Racing 795

Hell Of The West 2011 – 25th June 2011

Posted on June 30, 2011 by racing795

Clearly enjoying himself, PJ strides for home in Kilkee.

Hell Of The West 2011 – 1500m/44km/10km [Report by PJ Dunne]

The whole family set of to Kilkee the Monday before race day for a bit of R+R. With Yvonne giving the nod for some early morning training sessions I decided to recce the course.

The run course (10km) was straightforward, 5km uphill and then 5km downhill. Simple! The Bike route was typical of roads in Ireland, undulating with a nasty hill at the beginning and at the end.
On Thursday evening we all trooped to the beach for a swim, this is where it all went pear shaped. The shoreline and as far as the eye could see was covered in jelly fish. I lasted 6-7 mins in the water and out I ran with my tail between my legs. The jelly fish really freaked me out and later talking to a Racing 795 Hell Of The West Veteran didn’t help with him recounting tales of jelly fish sticking to his wrists and that they do sting. Help!!!

Forward on to race day and after nightmares about sea creatures I was very close to my 1st DNS. A good kick in the ass from Yvonne put my fears to the back of my mind.

The whistle was blown and the swim began. The first 600m was straight out to sea and with the tide coming in was very tough, but got there and turned right for 400m directly across the bay. The final 500m was back into shore and yippee swim finished without sight of one jelly fish in a time of 33:51.
Out onto the bike with a howling wind and driving rain. Luckily for the first 20km the wind was either with you or slightly sideways but that all changed after making the right turn in the village of Cree. I was hit full force in the face with the wind and rain. 1hr 25mins later back in Kilkee again , a happy chappy.
Caught sight of the family coming into T2 and their cheer gave me the boost I needed for the run ahead.
Headed out on the run up Dunlicky Rd and found myself passing a few people which was encouraging. The run wasn’t easy but I found myself enjoying it (see attached pic). I had two work mates racing and bragging rights for the year were at stake. At the run turnaround I was 5-6mins up on both of them. It was all downhill from here apart from one last kick with 2km to go. Stunning views back into Kilkee for last km and crossed the line with a run time of 46:49, and total time of 2hrs 47 min and 39s with nothing left in the tank.
The 27th Hell Of The West was a great race, very well organised. Just a pity the weather gods didn’t play ball. A Big thanks to Yvonne and Kids for their support. Three hours standing in the rain is greatly appreciated.
A Big Thanks to Coach Burke for your advice. Thank god Yvonne wasn’t able to tell me them till race was over. His suggestions to overcome my fear of jelly fish were
1. KEEP YOUR EYES CLOSED
2. YVONNE WAS TO GET A PLACEBO CREAM AND TELL ME IT WAS A JELLY FISH REPELLANT.

Hell of the West Results

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Wicklow 200 – 12th June 2011

Posted on June 14, 2011 by racing795

The official Wicklow 200 report [by Niall Ó Muirí]

Ah Wicklow 200, on a good day an animal of a challenge, on a bad day, it’s like a good day in hell. Me self and Liam are still laughing at Barry trying to convince us that his Racing 795 jersey was waterproof. (those 795 guys are a different breed Liam said, I showed him my 795 jersey under my rain jacket, but he dismissed me as a blow in and not a patch on the real deal… I wish Bodels was here)

All day long a sweeping wind and rain dogged us, sometimes pushing us along, other times (Blessington to Donard) slapping us side ways through gaps in hedge rows, pushing us across the wrong side of the road, and other times especially on the steep descents hitting you like a sandblast of the face. At one point we were so numb I thought I had had a stroke.

Barry (the cute hoor) latched on to small pelotons which sheltered him and dragged him along. Liam was my peloton, and if he was a foot taller and on a bigger bike, I would have been home and dry, instead I was like a dog in a speeding car and me head hanging out the window.

All day long we clunked the gears, big cog, middle cog, and thank god for the granny cog which hauled me over Slieve Mann and Shay Elliott. All day long we passed frozen cyclists huddled in hedge rows fixing punctures and sugaring up.

The Sally Gap descends into a narrow sharp S bend with the “slow down” warnings coming way to late…I clocked 58k on the decent, it was so cold that it felt as though the hands of a corpse had reached in and squeezed my lungs. Liam wondered could you catch distemper from the conditions. It was chaos at the base of the gap. I passed a guy in a mess, his bike in bits and an ambulance on its way. Apparently we just missed a domino crash involving ten bikes. 795 MTBikers would have been proud the way I hit the S bend..brake, skid, release, brake again…..staying upright all the time. It was the only time me heart felt warm…cause the fking thing was in me mouth

In Rathdrum, second and final official pit stop..the hall resembled a refugee centre after a tsunami hit, people wrapped in hypothermia foil blankets sitting in puddles of water. (my change of gear was a life saver at this point)

Avoca throws up a final sneaky climb, just when you feel your swinging for home. But it coincided with an easing of the rain and the shelter of high hedge rows. So we ( at this stage Barry was long gone, in fact he clocked an excellent time, and could have done better had he left us long before the Donard pit stop) dragged our way home, legs still feeling good, but spirit almost broken……till next year of course.

And you all know in years to come at a 795 reunion me Barry and Liam (if he ever pays his membership) will bore the bejaysus out of you all with the tale of “Ah lads did we ever tell you about the time we did the Wicklow 200, there was a blizzard of snow, a tsunami wave of the blessington lakes, a hurricane wind off the mountain…and I had no saddle on me bike……”

On a serious note, lessons learned…

Have the bike in good nick, before hand i got a new chain, changed the tyres . We met one guy his chain smashed his race run, the amount of guys and girls with punctures, impossible to change up the mountains
Bring your own food, and gels…
and the change of gear, was like putting on an electric blanket with 80k to go…..heaven.

Finish times

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Killarney Triathlon – May 28th 2011

Posted on May 30, 2011 by racing795

PJ in the zone at Killarney. The only photo taken all day!

The second Killarney Triathlon took place on May 28th 2011. [Race Report by Frank Burke]

The Sprint Distance race was a 750m swim, 23km cycle and 5km run. The Olympic consisted of 1500m swim, 46km cycle and 10km run.

Originally the Olympic swim course was a 750 swim due north-west, but due to windy conditions, Triathlon Ireland committee decided to reduce this to the 350 buoy and create a 100 x 100m square which they looped before returning to Ross Castle.

The sprint swim consisted of two waves. I was in wave two with Brian Byrne (a cousin of Barry Byrne’s). While waiting to go we watched several wave one swimmers hold up their hands to the water rescue crew or turn for home before they reached the first buoy. This didn’t exactly inspire confidence in either of us – Brian turned to me and stated in a questioning tone “We are doing this by choice?” Enough said. Anyway, we started with a 350m swim in a direction northwest from Ross Castle with the wind in our faces, resulting in wave like conditions where it felt like you were swimming out to sea. Most triathletes found it difficult to avoid taking in mouthfuls of water due to these conditions. However, breathing off the left resulted in great views of the peaks of Purple Mountain and Dunloe Upper in the stunning Killarney National Park. We then turned north-east for 100m at buoy 2 and gladly turned for home with the wind behind us at the next buoy. Sighting was easiest on the way back as Ross Castle provided the perfect high point. Again we lost a few swimmers to the rescue crew along the way.

Brian did a great time, considering he had very little experience of open water swimming.

While my time wasn’t anything to write home about, it was my best open water swim to date. I swam front-crawl from start to finish without stopping, resting, panicking etc – and before ye unleash – I know that’s what you’re supposed to do, but knowing and doing are two different things!

The Olympic triathletes were next to go, which included PJ (aka Felix). Likewise, he took in a lot of water, but I’m not surprised because he never stopped talking all the way to Killarney! Seriously though, he took a while to get into a swim rhythm but ended up doing a great time.

Out of the water and into transition, wetsuit off first go, long-sleeve jacket on as water was cold and likewise air temperature. Cycling up the road, I couldn’t figure how my legs were under such pressure. To cut a long story short, here’s a tip for everyone – ensure you check your wheel alignment in advance of all races!
The cycle route was an urban loop by two for sprint and by four for Olympic. A little disappointing for somewhere so scenic, however it was extremely well marshalled and the Garda did an outstanding job at 8 junctions, giving right-of-way to cyclists at all times. However one particular junction had a constant 1 mile tailback of traffic, which resulted in some triathletes taking the inside cycle lane and having to hop onto path when lane got blocked by a car. It was here that Brian took a tumble and injured his calf badly, but carried on valiantly. Others took the middle of the road, which was quite dangerous, due to on-coming traffic.
I met PJ flying by as I completed my first loop. Second loop went a little better, as the brake block obviously wore down a little more, but calf cramp kicked in.

PJ completed the four loops in a great time. My T2 consisted of calf stretching as did the first kilometre of the run, but I finally got going. PJ did a great T2 and was the third fastest of the Olympic. We’ll never hear the end of that one! BTW – did I mention, I beat him in the T1 – something he was reminded of several times on the way home.

The run was through Ross Island which contains the oldest copper mine in Ireland (according to BanB host – so open to correction DF). Two loops for Sprint and four loops for Olympic distance through this very scenic run route on a mix of trail and narrow semi-tarred path through wild garlic carpeted woodland with occasional views over the lake. It was not a route for the purest runners as it was very undulating to hilly, but i liked it. PJ did a good run considering what had gone before and Brian did extremely well to complete the run considering the state of his calf.

All told an enjoyable day – of course the sun came out and wind died down when all was finished. It was a well organised event. Would I do it again – yes if they changed the cycle route and sent us to the country.

Thanks to PJ for helping with the driving – 165.6 miles down of which he did 5.6miles and managed to drive from Kilkenny home on return leg. Thanks to Jim F for the bike carrier.

Results

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Mountain Running – Prince William’s Seat 11th May 2011

Posted on May 13, 2011 by racing795

Tom in action at Little Sliabh Bui earlier this year

Congratulations to Tom Hogan on another excellent win, this time pipping rival Barry Minnock by only 1 second in a thrilling finish at the IMRA Prince William’s Seat race.

Barry Minnock’s race report

Results

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Limerick Marathon – 1st May 2011

Posted on May 4, 2011 by racing795

Joy notches up her first sub-four-hour marathon.

First Name	Last Name	Bib No.	Race	Finish Time	Marathon 10k	Marathon half	Marathon 30k
Joy	Furlong	2910	Marathon	03:58:48	0:56:05	1:55:43	2:46:40

[Joy Furlong reports on her first marathon, well done from all your club mates]

My day started off very nervous but with just enough belief that I would do it. Whistle went and I settled into a nice steady pace, clicking each km off one by one and holding the pace. But it was definitely a tale of two halves.

The first half of the course proved to be flat and easy going allowing me to settle into a rythmn and stick with it. We started in the city centre and the route brought us past UL and back in along the canal heading back towards the city again for the half way marker. I felt good going through here, having found the previous 20 km enjoyable. The sun was shining and we got great cheering on by the locals.

We headed out of the city again, running on some quiet country roads. All was good here. Even though we were running away from the city I knew once we turned right we would be heading back into the city and nearer the finishing line. But that right turn took its time in coming and at about 30 km I could see my pace was slipping. I quickly told myself to hold this steady until 32 km and sure its only a 10 km race after that.

Through 32 I began to feel tired and my pace became slower. This part was more challenging. We ran into a head wind and some slow drags but I took them all on and kept running. Back in the city centre the crowd was swelling, a definite buzz in the air, but yet again we were directed away from the city for the final few miles. Past the Treaty stone, Thomond Park , a pull up past the Gaelic Grounds and right at the Union Cross all very famillar territory for me, with my gang cheering me on at just the right moment.

I could feel it in my grasp here as the four mile pacers were still be hind me and I could hear them shout. Turned onto Clancy strand with the city in sight, a man I spoke with at mile three ran past me giving me a pat on the back egging me on telling me that the four hour was there for me, he reckoned it was only 0.5 of a km away from the finish outside Savins shop which I knew to be on a hill and I thought no way not on a hill, but a marshal on the bridge shouted just around the corner to the line and on I went. Turned on to O’Connell street and I could see the finish line and the clock.

A chap flew past me making for the line and as I saw the seconds ticking I too made that dash, only 100 meters to go, the crowd cheering and at last I was there. Bragging rights won, plan achieved, I did it. Yipee!

It was a good day, I didnt suffer too much and hey I think I will have to do another one and get it just right. As always you have to thank the support team and on the day that was left solely to David who seemed to be everywhere and at just the right moments too giving me those much needs words or encouragement.

Race Info

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