12 F E ATU R E S
SIN Vol. 22 Issue 01
“I used to smoke 30 cigarettes a day. Now I can run 90 miles a week.”
Gary Elbert details the myriad of emotions he felt as he undertook the Connemara 100 Miles By Gary Elbert “It is not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds, who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who
spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat” — Theodore Roosevelt
B
ACK IN THE DYING EMBERS of a surreal summer, an unusually crisp and clear Clifden morning saw the 2020 edition of Connemara 100 begin. I was one of the 51 competitors, a record number of entrants who undertook the challenge.
At the dawn of 2020, the intention was to run a 40-mile race and a 50-mile ultra in May before gradually progressing towards a 100-miler next year. A dangerous and virulent virus selfishly upended my personal athletic plans. I could now empathise with Carl Froch that time when the volcanic ash cloud disrupted his pugilistic plans. As the sobering reality of lockdown took shape, I sought a new target, a fresh challenge, something to get me out of bed at 6am and run for two hours in the rain and wind. Cancelled races fell like dominos. All that was left was the Connemara 100, Ireland’s toughest road race. My immediate goals were to consistently increase my weekly mileage and improve my running economy. As a long-time fan of weight training and plyometrics I often felt my running style was too stiff and lacked efficiency. Most running coaches recommended regular sprint training alongside the long- haul slow mileage endurance work. The sim-
By placing yourself willingly in adverse physical situations you are in effect challenging your brain and recalibrating what it thinks you are capable of.
