Run the Line 2019: Today I took part in my... - Bridge to 10K

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Run the Line 2019

damienair profile image
damienairAdministrator
50 Replies

Today I took part in my first mountain trail run. It was called Run the Line. There was a 26K and a 13K option. I took part in the 13K option and ran with my Sister Ruth. I won’t do it justice by trying to describe the event. I’ll keep it brief. We started with a long climb, and managed to run uphill for almost 2K before we reached an extremely difficult and steep climb for almost 2K, it was hard going, surface was jagged, muddy and dangerous so care was taken to stay in single file and you could only go as fast as the person in front of you as a solid line of participants hiked their way as fast as possible to the top. At the top I looked back to see a line of people hiking up. At this stage we were up in cloud and it was very foggy and once again we were able to run across a trail which was a mix of mud, bog, marsh and rock. Then a steep downhill stretch where we were jumping across ditches, rocks, uneven ground, puddles, streams and more mud as we ran as carefully as we could. As we came down through the cloud we were awarded by an amazing view of Dublin City and the coastline beyond. When we got to the bottom of the valley it was time to climb again. We ran through forests, woodland and open mountain trails always awarded by the most beautiful scenery. The climbs were tough, proper difficult hiking terrain which was impossible to run. But we ran all but the steepest climbs. Ruth and I ran the last 3K almost all either flat or downhill which was a welcome relief and finished in 1 hour and 38 minutes. It’s was an incredible run and hiking mix. I’m proud that I could take part and finish my first mountain race and it won’t be the last. There was no medal at the finish line but a camping mug instead. The tag line was medals are for mugs.😀

The atmosphere at the event was amazing and it was extremely well organized by the Dublin/Wicklow Mountain Rescue Service. I’ll be back next year.

Damien

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damienair
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50 Replies
Tasha99 profile image
Tasha99Graduate10

Love those medals/mugs! Well done 💪🏽

damienair profile image
damienairAdministrator in reply toTasha99

Thank you Tasha

Sounds amazing Damien but very, very tough. Glad you got great views. Really well done 👍

damienair profile image
damienairAdministrator in reply to

Thanks Paul. It was a fantastic experience. The pint of Guinness afterwards went down well.

AlMorr profile image
AlMorrAmbassadorGraduate10

A fantastic run up those trails and hills for you and your sister Ruth, hard run but very awarding, pity there was no medal but at least you got a camping mug instead.

There was a trail run a few weeks ago near to where I live, all the runners got at the finishing line was a bottle of water and a banana, nice photo of you and your sister. 😊 🏃🏾

damienair profile image
damienairAdministrator in reply toAlMorr

The camping mug was the medal. As medals are for mugs.😀 Thank you very much. After the finish there were loads of refreshments, Tea, Coffee, Soup, Muffins and biscuits. It was the best event I have ever taken part in.

ForbiddenPlanet profile image
ForbiddenPlanetGraduate10

Wonderfully evocative account of what sounds like a very memorable day.

As a teenager I remember walking up Scafell in the Lake District and being passed by fell runners on the way up, who then passed me on the way down long before I reached the summit. I was so impressed. Trail runners appeared like an alien species to me.

damienair profile image
damienairAdministrator in reply toForbiddenPlanet

Thank you so much. Trail runners are pretty hardcore. Must admit though that it was so cool not to be concerned about pace, as you were concentrating hard on where your feet were landing. Everyone was running together and very supportive. It was a real adventure.

Granspeed profile image
GranspeedGraduate10

🎉👏🏼🎉 That sounds amazing - and very, very tough! Congratulations to you both. You must have legs of steel. 👍🎉

damienair profile image
damienairAdministrator in reply toGranspeed

I’m sure my legs will know all about it tomorrow. Thank you.

Granspeed profile image
GranspeedGraduate10 in reply todamienair

I’ve been walking on Dartmoor this week, so steep & rocky struck a chord. I did NOT do running there!

Bluebirdrunner profile image
BluebirdrunnerGraduate10

Sounds really tough, exhilarating and challenging but amazing too!

Well done both !😊xxx

damienair profile image
damienairAdministrator in reply toBluebirdrunner

Thank you. It was tough, exhilarating and challenging but also very exciting and rewarding.

Bluebirdrunner profile image
BluebirdrunnerGraduate10 in reply todamienair

👍😀xx

Sandie1961 profile image
Sandie1961Graduate10

Wow, that sounds like one tough course. Fabulously well done 👏👏👏

damienair profile image
damienairAdministrator in reply toSandie1961

Thank you so much Sandie. I’ll definitely be signing up to do it again next year. It was cold, but dry today. I could imagine it being pretty grim if it was raining plus there would be no amazing views.

cheekychipmunks profile image
cheekychipmunksGraduate10

Well I have one word for you Damien, and that is hardcore! 💪

Really well done, that run sounds brutal. And there’s you planning on a return trip too! Awesome work - is Oisin interested in joining you on the trails one day too? 🏃‍♂️🏃‍♂️

damienair profile image
damienairAdministrator in reply tocheekychipmunks

Thank you Cheeky. No I couldn’t imagine Oisin taking part in this one for many years. Although I did buy him a small T-Shirt, Buff and Hat from the event so as we can be matching at our next parkrun next week. It will look like he was a finisher, cheating I know. The atmosphere at the event was electric. My legs and feet feel sore and tired today.

Gwenllian1 profile image
Gwenllian1Graduate10

Wow, that sounds both tough and fabulous! Congratulations. I haven't dared try anything that hardcore yet but it does sound wonderful!

damienair profile image
damienairAdministrator in reply toGwenllian1

Thank you. It was the most challenging event I’ve ever taken part in. But very rewarding although I’m sore today.

BaddieThePirate profile image
BaddieThePirateGraduate10

Sounds incredible, well done both of you.

damienair profile image
damienairAdministrator in reply toBaddieThePirate

Thank you. I loved it. I’ve ran all year so was fit enough to take part. But it was a real challenge. I’ll be back again next year.

Sandraj39 profile image
Sandraj39Graduate10

Wow! Much respect to both of you! 👍👏👏 That sounds like a tough but fantastic run - wonderful post. Funnily enough I looked at the photo before reading your post and didn't even notice you had mugs instead of medals(!🙄🙄) - you both look really happy!🙂

damienair profile image
damienairAdministrator in reply toSandraj39

Thank you Sandra. It was tough, I am very sore today. But it was a great event with 1,000 people taking part. Brilliant atmosphere and very well organized.

Damien

ju-ju- profile image
ju-ju-Graduate10

Sounds idyllic, I adore trails. I love the camping mug thing too, well done both of you...

damienair profile image
damienairAdministrator in reply toju-ju-

Thank you. It was really tough but also an amazing experience. My feet, legs, bum, and back muscles are still sore 2 days later. Great strength training.😃

Rowers profile image
RowersGraduate10

What a lovely photo and incredible experience! Your stamina must be amazing to do that kind of mash up of running and hiking! Rest well 😀

damienair profile image
damienairAdministrator in reply toRowers

Thank you. I was training up to 10K and was worried that I had not done enough. But I was fine. The hiking sections as tough as they were, were a welcome relief from the running.

Irishprincess profile image
IrishprincessGraduate10

That sounds absolutely fab! Hard but fab 🙂 But I’m sure the views made the trek worthwhile.

Love the idea of the mugs/medals 🙂 and what a lovely photo for the memory box. Well done both of you.

damienair profile image
damienairAdministrator in reply toIrishprincess

Thank you. It was lovely running with my little Sis. We stuck together and both really enjoyed the day. It was a great sense of achievement. 3 years ago I could not run 1K, and thanks to C25K, parkrun and running becoming an important part of my life I could run and trek across a mountain.

Coddfish profile image
CoddfishGraduate10

That sounds amazing but very, very scary!

damienair profile image
damienairAdministrator in reply toCoddfish

It was tough but once you took your time at the tricky spots it was fine. All the other runners were very supportive and were there to help if help was needed. The tricky downhill spots were harder than the uphill sections.

Fabulous450 profile image
Fabulous450Graduate10

Ah that’s just brilliant damienair!! Well done to you and your sister!! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽‘! I’m sure it will be a great memory to have run this together! ❤️

damienair profile image
damienairAdministrator in reply toFabulous450

Thank you. It was amazing and was great to do it together. My other Sisters husband is a volunteer in the Dublin/Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team. Hoping to do it again next year with my 2 Sisters and my Brother and make a family weekend out of it.

Fabulous450 profile image
Fabulous450Graduate10 in reply todamienair

That sounds like it will be absolutely amazing too!! 🤩❤️

Mummycav profile image
MummycavAdministratorGraduate10

Sounds absolutely brilliant damienair ...and you look like a true professional in the pic with your lovely Sister....and I LOVE the medals, they are MASSIVE!!!! You have got some stamina to do something like this...massive kudos to you and Ruth 😊

damienair profile image
damienairAdministrator in reply toMummycav

Sorry Mummycav i replied to you below

damienair profile image
damienairAdministrator

Ah thank you so much. It was really enjoyable. Tough but enjoyable. I was doing a lot of 10K and 7K distances leading up to it which helped with stamina. Today is the first day since that I’m not sore. I’m in the Netherlands today with work and brought my running gear. I’m going to try to fit in a 5K run this evening.

Mummycav profile image
MummycavAdministratorGraduate10 in reply todamienair

I have tourist running envy x

2Tired2Run profile image
2Tired2Run

WOW 😳😳😳, WOW and amazing and congratulations

damienair profile image
damienairAdministrator in reply to2Tired2Run

Thank you. All thanks to C25K.

2Tired2Run profile image
2Tired2Run in reply todamienair

May i enquire when you graduated C25K? (I'm just being a bit nosey, hope you don't mind my question).

damienair profile image
damienairAdministrator in reply to2Tired2Run

I don’t mind at all. I finished C25k over 2 years ago. First year post graduation I was running on and off. But was struggling. This year since January I have been running every week and doing parkrun most Saturday mornings. I have lost 2 stone in weight and knocked 8-10 minutes off my 5k time at parkrun. I’ve also been running 7-10K regularly. I am loving running this year. Looking forward to parkrun on Saturday.

Damien

2Tired2Run profile image
2Tired2Run in reply todamienair

Thank you, that's so interesting to read your running story. I hope you continue to enjoy your running for many, many years ... I'm just getting into it, but it's becoming quite an addiction! Just graduated, in a period of consolidation and aiming to Parkrun in the new year 🏃‍♀️.

damienair profile image
damienairAdministrator in reply to2Tired2Run

Don’t delay. Your ready for parkrun now. You can run and walk. You’ll love it.

2Tired2Run profile image
2Tired2Run in reply todamienair

I'm not quite brave enough just yet ... but soon 😀

Deals1 profile image
Deals1Graduate10

Sounds fabulous but tuff!!!

I bet that Guinness didn't even touch the side 😂👌👍

damienair profile image
damienairAdministrator in reply toDeals1

Ha. It went down well. Wish I could have had more. It was a great event.

Elisabeth3 profile image
Elisabeth3Graduate10

Congratulations to both of you and the others who took part in the challenge.

damienair profile image
damienairAdministrator in reply toElisabeth3

Thank you Elisabeth

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