Wicklow round
| Author | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Paul Keville | Jun 21 2018, 9:00pm | official notice that I will be making an attempt at the Wicklow Round. I will be attempting this as a solo competitor in accordance with the IMRA rules on the round. I will be starting my attempt on Saturday morning the 23/6/18 at 1am. I will be supported by fellow orienteers from Setanta Orienteers which I am grateful for there support. The link to my tracker is as follows http://live.primaltracking.com/wicklowround18/?n=4 My estimated times for the checkpoints are as follows. Sally Gap - 2:20am Ballinagee Bridge - 5:25am Drumgoff - 10:05am Glendalough - 12:10pm Wicklow Gap - 1:45pm Glenmacnass waterfall - 3:05pm SHeepsbank bridge - 6:25pm Lough Bray car park - 8:45pm finish - 10:50pm staurday 23/6/18 Your more than welcome to come along and shout some support. Paul Keville |
| Richard Nunan | Jun 21 2018, 9:06pm | Good man Paul - super weather forecast for it. Best of Luck and enjoy the journey. |
| Graham K. Bushe | Jun 21 2018, 9:07pm | Best of luck Paul. Hope all goes well for you. |
| Karen Devenney | Jun 21 2018, 9:18pm | Very best of luck Paul! |
| Gordon Place | Jun 21 2018, 9:26pm | Good Luck Paul! |
| Rachel Cinnsealach | Jun 21 2018, 9:35pm | Very bet of luck Paul, I hope you smash it! |
| John J Barry | Jun 22 2018, 7:58am | Best of luck Paul, With an Orienting background it be interesting to see any variants from my route. :-) |
| Adrian Hennessy | Jun 22 2018, 8:30am | Good luck Paul - enjoy! |
| Hazel Thompson | Jun 22 2018, 12:32pm | Good luck Paul. Hope it goes well for you!! |
| Jeff Fitzsimons | Jun 23 2018, 8:51am | Best of luck to Paul. Tracker link below. http://live.primaltracking.com/wicklowround18/?n=4 |
| Paul Keville | Jun 24 2018, 2:10pm | Im delighted to have run the Wicklow round. I am very grateful for all the support I received. My support team who were amazing and I couldn’t of done it without you. My support team were my mother Therese Keville and my wife Aoife Desmond and members of setanta orienteers Dave Weston, Eileen Walsh and Kevin O’Riordan. My mother and Aoife looked after the night section. My poor mother was terrified being in the mountains in the middle of the night and seeing me disappear into the hills. To Adrian Hennesy and Liam Vines who I met out on the course and Gordon Wilson who was I met out running on Glenmacnass and Scarr it was a good boost meeting you out there. I had a great day and genuinely enjoyed it. It’s a fantastic route taking you to all the most scenic places in Wicklow. Thanks to everyone who gave advice on tackling the round. Although im delighted for myself there is a bitter sweet taste to it. As you see from the tracker I visited the wrong peak on Tonduff. I only discovered after the run that Tonduff has two summits. What I was basing my route on was Harvey’s map of Wicklow. On this map they only have Tonduff North marked on it as a trig point or peak. They have Tonduff South written on it just under but no height marking. So when I got to Tonduff I went to the peak took my split and headed of. Obviously If I had known that Tonduff had two peaks I would have visited it. It was on oversight on my behalf and obviously I would have went to it. I don’t know if this error means that the completion can be properly recognised and accredited. I’m hoping it can. I don’t know of there is consideration for a time penalty or some sort of alternative. Either way I consider myself as completing the Wicklow Round and I am very happy about that. Here are my splits below. I will write up a full report during the week. Start – 1:01am Kippure – 1:38am Sally gap – 2:20am Carrigvore – 2:36am Gravale – 2:57am Duff Hill – 3:16am East Top – 3:39am Mullaghcleevaun – 3:54am Moanbane – 4:28am Silsean – 4:39 Ballinagee Bridge – 5:20am Oakwood – 6:06 Table mountain – 7:09 Camenbalogue – 7:23am Lugnaquilla – 8:13am Corrigasleggaun – 8:33am Carrawaystick – 8:48am Drumgoff – 9:26am Mullacor – 10:29am Derrybawn – 10:58am Glendalough – 11:19am Camaderry – 12:26pm Wicklow gap – 1:04pm Tonlagee – 1:43pm Glenmacnass – 2:18pm Scarr – 3:05pm Knocknacloghoge – 4:49pm Lugalla – 5:34pm Sheepsbank Bridge – 6:16pm Djouce – 7:12pm War hill – 7:35pm (Tonduff – 8:15) Prince William seat – 10:35pm Knocknagun – 10:53 Finish – 23:44 Total – 22:43 |
| Jason Dowling | Jun 24 2018, 10:08pm | Super effort Paul and hope you got the time today to celebrate your achievement. You were motoring around the course which was no small feat in itself given the heat. Well done and congratulations on entering the 'Round hall of fame.. |
| Gary Warnock | Jun 24 2018, 10:14pm | Well done! Noticed you managed to sneak in Conavalla on your way round too! |
| Gordon Place | Jun 25 2018, 8:37am | Well done Paul! |
| Val Jones | Jun 25 2018, 9:24am | Well done Paul. Taking in Conavalla should compensate for any questions about Tonduff |
| Adrian Hennessy | Jun 25 2018, 9:35am | Well done Paul. You were looking comfortable at Sheepsbank. Nicely paced. |
| John Ryan Preston | Jun 25 2018, 10:23am | Congrats. Recover well |
| Paul Keville | Jun 25 2018, 12:01pm | I thought 26 peaks wasn't enough so I decided to go to convalla. |
| Tanya Sheridan | Jun 25 2018, 2:46pm | Congratulations Paul ... massive achievement. Sounds like you had a great support team so well done to you all! I hope you enjoyed your celebrations over the weekend :) |
| John Condon | Jun 25 2018, 2:54pm | Delighted for you, Paul. Well done. |
| Paul Keville | Jul 5 2018, 5:16pm | My Wicklow round report The Wicklow Round has been on the back of my mind for the past two years. Since starting into Ultra races and events I have been looking at people posting on the IMRA forum of their attempts and completions. It’s something I was in awe of. To me it was the Everest of mountain running. For the past two years I have entered a few ultra-races a year and ran one big event a year, e.g the Wicklow Way. But I always felt I just didn’t have the time to commit to the Round and Recce routes and train for it. So this year after aiming for a few targeted races I came to a cross roads. I had roughly 9-10 weeks to give it a shot (before the height of the summer and the growth) or aim for next year. Was this enough time to train for it or even recce the routes? I decided to give it a shot. I made a plan with my training to recce a section a week or two. I would head of to the mountain on my own and do and out and back routes each time. Training on my own prepared me for taking on the challenge as a solo competitor. Spending a few hours on your own in the mountains isn’t the easiest thing to do but you learn quite quickly how to motivate yourself to keep going and not let your head go down. On the night of my round attempt My wife Aoife dropped me to my mother’s place. Both Aoife and my mum were to help crew the night section from Kippure to Ballinagee Bridge. My poor mum looked terrified when I seen her. The thought of going up to the mountains in the middle of the night and me disappearing into the night was terrifying to her. She made me put a miraculous medal into my bag. We arrived at the start of the bog road and I had a few minutes to warm up and stretch. But before we knew it, it turned 1am. So I quickly got ready to set off not before my mum said a prayer to keep me safe. She stopped short of saying my last rites. So when the clock struck 1:01am I set off up the bog road. It’s a very strange dynamic starting a run like this on your own. There’s no one else around you, there’s no sound of other stamping feet or other runners asserting their position in the race. There’s no hit of adrenaline from the buzz or sound of others around. It’s here where you realise that it’s just you on your own. I will need to keep myself motivated and won’t be able to rely on other runners to help me through. This is something that concerned me when taking on the round. So I took it easy and steady up the bog road towards Kippure. I had time to admire the great views of Dublin below. There was a lovely orange hue lighting up the sky on one of the clearest calm night I have been out on. I summited Kippure and made my way to the Sally Gap where I met my mother and Aoife. My poor mother was still on edge. It didn’t help that four lads stopped beside them on the Sally Gap (they thought they had broken down). But they quickly filled my water bottles and gave me some supplies for the next section Sally Gap to Ballinagee Bridge. From here I made my way up the next few peaks Carrigvore, Gravale, Duff hill. I was managing to get ahead of my estimated times and feel comfortable at the same time. Navigation went very easy on this section as it was quite clear. When reaching Mullaghcleevaun it started to brighten up and dawn set in. The views of Wicklow including Blessington lakes and Dublin below started to become very clear. I made my over to Moanbane through Billy Byrne’s gap. Billy Byrnes gap was very dry and runnable with all the good weather we have been getting. After summiting Silsean I took one final look at the view of Dublin and the lakes and headed down towards Ballinagee Bridge following the forest line towards the road and then finding my way to the forest ride that leads down to Ballinagee Bridge and St.Kevins way. At this stage I was making good progress on my estimated times managing to get ahead by 10 minutes. I arrived into Ballinagee bridge and met Aoife and my mum again. My mum looked a little more at ease at this stage. It was bright and we both survived the night. I refuelled and stocked up on water and some food, put some sun cream on and quickly set of on the next section which is one of the longest part of the round. My route from here took me past Oakwood hostel following the fire road. My orienteering experience in this section paid off. Further down the fire road the forest up to Oakwood thins out in places and on the open mountain the heather isn’t as high. This resulted in summiting Oakwood almost 30 minutes ahead of schedule. I then made my way to Table mountain taking views of Arts cross to my right and Lough Firrib behind me. I could feel some heat starting to break through even this early in the morning. I was feeling a bit too ambitious that I didn’t even take a compass bearing on the way to Table mountain. This cost me to make a silly error. I could see the three lakes to my right and headed for the next peak which I assumed to be Table Mountain. I summited this hill and something didn’t sit right. Even though I recced this section (although a bit misty at the time) things didn’t look right. I took out my map and realised my error. In was on Convalla. I was warned about this a few weeks ago not to confuse these hills. After having a bit of a shouting match with myself I put the head down and headed for Table mountain taking a proper bearing this time. I thought 26 peaks isn’t enough in this route. So I quickly made my way up Table mountain not losing too much more time. Convalla cost me about 15-20 minutes but I kept reminding myself that I was still ahead of my estimated times and I was feeling strong. I was literally talking to myself and singing to keep me motivated. So if anyone happened to see a runner singing and talking to himself last weekend it was probably me. I needed some way to keep my spirits up. It also seemed to work very well. After Table mountain I headed up the ridge towards Lugnaquilla the highest part of the route. I was feeling very good and strong at this point. I summited Lugnaquilla at 8:13 am and there was a lovely morning sun starting to heat the place with no wind on top. I met a couple of hikers on the summit at the same time. This was the first people I had met on the mountains since I started. I was looking at them thinking what has them up so early and I’m sure they were looking at me thinking the same. I took a photo for them on the summit said goodbye and ran off to the next two peaks Corrigasleggaun and Carrawaysticks. I passed by the air crash site and even managed to find Liam Vines summit cairn but I didn’t carry and rocks with me to add to it. I had more important stuff to carry instead. This section went quite quickly and I ran down the boardwalk through the forest towards Drumgoff. This was a lovely run through the forest a nice change from the open mountain with the sun appearing through the trees. Arriving into Drumgoff I met with my next crew member Dave Weston. At this stage I was where I wanted to be, I was feeling comfortable and strong, and I was ahead of schedule by about 40 minutes. I stopped and had some food and refuelled and set of for Mullacor. Heading up the fire road towards Mullacor I could feel the heat at this stage. The sun was already causing temperatures to rise. However I kept a steady pace heading up to the summit. I was conscious not to push myself too hard. I noticed that my uphill was saving me time but I didn’t want to push too hard and suffer later in the run as a result. Some more discussions and conversations with myself ensured I kept to the right pace. After Mullacor I had a lovely run along the Derrybawn ridge passing some morning hikers. I had some lovely views of Glendalough before descending to meet my crew in Glendalough. Running into Glendalough I passed tourists setting up there picnics and met my crew Eileen Walsh And Dave Weston. I was still feeling good at this stage. I refuelled again, stretched and took up the long uphill battle of Camaderry . For anyone that knows this route it is really steep like climbing a wall. Again my uphill speed was consistent and it was a matter of get it over and done with. I was feeling good on top of Camaderry but starting to feel the effects of the length of this run. I was an hour ahead of my estimated time. I then took off towards Turlough hill running around the reservoir and making my way down the service road cutting off the hairpin bends for a short cut. I arrived in to the Wicklow Gap where again I got more food. I felt my appetite was struggling a little here and had to force myself to make sure I had enough calories in me. I was aware that there was a long time to go yet. I lathered the sun cream on again and Made my way up Tonlagee. Tonlagee was a slog but again my uphill was consistent and making good progress. Coming of the summit of Tonlagee I had great views of Lough Ouler (the heart shaped lake). I started to notice on the decent that I wasn’t as strong as my ascents and I feeling the effects of the day. I was still feeling strong as I arrived into Glenmacnass car park. This is where I met Gordon Wilson who was out for a long run on this hot day. Gordon headed off towards Scarr and I followed a few minutes later. I met him again on the summit of Scarr before I took off for the next two peaks which I wasn’t looking forward to. Knocknacloghoge and Luggalla. I took the route off Kanturk and brown Mountain which brought me to Lough Dan. There were plenty of tourists enjoying the hot day swimming, sailing and bathing in Lough Dan. I wadded through the river before heading into the endless sea of ferns heading up Knocknacloghoge. Climbing Knocknacloghoge felt like climbing a wall. With high heather up to my thigh and ferns up to my chest in places this was a real struggle. I knew I just had to get these two peaks out of the way and I knew if I got through these two peaks with a bit of energy left I would be in with a good chance of getting through the round. I eventually made it up to the summit of Knocknacloghue where I was able to enjoy the great views. This is one mountain which is really hard to get to but well worth the views. I made my way down Knocknacloghoge and started to head up Luggalla. I found some deer tracks up this mountain for most of the route but towards the summit the ferns were again up to my chest at points. This was one part of the route in where I genuinely struggled. It took me longer than predicted and I started losing my time buffer I had built up. I had to at one stage sit down for a minute and even lay on my back, before reaching the summit. I was running low on water and felt a bit weak. Luggalla summit felt never ending, everytime I thought I would see the summit another peak would appear. I eventually reached the top. Again it was worth it for the views alone. Coming off Luggalla I ran next to the cliffs and had amazing views of Lough Tay and the estate below. The view here was a real treat as It was my first time here. This was one section I hadn’t recce’d. The joy here was short lived where I had to get to Sheepsbank bridge through another sea of chest high ferns. After really struggling to get to Sheepsbank bridge I had almost lost my one hour buffer I had built up. At Sheepsbank bridge my crew of Kevin O’Riordan and my Aoife were waiting for me and Adrian Hennesy was there to cheer me on also. I prepared myself for the next section of Djouce, War hill and Tonduff. I took off towards Djouce making decent progress. Although I was tired from the day my uphill was still reasonably strong and I managed to summit Djouce reasonably comfortably. The uphill’s started to become a big struggle at this point but it was worth it once I hit the summit. On top of Djouce I met with Liam Vines and his dog and It was a good boost at this stage and I found myself some extra energy to head off towards War Hill. After War hill I headed towards Tonduff and I really started to feel the effects of the day here. There was still strong heat from the day and the heather was difficult to get through and both the decent and ascent were a major struggle at this point. Tonduff felt like an eternity away at this stage. I kept telling myself keep putting one foot in front of the other and digging in. I had to start talking to myself again to keep me going. Something I noticed I was going quieter as the day went on and I had to force myself to motivate myself. Eventually getting to Tonduff I hit the summit. This is where I made that error of the Summits. Navigating and basing my route of Harveys map only shows one summit on the map and I assumed Tonduff South was Tonduff north. So I then took a bearing and aimed for the Road beside Kippure mountain. I decided to stay high and contour around to avoid any unnecessary descent. I didn’t want to lose height and eventually made my way towards Lough Bray car park where my crew were to be waiting. Again the descents started to drag on at this stage and It felt like I was moving at a snail’s pace descending through the heather. I was feeling the exhaustion from the day and the sun was still strong. I got to the road and met Aoife and Kevin who parked on the road down form Lough Bray to avoid the build-up of midgets that started to come out. I was exhausted at this stage, my appetite was gone and I was only able to eat a small bit of fruit and a few salty lentil crisps. Although exhausted I knew the end was in sight. It is usually at this stage in ultra-races that I either get a boost knowing that the finish is coming soon or else I find the energy just to finish. I knew at this stage even if I had to crawl I was going to finish and get the last two peaks out of the way. After a very quick sit down and a refill of water bottles I set of on the road section of the Round. I took the route towards Prince Williams seat by turning up by Oldboleys. There is a path which is slightly overgrown with gorse that I followed that brought me just shy of the summit of Prince Williams seat. At this stage I was chasing the last of the light with a monster of a blister that had appeared on my foot. As I summited Prince William Seat I caught a view of a beautiful sunset with an orange hue in the sky and views of Dublin and some gorse fires in the distance. I was on the home stretch. I lost my targeted time but I was on track to make a sub 23 hour round. Again I Knew that even if I had to crawl my way to the finish I was going to make it. So I took my split time and made my way over to Knocknagun before making my way back down the mountain towards Oldboleys again and finally onto the road. It was fully dark by the time I got to the road. I felt like I was going to throw up at any stage now but I knew that in a few minutes I was going to be at the finish. I made my way towards the finish in the dark only to hear a few faint voices up the road. I made it back to be greeted by my crew Kevin O’Riordan my wife Aoife, my mother and my older brother with a clap a cheer and a cold beer put in my hand. Not knowing if my stomach would handle the beer I took a few swigs and It was exactly what I needed. The Wicklow Round is a great run. You visit all the best scenic spots in the Wicklow Mountains. It helped I got good weather for it. I genuinely enjoyed this run and loved every minute of it even the parts around Knocknacloghoge and Luggalla. It’s a great day out and If anyone is thinking of it, I’d say go for it. Get your recce’s done and give it a try. Paul Keville |
| Gordon Place | Jul 5 2018, 6:01pm | Great report Paul! Hope that prayer and miraculous medal don't consitute outside assistance |
| Andrew Hanney | Jul 5 2018, 6:06pm | Great read, well done Paul. I’d say the miraculous medal is in the spirit of the round alright :) |
| John Mollohan | Jul 5 2018, 11:06pm | That's a brilliant and honest report Paul. Makes for great reading. Well done on the completion, and the report. Could you ask your mother to write a report? It'd be interesting to hear her version... :-) |
| Paul Mahon | Jul 6 2018, 10:57am | Well done Paul on the Round Run & Report :-) |
| Mike Jordan | Jul 6 2018, 11:02am | Well done Paul. Welcome to the Club! |
| Stephen Coller | Jul 6 2018, 11:10am | Fantastic achievement Paul , well deserved |
| Pat Barry | Jul 6 2018, 3:51pm | Brilliant read. Having done the the first half to Glendalough, with John Barry, I can visualize the area as you describe it. |
| Laura Flynn | Jul 6 2018, 7:09pm | Just read that Paul. It’s a great report and brilliant achievement. Well done! |
