Irish Mountain
Running Association

Kilmac running festival Oct 2022

AuthorDateMessage
Angela FlynnSep 8 2022, 4:18pmHi all
Well, we are back with the running festival and know that there is great interest in the different distances on offer - however we really need a lot more volunteers in order to run the festival safely and efficiently- looking for volunteers for both days to register early so that Graham, myself and Linda can begin to plan -messaging us near on on the day to volunteer while well intentioned is often adds to the workload.
Brian EastwoodSep 8 2022, 8:22pmHi Angela.
I'm available either day to volunteer.
Have you a preference at the moment?
Angela FlynnSep 12 2022, 3:09pmHi Brian
Thanks for volunteering - Saturday is a much bigger event so can you sign up at there please - any of the listed races will do. Graham as RD will be in contact. Thanks
Brian EastwoodSep 12 2022, 6:50pmJust put my name in there.
Cheers
Graham K. BusheSep 20 2022, 3:04pmHi Everyone, We are getting ready for another Kilmacanogue Running Festival (a little earlier this year)
We will still have 3 senior races with one change.
5-Tops 1-Drop, (same as last year) mostly free route choice. Pre entry approval required.
Sugarloaf Djouce, (also same as last year) Slight change to route across Ballyremon
Long Hill, (This replaces the Paddock Lake race) The route is a bit shorter at around 12km. This has been brought about following requests from IMRA members and discussions with the committee.
It is hoped that the new distance will add to the selection of races and hopefully encourage a greater participation in the festival as a whole.

We will have details of the Junior race posted soon (This will be the same route that was used for the Sugar Bowl in August)

Hope to see you all in KIlmac soon :)
Jack WalshSep 26 2022, 10:04pmHi Graham, I just bought an entry there for my son Jack for the junior race. Will it definitely be going ahead?
Graham K. BusheSep 27 2022, 10:46amHI, that is great.
We will take entries for the Juniors on the Long Hill Race.
The junior route follows the Sugarloaf Way around the mountain. It does not go to the summit. It will be the same route that was used for the Sugarbowl in August (just under 5km)
g
Graham K. BusheSep 29 2022, 12:37pmPlease note the change to my previous post.
The Junior race has now been set up as a separate event.
Looking forward to seeing a few juniors joining us on the trails.
Graham
Graham K. BusheSep 29 2022, 1:06pmRegistration for Kilmacanogue Running Festival races will close THURSDAY 6th October at 6pm
That is in 1 Week.

Please register as soon as you can. Don't be disappointed by missing the deadline.

Looking at the calendar, the next race in this area is not until 26/Nov, which is 7 weeks after KIlmac :o

Get your entries now, you won't regret it :)
Stuart ScottSep 29 2022, 1:13pmHi Graham,

Sorry to be *that* person but will vouchers be accepted? I have been strategically miserly during the year! Thanks in advance.

Stuart
Graham K. BusheSep 29 2022, 1:24pmHi Stuart,
Online entry only for these races.

You can save your vouchers for Powerscourt.
They might be highly sought after by then.
;)
Graham K. BusheOct 2 2022, 12:10pmReminder...shop closes Thursday 6pm (5 days left)
Chip timing will be used.
Thanks to everyone who has signed up to run, and to those who are coming to help out.
We still need a few more volunteers please. Pop your name down, not many chances before the end of the year.

G
Graham K. BusheOct 5 2022, 9:46amThe days are flying by...
Shop closes tomorrow 6pm!
**Please don't miss the deadline.**
Ask your questions today.
When the shop shuts, it will be shut!
And I will be marking Friday and away from emails/forums etc.

Looking forward to seeing lots of you in Kilmac. There are 5 races on offer. :)
We hope you enjoy it

tick tock...

g
Graham K. BusheOct 5 2022, 9:09pmEmail sent to the team of volunteers.
G
Gerry McGuinnessOct 9 2022, 10:48amThanks to all for a great running festival. The amount of work gone into organising such an event must be massive. So thanks again.
Sean ForsythOct 9 2022, 1:52pmThanks to all that were involved in setting up running festival. My wife and sister really enjoyed their 1st IMRA run on on Friday night and had great things to say about the organising.

I had a blast out on the 5 tops yesterday, great being out in amazing conditions with some top people.

Can't wait for next year's edition.

Well done to all the crew and race directors.
Rachel CinnsealachOct 9 2022, 6:32pmAbsolutely fabulous evening. It was lovely reconnecting with the IMRA f9lk. Many thanks to all the race directors and volunteers.
John J BarryOct 10 2022, 3:17pmI like to second all the nice comments above. I had a wonderful day on the five tops. It's a wonderful route and the Abyss/ Earls Drive brings in another dimension. Alas I had to make a mess of it. Apologies for having you wait an hour for me. I'll be back but with a recce next time. We'll done to Graham, Lillian and Co for wonderful organisation
Graham K. BusheOct 10 2022, 5:24pmSorry, but this is going to be a long one. You've been warned!
Hi everyone,
I’m on at last with a huge "Thanks" to each and every one of the Kilmacanogue Running Festival team.
Once again it was a privilege to be part of this great event. I hope everybody (runners and volunteers) thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Organisation required for the simplest of races involves a lot of work, and many people to see it to a successful conclusion. We often rock up to the start-line without the slightest notion of the work it has taken to get us there.
Putting on a running festival with 5 races compacted into a Friday evening and a Saturday is a mammoth task. However, when you are part of the IMRA community you know that anything is possible! With a bit of help.

This is where IMRA excels, we achieve so much thanks to the dedicated work of volunteers.
I am at a loss for words to express how appreciative I am of all the help that was given to make the weekend a success.

When I signed up as RD I knew I would have a huge amount of work to do, so I set up an excel file (OK, so I copied last year’s, but still…)

I started pestering the poor committee back in early August with my questions and suggestions, oblivious to all the other races and tasks they had to contend with. Nevertheless, they always got back to me without complaint.

I suppose I could mention a few people, though I’m not really sure why, but anyway here goes…
All Angela did was to organise the venue, the catering staff, the food, the buffs, the posters, and other little things like that.
The mere thoughts of all that work made me tired, so I turned to Lillian for support. But all she did was to answer all my questions - even the ones I forgot or didn’t know to ask! Stepped into the First Aid role so the event could go ahead. Guided me at every turn. Went out on the Friday to help mark the route. And kinda hung around on Saturday doing all sorts, Oh yeah and a bit of demarking too.
Paul McRedomnd, and Dave Docherty were looking after parking with help from Anne Hodge, David Rouse, Tim Charnecki, and Tim Gunnell. But to be honest I don’t know what they did. When I got there, there wasn’t another car around. When I came out later the place was full. Cars all neatly parked in rows with not an inch lost, nobody blocked in no fuss no bother and clear access all round.
Setting up registration was super stressful. Linda Rowden and Maeve Flynn were so organised and expected me to keep up. I had to give them the entry lists and answer questions and stuff. I slipped off quickly to hide.
Cian Charnecki looked after all the new race numbers and gave a Buff to every runner.
I did have to move a table at one point and after all that exertion I needed some sustenance so headed to the kitchen where I was given a delicious sausage roll which had miraculously appeared from somewhere thanks to Sadie and Jeanne.
All this time Eoin Syron and Conor O’Farrell played with the laptop and chip scanner. I mean c’mon lads. It’s only logging 111 runners into 3 races with different starting times but will be running simultaneously and have overlapping finish times. Simple!
And then there was the team of route and summit marshals. John Bell, Andrew Mendelson, Rachel Wisdom, Mary Collins, Brian Eastwood, Alice Clancy, Orsolya Csikesz, Vivian O’Gorman and Marcus Davies. And Garda Gary McDonald. All they had to do was wait around for a few hours and point the direction for a few runners every now and then. And kept track of all the runners, providing a constant stream of feedback to HQ as to how the races were proceeding. And demark a bit, sure what else would they be doing?
Avril Challoner opened the gates on the road up so the rest of the runners didn’t have to hurdle them, which might have been interesting.
Brian Hutchinson was sweeper for the Sugarloaf-Djouce race so got to have a great day. A few hours on the lovely trails keeping all the runners ahead of him, he also got to demark large sections of the route while remembering which ones would be needed by the returning runners. And all the while keeping HQ updated with route progress. A small price to pay for getting to run the whole route.
The finish shoot was attended by Ciara Largey and the ladies who had been on registration. They were greeting and recording the finishers. My son Kevin was called upon to help at the finish line too and the minute that slackened was sent to demark a section from the night route. On his return, he then had to gather and check the punch strips from the 5-Tops finishers. No bother to a young lad.
Miriam Maher landed the job of Race Director for the Juniors and just about managed to pull it off, despite having had at least one days’ notice to get everything organised!
Joe and Nora Lalor enjoy the hills so much, they went out in the howling wind and driving rain on Friday to put out the kites on Djouce, War Hill, Tonduff, Maulin, and that hidden spot in the woods above the Ayling Abyss. In fact, they enjoyed it so much, they went out in worse conditions on Sunday to retrieve them!
As for me? Yes, you’ve probably worked it out by now. I got there nice and early and had my choice of clip board! I duly fastened a few sheets to it so that, in the event that anyone might ask me something, I could look all business and flick through some pages while muttering incoherently until they left. And I swanned around all day feeling important!

But seriously. The IMRA community is fantastic. The real way to experience it is to jump in and get involved. Sign up as a helper to begin with. It will give you a real appreciation of what it takes to put on a race. But remember, everyone is always willing to help you with your roll. Don’t be put off by thinking you won’t know what to do, or being afraid you might make a mistake. Race directors are delighted to get offers of help and will see you enjoy doing your bit. And the runners will appreciate your efforts too. Without volunteers, none of us would get to enjoy what we do.
So, whether it is at the registration desk, chatting with people as they nervously sign in, or standing at a junction or summit pointing the direction, or at the finish line watching the delighted and exhausted faces as they cross the line (some of them may have been exhausted already by the summit!) Just do it. You won’t regret it. I know we are coming to the end of the year now with only a handful of events left. So, see what is there and click the button.
And check the 2023 calendar when it arrives and get planning…

All the best,
Graham