Tollymore Trail Marathon 2023
Saturday 11th November 2023 - 9:10am
Arriving in good time for the 10am race start, I collected my race number from the starting area and reflected on the morning conditions. Tollymore offered a warm and golden greeting as the sunlight peeked through the trees. A crisp chill in the air where the sun didn’t touch the ground. Perfect conditions for running.
The race and course format was fairly simple. One loop of the forest equated to a half marathon, marathon runners would then run two and those running the ultra, three. Consisting almost entirely of gravel trails, the course has two significant inclines which while tough, are proceeded by equally significant downhill sections. Winding down through the forest, the route brings runners back out onto the road just inside the park entrance, making the final kilometre or so a welcome condition for those of us who spend the majority of the year pounding the pavement.
Standing at the start line, with the forest looming over us ahead, there was frankly nowhere I wanted to be less than in my trail shoes in that moment. If I’m being completely honest, I’d been regretting getting out of bed and facing the day at all (between you and I, there’s been a few days like that lately.)
Regardless, the race begins…
People often ask me what I think about during marathons or ultras, and my short response is usually, “I don’t.”
I think it’s one of the reasons I find it so addictive.
As soon as my foot crosses a start line, there is a switch somewhere in the back rooms of my brain that flips; and all at once the noise of my everyday existence fades. I am simplified and reduced to something that has the singular purpose of moving forward and finishing whatever race situation I have placed myself in. At times, it doesn’t even feel like it’s me running, but a calmer, more confident, more capable version of me.
5km into the forest and embarking on the first significant incline however, it was becoming painfully apparent that my trusty switch was broken. Marching up through the Tollymore trees, I was struggling to settle into the race mentally, meaning my everyday edition was in for quite a morning.
Experience would prove to be my greatest asset over the course of this adventure. Over the years, I’ve completed the half marathon edition of this race twice, maybe three times before, thus I have some familiarity with the course and it’s difficulties. Regardless of their scale, the hills are much less daunting when you know what lies beyond them. In this case, I knew that after tackling the toughest inclines this course had to offer, I would be rewarded with long steady descents where the time lost ascending could be at least partially retrieved.
Crossing the Start / Finish Line to begin the second (final) lap, two typical responses usually spring to mind:
Great, only one more lap to go!
(Insert your preferred expletive) I have to do the again?!
I somehow managed to have both responses simultaneously.
Although I was still trying that magic mind switch to no avail, I had managed to complete the first loop in under 2 hours, and felt surprisingly stronger than I had anticipated. Taking some confidence from this assessment, I decided I’d try and retreat into some music in the hopes of being transported to live performance somewhere while I meandered through the now-busy forest. Starting two hours after the marathon entrants, those running the Half Marathon had now set off, and I soon found myself engulfed in the stampede of those front runners out for victory.
It can be easy in these moments to forget that you’ve already completed a full loop and these folks are all fresh as daisies as they hurtle past. I, however, was distracted from the stampede by a sharp, intense pain at the top of my abs. Looking down to inspect which part of my kit was to blame, I discovered I had been stung by what must have been the last wasp on duty in Tollymore who had, it seemed, gotten trapped in under my race vest somehow and subsequently decided that this was my fault…
This gave me plenty to think about at least as I shuffled on. It is quite stressful trying to remember if you’ve ever been stung by a wasp before. What if I haven’t? What if I’m allergic to wasps and this is where I find out… 20 miles into a marathon you didn’t feel like doing from the get-go doesn’t seem like the best place to make such a discovery.
Thankfully, no adverse symptoms presented themselves. This and the discovery of Haribo strawberries at the water stop made for a swing in momentum that would carry me the rest of the way to the finish.
At the top of the second incline for the second time, I knew the hardest work was now behind me. And so, armed with even more Haribo strawberries (turns out every aid station had them on the first lap also but I was too miserable to notice,) I set off down the mountain with as much vigour as I’d managed to muster at any point that morning.
Provided you can keep your feet and mind your step, these final declines almost run themselves. Just keep a steady momentum as the trail rolls down and pretty soon you’ll emerge from the trail onto the park road for that final stretch to the finish line.
I finished the Tollymore Trial Marathon in 3:55:43 - according to my watch, that is. I haven’t checked the final results and I probably won’t. What I needed from this race won’t be found on any leaderboard.
Aside from the aforementioned lack of thought required. Endurance running feeds an addiction to proving to yourself (and maybe secretly others a little) that you can overcome difficult things. That even on your worst day, when you least feel like you want to, you are enough to contend with and conquer the mountain in front of you (a literal mountain in my case this time). I don’t place much stock in finisher’s medals put at times it’s nice to hold proof of your resolve in your own hands, I think I needed that this weekend.
I usually like to conclude these running based reflections with some insights or lessons I can leave as a reward for your time, maybe I already have but this entry feels a little thin to me. Apologies.
As I stare at the keyboard in search of the words, the only closing thoughts I can offer are that you can’t let a bad day or a bad week overrule months of training. Your legs are very capable of defying your mind if you ask them.
And avoid the Tollymore wasps in November, they seem particularly aggressive…
