The Sheep's Head Challenge

RACE REPORT

With low-lying fog and heavy downpours throughout the week in Ahakista, the clear skies and sight of the sun breaking through the clouds on Saturday morning was a welcome one indeed.

The various volunteers started early and the Tin Pub was a hive of activity from 8am onwards. The walkers soon gathered on the grounds and it was apparent that we had the biggest walking contingent in a number of years.

At 9.36am, 61 walkers left in high spirits. Beaming more than most was Laura Kelly, who flew in from London and was overheard the night before in the pub saying her aim was to be back before the runners started. A bold statement, but we’ll return to Laura later.

Jean Forbes-Cooke was a late starter. Having left Tipperary at very early o’clock with her daughter Sarah who was entered the run, Jean headed away off not a bother on her. Not a single question was asked about the route or signage as she took off with purpose.

Annie O’Donovan, Kate Arundel and Gillian Arundel decided after enough volunteering, it was time to enjoy the day from an entrant’s perspective, while it was encouraging to see so many under-18s tackle the route.

The Muintir Bhaire Sea Scouts took up residence at the first water station, while the second, at the Goats Path Pod Park, was manned by the Muintir Bhaire Foroige group.

Local intervention was required for some of the walkers when a sign had been tampered with, with Charlie McCarthy picking up a couple of stragglers in his car and bringing them back to the right area before also fixing the sign.

Back at base, runners began to descend on the bar, with a whole host of familiar, returning faces.

The safety briefing concentrated on a refresher course of reading arrow signs and it was then time to set them off into the wild.

Michael Dullea from Drimoleague, in his first trail run never mind this particular course, set the early pace, with last year’s winner Conor O’Leary settling in behind. Conor’s support crew included his friend Dave, who was keen to watch events unfold coming down the mountain.

“Conor is a good runner, but I’d put him to the sword in a swimming contest,” he told me.

Enda Fitzmaurice, who tried to enter under a fake name for fear his other half would get wind of his excursion given he absconded from doing his own patio, was again well-placed with the returning Paul Griffin, Alex O’ Shea and Jay Murdoch also finding their rhythm.

Julie O’Brien, 2024 women’s winner Gaya Cremers, Valerie Neville and Sarah Kelly were the most prominent females, with 2024 runner-up Jessica Legresley close behind.

With such a prolonged period of bad weather, the underfoot conditions in certain spots were soft, to put it mildly. Laura Kelly’s bravado from the pervious night came back to bite her when she sunk faster than a rat up a drain pipe after cresting the summit shortly after the mile five marker.

“The runners were great in assuring me that help – in the form of walkers – were on their way,” she said. The two-hour target was gone, and she admitted the cautionary tale has given her food for thought when it comes to public statements of bravado.

The course was testing everyone. Annie O’Donovan, distracted by her own talk of Camino exploits, also came a cropper in the bog.

The second-best photographer on the day, AI Generator, was there to capture the image that was later removed for fears over safety concerns regarding the course.

Cathal d’Hondt was the leading member of his family, while the highest performing local was James Daly. John Cronin’s stomach bug earlier in the week put paid to his podium ambitions, coming home just ahead of Claudio ‘I’m quite a big deal on the IMRA circuit’ Doni.

The race was ultimately won by Dullea, sprinting home to cross the line in a time of 1.13:30, less than half a minute from a new course record.

He was followed by Conor O’Leary and Enda Fitzmaurice.
Julie O’Brien was the first female over the line (1:33), with Gaya Cremers and Valerie Neville completing the top-3.

Elsewhere, Brian and Fiona once again made the trip down from Ballycotton, Denise Cronin geared up for her French adventure by getting in under two hours, Flor edged out Brian in the battle of the O’Mahony brothers, while Michael Beddoes enjoyed his first outing on the Sheep’s Head trail.

“A proper trail run,” he said. “That last climb is no joke. It’s so steep I thought we’d have to plant a flag once we got to the summit.”

Ruth and Shaun Burke will hope that there is truth to the saying that couples that run together, stay together (we can check back in in a few years), Annette Kelly said the scenery was only bettered by the plentiful flags and signage, while debutant Margaret Cleary insisted she will be back again next year.

While there were no medals (factory mix-up), in this type of event, everyone that gets around truly is a winner, no matter the pace.

There were some technical issues with finishing times, which was disappointing given the two selected for the role only got the nod after a lengthy interview process that would make Google look straightforward.

Due to technological obstacles and a failure to see every number, not all entrants were recorded coming back in through the garden, and some were also given incorrect times.

“It shouldn’t be about your time (numerical), but having a good time,” (emotion) said one of the two manning the desk, who wished to remain anonymous, but does share the same surname as the race director.

“The person that never made a mistake, never made anything,” added her colleague, who also wanted to keep her identity private as she is a primary school teacher in Drimoleague and said there would be a serious ruckus in the schoolyard if the kids found out she was found wanting with her numbers.

“Next year I want rigorous Excel training before I agree to help out,” she said.

What they lacked in tech savvy they more than made up with street smarts. Runner Patrick McVeigh was accosted after finishing where he was grilled for more than 10 minutes over why he stopped his Strava on the course.

“Patrick,” said N̸i̸a̸m̸h̸ the volunteer, “we take our timing most seriously. Anything that brings the race into potential disrepute or leads to questions regarding the integrity of the rules, must be investigated fully. We are willing to give you the benefit of the doubt on this occasion, but if it happens again we will be moving this up the food chain to our Ethics Committee.”

“So what is my official time then?” a chastened Patrick asked.

“We’ll come back to you on that.”

Margaret and Christine were racing around as much as the competitors in rustling up the sandwiches and keeping the tea/coffee flowing.

Margaret took great pride in the triangulation of sandwiches, and could be heard telling those around her that the event wouldn’t be in existence without her.

“Look around you. Of the eight volunteers here in the garden, I gave birth to half of them. And this is the thanks I get. More work. I’m meant to be heading for retirement. It’s a joke.”

Photographer Annette Logan, who had the hump when she heard AI Generator was moving in on her turf, was there once again to capture all the action.

“I shutter to think where you’d be if I wasn’t here,” she said. “Lens be honest, I’m the best Ahakista has to offer.”

As people swapped war stories and soaked in the sunshine post-race, Cathal McCarthy was the last to return, our trusty tail walker gathering all the signage and ensuring everyone made it back.
In the end we couldn’t have asked for a better day.

Thanks to all the runners and walkers who came – we raised just short of €4000 – and contributed to such a great atmosphere.

Stewards Joe, Nick, Eileen, Paddy, and Kevin played a blinder for both parking and ensuring things went smoothly on the road, while our Foroige and Scouts volunteers provided water and encouragement at the water stations.

We also have a date for next year’s event – Saturday, 22nd May – and you can get your registration in nice and early (link below).

See you in 2027

https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/sheeps-head-challenge-2027-tickets-1990486235914?aff=ebdsoporgprofile&_gl=1*k8y7zg*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTk1MjAwMzcwMS4xNzgwMjI3NjMy*_ga_TQVES5V6SH*czE3ODAyMjc2MzEkbzEkZzAkdDE3ODAyMjc2MzEkajYwJGwwJGgw

Hi folks,

A picture was posted of two entrants from the run/walk at the weekend along the The Sheeps Head Way. That picture was AI generated. It was a joke at the expense of the entrants who were telling us of their exploits on the route.

While the picture gave the impression of poor weather conditions and distressed entrants requiring assistance, this was not the case. Basking in glorious sunshine, the course was totally safe and ideal conditions for walking/running.

The Sheep's Head route is always maintained to the highest standards and that was evident to all who participated on Saturday

Race day