There were only two North Down runners (Stephanie and myself) in the recent Slieve Donard Run on Friday 4th July. It was unfortunate that the race was on the same night as the Ards Half Marathon and at times during the week before the race I considered whether it would be a wise decision to do the Ards race and forget about the tricky and risky Mountain run over the rough terrain in
If you draw a line between
On the evening of the race I left
Now in any other race you put on your shorts and shirt and line up at the start and just run! This race is different. You need to plan what to wear – I thought first that track suit bottoms might be be useful especially on the rough terraine on the way down – you also worry about whether you’ll be warm enough especially if you get lost along the route. I changed my mind a few times and as the weather was now quite warm I opted for the traditional shorts and yellow North Down running vest!
The second thing you’ve got to do before the race is to plan in your mind which route to take. Lots of discussions before the race argued the case for going up the longer route via the Saddle or whether to take the more direct route but tougher climb via the Black Stairs. The leaders normally take the Saddle route but most runners/climbers take the direct Black Stairs route. The point at which you need to make this decision is when you come out of the forest and reach the Ice House. I had decided beforehand to take the Saddle and Stephanie was opting for the Blackstairs climb.
The race began at the beach on time and off we went – all 95 of us! No mile markers on this race – its only 5.5 miles but 2,800 feet to the top! I found myself in the middle of the field when we reached the Ice House. Nearly everyone was heading for the Blackstairs but as I had planned I opted for the Saddle and all those steps.
The saddle route took me up those hundreds of steps that some people might be familiar with if they ever walked up Donard. I could see one runner ahead of me so I focussed on him. I should say that one of the achievements of this race is to ‘beat your age to the top’. I’m 49 so my aim was to get to the
From the saddle to the top of Donard is just one very long steep climb with the high Mourne wall on your right hand side. It’s really impossible to run this part. I sweated, struggled and suffered up that last stretch – at times I tried to run and I was even getting closer to the man in front – I could see him struggling too, which in a strange way gave me encouragement to keep going. However, every step was agony for me and I seemed no closer to the top.
I looked at my watch 46 minutes, 47 minutes and still I couldn’t see the top. I was even beginning to console myself that there was always next year and I’d have an extra minute to beat my age! I was also telling myself to keep going. I also found as I climbed higher that if I moved away from the Mourne wall that it wasn’t as steep and if you really tried very hard you could even run a little. I looked at my watch again – 48 minutes – I might catch the man in front but would I make it to the top in less than 49 minutes. I know I’ll have an extra minute next year but then I might get injured or conditions might not be as good next year. One last push – just do my best!! Then all of a sudden I saw one or two people and a tower of rocks in the distance. Could it be the heavenly summit? I tried to sprint, walk faster more like it and finally after a lot of hard work I reached the top in 48.41. I beat my age by 19 seconds.
Did I tell you that you had to run down again? I thought originally that I could run down through the saddle but everyone agrees that this would take too long and would probably be quite dangerous anyway. There was nothing for it but to tackle the dreaded Blackstairs – even the name scares me! Although now that I’ve done it I don’t think the blackstairs were all that bad. It felt great at the beginning – like running down a hill (through the bog) when you’re a kid except you’re running down for about a about a mile and worrying all the time you might fall – then you come to the Stairs themselves and it was muddy and slippy – it would have been easier to fall down I think!
And all the time people (or mountain goats!) were over taking me – 12 people overtook me on the way down and yet I couldn’t have gone any faster! My legs were beginning to buckle (and I suffered in the weeks after). I eventually crossed over the
Later in the evening after a tasty fish supper on a beautiful summer’s evening the light faded slowly over