Rough going in the pain stakes

GAELFORCE WEST:THE PAIN of doing Gaelforce West on Saturday didn't seem to have many compensations. You hauled yourself out of bed at 5.15am, bussed 65km (40 miles) from Westport and had to make your way back across rough landscape by foot, bicycle and kayak. Oh yes, with an ascent of Croagh Patrick thrown in. It was calf-tearing, thigh-straining, morale-sapping stuff.

Ah, but what about the scenery? you ask. Granted the trip was through some of the most stunning landscape in the country - Killary, the Delphi Valley, Doolough, Ben Creggan, Mweelrea, the Sheffrey Mountains and the Rock Road above Drummin. Except you couldn't see any of it. Clouds and wet mist hung low and heavy for most of the day.

Yet my abiding feeling was of exhilaration. Merely finishing brings a powerful sense of achievement.

The start was on a beach whipped by wind and rain. It was congested at first, but we quickly began to string out.

I felt strong for the first 12km run, but after the kayaking - a short paddle across Killary harbour - found myself slowing a little.

The 32km cycling nearly killed me. It wasn't helped by the fact that I had a spectacular crash on the Rock Road which tore my anorak, top and cycling shorts to shreds and left me with a couple of unwanted souvenirs (cuts and scratches).

I was so sapped by the cycling that my ascent of Croagh Patrick was by far the slowest of the dozens of times I've gone up (there were so many filing up and down that it almost felt like Reek Sunday).

I got a second wind at the top and descended quickly, and thoroughly enjoyed the last stage, a mainly downhill, partly off-road cycle back to Westport House.

The winner, Eoin Keith, went around the course in three hours and 27 minutes. At the other extreme, there were some who took over eight hours. I was happy enough with my time of five hours and 30 minutes, and told myself I would have been faster but for my crash.

I was pleasantly surprised by the camaraderie among competitors, and also by the spectacle of so many local people coming out to applaud (for hours and hours) the competitors as they filed by.

But most unexpected of all was how popular this adventure race has become.

This is only its third year, yet the number of racers has doubled from 400 last year to more than 800 this year.

I didn't know that there were 800 masochists out there.