April 1st was the date for this years Connemarathon. All the Piranhas were doing the half marathon leaving the ultra and full to the more adventurous out there.
April 1st was the date for this years Connemarathon. All the Piranhas were doing the half
marathon leaving the ultra and full to the more adventurous out there.
In the run up to the race the weather had been foremost in everyone's mind - would it be as bad last year. As it turned out we didn't have a whole lot to worry about.
Update: should have given a special mention to Anne O'Learys time of 1.38.50 which meant Anne was first lady home in her age category!
As usual with Connemarathon, it involved a bus trip either from Galway, Oughterard or
Clifden. Things went smoothly enough from the Clifden end. The bus route from Clifden to the half marathon start goes along by the marathon start in Lough Inagh (picture right is taken from the bus enroute). Definitely one of the most beautiful parts the country when the sun was shining like it was - different story when the mist descends I'm sure.
We arrived at the race start where I met a few of the other Piranhas. Nick Walsh and the O'Learys were settling the nerves with tea and toast in the cafe while the rest of us were happy to soak up the sun outside. Peter Coughlan and I had arranged that we would start together with a general goal of going close to 90 minutes. There was a minutes silence before the start as a mark of respect to Frank Hains who passed away while taking part in the race last year. Then it was time to race.
The race start is pretty frantic - as the first few hundred metres are all downhill before turning towards into the hill out of Leenane which goes on for close to a mile and a half. The Connemarathon is famous for the hill at the end of the race but in many ways the hill out of Leenane is more difficult because it comes to so early in the race when trying to get into the rhythm.
Got through the first half of the race pretty much to plan - some of the mile markers weren't spot on and that combined with the undulating nature of the course meant it was difficult to keep the mile splits consistent.
Once 8 miles arrives the hill to be climbed comes into the view. The scenery is definitely harder to appreciate having run 8/9 miles with a 2 mile uphill ahead. The hill essentially lasts from 9.5 to mile 11 which is almost exactly at the top of the hill. My mile split for mile 10 - 11 was 8 minutes so I'd slowed right down and was working hard even to maintain that. While going up the hill Colm O'Leary passed me as if the hill wasn't there. The last two miles involve almost one mile downhill with the rest on the flat.
I finished in a time of 1.28.41 with Colm finishing just under 40 seconds ahead in 27th place overall for time 1.28.04.
Overall was happy enough with the race - was hard work but pretty much got the time i was looking for. Will I be back next year? At 70 quid probably not.
Piranha Results
1) Colm O'Leary 1.28.04
2) Matt Coughlan 1.28.41
3) Ciaran Lewis 1.30.58
4) Peter Coughlan 1.33.04
5) Brendan Smyth 1.34.02
6) Rich Muehlenbeck 1.36.09
7) Steven Moody 1.37.05
8) Nick Walsh 1.38.50
9) Anne O'Leary 1.39.04
10 Tadhg Cronin 1.39.36
11) Claire McEntee 1.51.52
10) Don Clarke 1.54.26
11) Emer Conroy 1.55.56
12) John Staunton 2.04.13
14) Jen Stopford 2.06.04
If I've missed anyone let me know.
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