Irish off-road news
We’re well past half-way through summer but there’s still plenty of action in Ireland, here’s a quick look at some of the happenings….
End of League Handicap
The Leinster League may be gone but Wednesday nights need not be void! Guess your time for the new handicap route and win by getting closer to your guess than anyone else! The tough route up Kippure has been replaced by a new run up through Cruagh Wood to the top of Glendoo and a mere trifle at 6.3km. More at IMRA.
Munster runners continue their Wednesday League at Slieve na Muck and may hope the name is not too indicative of the state of the course! Tom Blackburn currently leads the new league but only has two points to spare on Michael Cunningham, so a tight run-in for the final three races is assured.
CLEC
The Carlingford Loch Endurance Challenge was teeming with hill-runners and they let their numbers show when the mountain running trio of Peter O’Farrell, Aaron O’Donohue, and John McEnri won narrowly ahead of a team including Eoin Keith while the first women’s team featured regular IMRA winners Caroline Reid and Aoife Joyce.
There were numerous categories including a “tarmac” version of the adventure race and all results can be seen at ChipIT. Next big fixture for the adventure racing aficionados is Gaelforce West on 22nd August.
Off-Road (Half-)Marathon Mania
While some Irish hill-runners will be travelling over to Snowdon to get their fill of off-road running, those left behind on the weekend of the 24th of July, need not be completely without their fix.
Another new innovation takes place on this day: the Bogtrotters Marathon in Roscommon. Not entirely an off-road route and you won’t need to bring your technical skills but nevertheless the official description promises it will be far from your standard city marathon:
The Bogtrotters Marathon is a full, half and relay marathon on a course that is generally flat or undulating and on tarmacked roads, one bog road and some grassy tracks. It is well-drained so there is little danger of getting wet feet! Open to runners and walkers of all abilities. Discover the hidden Ireland – not a Celtic Tiger housing estate in sight!
Both a full marathon and a half-marathon distance are offer, for more information check the official website.
Dublin Mountain Plod
And lest we forget, the Dublin Mountain Plod half-marathon will take place this Sunday (18th). A spectacular map of the route courtesy of new mapping company EastWest Mapping has been uploaded at IMRA.
Entry is still open at RunIreland.com and the price is 15 euros for IMRA members and 25 for non-IMRA members. The event is run jointly by IMRA and the Dublin Mountains Partnership.
EastWest Mapping
EastWest Mapping recently completed release of three of their four planned maps, so if you’re interested in traversing the Irish hills, have a look at the “The Dublin Mountains”, “Wicklow Mountains West” and “Lugnacoille and Glendalough”. All maps are 1:30.000 and offer excellent track depiction. They can be purchased in many local stores and on the EastWest Mapping website.
