DUBLIN, IRELAND (Team Geared Up) - An email arrived this afternoon “We have just launched a nationwide search to find three Irish challengers willing and ready to take part in the Powerade Never Give Up Alpine Marathon Challenge, a thrilling 42K mountain marathon race across The Swiss Alps in July 2009. It might be of interest to your readers, those interested can apply at www.nevergiveup.ie/2009

No excuses. No fear about doing your first marathon at altitude. No running scared from the 42km mix of pain and exhilaration in The Swiss Alps. Pain is what the body uses to fool the mind into giving up. We need three people like you who are ready for the challenge of a lifetime. Over 6 months of specialised training you and the team will be pushed to your limit, and because you Never Give Up, you will make it through the world’s most spectacular Alpine Marathon.

Online entries will be accepted from Nov 7th – Dec 8th 2008. A shortlist of potential challengers will then be drawn up from the overall list of entries. A panel of judges will then select three individual challengers whom they feel are best suited to undertake the Powerade Alpine Marathon Challenge in 2009.

-Robin.

DUBLIN, IRELAND (Team Geared Up) - Irish runner Conor McLaughlin has won the Polar Circle Half Marathon in Greenland. His race report sent to us by email:

I wanted to do a race which would capture people’s attention in order to raise much needed funds for the Irish cancer society. I decided to do the Polar Circle half marathon in Greenland. I seemed to be well run and affordable.

I started training in May. I did a lot of work on the Beach on soft sand to replicate the underfoot conditions of what it would be like to run on snow. I did a lot of long distance swimming as well to prepare for the exposure to the cold.

The race day conditions were perfect and i was fortunate to get a good start on fellow competitors. The first 5km was extremely difficult because we were quite high up on the ice cap and temperatures it down to - 15.The ice cap involved a few hills and snow up to 75 cm thick which was hard to run through.

Once we were off the Ice cap the race began to feel like any other run. There were a few points along the way i thought i would have to stop because of the cold air hitting the back of my throat was tough to cope with, but things worked out well and i was lucky enough to win the half marathon.

Thanks to by sponsors and the Ulster Bank community cash back i was able to raise 860 Euro for the Irish cancer society.

SPONSORS
McLaughlin family Inver
Abbey hotel Donegal town
Hegarty’s shop
All sports Donegal town
Patagonia store Dublin
Great outdoors Dublin
Sean o Donnell motors
Gabriel Breslin
Art Kavanagh
Paul Floyd
Colm Campbell
Anne Marie Sheerin
Henry kee & sons
Malachy byrne
Dave Ainsworth

-Robin.

Iarnrod Eireann employees John O’Regan from Dublin and Roy Galvin from Cork have returned victorious from Peru having won the Inca trail to Machu Picchu marathon. The race started high in the Peruvian Andes at an altitude of 2500M and followed the Inca Trail over an undulating course including 3 high passes all of which are at an altitude of over 4000M and eventually finished in the Inca Capital of Machu Picchu at an altitude of 2400M. O’Regan led the way from the start and was swapping places with an ultra marathon runner from Germany for the first 10 miles before taking the lead again during a steep descent. Galvin managed to catch the German and made a heroic effort to catch up with O’Regan shortly after mile 22, the pair then worked together to cross the finish line in first place in a time of 6hr27min and over 30 minutes ahead of the next competitor. The Inca Trail normally takes 4 days to trek and to put the race into perspective it would be like running a Marathon and climbing / descending Carrantouhill 3 times starting from sea level. Sponsored by the Great Outdoors, the pair were using this race as a fund raising event for the Jack & Jill Children’s foundation.

Well it couldn’t have been as tough as they made out since John had the energy to go leaping off rocks the day after…. ;-)

Congrats to you both, it’s a cracking achievement and we’re all mad jealous of the adventure it must have been. Anyone thinking of another big city marathon might just be thinking again…

-Aisling-

Images from John O’ Regan

While reading Planet Ultramarathon I noticed an article saying Paula Radcliffe is doubtful for Bejing due to a stress fracture in her thigh. Can you imagine her disappointment if that puts her out?! Apparently it wasn’t noticed in two previous MRI’s. I’d say she’s pretty angry about that?!

Radcliffe said learning of the fracture was a “bombshell,” but said she was determined not to give up despite being told by some specialists that it would be difficult to get in enough training ahead of the event.

“Everything has been with Beijing in mind. It’s been a huge focal point and it’s hugely important to me,” Radcliffe said. “I’m thinking positive. I am looking at it as 90-100 percent that I will be in Beijing. Other people will put it a lot lower. I can do it.”

Fingers crossed, it’d be disappointing to watch an Olympic marathon without her in it!

-Aisling-

Image from Tony Mangan.

• Tips for Ultra Running Beginners. If you have completed a marathon and feel like you want to go further? Welcome to the ultra world, read the quick tips on this article and kick off your training!
• Alternatives to Expensive Energy Snacks and Drinks. Interesting article from the Stone Research Foundation Symposium (June 2005) with a recap on key points for athletes to follow as far as energy supplements is concerned and emphasizing the fact that no fancy/expensive energy product will improve your endurance or performance.
• Webtogs: New On-line Store Launches. Webtogs is a new UK e-commerce site on the outdoor clothing and footwear arena. Founded by James Balmain and Shopgenie / Kelkoo UK founder Philip Wilkinson, the retailer will offer products from Keen, Mountain Equipment, Merrell, and Berghaus among others. Check out the original post for a discount!
• Gordy Ainsleigh. From Wikipedia, the amazing story of the dean of trail ultra running.
  

  H. Gordon Ainsleigh, DC (b. 1947), better known as Gordy Ainsleigh, is a California based chiropractor and pioneer of the 100 mile trail ultramarathon, a form of extreme long-distance trail running.
  In 1974, Ainsleigh was the first to run the course of the Western States Endurance Run. At the time, the trail was used only by horses participating in the 24-hour Western States Trail Ride. When his horse went lame prior to the race, Ainsleigh decided he would run the torturous 100 miles (160 km) of mountain trail from the Squaw Valley Ski Resort to Auburn, California, rather than look for another horse to ride. Ainsleigh completed the ‘equestrian race’, without a horse, in 23 hours and 47 minutes. This was the beginning of the Western States Endurance Run, and the beginning of the modern sport of ultradistance trail running.

• The Great Marathon Boom of 100 Years Ago. An excerpt from Don Allison’s upcoming book, “Magic in the Streets: How the 1976 New York Marathon Changed Running”, an interesting look at the early 20th century New York culture and the first running boom.
• MultiMarathon, 15 Marathons in 15 Days Across the Desert. Quoting from the site: “MultiMarathon is a unique physical challenge involving a team of runners supporting each other in a quest to complete a minimum daily marathon distance over a number of consecutive days.
  The first MultiMarathon event will take place on 5th May 2009 over a 15 day period when 5 dedicated athletes will attempt for the first time ever to run 640km across the Simpson Desert from the geographical center of Australia in the NT to Birdsville in QLD and raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.”

-Ed-
More running news at trailrunningsoul.com
(Image credit: FartherFaster, on Wikipedia)

The Inca Trail Marathon is much more than a race. It’s a nine-day trip into history, a rich cultural experience, and a holiday in a mind-boggling beautiful paradise.

A holiday?!!

John O’Regan, winner of the 2005 Yukon Arctic Ultra 100-Miles and veteran of the 2004 North Pole Marathon explained it like this:

The race starts high in the Peruvian Andes at an altitude of 2500M and follows the Inca Trail over an undulating course including 3 high passes all of which are at an altitude of over 4000M and eventually finishes in the Inca Capital of Machu Picchu at an altitude of 2400M. To put this into perspective it would be like running a Marathon and climbing / descending Carrantouhill 3 times starting from sea level. The weather during the event will add to the challenge and temperatures during the race can range from below freezing at the start (04:30am) to 30 C towards the finish with possible rain and sleet.

Right I’m going back to the ultras, with this marathon lark I get to see Rotterdam while those around me go to China, South America etc. etc……. :-(
You can support John and Roy on their charity page here!

-Aisling-

Image is of Roy Galvin and John O’ Regan.

DUBLIN, IRELAND (Team Geared Up) Marathons are scary events. Only a couple of people in the race are out to win and the thousands of others just want to do their best, whether that means just finishing or getting a Personal Best. Failure is so scary.

To say I was nervous would be an understatement but I’ve been worse, standing on marathon start lines. I got a Race number that allowed me almost right up at the start banner, so I waited till less than ten minutes before start time to get into my place. Looking around me was scary.

Once we were off I felt like I was moving quite fast. I hadn’t a clue how fast though because my heart rate went through the roof and I missed the first few kilometre markers so I just hoped it wasn’t slow!! I tried to relax and get my heart rate to settle but it wouldn’t so I chose to ignore the readings of between 185 and 190. When my foot hit the mat at 10k in 40 minutes I realised I was well inside the 3 hour mark (shock!) and decided at that exact moment that I wasn’t gonna let that go without a huge fight. I was thinking I was moving at too fast a pass to sustain for too long, but what the hell, let’s just go for it and hang on and I thought if I let it slip a little later on I could still break 3. And so I continued, despite hitting low points at 16k (feeling sick for a minute) I just pushed and pushed. It was killing me to be moving that fast while thinking I still had a long way to go. So I took a gel and as JackieO said to me “put your head down and dig in”.

I hit the half way mark at 1:27:42 so was still moving quickly enough. Finding things to focus my brain on was difficult. At 27k we came right back into the city but by 30k we were back out into a really quiet park which felt like a real lull after the buzz of the city. It was hard to push on at this stage. But I actually caught a glimpse of the leaders on the opposite side of the road who were at the 40k mark and thought, what a lift, to see them racing this close!

At 35k I was over a minute inside the 3 hour pace but the pain in my calves was increasing. I had worn super flat racing shoes and I suppose this was the price I paid for wearing light trainers. So from this point on it was head down, push hard through the ever increasing pain. But I knew the pain of being just outside 3 hours would be a pain I might have forever if I didn’t go for it! I can’t even describe what happened in the finishing straight. I couldn’t see the clock properly, but I could see metre markers counting down the last couple of hundred metres. I could hear the crowd do the countdown till the clock hit 3 and just as my foot landed on the mat the clock hit 3 hours exactly (and my heart rate hit 199). I couldn’t believe it. It took a couple of hours to get my chip time of 2:59:58, giving me a placing of 28th woman and 341 overall. Running buddy Bronagh had a PB of 3:20 and new friend Anthony ran his first marathon in 4:25.

During my marathon preparation Nige had said I could go sub 3. I didn’t believe it really, I imagined even as I stood on the line I would finish at about 3:03. I wrote before about how Nige was helping me but I didn’t imagine the help would ever get me this far. Training under pressure (with the heart monitor) made racing under pressure much easier, he said I would suffer so suffering during the race became normal, not something I should be scared of. (Normally you slow down when you’re suffering). His two words Push Hard became a mantra during the whole race and I couldn’t let it go. To run well I believe you also need a good club and a good coach. You need people to push you, to believe in you and they act like a support group. I sound like I’m doing an Oscars speech but I really have to thank my coach and brother Eugene for support and encouragement and his wife Gina who looked after my legs!

Right. Now do I get the record for the longest TGU post ever?

-Aisling-

Image is winner William Kipsang 2:05:49 from IAAF.org

DUBLIN, IRELAND (Geared Up Blog)- This years mens race was won by Korean Byeung Sik Ahn in a time of 4:02:37 and Cathrine Due of Denmark won the womens race in a time of 5:37:14. Congeratulations to both Peter Ferris and Wayne Pollock from Ireland you finished the tough course in 6:12:05 and 7:10:22 respectively. I’ve heard of people doing their training in industrial size freezers for these cold marathons. I wonder did any companies in Ireland let Peter or Wayne use theirs?

The men’s race was a close event over the initial stages before Ahn’s persistent pressure on the frozen ice floes finally began to reap dividends. He developed a widening gap over his opponents during the second half of the race and crossed the line in a winning time of 4:02:37. Meanwhile, the Lithuanian Ignas Staskevicius overhauled Charles Sanders of Great Britain for second position. Ahn will receive a special Kobold expedition watch for being the outright winner.

Cathrine Due and Margit Andersen, the two Danes in the women’s event, battled thoughout. However, Due proved the stronger in the latter stages to take the women’s title. Kirsty Devonport of Great Britain was third.

Results Below courtesy of www.npmarathon.com

Mens Race
Name Time
1. Byeung Sik Ahn (Korea) 4:02:37 Bib No. 1
2. Ignas Staskevicius (Lithuania) 4:19:05 Bib No. 25
3. Charles Sanders (Great Britain) 4:21:27 Bib No. 23
4. Jurgen Heilbock (Germany) 4:50:01 Bib No. 17
5. Hans-Wilhelm Hamke (Germany) 5:21:07 Bib No. 14
6. Craig Davis (Australia) 5:47:50 Bib No. 8
7. Darius Jurgaitis (Lithuania) 5:54:18 Bib No. 19
8. Peter Ferris (Ireland) 6:12:05 Bib No. 12
9. Steve Bicknell (Great Britain) 6:27:10 Bib No. 6
10. Christer Klingspor (Sweden) 7:01:10 Bib No. 20
11. Wayne Pollock (Ireland) 7:10:22 Bib No.27
12. Hans-Jacob Berntsen (Norway) 7:22:08 Bib No. 5
Womens Race
Name Time
1. Cathrine Due (Denmark) 5:37:14 Bib No. 11
2. Margit Andersen (Denmark) 5:53:10 Bib No. 3
3. Kirsty Devonport(Great Britain) 6:12:05 Bib No. 9
4. Alison Gill (Great Britain) 6:44:08 Bib No. 13
5. Marie-Hamren Larsson (Sweden) 7:04:32 Bib No. 16

-Eoinod-

A less pleasant surprise for Jordan Salameh El Aqra’ who found the course harder than expected and also had to deal with tummy trouble. Today the Marathon des Sables was particularly worthy of its name: sand was on the menu, starter, main and pudding. And it’s only the beginning…

It’s one of those classic events that every ultra runner seems to want to do. I’ll hopefully get my chance in 2010 as I’m on the waiting list. Hopefully the gear technology will have advanced so much by then that my bag and it’s contents will weigh next to nothing! ;-)

There are ten Irish competitors listed this year so best of luck to them!

-Aisling-

Qoute and images from Darbaroud.com.

DUBLIN, IRELAND (Team Geared Up) I’ve blogged before about how some of our gang are heading to China for the Gobi March. It’s not long to go now and training with their heavily laden backpacks has been going surpisingly well, it doesn’t seem to have sapped their speed at all! This stage race is just one of the 4deserts races in the Racing the Planet series, which includes races on some of the “driest, hottest, windiest and coldest places on Earth”. One of the series is starting tomorrow:the Atacama Crossing in Chile is a seven-day, six-stage, 250-kilometer footrace across the Atacama Desert of Chile.

Check out the list of competitors here. It includes three people who intend doing all 4 of the series in one calender year; South African Paul H. Liebenberg, Dane Jimmi Olsen, and American Dean N. Karnazes.

Bets of luck to the Irish on the list, James Mc Quillan, Rossa O’ Donnell and Shane O’ Rourke. We’ll be keeping an eye on their progress!

-Aisling-

Image from Royal Engineers and sign is from Racing the Planet.