So I didn’t find running until the last couple of years, although I’ve competed in different sports over the years and would consider myself someone that gets pretty deep into things when I get started. I became a Taekwondo blackbelt with a large amount of national titles and some international success. I also have a background in fitness having done a course in sport and fitness and completed a national certificate in exercise and fitness at University Limerick. I started bodybuilding and competed twice placing 4th in the first timers at The Republic of Ireland Bodybuilding Federation (RIBBF)
So my background is anything but running, just before the pandemic came along I started hiking. Within six months of my first hike I had organised two of my mates and myself to do a challenge, 5 county peaks of Munster (including Ireland’s highest peak) which had previously been done under 24hr on the longest day of the year so we chose the shortest day completed it in 21 hrs 57 minutes 5 peaks over 3000 metres of ascent.
This challenge then inspired me along with my friends to take on a further challenge. The feat, which consisted of 1,800km of driving, 160km of hiking and 10,000m of elevation gain which equates to more than Mount Everest was birthed by Vinny’s “desire to catch people’s imagination” and “donate to a worthy cause.” the Clare Echo wrote, Vinny and his friends raised over €3,000! See link to article below.
Clare Echo Article: Three Clare men go way above for BUMBLEance
Entering the Kerry Way Ultra
I asked himself “what now?” I’d done the 3 UK peaks and I was hooked on the challenge idea, the buzz of having something you’re actually not sure you can do and I happened across the Kerry way ultra. I thought this looks mental… So I convinced the race director that although I hadn’t the two marathons or a 100km done as per qualifications that for me to try complete it without having ever ran a marathon was part of the appeal and she agreed I sounded nuts enough and had enough hiking done to justify my entry.
So I went straight out after I registered late December 2021, ran 3km in about 20mins came home absolutely mangled and realised how out of my mind I was thinking I’d do this had shin splints for 2 weeks and couldn’t run at all 
. . .
Fast forward a few months of learning, plagued with shin splints I found Hokas (game changing) but also too late I was a 97kg guy with terrible running form and legs so tight I was in real danger of a stress fracture
The first recce in July 43km shocking terrain an absolute monsoon and I get in with only three women behind me, with no realisation that I’m referencing last year’s race times thinking I’m just barely on time but them lads are cruising and I’ve gave it so much that I couldn’t do the short recce the next day…. It’s the next morning when I wake up it really sinks in I’m screwed, my left incisor is inflamed ankles swollen and I feel broke.
Race day comes round quickly… I’m running with a mate I sleep terribly the night before, I wake up and rush my breakfast down and feel nothing’s going perfect. Thinking back I think it was my subconscious just knowing I really wasn’t ready. I had my salts tablets all ready and in the recce at 27km I had my first ever experience of what cramping from not taking enough salt was like, something I’d kind of overlooked it to that point.
So the race is going ok to Foilmore around 75km but running with my buddy Neil is two comfortable, we are sticking together and both stopping when one of us stops. Something we only reflected on after the race but Neil holds me up getting into Foilmore about 10mins. I get into the station I can’t eat my stomach is in bits it’s not been good from the start and it’s getting worse, out the station with Neil and now I’m holding Neil back. There’s 28km of vast open mountain with sections of road between and a lot of boggy ground. It’s wide open and very cold, I’m pushing hard and I get sick in my mouth my heart rates 170 I’m dying and the average pace is dropping like a stone.
I get to the checkpoint and I’m done… I’m not allowed to quit…. I get out of the checkpoint and leave, I’m on a slight incline and I can’t even keep going at 5kph , I tell Neil keep going I ring my crew to collect me, I knew I wasn’t making the cut off at 165km and doing another 60km to be stopped just seemed silly.
I go home sit down with Neil and we review our thoughts, pros and cons. We identify that running together while useful to grab stuff also means that if we are both suffering we would in a way be able to justify pulling out and so the decision to not activity stay together but if it happens all good. We made slight changes to food but nothing drastic and the most of the food worked well…. more isotonic drinks in my case , baby potato’s and bagels with honey 
More shoe changes, earlier arrival for better sleep and in general more organisation and then personally I knew I needed to work on my speed on long roads. I was doing well on the hills and there’s a lot but I wasn’t able to make use of the flats so the majority of my running I focused on making good time in zone 3.
A second chance
The other thing was I had got married, bought a house and gotten FAT! I knew I needed to get my lazy ass out and also tidy up my diet and that’s how it had to be, with that I started back training. I work a very intense weekend doing night shifts, so from Friday 6pm to Monday 6am I can’t run. I also can’t do a long one Friday or I’ll be knackered in work, so I either run at 6am Monday morning before I go to bed or I’m nothing going to run that day 
… So what I had three days were I could run whatever I wanted.
This resulted in me doing the majorly of my running at night for a few reasons, 1: being I really believe discomfort is your best friend and 2: is my running buddies
When I run at night I’m running in closed off forest trails, so I don’t meet anyone at 1am in a forest (plus it’s always raining) so I don’t need to have them on leads so it’s much easier. I’d safely say they’re enjoyment was my biggest motivation to train. So training goes well I’m not getting huge distance in but I’m staying consistent, not much over 10k really I hit a PB on 10k just under 50mins and the weights dropping away. My legs are still tight but nothing like the year previous, I live near a hill 271m gain over 7km so I’m regularly on that and for the most part training went smoothly, I knew what to expect for the most part so it wasn’t so daunting.
So fast forward to race day 6am start Neil and myself get ready with our crew (Neil’s son Fionn), it’s nice and relaxed and we get to the start line and we are going to run our own race. Neil’s 54 and will absolutely obliterate me on a straight and I tend to catch up on the hills and particularly strong going downhill, which Neil hates so a terrible running partner really . We head off into the nation park and within 4km Neil is moving away as we work our way up Torc waterfall.
The atmosphere is electric, last year I was holding on to the back end of the race from the get go and this year I’m tipping away with people always around me. 200 people first year, with this year it’s been split for the competitive people 144 people 40hr cut off start at 6am and 56people 36hr cut off start at 10am. The first section is good solid underfoot and there’s been two solid weeks of rain so the gravel paths and wooden sleepers are good running.
The second section is not that way though and it was in absolute slop, it was in this section were I was talking to one particular guy that made me think differently. To usual (sorry if you recognise yourself while reading this) usually I’m know as the lad that will talk to the absolute wall, but this poor guy told me this was his 5th attempt and he had never completed it nor was he expecting to compete it and was in far too negative a mindset to be around for my mission set mindset.
The only problem being he was moving the same pace as me so after about 5 minutes I said goodbye and pushed on harder than I’d wanted to just to break away, I just felt that if I’d stayed tipping I’d fall into the worry of if I’m with him and he never finishes then neither will I. So I’m sorry but I was a man on a mission!
Two people I seemed to end up next to constantly were Dave Keating a Cork man living in Arizona for the last 25yrs and another American Stephen Dryer. These two were really sound guys and turns out Stephen was on holidays and had hardly anything with him (no crew etc.), so myself and Neil let him slot in with us and he stuck to our crew from the 4th checkpoint onwards. When I got to 2nd station I saw Neil and knew something was wrong he was ahead but had hurt his knee slipping off a rock but had soldiered on….
I love a superfast checkpoint and myself and Neil love the competitiveness so I was hot on his heals and finally caught him to run with him for a bit and then I moved on. His knee was “giving abit of gib” in his words, but mostly in the downhill bits. I made checkpoint 3 Glenbeigh some 10minutes ahead of Neil. It was at this point I was aware the eventual race winners would soon be catching us and the sun at this point had also become a major factor. We had two weeks of rain prior to race day and 28 degree heat that day of the race.
Again another F1 style checkpoint and I was gone… I’d made it about 1.5km out and the first (hare) the name given to the 10am start group was passing me, he took the time and effort to encourage myself and 2 other runners while double pacing us. unfortunately the heat got to him and he was found 10km later passed out from the heat, it was beginning to become a big problem so I focused on keeping my heart rate down around 140 and holding back from pushing on. I knew I was ahead on time and didn’t want to get ahead of myself.
Bang Neil sends me a video telling me he is coming for me and sure enough 20 minutes after that I’m talking to him in person . We have a saying, “I’m only here to watch you suffer” so you can imagine the craic we have messing Neil and our new friend Steve get in 5 mins before me and Fionn’s and even giving Steve my socks . It’s 75km in and I’m feeling good Neil’s knees really getting sore now, we leave together and we’re out for the longest 28km section.
2 minutes later I’m back at the checkpoint as I’ve forget my poles, it takes me about 20 minutes to catch Steve and Neil’s gone. About an hour later we catch Neil, he has followed someone on a wrong turn and wasted 15mins disaster! It happens as I would find out myself later on. I move away and make it to Waterville 12 minutes ahead of Neil after wasting 500 meters running the wrong direction but another runner shouted at me and called me back.
It’s getting dark and we start making mistakes, it’s almost 20hrs and 103km in but I’m feeling good… The crew van has the heater on, shoes off in for a nap… close my eyes for 10 minutes, nothing I can’t nap. I get up and eat, change and I go, I still feel strong I’m ringing Neil and Fionn trying to find out has Neil left the station… he hasn’t… he can’t walk now the knee is gone and it’s game over, it’s bitter sweet. I’ve won… we constantly mess about who’s going to win and bragging rights, but Neil’s the far better runner and I wanted to finish this with him together, I’m deflated but I’m still running well.
I’m past Weterville and into Caterdaniel and surpassing last year end point, brilliant I’ve improved on last year at least… I get to the checkpoint and Neil’s not lying down in the van he is limping around helping crew for me and Steve, I’m honestly taken aback by the selflessness of him I have to finish this now…. We move out of Caterdaniel I go…. Neil has just put new batteries in my torch so when they go 2minutes later I realise he has put in the wrong ones…. quick change to my spares and I’m good again…. mushy ground section, but I’m moving with no time to delay.
I get going off the mountain I’ve just scaled and I meet a lane that runs parallel to a road…. I’ve it in my head it’s 4km to Sneem… I hit a section for about 3km I’m slugging through muck that’s well over my shoes and occasionally half way up my shin and it’s not avoidable. I ring my crew I should be with you soon…. they check the tracker… I’m no where near!
5ish km to go disaster, but it’s bright again I heard this gives you a big buzz…. I don’t know about that … Just as I’m coming in to Sneem another runner asks me if I’m ok? “I’m good thanks I reply”, but I actually falling asleep walking I’ve been awake over 29hrs and I’ve deliberately avoided caffeine. but no more as it’s needed!
Into Sneem standard checkpoint again 200mg caffeine (preworkout), I needed the kick and I’m out the gap…. The 58km race is about to start I’m about 20mintes gone and hear them start, but they catch me pretty fast…. Absolutely blown away by them everyone wishing me well offered every thing of food and drink you can thing of. I was genuinely actually getting drained from saying no thanks I’ve never seen that tired in another sport.
The head started to drop coming into Templenoe and time was starting to get tight my phone was going dead and then I made a wrong turn… Phone on 2% and I see my mistake correct it, but I’ve wasted 15 minutes now I’m in trouble, Steve appears again out of nowhere … We are together again…. I get into the checkpoint, my heads down I’m not making Kenmares cut off at this pace. My Wife’s here my Mams here and I remember texting them the year before at 2am telling them no need to leave in the morning and come to Killarney as I won’t be making it. I’m not letting these two ladies down, they rally around me…
I put the next 7km in quick time but I’m nervous I’ve never seen 55 of the last 70km of this race, I don’t know what’s ahead and I’m trying not to panic…. My tracker is frozen (but I don’t realise), so I think I’m further away from Kenmares than I am and my watch decided this was the time to break (Garmin replaced fantastic customer service)… I’m sprinting and bang I’ve fell off a style after I’ve met a walker that’s just reassured me I’m not far now… I’m bleeding I don’t care though, up and over another stile and into town. I make it into town, but I’ve not been there and I’m overly relaxed. I’m in but I’m not the checkpoints way way up the town, I’m sprinting, I make it 3.59pm….. loads of time cut off is 4pm .
GPS timing is wrong and clicked about a km further up when I had left the checkpoint, with 25km to go more caffeine although I’m out the gap again with a big horrible never ending tarmac road ahead with huge dirty big hills as far as I can see. I’m ok though, I just have to keep going. I’m chaffed to absolute bits, my feet are ok and my calf in my left leg quad in first leg are starting to go. Up pops a lad behind me (can’t remember his name), but I was almost delirious with sleep deprivation at this point I think .
He is the sweeper and sure enough I’m the last person yet again, we chat away for a few hours and the pain starts to get into my head. I’m moving very slowly I’m constantly checking the time it’s nice having someone to chat with, I take a painkiller. I know I’m going to need to increase the pace and I know it’s not going to be pleasant. Somehow I’m at 175km and I’m back putting in a couple of 6.30min KMs , that’s my comfy zone pace… I make it to Torc waterfall where my mam and wife are waiting (family and friends are allowed run with you in from the nation park).
I’m just impressed my 50yr mam has done 7km she hasn’t ran in 30years, I crawl through the park at one point telling mam to slow down as I couldn’t keep up as she tried to motivate me. I know it’s 2k from the end of the park to the finish, my eyes are on the time constantly. I say goodbye and tell them I’ll see them at the finish, I’m gone and I see someone a couple of hundred metres ahead of me the competitiveness kicks in! I’m not going to be last, I catch and pass him out and I make it over the line in a trance like state printing in slow motion.
I’m in with 3minutes 53seconds to spare and I’m last no one else made it, with only around 70 finishers. The weather and brutal conditions had beaten the majority but finishing this year made it all the more special.
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Author: OneStopUltra
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