IT WAS SIX years ago that Duncan McKenzie first hopped onto a bike and set off on a 15 kilometre cycle to work that left him gasping for breath on arrival.
This September, the Scot will start working the pedals as he takes part in the 2,150-kilometre Race Around Ireland.
Taking time off from his day job at Kraft Foods (formerly Cadburys), McKenzie will hope to complete the gruelling endurance event in five and a half days.
Getting across the finish line, in Navan, is a feat that has alluded more than 60% of the race participants since 2010.
Perhaps that is the ‘genuine and heartfelt’ reason most people that hear of McKenzie’s fund-raising challenge for the Irish Hospice Foundation ask ‘Why?’
The motivation
There are many possible answers, explains McKenzie, but none seem entirely honest or adequate.
He describes his cycling ability as ‘amateur’ and points out that his non-svelte physique means it will be a monumental success if he can finish the race.
McKenzie has lived in Ireland for eight years, ever since he was ‘reeled in by a lovely Irish lass’, so the scenery around the country’s coastline was not the major factor in signing up for the cycle. He added:
The race is non-stop day and night meaning half the time the only thing I will see is 30 yards of tarmac and, after day one of five and a half, I may forget my own name due to sleep deprivation.The weather in September is unreliable even by Irish standards, in the last 2 years the race has been held in storm force winds and rain. In 2011 every outdoor event in the UK and Ireland planned for that week was cancelled except this event.
McKenzie is self-deprecating when it comes to his abilities as a cyclist but he was part of eight-men teams to capture group prizes at the 2010 and 2011 stagings of the event.
The team, Sunflower Pedal Power, also raised €16,600 for the IHF last year and McKenzie hopes to surpass that total this year.
Duncan McKenzie (far right) with his teammates in 2011.
McKenzie, his teammates and race crew, and the other competitors will sit on their bikes for over 20 hours a day for the best part of a week.
He explains that the sense of independence, fresh air and achieving a hypnotic focus are massive factors in his decision to sign up for another year but the ‘why factor’ goes deeper still.
The support crew
Just how does someone, whether it is an individual or a team member, set about planning for such an endurance event? McKenzie said:
To devise sleep and nutritional strategies, to put in place a strong support crew and the correct long term training plan to achieve the goal is engaging and rewarding.In the same vein, trying to think of new and innovative ways to deal with sleep deprivation, physical recovery during the short periods of downtime and pain management for the host of chronic fatigue injuries that will accrue is fascinating and brings you face to face with the limits of the body.
Fig Rolls, coffee and a camper van: The 2011 support crew of the Sunflower Pedal Power team.
Nerve injuries, McKenzie adds, are likely in contact points such as hands, feet and rear, but training, and correct bike set-up and saddle selection can mitigate this.
There is also the threat of being struck down by Shermer’s Neck – an affliction specific to ultra-cycling, where the cyclist loses the ability to hold their head upright and can no longer look at the road ahead.
“In the event that a cyclist does suffer an attack of Shermer’s neck it is common to see them use a medical neck brace to keep the head at the correct angle to see the road,” says McKenzie.
Mind over body
Cyclist Joe Barr is a huge source of inspiration for McKenzie.
Barr won the RAI in 2009 and rode the second half of the race with a broken foot after being run over by one of his own support vehicles in the middle of the night.
He said, “Ultra cycling is an act of defiance in the face of physical limitations, an assertion of the power of the enduring mind over the transient physical body.”
McKenzie points out that the race demographic does seem to be a lot of men aged between 30 and 50. He remarked:
The looming inevitability of our own demise is a significant factor in middle-aged men wearing brightly coloured lycra, often neon, and racing over vast distances to confirm they are still very much alive.”
The good cause
The Irish Hospice Foundation is a national charity which promotes the hospice philosophy and is dedicated to ensuring equity of service at end of life. Part of this work includes supporting the voluntary hospice movement.
McKenzie believes the work the hospice movement does with people at end of life and their families is ‘surprisingly similar in structure to the team required to get an ultra cyclist around the country’. He said:
In place of a gruelling race with difficult conditions there is the exponentially greater challenge of negotiating a dignified path through the final months and weeks of life whilst battling chronic pain and harrowing emotional issues.
“The team of professionals delivering hospice care provide the strategies and tools for pain management and the emotional support and understanding that enable families and patients to reconcile the terrible tragedy of terminal disease with an appreciation of how precious our time together is.”
McKenzie and his team have raised money through collections and static cycles.
McKenzie adds, “The depth of appreciation for the work done by the hospice movement is apparent at every fundraising session we organise.
“The number of people who contribute and the amount they donate speaks huge volumes for the work that is done and the genuine gratitude and recognition people feel for it.”
* You can find out more about the event by checking out www.racearoundireland.com and the Irish Hospice Foundation’s Facebook page or by following @irishhospiceFR on Twitter.
Excellent piece as always Murray. It actually just goes to show how much Prendergast and Gibson Park controlled the game with their kicking. Although Sam made a number of errors some of the stuff you have highlighted above were top drawer. He’s trying things far beyond his years already. I think this spooks people. No doubt when Ireland do eventually lose there will be many from certain parts placing all the blame on his young shoulders. It’s sad to see how toxic some Irish supporters are
@anthony davoren: the toxic reaction to Prendergast is astonishing. Sexton had it bad when he emerged but this is another level of completely unwarranted vitriol. Interesting that they are two players in the same position from the same province. I can’t recall any other player from any province experiencing this
@Gavin Healy: Rog had the exact same rubbish thrown at him also about his defending . It happens everywhere unfortunately.
@Johs Morris: I don’t think there’s anything wrong with people discussing that Prendergast’s defence needs to improve. It’s a fair comment that I’m sure even he agrees with. Doesn’t explain or justify the vitriol he is getting from certain quarters desperate to lay into him at any opportunity.
@Gavin Healy: of course his defence needs work as does all aspects of his game because he’s only just gone 22. But what he is doing at his age is generally unheard of which is why he is so highly regarded by his peers already. Trolls will be trolls and we seem to have many here. Gibson Park, Lowe, Aki and Doris got the same crap early in their Irish career
@anthony davoren: And Lowe and Doris still do to a large extent unfortunately. Once all of the pieces start coming together for Sam P, I think there is a potentially really good player in there. Like you said, he’s just turned 22 and can do things that a lot of other established 10s don’t have. The tackling will come on hopefully. Likewise when he is given more licence to take it to the line more regularly it will be very interesting to observe.
@anthony davoren: Munster legend Tony Ward on Sam…
“Sam Prendergast, under immense pressure, had a big game too with his tactical kicking bettered only by his truly extraordinary passing.
It’s tough on Crowley, and I know a thing or two about that, but in terms of linking between forwards and backs Prendergast is beyond any and every individual to have gone before in that No 10 shirt. His predecessor Johnny Sexton probably the closest in that linking aspect.”
Super piece
Excellent analysis. I actually think this was an excellent match to prepare us for France. Not sure we would have got any value if we had walloped the previous version of Wales that France and Italy played.
It’s interesting how ireland are playing now. Everything in their own half is kicked, they don’t even try to run the ball anymore which is risk free rugby to be fair. Prendergast is basically playing a deep role in our half to utilise his major strength, his fantastic kicking. Bar the long pass to aki where he beat 3 English defenders to score, I don’t think prendergast has been creative at all really and that’s where the balance of his game looks off. That’s probably the coaches plan though
@munsterman: i think the law changes and ref interpretations means you are now mad to play any rugby in your own half. More the pity as I used to love the French teams of old who’d go from anywhere. Much less risky to kick long especially if you can make it contestable. SP has outstanding length and accuracy on his kicks, something which Crowley can’t match unfortunately. Crowley is more suited to a running or short kicking game or when the game breaks up. Crowley wasn’t « dropped « for playing poorly which is why many people are upset, he was « dropped « due to a major change of tactical approach from Ireland that probably makes sense in the current game
@Michael Corkery: I’d agree there 100%. It’s just interesting to watch & most international teams copy each other to a certain extent, so If the new non-sheparding rules cause all teams to start kicking the leather off it then it won’t be long until the irb start fiddling with the rules again
@munsterman: I’m not sure what they can do with it. Can’t bring back shepherding because IRB sign off on that tactic would turn into a shitshow of jostling. Would need to be a change elsewhere to encourage running rugby rather than diacourage kicking, but not sure how that would look
@Gary D: the irb want running rugby so they’ll tinker in some way. The problem they have is it doesn’t take long for the best coaches to get ahead of them again. That’s why there’s so many rule changes pretty much on a yearly basis. Who’d wanna be a ref!
@Michael Corkery: agree. No doubt it won’t be long until the laws change yet again of course.
@munsterman: think they need to focus on tidying up the breakdown. It’s too easy to make a mess of an attacking breakdown which is why teams will now kick rather than go multiple phases especially in own half. The threat from kicks means teams are keeping players in the backfield so theoretically at least, there should be space to attack from deep. Its not an easy one either as you don’t want endless recycling of ball at uncontested rucks any more than you want relentless kicking. If the French with their outrageous talent behind the scrum think it’s better to kick long, then the balance is probably not right
@Michael Corkery: I think this is a fair take, but also something that will have been communicated to Jack if it is the case.
Just to add to the list – David Humphreys also had the negativity directed at him – so I think it shows how pivotal the out half position is that it draws a level of criticism over and above any other position. The hooker is the next level usually around throwing into lineouts. Anyway, so far so good with SP – just needs to work on his defence!!
@Keno: the stick that Humphreys got came from the same place as that for Sexton and Prendergast.