‘’The will to win means nothing if you haven’t the will to prepare’’ Juma Ikangaa
<Author: Gerry O'Boyle>
A new adventure: planning ahead
Our long coastal journey will start soon and we’re counting down the days to 11 February. Helen and Sean are equally excited about our task ahead. The t-shirts with the Clifton School logo arrive just before Christmas. The three of us all do the parkrun on Christmas Eve in Bangor and afterwards we arrange to head down to nearby Ballyholme beach for a few pictures wearing our new bright green shirts. It’s a cold and windy day and the normal calm Ballyholme Bay, looks wild and rough as we pose for our photos. Now we can tell the rest of the world (or at least North Down) about our crazy idea! At my age, it’s probably the closest I’ll ever get to a proper adventure (I almost feel a little like Ernest Shackleton going on an arctic expedition – I suppose we all have an adventurous spirit hidden somewhere inside us!)
The Coastal Team
Just after Christmas we finally announce to the world (well, to our friends on Facebook) what we’re going to do. Our Facebook Post gets a lot of notice/likes and comments and we do expect others will join us along the way at some stage. Some people have even shown interest in doing the whole run but at the moment, all we can be sure of is, that our team of three ( Helen, Sean and I) will aim to complete the whole coast of County Down.
Sean is raring to go! If the truth be told, Sean Nickell could probably do the whole 200 miles in one day or at least in a weekend. I first met Sean through the North Down Athletic Club (NDAC) Monday night running group and Sean also has a son in Clifton School. Sean has competed in lots of ultra marathons and in competitions called ‘last man standing’; he is often one of the last men standing! Twenty or thirty miles a day will not be a problem for our Sean.
Helen Byers is equally passionate about the whole experience. She is an accountant by profession but we try not to hold that against her! I first met Helen through our accounting/teaching paths but I really got to know her through Bangor parkrun and also through the Monday night running group at NDAC. Helen was a recent winner of the coveted NDAC’s Grand Prix Prize for
2016. This award is presented to the person who performed best over a variety of distances and terrain. Yes, nothing will fluster Helen and she is in danger of smiling her way around the whole 200 miles!
I see the local newspaper (County Down Spectator) has done a small piece about our forthcoming run. There’s no going back now, as Sean says. Our picture looks good but the actual written piece itself is very short. However, the paper’s artist (Neal McCullough from Hand Drawn Creative) does quite a funny sketch of the three of us, even if he calls us ‘Joggers’ in his cartoon!
I’m struggling a little with lower back pain at the moment. I had hoped to do the famous Christmas cracker race in Castlewellan on 27 December but I thought it would be wise not to run in that one. (Apologies to my partner Catherine Roberts!) I’ve been going for physio treatment over the last few weeks and it’s going well.
Trial run/drive
On Sunday 15 January, Maureen and I (and of course wee Brian) decide to head down to Omeath where our Coastal Run will start in a few weeks time. Where exactly is Omeath, you might ask? Omeath is a small village in County Louth, just south of the border – about half way between Carlingford and Newry. The actual Louth/Down/Irish border is about 2 miles north of Omeath but rather than start our run in the middle of nowhere, we’ve decided to start our expedition in the village of Omeath. It’s a beautiful day when we arrive in the village and Omeath looks well along Carlingford Lough. Warrenpoint and Rostrevor can be clearly seen, nestling in the Mournes across the bay.
In Omeath we get talking to a couple of runners (not joggers!). They’re going for a run in the opposite direction, towards Carlingford. The old railway line from Omeath to Carlingford is now converted into a lovely coastal greenway, perfect for running, walking or cycling but the path seems to stop at Omeath. I tell these runners about our coastal run idea and enquire about the best way to go from Omeath to Newry. I had already read that the old railway line went as far as Newry, but I wasn’t sure whether that section was suitable for running yet. One of the men said we should come back next year (2018) when the greenway from Omeath to Newry would be finished. (I’m not sure if Helen or Sean would want to wait another year!) It would be nice to avoid running along the main Omeath-Newry road as it’s quite narrow and windy. Another option (which I discuss with Sean later) is to run about ¾ mile inland, parallel to the main road and along by quieter roads near the forest.
Anyway, on this beautiful day in mid-January, we leave Omeath and drive across the border back in towards Newry and around the river/canal towards Warrenpoint. It’s even warming up now (12 degrees) and the sun is shining as we drive along the coastal road towards Rostrevor, with the sea and Cooley Mountains on one side and the Mournes on the other. Of course, this is the area that inspired CS Lewis when writing the Chronicles of Narnia. In a letter to his
brother, he wrote ‘’that part of Rostrevor which overlooks Carlingford Lough is my idea of Narnia’’. Yes, you can see why he was so impressed. I’m hoping we get as nice a day for the start of our Coastal Run on 11 February.
If you’d like to Donate to Clifton Special School, please see below. https://mydonate.bt.com/events/cliftoncoastalrun/381290
