Rathfarnham let it go again
WHEN Donna Mahon ran into Glendalough last Saturday, she was consolidating a 15-minute lead in the Wicklow Way Relay for the Rathfarnham WSAF team.
Although Glendalough is halfway through the 104km race held in eight stages from from Kilmashogue in Co Dublin to Shillelagh in Co Wicklow, team member Peter O'Farrell was not counting his chickens.
"All we need is to get to Shillelagh without making any mistakes -- but every year we make mistakes," he said.
His words proved prophetic. On leg six the Rathfarnham runner, who had run the same leg before, took a wrong turning.
Taking over in front was Surfing Boards -- a team from Boards.ie, a club formed through the internet. This was a team that got themselves organised early, did 'recce' runs on all the legs and had an attentive team captain ensuring no one went astray. After a solid opener from Gary Conlon, the Boardies moved into second place on the second leg thanks to a stormer from Joe Cawley. Guest runner Vanessa Sallier and Suzanne Kenny held on to that place over the next two legs.
Mick Hanney broke the hour for the gut-busting fifth leg, climbing high above Glendalough, before handing over the team captain Paul Joyce.
When Joyce came into the changeover and saw Jason Reid still waiting for his Rathfarnham team-mate he realised something had gone wrong.
Rathfarnham pulled back some time on the gruelling 22km leg that followed, but David Walshe Kemmis did enough to keep Boards in front.
Finally, after seven hours 58 minutes 44 seconds of running, Dominic Horan brought the Surfing Boards team home in first place.
Generously applauding them was the Rathfarnham team that finished just over eight minutes later. Third was SET Alight from Setanta Orienteering Club. Behind them came another 26 teams. Only one team abandoned, after their runner set off from Glendalough and, when he found himself running round in circles, gave up and ran home (allegedly).
Two members of Team Slow got lost, but they persisted and finished 24th in just over 11 hours. That was what it was all about: getting a team together and then finishing, no matter how tough it got. It was another a great day for this event, which celebrates its 10th anniversary next year.
- Lindie Naughton
