders AC 19 (3 Mary Collins, 7 Eva Fairmaner, 9 Geraldine O\'Shea)

Geraldine O'Shea

06 August, 2009

I’ve never done the Earl’s Drive race before although its identical twin (the Djouce Djoggers Handicap race held annually in December) was my first introduction to hill running a few years ago. Back then I coughed and spluttered my way red-faced to the finish line (no change there, then..), incredulous that people did this for fun and thinking Oh my God those hills are SOoooh STEEP !!! Fast forward to last night and the only difference now is I know better than to say something like that out loud.

It’s one of the easier (a relative term, people, always!) routes on the calendar and one of the most scenic. I train on it the odd time during the winter as it’s less exposed than other routes and those zig-zags will always put manners on you while not slowing you down to a crawl. More importantly Djouce Woods are conveniently located to Poppies where a slice of cake and a cup of coffee complete the training session.

Queuing to register, my bike, which was racked on the back of the car, invited great scrutiny and interest. To the gentleman who used the ensemble as a sort of walk-in wardrobe hanging his t-shirt off the rack while neatly folding his shorts on the saddle: I am glad to have been of service although I’m sure you’ll find a cleaner bike next time…

I retrieved my number, still faintly smelling of Caroline Herrera perfume (thanks Eva! And Simon if you’re reading this and still haven’t bought her a giant bottle the hints don’t get any bigger). Runners #53 and #55 if you thought your numbers were more fragrant than usual last night that’s because they’ve been in close proximity to mine for a week.

Douglas advised us all to run like the clappers downhill, not to kill ourselves and to enjoy the race. Sage and succinct advice. Sure enough everyone went off hell for leather and I didn’t see most of them again unless you count the orderly and polite queue at the logs and the far side of Paddock Lake where everyone’s going in the opposite direction. Note to self: get faster.

I ran with contact lenses in for the first time, convinced they would help me avoid the usual tripping, grazing and spraining. It turns out I’m just clumsy. In spite of being able to see (it’s a miracle!) I’ve one cut knee and one almost-twisted ankle to attest to. The route was pretty mucky and either the race marker had gone above and beyond the call of duty or Mother Nature had arranged a few more obstacles than usual on the course to add to the fun.

Congratulations to all the speedy folk who won the podium places and the age-groups. You know who you are! Undoubtedly all washed and brushed with your feet up by the time I rolled in…. Despite my best efforts to get a backer from one of the MTBers I made it back to the finish under my own steam and even pushed it a bit on the uphill finish to hold off a late challenge. As a wise man (Brendan L?) once said, it’s these little victories, at either end of the field, that keep us coming back.

Thanks to all the volunteers for another great race, especially Vivian and Maria for keeping an eye on the aforementioned bike / clothes-horse.

One swift 15-point turn later (thanks, Douglas!) and it’s homeward bound and all over for one more week. Then what on earth do we do on Wednesdays?