Gaelforce West - Adventure Racing Festival Westport Ireland

Welcome to Marrey training systems tips for GF6, Padraig finished 3rd in 2007 and 4th in 2008 and 2009, he is also one of the organisers of the Days Adventure Duathlon in 2009 which will be known in 2010 as the Harlequin Adventure Duathlon.

Padraig hopes to pass on his knowledge of coaching and racing helping participants in their preparation for the adventure race of their lives in 2010.

The past 24 months has brought about a HUGE interest in strenuous endurance events with numbers soaring at all events, be they running, cycling, Triathlon or adventure racing.

The West of Ireland is lucky as it holds Europe biggest Adventure races called the Gael Force 6.(GF6)

The idea behind the event is that the 65k route could be completed inside 6hours for the reasonably fit enthusiast, still this event is not for the faint hearted as they forgot to tell you that the route is the toughest around that will challenge you mentally and physically, leaving your body in no doubt about its severity when the challenge is completed, leaving every limb aching for days after.

The Route starts at Glassan Beach near Tully Cross out on the shores of the Atlantic in the West of Ireland, where participants line up on the beach, ahead lies a 12k hilly cross country run to Killary adventure centre, next is a bumpy 1.5k kayak across Killary Ford, the first 40 kayak across in solo Kayaks the rest of the participants can do it in pairs, off the kayaks and climb the steep bank for another 3.5k cross country run to Delhi Adventure centre, where participants can change shoes to hop on their bikes for a 30k up hill cycle to the back of Croagh Patrick (The Reek). This part of the course is different from last year, with the last 4k is on a rough fire road up to the Croagh Patrick transition area, this will make it a tough finish to the bike.

Now the fun starts as participants are nearly running on empty with the tough hike of Croagh Patrick looming ahead, roughly this is a 30 odd minute hike for the Elites or up to 90mins for the novice, taking the correct line is very important, the Elites like to go straight up, but I honestly prefer the path which is a bit longer but easier on the limbs. The fastest way down is as the crow flies, straight down....

After running, walking or crawling back down the Reek to collect your bike, the last but fearsome section of this event lies ahead, the 12k bike ride has a few hidden secrets, the first 3k are sound but when you arrive at the top of the hill nicknamed locally as the Skelp, this is where you have to decide how good your bike handling skills are as this section is steep with a downhill on very rough terrain, the good news it only lasts 1km, so if you don’t feel comfortable then its best to throw the bike on your shoulder and jog down. When the off road section is finished it’s only 7k to the finish which is mostly downhill.

Finally when you reach the finish of the bike there might be a surprise of a short obstacle run to the finish line be prepared . For a total of 65 kilometres. With 3000 people already entered, its NOW time to start your specific training.