Wicklow Round Attempt - Barrys'
| Author | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| John J Barry | Jun 11 2018, 10:29am | Official Notice: Friday 15th June 1300 hours Pat Barry and I (John Barry) will start our Wicklow Round attempt. Friday:....13:00:00...Start Friday:....14:15:00...Sally Gap Friday:....18:30:00...Ballinagee Bridge Friday:....23:00:00...Drumgoff Saturday:..02:15:00...Wicklow Gap Saturday:..04:40:00...Glenmacnass Saturday:..07:30:00...Sheepshank Bridge Saturday:..10:00:00...Ballyreagh Wood (Forest Entrance IO 16438 15510) Saturday:..10:15:00...Glencree Road (Oak Glen Forest Entrance IO 17427 16970) |
| Stephen Brennan | Jun 11 2018, 10:37am | Not sure if twins had been envisaged under the new rules? Best of luck lads. |
| Gordon Place | Jun 11 2018, 11:10am | The very best of luck to ye both! |
| Jeff Swords | Jun 11 2018, 11:21am | Best of lick John and Pat! |
| Jeff Swords | Jun 11 2018, 11:21am | Luck might be more useful than a lick, so best of luck instead. |
| Niamh Kelly | Jun 11 2018, 11:28am | Best of luck lads |
| Brendan Neville | Jun 11 2018, 11:42am | Go the Barrys - best of luck boys! |
| Gareth Little | Jun 11 2018, 11:42am | Great stuff, Lads! The very best of luck out there, it's a wild journey... |
| Brendan Lawlor | Jun 11 2018, 1:09pm | Good luck Pat and John ! |
| Alicia Christofi-Walshe | Jun 11 2018, 1:56pm | Delighted to see this post, absolutely brilliant John! I hope all goes to plan for yourself and Pat and that you get back to that gate in good time. |
| Paul O'Callaghan | Jun 11 2018, 2:05pm | Good luck lads, it'll nearly kill you but you'll love it |
| Rachel Cinnsealach | Jun 11 2018, 2:08pm | Best of luck John and Pat. Enjoy the experience. |
| Caoimhin MacMaolain | Jun 11 2018, 2:50pm | All the very best John and Pat! Hope it goes really well for you. |
| Luke Rafferty | Jun 11 2018, 3:38pm | Best of luck John & Pat ! |
| John Condon | Jun 11 2018, 3:41pm | Best of luck lads. |
| Graham K. Bushe | Jun 11 2018, 5:26pm | Best of luck John and Pat. I hope all goes well for ye, and the weather plays its part too. Enjoy (well as much as you can) |
| Siobhán Hayes | Jun 11 2018, 7:39pm | Very best of luck to you both, hope conditions are in your favour ! |
| James H Cahill | Jun 11 2018, 7:51pm | Best of luck John & Pat, hope you have a great run and enjoy the day. |
| John Ryan Preston | Jun 11 2018, 9:00pm | Good luck men, enjoy the day out. |
| Mikey Fry | Jun 11 2018, 10:40pm | Go for it lads you’ll have so much fun:€ |
| Brian Kitson | Jun 12 2018, 9:00am | All the best for the attempt, lads. The forecast looks ok Brian |
| Sarah Brady | Jun 12 2018, 9:22am | Great stuff lads, the best of luck. :) |
| John J Barry | Jun 12 2018, 10:08am | Think I ran the whole route last night in my mind!!! Just want to get started at this stage... Tracking : http://live.primaltracking.com/wicklowround18/?n=3 |
| Paul Grant | Jun 12 2018, 10:36am | Hope all goes according to plan for the run lads. The cooler conditions should be a help at least. |
| Stuart Scott | Jun 12 2018, 5:13pm | Best of luck John and Pat! If the prospect of a lick from Jeff doesn't spur you on I don't know what will! |
| Ailbe Quinlan | Jun 12 2018, 9:57pm | Good man John, best of luck to yourself and the brother. |
| Mike Jordan | Jun 13 2018, 10:20am | Best of luck. Unfortunately won't be around to meet you out there somewhere. Forecast looks like rain but that'll keep the dust down. Plus you worked out most of your splits recce-ing over the winter so it'll be second nature to you! Bon chance!!! |
| Lillian Deegan | Jun 13 2018, 5:35pm | All the very best Bros Barry. I'm delighted to see this post up. Fair play JB. Make the most of the few sleeps left ;) Hope to see ye above at some point. |
| Jason Dowling | Jun 13 2018, 10:11pm | Wishing you both the very best on your attempt. May the ground be kind, the weather be kinder and the clock be kindest of all!! Have a great run lads, I'll be rooting for yiz!! |
| Adrian Hennessy | Jun 14 2018, 11:52am | Best of luck lads. The ground conditions should be perfect. |
| Jeff Fitzsimons | Jun 14 2018, 8:23pm | The very best of luck to you both. The sheer volume of comments on this thread highlights the level of support this attempt has. I cannot wait to watch the dots. |
| Liam Vines | Jun 14 2018, 9:24pm | The very best of luck to you John and Pat. I will try get to a road crossing somewhere to see you... |
| John Mollohan | Jun 14 2018, 11:33pm | The very best of luck lads. Hope it all goes to plan. Enjoy :-) |
| John J Barry | Jun 16 2018, 11:43pm | Folks, I got loads of good wishes for my round attempt via various communication channels. I was overwhelmed with the serenity of these messages. Okay I didn't make it 'around'. But I did manage to mentally and physically push myself up and down 16 of Wicklow's finest mountains in a 13 hour period which is by a 'long shot' further than I ever pushed myself before across open mountains. I also had the pleasure of enjoying Pat's delight at seeing some of Wicklows' treasures which were all new to him. Over the last nine months I had a wonderful time with the recces and I've seen so much of Wicklow for the first time such as Table Track, Three Lakes and and my new favourite place in the Wicklow Mountains Candywaystick which has stunning views of Lug. It's amazing first time there was last September. I put some of this knowledge to good use with a few friends from my walking club in Waterford who came up for a couple days hiking. I had the maps up on the work computer continuously and it lead to my work colleague asking if I was thinking up Cartography :-). During the recces I learned so much mountain craft such as route finding on the ground. The descent of Kippure and ascent of Oakwood were prime examples. Other hi lights were the verification of routes devised on computer and paper such as from Tonduff to PWS (avoid Road - via Millennium Wood) and from Scarr to Knocknacloghoe (alas never got the chance to try them in race conditions). I got very good a devising circular routes for recces that often included a bike element! Meeting sheep in the dark on the road during the bike descent to Glenmacnass can prove dangerous. If there is hi lights there is also low lights. Two spring to mind : (1) Been stuck in a bog hole up to my waist south of three lakes and thinking 'I'm in trouble here'. (2) Derrybawn. That's a wonderful ridge but what sick person put that descent at the end of it? Its awful. Last night really capped it off. We had already decided to retire but still had to negotiate the descent. At this stage the weather was terrible and I was mentally drained which resulted in three falls on the way down and badly twisted my knee on the third time. Glad Pat was there at that stage. While I had my work done regarding my route I most certainly did not have enough done regarding fitness and speed. I'm just too slow on open mountain and especially on the downhill sections... There was some minor errors. But after the first leg to Ballinagee Bridge the pace just wasn't up to scratch. I'm just not fit / fast enough. People said, I'll be back. It's extremely unlikely I will. The Round was an 'itch' that's well and truly 'scratched'. I don't think it's within me to get up to the fitness level required. One can learn the route but the mental and physical strength required is beyond me.... MLK, Building 'Dikes of Courage'... It's better to try and fail than not to try at all. |
| Alan Ayling | Jun 17 2018, 12:05am | Fair play John for trying. Sounds like you got a lot of positives out of the experience and - on balance - enjoyed it. Which is exactly the reason we all spend so much time in the hills, right? |
| Brian Kitson | Jun 18 2018, 8:49am | Excellent report John. It's a pleasure to read about all the preparation and effort that you put into your attempt over the months and the satisfaction you found in it. Isn't that the real point of the round; the fact that it must be learned as much as it must be trained for? There is so much preparation required to even attempt it and you did the work and gave it your best shot. Well done, and I hope you have another crack at it, someday. |
| John Condon | Jun 18 2018, 9:33am | Well said Brian. Great report John. You've definitely come away from this a better mountain runner. |
| Laura Flynn | Jun 18 2018, 10:35am | thats a really inspiring and informative read John and I've no doubt will encourage others to take on the challenge. Well done to you both. |
| John J Barry | Jun 18 2018, 12:31pm | IMRA Committee, Would you consider lifting the 24 hour limit? The stronger athletes would still go for sub 24 and correctly recognised for that achievement.. |
