Clive Coffey | Helen Cassidy | Stevie Cassidy | Jonny
Hobson
71.4 km in 18 hours, 44 minutes.
(Report by Jonny Hobson)
Here's the 1-minute summary video https://youtu.be/avi_vu9CUXs
Saturday 27th February 2021, dinner at 8pm and then what? Retire to the living room to sit in front of the fire, glass of wine perhaps? Not this Saturday night - Coffey and the Cassidys had other plans.
“Fortune favours the brave”, someone said...
Rewind a week to the beginning of the Coffey Cassidy Mourne 500 training regime – a tramp from Spelga to Sandy Brae, just three short hours, and the fateful car park comment “it’s a full moon next weekend…”. A few WhatsApp messages, tracker booking and a kit list or two later and we’re committed – “fortune favours the brave”, someone said. Meet at 10pm, bail out cars at Bloody Bridge and Attical, and to Ott Car Park for a prompt 11pm start. The night is cool but not cold (4 degrees), the gentlest of southerly breezes (5km/h), a full moon and a mostly clear sky – just what we needed for the night section, particularly for the non-descript peat-hag maze that is Finlieve.
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| Masks on |
Masks on... and we’re off. Adrenaline levels high, the first five kilometres up Butter, across the dam, Slievenamiskin, Cock and well on the way to Pigeon at an average of six clicks per hour – it felt fast, but everyone was keeping pace and we were up on our early splits – 5 minutes up, 10 minutes up, almost 20 minutes up. A first pause to adjust layers by the pond on Pigeon and the silhouette of Slievemoughanmore looked almost inviting in the clear night sky. Tempo still high, the good light helped the traverse back across to the wall and up – Slievemoughanmore, Eagle.
I’m not a particularly experienced mountain event participant, but a c.70km, +4,800m route didn’t feel like the place to be setting any personal records.
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| Neither the time nor the place for PRs |
Cue the challenge. Feelings of nausea began to creep in on Eagle – the early pace perhaps beginning to tell and the first of what would become a record setting series of poo-stops. The clear, bright night sky that would minimise any time lost through Finlieve gave way to thick fog and wetting mizzle, literally just as we left Shanlieve. As such, there were two distinct routes through Finlieve – perhaps best described as the bearing and the bear – thankfully both routes converged, and so on to Willie Marks lane!
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| Finlieve - The Bear Route |
No-one looks forward to the road section, and I don’t think anyone was convinced we could make it down Sandy Brae and all the way to Willie Marks in the 1 hour we had allowed ourselves – kilometres 17 to 25. The drizzle persisted, the nausea turned to retching. Thankfully Willie Marks lane appeared in just over the allotted hour, but the nausea showed no signs of letting up. On up Binnian to the East Top (Brown Owl to locals, we learned), until at about 4.30am we were joined by the infamous Sleepy Gonzalez – one foot in front of the other at all costs, no matter how wobbly.
Slow, tricky descent off Binnian North Tor in the dark, another stop for dodgy guts.. but the fog has cleared, there are fleeting glimpses of other eventers, and dawn is on its way – things are looking up and the prospect of a spectacular sunrise from Slievelamagan quickened the pace once more.
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| Sunrise from Lamagan |
Buoyed by the warmth of the morning sun, a bite of breakfast on more settled stomachs and the comparatively welcoming undulations of Cove and Beg, our band of less-queasy hopefuls passed through the half-way point on the Brandy Pad beneath Donard.
But we’re down on our target time. With more than 36km still to go a sense of urgency took hold. Race pace along the wall to Rocky before SC (path-finder extraordinaire) found the motorway up Spences, allowing us to regain lost time by the summit of Chimney Rock. Other humans were there.
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| Stevie Cassidy after having found the motorway up Spences |
Off Chimney in the beautiful morning sun, SC and I fall in behind the Mourne 2 Day legends in search of a more forgiving traverse from the quarry to Crossone – located with pinpoint accuracy. The traverse to Crossone slowed only by a bout of gangliness over quarry stones – conditions were perfect and we might have hazarded that time was now on our side, until the realisation that we had five sevens still to climb. Five sevens became the focus – do Donard, that’s hardest. There’s a reason why people don’t choose to climb Donard from the East side – endless, momentum sapping monotony. Yoda would have struggled to beat his age.
At this point I need to apologise to my fantastic co-eventers for the singular nature of the next paragraph – all I can really remember was my own inner battle..!
Busy on Donard but, honestly, I could have met my wife, my two daughters and / or my own mother and not acknowledged them – my own energy levels were low, as was my mood – gone inward. Four sevens – still so many.. In much need of a pep talk, HC’s sixth sense must have been in overdrive – by pinning a milestone on Bearnagh the focus shifted from four sevens, to quite simply, Bearnagh. Still, Commedagh felt like such a slog – forced tuna bap at the top HAD to work, I needed a lift, in energy at least – SC hung back, CC and HC paused on Shan Slieve, and CC engaged in distracting conversation – all very much appreciated, and much needed.
Some combination of those things worked, thankfully, and Corragh, Slievenaglogh and Hare’s Gap in the afternoon seemed more familiar – HC’s Bearnagh milestone once again became the focus, and it felt achievable again. Little did I know at the time, but another HC masterstroke of ‘hugging the wall’ made the Bearnagh milestone interesting – enjoyable even!
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| On route to ‘hugging the wall’ up Bearnagh |
Bearnagh East, wall corner south of tor; Bearnagh, wall corner NW of summit – DONE!
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| Bearnagh milestone |
Slowing pace anticipated, we stayed c.25 minutes ahead of our target 19 hours – Meelmore, Meelbeg, Loughshannagh – checkpoints 30, 31, 32 – 8 checkpoints to go – hints of adrenaline, dare to dream, “fortune favours the brave” someone said.
All the way out to Ben Crom – kilometre 61, with enough time for a team photo – hold it together, nothing silly.
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| Team on Ben Crom |
A moment of minor panic as we looked back towards the home straight and, questioning how we match our benchmark time back to Doan, CC suggests we take a lesser known “lovely wee track” up the SE side of Doan. We opted for the peat bog-river combination – I expect he’s been back to take that wee track since.. Doan, aching bodies, up towards Carn and then only Muck and Ott to go.
It might have been the light as the sun moved lower in the early evening sky, tired limbs, tired minds, the monkey on my back but I could swear that I have NEVER seen a bigger, more distant mountain than Muck from the top of Carn that evening. No matter, we were pretty much there now, just a few checkpoints to go, on to Muck.
It might have been the light as the sun moved lower in the early evening sky, tired limbs, tired minds, the monkey on my back but I could swear that I have NEVER seen a more southerly 600m peak than Muck, south. No matter, nearly there now, on to Muck south.
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| On to Muck South |
It might have been the light as the sun… back up Muck
from Muck SOUTH! No matter.
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| Back up Muck from Muck South |
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| Fortune favours the brave |
