In Málaga airport while queuing to get onboard, I was in front of an Irish couple with a boy and a girl. As the boy was wearing a Barcelona FC T-shirt, I asked him if he was a Barça supporter. That way, I met this family, who, after telling them that I was going to Connemara, told me that in Ireland is going to be held one marathon in each county this summer to get money for an autism charity WWW.32marathons.com. He told me that two men are going to do all the races to get funds but anyone can do a marathon, a half marathon or a walkathon. I think it is a wonderful idea. In the plane, I also met another Irish couple. The man told me about the Grand National on Saturday, the rugby match that evening between an Irish team and Clemond from France which he was going to attend.
In the Best western Plaza Academy hotel, which I found quite good, I met the RC team and cheering girls. There I had my first pint of Guinness. Later, we would have dinner in a Chinese restaurant where we shared different plates.
On Saturday, I went for a walk early and saw O´Connell street, the Liffey river, Trinity college, St Stephen´s park, Molly Mallone´s statue, Temple Bar, James Joyce´s statue, etc. After having a big breakfast in the hotel, we went in the rented car to Galway where we picked up the race numbers and chips and afterwards to Oughterard. The hotel rooms weren´t ready when we arrived, so we went to the pub next door where we had a drink, most of us had a pint of Guinness and a sandwich.
I had no expectations for this ultra marathon since I hadn´t trained much, the longest run 22 km and my marathon five years ago in Madrid where I managed to finish it in 5 hours 7 minutes. However, I was excited because of the challenge and the chance to be many hours jogging and walking. So, I couldn’t sleep well the previous night. I went downstairs and met Seafront Plodder smoking a cigarette in the terrace and then Sweder. SP took some photos of us and then we all had a big breakfast. S. and I went to the pitch where we took the coach. There, we met some Irish runners. We got to the Peacock hotel where we left a few bags in different buckets to pick up in different drink stations. There was a briefing where Ray welcomed all of us, introduced a few top ultra runners from Russia, Italy, etc and wished us good luck. I greeted the Italian man, Simone, on the way to the petrol station. He was very friendly and told me that he liked this race a lot. After leaving a bag at the petrol station to get after finishing the race, we took a coach to get to the start. I sat next to Noel, a man from Clifden, who wanted to do an ultra before getting too old. We would go together a few miles in the first half. At the start, we met some other runners. The race started and I went at a comfortable pace of around 11 minutes a mile. I took some walk breaks with Noel. I also went with a woman from Cork called Mary. I felt all right. The day was lovely. It was sunny and later it would be even hot. The scenery was beautiful with green fields with sheep and small lakes. There were a few cars on the way to Recess and Inagh Valley. In the lake the mountains were reflected. I had the chance to talk to some runners about the beautiful scenery. I did the first half in two hours 24 minutes and I felt fine. There were a few tough hills in which I did some walk breaks. After a few miles I started to have some pain in my left calf, which made me have to walk more and be passed by a few runners. The scenery in this part of the course was gorgeous with the Killary ford on the left and the Maumturk mountains on the right. I remember a car stopping and a young woman telling me if I wanted some water and fig rolls, I really appreciated that. One mile before the 26 mile marker, a man in an ambulance asked me how I was. They had asked me a few miles before. Now, I told them my calf hurt and asked them if they had something to put on. They said that they just had some ice. They told me to get on the ambulance. Unfortunately, I felt a terrible cramp which made me see the stars because of the effort climbing there. They gave me a bandage and some ice and I felt better. I told them I wanted to do 26 miles so that I could do at least the marathon distance. They gave me some bottles of water and some Gatorade. They told me that there was a man after me. Later I met him, He told me that he was exhausted but not injured. I walked as far as the 26 mile mat where I told three young men that I´d have to give up since I´d have to walk another half marathon and I didn´t want to risk an injury. They told me to give them the chips and told me to walk as far as the pub where I´d get a car from the organisation. One of the young me happened to be an engineer working in Granada. On the way to the pub, a man with a boy in a van stopped and told me that they would phone the organisation. The boy had a rugby T-shirt, so I told him about the match on Saturday between an Irish team and the French team Clermont, which was won by the Irish team for just one point. I waited a few minutes near the pub and a policewoman told me that I could go in a car where the three young men from the chip mat were. We had a chat seeing the people ending the different races and got near the finish. I did the last metres jogging and the people cheered me a lot thinking that I was an ultra runner getting to the finish. There, I met Ray. I told him what had happened to me. He was very kind and congratulated me. He told me to get my T-shirt and medal. I got to a special place for the ultra runners where a woman gave me the ultra T-shirt and the medal but I told her that I couldn´t accept them since I hadn´t done the whole course, so I changed them for the marathon ones. However, I felt as if I had cheated since I hadn´t the original marathon course although I had done the same distance. The whole distance took me 5 hours 40 minutes but I lost about 10 minutes in the ambulance. After that, I went to have some soup, a sandwich and a chocolate bar in the hotel. After putting on another T-shirt, I took a coach back to Oughterard. I met a young man from Scotland but living in Dublin who had come with his girlfriend to cheer some friends. At the hotel, I met El Gordo, Suzie and Clare who were having a drink. El Gordo had done the walking half marathon very fast in just 3 hours 7 minutes and Suzie and Seafront Plodder did the half in 2 hours 16 minutes and 2 hours 40 respectively. Later, I´d learn that Sweder had done the ultra in 7 hours 18 minutes. Congratulations, everybody. It has been a wonderful experience which I´d love to be able to do again and to enjoy the Irish hospitality, food and drink, especially Guinness.
I think this race has a special charm because of the scenery, the different distances you can choose from, the loneliness in many parts of the course, the people you meet, etc.
Excellent report Antonio
You ran a marathon and you provoked Sweder's Ultra, so you actually deserved 2 medals and 2 T-shirts (and I'd say another one for the report.. in a language that isn't your mother tongue, extremely difficult... I know!)
(24-04-2010, 02:44 PM)Bierzo Baggie Wrote: Excellent report Antonio
You ran a marathon and you provoked Sweder's Ultra, so you actually deserved 2 medals and 2 T-shirts (and I'd say another one for the report.. in a language that isn't your mother tongue, extremely difficult... I know!)
And you had a fig roll. I love fig rolls...
Gracias, BB. I didn´t do the ultra but I didn´t do the half marathon either. I´m glad my entry made Sweder change his mind and do the ultra because I think he really enjoyed the challenge and the race and managed to do it well under the cut-off time being able to talk to the other mates.
I really missed some food such as bananas, oranges, isotonic drinks ..... in the stations for the marahon and ultra marathon runners. Anyway, the fig rolls were delicious.
A great report and a great performance. It sounds like you had real trouble with your calf, so it's a great achievement to finish the marathon. Plus of course you didn't really train with a marathon in mind, so to complete it is even more impressive. You certainly earned your Guinness.
A great report and a great performance. It sounds like you had real trouble with your calf, so it's a great achievement to finish the marathon. Plus of course you didn't really train with a marathon in mind, so to complete it is even more impressive. You certainly earned your Guinness.
Gracias, Dan.
It was a great experience although I had to withdraw in mile 26.
Congratulations on your Brighton marathon. It must have been hard to wear that costume in the heat for so many miles.
Nice report Amigo. It certainly was a special day, and a very special, if difficult, course.
Thank you for being a redoubtable companion on this incredible adventure. You alone inspired me to take on the Ultra challenge. Your quiet determination helped me overcome my own fears (and there were many). I agree with the others; you earned your shirt and that marathon medal; you should be proud. It was tough out there on those long, lonely roads. Hilly, warm and, as you put it so well, 'even hot'.
Congratulations!
Saludos desde Valencia!
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
(26-04-2010, 11:02 PM)Sweder Wrote: Nice report Amigo. It certainly was a special day, and a very special, if difficult, course.
Thank you for being a redoubtable companion on this incredible adventure. You alone inspired me to take on the Ultra challenge. Your quiet determination helped me overcome my own fears (and there were many). I agree with the others; you earned your shirt and that marathon medal; you should be proud. It was tough out there on those long, lonely roads. Hilly, warm and, as you put it so well, 'even hot'.
Congratulations!
Saludos desde Valencia!
Gracias, amigo.
It was a great pleasure to start the ultra marathon with you and share a few miles together.
Congratulations again for that well deserved ultra T-shirt and medal, S.
Have a good time in Valencia. Enjoy paella which originally comes from that region. How long are you going to stay in Valencia?
(11-05-2010, 12:00 PM)Mid Life Crisis Man Wrote: Congratulations on a fine race and an excellent report Antonio! I hope we can run it together one of these years!
Gracias, MLCM. It would be wonderful to take part in a race together. We could try to do the half under two hours.
