Lessons learned! The Mourne Wall run.

Every idea needs a catalyst.  This one began with a chance conversation with a fella in the hills last year who had been involved in the Mourne Wall races/events back in the 70's (I think).  Anyway, he described how at its peak the event saw up to 3,000 people from all around the Mournes walking the route taken by the famous Mourne Wall.  The second catalyst was me just finishing the incredible 'Feet in the Clouds' (read it, if you want to know who the true hardmen of sport are and also because it's a great book).  The book describes numerous superhuman feats by people for whom no challenge is too hard and pain is simply ignored!  It set me thinking about my own plans to undertake this sternest of Mourne running challenges.

This one was a few months in the making.  I was primed for this run in January but luckily saw sense when I saw the weather forecast and sacked it off.  For various reasons (the weather, rain, precipitation etc) I've not had a chance to try it since and so it was with 15 minutes notice I decided to get it done today after seeing that it was going to be a stunner of a day!

The Mourne Wall, for those not in the know is a continuous (almost, more on that later) 22 mile granite wall built at the beginning of the last century to divide the high Mournes, owned by Belfast Water Board and the low Mournes, owned by various estates and farmers.  It climbs and descends over 3000 metres over the summits of all of NI's highest mountains and is famed for its brutal steep sections and energy sapping bogs, rocks and tussocks.  It's meant to be a lovely walk, taken over one long day or two shorter ones but why would I want to walk and get to enjoy all the views on such a beautiful clear day?!



The route - It's long and hilly!



So it was that as I was eating breakfast I decided today was the day to get out there and do The Wall.  My prep involved racing the infamous Mill Hill Mile the evening before, a horrendous 6 minute sprint up a steep road which leaves your lungs burning for minutes after, probably the least similar run possible to the one I was about to do.
I left the Happy Valley car park at 9am and jogged up to the col between the Meels with the early morning sun on my back.  I was mildly nervous, I knew it might hurt but at the same time I was totally confident, it's only 25 miles (including getting to the wall and back) and I had at least 12 hours of daylight!  The first section was a dream, jogging happily over Meelmore (or Meelbeg, I always mix them up), Bernagh, Commedagh and Donard.  Within 80 minutes I'd easily knocked off four of the biggest peaks and frankly I was cruising.  At this point I was seriously considering cutting my planned target of 5hrs to 4.5 and was definitely enjoying myself.  On the way off Donard I ate on the run and said a passing hello to one of only two people I was to meet all day, the wall cut a clean line 5km into the distance and most of it was downhill for the foreseeable future, piece of cake.

What a load of shite!  The next hour and a half were sapping, frustrating and worrying in equal measures.  Firstly, when I'd looked at the contours I'd envisaged sprinting this section to reach the bottom of Slieve Binnian in under two hours but I'd not taken the Bog of Donard into account!  I've walked it before and know it's a bit boggy (the clue is in the name!) but in my 2 minute look at the map I clearly didn't register that I'd be crossing notoriously wet ground at the end of the wettest 'Summer' for 100 years.  It was very wet, uneven, slow and annoying and the worst was definitely still to come.

I've been telling groups about how the Mourne Wall is a marvel of craftsmanship for years, TRUE.  I've also been telling them that it's a continuous 22 miles all about 7 feet high and easy to follow, FALSE.  When I hit Long Seefin I took the wall to the right, down to the forest and proceeded to spend 45 minutes of dragging through trees, brambles, the river, fields full of foot deep cows footprints (filled with cow crap) and was a slightly less motivated man when I finally reached the bottom of Slieve Binnian 30 mins off schedule.  Most people apparently start and finish their walk in Carrick Little car park and totally avoid this section by taking the access road out of the forest and taking a simple stroll round the road back to their cars.  I didn't have this option and frankly if I was going to run the wall then I was definitely following it the whole way round like a big granite handrail.  This approach definitely took the momentum and the fun out of my attempt!

Even more worryingly as I ran up Binnian I realised that I was getting low on water and with the sun high in the sky I started getting concerned.  Dehydration is a killer, it takes all your energy and makes you think of nothing but drinks.  I became obsessed with the electrolyte tabs I knew were sat in the garage at home and fantasised about litre after litre of cold water.  I really regretted my choice of food, dry granola bars which basically turn into an unswallowable paste when only mixed with saliva. Schoolboy errors all around!  Luckily I remembered that I could re-fill my water at the Silent Valley toilets and gleefully emptied my Camelbak, instantly bringing strength back into my legs.  Gleeful certainly didn't describe how I felt when I got there and the taps only dished out hot water... death!

The next section up to the top of Slieve Muck can be summed up by the moment when I spat and it was so stringy that it swung around me head and landed in my ear... and that was the highlight.  It was relentlessly hot and steep with horrendous ground underfoot.  Running became jogging, walking and then on the crag at the top crawling.  The low point had been reached!

Which means that from there the only way is up (baby).  And so it was, up Carn, up Slieve Loughshannagh and up whichever Meel was left.  Buoyed by being on the home stretch I ran again along much improved tracks although with a dodgy hip giving me grief it was a strange shuffly run.  I finally reached the stile I started from 5hrs and 34 mins after I left and a much wiser man!



No it's not my pink heart rate monitor!!

 

I've sprinted full speed down the Happy Valley a couple of times, not today!  I limped on down and was delighted to finally get to jump in the stream at the bottom that I'd been thinking about for a long while.  Back in the van and back for those electrolytes, job done!

The verdict -

Was I well prepared enough?

Physically - Yes definitely.  It is long and hilly and way beyond any distance I've run in the mountains before but essentially if I'd totally blown up I could've relaxed and enjoyed the stroll.  Most people I know can knock off a route like this walking in a day if they are prepared to dig deep.

Mentally - Yeh, I reckon.  Compared to the exploits I've been reading about this is the equivalent of popping to the local shop and I'm no stranger to hurting a bit.  15 minutes wasn't much time to adjust to the idea but what the hell.

Kit - Errrrr, no.  I didn't even fully fill my Camelbak.  Only brought about 1000 calories of food (I burned 3000) and couldn't eat any of it because it was too dry.  I reckon this probably cost me a lot of time!  I'd recommend stashing at least 3 litres of water half way round or if you're lucky get someone to meet you with a picnic!

Would I recommend the route?

If you'd asked me after 1hr 20 mins I'd have said yes it's amazing and offered to join you on it the next day.  If you'd asked me as I hit the top of Muck nearly 5hrs in (and who the hell would talk to a man crawling up a hill with spit hanging out of one ear!) then I'd have given you a tired shake of the head and croaked something incomprehensible.  The fact is that the views are stunning on a day like today but if you're running then you're concentrating so hard on your feet that you don't get to enjoy them.  So as a walk it may be of some worth... except it does cross some truly terrible ground.  There are lengthy sections which are steep, loose, brambly, very uneven and hugely boggy.  You can get all the great views I had on a much more pleasant route, try the Annalong Horseshoe or just the ridge including Bernagh, the Meels and Commedagh.

Was I happy with my time?

In short, no.  The cutting through all the crap across the Annalong Valley probably cost me 20 mins, the dehydration and hunger certainly cost me more.  I don't know what the record is but it must be sub 4 hours.  A proper fell runner (as opposed to a fit bloke who runs the fells) could take 30 mins off my combined descent times easily, I was very tentative and properly hydrated I'd have been a lot quicker in the second half.  Realistically, with a bit of planning, more food and water and a cooler day I think I'd take an hour off that without too much extra effort.  Am I going to test that theory, no I'm not!  The man I mentioned that sowed the seed for this run in the first place said that the original Mourne Wall marathons were stopped because the sheer numbers were causing untold damage to the hills, turning paths into massive motorway like scars.  It is testament to the power of nature that those paths no longer exist at all for about 50% of this route.

If you've read this far, thanks and well done, probably took longer than the run itself!  If you'd like to ignore my advice and give it a go then feel free to contact me at ian@rockandrideoutdoors.com and I'll give you all the details you'd need.  Apologies for the lack of pics, there would have been some stunners but the camera died the minute I turned it on, what do they say about piss poor planning...?