This race is a lap of Valentia Island with Atlantic views on all sides. Beautiful cliffs, headlands and islands make this Hardman's most scenic run. There is also a 10K, with both races starting and finishing in Knight's Town.
After a pizza on route, Seán and I camped on the island the night before to avoid the early drive. It was fairly windy but stayed dry and left us well rested.
We were first to collect race packs in the morning and with over an hour to spare we toured the island, drove up Coominaspic and went to the Kerry Cliffs. As we arrived back, the half marathoners were headed for the start line and I geared up to join them. Seán was doing the 10K which would start 15 minutes later. It was intensely windy, waves crashed against the rocks and dark clouds taunted us. Alan kept it brief at the start line and quickly sent us off.
The first 3km is uphill, but it felt more gentle than I remembered. The half marathon route includes an out and back to the slate quarry & grotto. This section has great views of the lighthouse, Beginish Island and Doulus Head. I met a man who'd finished this race ten times, chatting all the way to the turning point and back to the hill.
By chance Seán and I arrived at this short overlapping section at the same time. We ran together to complete the uphill before going our separate ways. I was in a chatty mood and spotted an Ironman tattoo so caught up to ask about it. Met a nice guy called Dave who had tonnes of stories from three Ironman's, twelve marathons and a lot of adventures. Neither of us intended to talk for the whole race, being arguably more tired from it, but stories made the time fly by.
The high, rolling road looks down on the whole island. Panoramic views of Portmagee and the mountains behind in particular. The wind hadn't eased which made it cold at times, but the rain held off and you could see the Skelligs in the distance. Steep descents brought us to the 12km aid station where we both had water and Dave had his gel. The time was flying by and we were a lot faster than planned. We both had full marathons in two weeks so targeted around two hours, but felt good and just went with it.
The road was a roller coaster to Chapel Town and the last water stop. From here we turned onto the low (and deceptively long) coastal road back to Knight's Town. The wind was crazy strong and at our backs so this flew by. After hearing about Dave's experience on Kilimanjaro, and laughing about how short this race had felt while chatting, it was time for a sprint finish. The wind gave me a helping hand to cross the line in 1hr 48mins 4s.
Seán had a great experience for his first race and already knew he wanted to sign up for more. I loved it too and thought the route made it easily recommendable. The early uphill is a blessing in disguise, the views are a nice distraction and we couldn't believe the rain had held off. We got some free food, took our photos and hit the road. We'd a place booked in Killarney and it was a perfect reward to head out that night.
The rest of the weekend had a miserable (but great) climb up Carrauntuohill, a nicer climb up Galty Mór, an Easter Sunday dinner with my family, board games, movies, drinks and lots of time with friends. A long weekend doesn't get much better!
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