A hardy group of club members and friends headed west recently to compete in Gaelforce West 2011. Below is a report on their exploits.
Gaelforce West 2011 Race Report
A Collaboration of the team
The world’s largest one day adventure race of its kind was set for the 20/08/11. 2600 like-minded people of all shapes and sizes would tackle the gruelling 67km long course, along the way each tackling trail running, cycling, kayaking and the might of Croagh Patrick.
A group of Slaney Olympians and their friend had decided in May to take the challenge, some for the second time and some for the first, some chasing times, others just chasing life. And so the training began, trips to Sliabh Bui, Tinahealy and IMRA races on Mount Leinster and the Sugar Loaf to build strength in the legs to tackle The Reek (Yes Davy, it is called The Reek), 100km cycles were becoming the norm for some.
Thursday we all gathered at race HQ (other wise known as Kavanagh’s Kitchen) to discuss the logistics / nutrition for the trip to Westport. The ladies took charge of driving the van and preparing the food for the prerace meal, savage dishes girls.
Friday morning we all gathered at 9:30, donned the Slaney Olympic polo shirts we got made for the trip, quick group photo, loaded 11 bikes into the van, clambered into cars and off we set to the far west. There was plenty of light hearted banter on the way to Galway but there was that sense of nervousness in the air at the challenge we were about to undertake. Registered at Killary and with the bikes prepped and dropped, it was time to relax in Westport with just enough time for Bill and Niall have that sneaky pint to help the nerves and it was off to bed!
Race Day
5:30am
Alarms go off, and after last minute checks and the breakfast, we head for the taxi for the bus transfer to the start. 1 or so on the bus and people are quite all deep in their own thoughts. As we arrive the wave before us run passed and Racing 795’s Paul Browns gets a great shout from us all!
7:30am
Glassilaun Beach and the conditions are perfect. Little to no wind, clear skies and all in good sprits, last visits to the port-a-loos to leave those unsettling loads. Race Director issues instructions and then were off and up over the sand dunes to the road!!
Stage 1: Beach, Trail and Road Run 13km
A 9 mile trail run along the old famine trail to Leenane where the kayaks and the fjord are waiting. Niall sets off at a blistering pace and finishes the run in 1:08:42. Mick and Brian are in next, taking 3 mins off last years pace. Bill, Davy, Ger and the girls follow shortly afterwards. We all wait for one another as you are timed out at this stage and we had decided it was better to get into the Kayaks with one another.
Stage 2: Kayaking across Killary Harbour 1km
We discuss rowing tactics as we wait on kayaks to become free. Mick and Brian, Ger and Davy and Bill and Niall are the pairings as we had off across the sea, Bill and Niall discovered that YOU CAN actually turn over on them contrary to popular belief on the shore by the rest of the group. It’s going to be a long cold wet day for those two.
Stage 3 Bog / Trail and Road Run 3.5km
3.5km bog run into Delphi Adventure Centre (Bike Transition). This is not just a name it is actually a bog and the heavy rain during the week made this an energy-sapping section which would tell later in the day. We all arrive close together and gather the bikes, most people are taking on fluids and gels at the stage, helmets on we run the bikes to the trail out to the open road.
Stage 4: Cycling 33.5km
This cycle through the hills of the west bring you neatly to the foot of the ominous Croagh Patrick. There is a very long steep hill mid-way through this section and Davy Bolger shows his real strength here and destroys the hill with many other competitors powering up the hill. He stops and waits for the group to re-gather at the top. It’s clear he had loads in reserve and that this hill was a mere speed bump to him. The last we see of him as we part ways was the back of him speeding down a hill that people would be frightened to drive down in a car. The rest of us work our way along at a steady pace to the foot of the mountain making sure to take on plenty off fluids and nutrition.
First crash of the day, as we cycle to the foot of the reek Nolan who gets a cramp in the right hamstring and trying to avoid another competitor who stopped suddenly comes off the bike; he brushes himself off and gets back in the saddle. Mick, Brian and Niall all arrive to the bike drop together with Bolger all ready on the way to the summit.
Stage 5: Mountain Run/Hike 4.5km
Croagh Patrick
This is a 3 mile mountain run (well 3 miles if you stick to the path). Niall shows his trump card here and chases hard up the mountain maintaining a good steady pace reaching the top in 37:57. Davy ‘high-fives’ him as he is passing him going down, but little did he realise that he would see him again soon. Niall records the 29th fastest decent time overall in just 14:12 from top to bottom. This is savage running considering what has been completed at this point.
Brian has to dig deep as the lactic acid is streaming through those big quads and hammers. An emergency electrolytes drink (Holy Water) pulls him back from the brink. Long trail runs in Sliabh Bui and Tinahealy allow us all to make the top without stopping, the views are spectacular but no time to spare and enjoy it as the sub 5 hours was slipping away for Nolan and Murphy.
Stage 6: Cycling 12km and 800m run
Niall and Davy are about 8 – 10 minutes out of the bike transition when Brian and Mick reach the bikes giving them 37 minutes to complete the trip to the harbour finish in Westport.
The Skelp is an off road trail section that is 2 km long and is what can only be descried as a farmers track and should only be tackled by experienced cyclist on two wheels, but when your chasing a time you don’t think of this. Crash!!!! Brian’s gone over the handle bars hard, lands on his head (place he could do least damage), grazes his knees and elbows and helmet, twists his wheel and brake / gear handles turned in. However he gets up and shakes himself off and checks the bike is still functioning and bravely cycles on.
Once we reach the road again it’s a short but frantic cycle to the Harbour. We discard our bikes and helmets for the 800 metre run to the finish.
As Mick arrives in the field he realises he needs to run at this 10k race pace to finish under 5 hours, amazingly after been out on the road for nearly 5 hours he manages it and get in with seconds to spare. Brian following shortly after battered and bruised to finish just 1 minute outside the 5 hours, his crash had cost him dearly.
Over the next little while, Bill and Ger and the Girls all arrive in. The sense of achievement by all is rife in the air and the wide grins and personal tales of the day are enjoyed long into the night during some much need fluid replacement. The car trip home was a much more subdued affair than the one up but with all th
e sore bodies and heads we all had one thing in common, the thoughts of coming back next year.
A special mention has to go to Barry Murphy, (Brian’s brother and possible Slaney’s newest member) Barry struggled to run 2 miles in February and completed the race in 7:38. This was a life changing experience for him and he is all ready in training for 2012 back out running on Sliabh Bui all ready. His achievement has been a major inspiration to all of us. As Donald Trump said “If you’re going to be thinking, you may as well think big” and by God did he prove that at the weekend, amazing result!
A massive thank you to the husbands, wives, girlfriends, sons and daughters who have given use the time to train late on the evening and weekend. Much appreciated without your support this wouldn’t be possible.
So the apartments have been booked for next year already and we’re hoping for an even bigger group so if any one is interested, have a chat to one of us and we’ll fill you in.
Results of Gaelforce West 2011:
Time Position Overall
Niall O’Connor 4:46:26 168
Davy Bolger 4:48:52 177
Mick Nolan 4:59:46 284
Brian Murphy 5:01:01 300
Bill Kavanagh 5:11:06 392
Ger Murphy 7:33:52 1997
Louise Nolan 7:36:31 2017
Deirdre Kavanagh 7:36:27 2016
Barry Murphy 7:38:48 2035
Mairead Kehoe 7:39:21 2038
