Race 8

Loughshannagh Horseshoe

27th May 2004

Race 8 (of 11)

Loughshannagh Horseshoe is one of, if not the, toughest race in the Hill & Dale season. Thursday night saw the fine summer conditions prevail for the race, but it was the smoke from the heath land fire on Slieve Binnian that the runners had to contend with. The pervasive stench of the smoke hung over the whole route, which took the runners from the start at close to the top of the Spelga Pass to the summits of Ott, Slieve Loughshannagh, Doan and finally Carn.

It is an excellent route with Doan one of the finest summits in the Mournes. For many walkers Doan is visited only as part of a full day's walk. It is one of the most inaccessible peaks in the Mournes, which is part of its beauty. For the runners however, they reach it via Ott and Slieve Loughshannagh in well under half an hour. In the heat of the competition, most are unable to take in the breathtaking scenery, but for leader in the ladies race, LVO's Violet Linton, she made an exception and spent some time on the summit admiring the fabulous cloud patterns in the sky (through the smoky haze) before deciding on her descent route choice.

Then there is the mountain lake itself, Lough Shannagh is a magic scene with a beach to rival those on the Costas with lager louts replaced by hordes of midges to keep the runners moving as fast as possible as they contemplate the steep climb of Carn. Ballydrain's David McNeilly is getting stronger as each week goes by and the race up front was yet another very competitive affair, with Newcastle's Stevie Cunningham racing neck and neck with him. A breakneck descent of Carn to the finish saw the determined McNeilly hold off Cunningham by two seconds. ACKC with Gary Bailey in 3rd, Ed Hanna in 4th and Andrew Niblock in 7th secured a great victory over close rivals Newcastle AC, demonstrating the strength in depth that is once again developing in Mourne running.

As for the ladies race, the aforementioned Linton has been running excellently this season and started fast over the early summits of Ott, Loughshannagh and Doan. Behind her was one of the finds of the season, Newcastle AC's Tish McCann. McCann, by her own admission, 'could not run the length of herself' this time last year. However, she 'discovered' hill running with the realisation that descending at speed is the most exhilarating experience. McCann demonstrates a dogged determination every time she races and is getting stronger on the climbs, but has a natural ability to descend seriously fast and by the middle of the race she saw the opportunity to catch Linton.

A storming descent of Doan saw her close up on Linton and by the summit of Carn there was nothing in it. Then came the turn of speed and McCann descended Carn like the wind to come home 41 seconds clear in a record 53 minutes 20 seconds. Roma McConville held the record, one of the oldest in the book, from 1992 for this course at 53 minutes 50 seconds, so this performance by McCann demonstrates that she has already graduated to being a force to be reckoned with on the tougher fell races.

Another fine race for Series Junior leader, Mid-Ulster's Jonathan McCloy, saw him home in 8th place, half a minute ahead of nearest rival Newcastle's Adam Mitten. With four wins now, McCloy is odds-on favourite for the Series title.

A little word for this week's virgin, Mr Joseph McCann, initiated into the very responsible role of race organiser. How did he measure up? Well let's just say he has all the qualities required, he delegates instinctively, will not do anything that someone else will do; he worries and talks incessantly, someone has to; marks out of ten, definitely better than eight with real potential for the future. McCann acquired four radios for the summit marshal from Marty 'Highpoint' McMullan and what a joy it was for the officials at the start and finish to be able to get feedback as the race progressed from the various summits. One of the marshals in particular, Billy McNeilly, welcomed with open arms McCann's appointment and once again was to be found deep in the mountains on a summit point. Armed with radio, he spoke a couple of times with McCann. McCann, however, was a little over exuberant and McNeilly promptly demonstrated that the sin of 'radio waffle' is almost as bad as not wearing a number and by switching off his radio.

Delighting in his duties, McCann landed in the Horseshoe Bar with a bucket- load of sandwiches and promptly embarked on the prize giving. No one would fault his choice as hard luck story of the night, a return to the archived 70s. Local veteran Jim Patterson made a rare race and then an even rarer post-race appearance in the pub. Seizing on the opportunity, McCann promptly awarded him the hard luck prize for being a fashion disaster for the past 30 years. Surely SAGA should see a massive commercial opportunity here? Patterson is the epitome of the active life post-55, everything that SAGA stands for; it wouldn't come expensive either, just some new gear required; we'd all be grateful.

Meanwhile back in the race, Larne AC's Andy Gregg has been a regular competitor in the Series for a long time now and is arguably in the best shape of his life. He has done all eight races and is regularly in the top six. This week he started off at his usual fast pace and was soon emerging in a leading pack. As the group descended off the first summit, Ott, and approached the beginning of the climb, Gregg suddenly found himself on the wrong side of the wall with others behind him climbing the stile. 'Never panic' is a wise motto in the mountains, but this is a race, there is no time to re-trace steps to the stile as that would cost valuable time. However, the Mourne Wall is a formidable structure and Gregg really doesn't have the rock climbing experience. For the runners on the other side of the wall, it was like a cartoon strip as they passed, with Gregg's head bobbing up and down from the other side over the top of the wall as he struggled to gain a hold to climb it. A shattered figure, he eventually made it and for the first time he finished outside the top ten.

Newcastle AC's fat club convenor Brian Campbell as been distracted by thesis composing from the form of his life and is racing a little bit below his best. Nonetheless he continues to demonstrate the fine art of racing with principle of 'spread yourself as much as possible across a narrow path and let the others run around you', which is not that easy fore the others when the track us surrounded by rough ground. As Campbell would say, 'tough, I beat you to the top, now you'll have to work hard to get past'. He was 23rd this week, with full marks for competitiveness, but beaten once again by his nemesis Barry Wells.

Next week is Rocky, from Leitrim Lodge, as ever a 7.30pm sharp time.

BOGBOY

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