Wet grass=wet feet...I need a trail to run

McConkey

Just getting back to the running training after injury and the physio suggested building a fair amount of miles on grass before using the treadmill or God forbid-a footpath-which is where I previously did all my running.

However, it is a messy time of year for grass running, particularly when I look down at the breathable fabric in my Nikes- combined with Hunnymonsters: friction + moisture + heat= blisters advice :eek: I've seen quite a few people here talk about trails where they run but I'm wracking my brains here in Galway and can't think of too many places.

So far I have
Coole park in Gort, Galway: 6km of trails
Dromore woods in Clare: 6km of mixed woodland/paths/road

So anyone have any suggestions of trails in this part of the country or even the greater area-even mapmyrun shows no result for trails in Galway. Or any nice ones in your own area that you dont mind people knowing about? Thanks

hunnymonster

back in the dark ages when I was in college there was a nice run along the corrib from UCG/NUIG, past Dangan and on a bit.
Coillte have a list of trails listed by county on their website which might throw up something
http://www.coillte.ie/index.php?id=721
There used to be a nice one out in Bearna as well.

Esroh

Have heard workmates talking about Bearna woods.
It might be a bit far out but there are mixed surface trails in Cong Woods.Surfaces woud include Tarmac,Natural wodland flooring. Rough stone.Can go to Clonbur thru the woods (3 miles by the road) and there's a few circuit options.
Also there is a track at the woods at Cnoc Mea on the Caherlistrane/ Belclare road which people us

brutes

Yep, hunnymonster remembers too well, ..If you start at old gym/boat club nuigalway (ucg??) , up to dangan and looping around there and back to the boat club all in is approx 3.5 mile using all the trails/grass in dangan , ( prob better in reverse for parking so start in dangan) ....unfortunately just lost near 1/2 mile of turf there to a bloody park and ride for the college....progress

SucCes09

How do you get to the Cnoc Mea route - went looking for it a few times and could not locate it - assuming is it not sign posted????

Ok trail run at Monivea - it is in beside the rugby club.
the trail is about 6km, but you can lenghten it by parking near the rugby pitches and running down to where the trail starts...

McConkey

This is fantastic guys, definately will be trying out a few of these. I have a car so even going a bit further out isn't too much of a problem. I live across from Dangan so was running on the gravel on the back-to-back pitches earlier but I might head up the track instead tomorrow as it is very dirty and wet around the pitches at the moment.

Cheers for the heads-up Looking forward to trying these out now I'm back to running again

OuterBombie

Coole Park is good, you can knock an 8k loop out there without doubling back on yourself. I did all my long runs there last year while training for Dublin.

If you want grass, the racecourse is your best bet. 1.5mile circuit and not too mucky when dried out.

There or Renmore pitches, about a mile circuit and all grass. Mervue Pitches has a similar circuit.

Bearna woods are grand but a bit small, I used to run round the pitches there, thru the woods, down to the beach and back.

Dangan is also the job although it does get a bit mucky. Just buy yourself a cheap pair of shoes and get stuck into the muck. You don't need as much support and its a great workout.

Ray.

McConkey

Some more good suggestions there OuterBombie, thanks for that. Whats the story with the race track-does using it involve getting chased around it by an irrate caretaker?

spurscormac

Forget Bearna woods - I bring the dog walking there, extermely muddy at times, and you'd be doing well to get an 800m loop in.
There are pitches beside it though - but the tracks around them are tarred, so not really what you're looking for.
If you want something totally different - there's a mountain bike trail out past Oughterard, though the bikers might not take too kindly to someone running on it.

aburke

spurscormac wrote: »

there's a mountain bike trail out past Oughterard, though the bikers might not take too kindly to someone running on it.

We certainly wouldn't.
It's technical single track - and you tear along it :-)
As well as that, its not exactly soft in a lot of areas and wouldn't suit the needs of the original poster.
However, it is a coillte forest, and there are some forest roads that could be used. The cycle track uses them a small bit. Google maps doesn't seem have the detail needed to see whether that might work. Maybe I'll do a double session [run and mountain bike] someday!

TFBubendorfer

there's a mountain bike trail out past Oughterard, though the bikers might not take too kindly to someone running on it.

aburke wrote: »

We certainly wouldn't.
It's technical single track - and you tear along it :-)

Not that I have any plans of ever running there, I can't help but wonder why the bikers would object to someone running on "their" trail. What exactly is the problem? Is it the fact that the runner might "block" a biker if he/she doesn't move out of the way quickly enough?

McConkey

Thanks guys....I went to Barna today and while the trail was a bit muddy it wasn't too bad, like you say though it is quite short however it did bring me on to the pitch area and I was very happy with that. It really is too wet on the grass at the moment so I ran on the tar tracks (seem to be ok for me) and enjoyed exploring the place. I did 4 miles around there.

Lots of people around, can't believe I'm in Galway so long with out going there....was thinking how nice it would be on a Summer day to continue down to Silverstrand for a swim afterwards....Summer, whats that though

The physio did say to try stick to the grass but I think even the gravel/tar is much better than concrete footpaths and since I am still pain free I'm hoping that these tracks will be ok for me.

aburke

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

Not that I have any plans of ever running there, I can't help but wonder why the bikers would object to someone running on "their" trail. What exactly is the problem? Is it the fact that the runner might "block" a biker if he/she doesn't move out of the way quickly enough?

Yep, exactly that.
Its a single track mountain bike loop. This means you travel in one direction only, so you never expect to meet any cyclists cycling against you.
The track is only just wide enough for one bike in many parts, with a number of tight, fast, downhill corners.
I'm not much of a mountain biker, and even I can get some decent speed on the downhill sections.
If you stop for a break, you wouldn't do it after a tight downhill corner :-).

So all that said, if a runner was in the middle of the track as you came flying around a corner, much hilarity would ensue, and while nobody would come off well, the cyclist tends to come off worst in cyclist-pedestrian crashes.

There are only a handfull of dedicated mountain bike trails in the country, but many walking routes, so you might see why mountain bikers might get upset if people were running/walking on one of those few routes.

[I'm still jealous that the original poster has Dangan on their doorstep. My advice would be just continue to use Dangan in their old runners. Use the garden hose to clean yourself afterwards :-) ]

McConkey

Thanks aburke They have a gravel track around a couple of the pitches so I've been using that-still dirty though. My new runners are rapidly becoming old runners I'm a lucky gal but the downside is how easy it is to give up when a hot shower is only a few minutes away-stamina is a weak point for me

At least when I'm running out the road I am getting further from the house so I find that easier....I hope the longer I keep doing this the less inclined I'll be to quit early...I've been good so far! I see your point, after nearly knocking down a pedestrian when cycling in Galway a few years ago (she never looked and just came off the path to cross the road in traffic, I almost got thrown over the handlebars trying to stop-she still didn't even notice a thing ) I can appreciate that getting in the way of a MTB would not come off well for either of us-and it's a long drive back to Galway if you get hurt

Esroh

SucCes09 wrote: »

How do you get to the Cnoc Mea route - went looking for it a few times and could not locate it - assuming is it not sign posted????

Ok 2 ways
Head out N17 take 3rd left after the turn for Corofin.There's a breaking yard on the right just b4 it.Also a sign for Currans Sawmills at the junction.Follow road to crossroads.STOP.Straight on to T junction turn right (Old estate gates) on left around the bend and its on the right.

Or out to Headford take Tuam road thru Caherlistrane and look out for old estate gates on the left and its just around the bend on the right

Hope that helps:D

OuterBombie

McConkey wrote: »

Some more good suggestions there OuterBombie, thanks for that. Whats the story with the race track-does using it involve getting chased around it by an irrate caretaker?

Naw, not if you go on the weekends or in the evening. I work beside there and run out there at lot. There is work going on there at different times during the year where access might be an issue but most of the time its cool. There is also a small road around the track as well.

As Alan said, Dangan is probably your best bet, especially if you live close to there. It'll be grand once it dries out a bit, hopefully once this sunny weather continues.

Ray.

SucCes09

thanks Esroh! I'll take a look over the weekend!!! If you don't hear back from me I've gotten lost along the way!