West Wicklow Roar

r0nanf

Brilliant event, my first adventure race and I'm going to be back for more. Can't wait to get going on a few more this summer! Did the Sports class and was hoping for 2:30 but got in at 2:12 so I'm delighted. Pretty shot today though, but thanks to the organizers & staff for a great day, and to the north atlantic weather patterns for p/ssing off for a few days!

guapos

4 stars (good)

Oryx wrote: »

I think I met that kamikaze sheep too, on that bad bit of road. were there many dnfs yesterday?

i stopped to chat to a fella on the last cycle who was sitting on the side of the road, he said he had been feeling a bit dizzy. i offered him food and water but he politely refused, i let the next steward i came across know about him. hopefully he was able to finish, i cant remember his number

aliocroc

Hi Folks,
Just a note to the lads to say thanks a mill for a great day, was really well run and enjoyed every second of it!

The MC for the race HQ was a serious laugh, (Dont know he name-Brian was it?)

Found the course great-didnt half wither on the return cycle-
I done the sports,
The kayak was great (knew i wouldn't need the arms after so just went all out!)
the 1st cycle-grand,
the run-tough-legs just couldn't get goin on the sand
the return cycle-cramps for the last 3k & those last few little hills nearly took me outa it altogether-was so glad to get back in.

Massage/physio was the business!! She had stones that had been resting in the ice bucket-they were brill! No aches after, done the stretching she recommended and was grand today-even made it to training this morning!!

Fair play lads, top notch!
(ye must be blessed with the weather gods too!)

Excuseless

Full results including all splits analysis information are now up on www.roar.ie

Also there are all the photos of the event.

Well done to all Boardies!

Roaring on toward Achill ..................:)

GoHardOrGoHome

4 stars (good)

aliocroc wrote: »

The MC for the race HQ was a serious laugh, (Dont know he name-Brian was it?)

Fair play lads, top notch!
(ye must be blessed with the weather gods too!)

Brian Keogh's his name. Bit of a legend. Great craic. The weather always seems to be perfect. Achill Roar last September, WAR and now Wicklow Roar. Rituals slaughtering livestock must have been performed. Nobody gets weather that good consistently!

Jip

4 stars (good)

Did the Sports and really enjoyed it, fair play to all you lads who done the expert !

Wish I didn't see those splits now My first bike transition was dire, in the 200 placings, but I made it up on the cycle out and the run. The "run" was a killer, wasn't much running done up the mountain to begin with but got into my stride and shot back down again with another guy.

What can I say about the bloody beach that hasn't already been said ! It was either strength sapping soft sand or lots of rocks. I thought that was going to be a relief after the mountain section. Tried to keep as close to the water as possible in the firmer wet stuff but with the head down I found myself surrounded by water as I ran into a little inlet, no choice but to splash through to the other side.

From the splits I lost a lot of time against other competitors on the inward cycle, I was going strong through Valleymount after the first hill after the run did its best to kill me but hit the wall going up that bloody final hill, I was caught by about 4 people there and I was down to my lowest gear.

However I still managed a sub 2 hour time, probably would have got close to a top 20 finish if it hadn't been for me blowing up on the final hill but I can't complain, had fun doing it.

Seen a few unfortunates with flat tyres, broken chains and various bike malfunctions, plus a couple of people looking for a shoe in the bog on the hill and people who had done the beach section first.

There was a nice vibe to they day, a friendly bunch of people and a good mixed crowd of hardcore and amateurs. Well done to everyone and the organisers.

Can anyone tell me what each leg on Winsplits corresponds to ? I'm a little confused about leg 3-4 onwards.

Causeway

Jip wrote: »

Can anyone tell me what each leg on Winsplits corresponds to ? I'm a little confused about leg 3-4 onwards.

Wasn't there but I think it would be something like this.

S-1 Start to kayak finish/transition 1 in Kayak Section
1-2 Kayak finish/transition 1 in to transition 1 out Transition
2-3 Transition 1 out to transition 2 in 1st Bike
3-4 Trasition 2 in to CP 1a Run to top of hill
4-5 CP 1a to CP 1b Run from top of hill to far end of beach
5-6 CP 1b to transition 2 Run from far end of beach to transition
6-F Transition to finish 2nd Bike

c montgomery

First off congrats to the organisers who did a smashing job, the event left nothing to be desired.

Did the expert course and boy did it test me. I have never struggled as much in a race as i did on the second cycle. I was cycling up cursing myself for even entering the race. Of course it was all worth it in the end and i enjoyed my greasy take away last night happy in the knowledge that i truly deserved it.
I did it in 4:03 which i was happy with but now that i have a time to beat ill be aiming alot higher next year:)

It was a much harder course than WAR i taught, the run's were more energy sapping and again the second cycle was a killer.

Congrats to everyone who took part and hopefully ill see ye all in gael force

trentv

4 stars (good)

BigAl81 wrote: »

Hey,

Great day out yesterday, Here's the sports course mapped out from my Garmin Forerunner....
http://connect.garmin.com/player/34228667

Thanks to all involved, great to get the pics and support from other racers was great, especially on the leg sapping beach run ;o)

Looking forward to GaleForce (and maybe Achill).

Go Team!

I also want to add my thanks to the ROAR team for a flawless race, loved every minute of it and thought the beach run was a great addition, and a lovely surprise on the day.

Here for anyone who wants it is the expert course garmined
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/34313552

dario28

Great Event

Only entered few weeks ago, never did a adventure race just 1 duathlon so thought a few training runs around Howth cliff walk would be like the mountain run....holy shiit that was hardcore, that blue flag in the distance seemed miles away and never getting closer -loved the beach run though was able to reel few lads in, running through the water was so nice as well.

Overall... Excellent race,Excellent t-shirts,Excellent weather,Excellent cool down in lake after- not Excellent horrible sunburn

Only negative is that I didnt know that the times were all combined at the end and came second in elite sports but ended up 5th overall, but ya live ya learn, (lesson learned sprint to finish not walk casually taking off helmet and bag !)....class day out

UpHill

Great event again. Was expecting it to be easier than WAR but boy was
that wide of the mark. Didn't think you could top WAR as a course but think this was every bit as good (bar the feckin beach run torture!)

The start of the second run was class through the bog.

Has anyone distance for the second run - felt alot longer than 7km?

watergal

I finished in one piece -delighted ! Did the sports in 2:18 which I'm happy with as have never done anything like this before. Couldn't feel my arms after the kayak section and was one of the last to get on the bike. Managed to catch some people on the cycle and then on the walk-run ( I walked uphill and then ran down and ran on the beach- although had to retrieve my right runner twice from the sand).
Have never done so much heavy breathing in my life.
Thought my calves would be screaming after the hills, but was fine the next day as long as I didn't make any paddling movements !
Even managed a run yesterday inthe pheonix park.

Very well done to the ROAR guys. Having people out at the junctions to direct/stop the traffic was really appreciated as I have no cycling experience on roads and was crapping myself. This is the first time I've cycled in 26 years ( the last time I ended up in casulty with facial injuries and missed school for 3 months, so has taken me this long to get on a bike)
Mr MC was brilliant - telling us to get the burgers in before the start.
So much better atmosphere for the non-serious competitor than a lot of organised sports out there. Who needs a goody bag full of flyers when you can have an event that's brilliantly organised and a great atmosphere.
Very well done everybody !

trentv

4 stars (good)

UpHill wrote: »

Great event again. Was expecting it to be easier than WAR but boy was
that wide of the mark. Didn't think you could top WAR as a course but think this was every bit as good (bar the feckin beach run torture!)

The start of the second run was class through the bog.

Has anyone distance for the second run - felt alot longer than 7km?

In fact it was less than 7km i think, i have it at just under 6.5, maybe someone else will correct me but i think thats right. It was very tough though, the hill just kept on coming!

BigAl81

4 stars (good)

Hey hey,

Just looking at the race pics, great photos up there ;o) I might have been hallucinating from dehydration, but I'm pretty sure there was a photographer on the beach at the point where you turn around and head back for the bikes.

Anyone know if these pics are up online??

Thanks again to the photographers, great to get some action shots from the day ;o)

Go Team!

nerraw1111

4 stars (good)

Great event from start to finish.

The girl that fell on the way to the kayak on wave 1030 wasn't able to continue. She helped out the MC identifying racers finishing. The MC was great craic, as the last of the elites were finishing the kayak section, he suggested that some of them must'veve ticked the wrong category.

Did the sports. The mountain run was very tough, thought the uphill section was fairly un runable. The beach run was hellish but a great route. Made it under two hours for top 20 finish which I'm delighted about.

Can't believe I was contemplating the expert course, I was ****** after the run.

Well done to the organisers, great atmosphere throughout. Great location to start and finish a race.

UpHill

trentv wrote: »

In fact it was less than 7km i think, i have it at just under 6.5, maybe someone else will correct me but i think thats right. It was very tough though, the hill just kept on coming!

Sorry I meant to say the first run - I'll eat my shorts if it was less than 9km

Jip

4 stars (good)

Yeah, felt alot longer than 7km to me too, I'm pretty sure my garmin concurred when I had a quick glimpse at the end of it but I can't be sure, it may have been the toughness making it feel a lot longer.

nerraw1111

4 stars (good)

I have the first run as 7.3km so I'd say the measurement was fairly accurate, given all the weaving I was doing to find hard packed sand.

UpHill

nerraw1111 wrote: »

I have the first run as 7.3km so I'd say the measurement was fairly accurate, given all the weaving I was doing to find hard packed sand.

Thanks Newraw1111, very deceptive run - guess I'm having a short sandwich for lunch today, got to be better than a powerbar...

chem100479

4 stars (good)

Fair play to Total Experience for organising a great event. Really enjoyed the day. I thought it was well organised and had something for everyone from elite to amateurs! Brian Keogh the MC was very funny. Disappointed abit with my own sports time so need to do more bricks in preparation for GF in August. Looking forward to WW roar next year and giving the expert section a go.:)

watergal

anyone doing jog in the bog ? Says the super 6 is ok for novices..but unless I do some intensive training over the next month I think it would be way too hard.. any thoughts ?

chem100479

4 stars (good)

Hi Watergal,
I'm definitely doing Jog in the bog as a competitive training session for GF in August. I know GF is alot tougher but JITB is a stepping stone. Did WW roar at weekend and the reality hit me that i need to get proper training for GF. I cramped badly at the end getting off the bike (not a nice experience!!). I think i did too much bike work and not enough running to be honest.Plan to do the Super 6 event as Super 8 may be a stretch too far at the moment. I would prefer to push myself for the shorter event anyway. Now i need to get a mayo based training partner!!

watergal

I've just entered JITB... Must be mad !! o well, It'll keep me busy ..
Only did the sports last weekend ( which is probably why I didn't have any cramps etc ..apart from the fact that I was slow !), so have a bit of work to do..
I'm going to base my training on running with cycling as cross training - maybe run 4 times a week and cycle 2/3 times (one longer cycle and 2 shorter ones). I'll have to see what I'm capable of though . Need to grow some muscles in my arms for the aul paddling ..

Wonkagirl

chem100479 wrote: »

I think i did too much bike work and not enough running to be honest.

A common enough mistake.. It's won and lost on the running elements really IMO.. i do the odd AR with a friend who's big into cycling and cycles 4-5 times a week, but i focus on the running while training (now incorporating hills) and i always kick her ass on times.. I only plan on cycling once a week really in training for gael force, and running the rest of the time, on hills as much as possible.. Gonna focus on building up some strength this year too, which will help when the muscles get fatigued.

missed wicklow roar (hungover) but heard it was awesome.. planning on doing the hellfire duathlon 10 days prior to GFW- looks good-
http://hellfire.wicklowadventurerace.com/

Oryx

4 stars (good)

Im a weak cyclist and thats where I lost placings. So you do need to work hard on that too. I think for these races its not just running you need to train at, but specifically hill running, on steep muthas of hills, ordinary road running wont cut it. I didnt run up much of the hills in roar, and even found the downhills tricky, but still I had plenty of people slower than me on those stages. Yeah, you have to be able to run them if youre planning a top 20 placing, but most end up walking.

Am already signed up for hellfire and war glenmalure, these events are brilliantly organised and have one hell of an atmosphere. It makes them addictive.

joetie

2 stars (poor)

chem100479 wrote: »

.... Brian Keogh the MC was very funny.

I agree that the race was well organised and in comparsion with some (if not all) other events of this type good value for money. One small comment I would make though is that I thought the MC got a bit carried away particularly with some of the later finishers - almost a case of laughing at rather than with... If you don't want people of that standard in the race enforce a mid point cut-off time but don't take their entry fee and then publicly ridicule! From talking to a few finishers between the 5-6hr mark they were a bit annoyed with him and felt that it took away from the joy (and relief) of finishing

dario28

joetie wrote: »

I agree that the race was well organised and in comparsion with some (if not all) other events of this type good value for money. One small comment I would make though is that I thought the MC got a bit carried away particularly with some of the later finishers - almost a case of laughing at rather than with... If you don't want people of that standard in the race enforce a mid point cut-off time but don't take their entry fee and then publicly ridicule! From talking to a few finishers between the 5-6hr mark they were a bit annoyed with him and felt that it took away from the joy (and relief) of finishing

I agree - he made a comment about 3 lads perhaps picking the wrong race after the kayak of the longer race....not the thing you need to hear when you still have 3 hours plus ahead of ya ....im sure he is on a learning curve like rest of us though !

chem100479

4 stars (good)

I did hear since that a number of late finishers were not happy with Mr Keogh & co as they had started to take down finishing line etc before all competitors had completed the course! Not cool. Organisers need to learn more about respect i think! Wouldnt blame them for being annoyed. From what i have noticed at these events some of the elites adventure racers take themselves very seriously.

Enduro

chem100479 wrote: »

From what i have noticed at these events some of the elites adventure racers take themselves very seriously.

What exactly do you mean by that?

Peterx

Good man Enduro...sick it to him...

More seriously though I think any race organiser in this country is on a hiding to nothing trying to accomodate everyone. Novelty events like a jog in a bog or a run in some muck are probably the best way forward in that no one would expect too much from them and they are short so the organisers and often voluntary marshalls are not out waiting on folk with unrealistic assessments of their abilities....

The clue was in the title, it mentioned the word "race". There's a sports course put in place expressly to include as many folk as possible after all.

4 girls took 10 hours to do GF6 one year, at a recent IMRA hillrun the organiser was in position from 11am to nearly 8pm on a race that took less then 3 hours for some runners.

chem100479

4 stars (good)

Peterx ....to her actually.:o

Enduro, sorry didnt mean to imply anything negative. I know you are a top athlete from other posts of yours i've read. I mean you guys (or girls) do a serious amount of training and rightfully deserve to do well. To do well you have take it seriously. Fair play i say. Maybe one day i can reach that pinnacle!!
I guess i've had afew occassions where elites on the circuit have made fun of the fact that i'm abit on the slow side. Ok i'm abit sensitive and we are talking a very very small number of people but its still not nice. I enter the sports events to improve but i certainly want to push myself and do as good as i can in the placings.

Oryx

4 stars (good)

I wasnt fast (did the expert version) but friends who were two of the top twenty finishers waited for me to come in. They were very supportive. (I felt so loved. )Point is, you elite guys do respect the plebs like me who are just getting into the sport, and if I get giggled at for being slow, then thats all part of the plan to toughen me up and make me go faster next time. Even on here in April, pre WAR I was told to HTFU. You cant take offence at that, youve got to take the advice on board.

watergal

fair play to the elites... some of us can just look on in awe ..
If anyone says anything to me I just laugh or give the finger ( depending how tired I am at the time..) finger is always accompanied with a smile !!:)

chem100479

4 stars (good)

chem100479 wrote: »

I did hear since that a number of late finishers were not happy with Mr Keogh & co as they had started to take down finishing line etc before all competitors had completed the course! Not cool. Organisers need to learn more about respect i think! Wouldnt blame them for being annoyed. From what i have noticed at these events some of the elites adventure racers take themselves very seriously.

Just want to apologise to the organisers of WW roar. Spoke to afew sources since and the above is complete rubbish i.e. finishing line not taken down. I basically believed what someone told me without checking the facts! Its hard enough for TE organising the event without hearing inaccurate comments like the above. Would hate to think that my comments would put anyone off completing in this event. As i stated originally i really enjoyed the day and i look forward to Achill in September!;) Well done Total Experience and keep up the good work!

Enduro

chem100479 wrote: »

Peterx ....to her actually.:o

Enduro, sorry didnt mean to imply anything negative. I know you are a top athlete from other posts of yours i've read. I mean you guys (or girls) do a serious amount of training and rightfully deserve to do well. To do well you have take it seriously. Fair play i say. Maybe one day i can reach that pinnacle!!
I guess i've had afew occassions where elites on the circuit have made fun of the fact that i'm abit on the slow side. Ok i'm abit sensitive and we are talking a very very small number of people but its still not nice. I enter the sports events to improve but i certainly want to push myself and do as good as i can in the placings.

Nothing negative taken. Thanks for the clarification. You're right of course... the top competitors do a serious amount of training (not at all implying that others don't!). It's still all done for enjoyment though.