The weather gods were smiling on us again! Tollymore Forest Park was looking its absolute best—sun beaming down at a crisp 12 degrees with the majestic Mourne Mountains standing tall in the background. A record-shattering 430 runners charged across the start line (though two “ghost runners” forgot to scan—seriously folks, don’t forget to get scanned!).

Tollymore has one of the fastest 1K downhill starts in the Hill & Dale Series, with Jonny completing that first K in 3.02, coupled with the Auditorium Finish of The Green Rig, some 200m of ascent providing a great spectacle for the onlookers. Rule of thumb is that if you finish the final climb in the same place you started it in, that’s considered success.

Think of this leg as the ultimate “warm-up” before the series gets really technical. We’re talking a high-speed cocktail of winding forest trails, lung-busting single-track climbs, and a cheeky dash across the open mountainside. The vibe was pure electricity as the Portadown, Lurgan, and Belfast crews arrived ready to tackle a course designed to turn quads into jelly and calves into lead!

The “Dream Team”—five guys who can only be described as the Last of the Summer Wine—spent Wednesday evening marking out the 5-mile course and its 1,000ft of elevation, deciding that the best course of action was to mark course in reverse, with a descent of the opening 1 mile climb up the hill preferred, especially when carrying buckets of sawdust. Before the course marking, our V75 Legend Ernie remarked that he had just registered before coming out of the house and having completed this descent, regretted it.

Meanwhile, our Race Director and her “disciple” thought a 5-mile river jog was a good idea before registration. In classic “Joe” fashion, he tripped over his own feet, becoming the first (and thankfully only) casualty at the First Aid van. After a massive, dramatic bandage job on his “serious” knee wound, he showed up the next night to race with nothing but a child’s sticker plaster. Legend.

Hunger levels were high among the volunteers, and while the “On a Roll” sandwiches from Frankie were promised, Frankie arrived GoPro in hand… but totally empty-handed! Thankfully, Diane saved the day, and the troops were eventually fed.

A massive shout-out to our male and female podiums on the night:

Jonny Scott, Mourne Runners was first home in 29.35, with Keith Johnston of Armagh in 30.46, with Andrew Tees of BARF completing the Podium.

Karen Wilton, Jog Lisburn was first lady in 35.11, Esther Dickson, Newry AC in 36.23 and Rachel Quinn, Crossfit Infected in third in 37.02.

There is a saying that ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ and the same can said for any race within the Hill & Dale Series. Teamwork makes the dream work! This event only happens because of our incredible marshals, registration gurus, scanners, and course markers and believe it or not for this event, nearly 40 people had been involved.

A huge thank you to Connaire and the Burrendale staff for their support, and we think record numbers returned there. Once the celebrity mugs had been handed out, leaving the remainder for what is purported to be ‘First Timers’, this created a frenzy, no room for etiquette, or ladies first, getting off the Titanic would have been easier.

Thanks also go to the Lads from the Forestry Services who trust us to run these events. On Friday we completed a further lap of the course removing all final red/white tape as well as other rubbish (not associated with this event) and feedback from the Lads was that you wouldn’t know we had been there as no rubbish was left, embracing the ‘Leave no Trace’ objective.

Next Stop: Rostrevor, some 6.9Km loop with 520M of ascent! Barry Óg and David are taking the reins. Here’s hoping their volunteer snacks are as legendary as Frankie’s almost sandwiches.

Your “Don’t Forget” Checklist:

Bring your number and safety kit every single week.

Get scanned before the race—no scan, no time!