The Causeway Coast Marathon
A Run Along the Causeway Coast
Michael Regan / 14.10.2009
After a good nights sleep I wakened just before the alarm at 6am. The weather looked good and the sun was coming up through a sea mist on a really fresh morning; perfect conditions for a marathon. I got my gear and headed to Portballintrae for the registration where the atmosphere was building for both competitors and spectators alike. At 8:55am Rowan from extreme 26 (the event organiser) give us a description of what lay ahead and thanked us all for taking part in the first Causeway Marathon. He handed over to the Mayor who made a quick speech and give a blast of an air horn to signal the start of the Causeway Marathon 2009 and set us on our way.
<b>Out</b>
We started to slowly filter under the start banner, down a small stony path and across a footbridge over the Bush River, then took a sharp right onto a sandy path lead onto a boardwalk along the river. We turned left and followed the causeway train tracks which run parallel to the beach at the back of the sand dunes. Turning left again we crossed the tracks and headed towards the Runkerry headland.
The craic was good and everyone was in good spirits. There was the odd joke here and there about taking in the scenery on the way out because we would be in too much pain on the way back. This later turned out to be true for some of us!
Runkerry headland seemed to go past in a flash and at this point we were well and truly warmed up. At the Causeway visitor centre we turned left down the tarmac road to the causeway itself. This was a steep descent that dropped us down to sea level past the famous Causeway stones.
Next came the first major climb of the day from sea level to around 450ft up the Shepard's steps. This was when the pace dropped to a walk as the steps were slippy and very steep. When I reached the top I picked up the pace again. I knew there was a slight climb along the cliff side that leveled out were I could later get a breather and a drink.
This was the first time I used a water bottle belt and it was great to be able to drink on the run. The cliff path was in good condition even with the heavy rain the previous night. I started to get into a rhythm and felt really good. A nice cool breeze from time to time really helped keep me from overheating.
Headland after headland followed, the most amazing scenery you could ever have for a marathon. A quick glance now and again was all I could take as the path was uneven and slippy in places. As we were getting into the miles we started to hit the ups and downs. A series of rocky steps down then up with the wooden steps and over fences was a test of the legs even at this early stage. We passed marshals on the route giving us warnings of slippy steps or dangerous cliff edges. This just showed the professionalism of the event and attention to detail from the organisers.See All Event Posts
