Hart Walk 2007

 The Hart Walk 2007
(Distance 111km Ascent 3000m)
On Friday evening 20th August, 2007, eight men and two women met in heavy rain opposite the old tram station in Terenure, Dublin, for the 2007 Hart Walk. The men’s record holder, Bob Lawlor (16hrs 21mins), was amongst them again while the first woman ever to complete the trek, Sandra Brady (27hrs 53mins in 2002) was confidently expecting to improve on her previous time. After a short warning from the organizer about the folly of not pacing oneself wisely during the event, the group set off at 8.10pm through the streets and puddles of this Dublin city suburb.
Within the first mile the fleet-footed Ms Brady had set a blistering pace, with the younger members of the group (who didn’t know Sandra well) attempting to match her until reason and blisters made them think again. The older, faster and more experienced, people stayed at the back during these early stages, slowly warming themselves up for the long haul. Eamon Magan, who had learned from an unsuccessful attempt last year, when hallucinations and bloody blisters forced his withdrawal at Laragh, was the last man in in the train and wouldn’t again meet his fellow walkers until six hours later when he caught up with them in their pain around Glenmacnass.
Between Laragh (41km) and Glenmalure at 4am (50k) four walkers withdrew due to blisters and sore knees. Bob Lawlor, Sandra Brady and the mighty Pam Coleman, continued on up towards Lugnaquilla, followed by Fred Hamond and Desi O’Hagan from Northern Ireland. Last away from the Glenmalure Lodge was Eamon Magan, supported by Tom Milligan on this mountain section. At this hour of the morning the body is not always pleased at being asked to do a continuous climb of 820 metres, so one or two were sorely tried by this task. As Lugnaquilla was reached, however, their bodies had woken up as the journey across the muddy Glen of Imaal was made. With the day turning out to be unexpectedly pleasant everyone could now look forward to a pleasant and navigationally easy course.
Wicklow Gap (72km) to Ballynultagh proved to be a testing time for some. Pam Coleman, who had been leap-frogging over peat hags around Barnacullian, found at Ballynultagh that her foot had become so sore that further progress was impossible. This was most disappointing not only for herself, but for her friends who knew that the old record would be surpassed by her. With a heavy heart she was transported back to Terenure by the back-up team of Pat Lynch and Maeve Carey (the women’s record holder). When Eamon Magan reached this point much later on, he also had to withdraw due to sore knees and the excruciatingly sore and battered soles of his feet. Tom Milligan, his companion on this journey, had become concerned about him earlier on when last year’s hallucinatory inclinations returned around Barnacullian. He had pointed out to Tom the unusual sight of a large white caravan in the middle of the bog on the floor of the Glenmacnass valley. Upon examining the situation closely, Tom saw that what Eamon was referring to was actually a bend in the Glenmacnass river below. The manic look in Eamon’s face and the rapidly twitching right eye made Tom feel that he should stay behind Eamon from that point on.
The remaining four walkers performed wonderfully all the way to the finish. Sandra Brady crossed the finishing line with Bob Lawlor in a magnificent 21hrs 55mins, reducing the old women’s record by 1hr 42mins, while Desi O’Hagan arrived in 23hrs 3mins with Fred Hamond doing 23hrs 7mins.
I’d like to say that a great time was had by all, but with a 60% casualty rate for the walk that might be going too far. However, I’d like to think that the experience was a great learning experience for all concerned and that lessons were learned which will inspire them to come back again next year (yeah, right!) and complete the challenge they set for themselves in 2007.
On behalf of many of the walkers who contacted me personally after the event, I would like to express appreciation for the life-line backup team of Pat Lynch and Maeve Carey (watch out Sandra Brady next year!) who provided such encouragement and essential support during this arduous event. Without them, and the bond they provided between the participants, the event would have been so much less enjoyable.
Tom Milligan