Alan Ireland memories and reflections
Alan was a great character, but for me, I remember him most of all as a great ultra runner, who practised his craft before the terms ‘ ultra running ‘ and ‘ trail running ‘ had been invented.
I first met Alan Ireland in 1985 at Flash Village Hall. He had just completed an event called the Leek Moors Marathon which was organised by Staffs LDWA. I was serving beans on toast to the hungry competitors. I was inspired by Alan and the guys he was with ( John Amies and Mike Laurence I think) who had run the 35 ish mile event in very impressive times and were in the first group back.
Alan was incredibly proud of the fact that he was one of the first 200 members of the Bob Graham Club ( now numbering c.3000 members). The Club initially printed only 200 BG Club membership certificates and Alan, completing the Round in 1981 had number 199! The next print run was a slightly different design and he was rightly proud of not only completing the Round but getting in on that first 200 certificate print run! To my knowledge, the only Macclesfield Harrier to complete the Round before Alan was Pete Nolan at number 164 in 1980.
Alan had some favourite events which he would do year after year, some were fairly straightforward such as the LDWA Anglezarke Amble which had both winter and summer editions, also the Two Crosses. These events were around 24 ish miles and are still going today, Alan would travel up with a group of Macclesfield Harriers and would always be among the first handful of finishers in the events, with a bunch of Harriers vying for times and positions, I was always behind Alan. The likes of Phil Cheek, John Amies, Pete Nolan, Colin Ardron and many others would be regulars on these jaunts in the 1980s and 1990s.
Alan was a regular on the annual LDWA Hundred ( a 100 hundred mile trail event for walkers and runners). I remember on the 1986 Hundred I couldn’t believe that he had a sleep at the breakfast point ( around an hour I seem to remember ) and still completed it in less than 24 hours. I struggled with my stomach and trailed behind him in 26 hours 40 ish, with Phil Cheek in close proximity. I know he had completed the same event a few years previously in 17 hours something. Incredible.
Some of Alan’s other regular ‘favourite ‘ events were the Bullock Smithy 56 mile hike/ run, and the infamous, but sadly now ( due to access issues) defunct High Peak Marathon, known affectionately by aficionados as ‘The Watershed’. It’s says something about Alan’s character and determination, as well as his idea of ‘pleasure’ that the Watershed was the event he perhaps held most dear to his heart. At 42 miles long, the Derwent Watershed from Edale, started around 10.30pm on a cold winter’s night on the first Friday of March. It was for teams of 4 and in the mid/late 1980s in particular it regularly consisted of trudging through deep snow over to Margery Hill and the appropriately named ‘Outer Edge’ in the deepest, darkest, boggiest Dark Peak – before paving stones had even been thought of! Alan’s team won the vets trophy on more than one occasion, from memory with fellow Harriers of the time including John Amies, Mike Laurence and Pete Nolan.
Reccies of the HPM usually commenced in January. We would plod across the groughs and along the edges of the Dark Peak, often in mist and snow. Alan had incredible and intimate knowledge of the lines across and along various groughs and cloughs, honed over many many years of bog trotting. Making our way up to and through FarBack Clough, which was a key line on the event, still stays strong in my memory.
Alan had been a member of Dark Peak Fell Runners before his time ( and possibly concurrently) with Macclesfield Harriers. He, Pete Nolan and a few others on our side of the Pennines called themselves ‘ Dark Peak West’ – they were mainly but not exclusively Macclesfield Harriers too.
Alan was a real character and was sometimes quite parsimonious with his packing, whether intentionally or absent mindedly I can’t be certain, but it was quite common after a few hours in the bogs, mist and rain, for him to pipe up and ask, ‘anyone got any food?’ Or ‘ got any spare gloves?’ we were initially dumbfounded that someone of his experience could start out in winter in such conditions without these essentials. Eventually, somewhat reluctantly, we often packed an extra bar or two or a small pair of gloves, ready for Alan’s requests. Alan was old school with a capital O. His favourite winter gloves were ‘Dachsteins’ and if you don’t know what they are google it!
On Macclesfield Harriers Wednesday night runs we often met at members houses as well as the usual pub style venues. Sometimes when at someone’s house a shower would be offered, Alan’s reply to the offer of a shower after the run was always the same – ‘ I had one before I came out’, which he never failed to find amusing.
Alan entered the Bullock Smithy Hike 18 times from my researches. The range of years of his entries being from 1977 through to 2015. In 2010 he completed the Bullock aged 70 in 53rd place in a time of 14 hours 13 mins which is a fantastic achievement at any age but quite awesome at 70. In 2015 aged 75 he attempted the 56 mile Bullock again but with a DNF, this was his last attempt . In 1978 and 1987 he came first equal in the event, which he was rightly very proud of. The first of these victories was won jointly with fellow Harrier Pete Nolan, the second with fellow Harrier John Amies. I remember on the 1987 win he was hanging on to John, gritting his teeth and giving everything to keep it going until the end, and was both totally exhausted but completely fulfilled that he got that 1st equal in one of his favourite events.
In later years Alan bought a house in the Czech Republic and learnt to speak Czech. He would regularly throw a bit of Czech into his emails and conversations, much to our amusement and confusion.
Alan was totally committed to running, it defined him, not fully, but certainly partially. As he got a bit older and a little slower, he was a founding member of the ‘ Pensioners Potter’ later just known as the Potterers. This group met, and still meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a variety of off road runs at a ‘steady’ pace, always with coffee and a cake or a spot of lunch afterwards. Alan’s character and quirky humour was written through the group like Blackpool rock. He decided that the most regular group members should have nicknames and insisted that people used them. He was also the webmaster, and always wanted people to write a short report and add some photos from any run that they led. He led the group in his own idiosyncratic way for many years.
Outside of running Alan was a keen chicken keeper among other things. His trade was as a builder and general handyman and I am one of many Harriers who have extensions or bathrooms fashioned by Alan. Alan was a great character and a great runner, truly an early pioneer of ultra running and trail running. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him and fondly remembered with a wry smile.
Geoff Pettengell
Note:
Alan’s funeral is at Macclesfield Crematorium on Monday 27th January 2025 at 2.00pm.
Donations to East Cheshire Hospice. Family flowers only.