Silent Valley 2013 – Course Preview

Note: The following is guide to the course as we found it today but please consult the official race route for the precise details.  We will be posting an updated race route in the next day or two.

The Course

The start is a fast sprint down a road before turning into the woods and up a short steep runnable trail.  This leads to a gap in a traditional stone wall and out onto the open mountain side of Moolieve.

Starting up Moolieve

The run across the rough gorse field on Moolieve should split the field up and reduce the road block at the stile.

The style on Moolieve

A short climb takes you to the first check point at the cairn on Moolieve.

The summit of Moolieve

This is followed by some easy running off Moolieve.

Coming down Moolieve

At this point you are faced with a choice of routes up Binnian.  At the moment the westerly face (straight ahead in the picture) is unsafe due to ice so we went on the easterly face which is accessed by skirting around the base to the right.  If the westerly face is still unsafe on race day the course will be marked for the easterly route.

The west of Binnian

The quarry at the bottom of Binnian.

The quarry on Binnian

The east of Binnian is steep and the snow adds a little spice.

East side of Binnian

The snow does make it easy to get over the stile.

A couple of inches of snow on Binnian

From the stile you are heading for the Summit Tor.

Going to the summit tor on Binnian

At the Summit tor there is a long run across the plateau to the North Tor before doxycycline buy starting to descent towards Ben Crom.  A lot of this ground has been renovated with a path; however the snow is currently hiding a lot of that.

The descent from the North Tor on Binnian

There is a path down to Ben Crom if you can pick it out from the snow.

The path down to the dam

A short breather as you cross the dam.

Easy running across the dam

After the dam there is a choice of a low or high path across the flank of Ben Crom to Doan.  This is rough gorse covered running.  If it all gets too much you can always drink in the views.

View from Doan

The top of Doan is protected by a rocky outcrop.  The climb is far from fast running ground.

Going up Doan

It has been determined that in the current conditions it would not be appropriate to climb Carn and Muck (the hills on the other side of the water).  After descending Doan you are skirting the water on the Doan side down the Bann Road towards Slievenaglogh.

Carn and Muck

The final climb on Slievenaglogh.  This is currently covered by a couple of feet of snow but the running is easy enough.

Slievenaglogh

The last summit cairn on Slievenaglogh.

The summit of Slievenaglogh

The descent off Slievenaglogh is mountain goat material – rocky rough and peaty.  Once down you are into the final stretch across a couple of marshy fields before descending into Silent Valley park for the finish.

Coming into the finish in Silent Valley

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