Continued from Part 1.
Great result Claire, still don’t understand how you ended up Pigeon Rock though 
at least it was at the end of the day. I imagine a mistake like early on would really demoralise you and you certainley need all the morale you can get for this event. Great to meet up again with yourself, Eamonn, Oisin, Rusty & Spud too.
I struggled myself, my partner was a lot faster (I reckon he could have got a podium finish without me) and my pack was too heavy (over 11kg all in). I tried running everything flat or downhill on day1, it was hard work but didn’t feel too bad, only 2 very short stops during the day when climbing Eagle Mountain. Suffered at camp with very sore shoulders and a bad back, I couldn’t sit down! Avoided cramps all day but when I got into the tent for the first time both legs went immediately and I had to lie there for a few minutes laughing with the pain 
.
Day 2 was a big struggle, just could not walk fast but was able to keep a steady but slow pace. My partner was always a “few” metres ahead of my trying to spur me on, but I think the faster he went the slower I went (I think when someone is so far ahead of you you tend to give up within, whereas if they are closer you feel you can catch up). Anyhow he was a good navigator so by the time I caught up with him at each flag he had already dibbed and plotted the next course so I just kept follwing him like a lost dog.
Came 27th (5h25) on Day 1, 32nd (4h13) on Day 2 – Overall 28th (9h39) out of 65 (I had hoped for a top 20) maybe if I’d taken less photos we could have made up the necessary 23 mins to achieve that, ah well, something to aim for next year. I can always blame the navigator too of course 
So here’s the photos
The routes
a few map correction to add, unfortunately we missed an important one >:(
off we go and first task is to plot the route, good weather at this point is crucial, imagine doing this in the wind and rain
Cloughmore Stone
manned checkpoints were dotted along the route, I hope they brought midge nets
The odd time I raised my head I got to appreciate the view, here’s Pierce’s Castle
Some teams stopped for lunch, not us though, we ate on the move. I remember trying to eat going up a steep hill and the food was falling out of my mouth as I tried to breath deeply ;D
Shanlough catches me out EVERY year – must remember to stay wide of the fence where its deeepest (it smelled as bad as it looked :'( )
top of Eagle and more great views
finished day 1 and straight to the foot spa to wash Shanlough off me
followed by a wee rest in the tent
and the lovely feeling of nice dry socks
and some delicious dinner
looking for those lost minutes
there’s always one (and its usually Rusty)
hmmmm nice
good idea, never thought of that for camp
my wee luxury item, yes it lookslike pee but it tastes like cider
afterburners on and time for supper
warming the paws, it was a really warm weekend, but once the sun dropped it cooled dramatically
supernoodle supper
DAY 2 – a lovely dawn
the usual queue for the loo (and I was touching cloth 😮 )
what a campsite
each class starts together on day 2 so there is a bit of a procession, especially with the good visibility, very tempting to follow the crowd but that caught us out a couple of times
some fog in the valleys below, now that would make an interesting event
some confusion among the teams (the flag was behind that tree)
sometimes the flag is in a wee dip so you can’t see it from a distance
this one you could spot from miles away
3rd last flag and what a glorious view, there’s Killowen below, our finish point, just have to get down a very very steep hill. It was tricky in the good dry conditions, if it was wet i would have stuck the waterproof trousers on and just slid down (many did so unintentionally)
many teams just walked straight into the sea at the finish
he said it was a shortcut that went wrong!
tempting
pretty in pink
mourne pride
With thanks to LandyLiam. Original post here.
Pingback: Mourne Mountain Marathon 2014 – Part 1 | Northern Ireland Outdoors Blog