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Circuit Of Imaal 2010

Circuit Of Imaal 2010

 The Circuit of Imaal happened on one of the more delightful days of the year. The sun was shining and the skies were blue.

And this all added to the eagerness of the walkers who gathered at the Donard National School in Co. Wicklow on the morning of Saturday, 19th June.
Busy about the place on the day was Jim Barry and his team of assistants who had spent the evening before marking out the route on the hills and by-roads to facilitate the passage of the walkers over a sometimes difficult terrain.
 
One hundred and sixteen people registered for the event so many An Óige hands were needed to ensure that all went well.  For safety reasons also a Red Cross ambulance and Mountain Rescue was on hand in case of an emergency.
Initially the temperature of the day was cool and some found themselves shivering as they waited around before the start at 7am.  However, after a kilometre or two on the road out to Keadeen mountain temperatures were very comfortable indeed. 
This year the usual ascent to Ireland's biggest hillfort, Brusselstown Ring, was not on the route so the nearest we got to it was a view from the nearby road.  Keadeen, in accordance with tradition, was clothed in mist and the temperature there was very cool.  However, a very pleasant new route from Ballinabarney Gap to Ballinfoyle added interest to the journey and before long Ballineddan, Slievemaan, and Lugnaquilla were reached in perfect visibility, despite the heavy cloud which was there before the first walkers arrived.
 
After a skip and a hop across the very dry and soft peat of the ridge above the Glen of Imaal we found ourselves at Table Mountain and from there onwards to Lobawn, Captain Bolton's yard at Kilcoagh and down to the finish in sunny Donard.  The Garmin gps told us we had done 38.1 kilometres with a little less than 1800 metres of ascent, but with the beautiful conditions we had on the day, the soft peaty dry hills (and the refreshments provided before Keadeen and Ballineddan) it certainly seemed a lot less.
The large hall in the school at Donard was scene of great feasting at the finish.  The chief organiser, Jim Barry, had obviously raided the local tuck-shop because every sort of confectionary was laid out on large tables for the finishers to enjoy ( a banana-boat must have docked in Dublin the night before because there were boxes of bananas everywhere).  To add to the revelry, the local Donard ladies brought along fresh produce from the locality and whether you wanted vegetables or fruit-cake (I chose the fruit-cake) no appetite was left unsatisfied.
All in all, this was an excellent and well-organised day which everyone enjoyed, thanks to the efforts of the organizers and the many helpers who gave of their time so that we all could have a great day.  Which we did!  If the knees hold out then we'll be back next year.
Tom Milligan. 
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