There are only six days to go before the 2010 Gaelforce West Adventure Race, so if you’re one of the 3,000 hard souls who’s signed up for the 65km trial of endurance, chances are the butterflies have already started fluttering around your belly.

If you didn’t already know, the organisers recently announced a change to the first section of the race.

That running leg has now been extended by just under 2km and takes a slightly different route, so according to Derval Devaney who was the third woman past the finish line in last year’s race, it’s even more important now to pace yourself.

“It’s really important you don’t tear off at the beginning of the run even if you’re tempted to because so many other people are,” says the Galway woman.

“The distance on the first running leg has increased by 1.9 kilometres, so you’ve nearly run a half-marathon before you even get to the bike stage so you should make sure to pace yourself because it’s a long day.”

Devaney is an experienced triathlete who has recently started to make a name for herself in adventure racing, so when she offers advice you’d do well to prick up your ears.

All your hard training should be done by now, but according to Devaney there’s still plenty you can do in the days before the race and during the race itself to ensure you post the best time possible.

“The most important thing is that you make sure you’re well hydrated,” she says. “Take in plenty of fluids in the week coming up to the race and maybe even get up a little earlier than normal during the week so it isn’t such shock to the body when you have to do it the morning of the race.

“Your diet in the days before hand is important, but you should also think through what you’re going to be eating on the day.

“At this stage you should be practicing eating the gels if that’s what you intend to do on the day of the race to see if they agree with you.

“Last year I had a gel which didn’t agree with me at all. I didn’t get enough fluids in during the race either and I crashed twice. So you should really be practicing all those things before the event.

“Every hour during the race you should be getting your carbohydrates into you wether it’s a bar or some gel, so have a think before hand about the stages in the race when you might get some fuel on board.”


The quickest route up and down the Croagh Patrick leg of the race tends to cause the most debate, but considering Devaney lives in Westport and regularly trains on the reek she’s probably better qualified than anyone to offer advice.

“I always go up and down by the path,” she says. “That’s the route I’d done in training and one I was most comfortable with.

“I just think it’s very tough on the legs going straight up the steep side even though it’s more direct and I found it quicker going up and down the path.

“I came down the direct route a few weeks ago for a change and I turned over on my foot. If you’re going to come down that way you’d want to have very good core stability and wear a good pair of trail runners. Going off the path with ordinary runners is asking for trouble.”

“Of all the advice going though, I think the best I could give to all those who’ll be taking part in Gaelforce is to just enjoy yourself as much as possible. It’s a hugely enjoyable day out.
 

In the unlikely event you cross the line ahead of Peter O’Farrell at the Gaelforce West adventure race on August 21, chances are you’ll have won the thing.

The Dubliner has won three of the four Gaelforce races to date, and will most definitely be in the mix at the head of the field again in three weeks time.

No-one knows the course better than the Rathfarnham runner, so if you’re looking for a few tips have your pen and paper at the ready.

“I think the key to training for Gael Force is to do plenty of hill-running because you spend over 60% of your time on foot during the race,” says O’Farrell.

“In the first section of the race - the 12 kilometre trail run - you should only be going at 60-70% of your maximum. You’d nearly want to be worried that you’re going too slow.

“If you go too hard, too early, by the time you get to Croke Patrick things could be looking pretty bleak.

“The main thing really is to have a bike with plenty of easy gears and if you have plenty of easy gears for the running yourself you’ll be fine.

“If you’re doing it for the first time the main thing is to just enjoy it rather than worrying about doing it under a certain time.”


“Most of the hard work should be done by now. There’s no point panicking with three weeks to go - just make sure that you don’t get sick or injured.

“You could still have two or three hard spins on the bike which would definitely bring you on between now and the race. It’s probably too late to get any better at running, but two or three hard four hour sessions in the hills on your bike will definitely stand to you.

“Just make sure you don’t do the dog on it the days leading up to the race. On the day a lot of people cramp, so take something along the lines of a dioralyte sachet and just make sure you stay drinking throughout the race.

“You should have as big a breakfast that morning as you can get into yourself like a massive bowl of porridge or something else with plenty of fuel.”

If you’ve taken part in Gaelforce before then you’ll know the leg of the race that separates the wheat from the chaff is the ascent and descent of Croagh Patrick.

O’Farrell’s master of the reek has been the key to his three triumphs. Last year he made it up and down in a scarcely credible 37 minutes, which not surprisingly was quicker than anyone else.

“The winner of Gaelforce has never been in the lead at the bottom of Croagh Patrick,” says O’Farrell. “I’ve always come through from second, third or fourth at that point to win it.

“The winning and losing of the race is always the Croagh Patrick leg, so I make sure I still have something in the tank when I get there and then absolutely bury myself on the ascent and descent.

“Hill-running is a bit of a specialist sport, and the guys who are good at it still have an advantage over everyone else.

“There are more and more guys with running and triathlon backgrounds coming into adventure racing who will only get better and better. When they do that will be the end for us hill-runners, but for now we still have an advantage on that course.”