[RACE REPORT] Not Fit to #AchillROAR

From time to time -as a result of sponsorship arrangements - I get invited to partake in events and #AchillROAR was one of these events which I have a new interest in on account of my exploits in adventure racing this year.



To be honest these events never featured on my radar as I was always wary of 'doing myself a mischief' and being unable to work as a result. Hobbling around on crutches is not a good look in a running store!!

I was heading to Achill on Friday afternoon to be at the registration with a table full of wares, trail shoes, gels, bags, socks etc. and racing was not really part of my plan.

However with #TriHarder teammate +Michael Casey O'Shea making the trip down and some clever 'cadjoling' from race director Paul Mahon who featured us in the Form Guide (I trust in jest) and registered me for the 'Expert' I decided to give it a go.


I hope Paul is not a betting man, cos he didn't read my form very well!! :D

Others looking to make a break into the top 6 include likely vet winner Des Kennedy, Michael Reilly, Mike Casey O Shea and Lonan O Farrell whilst other top 10 contenders include 2013 Expert Series winner Chris Caulfield, Sean Conroy, John Joe Rodgers, Paul Tierney and Nick O Donoghue.

Having rested on my laurels for the past month, training wise, since the Beast there was no way I would be competitive and Mike was of the same mind to relax and enjoy the event. So we decided to bale into a kayak together and run the race as a team training exercise.

(Un)fortunately 'Mike' and 'being uncompetitive' do not belong in the same sentence as you can see from the the Start line he was positioned right at the front and was off with the hooter. So immediately the doors were being blown open.

Start line photo - Jake Scott (Acill ROAR Facebook Group)

We had a shortish, flat run out of the gate, around onto the dunes and a dash across the sheep land to the lake. Grabbing a PFD we were quick into a boat and onto the water. I sat up front as Mike is the water technician and we stroked away from the bank. The water is exceptionally shallow and I kept hitting the bottom with the paddle but modifying my stroke I started to set the rhythm.

We rounded the first buoy with a load of kayaks stretched out in front of us but as Mike noticed we were only the third double on the water, the rest were all behind us.

The water was deeper here and very soon the paddles began to sing. A really nice rhythm with a solid tempo into a slight headwind and we reeled in the 2nd boat and set sights on the 1st. It's funny, how - while a novice kayaker myself - I can pick out flaws in other boats. The guys in front of us were out of sync and were cutting back and forth. Mentally I tasked us to stay steady, rhythmical and to not lose ground.

We hit the second turn 10m behind the 1st boat and settled in behind them. They were still drifting back and forth while we kept a steady line. Arm were tiring but this is nothing, a 2k kayak, SIU Sean!! kept stroking abeit slower tempo, but kept it up and hit the bank at the same time as the other guys. We were up, vests off and running first though! Small victories!!!

Kayak / Swim : 28.47 (incl 1800m run) 

Kayak Stage

Back to transition, dib in and out onto the run proper.

Onto the beach and a loop around a giant +Amphibian King West - Galway flag and what looked like a run forever to the base of the climb.

As we ran along the beach the sun came out and literally lit up the route from the base of the mountain to the trail.

Photobombed by a Zombie - Jake Scott

I felt like I was blowing a gasket even though our pace was only around the 5:10min km mark. Matches had been burned in the kayak.

We turned the trail run into a minute on minute off going up and while being passed by a few we stayed steady right to the top. The views are stunning!! You are literally running up overlooking the Atlantic with a cliff on your right. As I said to Mike, make sure you fall in and not out or you could say bye bye forever.

Hitting the 473m summit in 58:10 there is a rocky run across the spine where I was encouraged to use the extra kg to catch a few on the descent, ouch!! :)

You are then directed down to the left over the heather beds and a steep descent back towards the marshal (+JuJu Jay ) at the Sport turnaround point. On the way down I jokingly rolled down pretty much like a child would on a steep bank and a minute later Mike did the same thing only as I caught up to him I realised he wasn't messing and had gone over his ankle, again. Another bad sprain for Mike but in no time he had shaken it off and was leading the way back along the beach to T2.

Run Total: 1:35:41

Run Stage

Into T2 helmets on, unracked the bike and through to the line for a flying mount. Probably the best executed part of our race right there!!

The cycle course leads out from Keel beach and proceeds to drag up and roll down for the next 15km. We were to work together but between Mike's ankle suffering on the drags and my doors being long blown off we suffered through the next 2 hours of cycling. Normally we would be strong enough and had hoped this would be our better part of the race but lack of fitness, lack of food, and lack of control led to us racing from the start and burning out long before we should have. Both of us fought off cramping calves most of the way around and struggled in the lightest gears on the hill, really grinding our way up. There was little reprieve on the downhills as often the wind was in your face so pedalling was a must there too!

Having said that, the cycle is through one of the most beautiful locations I have ever seen. For a lot of the route you are overlooking the cliffs and the Atlantic ocean. We had a fantastic day for it and the sea looked so calm whereas on another day it really would be the Wild Atlantic Way.

Unfortunately I did not have the altitude enabled on my V800 so I have no record of the total climbing or descending. There was a fair bit and as of now my legs are still not forgiving me!! :)

Bike Total: 2:01:36

Cycle Stage

Back into Transition again, gingerly trotting into transition and racking the bike I turned to see the anxious face of Mike as we thought there was another run to do. He missed the marshal speaking to me so when he heard it was literally 20m to the line he was like a child at Christmas.

We crossed the line together and dipped out at the same time. Job done. Not a good job, but done all the same and with a high 5 we swore to never again do any event off no training, it is not worth it at all.

Total Race Time: 4:07:41

A fantastic event, well run and organised, a great crew of marshals and other helpers. It was an awful pity we couldn't hang around for the party afterwards but I will definitely be back for 2015, fit and ready to give the event the respect it truly deserves.

Polar Relive file below.