Running the Wicklow Way

PaulieC

Hi,

I am thinging about running the WW some weekend, from Marlay to Glendalough. According to the Wicklow Way site, that's an approximately 50k spin. I would be hoping to do it some Saturday, probably in April when it's a bit warmer. I would not be trying to do it in a fast time (or as fast I could do in any case), but I'd be more interested in seeing the trail from one end to the other, stopping to take photos, eat, etc.
I was wondering if any special gear would be required e.g.

• compass/maps
• First aid
• emergency (not sure what that would include)

I would planning on doing it in about 8 hours so no need for torches or overnight gear. I've ran parts of it already, particularly around Ticknock, but also Kilmashogue and Maulin/Crone. Is the rest of it any/much different from these areas (apart from the odd road sections) ?

Any advice/words of wisdom are most welcome!

Thanks
Paul

donothoponpop

cambo_gueno wrote: »

Hi,

I am thinging about running the WW some weekend, from Marlay to Glendalough. According to the Wicklow Way site, that's an approximately 50k spin. I would be hoping to do it some Saturday, probably in April when it's a bit warmer. I would not be trying to do it in a fast time (or as fast I could do in any case), but I'd be more interested in seeing the trail from one end to the other, stopping to take photos, eat, etc.
I was wondering if any special gear would be required e.g.

• compass/maps
• First aid
• emergency (not sure what that would include)

I would planning on doing it in about 8 hours so no need for torches or overnight gear. I've ran parts of it already, particularly around Ticknock, but also Kilmashogue and Maulin/Crone. Is the rest of it any/much different from these areas (apart from the odd road sections) ?

Any advice/words of wisdom are most welcome!

Thanks
Paul

I did this last autumn, its a really nice run. Waymarked the whole way with little yellow men, but its easy to go astray or miss a turn, no harm in bringing the EastWest map booklet for the WW. Its a great read too. Phone is your main emergency essential, but a bivvy bag is a good idea just in case. The toughest section is crossing Djouce and White Hill, its very exposed here. Depending on conditions, you might stroll it in a tshirt and blazing sun, or cross it in a hurricane, fall, and die of exposure. I'm not joking. When I ran it, the 2k boardwalk section took me 30 mins or more, inching into a gale lest I be blown into the slop at either side. Other times I've crossed it passing 5-year old kids out for a stroll. Just be prepared for all weather on this section.

The rest is handy. Drink from the streams if you want (never had any issue), or theres a free tap when you turn off the road after Oldbridge (bit late into your trek to replenish though). 8 hours is plenty of time to jog it, stop for photo's etc. Well worth doing.

PaulieC

donothoponpop wrote:

I did this last autumn, its a really nice run. Waymarked the whole way with little yellow men, but its easy to go astray or miss a turn, no harm in bringing the EastWest map booklet for the WW. Its a great read too.

I was hoping to download the route into my watch and follow that (although I've gooten lost on pre-planned routes before using it ). I'll have a look for the Eastwest book.

donothoponpop wrote:

Phone is your main emergency essential, but a bivvy bag is a good idea just in case.

Would that be a just in case things go titsup and I have to be rescued by MR ?

donothoponpop wrote:

The tougest section is crossing Djouce and White Hill, its very exposed here. Depending on conditions, you might stroll it in a tshirt and blazing sun, or cross it in a hurricane, fall, and die of exposure. I'm not joking. When I ran it, the 2k boardwalk section took my 30 mins or more, inching into a gale lest I be blown into the slop at either side. Other times I've crossed it passing 5-year old kids out for a stroll. Just be prepared for all weather on this section.

Good advice, thanks.

donothoponpop wrote:

The rest is handy. Drink from the streams if you want (never had any issue), or theirs a free tap when you turn off the road after Oldbridge (bit late into your trek to replenish though). * hours is plenty of time to jog it, stop for photo's etc. Well worth doing.

I'll hopefully be doing it with a mate and would plan on bringing my bag with extra layers, food, bladder etc. in it. While searching earlier in this forum (or perhaps the Outdoor pursuits forum) I came across a thread about the safeness of drinking water from those streams and the general concensus was to not drink unless it was a last resort. Now I can understand why I wouldn't want to drink some of the peaty water from the bigger streams, but the smaller streams with the really clear-looking water always looks pretty nice.

Thanks for the advice, it's good to hear firsthand that it's doable in that time and it's a nice run to do.

donothoponpop

cambo_gueno wrote: »

Would that be a just in case things go titsup and I have to be rescued by MR ?

Yeah. It could be lashing raining (so no walkers about), you fall and break your ankle, can't move, hypothermia... This is unlikely of course, but it happens. MR are very busy from the Djouce crossing section, people don't realise how quickly the weather can change up there. For the sake of the tiny space and weight a phone (sealed in ziplock bag), bivvy bag, and whistle, will take up, its well worth it. With the map you can pinpoint to MR where you are.

cambo_gueno wrote: »

Now I can understand why I wouldn't want to drink some of the peaty water from the bigger streams, but the smaller streams with the really clear-looking water always looks pretty nice.

The problem is that stream could have a dead sheep in it upstream. Or from the chemical fertilizers Coillte use to propagate the non-native Sika Spruce trees. I don't know anyone who has ever had a problem after drinking from Wicklow streams though.

PaulieC

donothoponpop wrote: »

Or from the chemical fertilizers Coillte use to propagate the non-native Sika Spruce trees.

Oh let's not go there today

jeffontour

Just be sensible. You plan on having two of you so that is great, for company and also in the event of you hurting yourself, which is unlikely.

Once you tell someone your plans and let them know of any changes to those during the day you will have a ball.

donothoponpop

jeffontour wrote: »

Just be sensible. You plan on having two of you so that is great, for company and also in the event of you hurting yourself, which is unlikely.

Once you tell someone your plans and let them know of any changes to those during the day you will have a ball.

Was I a bit dramatic, foreseeing death and broken ankles etc? Guess I was (thought it was solo for some reason:o)

PaulieC

donothoponpop wrote: »

Was I a bit dramatic, foreseeing death and broken ankles etc? Guess I was (thought it was solo for some reason:o)

nah, sure I'd need someone with me to take my camera out of the bag without me having to take it off

Krusty_Clown

cambo_gueno wrote: »

but the smaller streams with the really clear-looking water always looks pretty nice.

The main concern is if the water source is down-stream from grazing animals (or camping idiots).

Also bring:
A change of socks
sun-tan lotion
Blister treatment stuff (sanitized pin, compeed, etc).

Not really necessary if you were racing the distance, but if you plan on being out for 8 hours, you'll be a lot more comfortable if you have them.

PaulieC

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

sun-tan lotion:)

Really? I thought the weather in Wocklow mountains was always either raining or just about to rain...

Krusty_Clown

Lol. I brought a group of friends on a four hour hike of the Mountain plod route last April. Lot's of sun-burn! 8 Hours is a long time!

PaulieC

would anyone have (or have a link to) a garmin course for this route ? I'm sh!t at not getting lost and having the course on teh watch would be very comforting.

Also for training for this run I am following a marathon-like plan, basically ramping up the mileage weekly, but one of the runs during the week is up around Ticknock. I'd say my longest run before doing this will be 20 miles.
Is this adequate ?

Krusty_Clown

I have tracklogs for this, which is pretty much what you are looking for, right?

glennbhoy

did it last year also, took about 9 hrs but was more like a walk/run with bag on back

tough enough

xper

Forgive me for jumping into this thread as the Athletics/Running/Triathlon forum is definitely not my natural habitat but the thread title caught my eye on the boards.ie entry page...

I've done a fair bit of hillwalking over the years in Wicklow albeit usually in the company of more experienced heads who go out every weekend and are forever lamenting the unpreparedness of some of the people they meet up on the mountain tops. They have many tales to tell of leading lost souls off the mountain or calling in mountains rescue or even the coastguard heli for injuries. And I've heard two first hand accounts of deaths. The Wicklow mountians are relatively low and easily accessed but they're still high, remote locations with dangers that shouldn't be taken lightly. The vast majority of visits are enjoyable outings but when things do go pear-shaped, they can be very serious. Mishaps that are mere knocks back in civilisation can be life-threatening at 2,000+ft, miles from help.

So the lesson is be prepared. The following is one of several online checklists for hillwalking:
http://www.mountaineering.ie/trainingandsafety/tier1viewdetials.asp?ID=10&Tier1ID=15
As a runner, I guess you're going to have a different approach to clothing alright so the emphasis is on things to have in case there is a problem. In response to your posts and the replies above, I would make a few points...

By all means use a GPS device as your primary navigation aid but do not rely on it wholly. Electronic devices fail. Also take note that large areas of the mountians have no mobile coverage (although 999 may still work even when you've no bars). Have a map and comapss as fall back and know how to use them.

Whistle and torch are absolute musts. Haven't had to use a whistle yet but more than once I've ended up unintentionally completing my journey in the dark. Also, learn the emergency signals.

Sunscreen +1! Cap and sunglasses no harm. A few hours on a sunny day in a biting wind will turn you into a lobster, even at a low temperature.

Pre-plan your route and have options to get off the mountains if the weather closes in. Presuming runners have to limit clothes options, be prepared to chuck the whole thing and try another day if the elements turn against you. I set out last year from Glendalough car park in warm, sunny t-shirt weather and was in full rain gear in a cold, driving rain by the time I was up at the other end of The Spink.
Worst weather threat on the mountains, imho, is low cloud/fog. Ended up in it a couple of times and, frankly, not sure I would have kept my bearings without companions' help. Turn around and go back down if in doubt.

Everything you carry in your rucksack goes in a plastic bag, preferably a ziplock.

Not trying to put anyone off. This all adds up to a bit of planning and the contents of a small bag, most of which you propbably won't need but again, its just a case of being prepared.

PaulieC

Thanks xper, looks like very sensible and sound advice.

Krusty, is there anyway to export those tracklogs to a forerunner the way you can do it on garmin connect ? thx

Krusty_Clown

Yep, I can give you a GPX file of the entire route, which you can upload to Garmin Connect and save as a track (and send to your watch, as long as your watch supports this feature). Some parts of the Wicklow Way will have changed since I last recorded this tracklog, so as xper pointed out, a map and compass is an essential piece of kit. PM me your e-mail address if you want me to send on the GPX file.

The EastWest booklet which D'pop linked to is an essential piece of kit for this route. I genuinely wouldn't consider doing the route without it. It's been an invaluable aid when doing 'recce's for the Wicklow Way relay, hikes, training runs, everything. €9 very well spent.

gar.ogrady

well cambo, did you do it? Would be interested to know how you got on?

JohnnyCrash

In the original post he said he was thinking of doing it in April.

PaulieC

I got my map today. Planning on 15th april

911sc

cambo_gueno wrote: »

I got my map today. Planning on 15th april

Glendalough W.A.R is on 14th april with water station at Lough Tay car park, and few runners around white hill

Carpenter

I have a friend that does running weekend,s around Wicklow pm me if anyone wants the website address .

gar.ogrady

I did about 5.5 miles from marley, up kilmacshogue, fairy castle, and down the other side of the mountain and ended up close to Glencullen. I then turned and went back the same route as my car was in Marley. It's really tough going in places. The path isn't great in certain spots with loads of rocks. I was nervous I'd turn an ankle. I was only planning a few laps of marley, got bored and decided to give it a lash. Definitely bring a phone at least. I would have been in trouble had twisted an ankle. Otherwise, what an incredible run...gotta do it. Looking forward to exploring it further..

PaulieC

so doing this on Sunday. Really looking forward to it, although a wee bit nervous.

Current weather forecast is not great

Saturday and Sunday will be cold, bright days with moderate to fresh northeasterly winds. Some sunny spells each day, but some rain or hail showers also, with possibly even a little sleet on hills and mountains of the north and east. Top temperatures just 7 to 10 C., which are a few degrees below normal for mid April.

I can probably take about 10 degrees off that at the tops of the hills mountains , so tights and layers would seem to be the order of the day.

Got map as suggested. Getting bivvy bag and whistle tomorrow. Phone, garmin and camera will be fully charged.

Have a plan for transport from both ends. Still have to arrange an 'emergency' contact in case we need to bail at any time during the day.

Will have a bag with a 2litre bladder and a pile of food. Are there any pubs/cafes along the way (or close enough) that we could stop for a hot drink and liquid refill ? I did a bit of a road recce on Friday, just to check the road crossings at Glencullen and Curtlestown, but I dodn't see anywhere that would be suitable (at least that wasn't miles off course).

jeffontour

cambo_gueno wrote: »

so doing this on Sunday. Really looking forward to it, although a wee bit nervous.

Proabably a bit late for a change of your plans but I'll be running Marley to Glenmalure this Friday, with another bloke. Handy, conversational pace. Then heading on to the finish in Clonegal on Saturday. So if either of those sound appealing let me know.

If not have a great day on Sunday, don't forget to look around you as you go. Top views to be had starting where WW meets Dublin Mountain Way around Fairy Castle, skirting around Djouce, coming down the steps by the JB Malone memorial looking out over Lough Tay never ceases to bring a smile to my face. And coming into Glendalough will be great. Enjoy.

Murta

Good luck on Sunday cambo_gueno. I'm looking forward to hearing how you get on.

RacoonQueen

Best of luck with this. We expect an indepth report upon your return.

PaulieC

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Best of luck with this. We expect an indepth report upon your return.

crap...i guess I have to do it now :-)

Enduro

Good luck, and have fun out there!

PaulieC

Rather stupidly, I find myself currently without a good shoe option for Sunday. I have two pairs of trail shoes, merrell trail gloves and adidas kanadia, which I bought just before Christmas to try out as it was my first time trail running. The merrells are great for short runs, but there is no cushioning on them, so I wouldn't wear them for anything over 5 miles. The adidas have been, let's say, not my favourite shoes ever. I always get debris in them for some reason and they give me terrible blisters on the inside and outside of my forefoot. I've been casting around looking for a replacement for these for a few weeks. A lot of trail runners, particularly from Asics, have HUGE heels on them and nothing I have tried felt right.
To that end I ordered a pair of NB MT110 last week from sweatshop. All reviews have been positive and I was hopeful that the run in period would be minimal, given people's comments. Predictibly, they have not arrived.

I am thinking now just to wear my Nike lunarglides, given that the weather has been pretty dry over the last few weeks. I think I'd prefer to have the odd slip than have poxy blisters from 3 miles in...either that or buy the Puma Faas 250 Trail that I just tried this morning, which were might comfy. 90 quid though, on top of 50 for the NB...

Enduro

Just wear what you're used to and what you know is least likely to give you an injury. Don't worry about grip. The vast majority of the WW can be run on road shoes without too much bother. If the weather was dry then road shoes would probably be optimal in fact.

PaulieC

Right...report. Not sure how indepth, but here goes anyway

Not a great start on Sunday morning. Got up feeling tired after not getting enough sleep. My wife was at a party on Saturday night and got in just after 4. She then proceeded to wake me up to tell me about it. For about 20 minutes. Then she fell asleep. Obviously red bull is good on some occasions, but not this one. As I lay there trying to get back to sleep, I started worrying about the run, specifically what do do if one of us had an accident and needed mountain rescue. I realised that I didn't know how to contact them, should the need arise, so I got up and looked up their website. To my embarassment, I saw that the number was, in fact, 999. Like for an emergency. Duh!


On to the day, we finally got off from Marlay Park at 10.30, in glorious sunshine. Due to the weather forecast, we both had long-sleeved baselayers on and needed to stop to remove these before we even left the park. From the park gates, it's down College road, under the M50 and then the first climb up to Kilmashogue forest. It wasn't long before we had to take our first stop, due to a mother duck and 10 ducklings crossing the path in front of us



From then on it's pretty much a long climb up to the turn off at the fairy castle, about 4 miles in. We passed a huge amount of walkers on the way, most of whom were fine, but some of them insisted on walking 5 and 6 abreast across the path and would not move over to let us past. Which was nice :rolleyes:. After the fairy castle turn off, it was nice to get a bit of a break from climbing, but then my day was almost over. While saying hello to a walker coming in the other direction, I took my eye off the path and immediately turned my ankle. Had to walk for a bit but there was no damage, so got running again down the pretty steep side of Tibradden, down towards the road to Glencullen. Another mile or so on the road and we stopped at the Boranaralty bridge, which crosses over the Glencullen river.



We stopped here for 5 minutes for a drink and a couple of sandwiches (peanut butter and jam, mmmm). Then onto the sencond 'leg' which takes us around the side of Glencullen mountain. Climbing again, but this time not too steep. It's a nice track for about half a mile or so, before changing to the standard gravelled fire road, which isn't the most pleasant surface to run on. After another mile or so it's back to the narrower crushed rock paths with the drainage systems every 50 yards or so. This is quite a boring stretch of the run, not particularly attractive, but had some great views of Carrickgollogan and the lead mines chimney out to to the left. Saw the first deer crossing this path too. At the end of this piece of track, the path changes quite dramatically and heads down into the Glencree (I think) valley. The steep path is all rocks, which makes for a bit of a fun descent, although I wouldn't fancy doing it on a wet day. Speaking of wet days, the clouds are closing in around us and as we get to Curtlestown car park (more boring fire road, ugly logged forest), the rain starts. It's not too bad at the start, but then gets heavy enough to stop for jackets. This part of the run is nice, would've been much nicer with a bit os sun and blue sky, but after the previous section, it's a welcome change to run on smaller, grassier, more natural trails and down through a nice bit of forest. Saw a couple more deer here too. We then emerge from the forest, down a short grassy hill and meet the Glencree river (again, I think). We stop at the river for a quick drink and to see if we can see any fish (my mate is big into fishing)


The run along here is very nice as it winds along the river, up to the bridge. From here, it's a short run onto Crone car park. For the last couple of miles, I have been feeling hotspots on my feet and a chafing in my "undercarraige" so we stop in Crone car park. I must have looked a sight for people going by, as I was stood in the woods with my shorts around my knees, applying Bodyglide . A couple more sandwiches and hobnob medley bar later and we're ready to go again. I knew from the map that this section was going to be pretty tough and it didn't disappoint. The rain was now pretty heavy and turning to hail as we headed up towards ride rock. I was running the Maulin loop just before Christmas on a beautiful, cold, clear day and it was gorgeous. Yesterday it was poxy. The weather didn't help, but the path up to ride rock is now covered in ugly signs and huge piles of logs everywhere. As always, however, the view from ride rock is pretty special, even though we could see that the weather to come wasn't going to be to kind



We continued on from here, up a nice running path around Maulin and then down into the valley between Maulin and Djouce. Legs were getting pretty tired at this point and the climb up to Djouce wasn't pleasant.



We ended up walking a good bit of it with the weather getting worse - the hail was turning to sleet. We met a lot pf peole coming back down with hair full of sleet and snow. Just on the worst part of the climb, we saw this guy running down towards us. About a minute later he passed us going back up. Then down and up again. This was quite depressing as we could hardly manage a trot at this stage and here's this guy sprinting past us. Not knowing the route, I was looking up the path at Djouce and dreading that climb. However when we got to the bottom we saw the yellow man pointing, not up the hill as we thought, but off to the left. I don't think I've ever been so happy . A quick look behind us at this point revealed the weather was clearing too, so that was a welcome change



The run around the rest of Djouce, up to White hill was quite muddy and we had to hop off the trail a couple of times for mountain bikers. This part of the run reminded me of the cliff run around Howth, a skinny, muddy path with a lot of twist and turns, ups and downs. I liked this part, except for the slipping around, due to my unsuitable footwear. Next we get onto the boardwalk and cross the bog. This section reminded me of the bog in the second part of the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy so I kept a look out for submerged bodies in the many pools. I would say this this area is pretty spectacular for photograhy in the right weather conditions, I must head back up sometime with my 'proper' camera. After the slog of the last 4 miles, you hit the truly breathtaking sight of lough Tay and Luggula. It really is spectacular and a lovely reward for the last few miles



We stopped at the viewing point for a few jelly babies and a drink. Since we started later than planned in the morning and the fact that the football was on at 4, we decided to bail at this point and head to Roundwood. This would take us up to a nice round 25 miles, a cosy fire and a pint in the pub.
All in all, it was a great experience with some spectacular sights and some great running. The signage is great and we only missed on waypoint the whole way. Oh, it was a bit more hilly than I was expecting. That bit didn't really come across on the maps . I guess I'll have to do the next leg at some stage too.

jeffontour

Good stuff, looks like you had a good time, if you're considering following on further down the route! Well done.

PaulieC

jeffontour wrote: »

Good stuff, looks like you had a good time, if you're considering following on further down the route! Well done.

Thanks Jeff...I didn't go anywhere as near as long as yourself. How did you get on ?

jeffontour

cambo_gueno wrote: »

Thanks Jeff...I didn't go anywhere as near as long as yourself. How did you get on ?

Went well for us. We had great weather Friday and awoke to thunder and snow in Glenmalure on Saturday. But the worst had passed before we set off and within an hour we were in the dry. 2nd half of the way is tougher than I'd imagined. It's rolling hills as opposed to big climbs but a lot of tarmac surface and the previous day's efforts make it tough.

It's still scenic though and worth the effort to get down there and have a look if you haven't previously.

opinion guy

cambo_gueno wrote: »

probably in April when it's a bit warmer

....lol......

Great pictures!

911sc

cambo_gueno wrote:

probably in April when it's a bit warmer

Roundwood/Annamoe were covered by snow on sat 14th April at 7am as i was driving to Laragh.:)

Nice report and photos.
I have done that route few times and will never get tired of the scenery. Tough run though from water fall to Djouce, but rewarding.
Well done.