Irish Sea Kayaking
Liffey Descent
Commonwealth
Rowing Championship
Battling fatigue on the Irish Sea
Challenge: Irish Sea Kayaking Challenge, Wales to Ireland
Date: July 2006
Fifty miles of open sea and only a kayak to cross it. That was the challenge facing adventure athlete Mark Pollock and team-mate Paul Ashmore as they set out from St. David's Bay in Pembrokeshire, Wales, to paddle their way across the Irish Sea to Carnsore Point, Co. Wexford, Ireland.
The window for the crossing opened on the 14th July 2006 only two weeks after Mark completed Ironman Switzerland.
"I was in really good shape by the time I raced in Ironman Switzerland and felt ready for the Irish Sea crossing. The biggest worry for me was the uncertainty around the weather and my limited time in the boat with Paul due to pre-Ironman training. I was increasingly concerned about the limited kayak specific training I had behind me."
The tides and weather matched the strict safety criteria set out by organiser Ross Harding and Norman Keane, captain of the support vessel.
Mark and Paul paddled alongside four other two-man sea kayaks, including fellow blind sportsman Tom Kennedy. The plan was for the five two-man sea kayaks to stick together and to start together and finish together.
The conditions were perfect and allowed the thoughts to drift towards the tiring muscles.
"I found it really tough to keep focused for such an extended period of time and after 11 hours, I actually fell asleep whilst paddling! My energy reserves had totally gone despite taking carbohydrate drinks and gels along the way. It was like falling asleep when someone is talking to you and you just start to dream but then snap out of it," said Mark.
For a gruelling 13 hours and 45 minutes, they battled time and tides making land at Carnsore Point before sunset. Tidal conditions were such that the group had to divert to Carn Pier which added 15 miles to the exhausting endeavour resulting in a total of 65 miles covered.
Challenge: Liffey Descent, Dublin, Ireland
Date: September 2004
Adventure athlete Mark Pollock first got in a K2 racing boat in April 2004 in preparation for The Liffey Descent, a 17-mile kayaking marathon race on Dublin's River Liffey in Dublin six months later.
“I was amazed at the generosity of guys that I barely even knew. Willie Irwin raced with me in a preparation race and John Ringwood stepped in for the Descent itself. I just let people know what I was trying to achieve and we were able to put a team together to help me learn how to kayak, train for a race and ultimately complete the Liffey Descent.” - Mark
Mark raced the event with experienced paddler John Ringwood. Having competed in the Liffey Descent over the last 20 years and in races all over the world, John was an ideal partner to help Mark complete the course.
“After very nearly capsizing on the first weir of ten, I thought we were going to spend a lot of time in the water. But we managed to get over the big weirs after the initial scare with relative ease until the half-way point. At Lucan weir, we snapped the front off the boat after hitting the riverbed over the weir and both thought our race was over. But after some running repairs and time on the riverbank, we went on to finish the race in a little over three hours.”
Challenge: Commonwealth Rowing Championships, Nottingham , England
Date: August 2002
After he lost his sight, Mark thought he would never row again.
“Rowing was the thing that defined me before I lost my sight yet it took me three years to get back in a boat and compete again.
At the beginning it was less about the potential winning and more about proving to myself that I could do what I had done before I went blind. After the first session back on the water, it was about competing.”
In 2002, Mark won medals for Northern Ireland in the Commonwealth Regatta in Nottingham, won lightweight pairs at Ghent International, competed in Henley Royal Regatta and, most importantly, marked his return to sport.
“Brendan Smyth got me back in a boat and was the one with whom I did most of my training. Without his help I may never have gone back to row.
The reality was that with Brendan as training
and racing partner, the other guys in the club, an incredibly understanding
coach called Tim Levy and a lot of hard work, I was able to get
back to the sport I loved.”
Mark Pollock, Adventure Athlete -