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Gaelforce West 2016

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  • 23-08-2016 10:06am
    #1
    hurlersx
    Registered Users Posts: 21 ✭


    Hi guys,

    Anyone do the race last Saturday with opinions on the event.

    Was my fourth time to do it and first time to leave Westport disappointed with the event.
    I arrived at the foot of Croagh Patrick to hear that they were not allowing people to go the summit and were only dibbing in at the shoulder of the mountain. I was disappointed to hear this when I arrived at the transition and to see later on that only 170 people were afforded the opportunity to complete the course in its entirety. For me, the decision not to allow people to go to the summit should be made before the race and be applied to all entrants in the interest of fairness.

    Anybody out there who got to go to the summit on Saturday that can comment on conditions as they went up?

    Thanks
    Tagged:


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    #2
    ThisRegard
    Closed Accounts Posts: 27,833 ✭✭✭✭ThisRegard


    What time did you get to the foot at? I've done it previously in which they had cut offs for Croagh Patrick. It is understandable though given the weather.


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    #3
    hurlersx
    Registered Users Posts: 21 ✭hurlersx


    That wasn't the issue, was there around midday. I think even some people from first wave also didn't get up to top, only those fast enough to compete at the top end I guess.
    I would understand if it was a cut off time issue. I think last year, if you didn't make the shoulder of the mountain by the cut off time, you could do the shoulder twice to compensate. I asked about this at the transition but was told do it once


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    #4
    Losty Dublin
    Registered Users Posts: 13,103 ✭✭✭✭Losty Dublin


    There was a yellow weather alert called so I can't blame the organisers for limiting people on making the full climb. Disappointing I am sure but a certain amount of safety needs to come into it.


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    #5
    Peterx
    Registered Users Posts: 2,116 ✭✭✭Peterx


    The mist was very low this year, down to the base of the zig-zags. For the first time since free route choice came in I took the the zig-zags on the way up as I couldn't see up.
    Visibility remained low.
    I think putting a control back on the bend in the zig-zags and making it mandatory for all to go up and down the zig-zags would lessen the worry of lads getting either lost in the mist or worse, breaking a leg in the mist somewhere on the side of the mountain.

    As to your general point I think with the way the cut-off is at a certain time of the day (as opposed to how long you take to get there) if you really want to complete the course you should go in the first wave to improve your chances of making it.
    Best of luck next year.
    This year the weather (wind) was high on the minds of the organisers. They were close to cancelling the kayaks until the worst of the wind shifted down towards Kerry.
    The ITERA event on at the same time had many stages cancelled due to weather.


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