Starting at 7am Saturday 13th October brings a brand new and exciting 12 hour adventure race. Tuff Inish is a 132k race around the scenic Inishowen area of North Donegal.

We spoke to Andrew Wallace about the upcoming race.

This event is also the perfect “stepping stone” for The RACE 2019, same sequence, halved distances and a matching level of difficulty and endurance and
an abundance of scenery. This would be a good “tester” of your ability if like myself you intend to take on “The Race” in 2019.

Quest Killarney would be my biggest race any year so this will be a whole new ball game as they say. The course is tough, really tough hence the name and is created by Harold Mc Guinness of Extreme North Events here in Inishowen. Knowing the course already just by local knowledge, I can vouch for its toughness
and if you take time to lift your head the views are breath-taking especially up at Mamore and up Kinnego.

I’m a frequent traveler around the country and have no problem driving to Dingle or Killarney to race so anyone reading this please do think about it and make the trip north, you wont be disappointed! Make a weekend out of it and enjoy the area, Moville has some great wee bars too. His medals are famous at this stage so don’t miss out.
STAGE 1
RUN 1 – 12.5KM ROAD RUN / MOVILLE – SHROOVE – GREENCASTLE
Tuff Inish has an early dawn start from Moville Celtic Club house up thru’ Moville town with spectacular views over the Causeway Coast from 5k before the decent into Shroove and onto Greencastle and T1.


STAGE 2
KAYAK – 5.5KM KAYAK / GREENCASTLE – MOVILLE
Starting from Greencastle Pier the Kayaking will take place along the West Bank of Lough Foyle. Kayaks will be sit-on-top kayaks. Paddles and Life jackets supplied. Kayaks will not have seats but competitors can opt to have their own seats and be personally responsible for fitting same to kayak.
STAGE 3
CYCLE 1 – 55.0KM ROAD CYCLE / MOVILLE – KINNEGO – CULDAFF – MALIN – BALLYLIFFIN – CLONMANY – MAMORE GAP
The elevation profile below illustrates this route better than words can so just add in some windy spells along this rugged coastal route. You’ll witness some of the most amazing scenery as you climax numerous vantage points along the route. Save your energy for a tough final 0.5k ascend to Car Park at Mamore T3/4. Mamore Gap is an iconic climb and the RAS always takes in this when its in the area. You’ll be glad of the “wee break” for the climb ahead.


STAGE 4
MOUNTAIN – 5.5KM MOUNTAIN TRAIL/TREK
Starting with first half on trail then onto a rocky heather climb to the top of Raghtin Beag at just under 3k. Hopefully mist free and taking a few minutes to be amazed at the panoramic vista all around, then back to transition T3/4


STAGE 5
CYCLE 2 – 31KM ROAD CYCLE / OVER MAMORE – DUNREE – COCKHILL – BALLYMAGAN – GLENTOGHER
Starting with a really tough 1k climb up past the grotto and over Mamore, then a more relaxed cycle into Buncrana. The final section from Ballymagan to Glentogher is hillier than it appears, hence the slower than expected pedal on narrow roads and sometime poorly tarred surface.


STAGE 6
RUN 2 – 22.5KM RUN, ROAD/TRAIL / GLENTOGHER – LOUGH INN – CROCK – BALLYLAWN – COOLEY – GLENCROW – FINISH IN MOVILLE
Starting on trail, check out the Elevation profile below for the 2 other trail sections.
Lots of turns and twists but compensated with fantastic scenery at numerous vantage points and despite a few climbs this is predominantly a descending gradient on mostly quite rural routes with a final 3km downhill and back to the Finish at Moville Celtic Club House. Job Done!

Tuff-Inish promises to be a real physical and mental challenge, fueled by the spectacular scenery at every turn and twist of the course. The hilly Donegal landscapes and unpredictable Autumn weather will be a major player in the unpredictable outcome over all 6 stages to an exhilarating and Tuff Finish.
Tuff-Inish has a 12 hour cut-off and can be completed Solo or in teams of 2 or 3 so if your not into Adventure racing this is also a decent challenge for a runner / cyclist team. The event will start and finish in Moville.

TEAMS – Teams can be 2 or 3 person teams. Teams can alternate at whatever stages they choose and only 1 team member allowed in any stage. Teams will be responsible for their own transport between stages.

All enquiries regarding entries to Harold McGuinness

Email: harold@extremenorthevents.com

Telephone: 00353862374644