The Ballyhoura Moonlight Challenge.

While most of us were tucked up safely in our beds onFriday night last, the 18th of January, three members of the Blackwater TriathlonClub, Dave McCarthy, Adrian Collins and Peter O’Brien, were making their way tothe Ballyhoura Mountains in Limerick to take part in the first BallyhouraMoonlight Challenge. The challenge took runners, hikers & walkers throughthe winter wonder of the Ballyhoura countryside following a trail of headtorches.There were two distances available to participants on the night; a fullmarathon, starting at midnight from Kinfinane, and a half marathon, starting at2.30am from the halfway point of the marathon, the townland of Ballyorgan. Formany of the people who turned out on the night, this was an opportunity to dosomething a little bit different from the usual road races that are availableto runners. A whole new set of challenges faced those taking part on the night,from choosing the right footwear and clothing, to navigating their way throughforest trails on the side of a mountain with just a head torch to light theway. The prime objective for many taking part was just to complete the courserather than focus on a particular finish time. The event was organised by the MMRA (MunsterMountain Running Association) and the general consensus on the night wasthat it was a very well organised event. The course was very well signpostedand there were race stewards at critical junctions. Post race, there was a fullIrish breakfast for the finishers. Dave, Peter and Adrian did the half-marathonevent. The half-marathon course was a mixture of small roads and forest trails.The roads were mostly empty , save for passing runners and the odd car carryingorganisers and stewards back and forth. The trails had a mixture of surfaces.Some were in woods and were pretty good except for the odd stone or tree root.Some sections featured energy sapping mud and more challenging terrain. Onesection near the highest point had a lot of loose stones so getting a good gripwas an issue. Overall, if you took your time then it was fine but running atspeed had its risks, especially for the less experienced trail runners. Many ofthe gradients in the race were far more challenging than in an ordinary roadrace and on some of the uphill sections, many of the runners had no choice butto walk. The effort of walking up those inclines was the same as running on theflat. Then on some of the downhill sections, athletes were forced to walk ratherthan run for fear of slipping on the rough ground. The weather on the night waspretty favourable, dry, fairly calm and hovering around 3 to 4degrees Centigrade. All three BTC athletes really enjoyed the event, with Davecoming home in 1:45, while Peter and Adrianfinished in just over 2 hours. The experience of being halfway through a halfmarathon at 3.30 in the morning in the middle of a forest in January is not onethey’ll forget for a while! Definitely a unique and memorable race.