Mourne Way Marathon 2022

If you’ve ever asked a runner…

Actually, I don’t advise asking a runner anything unless you’ve ample time to listen without the opportunity to participate in the ‘conversation.’ That said, if you’ve got the time and ask what the most important pieces of advice one could provide regarding running are, I’d wager most would refer to the time tested adage,

“Nothing new on race day…”

And it really does mean nothing… 

When a runner rises from bed on the morning of a race, there shouldn’t be a single new experience between their toes touching the floor and their feet touching the finish line… Nothing. New.

Thinking of trying something new for breakfast, forget about it. Bought a new t shirt especially for the race, absolutely not; and if you’re thinking of testing out some new hydration strategy because it’s not as warm as you thought it would be, we’ll then you just might be a lunatic.

It’s hard to argue with the logic behind it. The more you stray from what you’ve trained with, the more room you leave for, as Andrea Pirlo put it, “destiny to strike without mercy…” That new breakfast might be too heavy on your stomach and give you trouble mid race. That new t shirt might start to chafe once you start to sweat get rained on. And to skip that early water intake on a cool morning might ruin your race when the sun comes out an hour later.

Friends and family have often laughed at my resistance to change at the best of times, let alone on marathon morning but at the 2022 Mourne Way Marathon, I would dare to break the golden rule in multiple ways…

Saturday 11th June

The race was scheduled to begin at noon, with race numbers having to be collected by 10:30am from the finish line in Kilbroney Park. We decided to get there in good time and left the house around 8:45. Fast forward 50 mins and we’d arrived ahead of schedule leaving me oodles of time to collect my number and prepare an afternoon in the mountains.

As I prepped and packed my race vest with one’s endurance essentials (basically gels, water and Wine Gums) I reflected on the variety of ways I would defy running rule number one: 

Defiance The First: This would be the first race (and the third run ever) in my most recent pair of trail running shoes. While early signs suggested they were very comfortable, they certainly hadn’t been tested in a race setting. 

Defiance The Second: I would run for the first time ever with the GPS route of the trail on my watch (one of the reasons I made the purchase in the first place) 

Defiance The Third: I would test a new gel (audible gasp). I was testing a new ‘natural’ gel consisting of only honey and sea salt. The more I long running I do, the more conscious I’m becoming about what exactly I used to fuel these efforts, and have thus started to try and diverge from the usual go to gels full of who knows what.

It was raining as we boarded the start line bus so I figured I’d start the race in my waterproofs and peel off whenever the inevitable sun came. I don’t like running in waterproofs because I soon begin to cook inside them but I figured it was better than getting soaked early on and having to endure wet clingy clothes for (what I naively thought would be) 4 hours. By the time we got off the bus in Donard Car Park though the sun was out and I was all too happy to stuff my coat back into my vest.

Now I don’t claim to be a social person by any stretch, but even I will attest to the fact that runners really are a friendly bunch. Along the journey to the start line I had a great conversation with the guy who’d grabbed the seat beside me about the races we’d done abroad and what our competition calendars looked like for the rest of the year. Once we were off the bus I fell in with another couple of  chaps and we discussed the joys of Parkrun and how none of our nearest and dearest even begin to understand why we do what we do.

Ready…. Steady…

In all the races I’ve ran to date, I’ve never experienced a start line atmosphere quite like this. While the event directors were busy with their final preparations, we were left with nothing to do but sit in the now abundant sunshine, listen to the music playing over the speakers and exchange pleasantries and running advice among the congregation. It was such a nice change from the often tense and serious moments that precede road races, anyone who did have any trepidation about the task at hand would surely have felt in all fade in the warmth of the sunshine and sense of community.

At precisely just after noon, the horn sounded and we were off, beginning our ascent into Tollymore Forest. The course takes an early swing at one’s mental stamina by throwing over half the total elevation gain at you in the first third of the distance - making it easy for the early burning in your legs cause you to question the longevity required of them.

The 5km approaching half way were the biggest challenge, mostly to my patience. Sloped, bobbly, boggy ground made it hard to sustain any sort of rhythm. Before long, you’d inevitably disappear up to your ankle in marshland, come to a leg-jarring halt and or fall over. Having made my peace with what I thought was an impending ankle sprain, I used my frustration as fuel (a new sensation I must admit, one that contradicts the usually meditative running mindset that I often look forward to escaping into) and pressed forward through the miserable marsh and back onto terra firma. 

Hard not to get distracted by the view at times

The highest point of the course and the halfway point were pretty much one and the same as we committed a mountain road peak and began to descend towards Spelga Dam. The rain battered at us and a blustery wind whipped at the parts of my face not concealed by hood as we pounded down the mountain roads before peeling off for another trail section.

The sun soon returned and we had a chance to dry off through the third quarter of the race. More climbing, more marsh and more efforts to retrieve one’s hoof from and ankle deep misery. Couple this with another healthy dose of elevation gain and you’ve got a great chance to build some leg strength (remember, they’re not hills - they’re mounds of opportunity.) Having summited the slowest ascent of the day, the ground quickly fell away and what was the steepest descent of the race put a real test to tired leg control.

This really was an interesting race. In many ways, it was much harder than the typical road running events I’m used to but at the same time, it doesn’t require as much of you all the time the way a city marathon would. Yes, running of the trails and through the mountains requires more focus and you face a lot more climbing (which can really go for your legs if you’re not used to it, as is my experience) but the downhills and the moments when we were reduced to a hike were great moments for getting your legs and breath back.

With around 10k left, having just left an aid station with a mouth full of jelly cherries, I begin running with a chap I’d first encountered in the bog of despair. We were pretty much running at the same pace during the final uphill section and so we made an unspoken agreement to see the final 10K in together. We’d also decided that since we were both well past our usual marathon times, sub 5 hours felt like a worthy goal to keep us moving forward. 

We fell into a nice system of hiking the un-runnable sections and running everything we could. If we had to stop for a walk, the rule was that we’d walk for no longer than 10-20 seconds. This served us well over those miles when you reach and surpass 20 miles (the real halfway) and everything starts to get a bit serious. I really do treasure my solitude, both as a runner and as an aforementioned anti-socialite, but I was grateful to have a buddy there who was in the same mental trench I was and with whom I shared a common goal. 

At this point I decided to tempt the wrath of the running gods and try my new type of gel, a brand new, never used before, type of gel. As stated at the top of the episode, this was kinda mental, but I figured I’d be fine for a couple of reasons. Firstly, my new “gels” consisted solely of honey and sea salt. Honey is generally considered easy on the stomach and is actually a large part of my day to day diet as it is so I figured it wouldn’t be a massive shock to my system. Secondly, I figured that if something did go wrong and I ended up in some discomfort, I wouldn’t have far to go before reaching the finish line facilities.

As we crested the final hill in Kilbroney Park, we knew the last 5k was pretty much all downhill and, to my surprise at least, we ran it all. Each kept the other going and we made short work of the final few miles, even catching and overtaking 4-5 runners who were also on the home stretch. We emerged from the forest into the Rostrevor sun and rounded the path to the finish line, crossing the line in 4:52. Mission accomplished.

We collected our free beers, chatted for a few moments and went our separate ways. Every runner was entitled to a free burger. I never feel like eating anything immediately after collecting my medal so I collected my burger and gave it to Dad.

I’m happy to report that none of my ‘racing firsts’ had any real consequence. My shoes felt great throughout the run and even once I got them off, my feet showed no signs of having even been for a run, no issues at all. My new salted honey gel worked a treat also, it felt a lot ‘lighter’ on my stomach than my normal gels and was honestly delicious. It was an interesting experience running with the GPS route on my watch, it wasn’t necessary for this race but helpful to have (I did almost go the wrong way regardless but that’s beside the point.) My only complaint is I did find myself looking at my watch more than I would like at times, it’s a good way to feel like your making slow progress when things get hard.  

Wooden race bling’s definitely the way to go

This was arguably the hardest marathon Ive ever done, but definitely not my least favourite. We faced almost all weather imaginable but the trick is to keep moving forward. You don’t have be fast, just don’t get slower…. And never stop. I definitely collected my medal feeling a lot more confident in my preparations for September’s 100Km effort. 

But more on that later… 

A final word of thanks to the folks at 26 Extreme for what are always brilliantly challenging challenges, and of course for arranging post-race pints.