Author: glendaloughac

‘BACKLOG’ REPORT: 11 races!

by glendaloughac, posted in Mountain running, Race reports, Road running, Track running, Trail running, Ultra running

The Lap of the Gap Marathon kept our club sufficiently busy that this report has been delayed for a while leaving us 11 (!) races, 2 DNFs, 5 podiums, 2 club records and two county medals….

CLUB RUNNERS HITTING 50 AND 100 RACES

Also of note club coach Rene Borg hit ’50 caps’ in the Glendalough jersey with the recent run-out at EcoTrail Copenhagen. the next to approach milestones are Colm Kenna (three races from 100), Claire Thompson (2 from 50) and Richard Costelloe (3 from 50). Only eight members have run 50 or more races for the club and only Angus Tyner and Torben Dahl more than 100.

DYSART WOODS

We begin our catch up nearly a month back on 30th April where Lillian Deegan kicked off her season finishing 47th in Dysart Woods.

RESULT
1. Barry McEvoy () 0:26:44
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
47. Lillian Deegan 1:00:55

ARDGILLAN

The more northerly races are always less popular among our runners but we did have Torben Dahl and James Heggie in action around the Ardgillan estate and James Heggie leads our ‘most prolific racer’ now with 11 races this year.

RESULT
1. Mark McAdden () 0:35:39
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
32. Torben Dahl 0:42:28
122. James Heggie 0:50:42

CARRICK MOUNTAIN

A week later at Carrick, the local troops were out in force and this time it was Kevin Ferguson’s time to lead the men home followed by Graeme Warren and a welcome outing for Loraine Creane.

Kevin Ferguson battling uphill at Carrick
RESULT
1. Peter Roche (Dunbyone AC) 0:38:41
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
34. Kevin Ferguson 0:50:09
40. Graeme Warren 0:51:03
52. Alan Kennedy 0:51:49 (3rd M55)
77. Loraine Creane 0:58:04
163. James Heggie 1:22:08

WICKLOW OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD 1500M AND 5K

We had intended to bring our biggest group yet to several events at the Wicklow Track and Field but a mixture of illness, dog-bites and niggles, meant only Diarmuid Kavanagh (5k) and Paul Duffy (1500m) ended up competing. This was productive for Paul who claimed a gold medal in the M40 category (meaning our club now holds the m40 Indoor AND Outdoor titles for 2023), a personal best and a club record!

For Diarmuid – in the new 5000m distance at the championships – it was a third track medal of the year (this time silver) to accompany a 5K PB.

1500m

RESULT
1. Finn Buck (Parnell AC) 0:04:24
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
17. Paul Duffy 0:04:58.5 (1st M40, PB, Club Record, Individual Gold)

5000m

RESULT
1. Robin Mooney (Inbhear Dee AC) 0:16:21
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
7. Diarmuid Kavanagh 0:18:37 (2nd MS, PB)

UTS 50K / BEARA WAY ULTRA

Duncan Barrett started his season big going to the prestigious and stacked Ultra Tour Snowdonia to take part in the ‘fun run’ over 50k finishing in a very decent 460th position in a large field full of DNFs!

Only eight days later he toed the line in the inaugural Beara Way Ultra and perhaps that a few mountains too far as he was the one succumbing to the DNF rate on that occasion.

Ultra Tour Snowdonia 50k

RESULT
1. Thomas Evans (Adidas Terrex) 5:27:11
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
460. Duncan Barrett 11:17:22

Beara Way Ultra

RESULT
1. Stephen Mangan () 21:53:52
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
30. Duncan Barrett DNF

SCARR

We had an impressive 9 runners testing out the newly revised course from Gaffney’s Lane where Brian Lydon continued a recent trend of being our ‘first man across the post’ followed by an impressive run by Kevin Ferguson who is really beginning to find his hill legs and Angus Tyner securing another podium in his newly minted M55 category.

Aoife Joyce returns to the LL after 12 years! (photo Andrew Hanney)

It was also a welcome return to the Leinster League for Aoife Joyce – 12 years after her last Leinster League race, the 2008 league winner was back.

RESULT
1. Eoin Flynn () 0:42:57
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
26. Brian Lydon 0:50:59
29. Kevin Ferguson 0:52:12
39. Angus Tyner 0:53:32 (3rd M50)
44. Torben Dahl 0:54:15
47. Philip O’Brien 0:54:29 (WW RC)
53. Alan Kennedy 0:55:16 (WW RC)
67. Aoife Joyce 0:59:48
124. Keith Mulvey 1:13:43
166. James Heggie 1:29:51

GOLDEN TENLOOP DELFT

Catherine Devitt took husband Richard’s ticket for the well-attended 10 km in Delft (with his consent we believe) for her 10th race of the season finishing 5th woman in a field of over 2500 runners!

RESULT
1. Dominic Bersee (Ruitenberg Accountants) 0:30:51
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
101. Catherine Devitt 0:39:15
Finish Line Director (Donna Quinn) and Safety Director (Keith Mulvey) have time for a smile at Lap of the Gap

GLEN TO GLEN HALF / LAP OF THE GAP MARATHON

We hope to do a separate race report on a memorable 6th edition of our club fund-raiser Lap of the Gap which saw a new marathon course record and record numbers for the 6th consecutive edition (the race now having grown every year!).

With most of our runners playing key roles in organisation it was left to a select few to make their mark on the competition and Rachel Wisdom did so brilliantly securing our first podium in the event since 2017 whilst finishing 2nd in the women’s half-marathon race.

Rachel Wisdom 2nd lady home in the half (photo: Lindie Naughton)

Graeme Warren knocked 18 minutes off his best for the full marathon course to finish a fine 12th in the fastest field ever assembled on ‘Ireland’s highest road marathon’ continuing a good tradition for us in this race which was won by Torben Dahl in 2016 and saw a 9th place finish by Anthony Breen in 2017. New member Aaron Kedward also completed his long build-up for the race successfully dipping well under the 5 hour barrier.

GLEN TO GLEN

RESULT
1. Marc Augustin (Le Cheile AC) 1:17:46
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
23. Rachel Wisdom 1:35:03 (2nd F40, 2nd woman)
53. Alan Kennedy 1:45:23 (WW RC)
193. Cameron Soane 2:16:33 (WW RC)

LAP OF THE GAP

RESULT
1. Tudor Moldovan (Clonliffe Harriers) 2:33:16 (Course Record)
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
12. Graeme Warren 3:28:42 (3rd M50)
110. Aaron Kedward 4:54:35

FASTLANE 10K

Leaving their duties at one of (or the?) toughest road race in Ireland behind, our PB hunting runners instead opted for the Fastlane 10k

RESULT
1. Jake Russell-Carroll () 0:32:10
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
11. Blaise Kinsella 0:38:02 (PB, M40 PB)
17. Paul Duffy 0:39:25 (PB, M40 PB)
346. Sile Keane 1:03:37 (PB, F40 PB)

GREAT SUGARLOAF

A slightly new course, mapped out by club man Graham Bush, was on offer as the Great Sugarbowl race arrived earlier than normal in the Leinster League. Angus led home with another M55 podium ahead of Ben Lewis and James Heggie with Lillian Deegan conceding a DNF.

Angus Tyner continues to do well in the M55 category finishing 2nd at Sugar Bowl
RESULT
1. Peter Roche () 0:36:37
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
34. Angus Tyner 0:46:45 (2nd M55)
80. Ben Lewis 0:52:59
160. James Heggie 1:13:44
170. Lillian Deegan DNF

NEXT UP

This week the Wicklow Road Championship 5k is on Wednesday doubling up as always as a counter in our club championship before Aran Lynham takes on the Cork Marathon over the weekend….

REPORT: Wicklow Way Relay 2023

by glendaloughac, posted in Uncategorized

Twenty-three of our members (or affiliate-members via Wicklow Wolf RC) competed in the 20th Edition of the Wicklow Way Relay.

Top-10: always the objective

Ambitious plans were put underway early in the year but once it became clear that our four highest ranked runners this season could not attend, objectives were hastily readjusted to just preserving a treasured club achievement: having finished in the top-10 in all seven editions we have competed in. It appeared more difficult than ever with a competitive field. I even seemed intent on sabotaging this process myself by entering a company team alongside my co-coach in Running Coach Ireland – Eoin Flynn (and they promptly finished 7th).

In the relay you will always gain (and sometimes lose) spots due to time penalties, lost runners, disqualifications or injury and this year was on different. You have the best chance of success by avoiding large problems and then being in a position to pounce if an – on paper – slightly stronger team has a mishap. From a Wicklow perspective, it was interesting to see if we could get one up on either of Kilcoole or Parnell AC – our local rivals: a sort of extremely informal ‘Wicklow Trail Relay Championships’.

Kilcoole returned for their second outing (having been 4th in 2019) whereas it was a first for Parnell as a full club team (having aided our team on two occasions with 2 runners).

As is the norm many ‘club teams’ had a few ‘day transfers’ and Parnell were bolstered by Lucy O’Malley (Inbhear Dee) and Bernard Fortune (SBR) while some of their own heavy-hitters were busy at the National 5 mile or running for other teams (the horror!) such as Daire Finn who promptly set the second fastest leg 7 time of the day with a 78-minute effort.

Strong Wicklow athletes were scattered across the teams such as Mountain Swifts (with the Bell brothers from Kilcoole joining Ronan King from Inbhear Dee), or Roundwood’s Noelie Kavanagh who ran the 3rd fastest leg 2 for ‘Wicklow’s Finest’ and the Clash Bangers and Bally Clangers made up primarly of Wicklow club runners.

A lot of our own members and affiliate members also ran for the ‘Laragh Legends’ and ‘Wicklow Wolf RC’ and ‘Team Luna’. The medals, however, were a battle between Dublin and Cork outfits.

Leg 4 – a litany of errors

(runner: Marcus Murphy 46:38, prediction: 46:10. Laragh Legends: Gavin ken)

Many of the main contenders ran into issues on leg 4: Parnell’s Liam Kenny, Raheny’s Patrick Conroy and Rathfarnham’s John McAuley all took wrong turns and lost substantial amounts of time. Stealth Stones took the largest of all deviations – adding about 4 km out and back to the route resulting in Johnny Sheehy running 79:32 for the leg!

The author (Rene Borg) put’s on a fake smile for the photographer on leg 5

REPORT: Prince Willie’s, Waterville, Limerick – podiums, PBs, records…

by glendaloughac, posted in Mountain running, Race reports, Road running, Trail running, Ultra running

After a busy last weekend, the racing continued unabated as we enter the breathless May/June period and this one offered 2 podiums, 2 personal bests and 1 club record…

PRINCE WILLIAM’S SEAT

Wednesday action kicked us of with six of our runners attacking Prince William’s Seat – the fun and tricky 8.5 km Leinster League classic. Brian Lydon had taken the early start as he had to head home early which was a pity as he would have had an almighty battle with Graeme to be our first man home (three seconds separated them) but had to accept a 147th position as early starters are automatically moved behind the main field. This left Graeme Warren well clear as our first finisher and 2nd in the M50 category.

Brian Lydon relieved to see daylight

Laragh-born Martin Cullen had another great run finishing 19th.

RESULT
1. Peter Roche (Dunbyone AC) 0:40:43
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
31. Graeme Warren 0:51:00 (2nd M50)
92. Ben Lewis 0:59:47
105. Colm Kenna 1:01:30
147. Brian Lydon 0:51:03
158. Mark Willoughby 1:09:15
192. James Heggie 1:23:28

LEINSTER NOVICE AND MASTER’S ROAD RACE (GOWRAN)

In Gowran Donna ran within 8 seconds of her 3 km PB to help the Sli Cualann Master’s women’s team to finish 4th in both the Club competition as the 2nd scorer behind Parnell’s Catherine O’Connor and ahead of Debbie Griffin. In the County medals, the trio were likewise just edged out by Laois and finished 4th.

Donna didn’t romanticise her race report:” I was a few seconds slower than last year, but much tougher competition too. I was way down the field in comparison. Ah well, box ticked!” (ed: she ran her second fastest 3k – 8 seconds slower than her PB).

Donna Quinn battling away in Gowran over the 3k distance
RESULT
1. Fiona Kehoe (Kilmore AC) 0:10:32
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
17. Donna Quinn 0:11:35

WATERVILLE TRAIL FESTIVAL 3-DAY AND 43K

John Conway was in a war of attrition taking on 3x 43 km trail runs in Waterville together with his wife Laura . Sitting pretty in 3rd after the first day John lost a bit of ground on the second day dropping to 4th a position he held. This was enough to gain 3rd in the men’s category as wife Laura held on to second overall and won the women’s race being pegged back on the last day by Sean Meehan.

RESULT
1. Sean Meehan () 13:23:26
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
4. John Conway 14:43:34 (3rd man)

Richard Kieran and Keith Mulvey joined in on the lap for the final day (Sunday) placing 51st and110th respectively It was a welcome return for Keith after recent surgery and he celebrated his 29th marathon/ultra-marathon and gained a sense of completeness after having DNFed in the 3-day WTF at his last attempt in 2022 (but having finished 8th in 2019). Richard Kieran was solidly mid-pack – a nice way to celebrate his 5th anniversary with Olivia Galvin.

Keith Mulvey completing his WTF43K
RESULT
1. Nick Hogan () 3:54:35
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
51. Richard Kieran 5:53:18
110. Keith Mulvey 8:01:48

LIMERICK MARATHON

Everything built up to the crescendo at the Limerick Marathon where our club were willing Blaise on to a sub-3 hour finish after a long and punishing marathon build-up. Blaise would be the second runner this month to make a concerted attempt at joining the sub-3 hour club (in his debut!) after Richard Costelloe had fallen slightly short in Rotterdam. Things looked rosy as Blaise came through the first half along with the sub-3 hour pacers in 1:28:32. He never really lost much pace but slowed down just enough to slip above in 3:00:59.

Despite missing out this was a fabulous debut on the distance and just rewards for some very tough work put in by Blaise over the last few months including an injury set-back that nearly scuttled the build-up entirely. He got a personal best and broke Barry O’Neill’s long-standing 3:08 M40 club record.

Blaise’s time was also the second fastest run in the club’s history (after Torben Dahl’s 2:57 in 2016) and put’s Blaise 4th on the ‘all-time best’ marathon list of our current members with only three members having faster life-time bests.

Marathon number 11 for Eoin Phelan and…

Not to be outdone Eoin Phelan recorded a great 9 minutes personal best of 4:13 one week after doing the Connemarathon (!) .

RESULT
1. Tudor Moldovan (Clonliffe Harriers) 2:25:16
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
56. Blaise Kinsella 3:00:59 (PB, M40 PB)
571. Eoin Phelan 4:13:12 (PB, M35 PB)

IRISH ORIENTEERING CHAMPIONSHIP

And whilst we don’t generally report on our members extra-curricular achievements in other sports, we have to make an exception to congratulate Angus Tyner on his triple-haul of gold medals at the Irish Orienteering Championships on home turf in Wicklow.

Angus weekend haul…

REPORT: Glacier Lakes ,Connemara, Wexford, London and Copenhagen!

by glendaloughac, posted in Mountain running, Race reports, Road running, Trail running

Eleven Glendalough AC athletes did well wherever they went this weekend with five PBs, three top-10 placings and four category podiums as our runners roved from the hills of Wicklow to the roads of Connemara, London, and Wexford to the forest trails of Copenhagen.

WICKLOW GLACIER LAKES

Graham Bush put in a real honest shifts in one of the roughest mountain races on the IMRA calendar – the 41.6km connecting of all Wicklow’s glacier lakes finishing 7th and 2nd in the M55 category in an exclusive field of 23 runners! (yes it’s not for the faint-hearted!).

RESULT
1. Andrew Tees (BARF) 4:44:00
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
7. Graham Bushe 6:15:00 (2nd M50)

ECOTRAIL COPENHAGEN 20K

Rene Borg and Diarmuid Kavanagh joined a contingent of 17 other Irish residents for a trip to EcoTrail Copenhagen and our two athletes were taking on the 20 km distance through the bumpy forest trails North of Copenhagen city.

Showing off the Wicklow brand in Copenhagen

Two strong French athletes separated from the field early and Clement le Touze would go on to win by a minute. The EcoTrail regular had a hard time when he visited Wicklow in 2019 languishing in 53rd place but on Danish soil and with 4 more years running in his leg, he was a different man.

Rene reports from behind them:

“Diarmuid said ‘”they are in a rush aren’t they” as we settled into the main chasing pack. Aggressive running from both of us whittled that pack down to three: the two of us and former orienteering world champion Jamie Stevenson. Diarmuid held the lead until 7k after which I took over until about the 14k mark. Myself and Jamie worked together and talked for a little while before he built a break on the toughest of the later hills. From here it was pure attrition as Diarmuid’s second wind saw him begin to chase me down. I thought I had fourth nailed and kept a faint hope of 3rd in my heart when I took a wrong turn that cost 600m. Diarmuid managed to correct the error earlier but not before a Norwegian runner snuck in between us. Desperate and on fading legs I tried to take my position back but the lads kept what they had got and it was a respectable 4th and 6th place for us. With legs up we saw our travelling companion Julie McNamee (a runner of mine in Running Coach Ireland) take 2nd place after Enda Cloake – of Slaney Olympic – had won the 48k earlier. Great day for the Irish and the Hiberno-Norse. I was also happy to finish first Dane – beating all my countrymen in the race at least.”

RESULT
1. Clément Le Touze (France) 1:21:46
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
4. Diarmuid Kavanagh 1:31:18 (3rd MS)
6. René Borg 1:31:39 (2nd M40)
Diarmuid on the chase at around 12.5 km in EcoTrail Copenhagen

WEXFORD 10 KM AND HALF-MARATHON

In Wexford club captain Marcus Murphy was our first man home in the half-marathon breaking his 2017 PB by 2 minutes and 19 seconds despite carrying a few niggles going into the race. This was his 2nd PB of the year in what is proving a productive season. Gavin Kennedy got himself a 93 minute finish and also a PB despite not quite reaching his aspiration of sub-90.

Aoife Joyce nearly missed the start of the 10k and had to make a sprint for it but still managed 3rd in the F45 category with Colm Kenna following within the minute.

Suitably yellow-bellied in Wexford (Colm Kenna, Gavin Kennedy, Marcus Murphy)
RESULT – 10k
1. Dmytro MUSIIATCHENKO () 0:32:01
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
63. Aoife Joyce 0:47:00 (3rd F45)
103. Colm Kenna 0:47:59
RESULT – HALF-MARATHON
1. Sean Hehir (Croghan AC) 1:10:31
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
30. Marcus Murphy 1:27:38 (PB, M40 PB)
80. Gavin Kennedy 1:33:53 (PB, M45 PB)

CONNEMARATHON (AND HALF!)

Paul Duffy took 2.5 minutes off his PB from Wicklow Gaol-Break despite the tough Connemarathon course dipping under the 90 minute barrier for the first time with Nora Butler running within two minutes of her own PB on the course too.

Paul Duffy struggling with the Connemara sun but not the course as he records a new half PB
RESULT
1. John Lee () 1:16:39
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
22. Paul Duffy 1:29:33 (PB)
185. Nora Butler 1:49:22

Eoin Phelan took part in the full marathon finishing solidly in the middle of the field in 4:28:29 and dipping under this 4:33:30 PB from Dublin last year – a great sign of progressgiven the much tougher course.

Eoin in Connemara (and no, he did not use the ladies’ tent!)
RESULT
1. George Snee () 2:36:21
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
236. Eoin Phelan 4:28:29 (PB)

LONDON MARATHON

Finally, Wicklow Wolf RC alumni David Murphy was in action in the London Marathon (a covetted spot) where all the drama unfolded this weekend and where the world saw the second-fastest ever marathon time run. David got a tidy PB of 4:24:21 running with his brother.

David Murphy (right) in London
RESULT
1. Kelvin Kiptum (Kenya) 2:01:29
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
25422. David Murphy 4:24:21 (PB)

LAP OF THE GAP: Morning bus (Dublin to Glendalough – one way)

by glendaloughac, posted in Lap of the Gap / Glen to Glen

We are running a subsidized bus from Dublin city centre (multiple stops) to the Glendalough Hotel (near race starts) on Saturday morning the 20th of May (race morning) leaving Dublin City Centre at 6 am.

The subsidised ticket price is 10 euro.

BUY THE TICKET AT WORLDSMARATHONS.COM

Once ticket is purchased ensure you fill in your details and what stop you will be using:

CONFIRM MY DETAILS FOR PICK-UP

BUS SCHEDULE, STOPS AND STATIONS

Note times are approximate but ensure you are at the station of your choice (as indicated during purchase) AHEAD of this. The bus WILL NOT wait and it will not turn back. If you miss the bus your only option is to take a taxi to Glendalough (which will cost around 100 euro).

WHAT HAPPENS ON ARRIVAL?

You should disembark quickly and go to the Emergency Helpdesk area behind the Glendalough Hotel to leave any drop-bag you have (tagged with your name) and to collect a replacement BIB (if you lost the one sent to you or it didn’t arrive). Then make your way towards the start line as quickly as possible.

RETURN TRIP?

For your return trip use St. Kevin’s Bus service at 17:45 from Laragh (bus stop across from Lynhams Hotel – 300m from the race finish).

Return trip details: https://www.glendaloughbus.com/ (please not this is not included in your ticket price).

NOTE ON THE LARAGH TO GLENDALOUGH HOTEL MORNING SHUTTLE

Please note this is not the free shuttle bus running between Laragh and Glendalough Hotel during the morning. If you buy this ticket, you will be taken straight to the Glendalough Hotel where you can access the Emergency Helpdesk (for BIB issues) and leave a drop-bag to be taken to the start line for you (name tag required).

This morning shuttle (white bus from Martin Lynch) is only for people who drive to Laragh and park there. If you buy this ticket you do not need to change off the bus and go onto the shuttle. You are going straight to where you must jog the final 800-1200m to the start line.

REPORT: Large turn-out for Scalp

by glendaloughac, posted in Mountain running, Race reports

There was a massive Wicklow Athletics imprint on the Scalp race with most of the Wicklow clubs well represented and Sli Cualann and Kilcoole AC athletes occupying 5 of the top-11 spots (it would have beeen 5 had Belmont winner Noah Harris not DNFed ) and Emily Ryan (Parnell) taking 2nd spot in the women’s race.

Mark Lindsey on the descent

We had 7 runners in action as well as Lee Borland and Sinead Boland from Wicklow Wolf Run Club (who represens Bray Runners and Kilcoole AC in their day jobs). Laragh native Martin Cullen also ran well to finish 31st.

Brian Lydon (our 2nd man home)

Philip O’Brien made his debut by being first man across the post. Tivon Tyner – son of Angus – also made his IMRA debut running for Setanta Orienteers. Glendalough AC dominated the M55 category where Angus took first and Alan 3rd.

RESULT
1. Killian Mooney (DSD AC) 0:32:15 (CR)
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
25. Philip O’Brien 0:40:57
29. Brian Lydon 0:41:44
41. Angus Tyner 0:43:10 (1st M55)
52. Alan Kennedy 0:44:56 (3rd M55)
54. Mark Lindsay 0:46:01
128. Mark Willoughby 0:58:45

LOTG SUB-2:30: Terms and conditions

by glendaloughac, posted in Lap of the Gap / Glen to Glen

Running Coach Ireland are sponsoring a bonus prize of €1000 for the first runner or runners (male or female) to break the 2:30 barrier for this year’s edition of the Glendalough Lap of the Gap Marathon.

Anyone wishing to attempt must adhere to the below terms and conditions and must have read and consented to these terms and conditions as written.

Logo by: Sergio Mansillo

DETAILS

The runner is deemed to have broken the 2:30 barrier if they record a chip time finish of 2:29:59 or less. In case of chip failure, the official start time and finish time shall be compared and if the differential 2 hours 30 minutes or less the attempt shall be deemed successful.

The runner must also provide their GPX / watch recording for verification after the race. Complaints about the accuracy of the official race timing should be submitted to the Race Director within 30 minutes of race finish. The Race Director along with the Treasurer of Glendalough AC will confer and provide final judgement on whether the time was in fact broken.

DIVISION OF PRIZE MONEY

The total prize money pot for this attempt is €1000. Should multiple athletes succeed in this feat during the race, the prize pot will be split among the three fastest runners in order of times as such:

  • Fastest: 70% (700 euro)
  • Second fastest: 20% (200 euro)
  • Third fastest: 10% (100 euro)

Should four or more runners thus break the time there will be no bonus money payment to the 4th fastest or lower.

Please note such division does not apply to the general prizes funded by Glendalough AC. So only the fastest person on the day to break the Course Record receives the normal bonus for this.

FORMAL RECOGNITION

In order to be formally recognised as a valid sub-2:30 competitor, you must have run the following times classifying you as an elite athlete:

For times set over the marathon distance

Men and Women: 2 hours : 30 minutes

For times set over the half marathon distance

Men and Women:1 hour : 12 minutes

Subject to change 

FORCE MAJEURE

While no effort will be spared to ensure every runner can move around the course unrestricted in the fastest possible time, Glendalough AC and Running Coach Ireland will not be held liable for disruptions to the course or unforeseen incidents that impede an athlete’s attempt at sub-2:30 examples which could include:

  • Traffic accidents
  • Animals on the road
  • Road blockages
  • Incident related to marking or marshals resulting in runner getting lost

It should be noted that in case of most such major incidents, the race will be neutralised and declared null and void in most situations. In such a case, we would strive to re-run the sub-2:30 attempt in future years.

COURSE FAMILIARITY

We strongly encourage all sub-2:30 aspirants to run or drive over the full course during one or multiple runs and to download a GPX of the course that the aspirant or his supporters can have as backup on their watch in case route marking is removed and/or junction marshals are incapacitated.

SPECIAL SUPPORT

Valid and accepted sub-2:30 elite competitors will have the right to additional support along the course in the form of a support cyclist and or one or multiple pacers who can carry water, gels etc. In addition, the elite runner can ask to have their drink of choice placed at the water station. This must be tagged with the elites name.

Only sub-2:30 competitors accepted by the race organisers are allowed to organise such support and must notify us in advance of who is the support cyclist

It is the responsibility of the elite runner to recruit and brief their support and to ensure the organiser is informed of their names and personal details for a support BIB.

Lap of the Gap can provide a limited amount of support cyclists on request by the elite runner if they cannot recruit their own.

TIME VERIFICATION

Only runners, who are awarded an official time by crossing the Finish Line wearing their registered Timing Chip, will be entitled to prize money.

In the case of chip malfunction, a backup system based on official start time and finish time is available and will be used for the time calculation.

PAYMENT

Prize money will be posted / delivered to the successful runner to break sub-2:30 in the form of a cheque once the runners GPX file has been validated.

PRIZE MONEY ELIGIBILITY

Prize money in Lap of the Gap is cumulative, any runner who breaks 2:30 retains their rights to all existing prizes including podium prizes and the bonus prize for being ‘King of the Hill’ as well as the prize money for Course Records.

The 2:30 bonus prize is sponsored by Running Coach Ireland. All other cash prizes are financed by Glendalough AC.

Doping disclaimer

Any athlete who is subsequently determined to have committed a doping offence at the time of the event or is suspended from competition due to an offence committed prior to the event resulting in his/her performance at the event being invalidated shall be liable to refund any and all sums from the race organisers / sponsors relating to his/her performance at the event including the bonus prize and any standard prize money.

Any athlete failing a doping test in such circumstances will be banned for life from entry into the Glendalough Lap of the Gap Marathon.

WHY NO WOMEN’S TIME TARGET?

The 2:30 barrier is currently an absolute goal which is within the capabilities of elite men and a few elite women and as such the while it is more difficult for a woman to achieve this, we do not currently separate targets.

It is possible that in future years, Running Coach Ireland or other sponsors may feel the need to setup a separate attempt specifically aimed at lowering the women’s record but for 2023 the focus remains solely on the absolute barrier of 2 hours 30 minutes.

RACE: Shanganagh,Rotterdam, Gaelforce, Aughavannagh and a not so Great Ireland Run 2023

by glendaloughac, posted in Mountain running, Race reports, Road running

The first of two very busy weekends for our runners began with an eclectic mix of races ranging from the open mountain navigation over Lugnacoille in the Aughavannagh race to one of the fastest marathon courses in the world in Rotterdam as seven of our runners competed across 5 separate races.

SHANGANAGH PARKRUN

Angus Tyner kicked off the action Saturday in the low-key (but well attended) Shanganagh ParkRun recording 20:23 and finishing 2nd M50.

RESULT
1. Ben Paviour (Reading Roadrunners) 0:16:27
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
17. Angus Tyner 0:20:23 (2nd M50)

ROTTERDAM MARATHON

Then it was straight to the weekend’s main course: the Rotterdam Marathon where Richard Costelloe was chasing the sub-3 hour marathon (in his road marathon debut) and looked on form to potentially put the club marathon record of 2:57 under threat if all went well. But most of all, he was there to learn about the distance and the dynamics.

Rich passed things well running consistent 5 km splits at pace between 4:11-4:16 min/km and looked safely past the defining 32 km point when he started to slow down after 35 km losing just enough time over the last 7k to finish in 3:04:23.

While missing out on sub-3 is always disappointing when it is within reach, Richard’s time was the 2nd fastest run by a current member of our club and if you take into account the IAAF’s age graded ranking, it is the second best marathon performance by a member eclipsed only by the 2:59 run by Bruce Phillips when he was 51.

RESULT
1. Bashir Abdi (Belgium) 2:03:47
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
1744. Richard Costelloe 3:04:23 (PB, M45 PB, M45 Club Record)
6877. Niall MacCarthy 3:48:14 (PB) – WW RC
7156. Graham Wheeler 3:49:57 (PB) – WW RC

It was unfiltered satisfaction from our two WW RC alumni Graham Wheeler and Niall MacCarthy who came in close together (within a minute) and both secured solid PBs.

Graham Wheeler and Niall MacCarthy in Rotterdam

GAELFORCE KIPPURE 10K

Back in the muck and the dirt of Wicklow, there were feet hitting hills both in the North and the South of the county where Gaelforce held their annual 10 km hill race at Kippure while IMRA opened the Leinster Championship by returning the classical Aughavannagh race to the calendar. Wicklow Wolfer Cameron Soane finished 448th.

RESULT
1. Edward O’Connor () 0:40:58
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
448. Cameron Soane 1:29:17 – WW RC
Wicklow Wolfers Dave Bollard (left) and Cameron Soane at Gaelforce Kippure

AUGHAVANNAGH LEINSTER CHAMPIONSHIP

Aughavannagh is a classical championship route (having been a counter in both Leinster and Irish championships) but tends to attract small fields (in this case 40) due to the long time spend on open mountain, free route choice and onus on navigation. Graham Bush is no stranger to all this and had a tight battle with Liam Vines throughout to secure top-10. Former club chairman Niall Corrigan was also out and finished 27th.

RESULT
1. Adrian Hennessy () 2:20:20
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
10. Graham Bushe 2:38:35 (2nd M55)

GREAT (?) IRELAND RUN (NATIONAL 10K)

While runners navigated themselves skilfully over hills and through valleys, the same could not be said for the 2000 strong field at the Great Ireland Run (the National 10k championship) who were sent astray leading to the race ending up as an 8.5 km event. The only runner we had caught up in this was Sarah Foster who ran 45:54 – equivalent to a 54:32 10 km.

RESULT
1. Jake O’Regan (St. John’s AC) 0:26:08
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
843. Sarah Foster 0:45:54

UP NEXT….

The Leinster League continues at Scalp before Paul Duffy and Eoin Phelan travel to the Connemarathon, Blaise Kinsella goes to the Limerick Marathon, Marcus, Aoife, and Gavin go to the Wexford Half and Diarmuid Kavanagh and coach Rene Borg take on EcoTrail Copenhagen….

REPORT: Blown off Belmont (and Little Sugarloaf)

by glendaloughac, posted in Mountain running, Race reports

A magnificent seven dauntless Glendalough AC runners braved the howling winds to attend the Leinster League opener in Belmont over the Giltspur ridge (also known as Little Sugarloaf) – a fast, steep, and rocky race with several technical descents.

LEINSTER LEAGUE BEGINS…

Brian Lydon – our ‘Man in the West’ – was home in Leinster and led the team home in 26th followed by Graeme Warren closing out the top-50 and Eoin Kennedy who summarised the experience simply on his Strava as ‘fun fun fun!’. Loraine Creane opened her racing season finishing 7th in the women’s category and overall. Both Ben Lewis and Sarah Foster likewise had theirs season opener as both recorded their fifth IMRA result. Colm Kenna was our final competitor on the night finishing slightly ahead of Sarah.

Eoin Kennedy (red) zips up against the wind in the early stages of Belmont and Little sugarloaf

It was also a great night for county Wicklow with 15-year old Noah Harris sinking the field and winning the race in a new Course Record. Whether it will stand or be taken down as ‘wind-assisted’, time will show.

RESULT
1. Noah Harris () 0:39:11
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
26. Brian Lydon 0:48:50
50. Graeme Warren 0:51:13
65. Eoin Kennedy 0:53:02
81. Loraine Creane 0:54:37
95. Ben Lewis 0:57:32
118. Colm Kenna 1:04:57

It’s now a big few weeks coming up with Richard Costelloe in action in the Rotterdam marathon this weekend, Diarmuid and coach Rene travelling to take on EcoTrail Copenhagen next weekend (with Gavin Kennedy and Marcus Murphy hitting the Wexford Half) before Blaise Kinsella tows the start line in the Limerick Marathon on the 30th of April. In between we expect to be reporting on more Wednesday night hill runners….

REPORTS: Triple Crown of 5ks!

by glendaloughac, posted in Race reports, Road running

The 5 km distance was the order of the week with our runners in action in the packed Streets of Kilkenny 5k Thursday evening before spreading their efforts over two Parkruns 48 hours later: Avondale and Zuiderpark and it was productive with 6 personal bests, 1 podium, 4 first in category, and 2 category top-3s.

STREETS OF KILKENNY

Fresh from being announced our new assistant coach, Donna banked a solid 19:32 – her fifth fastest 5 km time and only 15 seconds off her best. Diarmuid Kavanagh arrived from his work place in Laois and after hanging around for 2 hours before the race waiting, he still had enough in the legs for a PB of 19:01. Eoin Phelan – running with his brother – completed our trio and took a 7 second PB with 21:26.

Diarmuid Kavanagh with two PBs in 36 hours (here in Streets of Kilkenny – photo by PopupRaces)

The field was as classy as it was large with winning times of 14:14 and 15:48 for men and women and very high depth exemplified by 7 women breaking 17 minutes.

RESULT
1. Andrew Coscoran (Star of the Sea AC) 0:14:14
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
225. Diarmuid Kavanagh 0:19:01 (PB)
261. Donna Quinn 0:19:32
396. Eoin Phelan 0:21:26 (PB, M35 PB)

AVONDALE PARKRUN

ParkRunners were out in force to show they do not agree with plans to charge ParkRun entrants to get into Avondale going forward with more than 200 runners.

Aoife Joyce on the finishing stretch in Avondale

It was an extremely profitable outing led home by Diarmuid Kavanagh (setting a second PB in 36 hours) and with a total of three PBs and 5 runners in the top-3 in their categories and some intra-club rivalry as Yvonne outsprinted Aoife who herself set a new club F45 record for the 5k distance.

RESULT
1. Daniel Mithcell (Inbhear Dee AC) 0:18:04
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
4. Diarmuid Kavanagh 0:19:00 (2nd MS, PB)
12. Gavin Kennedy 0:20:24 (1st M45, PB, M45 PB)
20. Derek Cullen 0:21:39 (3rd M40)
35. Yvonne Brennan 0:22:50 (1st F40)
37. Aoife Joyce 0:22:53 (1st F45, Club F45 record, F45 PB)
46. Colm Kenna 0:24:01
84. David Clancy 0:27:29
150. Sile Keane 0:34:19 (PB)
Derek Cullen continues his return to action after his participation in Quest last weekend

ZUIDERPARKRUN

Finally, in Holland Richard Costelloe continued final marathon preparations placing 2nd in the Zuiderparkrun and taking his age category.

RESULT
1. Timon Scheven () 0:17:47
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
2. Richard Costelloe 0:18:08 (1st M45)