Trooperstown Hill
| Author | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Alice Clancy | Jul 18 2024, 5:11pm | Roll up Roll up for the new Trooperstown Summer Route on the 7th August!!! We will have three race options on the 7th: Long Course =11.8km, starting at 7.30pm, early start at 7pm Short/Junior=4.9km, starting at 7.35pm Beginners’ Forest Loop = 2.2km, starting at 7.40pm. Routes are posted on the race page in plotaroute and downloadable as gpx. Parking at Trooperstown is limited. We don’t want to put an entry limit on the last race of the Leinster League, so please carpool! Get your car into the carpool section early so that people can plan ahead. We are also proposing two locations near to race start to carpool from if you plan to come in a single occupant car (see race page for details) Registration is in the Trooperstown MR Base. It will open at 6pm and close at 7.10pm sharp to leave enough time to get to the start line. Note that sunset is at 9.06pm on the 7th. To avoid runners being out on the hill or in the forest in fading light, we’d like to encourage anyone who regularly finishes at 160% + of winner’s time or who thinks they might complete the course in longer than 1hr30 to take the early start. I need a few more non-running volunteers to marshall at major junctions….if you have a musical instrument you can play while marshalling, all the better! I also need a few more running volunteers to help with parking who plan to do the main start at 7.30pm. Thank you in advance!! Big thank you to Alan Ayling, Methuli Moyo and Connie Dottino for their help developing the route! |
| Alice Clancy | Aug 4 2024, 6:34pm | Evening All! Entries open for Trooperstown Hill, the last race of the Leinster League, tomorrow, Monday 5th August at 9am. While we can't promise the drama and adrenaline of last week's Church Mountain, we can promise a lovely new route and with some nice surprises along the way, plus your chance to star in a documentary about Ireland's National Parks and a pop-up shop for recycled clothing (see below for details of both). Please read the instructions on the race page carefully. Here are some updates and reminders: CARPOOL: There are approx 80 car-parking spaces at Trooperstown. We do not want to put an entry cap this race, so are asking (nicely) for everyone to either carpool, 'park and ride' from Roundwood Cemetary or Laragh free carpark or to park in Laragh and walk/jog the 1.7km to the race registration. Unfortunately, we will likely have to turn away single occupancy cars arriving, and ask them to park in Laragh. ROUTES: Please familiarize yourself with the 3 route options posted on the race page. Note that all differ from previous iterations of Trooperstown winter and summer races. Long Course: 11.8km :https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2688899 This is a long, lovely course! Note that there is no fireroad to speak of apart from at the start and end. Please take the early start if you regularly finish above 160% of the winners time, or if you think you will be out on the course longer than 1h30. This is to avoid people being out on the hill after dark. Early start at 7pm, Main start at 7.30pm Short Course: 4.9km: https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2688887 If you are a parent planning to enter a junior in this race, please familiarise yourself with the guidelines and ensure your child is accompanied if applicable. Short/Junior Course starts at 7.35pm Forest Loop: 2.2km:https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2688853 This is suitable for beginners/children/walkers. All are welcome to sign up for this! If participating in this loop, take care on the return stretch for runners passing you from the short and long courses. If you are a parent planning to enter a junior in this race, please familiarise yourself with the guidelines and ensure your child is accompanied if applicable. Forest Loop starts at 7.40pm REGISTRATION: Registration is in the Mountain Rescue Base and will be open from 6pm-7.10pm. No parking is allowed at the Mountain Rescue base. Please carpool to the Trooperstown carpark and walk back up the hill to Reg. PUB/PRIZEGIVING All are welcome back to Kavanaghs in Roundwood for the prizegiving, raffle and to toast the end of the Leinster League! FILMING The event is being filmed for a television series entitled “Ireland’s National Parks from Above” by Like a Shot Entertainment Limited. “Ireland’s National Parks From Above” is a 3 part series that takes to the skies over Ireland’s six national parks. From the Wicklow Mountains in the East, Killarney in the South, Connemara in the West and Glenveagh in the North, the series will tour the length and breadth of the country, whilst immersing ourselves in the awe inspiring landscapes and hearing from the people who live, work and play in these incredible national parks. Filming will be both from the air via drones and also on the ground. All participants will be filmed, however should you or anyone with you not wish to be included in the footage, please speak to one of the crew or contact RD Alice Clancy or IMRA President Miriam Maher who will discuss this with you. POP-UP SHOP Spur Outdoors will bring a pop-up shop to Trooperstown, in position at the edge of the carpark near the River. Spur Outdoors is an second-hand outdoor clothing business. Their aim is to provide a more sustainable option for people when it comes to shopping for outdoor clothing. Limiting our impact on the environment and conserving our outdoors. They want to encourage people into nature and use it as a means to improve health. spuroutdoors.com PS Warning: We will return to business as usual for the race briefing. There will be no outfit changes nor dramatic pauses, but there will be plenty of inaudible race directions and a thank you cheer for the Committee to bid goodbye to the Leinster League! PPS: There is also no playlist (yet) for this race. But here's something to get you started: https://open.spotify.com/track/3tzM7quInY8UcM9bxp67yC?si=32822b2365144d84 |
| Alice Clancy | Aug 4 2024, 6:38pm | PPPS: Thanks in advance to the excellent volunteer team! An email has gone out to you all. Please contact me if you have not received it: clancyalice(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk And finally - we will be collecting kit for Trail Criú at Trooperstown Race Registration...Please bring any running gear that could be of use for someone starting out on the hills. It will find a good home! |
| Stuart Scott | Aug 4 2024, 9:22pm | Don't be afeared Alice, "park and ride" from a graveyard will definitely make your race stand out from the rest :-) |
| Dave Docherty | Aug 5 2024, 9:23am | Could all runners please consider how they are getting to the race this Wednesday. Carpooling is key. Trooperstown is quit a restricted carpark. Get on to your mates, your WhatsApp groups etc...and carpool as much as possible from Kilmac, Roundwood, Laragh, wherever. If you have a spare seat please offer to a fellow runner. If you are new to IMRA, please familiarise yourself with the carpool section on the event page. Leave adequate time to get parked and registered. Also please be kind, helpful and patient with our volunteers and local residents. Thanks. |
| Dave Docherty | Aug 6 2024, 8:03am | Morning all. Just bumping this up the forum...Have you got your carpool sorted yet? Have you got spare seats you could put on the carpool? There is already 16 seats available on the race page, keep it coming. The carpool section can also be used to request a lift if none of the available seats suit you. Thanks. |
| Alan Ayling | Aug 6 2024, 9:51am | Something to get yiz in the mood for the race: https://open.spotify.com/track/4OROzZUy6gOWN4UGQVaZMF?si=6vb5fn2hSz6RL3TpB2vUbQ |
| Mick Hanney | Aug 6 2024, 10:16am | Classic Alan. |
| Alice Clancy | Aug 6 2024, 3:26pm | Hello All, Registrations close tomorrow Wednesday at 12 noon for Trooperstown. Already a great list of sign ups and it's shaping up to be an interesting race....! Sign up today! Here are some updates: PRIZE GIVING LOCATION: Due to a funeral taking place in Roundwood tomorrow evening, we have had to change the venue for the post-race festivities to Lynhams of Laragh. We have booked the BBQ outdoor area, or if weather bad we will move into the lobby we were in after the Brockagh race. Lynhams are putting on some nice plattters of food including the mandatory sandwiches and there will be music in the bar afterwards for those wanting to stay on till late toasting their success in the Leinster League. Thank you so much to Aoife in Lynhams for accommodating this last minute change, and sincere condolences to all connected with the funeral in Roundwood. If planning to go to Lynhams after the race do not park there during the race, as they will be quite busy from 6-9pm. You are welcome to bring your car up after the race at 9pm. PARKING: As Dave has outlined above, we would like as many people to carpool as possible. Roundwood Cemetary and Laragh Free Carpark are available as carparking & carpooling locations. Please use them. Laragh Free Carpark will be open until 10.30pm. MANDATORY KIT: The weather looks fairly clement tomorrow (hope I haven't jinxed it), but due to the length of the race and the proximity to sunset, I will likely advise runners to bring most of the kit on the list. Please bring everything on the list to the race. I will issue the final list on the forum by 6pm tomorrow so that you do not have to bring unnecessary kit to race reg. Also, wear midgie/fly repellant....both seem particularly hungry this week! COURSE: Thanks to some excellent help on the course yesterday, you will find some really lovely highways cut through incredibly tall firms and a disappointing dearth of face slapping branches. The excellent Niamh is in the process of marking the course, which means it'll be really well marked. Please note however that the route differs considerably to previous iterations. Please familiarise yourself with the routes on the race page in advance, and keep your eyes peeled on the night for the many twists and turns! Juniors/Short course, remember to turn back once you've reached the top of Trooperstown Hill. John Shiels will be marshalling there and will remind you, plus there will be a sign. Forest Loopers, I will brief you on your turning in the forest tomorrow - Maeve Flynn will be marshalling there with a sign, but please make yourself known to all marshalls as you go around to be sure you don't miss it. There are four areas on the long course to take particular care: 1) Approx 6.1km in: Barbed wire fence in the ground: This has been marked with tape - see photos on race page. It is a fence with a top rail of barbed wire that has fallen onto the ground, and marks the entrance to the forest on the far side of Boots hill 2) Approx 6.6km in: Stile: The stile that brings you back out onto open mountain from the forest is a little rickety and there is a fence beside it with barbed wire top rail. There will be a marshall on hand and we will have covered the barb wire. Please take care and be considerate of the runners crossing the fence before and after you, and allow them time and space to get through safely 3) Trooperstown Hill descent - this is a lovely technical descent - enjoy, but be considerate of those you pass on the way down, or alternatively let faster runners by you if you want to take it handy on this stretch 4) Home stretch through the forest: This is a lovely route back through the trees to the finish. There are likely to be walkers and runners from the forest loop, Short course and Early Start on their way back to the finish. Take care when passing other participants and ensure they know which route you are going to take by them. VOLUNTEERS: Thank you so much all of you for all the support and enthusiasm. I've made the last minute swaps and will send out the revised volunteer instructions by email this evening and will set up the whatsapp group that we will communicate on tomorrow. AOB: Thank you to Stuart and Alan for their contributions to the race ethos and playlist. Please feel free to add to these! Our Marshalls have been tuning up and we have some footage to share! (Thanks Gordon!) : https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zsF-pnzLTBI |
| Tarja Owens | Aug 6 2024, 5:48pm | What age is juniors? Is it under 16 or under18 yrs? |
| Alice Clancy | Aug 6 2024, 6:40pm | Hello Tarja, For information on the junior categories and guidelines see point 4 of the IMRA competition rules here: https://media.imra.ie/ad-hoc/IMRA_Competition_Rules.docx Hopefully see you tomorrow! Alice |
| Dave Docherty | Aug 6 2024, 9:41pm | Wow. Gordon is now my Guru! My contribution https://open.spotify.com/track/0o80AT7kN2IZAjIS3yW6mf?si=appIO_HMR2WPugk5oicp1A "into the mountain, I will crawl!!" |
| Dave Docherty | Aug 7 2024, 6:41am | Morning folks. There are 30 odd seats available on the carpool for tonights race. Lets use them up. Now that the after-race craic has moved to Laragh, probably handiest to park in the free carpark and carpool from there. Just a short way down the road from Lynams. Please leave plenty of time to get parked and registered. Single occupancy cars may be sent away. Thanks for your cooperation. |
| Alan Kennedy | Aug 7 2024, 7:30am | Dave, I think that free car park in Laragh closes at 8.00? |
| Jason Dowling | Aug 7 2024, 8:26am | As per https://www.nationalparks.ie/wicklow/new-free-car-park-for-laragh-glendalough/ "Wicklow Co. Co. had opened a new free car park in Laragh. This is a secure facility with staff on duty, and shall be open daily between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. It is located beside the Woollen Mills and GAA grounds in Laragh and is well sign-posted." |
| Alice Clancy | Aug 7 2024, 9:15am | Morning All, Wicklow Coco. and the caretakers of Laragh free carpark have extended the opening hours of the carpark for IMRA tonight. There will be a security guard on site who will lock up at 10.30pm approx. The gates will be open until then. Lynhams have asked that we don’t use their carpark during the race but are welcome to bring our cars up from Laragh Free carpark from 9pm to park at Lynhams. So anyone who uses the Laragh carpark and plans to go to Lynhams goes in their carpool back to carpark after the race then moves their car to Lynhams carpark so it doesn’t get locked in. I hope that’s clear enough! Thanks for making the effort to carpool, it is very much appreciated! |
| Alice Clancy | Aug 7 2024, 9:40am | The forecast looks good for tonight: https://www.met.ie/ Conditions are nice out on the course and the open mountains parts in particular will hopefully make for some lovely fast running! FYI all: The documentary film makers plan to film for some time at the top of Trooperstown Hill and then at the finish line. Don’t forget to wear your glad rags! Anyone who doesn’t want to be filmed, please let Miriam Maher, myself, our volunteers or the film makers know and we will ensure any footage of you does not get included in the Final Cut. |
| Brendan Lawlor | Aug 7 2024, 1:29pm | Hi If you are coming in a single occupancy car tonight please allow a bit more time ( 20-30 mins) as you’ll be directed to park in Laragh and then jog back to registration |
| Alice Clancy | Aug 7 2024, 4:59pm | Mandatory Kit for tonight: - waterproof jacket (kit B) - hat or buff - charged mobile phone with energency numbers saved |
| Sean Forsyth | Aug 7 2024, 9:15pm | Thanks Alice and crew for an absolute cracking race, the forest loop was brilliant and very enjoyable. The addition of the music was brilliant too...only disappointment was that the Banjo player in the woods didn't have a few bottles of 'XXX' moonshine with him |
| Rachel Harney | Aug 7 2024, 11:35pm | Thanks so much Alice, all the organisers, helpers and fantastic musicians! Great race! |
| Anne Hodge | Aug 8 2024, 8:11am | Great race! Very cool music all along the route. Well done to race director Alice. |
| Joan Ryan | Aug 8 2024, 9:45am | Thanks Alice and team for a great race last night. The course was brilliant. So many different elements of mountain running in one race. The musicians were excellent and great additional course markers follow that noise and you won't get lost! My favourite course yet! |
| Elva Donnelly | Aug 8 2024, 9:47am | Thanks to Alice and team for a lovely last one of the league. And fair play to the O'Ceallaigh's and their support crew for clearing what must have been bracken taller than the junior crew at times! |
| Laura Flynn | Aug 8 2024, 12:18pm | Great race, great course, great entertainment. Well done to all, especially to Alice for the superb organisation and to Niamh and the O’Ceallaigh family for creating a fabulous route. |
| Ben Conroy | Aug 8 2024, 12:36pm | Nice one Alice big thanks to yourself and team fantastic course could see a huge amount of work done beforehand to make it raceable so thanks a mill to the machete crew ..and the music… didn't realise there was such talent in IMRA..should be mandatory for all races ;o) IMRA house band...and the cold waters always a relief for tired legs although as I took my dip was a bit a wary after the prerace briefing of any Parisian style.. #jechiedansleAvonmore…. |
| Alice Clancy | Aug 9 2024, 10:06am | Hello All, It was a great evening on Wednesday…. and felt like a fitting end to the Leinster League…thanks for all the lovely comments and race reports - it’s great to hear ye enjoyed the evening! There were many people who contributed to making the evening go so well and I’d like to mention them all…. Firstly - thank you to the Glen of Imaal Mountain Rescue for accommodating registration and race setup and thank you to Brendan Lawlor, Liam Vines and Vivian O’Gorman for all of the advice and support in the lead up to the race….. Thanks to Alan Ayling, Rachel Cinnsealach, Maike Juergens, Connie Dottino and Methuli Moyo….all of the advice and recces through the last months pieced the route together bit by bit and I’m delighted with it! To make the route runnable, a huge thank you is due to Niamh O’Ceallaigh and Nick Hogan who armed with strimmers, loppers, shears and no small amount of determination managed to de-fern and de-eye-gouging/face-slapping-branch the route meticulously…making it enjoyably runnable and for a quiet night on First Aid….. Then, the crack marking team of Niamh and daughters Alannah, Orla and Rose and Diarmuid O’Colman spent what must have been days wandering the high-ways and by-ways of Trooperstown marking every twist and turn in the route…and there were many! Niamh went over and above and is a firm contender for volunteer of the year! Thanks to everyone on the night for the epic carpooling efforts, and to Wicklow County Council and Derrybawn House for accommodating us in the Laragh free carpark. Parking went off without a hitch in the capable hands of Dave Docherty and the parking team of Brendan, Vivian, Anne Hodge, Methuli Moyo, Paula Rea, Richard Kieran, Graeme & Ellie Romer. On reg, Sharon Wheeler, Danielle Lynch, Caroline Reid, Ger Power, Miriam Maher and Laura Flynn managed the pressure of a late opening seamlessly meaning we did not have to delay the race starts…which had been a bit of a worry for me with sunset fast approaching….! On the finish line, Miriam Maher, Linda Rowden on First Aid and Kevin O’Riordan and James Higgins on laptop were unflappable and a great support. Grace Curham, Sharon Wheeler, Richard Kieran and Danielle Lynch processed the registrations and finish line and together with Kevin and James navigated the complex web of races and start times to produce the results seamlessly on the night! On the route, Methuli Moyo, Henny Brandsma, Maeve Flynn, Rachel Cinnsealach and Marcus Davies enthusiastically marshalled, directed traffic and demarked, and in Methuli’s case joined the musical marshalls! John Shiels marshalled, redirected juniors and took beautiful summit photographs on the out and back routes…more than making up for the film crew never materialising!! (They had a tricky day’s filming and got stuck elsewhere in the national park…we might see them at a race yet….but thanks everyone for making the effort to look glam for them - it paid off in John’s lovely summit photos ;-) Sweeping, Graeme & Ellie Romer on the Forest Loop ensured everyone on this new course got around safely. Colm Kenna played a blinder as long course sweep and de-marker, taking the time to walk an injured runner off the hill (I hope that ankle recovers quickly David!) Tim Charnecki then joined as sweep and de-marker from his spot on bongos in the tree branches beyond Boots and both Colm and Tim were out demarking until late on the hill……. And last but not least, a huge thank you to the Musical Marshalls Maike Juergens on cello; Jean O’Neill on whistle; Connie Dottino (dancing) on whistle; Tim Charnecki on bongos; Andy Keeling on banjo and Gordon Douglas on Nordic lyre, mouth organ, Wavin Waterpipe whistle, Recorder, Panpipe & wonk-a tonk (!) for putting such ingenuity and creativity into your roles!!! We could hear the ethereal strains of the lyre and wonk-a-tonk from the ferns at times from the finish line and heard reports of a cello playing ‘Misty Mountain’ from within the forest in the rain, dancing at the crossroads with whistles, the sounds of the bongos from somewhere overhead in the tree canopy, and a banjo on fire playing ‘The Cuckoo Bird’ somewhere on the home stretch…..Ye are a talented group of musicians and played us out of the Leinster League beautifully………making for a celebratory end to what has been a really fun summer of racing since all the way back in April when we started at Belmont…. Thank you to the Committee, our races coordinator Liam Vines and all of the RD’s and volunteer teams of the Leinster and Trail Leagues…..the amount of work that it has taken to run so many brilliant events each Wednesday night has been considerable and is very much appreciated by all…. Well done to our winners Becky Quinn, Cian Taylor, Niamh Browne and Colm O’Neill….Roll on the true decider of the LL - the Mountain Meitheal Fundraiser next week! PS: David, Ben, Mikey, everyone…….I said ‘dunk’….I definitely definitely said ‘dunk’…..!!! although the resulting complete mortification has made me question my life choices and why tf I did not just say ‘dip’!!!!!! I’m still SCARLET!!! Note to self - write down Race briefing and stick to the script next time) |
| Caitriona Nic Caba | Aug 9 2024, 9:05pm | Hi Alice, First of all, much congratulations on directing an excellent event in Trooperstown on Wed evening. It was a wonderful success. Would you mind giving me a bell / text on zero86zero881689 if you get a chance please, as my daughter who participated has a question in regards to the 2.2km course. Thanks, Caitríona |
