From Thursday to Sunday the ExtremeNorth organised festival of running took place on the northerly coastline around Donegal and the Wild Atlantic Way. A festival that consisted of a marathon each day taking advantage of great scenery and the rugged landscape saw Rab Martin and Sean Nickell from the club take part.
The first day included a bit of climbing during the run from Moville, along the Foyle river bank before heading north through Kinnnego Bay and the finish at Malin. Sean recorded 3:42:23 which placed him 7th while Rab made it home in 4:04:59.
A circuitous route starting and finishing at Malin the next day, and taking in Malin Head and the Knockamanny Bends, was the platform for Sean to finish in 3:50:10 and Rab 4:02:58. By now with over 50 miles in the legs and exposure to the elements of the north coast the guys were relieved to be half way – only another 50 odd miles to go.
Day 3 started again in Malin and finished in Buncrana after climbing Mamore Gap, a 220M elevation over 1.5K. This time Sean returned in 3:54:18 and Rab 4:07:21.
Buncrana was the venue for the start of the final marathon which ran alongside Lough Swilly, through Muff and finishing on the West bank of the river Foyle. Rab saved his best to last with 3:53:04 and Sean doing the opposite with 4:29:41.
Overall Sean Nickell ran 15:56:32 to finish in 14th place and Rab Martin 16:08:22 which place him 15th. Two great results after a gruelling 4 days of marathon running.
(Thanks to Carla Martin for the photos)