Event running order
Well, you’ve entered the event and you’ve got some training under your belt. Now you are ready for the adventure. Check out the info on this website relating to kit and your relevant training tips in the elite, returning GFW competitor and first timers sections withinin event info. Between now and the event, we will send out monthly news to everyone on our mailing list. In the final month there will be an number of news updates and there will be a final mail around 10 days before the event with last minute info. In the meantime, remember we are always on the end of the phone and on email. You can contact us on +353 (0) 95 42006 and at info@gaelforcewest.ie.
On Friday night you will need to register for the event,this will take place in Killary Adventure Centre, Leenane, Co. Galway. You will be able to turn up to register at any point from 12.00 - 22.00 on Friday 20th August. When you register, you will receive your race pack containing your competitor number, some goodies from our sponsors, your Timing dibber, race sticker for your bike, and race map. There will be staff on hand to answer questions. You will receive your timing dibber which you a member of staff will place on you at registration, you must not loss this! Finally, you will leave your bike in the transition area at Delphi Adventure Centre where we will have set up racking. It will be safe overnight as the transition area is locked and they are guarded overnight.
Afterwards, you will probably be in need of a good night’s sleep. Most of you will be staying in Westport, but maybe some of you will be staying nearby Delphi, Killary or elsewhere. Wherever you are staying, remember the event STARTS with transport taking competitors to the Start line from WESTPORT. The race will also FINISH in Westport. So wherever you are staying, you will want to ensure you can get yourself to the buses that will take you to the start. It’ll be an early start anyway – so make sure you are as near as you can be to those buses which depart from WESTPORT.
Right, you’ve got your number; the electronic gadget is on your wrist, you might think this makes you feel like a “tagged” offender; you will certainly feel condemned when you board the buses for the Start. We will have allocated you a bus time depending on which group you have signed up when you entered online. The GFW Start is held in waves, due to the numbers of participants, so you will board your bus in Westport with people of similar abilities to yourself. They will have the same nerves and will face exactly the same challenge as you. That condemned feeling will not last for long! As you drive south west from Westport and the scenery opens out before you, you might realise that what you are viewing out of the window is the terrain of the GF6 course. The sharp greens, the big skies, the looming mountains; all this will soon be yours! As you approach Glassilaun Beach along the winding road, the scenery turns yet more rugged. Then you arrive. A quick walk up a small hill and there before you is one of the most beautiful beaches you can imagine. White sands and crystal clear water. This is what the West coast of Ireland is all about. You’ll get a briefing from the Race Director and then it’s time to gather on the Start line. And you’re off!
At this point, we are going to turn down the detail a little. If you’ve raced before, you’ll know what is coming to a degree; we might have changed sections of the course here and there; this might be on account of local conditions or for design or access reasons; but it will be the same great Gaelforce West you have enjoyed for the last 4 years! If you are a first timer, we don’t want to spoil the surprise. You will find this course scenic, exhilarating, fun and hard, all rolled up into one. It’s a great day out.
Here’s a quick run down of your journey.
From the beach, you’ll be on foot on a small paved road for the first mile or so, then onto a path, over rough ground and through some bog. You will eventually join the southern shore line of Killary harbour before descending to the Killary Adventure Centre to jump in the boats.
At the kayak transition you will be timed out and you will be issued with a paddle, a buoyancy aid, a boat and a companion to paddle with! The boats here are tandem “sit-on-top” kayaks – user friendly by design. You might be a strong paddler or a weak one; the safety cover out on the water is thorough. Paddle your way towards the northern shore and step onto terra firma to resume your foot route. Another couple of km and you are at the bike transition at Delphi adventure centre. 1000's of bikes are racked up and the transition is a hive of energy as competitors dive for their bikes, marshals bellow instructions and the freedom of the open road beckons you and your steed!
On the bikes, you follow some superb sealed roads through epic scenery. You’ll eventually see “the Reek” – the mighty Croagh Patrick, hove into view and you will know that are going up there today too. You’ve already come a long way – but don’t flag. Keep the fluids going down and the energy levels high. The Reek will be a challenging ascent.
At the next transition you will lay down your bike with our crew and there will be water and other refreshments available – our famous fig rolls will be in abundance. There is a cut-off time on the Reek; if you do not reach the transition here within a certain window, we will short course you and you will not ascend. It’s likely that if you have missed the cut-off, you will probably not want to anyway!!
Then it’s back on the bikes. You will encounter an off road descent at this stage. One of the challenges of GFW is bike selection. Some select road bikes and others use mountain bikes. Others use hybrids and tyre selection is a constant topic of conversation amongst racers. It’s because of this section. If you have brought a mountain bike, you will have ben slower on the roads but your bike will suit you well for this section – all off road. Those with racers will be running or walking this next section, possibly in cycling shoes, with their bikes! They will naturally be slower on this section that their mountain biking counterparts. However, it’s a shot section and the decision as to bike and tyre selection is entirely yours. There is info on this here. The answer to this conundrum is entirely up to you; it’s a tactic of GFW – bike selection.
The off road section spits you out onto the busy Louisburgh road. At this point, you can probably see that Finish line in a mirage before your eyes and you can certainly taste the post-finish Guinness. Well, it’s close and just a few KM on the road until you arrive at the final transition. From here it’s yards to the line as you run the final few hundred yards to complete your adventure. 65km down; you’ve made it. Have a bowl of food (on us) and get ready to celebrate!
So you’ve crossed the line. You might have won. You might have come a good way down the field. Either way, it’s all about the taking part. GFW attracts a massive cross section of athletes – from elite adventure athletes and tri-athletes to newcomers who have never even contemplated this sort of challenge before. There are prizes for spirit of the event, best gaff, fancy dress and other random spot prizes. So even if you don’t think you’re a winner, you might be! We will be in a venue in the centre of town and with food available for those of you keen to keep re-stocking the carbs!
