Art O’Neill Challenge Conquered By Bernie McNally

January 13, 2023

The Art O’Neill Challenge is one of those events that I have always been intrigued with. This challenge re traces the 60km route that Art, his brother Henry O’Neill and Red Hugh O’Donnell took when they escaped from Dublin Castle jail and headed to safety at Glenmalure. Unfortunately, Art did not make it and succumbed to hypothermia along the way. This event is held annually as a fundraiser for the Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team, who provide support for the event.

I had heard about this event a few years ago and thought it was completely nuts. Over the mountains? In January? Overnight? Self-navigated with no arrows or marshals? Crossing rivers with no bridges? And no guarantee of getting to the finish line either. Surely anyone taking part would want to have something wrong with them! Then I heard it was a lottery and that not every entrant got into the race. So, there was a queue of people who wanted to do this event! Anytime I spoke to previous participants and their face lit up talking about the challenge. So, this piqued my interest and I said I’d enter the lottery to see if I got a place. I was only running the odd 5k at the time and didn’t think I had a hope of getting in, let alone finishing. However, I wanted something to keep me motivated over the winter and get 2023 off to a great start.

Along came mid-November, sitting on the couch in front of a nice cosy fire, checking email when I must have uttered some expletives as my hubbie asked what was up and was I ok. I explained that I had been successful in the lottery and had an entry to the Art O’Neill and that I had approx. 8 weeks to get my 5k up to 60k without snapping a hamstring. While I had completed some adventure races and some trail running, I was not familiar with these mountains at all and didn’t know when the last time I had pulled an all-nighter! I started googling maps of routes and looking for training partners who had done the event before that I could recce the route with. I was lucky enough to find the ‘She Summits’ running group who were based in Wicklow and offered trail runs along the route as well as a night navigation course.

I then set about buying kit, my favourite part of any adventure! The only difference between this and other events was that lack of sufficient or warm enough kit could result in not finishing the event. Maps, compasses, trail running bottoms, head torches, jackets, bivi bags, first aid kits, poles, thermal layers, waterproof leggings and socks were all invested in.

One of the highlights of the preparation was learning new skills. I spent most weekends in Wicklow, took part in a mountain skills course with Adventure.ie and re-learned how to read a map and use a compass. I learned how to navigate at night on a windy wet December’s evening in Glenmalure. I got used to sideways rain, mist and wind while recognising landmarks from maps, such as tree lines and fences. I hiked different sections of the route a few times. I also drove the road section of the route at night in order to familiarise myself with the different landmarks that I would be passing along the way.

My first glimpse of a section of the route itself was a snowy Saturday morning where I hiked with a group from Ballinagee Bridge past Art O’Neill’s cross and on to the three lakes, which was the majority of the second mountain section. The cross was mandatory as on the night of the event a wristband had to be collected here. The higher we got the weather got windier and more challenging and I was glad of the extra layers in the backpack. I had no idea how we found our way along but was very impressed that the girls seemed to know where we were going by reading maps, using distance, compass and landmarks as guides. By the time we turned around and made our way back to the cars, I was still not sure how on earth I was going to find that route to Arts cross again and on further to Glenmalure in the daytime, let alone in the dark! Once home I compared the Garmin route that we had taken to a map in order to get distances and bearings to follow during the race.

A week later I completed the whole mountain route with a fabulous group of Skerries ladies who were also taking part in the event. Sitting in the carpark by myself that December morning in the dark with the sideways rain battering against the windscreen. This felt like the middle of nowhere with not a soul in sight so I asked myself was this nuts. I thought of Tony and had I said my last goodbye to him that morning? I also thought of the nice Christmas dinner that I might miss in 2 days’ time.  Surely if a serial killer was going to be here, they would wait for better weather? Once the girls arrived, I was sure they would call it off, get back into the car and go home. Nope! Out of the cars and into the dark and rain. I’d say we were drenched within the first few metres. However, spirits were high and although it brightened up slightly during the day, the mist and the rain were great as they simulated what it could be like on the night so we had to rely on our compasses.

As we had done some of the route the week previously, I was surprised how much the rivers had risen in just a week and we crossed gingerly, getting even more soaked along the way. We kept moving to stay warm. We didn’t actually make it to Art’s cross this time due to navigating in the mist. While scrambling up and down peat hags in the mist I completely understood how people could get lost in the mountains and was amazed that all of the group stayed positive even with the cold conditions. I was very impressed with the navigational skills that got us over the mountains as I still had no clue at this stage as was learning more about each section of the route with each recce. A few more trips to the mountains over Christmas provided more confidence on navigating the route. Some running on local hilly roads as well as some strength and conditioning work completed the training.

Race night arrived and with the bags packed with everything I could think of, I headed for Dublin Castle. The legs were rested, the carbs were loaded, the kit was dry and the form were good. The atmosphere at Dublin Castle was electric with music, lights, tea and lots of chats. It was a fabulous surprise to see some of the Fingal Tri gang at the start line. Here, the kit bag was checked to ensure mandatory kit – spare layers, maps, compass, first aid kit, whistle and bivi bag. There were a few different categories of race – the Pursuits, who would finish at Kippure at 25k, the Trekkers who would hike the whole way, the Hybrids who would hike some and run some of the route and the Ultras who would run the whole way.

Soon we were off, with myself tagging along with the Skerries ladies. I started with the hybrid group and the plan was to run the road and trails and hike the mountain sections. We set off at a steady pace, hoping that approx. 7 min kilometres would ensure we had enough left in the legs to get us over the mountains. We picked off the trekkers one by one who had left 30 mins before us, and there were good spirits and plenty of chats on the road, despite the rain. Once we reached the gap road there were fabulous views of Dublin. No time to stop and admire the view for long as the total focus was on getting to dry clothes at Check Point 0 at Kippure at 25k.

One of the competitors congratulated me as we made our way to his finish line at Kippure, as the pursuit race was finishing there. I told him I still had another 35k to go. I kept going but felt the horrified look on his face! At this stage the head was starting to wobble as I grasped how much of the race was left so Kippure was a very welcome sight with hot soup, a change into dry kit and new backpack and head torch for the mountains. We were greeted to friendly faces as we sipped soup and got changed.

Although tempting to stay in the warm and cosy lodge, I dumped my pack of wet gear in a van and headed off again and out into the dark and rain. The girls had gone ahead at this stage as I had slowed to a hike due to an old injury appearing. I had to reassure myself that I was going the right way as I was not familiar with this part of the route at all as I had not had a chance to recce it was it was private land and not a soul in sight! I stopped, took some deep breaths and got my bearings with the landmarks again and started off again through the boggy fields. After a few kilometres, some of the mountain rescue team and their jeep with Christmas lights were a welcome sight as I continued to make my way to Check Point 1 at the 30k mark and collect my first wristband.

Once I reached Check Point 1, I was familiar with the rest of the route and could pick off landmarks and compass bearings along the way. I also knew that this race was only starting as I still had the mountains to go. Every so often a head torch coming along behind me was a welcome sight as the ultra-runners caught and passed me. Once past check point 1, I headed along the fire track for the mountains. I could see head torches up above me like Christmas tree lights, as everyone made their way towards Billy Byrnes gap. Thankfully I was fully confident in my compass bearings as there were head torches heading in all directions!

Once over the gap it was down the hill to two river crossings. I was keen to see how high the rivers were going to be, as time could be lost here trying to figure out where to cross. Thankfully they were manageable. Once over the rivers it was straight on to the next landmark which was the forest and trail that led to Ballinagee Bridge. Funny that even though it had been easy to find the gate to the trail previously, it was a different story in the dark and not funny at all! I was back with the girls at this point and after a bit of searching we found it and headed along the trail. It was mind over matter as this point and thankfully a hot bowl of porridge and sweet tea served by some very friendly scouts and helpful mountain rescue team members provided some warmth at Check Point 2.

Next it was on to the more technical navigation of the route, across a river and upwards to Arts Cross for the next wristband. This route had been recce’d a few times in both crisp snow and the mist. Thankfully I had the company of the Skerries ladies at this point again and was confident we were going in the right direction with our compass bearings. It was a sight to look back down the mountain and see the head torches behind us. Onwards and upwards to Art O’Neill’s cross and I felt practically home at this point as I knew the easier navigation started from here and daylight was appearing. However, as the legs were getting tired it was a slow and steady march over the mountains to the next track.  

Once reaching the track I knew I was getting slower and was very grateful for the nurofen from a fellow passing competitor when they realised I was hobbling along! I kept going as I knew the end was in sight with 10k or so to go and I really wanted to finish. Delighted to see Tony at the finish line where I was greeted with lots of hugs as well as the nicest sandwich and a hot cup of tea. Delighted to have finished the race, having navigated what felt like a very straight route with no additional mileage picked up along the way.

One of my favourite things about this event was that it challenged me to rethink my previously held limiting beliefs about training in the cold, training in the wet and really stepping out of my comfort zone. I relished running in the rain and wet over the winter, as I knew I had a big scary challenge ahead of me and had to do it. I met some great people along the journey too and learned lots of new skills too.

A huge thank you to the organisers, Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue team, and all of the volunteers at this event. Thanks to all the Fingal Tri club members for all of the kind and supportive messages and thanks to the Skerries ladies and She Summits team who kindly shared their knowledge of during training sessions and were great company during the event too.

So if you feel like stepping out of your comfort zone this year and take on that challenge for 2023 go for it! And know that you will always have a huge Fingal Tri support team at your back wishing you well along your training and racing journey.