For years people recommended the QUEST series to me, so I finally decided to try one out. Scheduled for October, this was set to be cold and mucky. With (mistaken) confidence in my triathlon fitness I signed up for the expert route.
Katie and I arrived to collect the race pack the night before. After dinner we car camped along side friends Gavin & Emer. Gavin was the event photographer so we were both up bright and early.
Accustomed to prepping triathlon transitions, this race was beautifully simple. Arrive right before your start time where everyone is on their bikes. You have all food, supplies and raingear in a backpack. You cycle a big loop which has points for you to rack the bike, do a trail run, then take off cycling again. It felt self sufficient and adventurous.
I mistakenly brought my rugged adventure bike because I didn't have the tools to swap over pedals (my racer had clipped in shoes). It made for a tough day, but some good bonding with the others who'd brought the same.
Nonetheless I was lined up and excited as they counted us down. Then off we went.
The bike route was insanely hilly. I had cycled 180km only six weeks ago, yet the first 10km killed me. On top of one particularly large hill we racked the bikes and took off 'running'.
I say 'running' because it was wet, windy and some trails were more like mucky streams. There were a lot of stages you had to walk to not fall, and they were intensely steep. The whole group moved slowly up the mountain at what was mostly just a fast walk. Running where we could, but really struggling.
On top, the wind howled as a marshal scanned our tags. From there an even steeper path down was impossible to run on, and we eventually were back at the bikes. It pissed rain and I felt wrecked. Good God, what had I signed up for.
The next cycle was very similar, down a valley and up an even bigger hill. From there a similarly mucky run/walk to another barren, windy summit. On the bike once more we completed the long loop that meandered back to Glendalough. Racking the bike I was delighted, but had no energy. All in all it had only been a 40km cycle with a 5km & 6km trail run. The hills made it feel like double that.
From here we had a 5km run to our kayaking loop, then a different 5km run back. I like that this was much busier, joining up with people doing the two shorter courses. They were instantly obvious as they all smiled full of energy, while the 'experts' with our black race numbers stood out a mile away. Struggling now with even the subtlest of inclines, myself included. This run dragged on a lot, but I loved that kayaking would break it up.
Reaching the lake it was Sue Doyle, an old friend of mine, putting on the buoyancy aids. I found the energy to say hello and hopped in a boat. It's a short loop in double sit on tops with the nearest person. As a kayaker I would like it solo and longer, but this day 1km was enough. We chatted as we passed out a lot of others, my partner confused by our speed.
Once on dry land I took off running fast. There was renewed energy, but it didn't last long.
The last section required digging deep. Fighting my bodies urge to walk with every step. It was slow, but luckily it was the home stretch. You can hear the finish long before you see it. Over a makeshift bridge, I entered the grass for the extended finishing trail. It meandered around the crowd and then under the finish line.
5hrs 17mins 33s
Holy crap. I could have dropped dead. It felt like it would never end, but I couldn't be happier to have made it. I found some shade and sat in it for some time.
I hadn't known anything about the afters of these races but was pleasantly surprised. Free food (very tasty), free pints and the best flapjacks ever to speed up recovery. It was definitely 30mins before I felt normal again. I brought my bike to the free bike valet (a really nice touch) and we left. All in all, it's a pricy event but it's very well run in many ways.
We met Gavin and Emer after. He'd had a great day, if a little wet and cold at times, and they headed home to begin photo editing. Katie and I did our usual touristing with a stay at a local B&B. Two others staying with us had done the race and it was nice to hear that it wasn't just me. It really was tough. I said never again, meaning it in the moment, but knowing it was probably a lie.
It was a week later that I looked up the other races and convinced myself they couldn't be as tough. Maybe QUEST Kenmare next?
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