Leinster tests in August
Bree Hill trails ideal for some off-road running
ATHLETICS LEINSTER has confirmed that the Leinster track and field championships for Under-17, Under-18 and Under-19 will take place in Santry on August 1. Each athlete can participate in a maximum of two events.
The Leinster Junior, Senior and Masters track and field championships take place in Santry the following weekend, August 8 and 9. Athletes may compete in up to five individual events but no more than three per day.
Athletics Ireland competitions and Juvenile committees have announced the following schedule of competitions for the 2020 Irish Life Health outdoor track and field season:
August 22/23 - National Senior championships (incorporating national Under-23 championships), Morton Stadium, Santry;
August 29/30 - National Under-17, Under-18, Under-19 Juvenile championships, Morton Stadium, Santry;
September 5 - National Junior championships (plus national Under-23 walks), Morton Stadium;
September 6 - National Masters championships, Morton Stadium;
September 12/13 - National combined events, Morton Stadium. This will include Under-14, Under-15, Under-16, Youth and Junior competitions.
All competitions are subject to government restrictions being eased and on having additional measures in place to ensure that the competitions are safe for athletes, officials and spectators.
The following competitions have been cancelled for 2020: national children’s games; national Under-12, Under-13, Under-14, Under-15, Under-16 track and field championships; national Juvenile ‘B’ track and field championships; national Juvenile relays.
BREE’SHIDDENTRAILS
With more and more runners looking to get off the roads and onto the trails, Wexford Athletics is on a mission to unearth the best off-road runs in the county.
Bree is not a place that many Wexford athletes would associate with off-road running. Then again, as Bree A.C. stalwart Clare Doyle says, not many of Wexford’s athletics fraternity have been to Bree Hill.
Wexford Athletics sent a scouting party there last weekend to reconnoitre the situation. To make their job easier, Clare directed them to the brilliant Wexford Walking Trails website where one can find details of this and other walking trails throughout the county.
There are two ways to approach the Bree Hill trails.
Option one, and the favoured trailhead for most people, is to park at Bree Community Centre, or at the church, and follow the signs along Bree Lane. The first kilometre is on a minor road before one takes a turn onto a leafy trail.
A short trot up between old stone walls and wild rhododendron, part of the legacy of the old Alcock Estate, leads to the start of the ‘Red’ loop.
This gently undulating loop is not much more than 1.5km in length, perfect for long session work. It is also ideal for younger runners. The total distance, including the run from and back to the car park, is less than 5km.
An alternative way to access the trails is to park in the more remote forest car park at Craan. If you go at the weekend you will undoubtedly meet mountain bikers here as Bree Hill is a designated venue for mountain biking.
While the bike trails are not part of the walking routes, some of the bike paths cross the walking trails. The adrenaline-buzzed daredevils atop the modified bikes fairly fling themselves down the mountain, so best not to get in the way!
Leaving the Craan car park to the bikers, a second, and longer, route again takes the Community Centre as the trailhead. Including forest lanes and minor roads, it is approximately 10km in distance.
Start at the centre and proceed as outlined above for the ‘Red’ trail. Having completed the loop, head straight on, following the blue/green arrows. The ascent is gradual enough as the route contours around the hill, gaps in the trees offering great views of the Blackstairs Mountains in the distance.
As you descend on the Craan side of the hill, keep right at the junction rather than descending to the car park. This part of the route has not been hard-cored but it is still perfectly navigable.
Breaking out of the trees into a profusion of wild flowers, continue on for a short distance before descending 80m or so down Craan Lane (more trail than lane) to the road.
Turn left and continue for 800m, past the ruin of Wilton Mill, to the Craan car park where you return to the forest. Once back at the junction mentioned above, retrace your steps back to the start.
If one is feeling up to an even greater challenge, there are ample opportunities for branching off the main artery onto unofficial trails through the trees. As these are generally steep and may be muck, trail shoes are essential. Extreme vigilance and caution is advised as these same trails are used by mountain bikers.