John Anthony troops his way to Dingle Adventure Race joy
IT may have been a fine day closer to sea level, but it wasn’t always easy for the competitors who took to Mount Brandon and Mount Eagle on Saturday for the spectacular Dingle Adventure Race (DAR).
Conditions were heavy and foggy, but while the weather was an added complication to the already fearsome 48-kilometre full race, it didn’t stop Shaun Stewart setting a brilliant winning time of three hours, 10 minutes, and 51 seconds, more than five minutes ahead of runner-up Dessie Duffy. Laura O’Driscoll won the equivalent for ladies in a time of three hours, 45 minutes, and 18 seconds, exactly eight minutes ahead of Emma Donlon.
It was almost half the time recorded by Jason Hayes and local man John Anthony Thomas but, curiously, the duo from the Irish Defence Forces may still have upstaged Shaun and Laura.
You see, the pair were carrying an extra 15 kilogrammes or so, having elected to take on the challenge carrying their full army kit – including heavy-duty boots, and a backpack weighing between 12 and 13 kilogrammes.
Home from the Lebanon just three weeks previously, John Anthony and Jason had decided to take on the challenge to raise funds for Pieta House. With more that €9,500 raised to date, John Anthony said, it has proven a wildly successful fund-raiser; all that was left to do was complete the challenge on Saturday.
“We did it in about six hours, and we’d been hoping to do it in five, so it was tougher than we expected,” John Anthony explained. “But we got to the finish-line in the end.”
The DAR full departed Dingle Marina car park bright and early for a 25km cycle over the Conor Pass, before switching to a 20.5km hiking and running route and finishing with two kilometres of kayaking and a one-kilometre run back to the marina car park.
“The hike from Cloghane to Baile Breac was fierce tought,” John Anthony said, “and the cycle was tough enough for anything, too, with the heavy boots.
“The Kayaking was fairly tough too because the wind and the tide were against us. If you stopped at all, you were nearly going backwards. But it was nice to give the aul legs a break.
“We went back to my house afterwards in Baile na Buaile, where they had sandwiches and a bottle of Heineken waiting for us. I stretched out in the bed, I was so exhausted.”
John Anthony added that their everydayheo page at https://give.everydayhero.com/ ie/john-anthony-jason-s-pieta- will remain open for a week or two in the hope of making the €10,000 mark.
The pair will, mercifully, have another few days to recuperate before returning to barrack at Limerick later this month.
Aside from John Anthony and Jason’s efforts, there was no shortage of superhuman feats amongst the 800-or-so competitors to enjoy.
Bernard Smyth was the winner of the slightly shorter 43-kilometre DAR Sport in a time of two hours, three minutes, and four seconds, with Lorraine Horan winning the ladies competition at two hours 24 minutes and 12 seconds.
Meanwhile, Ben Dillon and Catherine McCarthy won the DAR Mini competitions.
“Now in its ninth year, it’s always going to be a challenge to predict with weather on the Dingle Peninsula, but that is what the adventurers sign up for,” race founder Noel O’Leary said.
“The atmosphere is always fantastic, a real fun event, with plenty of banter and camaraderie.
“As always, I am truly grateful to all the volunteers and generous sponsorship of local Kerry business’s in making the Dingle Adventure Race a great success and the best adventure race in the country”.