Achill Half Marathon 2009

Last year if you said to me that I'd be running the Achill half marathon this weekend I'd say you'd be right... and you are, clever thing! This is my third Achill run and every year I run a better time, thankfully this year was no exception.

We drove across Ireland to Keel (the race start, finish and HQ) the night before the race to pick up our race numbers and decided to get some food once we've got the race pack in the bag so to speak. Big mistake... Keel is not known for it's late night culinary offerings and, as we found out, neither is Achill Sound or Mulranny (now spelt Mallaranny) where all kitchens seem to close at 9pm and as our accommodation resembled a building site and only had a microwave oven for cooking our options were limited.

Later that night after a couple of tasteless re-hydrated pasta packs, ham sandwiches that tasted more like chicken and a warm cup of tea (or so it said on the box) we sat on our upturned crates and planned for tomorrow's events.

The day started out overcast and a little chilly which meant no need for sunscreen, but that gradually changed as the race went on. The first mile was nice an easy, I ran it in a little over 10 minutes before stepping up the pace a little to just beyond my comfort zone. I was going for a sub 2 hour half marathon and felt that I could do it this time.

Around mile 5 it dawned on me that I obviously have a selective memory as I climbed yet another hill having told everyone that there was only one significant hill at mile 9. The sun started to shine and the odd brief shower cooled us down, a curse in disguise as my skin baked in the sun.

As expected, mile 9 was the start of the dreaded hill... it was steep and very, very long which probably explains why it stuck out in my memory. After "the hill" the remaining terrain was undulating all the way to back to Keel. I didn't quite make it in under 2 hours but I did come close, the official time was 2:02:36... the one to beat next time!

The lack of sunscreen and the surprise appearance of the sun during the race slowly but surely became obvious as my face arms and legs began ripen like plum tomatoes. By the end of the night I was positively glowing like a man shaped radiator. Today's lesson... lash on the sunscreen if there's even a remote possibility of sun!!

Here's the route: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/8024483