Mountain to climb for the hill-runners

WARRIORS RUN:IF IRELAND aspires to ever winning another Olympic gold medal, perhaps we should campaign to have hill-running made a recognised sport for the Games.

After all, we have the hills, we’ve produced a world champion in Kerry farmer John Lenihan and there seems to be no shortage of people happy to run up and down the nearest grassy hill. Yesterday, almost 500 runners turned out in Strandhill for the climb up to Knocknarea, mythical site of Queen Maeve’s grave, and the descent back to the Co Sligo town. Strandhill is, first and foremost, surfing territory, but surfboards were firmly set aside yesterday for the 24th year of the Warriors Run, the centrepiece of the seaside town’s annual festival.

With a length of 15km and a climb of about 305 metres (1,000 ft), the Warriors Run is neither the longest nor the highest run in the country. But it’s one of the few to take in town and country, sea and mountain, and road and hillside over the length of the course.It’s a village event that serves as a focus for pride and a chance to raise money for charity, not to mention a good day out.

Last year, over €5,000 was raised and this year’s good turnout means that figure is likely to be exceeded.

Conditions were overcast but mercifully dry as the field, your correspondent included, lined up at 3pm yesterday for the slog up from the seafront. Knocknarea presents a sheer face to the town, but the race takes the tradesman’s entrance by going around the back on minor roads before the final climb on a rocky track.

Heads dropped and lungs heaved as the incline grew steeper. The race fell silent as each runner struggled to make an impact on the mountain. The last few miles, on rough tracks, forced most to slow to a walk and some to take a breather. Finally, Queen Maeve’s tomb, a great mass of stones, appeared at the top of the trail and soon it was time for the descent. Then came the hardest part, a three-mile trudge along the road before reaching Strandhill again.

The words “trudge” and “slog” hardly apply to Owen Gahan from Co Kilkenny, who won the race in a breezy 54 minutes 22 seconds.

Emmett Dunleavy came in second, over two minutes back, and Eoin Keith, who’d won the Gaelforce event in Westport on Saturday, finished third.

Zoe Melling, a Kiwi living in Dublin, triumphed in the women’s race in 1:12:44, and was followed a minute later by Alwyn Kinane.

Organisers plan a bumper event next year to mark the 25th anniversary. Their only fear is that “too many runners might turn up”.