This year, I have been looking for new adventures. And Quest24 delivered this, and more, last weekend. For the past five years, I’ve been doing one-day adventure races around Ireland and the UK. By the end of last year, however, I realised that the ‘racing’ part was taking over, in a stressful, competitive way. The … Continue reading Finding True Adventure at Quest24 Adventure Race
Last weekend’s Quest Wales Adventure Race was a great excuse for a quick holiday break away. All it took was a speedy ferry ride from Dublin to Holyhead and, in less than an hour, I was in Betws-y-Coed in the heart of Snowdonia, race HQ for the weekend. Wales is a brilliant place for anyone … Continue reading Quest Wales Adventure Race
This was my third time entering Westport Sea2Summit’s Adventure Race. In 2014, I came third. In 2016, I placed second. This year I wondered if, third time around, I could do one better again. My preparation for the race was less than ideal. Sea2Summit takes place in November, right at the very end of the … Continue reading Third Time Lucky at Westport Sea2Summit
You’d think, after four years of doing events like Quest, that I would find adventure racing easy. Instead, it’s quite the opposite: It seems to get harder with each event. Just look at last weekend when, for the third time, I lined up at one of Ireland’s toughest adventure races, Quest Killarney. I don’t think … Continue reading Head-to-head Battle at Quest Killarney 2017
“Oh shit”, I thought. The grating noise just didn’t sound good. I looked down. My back wheel was making a really unhealthy sound each time I turned the pedal. This was not what I planned as I left my bike at Kate Kearney’s Cottage the night before the 70km Killarney Adventure Race. I poked and … Continue reading 70km Killarney Adventure Race
6 weeks. That's how long the medics said it would take before I could start training again. 6 weeks! That's nearly a month and a half. That's far too long to have to wait after 9 months of seemingly never ending pregnancy. I knew that Irish Olympian Sonia O'Sullivan didn't hang around for 6 weeks … Continue reading Getting Back in the Saddle
Since moving back home, I’ve had a chance to explore the corner of Ireland where I grew up. I now live on the Inishowen Peninsula, which is lodged on the north-west tip of Ireland. It houses the island’s most northerly point, Malin Head, as well as harbouring some of Ireland’s most rugged, wild countryside. So … Continue reading Shore to Summit Multisport Race – Crossing Donegal’s Inishowen Peninsula from East to West
I had just moved back home to Ireland, to a part I hadn’t lived in for nearly 20 years. So I bought myself a road bike so that I could go exploring. But how was I to know the good biking loops to take? A friend had introduced me to Strava a few months before … Continue reading Addicted to Strava
I grew up in the north of Ireland and was born in the remote region of County Donegal. So when I saw a 65km adventure race advertised 30 minutes from my birthplace, I couldn’t help but register. The race was run by Extreme North, a new adventure racing company based on Donegal’s Inishowen Peninsula. They … Continue reading Rugged Peaks Multi-Sport Race in Remote Donegal
For months Cambodia’s Bokor Mountain has been officially closed. The public were barred due to reconstruction of the road that winds its way to the top. Finally, I heard that it was open again to the masses, and so took my road bike out on Sunday for a spin to its summit. It’s around 8 … Continue reading Bokor Mountain – now open for business!