As dawn broke on a mild overcast Saturday 23 cars wound their way up Kilmashogue Lane to assemble for the 6 o’clock start of the Wicklow Way Relay. All the preparation had been done, the marshalls had their instructions, the road signs in place and the folks in Shillelagh were expecting a crowd. As one person put it, "it was like dropping a large piece of mercury could it all be ever reunited again". The larger than expected entry, the backup crew and well wishers all added to the excitement of the occasion but their was tension too, would the handover runner be in place, would one get lost, would the weather change, should we have packed a head torch.

Following a roll call and countdown all runners started on time at 6.00.00. The early pace was very sensible and the leading pack stayed together for some time. The difficulty about writing these reports is you don’t see too much from the back and have to rely on snippets you pick up at starts and finishes.

This first stage, finishing at Curtletown, was won by Hugh McLindon (Team Free Cobh) who caught his team-mate, Eoin Keith in the only two-man team, by surprise and while he put on his shoes was passed by the next two teams to finish after great runs by Sean Whelan and Gerry Lalor.

On this second stage (Curtletown to Lough Tay), gauged by many to be the hardest, several runners mentioned being cold. This is interesting as the day, although overcast, was quite mild at road level and had not yet started raining and this empathises the exposed nature and height of this route. By the time the runners had got to the section where they contoured Djouce they were in cloud and most were not clothed enough and felt quite cold. This should be born in mind by future runners on this route particularly if there is threat of bad weather. This stage was won with a really excellent run by John McEnri who completed the 14km very hilly course in 1.10.55 and resulted in a change in team leadership to Setanta Scallywags.

From when this event was muted last September it was always planned to make it as inclusive as possible to almost any runner ready to do the prep. To this end team membership was allowed from two to eight with further restrictions placed as the number rose and stage three was added. Stage three (Lough Tay to Oldbridge) was advertised as the easy leg, 8km and all down hill (a little lie) however as things turned out the race was won and lost on this leg. Things went pear-shaped for Setanta Scallywags when their runner to quote a phrase "running with a New Zealand compass" lost a few minutes in a slight detour. The stage was won by Hugh McLindon to put Free Cobh back in front.

The briefing notes for stage 4 (Oldbridge to Glendalough) states the leg does NOT go through Laragh.

This part of the Wicklow Way was changed a few years ago, a few of the older guides still contain the old route. Worried about this an extra briefing note was sent to team leaders about the route in the days previous to the race. The runner seen going through Laragh with briefing note in hand has been noted in the results but the team was not disqualified, as they were not in contention. The runners also caught the officials out on his leg with one arriving before they were in place however there were many competitors on hand to record the time. A series of quick phone calls were needed to bring forward the rest of the day’s marshalling schedule. Gerry Lalor (Setanta Scallywag) had the quickest official time on this leg beating Eoin Keith by one second.

Leg 5 saw the runners climb out of Glendalough and into Glenmalure, finishing at Drumgoff. Only one runner, Gerry Brady (Team 02WW8) managed to do this in under the hour (58.40). The descent off the slopes of Mullacor was very slippery and there were a few fallers.

A reference in the briefing notes of leg 6 (Drumgoff to Aughavannagh) will haunt runners for years to come, which read "this section is quite muddy but will be dried out by June". This route was surveyed in February but conditions last Saturday were way worse. The track off Carrickashane was liquid mud and attempting to run was dangerous although a few of the hardened hill runners were pleased to see the roadrunners slowed down. It had started to rain at this stage but it was quite mild and there was some sense of excitement at the stage end at Iron Bridge. During the course of the handover here at least 44 cars visited, a level of traffic we did not envisage. The stage winner was Eoin Keith in a time of 1.01.49 completing his third stage.

Stage 7 (Aughavannagh to Derry River Tinahely) the longest at 18 km was considered by most to be one of the nicest mainly run on back country roads and lanes. Several runners experienced navigational problems on this leg, some by not following the briefing note and some by paying too much attention to it. One should carry one of the many simple maps produced for the Wicklow Way on this route. John O’Connell (Duathletes) was fastest with a time of 1.27.30

Stage 8 ( Derry River to Shillelagh), not one of the most attractive with too much road and farming muck but the stage end at Taylor’s Bar in Shillelagh offered a nice veranda to cheer in the finishers. Bernard Fortune (Chairman’s Team) is credited with the fastest time (1.06), as there is a question mark over the route taken on a much faster but unrealistic time. The overall winners were Free Cobh in a time of 8.46.52 with Setanta Scallywags just 58 seconds behind, followed home by Duathletes in 9.02.16

So what did we learn after 143 runners completed some part of a course of 104km in 12.00 hours.

On the positive side the event is definitely viable and most people expressed the opinion that they enjoyed it as long as you didn’t ask them too near them finishing. Another plus we raised over €2000 for our Junior Fund. On the logistic side there is no need to start so early. We feel we got the handicap of teams with high numbers right, there were predictions of team with 8 running away with the event but in reality you have to go to 6^th place before a team of eight features. Such a close finish would also suggest that the handicap works but this close finish has serious ramifications for the integrity of the route. The event is a relay on the Wicklow Way rather than running the whole and exact WW. We like the finish in Shillelagh but the final road run is boring and dangerous we must see can we find a nicer route to the finish. Major scope for going off route (Knockree & Laragh) will have to be manned (volunteers willing). Smaller route deviations (like loop on leg3) will have to be tied down, probably by allowing the shorter variation as the close finish show a minute could make the difference between 1^st and 2^nd but it would be unrealistic to expect these to be manned in some cases for up to 4 hours.

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