A dramatic Carrauntoohil turns 25
The 25th anniversary of the Irish Championship race up Ireland’s highest mountain (Carrauntoohil) will be long remembered…
A strong field took the line with Rathfarnham’s Brian Furey and Barry Minnock as the favourites and a pack of strong outsiders consisting of the joint “King of the Mountain” Peter O’Farrell and Jason Kehoe, Paul Tierney, fresh from his Wicklow Way record, the Cleary brothers (Rob and Stephen) and Bernard Fortune.
Having finished an impressive 24th at last year’s International Snowdon Race, Jason Kehoe looked as the most likely man to break the long winless streak of the male runners from his club, Crusaders AC, in the mountains but he had yet to record any victory in an IMRA race and Carrauntoohil so bystanders at the finish line could be forgiven for being surprised as he crossed the line first, bleeding heavily from a badly gashed knee after suffering a fall on the fence-line about a mile from the end.
Jason Kehoe
No doubt winning his first race on Ireland’s highest mountain in the anniversary year will live long in his memory. His time of 85:12 for the 12.5km course with 1137m ascent compares well with previous years as the significant shortcuts that could be taken on the final parts had been disallowed due to trespassing concerns.
Rathfarnham’s Barry Minnock led the field out at a ferocious pace and a chasing pack consisting of five runners followed a safe distance behind. Jason made his move on the technical and exposed Caher ridge and caught Barry at the root of the summit. Minnock powered away here and summited first but Jason established himself quickly on the descent and executed a technically flawless run-off until his fall. Fitness and talent combined with courage and determination to recover from this well enough to hold off all pursuers and keep the lead till the end with Bernard Fortune 23-seconds adrift.
Stephen Cleary moved from seventh to third by executing the fastest descent of the day and did what no one else could on the day by breaking 29-minutes for the rugged 6.25km. Brian Furey showed he would not relinquish his title without a fight with the second fastest descent. Today’s field asked a lot of hard questions of each other and the competitors responded well when nine men broke the ninety minute barrier (in 2010 it had been only two).
Jo Meek
While the winner nursed his knee (prognosis says seven days until the stitches can go out), women’s winner Jo Meek, Tavistock, arrived in 1:47 with Mary Louise Ryan, Bilbao, and Maeve O’Grady, Defense Forces in second and third.
Full results now online IMRA.
