My first Rás: “I was so weak I couldn't sit on the loo; I had to lay in the bath"

Former international riders Martin O'Loughlin and Paul Griffin tell the not-so-rosy stories about their first rides in the Rás.

Few Irish riders will do any race harder than the An Post Rás and most have many stories about what is more often than not an eventful week.

It’s the season goal and summit of many riders’ ambitions but to make it to the finish requires extraordinary dedication and commitment.

Doing the Rás for the first time is never easy, even for the likes of the two men we’ve spoken with here; Martin O'Loughlin and former pro Paul Griffin.

Martin O’Loughlin - Former international

O'Loughlin, second from left, on the podium taking the team prize with Dan Morrissey in 2001 with Mulcahy, Fenlon, O’Donoghue, Cullen.

My first Rás was 1987. I have only competed in five Rásanna as May is the busiest time for a secondary school teacher.

My first three were in different decades - '87, '92, '01.

I was in college in '87. My club had a choice for the last man - Paul McCormack who was returning from the States - or me.

Carrick Wheelers is a club that insists on club loyalty, but also loyally looks after our own.

So, they picked me. Paul McCormack won the Rás!

I have three major memories of '87.

Firstly, an attack from the gun up Aherlow out of Tipperary Town.

All our team made the split except me. Norman Campbell and myself were caught in no-man’s land 30 seconds behind the break for the first hour.

I hit a pothole on the descent and lost both bottles. I never saw a team car for two hours and was on my hands and knees from dehydration.

O'Loughlin is currently sidelined due to a crash back in March. But he normally does his racing now in the colours of Carrick Wheelers (Photo: DC Images)

I arrived at the finish line to find our team manager and another manager squaring up to each other armed with monkey wrenches following a cavalcade incident.

My second memory is the food poisoning of our team. All riders, officials and some family guests got sick after dinner on Thursday night - except for the late Bobby Power who never ate gravy or sauces.

We led the points with honorary Tipperary man Greg Oravetz, the mountains with Stephen Spratt and the team prize. We were well poised to take yellow.

On the road from Tramore to Wicklow, that all unravelled.

Paul Griffin - Former stage winner and pro

Taking stage 6 of the 1998 Rás from Casletownbere to Mallow after 153kms. Griffin was 7th overall that year, 3:21 down on winner Ciaran Power of the Irish team. There were three Irish men in the top 10 overall, with Power's team mate Tommy Evans 2nd in the standings at 45 seconds (Photo: Lorraine O'Sullivan - Inpho)

My first Rás was in 1994 the year Declan Lonergan won riding in the colours of Kerry Lee Strand.

I was on a 'Young Kerry' team and we were managed by the great Gene Mangan.

My major memory of that Rás was suffering, sore legs and survival.

Also riding with international riders and trying to ride in crosswinds for the first time was a bit overwhelming.

I managed to finish it even though I was well down the field.

But I can honestly say that Rás stood to me in the years after when I was challenging for stage wins and the general classification.

I went on to ride the Rás sixteen times.

I won a stage in 1998 into Mallow and finished 7^th, 9th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th overall. I also finished in the top five in over 10 stages.