Off-road routes in Limerick?

Blueskye

Can any Limerick runners recommend any decent off-road routes near the city? I'm training for the DCM. I've been doing most of my training runs on the road, only a few of the shorter ones on grass around a couple of pitches but not ideal for longer runs. Any suggestions for where to run that might be a bit easier on the knees that's safe for a woman running on her own?

Cheers

TFBubendorfer

If you're training for DCM, I advise you to do your long runs on the road. Your legs will get beaten up on race day if you don't condition them for it.

metamorphosis

Blueskye wrote: »

Can any Limerick runners recommend any decent off-road routes near the city? I'm training for the DCM. I've been doing most of my training runs on the road, only a few of the shorter ones on grass around a couple of pitches but not ideal for longer runs. Any suggestions for where to run that might be a bit easier on the knees that's safe for a woman running on her own?

Cheers

There's the river bank in castletroy. You start behind the arena and keep going. It brings you out to around grove island shopping centre so you could go up and down it a few times.

Amazotheamazing

The best off roads would probably be the trails around Cratloe, Curragh chase and along the ardnacrusha canal, but I don't know whether they are safe for a woman on her own.

Blueskye

Thanks all. I thought about Cratloe but not sure about running there on my own...I'll try out by UL though and see what that's like.

mitresize5

Blueskye wrote: »

Thanks all. I thought about Cratloe but not sure about running there on my own...I'll try out by UL though and see what that's like.

your right about Cratloe - its not safe for a woman on her own

The river bank from UL to Limerick city is your best bet

Hard Worker

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

The best off roads would probably be the trails around Cratloe, Curragh chase and along the ardnacrusha canal, but I don't know whether they are safe for a woman on her own.

Curragh Chase is brilliant for running. It has drinking water and toilets. However, you are right, it probably wouldn't be safe for a woman on her own.

--amadeus--

TBH I'm not sure that any off-road route is ever going to be 100% safe. I used to work in teh Tech Park by UL and one of my co-workers was attacked on the trail by the river.

That said during the day it's pretty busy and there are lots of walkers / runners around so it would be your best bet.

If you go to the track at UL and walk down to teh river you'll reach teh trail. Take a left and go past teh fishermens cottages through teh gate and you'll reach teh boathouse. From teh boathouse you have a nice run on gravel to the Corbally road which is pretty much bang on 2 miles. You can cross teh Corbally road and down teh steps on teh other side (past St Munchins) and carry on for another mile to Corbally Cottage. Best bet then is to loop back up the Mill Road, past Scoil Ide and back onto the trail to UL for a 6 mile loop with all but a mile off road but including a nice hill. 3 of those for an 18 miler and you wouldn't go far wrong!

There is also an option to add another 2 miles in - about a mile from teh boathouse you'll reach a white bridge over a canal. There is a tarmac road that you can turn left onto rather than crossing the bridge (crossing taking you to Corbally). The tarmac takes you to the back way onto the Rehbouge road, you can carry on and onto the cycle path on teh other side (back of teh park) and on down to the Lock at the roundabout near the Absolute Hotel). Cross teh bridge at the Lock and back up teh other side (Grove Island on your left) and when you get back up to the white bridge you'll have run 2 miles.

Finally you can also turn right at UL and head out the back of teh Tech park. That way is mostly off road and you have a couple of miles up to some pitches.

But TFB is right - for the DCM your LSRs should be mostly on road.

topper75

Park at Ardnacrusha bridge and run to Clonlara bridge. Round trip is 5 miles and you get a grand view over the countryside all the way.

Only downer is sheep ****e, but I spare the tackies - run barefoot and wash them in the canal after. Nice cooldown too for the legs in winter! You feel $1m getting back into your car.

--amadeus--

topper75 wrote: »

Park at Ardnacrusha bridge and run to Clonlara bridge. Round trip is 5 miles and you get a grand view over the countryside all the way.

Only downer is sheep ****e, but I spare the tackies - run barefoot and wash them in the canal after. Nice cooldown too for the legs in winter! You feel $1m getting back into your car.

I did that run once and hated it. If you run on teh top of the bank you're very exposed to teh wind and it's a pretty dull and featureless run. You can cross teh Clonlara bridge and carry on out though - I went as far as O'Briens Bridge.

trihard

Off-road routes that are worthwhile (and in my order of preference): -

1. The paths around Curraghchase. If you know the area, you can park the car adjacent to the house (on one of the back roads) and jump over the gate and you are into the park and from there the track / trails are great. The only issue i have is that when it is dimly lit, you got to be careful of your footing due to branches, uneven surface, water logs, etc.

2. The river run out by Castletroy. Great run but as other posts suggest it can cover 5 - 6 miles. If you are doing a long run, my suggestion would be to incorporate the pitches in UL (to the front of the track) which will cover a couple of miles and then hit out to the river run by the tennis courts.

3. Cratloe woods. Have run there but would much prefer 1 and 2.

OutsideLane

The above-mentioned routes (UL-Riverbank, Cratloe and Curragchase) are all options, Cratloe has a few hills too, but it may be better to run it with a group. There is a group who meet at UL (Track) every Tuesday at 18:45 (for 19:00 start) - reps/intervals lasting 40mins to 1 hour; it's a mixed-ability group and you'd be very welcome. You'll find many others there aiming to do Dublin also, and you might even find a training partner for some of your longer runs.
Re. the advice of doing all your work on the road....... Not what most would recommend. I don't know your experience, ability or aims but most serious runners avoid doing too much on the road for various reasons (mainly to avoid injury). This summer it hasn't been easy to run on grass (most places too soft and mucky).
Best of luck with your training.

--amadeus--

OutsideLane wrote: »

Re. the advice of doing all your work on the road....... Not what most would recommend. I don't know your experience, ability or aims but most serious runners avoid doing too much on the road for various reasons (mainly to avoid injury). This summer it hasn't been easy to run on grass (most places too soft and mucky).
Best of luck with your training.

Afraid I disagree 100%

First up no-one was suggesting she do all of her work on road, myself and TFB said that it's better to do your LSRs on the road.

And for a road marathon I stand by that. I would actually say that the majority of your road marathon training should be on the road. The reason is simple - you need to replicate racing stresses on your body during training. 26.2 miles on concrete / tarmac puts immense stress on your joints and the only effective way to prepare for that stress is train for it. Specificity of training is a vital component of any training plan and all of teh books I've read (Noakes, P&D, Galloway) all recommend doing your LSRs on road with speed work on a track and (where needed) recovery runs on grass.

Reaganomical

--amadeus-- wrote: »

You can cross teh Clonlara bridge and carry on out though - I went as far as O'Briens Bridge.

I've been meaning to do that Ardnacrusha Canal Run...Just wondering if it is possible to continue on from O'Briens Bridge to Casteconnell and then loop back in by Annacotty and UL and then back around to Corbally? That'd surely be a round trip of 15/16 miles?

I ran as far as the Bohs RFC grounds in Annacotty yesterday morning...word of warning: the stretch between UL and Bohs gets progressively narrower, muddier and overgrown with nettles the further along you go...

Amazotheamazing

schnellimbiss wrote: »

I've been meaning to do that Ardnacrusha Canal Run...Just wondering if it is possible to continue on from O'Briens Bridge to Casteconnell and then loop back in by Annacotty and UL and then back around to Corbally? That'd surely be a round trip of 15/16 miles?

I ran as far as the Bohs RFC grounds in Annacotty yesterday morning...word of warning: the stretch between UL and Bohs gets progressively narrower, muddier and overgrown with nettles the further along you go...

I've walked the bank from UL to castleconnell and there's no way you could run it. It's a series of fields, you've to cross ditches etc. Similarly, there's no real grass track from O'Brien's Bridge to Castleconnell, either on the O'Brien's Bridge side of the Montpellier side. Pity.

I understand the city council are currently planning to extend a walk/run route out from O'Callaghan Strand to where the tunnel comes out beyond the two mile inn. Might be one to keep an eye on in the future.

OutsideLane

--amadeus-- wrote: »

Afraid I disagree 100%

First up no-one was suggesting she do all of her work on road, myself and TFB said that it's better to do your LSRs on the road.

And for a road marathon I stand by that. I would actually say that the majority of your road marathon training should be on the road. The reason is simple - you need to replicate racing stresses on your body during training. 26.2 miles on concrete / tarmac puts immense stress on your joints and the only effective way to prepare for that stress is train for it. Specificity of training is a vital component of any training plan and all of teh books I've read (Noakes, P&D, Galloway) all recommend doing your LSRs on road with speed work on a track and (where needed) recovery runs on grass.

Stick to your regime if you believe in it so strongly, but I hope you never see shin splints, stress fractures, prematurely-worn joints, etc.

As regards success - the East Africans invariably do all the training they can on grass (sometimes dirt or clay...), but avoid concrete and tarmac if at all possible. HG did an interesting interview on this following his win in Berlin a couple of years ago. Going back in time you'll find the same - Lopez, Bikila, Zatopek (he added training in snow for Winter!), and the Finns in the 20s and 30s. I'd consider all of these reasonably succesful marathon runners, even if they avoided training on hard surfaces.

Closer to home Radcliffe improved both her performances and lessened her injury problems when she replaced her long road runs with more (off-road)pace work. Our most successful marathon runner did most of her running at Malahide Castle and in the Park (and she still goes for the odd jaunt).

Over-distance training basically started with Lydiard and was later taken on by the (East) Germans and them by US coaches and athletes. The 2 main training bases in the US took it to an extreme (and coined the acronynm LSR). What many forgot about was that Lydiard's base-training had at it's core 35km hilly runs that started out at moderate pace (3:30/km) and progressed to 3:15-20 pace and then to 3:02-05 pace for te racing season. The 'slow' was relative, and was quicker than a lot of pace work done by many runners today. Even Lydiard evolved his training following his stint in Finland to include more threshold and fartlek work - Vasala was probably his greatest success from this time and he was famous (or notorious) for the hill sessions in the woods near where he lived. Viren's coach also worked with Lydiard.

These days base-work is considered important still, but exceeding 100 miles per week during this phase isn't now considered necessary (or prudent for some). What is also relevant is that what will work for one athlete may not necessarily be the best for others. Which is where physiological testing can help. AIS has some interesting papers on the subject. Plenty of papers from Italy, Spain and Portugal also on the subject (not all translated).

Viren gave an interesting comment when asked about his secret following his wins in Montreal - "the person who runs for the shortest time wins". His training regime was noted for the mileage put in but here he was saying it was ultimately about speed. One of his great rivals (DB) neglected that aspect and their head-to-head record speaks for itself.

Here's a link to an article that appeared a few years ago that you may find interesting http://runningtimes.com/Print.aspx?articleID=5479

Good luck with your running!


BTW, I do agree that running on concrete and tarmac puts tremendous stress on the joints.

Amazotheamazing

Interesting post Outside Lane, I agree with most of it.

As an aside, any Limerick/Munster marathoner should track down the following book, http://www.amazon.co.uk/Irishman-Who-Ran-England/dp/1856079589/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251133483&sr=8-5
It's by Jim Hogan, a Limerickman who won the marathon in the European championships in 1966, also a proponent of running both barefoot and on grass.

(and yes, I have touted this book here several times, but he's an athlete who merits more recognition, imo)

Blueskye

Thanks everyone for posting. Some interesting feedback. I'm happy to do most of my LSR's on the road but I'd like the option of some off road stuff too.

OutsideLane wrote: »

There is a group who meet at UL (Track) every Tuesday at 18:45 (for 19:00 start) - reps/intervals lasting 40mins to 1 hour; it's a mixed-ability group and you'd be very welcome. You'll find many others there aiming to do Dublin also, and you might even find a training partner for some of your longer runs.

OutsideLane, is that group running at the moment? Might give it a try tomorrow. It would be good to meet a few more runners. Cheers.

metamorphosis

Blueskye wrote: »

Thanks everyone for posting. Some interesting feedback. I'm happy to do most of my LSR's on the road but I'd like the option of some off road stuff too.



OutsideLane, is that group running at the moment? Might give it a try tomorrow. It would be good to meet a few more runners. Cheers.

Yes! Come! Ill be there!! on the track round 6.30pm. Ask for Joe Chawke.

OutsideLane

Blueskye wrote: »

OutsideLane, is that group running at the moment? Might give it a try tomorrow. It would be good to meet a few more runners. Cheers.

Yep, meet/leave your bag on the infield just after the finish line. As ULstudent says it's 'officially' Joe's W. Lim AC 'speed-session' group. But everyone is welcome. Enjoy!

OutsideLane

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Interesting post Outside Lane, I agree with most of it.

As an aside, any Limerick/Munster marathoner should track down the following book, http://www.amazon.co.uk/Irishman-Who-Ran-England/dp/1856079589/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251133483&sr=8-5
It's by Jim Hogan, a Limerickman who won the marathon in the European championships in 1966, also a proponent of running both barefoot and on grass.

(and yes, I have touted this book here several times, but he's an athlete who merits more recognition, imo)

Agree Amazotheamazing,
Jim Cregan (his real name) was indeed a great athlete. He won that European marathon in a GB vest and he was the only guy to try and stay with Bikila in Tokyo a few years previously. He would have preferred to have run in in a green vest but his past in NACA and the perception in some quarters that he was 'difficult' (like many strong-willed champions) saw him declare for GB. Hence that medal is credited to GB and not Ireland.
While the book is indeed a great read, there was much more that could have been included (maybe it was prudent to leave some of it out....).

You do know he moved back to Limerick a few years back and is breeding horses in Knocklong these days?

--amadeus--

I've copied out the long run conversation to a new thread, it's interesting and it might get missed in here

Amazotheamazing

OutsideLane wrote: »

Agree Amazotheamazing,
Jim Cregan (his real name) was indeed a great athlete. He won that European marathon in a GB vest and he was the only guy to try and stay with Bikila in Tokyo a few years previously. He would have preferred to have run in in a green vest but his past in NACA and the perception in some quarters that he was 'difficult' (like many strong-willed champions) saw him declare for GB. Hence that medal is credited to GB and not Ireland.
While the book is indeed a great read, there was much more that could have been included (maybe it was prudent to leave some of it out....).

You do know he moved back to Limerick a few years back and is breeding horses in Knocklong these days?

Just re-read the book a few days ago after reading Christopher McDougall's Born to Run, would love to contact McDougall to inform him of Cregan/Hogan's achievements.

Yeah, he's based out in Knocklong, have been considering going all "fanboy" and trying to track him down to see if he'd sign my copy of it. He's a guy who probably merits having someoneelse tell his story, he tries to be evenhanded which isn't always the best approach in these things.

He makes the point that he could have achieved a lot more if the Irish teams had trusted him enough to enter him in more International events, good to know things haven't changed much since the 1960's.