Testimonials
"The guys were so lovely and extremely helpful and it was a lot of fun. I would highly recommend the training morning to anyone who finds the whole thing very daunting, a friendly helpful introduction that fills you with motivation and inspiration to give an adventure challenge a go"
Our Killary Training weekends:
Betty attended a beginners training weekend in Killary Adventure Co. She went on to come 3rd in the Connemara Adventure Challenge 2011, 3rd in Gaelforce West 2010 and 1st in the inaugural Gaelforce North 2011.
I did a Gaelforce Training Weekend with Killary Adventure Co. in the early Spring with a few buddies from Paul O’Brien’s Bootcamp West. The weekend was a brilliant introduction to the outdoor environment and the disciplines of adventure racing, Gaelforce-style, plus the weekend was a serious bit of craic too.
Earlier that year I had New Year Resolution-ed myself into trying to “get fit” and everyone I met was talking and buzzing about doing a Gaelforce. At that stage I was completely daunted by the whole Gaelforce entourage and could not even contemplate ever being fit enough to attempt one.100metres had been my thing in the early teens and the idea of keeping going for the distances involved in Gaelforce seemed completely outside of the realm of even remote possibility. Heck, I don’t even like driving that far! So I had lots of excuses, too old, too busy, too unfit, etc etc but a bit of gentle encouragement from the staff at Killary and the other people doing the training weekend persuaded me to try the mini-Gaelforce, the Connemara Adventure Challenge, and take it from there.
Each of the weekend’s four training sessions were broken down into small groups geared to individual capabilities. Under the expert eye of the Killary staff & Paul we were familiarised with the invaluable basics of mountain hiking, cycling and paddling. There was a really nice bunch of people doing the training weekend from all corners of the country. We had a great night on Saturday night after the first day’s hike and bike sessions with enough energy to keep the sing-song going in the pub till the wee small hours.
Sunday morning saw us paddling, in circles and straight lines – sometimes intentionally sometimes not, on the Killary fiord followed by a talk on nutrition and injury prevention. Then each person participating in the training weekend was given an individual weekly training plan drawn up by the Killary instructors and Paul O Brien - the jist of which I took as being “Go forth, train and have fun!” The training weekend not only helped with the physical aspects of a GF challenge but it also helped with getting over the mental barrier of what you are actually capable of. By breaking down the race route into shorter distances it seemed do-able.
Fast forward a few months I found myself togged out and heading for the hills in the The Connemara Adventure Challenge. It was hard work getting round that challenging course, not helped my puncture alley episode, but thoroughly enjoyable in a way which is I cannot describe. It was great to meet new people and see the people who had been on the training weekend again and to catch up afterwards. And so in the spirit of “ in for a penny in for a pound” I began to think a full Gaelforce might actually be achievable.
I never did get round to doing even a half of those sessions on that weekly training plan. It was taking the initial plunge to do the Training Weekend in Spring and the camaradarie of the folk met subsequently, whether training buddies, instructors or any of the other people involved at the Killary Adventure Co with Gaelforce, which was the greatest incentive to “give it a lash.”
Emma attended one of the Killary Training weekends and went on to take 3rd place in Gaelforce West 2010 and first place in 2011.
Once I had decided to enter Gaelforce for the first time, signing up for the training weekend seemed like the next natural step. I had no idea of the course and thought that by going to the weekend, I could see first hand what it was like in smaller segments and also work out how my fitness was at the time and how much more training I would need to do.
The two days were split as follows:
Day 1 consisted of the first run on the course, some kayaking and a short bike ride later in the day that included a short off-road section to give everyone an idea of what the Skelp (the off-road section after Croagh Patrick) was like.
Day 2 included the bike ride to the base of Croagh Patrick and climbing Croagh Patrick itself. The weather was not in our favour that day with a very strong wind so the bike ride was optional with most people opting to drive to Croagh Patrick and just do the hike.
The weekend catered for all levels and as well as giving everyone a chance to see most of the course, we were also given tips and advise on nutrition, kayaking skills, bike skills and mechanics. Our group got on great as well and some drinks were enjoyed together down the local pub on the Sat night :0)
I'd recommend anyone thinking of doing Gaelforce for the first time or anyone wanted a good, fun, training weekend to give one of the Gaelforce Training weekends a try.