https://conoroneill.com/categories/trail-running-and-hiking/ Recent content in Trail Running and Hiking on Conor's Bandon Blog Hugo -- gohugo.io en-us Sun, 27 Jul 2025 05:00:32 +0000 https://conoroneill.com/2025/07/27/the-glorious-grossglockner-ggut-gwt-35/ Sun, 27 Jul 2025 05:00:32 +0000 https://conoroneill.com/2025/07/27/the-glorious-grossglockner-ggut-gwt-35/ My inability to finish any race in the past two years has been weighing heavily on my mind for quite a while. Between DNFs, Cut-Offs and injuries, I was starting to doubt my ability to finish any race at all. Admittedly everything has been ultra-length in that time so maybe it was just a case that I’m not really cut out for the long stuff. As we planned our summer vacation, we had our usual challenge of finding somewhere that I could run trails and somewhere my wife could swim. https://conoroneill.com/2024/08/18/what-happens-when-every-race-is-a-dnf/ Sun, 18 Aug 2024 06:17:32 +0000 https://conoroneill.com/2024/08/18/what-happens-when-every-race-is-a-dnf/ I took up running in 2009 to try and lose weight. It didn’t work but I ended up loving the sport anyway. Despite having completed over 25 marathons and a handful of ultras I’m still a terrible runner and brutally slow. Having said that, I see 2021 and early 2022 as the pinnacle of my running, to-date. The Kerry Way Ultra Lite in 2021 was the first time I’d ever finished a race “mid-pack”. https://conoroneill.com/2022/09/09/conors-top-tips-for-dnfing-the-kerry-way-ultra/ Fri, 09 Sep 2022 11:00:32 +0000 https://conoroneill.com/2022/09/09/conors-top-tips-for-dnfing-the-kerry-way-ultra/ DNF? For non-runners reading this, DNF means Did Not Finish. In my preview post I ended with “Let’s see how I do. Particularly when the rain comes in at night.” On the plus side, the rain came in during daylight hours. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s go back to the start. Nope, nope, let’s thank some people first. Thank Yous Elieen - The woman, the legend. Words like “community” and “culture” have become overused and devalued. https://conoroneill.com/2022/09/01/watch-your-first-ultramarathon-online-with-the-kerry-way-ultra/ Thu, 01 Sep 2022 06:00:32 +0000 https://conoroneill.com/2022/09/01/watch-your-first-ultramarathon-online-with-the-kerry-way-ultra/ The Kerry Way Whilst millions of people have completed marathons over the past few decades, ultramarathons are still pretty niche. Ireland has a bunch of fantastic ultrarunners and a handful of amazing ultramarathons. The big kahuna of them all is the Kerry Way Ultra, which is about to have its tenth outing on September 2nd and 3rd. The Kerry Way is a wonderful trail that traverses the entire Iveragh peninsula. Many people travel from the US and mainland Europe to do multi-day hikes of the route. https://conoroneill.com/2021/10/15/tre-cime-di-lavaredo-a-european-wonder-hiding-in-plain-sight/ Fri, 15 Oct 2021 04:00:00 +0000 https://conoroneill.com/2021/10/15/tre-cime-di-lavaredo-a-european-wonder-hiding-in-plain-sight/ I got those Pandemic City Blues Four weeks ago I’d never heard of Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Last weekend we hiked around it and I’m still struggling to find the English to describe the beauty of what we saw. How we got there is kind of a funny story. We humans have an ability to let trauma fade, which helps us in countless ways from childbirth and broken limbs to the death of loved ones.