THE CONNEMARA 100 MILE ROAD RACE - AUGUST 11TH/12TH -"NEVER GIVE UP"
byShane James Whitty on Wednesday, 15 August 2012 at 21:45 ·
Awoke at 2.30am from a very comfortable bed and started to prepare for the journey that lay ahead. The moment had finally arrived, all my planning, preparation and training had lead to Clifden ; it now seemed like an eternity since I first received a proposal in early 2011 from Ray O Connor that I should consider running his 100 Mile Race in Connemara. Decided that it was much too late to give the 2011 event a go however 2012 that was another matter.
Lead Up to Connemara 100 Mile Race
After so many months deliberation I finally confided with my wife Madeleine of my intention to run the 2012 event ; fortunately Madeleine was so supportive and reassuring from the start. Earlier in 2012 I approached my support crew leader Rob O Brien (Cobh) a long trusted valued friend and fellow long distance runner (Marathon des Sables & Atacama Crossing Finisher) ; from the start Rob was eager to go. Now it was a simple matter of rounding the troops for the big event. Confided in Ger Dempsey (Sports Injury Clinic) my Masseur from early this year and also a fellow Ultra runner (Connemara Ultra 2011) ; Ger was equally extremely enthusiastic to join and to become reaquainted with the Connemara setting. My confidence started to soar it was looking good now. As much as I dearly wanted to run Ray's event there was no way I was going to the Connemara 100 without a top class support team behind me.
Having had the privilege to "chat" with Pat O Keeffe (Ultra runner & Facebook friend) for perhaps one hour ; Pat was an authority on the event and any question I could put to Pat he certainly had all the answers. Cannot imagine how poorly prepared I may have been without Pats wisdom and experience of the event ; really appreciate all your advice Pat. Also tapped into Gerry Duffy's (the UKs 1st Decaman Ironman winner) bank of knowledge in regards to partaking in long distance endurance events, fueling and hydration. Again thanks Gerry you were incredibly informative and so helpful ; cannot thank Pat or Gerry enough for their courtesy and advice.
Every Saturday morning I am in the habit of taking a running group out running for "FUN"; the Run 4 Fun Club has a very special place in my heart and a great bond exists amongst all the members who run for the sheer enjoyment pure and simple. After finishing one of our runs on the Shelmalier Forest Trails Sandra Murphy and Sarah Bates approached me with a view to joining the Connemara support crew ; I could have cried with excitement there and then ; the group was getting ever so stronger now. My wife Madeleine and Aoife decided to join the support crew also at this stage ; the only reluctance or concern would be how I might look to my daughter Aoife during the later stages of the race. Promises were made that I would slow my race pace considerably and wear my heart monitor duing my training and any intervening races. Unexpectedly I got a call from another real good buddy of mine the one and only Neil O Grady ; the message was clear from Neil if at all possible he was also wanting to be part of my support crew for Connemara ; "the Magnificent 7" were formed and it was all systems go for Connemara.
Training for the Connemara 100 was especially tough ; I trained harder than I ever trained for any previous race in my long running history (1989) ; however I had a deep respect for the relentless climbs and rugged terrain that was Connemara and I fully appreciated that a rollercoaster experience was sure to follow. Every week it was routine to log 80 + mile weeks running 8 times per week often running weeks without a daysbreak ; running long twice weekly back to back. This was especially demanding as it meant running on tired and involved running usually 30 miles on a Wednesday followed by shorter marathon run on the Thursday on the Wexford Racecourse involving lots of "lap" running. As August drew closer I swopped the Racecourse for the Shelmalier Forest Trails where climbing steep ascents was the order of the day. Alot of blood, sweath and tears were lost in training ; however the support from my wife Madeleine and daughter Aoife never flinched, they joined me many a very early morning and had lots of food, drink and encouragement every time I approached the pit stop. To feel such support as I ran the many long lonely miles would fill my heart with a warm glow ; I was always so proud of their efforts.
Approaching the Share A Dream Charity I was delighted when they accepted my offer to fundraise on their behalf for the Connemara 100 Run ; as Madeleine had confirmed in order to run such an arduous distance selecting a charity that is close to your heart will give extra encoragement and motivation especially considering those terminally ill sick children that would benefit from my efforts and have their dreams fulfilled.
Race Day
Going to bed Friday night I was slightly anxious ; the race briefing had gone on longer than I had anticipated ; this meant that my pre race sleep was going to be very short and sweet (three hours). Earlier on Friday temperatures in Clifden had reached 28 degrees and I retired to bed for a one hour siesta from the afternoon heat. That night I spent perhaps a good hour juicing up for fuel stocks. Next it was into Ger and Rob and all the taping commenced ; Ger working on the quads, hamstrings and calves ; while Rob worked on the toes. Nevertheless no time was wasted falling to sleep when i finally got to bed. rMostelieved to awake to a dry morning ; my only concern was that it was now blowing quite a gale.
Departure was swift from Dan O Hara's as we made our way to the Clifden Station House for early breakfast at 5am. Racing away is always a concern with my history of IBS ; this morning was no different. What I would eat and drink could determine the outcome of today's race ; better or worse. Chose to eat porridge made with rice milk and some "fresh fruit". Starting with the fresh fruit something tasted off, but I didn't take any notice of it putting it down to pre race nerves ; only when Madeleine cautioned me did I stop eating the fruit instantly leaving the half eaten contents behind.
A lovely atmosphere was very evident pre race amongst all the runners and crew, last minute photo opportunities were seized. Shortly before we knew it we were all assembling outside the AIB for the start of the 2012 Connemara Race. As the race took off ; no one seemed too eager to set the early pace ; that left myself in front clueless as to where I was going as the lead car was not in front at this early stage. Fortunately I waited for someone to break ranks and duly Graeme Colhoun joined me to lead the early miles of this years race. The Race commences with a lap of Clifden before climbing rather swiftly on its exit to Letterfrack.
We shared so many of the early miles and there was no sight or sound of any of the other runners. For moments I was often wondering if myself and Graeme were on the right course as I had always expected to be joined by Mick Rice the Champion of this race for the last 3 years. Time passed very quickly in Graeme's running company as he had a very relaxing engaging manner, the chatter and banter between us was great on the Connemara Roads.
For the opening earlier miles I was delighted to reap the rewards of eating and drinking during my many long training runs ; Yippee !!!! I was thinking perhaps my luck was about to change today and maybe I would manage to eat and drink to my hearts content all the way to the Clifden finish line. 2010 Dingle 50 Mile Ultra and memories of IBS are never too far from the conscious ; afterall can well remember my inability to digest any food on that day except a single banana and as for drink that was a lost cause ; those last 15 miles in Dingle were truly character forming trying to run and finish on empty. Today in Connemara I was always hoping that yes the race would unfold very positively and by fuelling and hydrating properly I would continue to run strongly and give my best.
After approximately 10 miles my first support car driven by my wife Madeleine left me to be replaced by Ger Dempsey's car driven by Sandra Murphy. They kept a nice safe distance behind us but on the opposite side of the road. At approximately mile 13 suddenly without warning a large car came around the bend at speed ; I would imagine perhaps 60mph ; I was horrified to see him approach me ; I gestured to slow down and he duly braked hard managing to swerve around myself by a foot and skidding just missing my support car by three feet when he hit the ditch in front of the crew. It was truly a very close call and as Graeme remarked at the time "It put perspective on the race and things could have been oh so different".
My support crews were excellent the Jaffa cakes, potato cakes, energy gels, tinned fruit not to mention Dioralyte continued to flow at pace. Was very pleased with my running and how I was feeling passing through Letterfrack, Leitirgeish and the Inagh Valley. Graeme's unexpected company was marvellous as prior to the race I had anticipated that this could be one very long, lonely journey. Graeme and I swopped the lead along parts of the Inagh Valley approaching Recess. Reaching the main Clifden to Galway Road and leaving Recess en route to Maam Cross was perhaps the most difficult stretch of my 100 Mile Connemara race journey. The Roads were especially busy and some of the cars were getting quite close to me as they passed by inspite of the warning flashing beacon and Car Safety Signs "Cation Runners on Road".
My tummy was now starting to cramp up quite badly with alot of pain on the left side ; a toilet break was in order ; my second of the day. Graeme was fast now disappearing into the distance. Decided it was time to receive my first massage from Ger Dempsey as my tummy was now in bits. As I lay on the plinth I could see that there was still no sign of any third place runner on the road ; my crew informed me that the last they had heard was that Mick Rice was in sixth place. Recall saying to the crew that Mick was obviously running very cautiously at the moment and that more than likely he had allowed for the very strong prevailing head winds that had battered us for many of the earlier miles.
Got up from my plinth and proceeded to chase after Graeme ; to my annoyance my tummy now felt really sick and I was left with no option but to pull up again almost instantly and I duly proceeded to throw up the fresh fruit from the morning breakfast. Thankfully I now felt a vast improvement as I got back up from the ground. As I was getting sick Mick Rice passed me by on the opposite side of the busy road ; Mick asked if I was alright and I said I was ; so Mick continued on at his steady pace. Mick had perhaps covered half a mile before I found my feet and started to get moving at any decent speed. Nevertheless with every passing mile I started to feel stronger now ; slowly I reeled Mick back in and recall asking if he wished to join me on the same side of the road for some company as we were running. Mick however was very happy as he was going and duly advised me to keep it steady as I slowly pulled away into the distance approaching the Maam Cross fair.
Taking a left turn at Maam Cross my next stop was the Village of Maam ; just a simple matter of scaling the Hell of the West Climb in reverse ; thoughts turned to Frank Haines a fellow runner who died in 2006 on this climb running the half Marathon that day. That day had shook me up quite alot as Frank was receiving CPR after he collapsed on the Road and inspite of the most valiant attempts of the medics that day Frank's life was ended at 31 years. May the Lord have Mercy on Frank's Soul.
Running down the hill to Maam advancing cyclists were offering tremendous encouragement as we proceeded as did many of the cars that bamped and honked their horns all day. At this point I was joined by Rob O Brien for a couple of miles ; Rob was welcome company at this stage as I was very interested to hear how the two support crews were going and he was especially interested to hear all my news of the day. Leaving Maam Village I decided that it was now time to pull over for the second massage on my tummy and legs ; at this point Mick Rice also passed me by for the second and last time. Most certainly I knew the next time that I was going to see Mick would be for presentations the following day. Malcolm Gamble also passed me as I was receiving treatment on the plinth at this time. As I lay on the plinth and my entire crew worked on me I was joined now by Neil O Grady. Neil and Ger gave me a great rub down and Neil decided that he would run a "few" miles with me in the direction of Leenane.
Now Neil is a wonderful athlete in his own right and a former winner of the Wexford Triathlon and had the distinction of representing the Irish military in the World Military Games. That said Neil had made it clear that he had not run for yonks and he was not in "great running shape" by our standards. Nevertheless Neil was quite concerned that by now I had almost practically stopped eating or drinking anything and that if I were to finish this race this matter would have to be rectified immediately. Inspite of the best efforts of Madeleine, Rob, Ger, Sarah and Sandra I simply was not taking the food on board after getting sick outside Maam Cross.
Neil however was like a dog with a bone ; the hills of Connemara may be relentless but so too was my good friend Neil. Neil simply got me to see reason and put it plainly to me drink and eat or a DNF could be well on the cards as my body would eventually shut down. My priority all along had been to finish safe and sound ; after all wasn't that what I had promised Madeleine. By now my Garmin watch was coming under pressure and the battery life was running low. Thankfully we had prepared for this eventuality in advance and Ger had brought along a 2nd Garmin.
Neil left me at Leenane running perhaps more miles today than he had managed to run for the last month I would imagine. Thanks Neil so much for the company and your support and never ending encouragement to eat and drink.
Leaving Recess village and passing the lobster pots of Killary I was now joined by Sarah Bates on the Roads. Sarah is a fellow member of the Run 4 Fun and she was "on fire" on the Connemara roads. It was a tremendous opportunity for my running support team to run some of the roads that I had often romanticised to them about ; and they lapped up every moment of the day. Passing the "Stop and Pray" Church nothing would do me but to send Rob O Brien who had now joined me back to the Church for a photo. Rob was always ever obliging ; while taking some video footage ; Ger Dempsey jogged inside to light some candles just for good measure.
At approximately mile 63 I was passed by MaciejSawicki as I had to receive yet another treatment massage from Ger and Sarah this time. By this point I was almost getting paranoid about receiving treatments as I seemed to be getting passed every time I took any break from my running. Did manage to catch Maciej quite easily once I got off the plinth and quickly put some distance and time between the two of us. That said Maciej continued to press on hard and the opportunities for taking massage breaks were becoming very anxious moments as I concerned myself with his progess.
Approaching the main Clifden to Galway Road my plinth was set up for yet another massage by Ger and the Crew ; apparently my Crew were now quite concerned with my colour or should I say the lack of colour. Undeterred I made a beeline for the main road as in my mindset I felt quite strong "now" and besides I was convinced Maciej would continue to be in Hot Pursuit. Fortunately my crew were alert to the situation and Sandra Murphy got me safely across the very busy junction ; just as well really as I did not intend stopping this time. At approx mile 70 en route to Ballynahinch I was forced to stop for yet another massage and this time we took the opportunity to change all my clothes and socks and runners. This was the fourth time today that socks and shoes were changed. It was now starting to get alot cooler and evening was fast setting in ;realisation was dawning on me that a long journey lay ahead as I was entering Ray's "Death Valley" the point of the race where most runners for this race abandon. Maciej duly took the opportunity to pass me for the second time today as I lay on the plinth and this time I was not able to reel him back in. We were careful not to miss any good photo opportunity en route today and now looking back I am especially grateful that we chose to do so. Coming off the plinth by now the early strides were getting more and more difficult but thankfully all was good once I would get going again.