Loughshannagh Horseshoe

Hill and Dale Race 8

Thursday 29th May 2008

Canny Cunningham cruises to victory; wily Ward is top woman

The inability of Bogboy to re-emerge and the fact that Bogman literally stuck in a bog somewhere the responsibility for penning this week’s diatribe of criticism and invective fell upon their younger and more verbose cousin, Bogusboy.

Following the ‘interesting’ events of the 2007 running of the Loughshanagh Horseshoe, arguably the most physically demanding event of the entire 11 race series, the organisers were praying that the gods of the fell running world would shine on them. Such was their concern that finish man par excellence Frank Morgan turned up at 6.15 adorned in an array of lucky charms and secret amulets that would not look out of place in a Harry Potter novel. His opening words ‘she’s going to stay dry for us’ echoed the optimism of the gathering masses at the registration. Many of the seasoned competitors, only too aware of the changeable Mourne weather, came with bootfuls of gear that thankfully were to be rendered redundant on the night. The weather remained fine and all breathed a hefty sigh of relief.

The series this year is more open than ever and all eyes were on the registration area to see who among the protagonists for the title would seize the opportunity for a decisive victory. The race for the overall title is delicately poised, with Omagh’s Stephen Duncan and defending champion Alan McKibbin each with three wins. As it stood McKibbin had the edge by virtue of having completed 5 races to date. McKibbin’s absence and the arrival of Duncan at the start line caused many to wonder if this would be the defining moment in determining which county the trophy would reside in for the next 12 months.

However as has been the case only too often in this unpredictable series nothing can be taken for granted. Mourne Runners perform notoriously well in this race, a testimony to the hours of Sunday training in the ‘Western Mournes’ under the giuidance of Jonathon William Brown and were well represented at the front of the field by Stephen Cunningham, Edward Hanna and the ever-improving Andrew Niblock.

The course this year saw the runners negotiate the four peaks of Ott, Loughshanagh, Doan and Carn in an anti-clockwise direction and the pre-race favourites were all in contention early on. It was Duncan who was first over the summit of Ott, but he was only a few metres ahead of Cunningham, Hanna and Niblock. It was equally tight in the ladies race where the first three, Shalene Ward, Frances Orr and Alwynne Shannon were separated by a few seconds.

As the leading men approach Slieve Loughshanagh the order had not changed and none of the contenders for the race win had made a decisive move. Things remained very much the same until the runners made their way around the back of the lake and up the extremely steep climb to Carn. Cunningham was beginning to fancy his chances and the sniff of victory in his nostrils combined with the fact that all his living relations awaited his return expectantly seemed to inspire him. By the time he negotiated the style at the top of Carn the gap had opened, though by no means to a winning margin. Cunningham, on the back of a good winter of speed work on the roads and with his uncanny ability to go down quickly was opening the gap with every stride. He romped home to an extremely impressive victory, a minute clear of Duncan who had worked hard to hold of the challenge of Hanna. This second place could still prove invaluable in the race for the title as he now joins McKibbin on 3 wins and one second. It could not be tighter.

Andrew Niblock was not far behind in fourth and in typical fashion seemed to have found the worst line around the course, bringing much of the muck from the mountain back to the finish. There was a rumour that he was attempting to see if he would look more like his brother if he darkened his hair. With three Mourne Runners’ in the river getting their weekly wash, attention turned to the first Newcastle Athlete. The battle was on throughout the race between Pol og McWhirt and Eamon Macrickard. The former, in anticipation of his Turkey tan had vowed to catch a few rays at the back of the lake if things were not going well was disappointed as his club mate was keeping the race honest. Eventually ‘oggy’ was able to do enough and crossed the line with the usual sighs and shaking of the head 7 seconds ahead of Eamon, who of course was happy and smiling. Perhaps there is a lesson to be learnt by both men!!! A strong contender for the most improved runner in the history of the universe must be Willie Marks. For years Willie has been a solid citizen and a regular in places between 20 and 30. This year he has been a revelation and finished a strong 7th, his second top 10 in the last three races and his highest ever Hill and Dale finish.

Word from the top of Carn made it clear that we were in for a dramatic climax in the ladies race. As our leading ladies approached the finish it was ward who hung toughest to pip Orr by the important margin of 1 second. Shannon came home a gallant third, 11 seconds behind the winner. The Ladies series hangs in the balance too with all to race for in the three remaining weeks.

While the Hill and Dale series is a great breeding ground for the future of Northern Ireland fell running, it would be remiss to ignore those in the field who have very personal reasons and ambitions in running and this week it is apposite to mention a few of these brave souls. Firstly there is Declan McElroy, or ‘Big Decky’ to his mate who this week managed to finish an impressive 28th, spectacular some might add in light of the fact that he had to navigate four mountains while constantly looking at his heart rate monitor to ensure that it remained at a steady 50 beats per minute. Anything above this could result in the type of chaos caused by a butterfly fluttering its wings in the South Pacific and lets face it we don’t need that type of stress. Secondly there is Paul Fegan, who fearing that he might lose his coveted 75th place hit the turbo charger with 50 metres to go and just about managed to get the reverse thrust functional prior to hitting the main road. There are some who would argue that Paul needs to hit the turbo a bit earlier in the race. Finally there is Downpatrick’s ‘Good Samaritan’ and all round good egg Garry McLoughlin who put his personal performance to one side to ensure the safety of a fellow competitor, Up and Running’s’ Cathal Murphy (perhaps they should be renamed ‘Down and Hobbling’. It must be noted that he did make a big effort in the last yard to pip his crestfallen soul-mate by a single second.

For many the Loughshanagh is a mere excuse to get out for the night and spend some time with Mary Margaret at the post-race festivities in the Hoeseshoe Bar that have now become legendary. When the race organiser finally got to the kitchen there was hardly standing room as many of those exhausted by the race had got their so-called second wind. There was David Bell, who seemed to know as many people as the landlady herself, the effervescent and ebullient McLoughlin was holding court and exchanging anecdotes as only he can, obviously none the weary from his ambling in the hills an hour earlier. Eamon McCrickard was also to be found putting the world to right. In fact there were times when there were more drinking tea in the Kitchen than there were drinking stout in the bar. All in all it was like something you would see in Listonvarna or at least in the lyrics of a song about Listonvarna! A word of warning that next year there will be backstage passes issues and groupies will be turned away at the parlour door otherwise there will be no perks associated with organising a race.

Followers of this column will have read with certain amusement the sandwich saga featuring the McCann family a few weeks ago. Well, word has it that other club members were impressed by this and are vaingloriously trying to better it. This week’s contender is club chairman, Martin McVeigh, who at his age should really know better. He had decided to run to the start of the race (rumours abound that he left at lunchtime on Tuesday!!!) and agreed that his delightful sandwiches would be picked up and brought to the pub. Of course when the sandwiches were sought they were nowhere to be found. Nothing more was thought of it until the svelte and sweaty figure of McVeigh turned up at the finish line. When a few unpleasant words, which for legal reasons cannot be printed, were exchanged before it was discovered that the said cheese butties were in his rucksack and had spent two hours there, wedged between the baking sun and his sweaty back as he meandered through the mountains. Needless to say that those who privy to the story were careful about what they ate.

Anyway, back to the Horseshoe bar where the landlady had certainly been preparing for the runners. An urn of tea was on the go and a sultana cake for the organisers that had been requisitioned in Dundalk and imported especially for the occasion. As Usual the sandwiches were scoffed in record time, though some did complain that there were a few unusually salty ones on offer this week.

Next week sees the competitors tackle the Rocky course (anti-clockwise). It should prove interesting as the main competitors should all be out to stake their claim for the titles in both the open and ladies categories. Registration begins at Leitrim Lodge at 6.30pm and runners are asked to register early.

Teams