Training - Step/Knockanroe Loop

When deciding to do this 4Peaks challenge we all knew how important training would be. Indeed the training has been a challenge in itself as a number of the lads doing this with me are fathers and have their duties to do like kids bedtime, etc. Trying to decide how we could train around these was difficult but one of the great things about living where we do is that we have so many hikes close by. Trying to find one though that was challenging enough to help towards our training was also difficult.

Eventually we decided on the Step/Knockanroe Loop and to start it at 9pm during midweek. If you have done this loop before you’ll know that aside from heart attack hill it isn’t that challenging. So what we decided to was to park up at Silvermines Village by the church and to include the steep road to the Knockanroe car park into our hike. The loop is a 5km loop but now with the road up and back it makes it into a 10km hike in total.

Last night 4 of us ventured off on this hike. 3 of us have been doing this hike for the last 5 weeks. For 1 it was a new experience. Typically I find the road up to the loop the most taxing as the the road is deceivingly steep whilst also being more solid of a footing. Something the joints are always giving out to me for. Last night added an additional level of difficulty because we were hiking in freezing conditions. Along the road there was patches of frost and ice which made walking, especially on the descent, very difficult. A few of us were lucky we didn’t end up on our backside.