Wicklow Way Relay 11/6/2011

jeffontour

4 stars (good)

I had it in my head this was a weekend earlier than it is. Which means I'll actually be in the middle of a taper so I'll have to pull out, before being told I'm not selected!

I will be available to ferry runners hither and tither and act as general dogsbody on the day. Next best thing to racing is following the action through Wickla.

Woddle

I think I've gone from last pick to 4th last with all the withdrawls, if this keeps up I may just make a team

donothoponpop

4 stars (good)

RD has contacted all team leaders looking for finalized teamsheets. I've sent in the two teams for Boards. Please see the private forum for more info.

In other news, went for a recce of leg 1 Friday evening with a couple of Rathfarnham wannabes. Of course they blazed ahead of us. I noticed some indecision at keypoints, mind;)

Slogger Jogger

Thanks dpop. Recces are the name of the game now guys.

Peterx

4 stars (good)

Yep,
Recces are good. Happy to see indecision on recces, especially by those two fine Rathfarnham men, one of whom also recced leg 5 on sunday.
dedication to the cause!

donothoponpop

4 stars (good)

Peterx wrote: »

Yep,
Recces are good. Happy to see indecision on recces, especially by those two fine Rathfarnham men, one of whom also recced leg 5 on sunday.
dedication to the cause!

Dedication to the cause indeed! I wonder could I borrow your Captain's boot? Some of our would-be-recce'ers could do with a kick up the ar$e...;)

Slogger Jogger

@dpop. See. Thats what happens when you diverge into the teeshirt business. You get distracted from your true calling as ar$e kicker for the WWR team

donothoponpop

4 stars (good)

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

@dpop. See. Thats what happens when you diverge into the teeshirt business. You get distracted from your true calling as ar$e kicker for the WWR team

All those huge tshirt profits have made me soft. No more. I'm trading in the Ferrari for a 1970's adidas tracksuit and a whistle. Peeep! Lift dem knees! Pweeep! Gerrup dat hill! Phweeeepp! Gerrout and DO YER BLEEDIN' RECCES!!!

jb-ski

Any normal folks (i.e. non Boards team super-dooper mountain folk:)) on here doing this/registered as team?

Teams of 5,6,7,8??
Relatively inexperienced hill/trail runners?

GoHardOrGoHome

Good God! Would you believe this is the first time I've seen this thread?! (stupid work taking up my valuable time!).

Looking damn strong.

Have the teams been finalised? I'm not on form at the moment but if I do happen to post a good recce time would I be considered?

I could also hang around some other teams in case they have a few withdrawals!

GoHardlyAtAllTheseDays

Peterx

4 stars (good)

GoHardOrGoHome wrote: »

Have the teams been finalised? I'm not on form at the moment but if I do happen to post a good recce time would I be considered?

I could also hang around some other teams in case they have a few withdrawals!

GoHardlyAtAllTheseDays

My top tip for posting a good recce time is to;

A: pick your leg carefully
B: do it on a mountain bike - you just have to be careful not to go too fast on the downhills as that shows up on the garmin graph;)

This WWR is turning more and more into a culchie disco from the 80's, gangs of young lads mooning about at the end of the night looking for some action and only a few spots available!

donothoponpop

4 stars (good)

Teams for 2011 are out....

Rathfarnham mean business this year!
Crusaders look good too.
Great to see a team of two running it again!
Nifty 50's! Boards should have tried out 40+ team idea for the craic:D
UCD, All the Prez, SET, le Cheile, etc, etc,...

What a great line-up! All set to be a classic!

jeffontour

4 stars (good)

I've changed my plans for the next couple of months, again, so if teams are not set in stone I will be hoping to prove my worth in a couple of races and getting some recces in. As mentioned before however if not running I will provide support on the day.

donothoponpop

4 stars (good)

GoHardOrGoHome wrote: »

Have the teams been finalised? I'm not on form at the moment but if I do happen to post a good recce time would I be considered?

jeffontour wrote: »

I've changed my plans for the next couple of months, again, so if teams are not set in stone I will be hoping to prove my worth in a couple of races and getting some recces in. As mentioned before however if not running I will provide support on the day.

Please see the private WWR forum regarding Boards team selection and recce's. Teams need to be finalized, so that runners who don't make the team are given time to seek other teams to run for. I'm blue in the face repeating the main criterion for team selection for months now!:D

Slogger Jogger

Looks great. The nify 50s could be the dark horse.

I can picture ocnoc looking at the opposition and requesting a leg change to run against his favoured opponents

Pronator

4 stars (good)

Some standard folks, it will bring out the best in all of us:D

Peterx

4 stars (good)

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

Looks great. The nify 50s could be the dark horse.

I can picture ocnoc looking at the opposition and requesting a leg change to run against his favoured opponents

I might be wrong but it looks like the nifty 50's are not a full team as they only have the one (super) woman?

Slogger Jogger

Good spot. Joe did say that some teams weren't competitive as such alright.

I noticed too that the same girl is listed as running the same leg for teams 28 and 29. Thats a mean trick if she pulls it off

Magnet

Heading to Wicklow to do a few Recces on Sunday morning if anyone wants to join in..
We`ll be starting Leg 3 about 11.30 (ish), onto Legs 6 too a bit later

ocnoc

3 stars (average)

Liking the team lists.
Rathf team, on paper, will win it hands down. However, I have full faith in one of them missing a turn.
Can't write off the Motley Cru either.

Will all make for an exciting day

ocnoc going for a run on first leg friday first thing after my exam (via food and a beer.. might do it in the dark :P)

thirstywork2

Could be wrong here but i heard kevin keane broke his collar bone last weekend.Rathfarmnham got a replacemnt?

Peterx

4 stars (good)

thirstywork2 wrote: »

Could be wrong here but i heard kevin keane broke his collar bone last weekend.Rathfarmnham got a replacemnt?

We nearly have a replacement team! never mind replacing one young lad, our cup is overflowing with young lads...

In fact a certain other strong WWR team has already started recruiting them.

company law has something about a takeover attempted being triggered at 30% so I await the 37.5% point with interest now that Rathfarnham athletes are providing 25% of this mysterious team:D

ocnoc

3 stars (average)

That sort of comment might get mod'd, I'd be careful

Krusty_Clown

4 stars (good)

Peterx wrote: »

We nearly have a replacement team! never mind replacing one young lad, our cup is overflowing with young lads...

Sounds like you're the Man United of the Wicklow Way Relay world, while the rest of us have to cobble teams together with superglue and scotch tape. Rumour has it there were even trials for places.. Sounds like a case of Goliath versus all the teams of Davids.

donothoponpop

4 stars (good)

Peterx wrote: »

We nearly have a replacement team! never mind replacing one young lad, our cup is overflowing with young lads...

In fact a certain other strong WWR team has already started recruiting them.

company law has something about a takeover attempted being triggered at 30% so I await the 37.5% point with interest now that Rathfarnham athletes are providing 25% of this mysterious team:D

It's evens stevens in the industrial espionage stakes. (bazman and Peterx)= 25%, we're relying on you both to show your true loyalties as Boardsies on the day. Stick to the plan lads, yis know which junction to go "astray" at.:)

donothoponpop

4 stars (good)

What do people think is the toughest leg? Leaving aside the obvious (a 30 min leg 8 is harder than a 4 hr leg7), its interesting to see how the different legs compare.

To my mind, the toughest are the ones with more than one climb. You blitz the first, fly downhill, and the legs are cooked for the second uphill.

*Leg 1 is like this, but the second climb is relatively benign, you can still move the legs up it. 7am racing start can't be nice though.

*Leg two is tough. Lots of running, lots of climbing, and thats before you cross the Dargle. And there's a long ways to go yet.

*Three is short and downhill sweet.

*Four is tougher than its given credit for.

*Five isn't too bad, a relatively shallow climb (if long), and run down to the end. There's a long flat section on the run-in though.

*Six is steep at the start, cook the legs a bit on the road going down, drag them up again, and cripple your calfs on the downhill. There's a flat section to drag them up again, before one of the fastest downhills on the relay.

*Seven is long long long. (And because of jackass carparkers, a crucial 1.3k longer:mad:). Its all about pacing, many a runner has run well to the halfway point, fast down on the road, and crossed the river to realize their legs don't work anymore going up the long country hills that need crossing. There's a long gated section that can go on forever (great underfoot, though), before running down to the finish by the river. Before realizing you have to dodge traffic and plod up a long and never-ending kilometer to the changeover. If you've ever parked your car in years gone by, down by the Derry river Bridge, do an act of contrition:D

*Leg 8. Don't get lost, and run it as hard as you can. I'm sure the end seems like a long time coming, but its a relatively easy leg. Plus you get to hold your arms aloft at the end!

So for me, I'd say its a fight between 2, 6, and 7, for the hardest leg, with 2 shading 6, and a well-run 7 being the toughest.

thirstywork2

I have ran the wicklow realy twice with leg 1 twice and the final leg once.
The final leg is very handy and the first is a solid leg but setting off so early can be difficult and more likely to take a wrong turn.
i had to wait a couple if times on leg one the firt time but that was my own fault.
7 is the toughest by far !!!

ocnoc

3 stars (average)

Leg 7 is hard because its vaguely long.
Any half descent half marathoner should blitz it.

Leg 5 looks sh1t. A slow drag up and then your legs get a hammering on the fire road on the way down

ocnoc

3 stars (average)

donothoponpop wrote: »

"astray"

Went out on my recce today with a a bucket of yellow paint.
I found a lot of the signs were wrong at all the critical junctions, so I took the liberty of correcting them

I'm assuming all boardies have done their recce's already

donothoponpop

4 stars (good)

ocnoc wrote: »

Leg 7 is hard because its vaguely long.
Any half descent half marathoner should blitz it.

Leg 5 looks sh1t. A slow drag up and then your legs get a hammering on the fire road on the way down

That's what everyone thinks about 7- look at it on the map, not too much elevation, plenty of road- sure its a half-er's dream.

Not so. There is probably more variety of terrain on this leg than any other, and you add that into the Up/Down/Flat/Up/Down... if you're a road runner doing this, and don't run it correctly, you will blow up going up the first lane on Ballycumber. And its very easy to let yourself walk along the cow-pitted grass trails, as your Nike Zoom's feel every slop and divot- and thats before you hit the beech forest stones...

Leg 7 needs very smart pacing!

donothoponpop

4 stars (good)

ocnoc wrote: »

Went out on my recce today with a a bucket of yellow paint.
I found a lot of the signs were wrong at all the critical junctions, so I took the liberty of correcting them

I'm assuming all boardies have done their recce's already

I ran half of 5 today at lunch time- its a good leg to run up. Reckon you can be almost blitzed on the top, and still perform on the downhill;)

I will let your final sentence hang in the ether, permeating the unconscious of those few still yet to recce (if there are any, don't think so). If I don't come for ya in your nightmares, ocnoc will:)

Slogger Jogger

Thats the great thing about the relay. Each leg has its own personality and you can try compare but everyone will still have their own opinions one way or another. Leg 2 is a toughy, but then you look at the record time by Brian McMahon and think OMG. Similarly the old record on leg 7 by John Brooks, with the M40+ Mick Byrne not too far behind in the time stakes. Legs 5 and 6 are very similar time-wise and climbwise. Leg 5 has lots of trail. 98% of it would welcome the cushioning of a nice road shoe, but the 2% on open mountain and down through the trees could send you on your backside sliding. The downhill to the river on leg 6 is seriously fast, but on sore and tired legs its a killer. I love this event.

Pronator

4 stars (good)

I've run leg's 1-4, 8 so can't comment on 5-7 other than looking at a map and everything looks flat on a map:D

Of the one's I've run, leg 2 is the toughest by far, get your pacing wrong here and you have a long journey to the finish:eek:

Leg 8 has to be one of the toughest, I mean you have the hopes of a team on your shoulders;) that has to play on anyone:D

PS - Another recce of Leg 8 this next week, any takers? Donothoponpop and SJ any evening suit ye(wed - sun), yis are locals:D

BeepBeep67

I can try for next Sat morn.

GoHardOrGoHome

donothoponpop wrote: »

What do people think is the toughest leg?

To my mind, the toughest are the ones with more than one climb. You blitz the first, fly downhill, and the legs are cooked for the second uphill.

*Five isn't too bad, a relatively shallow climb (if long), and run down to the end. There's a long flat section on the run-in though.

*Six is steep at the start, cook the legs a bit on the road going down, drag them up again, and cripple your calfs on the downhill. There's a flat section to drag them up again, before one of the fastest downhills on the relay.

Disagree fundamentally with you there DP! I did Leg 5 last year and found the continuous drag tough and I slowed down. Then I found the continuous downhill very tough with no respite.

I much prefer the two stage nature of Leg 6. Bit of up, recover on the descent, another hill then recover on that. Yes, bit of a tough descent but it doesn't last forever.

I find the alternating climbing and descending alternates the fatigue on the different muscles.

I reckon Leg 6 is easier than Leg 5.

Slogger Jogger

@gohard. all so subjective.

Mind you, it could be argued that if you find it easier you are not pushing yourself hard enough. (signs off and runs...)

Magnet

As usual that best laid plans and all that...
What`s the procedure for replacing runners, do I send off a new list to Joe cos I can`t remember his address and I can`t find it on the imra website or i`m blind
I got 2 runners out and 3 subs so not doing too badly yet, still on the verge of being "competitive"...
Also
Say hi if ye see 5 girls lost on the mountains Sunday morning

Magnet

btw
Leg 2 is the toughest but somehow everytime I see Powerscourt waterfall the pain subsides...

donothoponpop

4 stars (good)

Boards B team are in need of a female runner to tackle leg 4. (not too long 9.6k, easy on the climbs). We won't be touching the podium, but a top 10 placing would be nice (just to give some idea of standard). Less than two weeks to go, so we need to know ASAP, to get recce's in etc. We've cannibalized enough of the Rathfarmham club, so it would be nice to get a female runner from these parts. Please slip me a PM if you're interested. Best race of the year!:)

Slogger Jogger

Great to have 2 Boards teams in the relay. This wouldn't have been possible but for the hard work of dpop and the comraderie and cooperation of other teams and running friends, who helped out when injuries befell us. Things like that make me love this sport all the more. Thanks all.

donothoponpop

4 stars (good)

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

Great to have 2 Boards teams in the relay. This wouldn't have been possible but for the hard work of dpop and the comraderie and cooperation of other teams and running friends, who helped out when injuries befell us. Things like that make me love this sport all the more. Thanks all.

Agree with you 100%. We're sorted for our injuries and have full teams, thanks in no small part to Peterx matching those who want runners, to those who want to be runners. All will be in aid of a better day out, and a better race come the relay. Bring it on!

(And to think on a recce I ran with a Rathfarnham wannabe, I planted the seed of doubt at each junction. That wannabe is now running for our team! That's kharma, Peter, come back to bite me on the ass:D)

jb-ski

just out of curiosity, what's the general routine for early leg runners in this?


do they go home? follow the run all day / some of the way??
will there be much activity at the changeover points?


(i'm doing leg 7, so i need to know whether to bring money with me or whether the 'support crew' will be buying me a pint at the finish:D)

Slogger Jogger

jb-ski wrote: »

just out of curiosity, what's the general routine for early leg runners in this?


do they go home? follow the run all day / some of the way??
will there be much activity at the changeover points?


(i'm doing leg 7, so i need to know whether to bring money with me or whether the 'support crew' will be buying me a pint at the finish:D)

Great crack is to be had by finishing your leg and moving on to the next leg to see how its transpiring, and so on until the end which theres usually a nice social buzz around the pub in Shillelagh.

donothoponpop

4 stars (good)

jb-ski wrote: »

just out of curiosity, what's the general routine for early leg runners in this?


do they go home? follow the run all day / some of the way??
will there be much activity at the changeover points?


(i'm doing leg 7, so i need to know whether to bring money with me or whether the 'support crew' will be buying me a pint at the finish:D)

There's usually a decent crowd of early runners following the action from leg to leg. Always a huge crowd at the end, it's a great athmosphere.

Did some of leg 8 tonight- had unexpected company- it's going to be very funny on the day. Moooo!:D

Slogger Jogger

I daresay there was a lot more cows on the leg when we ran it just before you. They scattered into the nearby fields, but some of them must have returned to mark their spot for Saturday.

Ar Strae

4 stars (good)

Yeah often people go from leg to leg or stop off at points to cheer their team-mates through. There's also usually a complicated system of lifts and "I'll drop YOUR car HERE and then drive him THERE" which involves throwing car-keys at the runner you're taking over from.

Recce'd leg 2 last night. Beautiful night for it. A little mist on White Hill but that was about it. Not sure how to pace the leg, there's an awful lot of up. Getting a little tired of seeing Djouce so much this year :rolleyes: Still at least we don't have to summit it this time!

Ro

Patrick_K

jb-ski wrote: »

just out of curiosity, what's the general routine for early leg runners in this?


do they go home? follow the run all day / some of the way??
will there be much activity at the changeover points?


(i'm doing leg 7, so i need to know whether to bring money with me or whether the 'support crew' will be buying me a pint at the finish:D)

JB if you put leave some cans to cool for me under the Iron Bridge at the end of leg 6 I would be most grateful

Krusty_Clown

4 stars (good)

Patrick_K wrote: »

JB if you put leave some cans to cool for me under the Iron Bridge at the end of leg 6 I would be most grateful

I too would be most greatful, though there's a very real risk i might drink them before you arrive Patrick_K.

Patrick_K

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I too would be most greatful, though there's a very real risk i might drink them before you arrive Patrick_K.

Be my guest Krusty! We're going to need all the help we can get and if that involves you stumbling around leg 7 lost and a little legless then so be it!!

jb-ski

Patrick_K wrote: »

JB if you put leave some cans to cool for me under the Iron Bridge at the end of leg 6 I would be most grateful

I'll bring a couple of bottles of Spaten for you.

I have a feeling Krusty may already be sipping pints in Shillelagh before I even start running!