After what had to be one of the driest summers on record, the annual highlight of the Irish marathon racing calendar rolled around again with the 51st Liffey Descent taking place on Saturday the 4th of September 2010.
With a slightly lower turnout than recent years (but still at least a healthy 700+ competitors), slightly lower water levels and pretty much everyone admitting total lack of moving water training (there being no moving water in the country to train on!), it was obvious there were more than a few nervous participants making their way upriver to the start line.
This would be the 3rd consecutive year myself and the Good Wife (Wai Har) had competed in the Double Open Canadian class. Paddling as a husband and wife team is a good test for any marriage but after getting the first one under our belts, it has been plain sailing since;-) This year we got some minor flatwater training in a week or two before the event along with the Lower Liffey Ranking Race which freshened up our moving water paddling and re-affirmed we could still do it.
Our Liffey Descent performance (as with most C2s) tends to be rated by number (and quality of swimming) than anything to do with time. For instance in 2008 (our 1st year) we had a good race but swam at Palmerstown (and finished 20th). For 2009 we had a nasty swim at Straffan (nasty = time consuming) and struggled to regain all the positions we had lost (finishing 27th***).
Being a C2 in the Liffey Descent “Race” is always a surreal experience imminently preceding the “start” and fraught with danger; be too aggressive and keep with the front of the pack and risk getting sandwiched at the weir in Straffan or, being too cautious, keeping to the mid or rear of the pack and you can lose the race before even crossing the “start line”. I say “start line” because, being the last (and arguably the most entertaining) class to start the Liffey Descent means that once the aftermath of the G.P. class has been cleared, the Canadian Canoe start is something like: “5,4, just Go!” (with most of the starting pack having cleared the line before “5” being called). Upon reaching Straffan Weir, the huge crowd amassed on the bridge and riverbank, rather than urging the competitors on with a successful race, are thirsty for blood and carnage, resulting with competitors who negotiate the weir upright getting boo’d and heckled by the commentator!
After reconsidering our line over Straffan weir, we eventually decided to stick with what we knew best, going down the boxes on hard left. We ended possibly a little TOO hard left, giving the divers on standby a fright, but we got through cleanly with minimal water onboard. We dodged the boats and bodies of those being rescued below the weir and charged on to make up some time in the Jungle.
Initially we managed to make up a good few places – passing swamped canoes and recreational GP kayaks. Thankfully we didn’t have any mishap in the Jungle and weaved our way downstream towards Celbridge and Templemills and Vanessa weirs. These didn’t prove any trouble and we bounced down Celbridge rapids getting to the lake still with some energy in the tanks.
Thankfully the wind on the lake was light allowing for steady paddling without correction. We had hoped to make up a few extra places on the lake, which we did, but there were at least a couple of other very fit C2 teams with the same idea meaning we probably held the place we had.
Our mountain-board wheels proved the fastest and most reliable method for the portage and gave us an edge over some of the faster teams on the water. After a short queue to get back on the water, we cleared Leixlip Bridge and powered on towards the Sluice.
We had ran thru the Sluice on the Lower Liffey ranking race without issue but we did take on considerable water meaning we had to stop and empty at Lucan. This time we took the safer, but slower, option of going over the chicken shoot but this meant we had a drier boat and no need for bailing.
At Lucan we again ran the chicken shoot but didn’t get as far left as intended and landed too straight which meant we took on more water than intended. After some bailing we ran the fish slide on Anna Livia weir and kept the pace up for Wren’s Nest.
At Wren’s we ran the left hand wall to avoid any chance of ending up in the right hand stopper and gained a couple of places from those who weren’t so lucky! Over the next couple of Km we tried to hold a clear position but we were well aware that there were some faster crews closing in on us.
At Palmerstown we had intended to run diagonally down the left hand wall but a recently washed down try had obstructed that line. Having a poor track record with running the centre line, we drifted wide on the left before powering in at the V to cross the top of the left hand stopper and continue right down the centre flow. Having been so delighted with clearing the stopper successfully (and seeing a couple of our competitors taking a swim) we straightened up to early and took the full force of the wave straight into our boat. We ended up being swamped up to the gunwales but even without a centre airbag, we managed to hold our balance.
We stopped to empty at Rafting.ie’s ramp and kept going with an empty boat through the Broken weir, Chapelizod weir and then the final flat section towards the finish. No matter how many times you paddle this section, it always seems to get longer. We called on every ounce of energy left in our bodies, chopping and changing positions with a couple of other canadians, trying to capitalise position for the finish. Eventually we rounded the final corner and the finish line came into sight which we crossed in 20th place and with the time on the clock just over 3 hours.
We got changed quickly, grabbed soe food and swapped stories with fellow competitors of a great race run.
nice post!
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