NIMRA ‘The Mountain Runner’ Newssheet November 2024
Welcome to our eleventh edition of the monthly NIMRA newsletter ‘The Mountain Runner’, and we are pleased to show off the November 2024 edition updating you with any news or highlights from the previous month and what is coming up for the month ahead. Members can use this as a focus point to stay updated with all the goings on, and we appreciate if anyone would like to make any contributions throughout the year, please get in touch and we’ll do our best to include in the latest bulletin. Thank you to the growing number of people who have been contributing thus far!
HIGHLIGHTS
Mourne Skyline Races (12th October 2024)
Plenty of our members took on the return of the Mourne Skyline race and new Mourne SkyUltra on Saturday 12th October on a challenging day out for all. Full results and info from the day is on their website here
IMRA Races October/November 2024
College Championship Glendalough (Sat 28th September)
A quartet of QUB athletes headed to the inaugural IUAA College Championship in Glendalough at the very end of September. Sean Diamond came in 3rd overall followed in directly by Catriona Edington (1st lady), Conall Rice and Lorcan Hughes over the 5 mile course, sweeping up some medals for Queens. Catriona has ran in this terrain often but for the lads it was a mountain debut, so keep an eye out for them in the new upcoming season.
Powerscourt Ridge (Saturday 23rd November)
The traditional closer for the IMRA season was the very popular staple fixture of Powerscourt Ridge starting from Crone Woods in Wicklow on Saturday 23rd November. With Storm Bert making it’s presence felt through Friday night and into Saturday morning, there was a minor worry that the race was to take a bad weather route or be cancelled outright. With the yellow warning cancelling other races and parkruns that morning, mountain runners are usually made of hardier stuff and proceeded as planned. Whilst the wind and rain had abated at the start line, by the time the runners were out of the initial steep climb out of the Crone Woods and climbing to Maulin, the elements were starting to bite, with very strong gusts and the thaw creating ice cold streams on the main paths.
The snow got deeper from the shoulder to the summit of Djouce where the runners were met with an icy blasting wind which was difficult to stay vertical in. No such trouble for the Carnethy contingent of Sasha Chepelin and Alistair Masson storming the course in 1st and 3rd separated by top Irish runner Killian Mooney. There was a minor invasion from the north on the day with a few local clubs represented. Mourne Runners squad was the quartet of Matt O’Reilly (8th), Peter McEvoy (22nd), Ciaran McAleenan (85th) and David Bell (105th), whilst Newcastle AC had Rebecca Magee (32nd and 2nd lady overall) and Pearse Brogan (62nd), along with Newry’s Ian Rainey 42nd and Springwells Shirhaan Hameed 94th on the day
NEWS/OTHER
LVO Family-Friendly Orienteering Coaching – Sunday 1st December
Want your kids to be more active, more confident, and find friends to run about with in forests and up mountains? Would like to learn a new outdoor sport that all the family can take part in?
Taking place on the last Sunday of the month, LVO invites you to Running Wild, a chance for like-minded families to learn about orienteering together and find out about how to get involved in our exciting club and sport.
Sessions are for children in Primary 4 and above. If children are younger, please get in contact with us (email chair@lvo.org.uk) to find out other exciting orienteering opportunities for them.
All children must be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the coaching, up to a maximum of four children per adult. This is not a drop-off service.
NIMRA WINTER LEAGUE 2024/25
NIMRA members in the recent members opinion survey asked about a Winter League. NIMRA at short notice have worked with running clubs with existing races planned to arrange a Pilot Winter League, which commences on 7th December 2024.
The races are:
• Run4Rescue – NIMRA (Saturday 7th December 2024) – SOLD OUT
• Turkey Trot – BARF (Thursday 26th December 2024)
• Race over the Glens – Ballymena Runners (Wednesday 1st January – New Years Day 2025)
• Drum Manor 10K – Sperrin Harriers Winter Series race (Saturday 11th January 2025)
• Parkanaur 5K– Sperrin Harriers Winter Series race (Saturday 22nd February 2025)
NIMRA members are to compete in 3 out of the 5 races to be considered part of the championship.
All NIMRA Winter league competitors are to be NIMRA members throughout (note: the 2025 membership opens in January.
Fastest NIMRA member home in each race (Male/ Open and Female) gets 1 point, 2nd fastest gets 2 points and so on. The NIMRA member with the least number of points after the final race (remember 3 out of the 5 count) will be the NIMRA Winter League champion.
A NIMRA Winter League trophy will be awarded to the First Male/ Open and to First Female winner. There will be prizes for 1st/ 2nd and 3rd place Male/ Open and Female but there are no category prizes this time around.
Entry to the races is online. Follow the link to the race page. Finally, for now if any member isn’t racing but is free to marshal/ assist with registration or help in some capacity please contact the club to see if they have any specific help needs. Sperrin Harriers in particular could do with some additional marshals.
NIMRA CHAMPIONSHIP 2025
The Northern Ireland Mountain Running Association organises the new 12 race championship, with the best 7 races to count, with at least one race to be completed at each distance and 4 others of any distance. To qualify for the Championship points you must become a NIMRA member, details of which are on our website. Further details of each race will be put up on the NIMRA website in due course.
SHORT
Glenariff – 08/03/2025
Slieve Gullion – 15/03/2025
Scrabo – 21/08/2025
Slieve Bearnagh – 27/09/25
MEDIUM
Pat Dunbar Leitrim Lodge Race – 29/03/2025
Cairncastle – 07/06/2025
Flagstaff – 15/06/25
Mullaghcarn Giant Race (Gortin Glens) – 26/7/25
LONG
Annalong Horseshoe(Carricklittle car park) – 26/04/2025
Granite Peaks – 25km 25/5/25
Spelga Skyline – 28/06/2025
Seven Seven’s – 09/08/2025
All races will have online entries with no entries on the day and athletes should check NIMRA website for any other changes to race arrangements.
NIMRA MEMBERS SURVEY 2024
NIMRA AGM 2025
One to keep for the calendar is our AGM which will take place Wednesday 19th February 2025, we encourage as many members as possible to attend for your own benefit. Details to follow, watch this space.
*Upcoming fixtures
7th December – Run For Rescue (Tollymore) – ENTER HERE – SOLD OUT!
26th December – Turkey Trot – ENTER HERE
1st January 2025 – Race Over The Glens – ENTER HERE
December 2024 (IMRA)
| Sat Dec 14 | 10:00 AM | Glanageenty Half Marathon | MHM | Kerry | IMRA Race | 650m | 21.10km |
| Sat Dec 14 | 11:30 AM | Glanageenty Trail 10km | Kerry | IMRA Race | 318m | 10.00km | |
| Sat Dec 14 | 12:00 PM | Glanageenty 5k | Kerry | IMRA Race | 160m | 5.00km | |
| Fri Dec 27 | 10:00 AM | Djouce Remembrance Race | Wicklow | IMRA Race | 120m | 7.50km |
*On this month (Archives)
MOURNE WALL WALK MEMORIES
‘The best talkers don’t necessarily make the best walkers’
( Mourne Observer quote on the 1978 Wall Walk)
Some things will never happen again. We can be pretty sure that nobody will ever again manage to mobilise a workforce to build anything quite like the Mourne Wall. The effort which was required to construct the Wall is something that few of us can begin to appreciate – in every sense, it is an absolute brute.
The Wall Walk was also a brute. There are many long distance challenge walks in the rest of the world; some are longer but I doubt if any compare with the annual test provided by the 22 miles and 15 peaks, involving a total of 10 000 ft climbing, which encircle the Belfast Water Commissioners reservoirs in County Down. The distance was manageable by a reasonably fit casual walker and the physical challenge was on the limits of what could be completed at speed by a serious fell runner. The final descent towards Long Seefin sometimes involved running at speed on top of the wall coping stones – a skill which was unique to Mourne fell runners, some of whom even knew where the loose stones were.
This is the story of what I can remember about people who met the challenge of completing the annual walk and in particularly those who set records which may never be beaten.
Firstly, there should be an appreciation of those who conceived the Mourne Wall Walk. There are no prizes for guessing which local walker is recorded as doing the first full circuit – the year was 1935 and the man was Wilfrid Capper. Wilfrid, was involved in just about everything to do with walking in this country during his long lifetime. It would not surprise me if he walked back to his Belfast home following his initial circuit of the Wall seventy years ago.
In subsequent years, before and after the War, small parties completed the walk with Wilfrid, who always stipulated that short-cuts were strictly not allowed. It would be great to meet some of these early pioneers of long distance walking but I guess that many of those involved have now walked their last stride.
It was not until 1957 that a properly organised annual event started. The Walk was promoted by the Youth Hostel Association of Northern Ireland as a means of raising funds. Wilfrid, who was still going strong, in association with Paddy McAteer and Victor Pillow were among the initial organisers. Only 43 people entered in this first year and few could have guessed how big the event was to become.
Early press reports show that 238 in 1964 (201 finishers) and 487 started in 1968 (219 finishers). One notable entrant in 1963 was top English fell runner Eric Beard who set a record time of 4 hrs 26 mins. This was fast but the time is also a measure of how great the performances of other local runners were in following years. Yorkshire based, Eric was a true champion having smashed many mountain running records in GB in the 1960s. He sometimes ran wearing kletters (a type footwear I’ve never heard of).
There are few other records for the early years, during which numbers were small, but by 1975 a total of 1750 people were entered. First home was John Hanna in 5 hrs 40 mins and controversy had commenced. The event annually gave rise to two debates:
1) Was it a good idea to encourage thousands of walkers into the Mournes on one day and did this damage the fragile environment?
2) Should people be allowed to race the walk? Were runners a threat to walkers and did they add an extra burden on the already hassled organisers and emergency services?
The environmental argument was eventually conceded and the walk ended in 1983 but the ‘running debate’ was never settled. L R Carew, of the Belfast Branch of the Irish Mountaineering Club, wrote that he was struck by the rigidity with which the organisers cling to the concept of the event not being competitive. He said that there should be no more ‘giving off’ about wearing running shoes …. And the organisers should take into account the aptitude and state of fitness of entrants. The YHANI organisers responded that ‘plimsolls are unsatisfactory footwear for going into the mountains’.
For the next eight years this argument continued but the following is a record of the times recorded in Mourne Observer articles. Many of these amazing efforts require verification; for example, how accurate was timing and did every winner complete the full course – missing out the summit of Slieve Meelmore was always very tempting. Wilfrid Capper is on record as saying that he never took short-cuts but did everybody follow his full circumnavigation of the Wall? It is hoped that readers of this article can respond with details which will enable the record books to be completed.
1973
The winner (unknown) was given a shield presented by Maeve Kyle.
1974
700 entered the Walk. The Lisburn Shield was presented for competition between teams of 8 walkers from any organisation. Thirteen teams entered and Mourne UDR won.
1976
A total of 1251 started on a warm day. Eleven casualties were airlifted out by helicopter and first back was Tom Perry in a moderate time of 5 hrs 50 mins.
1977
This year marked the arrival of the local supermen. Comber fell-runner Jim Hayes, also described in the press as a ‘star sprinter’, knocked 5 mins of the record to finish in 4:11:30. Joint second, over an hour behind, were T Perry and J White. The weather was described as ‘middlin to piddlin’ and 1512 walkers and one dog completed the course.
1978
The walk was stopped early due to low cloud and sleet. Only 1249 of the 2050 starters managed to find their way to the finish in visibility down to 20 metres. Organiser Paddy McAteer said that 23 people had to be rescued from the mountains and 6 of these ended up in hospital. The weather didn’t bother Jim Hayes too much; he was first to break the 4 hour barrier with an amazing time of 3:58. Jim was described as being ‘super fit, with great balance and the guts that are needed to go leaping down rough slopes’.
Jim Patterson was strangely recorded as doing the same time but ended up being disqualified for starting too late. I can remember some ‘cat and mouse’ games between Hayes and Patterson, with neither wanting to help the other by taking an early lead but I doubt if they ever started that far apart – anybody know what happened in 1978 and who made this decision which deprived Jim Patterson of his share of the record?
1979
By now, entry numbers were on the increase – 2355 started, 1419 finished. Rathfriland man Howard Murray Jnr managed to split Hayes and Patterson. The organisers spent many hours collecting litter from fish & chip vans.
1980
Numbers were up again; 2877 started and 2047 completed the course.
There were several near-death experiences when a number of large stones were dislodged on Binnnian. The weather was described as being the best ever and Hares Gap was said to resemble a huge picnic site with Guinness and red wine being the most popular tipples. Neither of which were sampled by Jim Patterson who stormed around in an amazing 3:48.
One English entrant crossed to Northern Ireland on Friday night, cycled to the Mournes, walked the walk and cycled home again on the Monday.
Local man Irvine Heaney, from Kilkeel, did the walk in a suit and tie.
1981
First home, at 10:50am, was Hugh Annett in a time of 4:23. This means he started just after 6:00am and must not have seen many other people on the way around. The 2459 finishers were presented with silver jubilee badges; 3400 had started and wet weather caused a high drop-out rate.
1982
Hugh Annett was back as winner, with a 3:54 timing. The number of starters fell to 2657, probably due to bad weather. The weather also caused diversions at Little Binnian and Slievenaglogh. A one-legged man John Murray of Ballykinler is said to have completed 12 miles of the walk route.
1983
Ian Park set a new record with 3:42 but it’s not clear what effect rerouting on Binnian had on this excellent time. To avoid erosion, entries had been limited to 3000 but only 2640 started on the day of which 2080 finished.
A Ban the Boot protest was mounted by MCI members who were concerned about damage to Binnian, Loughshannagh and Meelbeg. Claims were made that grass was eroded for 30ft beside the wall.
1984
Following representations from DOE and MCI, the organisers (YHANI) cancelled the walk as an act of good faith in the best interests of the Mournes.
The Wall Walk was many things: it promoted mass fitness, raised money for a good cause, attracted tourists, got people out of bed early and produced some amazing athletic performances. On the other hand, it undoubtedly caused much damage to the hills and generated a lot of litter. In 2005 a new route – the Newcastle Challenge Trail – will be launched. This is also a true test of long distance endurance, through glorious scenery but over sustainable terrain. Who knows, one day this new walk may become as popular as the Mourne Wall Walk once was.
Terry Eakin
May 2005
