Perhaps you’re like me and haven’t heard of the Art O’Neill Challenge before. Well here’s your chance to read all about it in this fantastic race report by Phil Smith. 

It was late summer in 2013, when I first heard of the Art O’Neill Challenge. Belpark club member Eddie Donnegan and I were out for a cycle one evening around Blessington. Eddie casually says I have entered the Art O’Neill. Oh right, I replied. What’s that…

I remember thinking Eddie, YOU NUTTER. The idea of leaving Dublin Castle in the early hours of a Saturday morning and making your way to Glenmalure, Co. Wicklow. And did I mention, in early January. Off the wall stuff.

History of Art O’Neill

On January 6th, 1592 Art O’Neill, his brother Henry, and Red Hugh O’Donnell made a bid for freedom from Dublin Castle. It was the middle of winter and Ireland was held fast in its icy clutches but they hoped to reach the relative safety of the remote Glenmalure Valley over 50km away. Read what happened here http://www.artoneillchallenge.ie/history.html

I found out in November 2015, that I has secured an entry. The AON Challenge is significantly over subscribed, with approx. 1 in 3 securing an entry. The challenge is limited is 200 participants, in categories walkers, Hybrid and Ultra. Fortune would have it, some of my friends has secure entries too. Luke Rafferty, Ross Mac Mathuna, Alistair Hodgett. It was going to be an interesting Christmas…

Over the Christmas Holidays we recce’d sections of the course. This was probably the most single important thing we did. I completed sections 2 & 3 twice. There was always at least 2 of us heading out. The main reason for not heading out on my own was, safety and logistics. If I had got into trouble, I would have no way of calling for help. There is no mobile phone coverage and you are miles from anywhere. In terms of logistics, we took 2 cars. We would both drive to the end of the section. Drop of one car, and leave dry clothing, and then head back to the start of the section we were attempting. Most of the time away was driving and not actually running. Our 10-13 km runs took essentially 5 – 7 hours. I was always glad to get home after each session.

On the night: We arrived at Dublin Castle for registration. The registration was managed by the Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team (DWMRT). The first step was to sign in and pick up our numbers. We then proceed to the bag check area, to ensure we had the mandatory kit. This comprised of the following:

Map, Compose, Food, Bivvy Bag, Waterproof Jacket and Bottoms, Torches, First Aid kit, Whistle, Wool Hat, Spare clothing (Top and Bottoms), Foil Blanket.

The next step was to put our bags on the lorry before it departed at 11:00pm. The next time we would see our bags would be Checkpoint 1 (CP1). The whole registration process was quick and easy.

We all headed outside before the walkers departed at Mid night. Declan Cunningham (Race Organiser) said a few words of encouragement and before we knew it the walkers were off. It was a great atmosphere, and the next hour flew by.

It was now approaching 01:00am. We were all in the upper court yard. Once again Declan Cunningham said a few words and wish us luck. We were off. As we exited the city centre, passing Leo Burdick’s and punters leaving their local pubs. What must they be thinking… A constant flow of runner in Hi-Viz gear and flashing lights in the early hours of the morning.

In terms of event itself, it is broken into 3 sections.

Section 1: Approx. 30Km road run from Dublin Castle to Ballynultagh Woods.

Section 1 was approx. 30Km run from Dublin Castle to Ballynultagh Woods. This was on road and footpaths. The route we took was out by Clanbrassil St, Kimmage, Templeogue, Old Bawn, Bohernabreena, off at Stone Cross on to the Shankill Road.

On the run we could see the red head torches in the distance and looking back into the city centre we could see the walkers all lit up with lights and reflective clothing. It was a beautiful clear night and the city lights provided a glow.

Picture showing trial of light turning off at Stone Cross on to the Shankill Road. On the night, Shankill road was very slippery.

I mainly walked this section, as the road was like glass. Approx. 5km before CP1, we entered into a farmer’s field (Private Land section). In this section, I had a fall and landed hard on my left knee. Purely down to the icy conditions. Was not sure at the time if any damage was done, so walked and jogged the next few kilometres to CP1.

On arriving at CP1, we had to dib in (Timing system) and dib out on exiting. (Similar to timing in Triathlon Transition). On reflection, we spent too long in Checkpoint 1. Between changing clothes for the mountain section, having soup and rolls and general chat. 38 minutes whizzed by. It is like running 20 miles of a marathon, stopping for 38 minutes and then running the final 6.2 miles. The legs did not want to run again…

The support crew at checkpoint were great It was very easy to find your bag. All the refreshments you need were on hand. And did I mention the wonderful fire. DWMRT crew on hand at Checkpoint 1.

Section 2: Approx. 10km Off Road Terrain Ballynultagh Woods to Oakwood.

After exiting Check point 1, we continued further up the fire road for a short distance (700M), before going into the bog energy sapping terrain. The Terrain was typical Irish bog in winter time. Feet were soaking wet, cold and every step was like climbing stairs. The short climb to the cool southeast of Black Hill continued over Billy Byrne’s Gap and traverses the eastern side of Glenbride valley to Ballinagee Bridge and across the road towards Oakwood and T2 (Checkpoint 2 – CP2). Near the peak, we had the Blessington lakes on our right. The lights of Blessington were visible, which we used as a navigational guide. Albeit, we had recce this section twice before. It looks very different at night time. In addition to that, others were heading off in different directions. But we continued on the route that we had recced. As we reached the peak, we could see other participant’s lights to both our left and right. Individuals were using varies different routes.

After successfully navigating our way across, the Wicklow Mountains National Park. We proceeded on a fire road, before crossing the Laragh to Hollywood Road crossing and approached Check point 2. We had a quick coffee in CP2 and 8 minutes later dibbed out. At this point it was bright and we no longer needed the head torches. We were all in great spirit. The end game was in sight. 13km left.

Section 3 was approx. 13km.

It is a good idea to use 3 Lakes as a navigational landmark on the very open crossing between Art’s Cross and Table Track. A rough bearing of 220 degrees southwest will get you close but you must rely on your own navigation for this particular section.

We took our time on the final section. We took lots of photos. We mainly walked and jogged this section. In certain parts the snow was quite deep (2ft) and there was lots of climbing and bog/heather terrain.

From 3 Lakes it is effectively south to pick up Lough Brook which can be followed to where it joins Table Track. We followed the track closet to the Avonbeg River for the final few kilometres all the way to Barravore.

Once crossing the finish line at approx. 10:30, we quickly changed and got the shuttle bus to the Glenmalure Lodge where our families were waiting for us. We all had a well-deserved breakfast and pint. It was now time to share stories and exploits with other participants. The Glenmalure Lodge was full of life, like coppers on a Friday night. Needless to say on our drive home, I could not keep my eyes open. Exhausted.

Thanks to Ross Mac Mathuna, Alistair Hodgett and Luke Rafferty for all the organised recces over Christmas. A must for anyone considering doing this event in the future.

A big Thank you to our families (Wife’s in particular) who allowed us out to play…

All in all, the conditions were very good. It was well supported and organised. Definitely recommend this event to anyone looking for something different. Looking forward to next year…