Glenmalure Lungbuster

Glenmalure WAR - 25th Sept 2010.

The 2nd Wicklow Adventure Race: 10km mountain run; 22km road bike; ?? obstacle course (kayak leg cancelled).

Ready (?)

Glenmalure is the next valley south from Glendalough, but a world away. This is the real heart of Wicklow away from the tourist hoards. It is also the gateway to Lugnaquilla, the highest mountain in Ireland outside Kerry.

The Glendalough WAR would be hard to top, but the omens were good - another spectacular day dawned after an atrocious week of weather. Andy had decided to enter the longer race this time - therefore an earlier start - having won the 'easy one' last time. I was sticking to my comfort zone. I saw him finish his run as I was getting ready - looked like 50 minutes was a good time to aim for. An hour later I was off and running with 180 others, fueled up with bananas, porridge, jelly babies, energy bars and gels.

Run profile

As always, the elevation not the distance is the key statistic and this run was relentless - straight up from the off, a 310m climb to 475m - it started steep and just got steeper. We were soon strung out all over the mountain, like the sheep who looked on with bewilderment. It was a real lungbuster but I dug in and reckoned I was in the top 25 - 3o over the summit. No break even on the downhill, had to keep the concentration and focus on those ahead. Back to transition at 55 mins, v. happy to break the hour. Change of shoes, helmet on, another gel & some water on board and I was up on the bike.

Bike profile

Although this was a road stage, there was a gravelly off-road section too, so my cyclo-cross bike was perfect for this leg. There were plenty competing on mountain bikes who would find the climbing tough, while the road bikes wouldn't be able for the gravel. To quote the race website "this cycle stage will bring you over one of the most iconic climbs in Ireland: the Shay Elliott Climb". To find out more about Shay Elliott, the first irishman to wear the Tour De France yellow jersey click here - worth a read.

Recovering from the run I started to pick off a few front-runners, including the lad who'd set the course the night before - I suppose he was knackered. I was feeling pretty good and really going for it - lesson learned from the Glendalough race, and leaving nothing behind this time!

By the time I summitted, I'd passed maybe twelve riders or so. Taking time to absorb the fantastic views around, I settled in for the big descent back into the valley. I'd purposely left my bike computer at home, as I knew it would be a distraction - so I'll never know how fast I went here, but it was probably as quick as I've ever travelled on two wheels. What a buzz! Only a few kms. back to the finish area. But one more sting in the tail.

The obstacle course was a 'river run'. They'd mentioned at the race briefing that life-jackets were mandatory and they weren't joking. The river was a glacial-cold stream and chest deep. Straight in, heart nearly stopped and the whole body felt like it was going to cramp! Legged it the couple of hundred metres downstream, no way I was going to let anyone pass me now. Struggled out, and then just for good measure, four hay bale obstacles - and over the finish line.

Andy over the last hurdle

My time was 2:01 - far exceeding expectations, and really chuffed to finish 16th - my best finish in any race. I didn't have long to wait for Andy who came home 13th in the long race, beating 4 hours - fantastic effort. After the post-mortem and a spot of the laid-on lunch, Andy, Jill and Billie came back to ours for a curry n beers. A nice way to end a great day.

All smiles at the finish

Nothing like a day out in the mountains like this to make you appreciate a healthy pair of lungs - and while gasping for air on the climbs, I was comforted by the thought that the Cystic Fibrosis Association were going to benefit - MyCharity website here. €1,100 collected so far, and counting. Many thanks to all who've donated.

Over and out.

P.S. A few shots added from the race website...

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