24/01/2024
Almost 12 years ago, in 2012, I wrote this piece having completed the Sneem JFK 50 mile walk. I have completed that twice and the Moylagh JFK on two occasions as well.
It's a bit of a long read but I hope you enjoy it. The Jedward reference is the Eurovision which took place that night
There is something unnatural about shovelling porridge into an unwilling tummy at 4.00am when we should really be satisfying false appetites with chicken and chips on the way home from a night out. It is also unnatural to follow up with a shower at 4.15am for unknown reasons that have yet to become apparent a week later. It is even more unnatural to don shorts, runners and suncream and battle through swarms of midges of biblical proportion to stand with 161 others on the street of a small village in West Kerry waiting for someone to give the order to walk for more hours than imaginable through unfamiliar territory in blazing sunshine. And as for the Vaseline….suffice it to say that I was most unnaturally lubricated in places that most people do not care to speak of outside of their GP’s surgery….and even then under extreme protest.
But there is nothing natural about the Sneem JFK 50 Mile Challenge and, on May 26th, 162 brave souls undertook to walk 50 miles in under 20 hours. We all have our reasons for wanting to put ourselves through such a mammoth physical effort. For me it was the physical challenge, being able to say that I had done it and be part of a select group that had achieved something incredible. I am lucky to be blessed with an understanding and slightly daft wife who understands my daftness better than anybody else. A wife who, despite my not even making it to the start line in 2011, went ahead anyway and completed the Challenge. Knowing what effort is involved doesn’t deter this lady, however, and so we began training together on Monday January 2nd 2012. Twenty weeks of preparation for the big day.
Our chosen charity was the North Tipperary Hospice, which immediately added some focus to our effort. We managed to rope in a couple of unsuspecting sisters along the way too and the four of us tramped the highways and byways of Tipperary in the weeks leading up to the event. Sometimes together, sometimes in twos or even occasionally alone, no weekend was missed nor opportunity lost to squeeze in a few miles training. We became a familiar sight on roads that did not always lead home and people grew used to seeing us in unusual places, often passing three or four times in the day and tooting the car horn every time. Oh happy days….
But back to the day itself….
All ages, shapes, sizes and even nationalities snaked out of Sneem just after 5.00am on Saturday 26th May 2012. It took a couple of miles to settle into a comfortable pace but I noticed two gentlemen creating a little room for themselves early on. Obviously experienced walkers and unhindered by rucksacks and Nikes or energy gels, the two lads, whom I would later learn were called Jimmy and Vinny, found their pace quickly and the next time I saw them was at Molls Gap enjoying a well-earned break. Along with their five companions they enjoyed well-earned breaks of up to two hours in total and still finished comfortably at 8.30pm. Now that is the way to do it….
The scenery is spectacular in Kerry and we did enjoy some of it in the bright sunshine but there wasn’t a lot of time to admire the surroundings as an important job needed to be done. We learned very quickly that Kerry miles are considerably longer than normal miles and “around the corner” does not necessarily mean the next corner, “just up there a bit” is rarely just up there and as for the elusive Pat Spillanes…..it must be on wheels ‘cos it definitely moved some distance from where it was meant to be…..
The journey was shortened by fellow walkers, strangers who became instant friends with a shared goal. The helpers and stewards, although economical with the distances….. were incredible. At every junction they plied us with both supplies and encouragement while mobile units patrolled the course constantly offering support. The lovely Heather and friends’ tea and brack at the 44 mile mark was food for the Gods and is probably solely responsible for the numbers who completed the course this year. There was even a full-sized red double decker London bus offering refreshment en route! At least two ambulances drove the route sizing up the medical situation and I swear that I saw a paramedic reaching for a measuring tape at one point……..but I escaped!!
Another who escaped was young Dan Murphy who cheerily whizzed past me on the never-ending road to Spillanes at lunchtime. Later on I passed the same Dan in agony with a knee injury and I thought he was a customer for the Order of Malta (or worse). They make ‘em tough in Kerry though and no sooner had I crossed the finish line when the bould Dan hobbled over shortly behind me. Inspirational ….. and made even more so by the fact that Dan didn’t bother too much with the training and just turned up on the day to do the job…..one tough man….
With hours to think, either on training walks or on the day itself, it’s amazing what trivialities cross under-occupied minds and I have started businesses, spent millions in Lotto winnings and generally set the world to rights on various journeys around the roads since January. Do you think I could recall any of these ideas to occupy my mind on the day itself? Of course not …. just blank thoughts and emptiness when I really needed to pass the time. I did notice that the local dogs must have been away for the day. Perhaps they were at the seaside or in Killarney shopping but they weren’t in the environs of Sneem. Not even a bark in anger broke the silence.
There was also a noticeable absence of abandoned gloves on the roads of Kerry. Maybe it’s a Tipperary thing but on every training walk we counted dozens of solitary gloves weeping by the verges…..green ones, red ones, black ones and even occasional woolly ones but mysteriously never a pair of gloves. Maybe we have an inordinate number of one handed people in Tipp or perhaps we’re just careless………
Mobile phones proved to be a useful way of checking in on one another towards the end and even though we weren’t far apart it was nice to hear a familiar voice at the other end when the coverage allowed. I even got updates on Jedward’s progress!! With three miles to go (at least that’s what they told me but I wonder??) and growing ever tired and emotional, thoughts turned to loved ones and those less fortunate who will benefit from our efforts. Our pain is short term but unfortunately those suffering from cancer have no choice. If our little pain can help in some way to bring respite to even a single person then it will have been worth it.
I’ve never had much success on the sports field but I think now I know what it is like to complete an Olympic event. The last mile was a blur of tears and elation, the blisters disappeared and the aches were postponed. The music was sweet and every flurry of car horns signalled yet another finisher. Another hero or heroine at the end of an unnatural endurance, crossing that line into outstretched arms and hands…..backs slapped, cameras flashing…..
Will I do it all again?
Naturally………..
