Tullaroan Ultra-marathon (39.3mile) 2018 Race Report

Another year and another race report for the Tullaroan Ultra-marathon (39.3mile) which I ran back on the 3rd June, this was my third running of the Ultra course in Tullaroan and likely my most unprepared running of the race to date!

So, in previous years back in 2016 and 2017, I was using this race as part of my training for Connemara 100mile on both occasions so I was regularly running numerous 20/30mile runs and was also regularly running back2back 20mile runs to get my body used to running tired.  This year, however, was nothing like that by any stretch of the imagination.

While I have run a handfull of 20mile runs since January and around 2x 30mile runs I've not run very hilly routes and I'm certainly out of my normal running routine of 5-6 training days a week, instead, I'd say I'm averaging around 3 training days a week.  However, I had signed up ansd paid for the Tullaroan Ultra back in Novermber of last year so I didn't want the money to go to waste :)

So keeping all of this in mind I headed off to Tullaroan for my usual 7am start for the Ultramarathon and for the first time my wife Grace came along with me to see me off at the start, this year 17 people stood at the start line of the ultra and due to my lack of training I figured I'd arrive somewhere at the middle of the pack at the finish line, nothing like my 4th place finish in 2016 or my 3rd place finish in 2018.

So off we went at 7am (including a guy in a Wolf costume) and the morning was lovely and cool with mist on the hills so it was a lovely morning to be out for a run.

Now for those that have never run Tullaroan half/full or ultramarathon a quick recap of the route.... it's hilly, very hilly, in fact, its hillier then Connemara Ultra which is held in April.   Here's a brief comparison:

Tullaroan  Ultra course: 663m elevation gain

Connemara Ultra Course: 402m elevation gain

Tullaroan consists of a 13mile loop and you just do it as many times as you need to complete the chosen distance so in my case I was doing it 3x times.

Unlike last year where when we started I was determined to be top 3 (ideally second) I kept a far more conservative pace this time around and settled in chatting to a few guys including a group of guys from Carrick en Suir who were planning to take part in the Energia 24hr race in July (good luck to them) and also a chap who was planning to run the Extreme North 105 Ultra next year but after the first loop the field had spread out so much that I was pretty much on my own from then on.

As I was moving a slower pace I missed the marathon start and half-marathon start (unlike last year) so that meant it was at least 30miles before I actually started meeting a few more people from both races, the day had also warmed up by this point too and I was starting to feel it.  

Basically, all I had brought with me was water and although I had a backpack I was only wearing it to carry my water bottle as I hate holding water in my hand all the time, I was totally depending on the aid stations which stocked jaffa cakes and coke to keep me going. Thankfully they had plenty of both!

By the time I got to 34miles I knew it would be around a 6hr 30min finish but I wasn't bothered with such a slow pace and in fact I was surprised it wasn't pushing 7hours or more. But to be honest I didn't fancy spending 7hours on my feet on the day in question.  At this point I gave Grace a ring (as she had gone home earlier) and asked her to meet me at the finish line.

During the last 3miles I met a group of 4 half-marathons and I was happy to explain what test of the course would be (downhill and flat!) and they were delighted with this good news, I eventually upped the pace for the last 2miles and kept a 7-7.30min pace as I felt pretty good.   

I crossed the finish line in 06:27:15, almost bang on target for my predicated 6.30 finish I had figured earlier and it was nice to see Grace at the finish line too.   Oh and surprisingly I had finished 4th again!

Time for some numbers!
So that means out of 3x runs of this event I've finished 4th twice and 3rd once, here's the somewhat amusing part........      

If I had been training like I was in 2017 I could have managed 1st as the winning time this year was 05:47:15 and I finished in 05:47:58 last year so with a little more effort I may have managed first or at the very least a comfortable 2nd as 2nd place this year finished in 06:09:12.

Overall the winning times for the Ultra were much slower this year when compared to 2017 as the 1st place winning time last year was a blistering 04:55:46.

To be honest I'm not actually terrible bothered I just thought it was somewhat amusing, I actually expected to finish around 10th.

So that's it for another year, a very surprisingly results given my lack of any decent training and once again Tullaroan put on a well organised race. I'd def recommend it for those seeking a challenge regardless of the distance you are seeking.

New medal design from Tullaroan AC

The pressure is on

The pressure is on.......
Why you may ask?  well, this year I've had no real training ragieme up until now but that mean I didn't sign up to any races, I've signed up for one...the annual Tullaroan Ultra.

For those that haven't read my previous running of this event I've run the Tullaroan Ultra on two occasions so far, in 2016 when I came 4th and last year when I came 3rd. Prior to that before the ultra option was introduced I ran the Tullaroan marathon on a few occasions.

This year unlike previous years I've not been properly training as in 2016 I was training for Connemara 100 and I was training the same last year too, but this year as i have no "big race" I have't been properly training like previous years.

In the last two months I have been aware of this and I have been occassionally running LSR runs of 20miles, I've also managed 2x 30mile runs under my belt so I don't think it'll be too bad in some ways but at the same time it'll be a challenge to get around the course especially the last third as after all Tullaroan is a very hilly course!

In prep for Tullaroan last week I managed to fit in two long runs of 20 and 30miles and these took me past the birth place of James Hoban, for those that don't know James Hoban designed the White House in Washington DC and also Leinster house here in Ireland.

This week will be more about focusing on speed which I kicked off with a fast'ish 5mile run yesterday evening and I am to complete some intervals during the week (I really hate intervals on my own!).  But, as much as I dislike intervals I can't argue with the fact that when it comes to improving pace they certainly help.

Spirit Of Place Memorial to James Hoban

Tullaroan Ultra-marathon (39.3mile) 2017 Race Report

Welcome to another race report, its the June bank holiday weekend and that means the Tullaroan Half/Marathon & Ultra took place on Saturday.

This is the forth year that Tullaroan AC have put on a 5km/10km/half & marathon races. Last year they added a 39.3mile Ultra for the first time after previous requests for the distance and you can read all about my race report from last years running of that course here.

It's been exactly a year since I ran a 39.3mile distance and prior to last years run I hadn't run this distance since Connemara Ultra in 2014 where I managed to finish in 5hrs 52min 19seconds.

Last year in Tullaroan after running part of the third loop way too fast and experiencing a good bit of cramping from the 34mile mark onwards I finished it in 6hours, 3min and 36seconds and came in at 4th place.   I was determined to improve on this and maybe, just maybe finish top three!

As always it was an early start for the Ultra as it set off at 7am, it was a small enough field with only 13 taking place and I got number 12!

and we're off....

This year I had opted to take on less food during the race and to only carry 4 gels and because I hate carrying water in my hand, I opted to use my Ultimate Race pack for the day.
In all honesty I didn't need the race pack and I could have just dropped the gels at certain points before the start but I didn't bother.

We were off at 7am and it was a slow and steady start with the aim of averaging an 8:30min/mile pace for the entire race. For the first 4miles or so I was chatting to a few people but after that I was pretty much on my own for the rest of the day.

I knew from this early stage in the race that I was actually in 3rd place (overall) and 2nd place (male) as both the 1st place male and female had raced ahead of the main group after the 2mile mark and we lost sight of them.

Although I had set the goal of running an 8:30min/mile avg pace early on I had noted that I had run the 1st loop at an avg pace of around 8:20min/mile so I opted to slow things down a bit and do my best to stick to my goal pace on the second loop.
This started well enough but I pretty much knew anyone I was spotting behind me after the 13mile point was also part of the Ultra as both the 8am & 7am marathon starts were in front of me. After spotting somebody at around 15miles I kept the slightly faster pace but I did drop it down to around 8:23min/mile average.

By the time I hit the 26mile mile mark I felt I was in decent shape, unlike last year I completed my second 13mile loop ahead of the half-marathon start who I had actually met up with just as I started my 3rd and final loop. I did however meet some 10km walkers and on some of the hills I ended up walking and chatting to them from the 28mile mark as the hills were starring to really effect the legs.

Still, I didn't forget I was in a race and I knew I was still in 2nd place for male finish of the Ultra so this spurred me on. I passed the 31mile (50km) mark in 4hours 31min which was a personal best for this distance and eventually the half marathon runners started to pass me coming up to 32miles.

Still, it wasn't all bad, but the time I hit the aid station at the Valley Inn I was still in pretty good shape and unlike last year I didn't cramp up and end up on the ground, thats always a good thing!

Shortly after the Valley Inn from around the 35mile mark it was a run/walk to the finish, although I didn't know it at the time one of the male Ultra runners past me between the 35 and 37mile mark, at least this is when I'm pretty certain they passed me as from 37mile to the finish line nobody else passed me and prior to this I had kept an eye on the race bibs for the people passing me. I pushed it on for the last 2miles and I kept up pace with one of the half marathon runners I finished the last mile in 7:51min.

As I crossed the line I was pretty sure I was top three but I wasn't certain if somebody had passed me or not while I was walking so I checked things out with Vincent the race director and was delighted to be informed I came in as 3rd male for the Ultra.

Considering I came in 4th place last year I'm very happy with this results and it'll be my first top 3 finish for anything other then a 3mile race I once did a few years back.

Official finish time was 05:47:58

As always you can check out my Garmin of the race here and you can see the full race results on the myrunresults website.

If you're interested to know how this 39.3mile Ultra compares to the Connemara Ultra held in April each year check out last years race report.

Finally a trophy for the cabinet!

As always, an enjoyable event put on by Tullaroan AC, well organised and plenty of stuff at the aid stations. Thankfully it wasn't as warm as last year but the course will always make it challenging!

2016 Year in Review

It's being posted very late this year but welcome to another year in review, I actually didn't do that many races this year but it was still an interesting year and a year where I dug deeper then I ever needed to in a race before in my life.

2016 kicked off with me still being injured after the end of 2015, 2015 overall wasn't a good year for not being injured as after the Dublin Marathon in October I basically did little to no running...I didn't even manage to run the Waterford Half Marathon and I just barely managed the Stook 10mile.

But I was determined that 2016 would be different so I started off with a plan, this plan basically was running the Connemara 100 Ultra in August.

Back in the days when I first started running and I was doing coach to 5km I had learned about the Connemara 100 and I remember reading in awe about people running this distance non stop in such a beautiful part of the country, since then its always been a race I wanted to do and 2016 was going to be the year this would happen.

Initially my plan for 2016 was to do the Vartry 100mile in April and then do the Connemaera 100 in August but after being injured I decided to drop Vartry down to a 50mile distances to compensate for my loss of fitness while injured.

By February I was beginning to start to get back into the groove of doing "normal" training miles again which felt great as I did my first 20mile run at the end of February, the last 20mile being in  October 2015!

By the second week in March I did my first 30mile run of the year and then it was on wards and upwards to doing Vartry 50mile in April.

Finally Finished Vartry!

My expected finish time for the event was between 10-12hours but although the conditions were awful as it was raining for the entire race I finished it in 10hrs 22min. While it was slower then the previous years 50mile I finished in very good condition and I felt great (something I didn't feel the previous year).

In May I started doing night runs on a Friday night after finishing work, I used this as a training method to get used to running 20-25miles when very tired and it was common for me to get back to my house at midnight after doing the 20-25mile run.  I found this new training method was useful because a) it got me used to running when tired and b) it allowed me to get my long slow run out of the way for the weekend :)

Finished Tullaroan Ultra (39.3miles)

The start of June brought the annual Tullaroan race event and in 2016 they put on an Ultra for the first time. This basically consisted of 3x 13.1mile loops and it was an awful hot day to run such loops.

Although I experienced some very painful cramping at the 36mile mark I crossed the line in 6hrs, 3min in 4th place! (the nearest I've gotten to a podium finish!)

July for the most part was a wash out as I spent 2 weeks of it in Canada doing very little running and when I got back I started tapering for Connemara at the start of August so no more big miles anymore.

August finally came and it was time for the target race. It was a challenge and you can read all about it here. I had hoped to finish the race in under 24hrs and all went well until 86miles and then everything went out the finish and I was just thankful to finish it!

While I didn't get the time I wanted in Connemara the entire race was certainly an experience, not only did I have the support of my wife Grace but for the first time I also had the support of my family as they crewed for me. They got to see me at my lowest low which I'm sure was difficult at times. It was great to have them all at the finish line and I really appreciated all the support from all of them.

After Connemara 100 I foolishly took a break from running for two weeks which actually caused me more problems then anything as my muscles just seized up (I really need to remember to keep doing recovery runs!).    This resulted in dry needling to get things back to normal again.

October eventually rolled around and with only 2x 20mile runs under the belt I had already signed up for Dublin so I figured I better run it. But did I want to chance aiming to beat my previous Personal Best of 3:33:33 or do I just want to finish?

In the end I decided that instead of going for a sub 3:20 time like I had in 2015 and 2014 I would just aim to come under 3:30 and so this plan paid off and I finished in a time of 3:29:06.

After Dublin I took it easy but I still managed to run Stook 10mile in November and Waterford Half-Marathon in December (neither of which were PB's) but I felt I finished the year in much better condition then at the end of 2015.

So what does 2017 bring?

Well, I've only signed up for the Waterford Marathon in June, but I must say I'm very tempted to go back to Connemara for another re-match to see if I can finally break the 24hr mark!

Tullaroan Ultra-marathon (39.3mile) 2016 Race Report

Welcome to another race report, this time for Tullaroan's third year of operating 5km/10km/half and marathon races, except this year they added another loop to make a 39.3mile course after Tullaroan AC had received numerous requests in the past for the addition of an ultra course (Thanks for listening guys).

As mentioned in my last blog post its been a few years since I've run a 39.3mile course so I decided the goal for this race was to race it and try and set a new personal best by beating my previous time set in 2014 in Connemara of 5hours, 52min, 19seconds.

With that in mind I did a pretty easy week of running before hand and off I went bright and early to Tullaroan and even at 6am it was looking like it was going to be a very hot day at the races.
The Ultra kicked off with 7am along with the very early start marathon runners, I settled in with an very easy pace of around 9:40min/miles for the first 7miles and ended up talking to Paul Brunnock about this and that, this was useful as I could to ask him about his experience previously running the Connemara 100.
By about the 7mile mark Paul stopped at one of the water stations but I continued on, it was around this time that I realised that I was running a far too slow pace and I was clearly taking it too handy as I needed to average under 8:52min/miles for the entire race to set a personal best. So I upped the pace. Including the initial slower and faster pace I increased to, I eventually finished the first 13.1miles in around 2hrs 5mins.

On the second loop I knew it was going to be a somewhat lonely loop as the proper marathon hadn't started yet and the very early marathon runners and ultra runners were well spaced out, I did however still manage to meet a few early marathon runners and it was good to chat to a few of the other runners and as always it was good to see some familiar faces from people I've met at other events.
I finished the second 13.1mile loop in 1hour 50min which was a nice speed increase on the first loop.

At the beginning of the third loop I stopped at the crossroads in Tullaroan to refill water and get a few things to eat and at the same time the half marathon kicked off so I wasn't going to be on my own for the last loop.
Initially I must admit I got somewhat carried away and upped the pace to pass many of the half-marathon runners by weaving in and out of the crowd, but I did eventually slow down after I realised this.  Among the crowd I did however meet a few familiar faces also including Paul who I ran with during the Vartry 50mile back in March of this year.

By the time I started hitting the 30mile mark I was beginning to pay for getting carried away and the legs started to rebel on some of the hills so I was forced to walk.  I was however again able to make full use of the downhills and I was using this to leap frog half-marathon runners who I'd catch up with and then I'd lose them again as I was reduced to walking again.

By the time I hit the 35mile mark and the water station at Valley Inn I decided stretching might do me some good, this however was not to be the case.  As soon as I lifted my left leg to stretch it my right leg had a painful cramp and I collapsed to the ground.  Once on the ground my left leg then also decided to have a painful cramp as well so I was experiencing a fair bit of pain in both legs.
I'm sure this was a worry to the people looking after the water station and when they asked what I needed I just said I needed a help up, so after a lot of pain standing up and walking for the first 100 metres or so the cramps went away and I was able to run again thankfully!

The last few miles were somewhat of a slog as that section has a number of climbs which you have to endure but I still ensured I ran as much as I could as I had spotted another ultra runner who I was determined was not going to pass me as up until now no other ultra-runner had passed me during the race.

Once the hills were over I took as much advantage of the relatively flat road as I could but by now I knew I wasn't going to set a PB as 1mile out I had already hit my time of 5hours 52min. This was somewhat frustrating but I was dead certain that the Tullaroan course was much hillier then Connemara (see my comparison below) and the conditions were seriously hot (for Ireland anyway!).

Coming up to the finish I upped my pace and finished in 6hours, 3min and 36seconds and ended up being the 4th male to finish the Ultra.  This is by far the closest I've come to a "podium finish" for a large race and I'm thrilled with it! :)

At the finish it was great to see a number of club members from our local club Callan AC who despite some very challenging conditions and a such a hilly course had set some excellent times. For some of the others it was their first time to complete a 10km race.

Tullaroan's new Marathon/Ultra medal

Overall I must say the Tullaroan Race events have gone from strength to strength each year I've ran it and I think I heard that this year they had over 600 runners which is certainly a massive increase from the first year. Organisation and facilities before, during and after the race were also very good with plenty of water stops.   It was also a nice touch to offer three different medals for the 5km, 10km/half-marathon and marathon/ultra events.

The timing of the races also worked out well as the roads weren't too crowded and it was really nice to get the support and company of the half-marathon runners on the third loop of the ultra, it also helped that Ultra runners had a sign identifying them (this is something I've seen previously for the Connemara Ultra (see example picture)

So now the race report is over, just exactly how does Tullaroan's 39.3mile course stack up against the Connemara Ultra 39.3mile course, without a question Tullaroan is far more challenging course with more hills and over 200 extra meters of gain over the entire course.
You can see the courses compared below (click for larger image):

Tullaroan course: 663m elevation gain

Connemara Ultra Course: 402m elevation gain

For those interested you can also see full Garmin profiles of both Tullaroan Ultra and Connemara Ultra course (Connemara Ultra was recorded in 2014 but remains unchanged since).
Would I recommend this for race somebody that wanted a challenging 39.3mile Ultra, most certainly :)

Miles This week: 67 miles
Miles this Year So Far: 788miles

High mileage month and a club outing

Far from a very high mileage week with only 38miles under the belt but still a productive month of mileage as I clocked just over 209miles for the entire month of May, this is higher then any month in the past 18 months with exception of January (215miles) & March (230miles) in 2015.

This coming weekend I'm signed up to do the Tullaroan Ultra (39.3mile), this will be a break from the usual Tullaroan Marathon I've done a few times and it will also be the first 39.3mile Ultra I've done since doing the Connemara Ultra in April 2014.  

As its been a few years since doing the distances I'm opting to race Tullaoran and see if I can beat the 5:52:19 time I set back in 2014. It'll be a good opportunity for me to test some different food and also it'll do me no harm if I manage to get a new personal best for this distance.

On a side note they'll be a good turnout from my local athletics Club Callan AC as a number of the club members have signed up to doing either the 5km or 10km so it'll be great to have a outing. :)

Miles this Year So Far: 742miles