Art O'Neill Challenge 2011

Rinker

5th is good for me too. I'd presume the recce is for runners as all the walking groups will have an experienced guide. I'm going to bring all the mandatory gear just to get used to how much gear we're going to have to carry on the night.
How is everyone getting on with their training? I've been doing 10-20Km trail runs 3 days a week and up to 30Km at the weekends. Hopefully this will see me through.

sarsfieldsrock

Is there a full list of the mandatory gear yet?
On the website it doesn't quite have a full list yet.
I had to leave the orientation night so I didn't get to ask these questions.
Sorry if there are a lot here.

Does anybody else plan on changing completely from running gear to mountain gear when we hit Kippure? Do we need to bring the kit bag for the mountains with us to there or can we have it shipped out to there?

I plan on going with the 8 hour runner navigator and was hoping to do that. What time does the 8 hour and 10 hour runner intend to run out to Kippure in?
Also I am out of the counry on 4th Dec weekend so I cannot attend the navigation class and the recce on the 5th.

ezikel

Hey guys

I will be putting up a definitive mandatory gear list by 15th of December. I wil be sending this out to all ultras and putting it on the site.

I will have a better read of the weather forecast by then.

Git101 made a good point at the info night which I have taken on board:

I will do the kit check before you guys start but i will accept you packing a bag (dry bag or rucksack) full of the mandatory kit so you can pack to be transported to CP1. This way you will not have to run with all the kit on the roads.

The mandatory kit is needed for the mountain sections after CP1 when you will have no access to any kit until the finish.It will mean doing spot checks at CP1 but it makes your lives easier in terms of running.
From CP1, all mandatory kit must be carried. Anyone who tries to dodge this should have their heads read anyway....but as a race organiser i will still be checking. No mandatory gear: no run......

I will be adding a page to the site for training tips, gear tips and training dates. Keep a look on that.

Hope everyone is getting on well with the training and feel free to get in touch anytime directly to me with any questions.....

Gearoid

ezikel

Ultra and hybrid recce date

5th of December. Leg 3 Ballinagee Bridge to Finish

Meet: 9am Glenmalure Lodge

Hiking.

Can folk RSVP info@artoneillchallenge.com

we will be car pooling and dropping off cars

Chat and pint after in Glenmalure Lodge.

mithril

Has this been called off?
I suspect the road into Glenmalure might be blocked?

ezikel

Hi guys
about to send out an email but will hot here first
been on to glenmalure lodge who don't recommend
going near the valley so we will have to cancel the recce
especially as we need a few cars to organise it all

was looking forward to it but common sense will have to prevail

hopefully if things get better we can have it on another day

will b in touch

G

Stark

4 stars (good)

I'd be well up for a recce on either of the following two Sundays anyway.

Git101

4 stars (good)

This link to a RTE podcast about the Art O Neill Challenge was posted in the outdoor pursuits forum.

Thought some here would be interested.

http://www.rte.ie/radio1/thehistoryshow/

ezikel

Hey guys,

Hope you manage to get out this weekend for a recce, seems like a good window of opportunity has appeared in the weather.

I wont be able to go out on Sunday as I am on duty at TuffTrax and the following weekend we have the Urban Trail Series and I am heading to the UK on the sunday morning so I wont be around for an "official" recce.

Anyone who goes out to recce, it would be great to hear your comments on the underfoot conditions out there.

Lots of ultra runners registering now....will be a great atmosphere leaving the castle at 2am!

Gravale

Thanks for the link, Git. I downloaded and saved the programme just now. An excellent, informative interview.

By the way, I was out on the Dublin Mountains on Thursday and found myself up to my knees in deep snow. Very arduous and slow work. I would expect the stage you're all expecting to recce on Sunday will be much the same. I wouldn't expect the present thaw to be much in evidence up around Art's Cross and Three Lakes.

Git101

4 stars (good)

Gravale wrote: »

By the way, I was out on the Dublin Mountains on Thursday and found myself up to my knees in deep snow. Very arduous and slow work. I would expect the stage you're all expecting to recce on Sunday will be much the same. I wouldn't expect the present thaw to be much in evidence up around Art's Cross and Three Lakes.

Went out today to recce the section from the Wicklow gap road to Glenmalure.
I live in Co. Carlow so the route to Glenmalure was through Hacketstown, Knockananna and Aughavanagh. The drive was, to say the least, entertaining.
Although we were driving 4x4's we decided the the road after Aughavanagh wasn't worth attempting. Best we could manage was a trip up Croaghanmoira, leg deep in snow at time but well worth it for the views.
Jaysus, I hope there's no snow for the AON :eek:

sarsfieldsrock

so has anybody had a chance to do a recce of the course yet?
It doesn't look like the weather will allow much this week.
Does anybody have any idea what sort of time the proposed 8 and 10 hour guides plan on running the road section? Will they go out at their own pace and then start their group on the off road at a set time? Or do you have to stick with them all the way?
Oh and thanks to the lads at Basecamp for their help (and discount :-) ) yesterday. Got my bag, med kit and whistle very cheaply, more power to them.

911sc

sarsfieldsrock wrote: »

so has anybody had a chance to do a recce of the course yet?

I was up in the hills on Saturday. Long grass is covered with a layer of snow and ice crust. As soon as you walk in it, it cracks and you end up a foot lower!
If AON goes ahead, it is going to be a very serious challenge to just finish!

ezikel

911sc wrote: »

I was up in the hills on Saturday. Long grass is covered with a layer of snow and ice crust. As soon as you walk in it, it cracks and you end up a foot lower!
If AON goes ahead, it is going to be a very serious challenge to just finish!

I am glad you posted this 911sc. In perfect conditions, the AON is a very serious challenge just to finish it if you are doing the Ultra Run.

Anyone doing the ultra needs to be more confident on the hills, as mentioned on the website and being reiterated by myself whenever I get the chance! Once you leave Kippure the challenge becomes a different prospect.

I would recommend now, that those who are iffy about navigation and mountain craft, join a fast walking group at Kippure. I have been advised to not have a running "pacing" group for the challenge due to differing running speeds and the liklihood of the groups splitting up. This is something I was looking at having in ideal conditions. In current conditions it is not an option.

In current conditions, running to Kippure is a tough challenge in itself. The rest of the challenge will be a tough slog for walking, let alone running.

I would urge those who are less than confident with their mountain craft to rethink their challenge, and their goals. I have a few options in place for everyone and there should be no reason for anyone not to finish. Common sense should prevail, as it will for me as organiser of the event.

cheers

Gearoid

Gravale

Quite right, Ezikel. If conditions were anything similiar to those at the moment then the enthusiastic but ill-prepared entrant might/would end up in serious difficulty. The winter mountains take no prisoners when it comes to the foolhardy who underestimate the challenge. On a good day I've walked the entire route in 10:15, but on some occasions have had to endure whiteouts with horizontal blizzards of sleet and snow which had one or two others in a state of panic.

The following is the now official traditional route (it used to go over Ballysmuttan Bridge until 2009) and is designed for hillwalkers who spurn easy forest tracks:

After leaving Dublin Castle at midnight we’ll make our way through the streets to Templeogue, Firhouse, Old Bawn, Ballinascorney Gap (Stone Cross-O:075 227), Kilbride Army Camp, and continuing on this long road to Kippure House at O:079 144. Heading down to the footbridge at O:085 139 we then ascend Ballinabrocky at O:081 130 and head along an initially faint track down to a gate at O:070 138. This leads to the beginning of the road at O:069 137 where we make our way to the road leading left to Ballynultagh Gap. Ascending Black Hill we then head over to O:051 076, then O:048 068 and down to Billy Byrne’s Gap (O:043 067). Now it’s over to O:034 060 and on to Glenbride (O:039 043). Moving along a farm track and over a farm gate, then passing Kippure Lodge on the left, go up the tarmac road and shortly cross over the gate on the left and down to a track and rightwards through some fields to the Wicklow Gap road at O:033 023. The checkpoint will be at the forest entrance O:036 023. Taking the forest track on the right (O:037 022) we make our way up to the Glenreemore brook, and then upwards along the brook to Art’s plaque (T:036 991). Moving rightwards up along the brook for about two hundred metres, ascending leftwards we reach Art’s Cross at T:038 989. Crossing over to 3 Lakes we then descend to the Avonbeg river at T:031 969. Following the river to a bridge, we follow Table Track downwards to Baravore ….and the finish

sarsfieldsrock

don't worry. Running the art is only possible under petfect conditions for the likes of me. I will be treating this years effort as a recce for a solo attempt in 2012.
I have an experienced army ultra runner lined up as a navigator and we will both probably join a walking group at kippure as well. There is no point being stupid about trying to run it. Safety comes first.

chnachtigall

has anyone been to the hills recently? what are they like at mo? is there much snow still?
Cheers

Gravale

I was up around Ballinabrocky yesterday and found it to be clear of snow, except for sheltered places such as the track where there were some accumulations still there. Not a problem though, it merely slowed me down.

Fi H

4 stars (good)

Anyone walking this? I signed up the other day and am hoping there will be some other slower people like me

Off to get some mandatory kit now!

ezikel

For anyone who has not entered this already, the deadline is 11pm tonight (2nd of January). There will be no exceptions due to the awesomely staggering entry list of 450 registrants so far!!

Busy week ahead!

G

Gravale

Yes, Fi H, there will be leaders for slower-walking people. Only this evening I was speaking with one of them, Milo Kane. Of course, one man's 'slow' is another man's 'fast' - and vice versa.:)

mr_kite

Sorry. I'm a bit of a novice but looking at the mandatory gear.

Survival bag*
Foil blanket* (a combination of these is sufficient)

Is there some sort of combo foil blanket/survival bag. Any recommendations on where to buy + approx price.

Have everything else except a whistle so I'm nearly all set.

Enduro

4 stars (good)

mr_kite wrote: »

Sorry. I'm a bit of a novice but looking at the mandatory gear.

Survival bag*
Foil blanket* (a combination of these is sufficient)

Is there some sort of combo foil blanket/survival bag. Any recommendations on where to buy + approx price.

Have everything else except a whistle so I'm nearly all set.

Yes there is. It costs about 20 euro. They are very good and very effective. I found mine in the great outdoors a few months ago. Other places may have them now.

Git101

4 stars (good)

mr_kite wrote: »

Sorry. I'm a bit of a novice but looking at the mandatory gear.

Survival bag*
Foil blanket* (a combination of these is sufficient)

Is there some sort of combo foil blanket/survival bag. Any recommendations on where to buy + approx price.

Have everything else except a whistle so I'm nearly all set.

Various types of bags available, if you google "survival bag" or "thermal survival bag" it will give you a good idea of the options.

Base Camp in Middle Abbey Street, Dublin or The Great Outdoors, Chatham Street, Dublin may have something suitable for your needs.

nerraw1111

4 stars (good)

Check out the weather forecast for Friday. Could be snow which would make things interesting.


"A sharp frost will develop over much of the country on Thursday night. A band of rain will develop in the southwest early in the night and gradually spread northwards to all areas overnight and through Friday morning. At the moment it looks like it will fall as sleet and snow over much of the country and there could be up to 10 cm of snow in many areas with possible drifting due to fresh, gusty easterly winds. Further precipitation during Friday will fall mainly as rain over Leinster and Munster. Friday night will be mostly dry and cold with frost developing. Snow will lie in many areas and icy stretches will develop on roads. Saturday will be less cold with temperatures of about 2 to 5 degrees. Showers of rain and sleet will mainly affect western and northern areas and will fall as snow in places during Saturday night. There'll be further wintry showers on Sunday. Over the weekend, the nights will be cold and frosty."

Soilse

I will be doing this as a slow walker, signed up back in Oct but due to a back injury havent been out much as originally wanted to run the first leg. Really looking forward to this now need to orgainse accomadation soon

Mourne Wall

Rest of my group were at the information night, looking forward to it now, bring it on, best of luck to all.

Cliff

sarsfieldsrock

I missed the Basecamp meeting this evening.
I am planning on running it with a friend and I just read the final details email there now.

Do the mandatory items have to be carried the full route or can we drop them the bag drop and pick them up at Kippure?

I had planned on leaving the OMM 15L bag at Kippure with the extra gear but from the email there is only mention of an extra bag being ferried out to Kippure. This would suggest that we have to carry all the mandatory gear for the whole route and not just for the part after Kippure.

unknownlegend

Hi folks,
Will be walking this with a bunch of friends and really looking forward to it. Just 2 questions:
I have a led lenser flash light, it has excellent brightness and battery life etc, will that do as the mandatory light?
Secondly, how much food and water would be advisable to carry in the backpack? I was thinkin 2 litres, which can be filled at the various stops? And not sure about the type of food to bring, sandwiches, flapjacks, etc?
Thanks guys.

Fi H

4 stars (good)

They said tonight at the briefing that the runners did not have to carry all of the mandatory kit to Kippure that it could be left in their drop bag and collected there but that it would have to all be carried from there on. Ian who was there and won the race last time in 6 hours said that if people were leaving their mandatory kit for Kippure to be aware that there is a height gain up to Kippure and that the road up to there last time was extremly icy and it was really cold. He said that he will be still packing all his rain gear and some warm thermals for that stretch even though he is running. (Correct me if I am getting this wrong but thats what I heard

The other bits i remember that were good I thought were:
Wear liners inside your gloves as they will give you some warmth if you have to take your gloves off to change torch batteries, first aid etc.
If you are not sure your torch will last the full time bring a spare.
Put your phone into a plastic bag
Bring a couple of plastic bags which you can use over your gloves or inside your boots if your feet get wet.
If someone is wet and showing signs of hypothermia DO NOT take their wet clothes off unless you have full dry clothes for them to put on. Wet is better than none.
DO NOT put a foil blanket directly onto someones skin, put it over at least one layer of clothes as it will not keep someone warm if placed on the skin. It needs the person to generate heat which it can then radiate back so needs something on the person.
There are cliffs on the stretch after the Art O Neill memorial - be very careful and if you have to retrace your steps rather than keeping on going if it becomes too steep.
For runners - pace yourself properly and do not arrive at checkpoint 1 wrecked as thats the easy bit you need to have energy left.
Bring food and dont rely only on the checkpoints.
Checkpoint 2 is exposed.
Keep an eye on your mobile phone as there are black spots for coverage and in the event of an emergency it would be a good idea to know where you had coverage last - if in a vally with no coverage in general the best thing to do is to climb up!

I'm sure theres more but thats what I remember at the moment!

I've spent most of today wandering about town humming over what gear to buy/wear and now have a bizarre collection of things I'm not 100% sure are right - but we'll find out soon enough

Safe racing on Friday peeps