Success for Andrea and Taryn in inaugural Coast2Coast challenge

LOCAL women Andrea Harrower and Taryn McCoy took on yet another gruelling challenge last weekend when they gave a group of men a run for their money to finish as the second pair overall in Ireland's inaugural Coast2Coast event.

Andrea and Taryn, who are part of Bikedock Belles, a four-woman cycling and multi-sport team, were the only women to take on the 313.4km challenge from Enniscrone on the West Coast to Newcastle on the East, competing against seven other pairs and eight solo participants.

And the local ladies gave the male entrants a strong challenge, finishing the event as the second pair overall, having ran, cycled and kayaked their way across the country.

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Andrea and Taryn, who are both members of Dromara Cycling Club, are used to pushing themselves to the limit, becoming the first women to complete both the 7 Sevens Challenge, reaching the summit of seven mountains in one day, as well as climbing England's highest peak, Scafell Pike, with their mountain bikes in May.

They completed the Coast2Coast, which was organised by 26 Extreme, in 17 hours 31 minutes and 16 seconds.

The pair started in Co Sligo at 7.15am on Saturday morning with a 5km beach run, then a 108km cycle, a 28.4km kayak and a 17km cycle to the Day 1 finish at Lisnaskea Share Centre.

Starting again on Sunday morning at 8.10am Andrea, who lives in Dromara, and Taryn began the day with a 123km cycle from Lisnaskea to Rostrevor, then a 33km run/walk through the Mournes to Newcastle for a finish on the beach at the Slieve Donard hotel.

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Andrea said the challenge was "tough and gruelling," but she added that "for the most part we had fun."

The pair were sponsored by cycling specialists Bikedock, who supplied a van for their kit, whilst Andrea's husband Paddy was the support crew for the race.

"It was just all blokes, so to finish up there was just great" said Andrea.

"Being up against guys we thought we'd come last so to perform as well as we did was just great and to enjoy it made it even better. It was an amazing experience and it was brilliantly organised. The guys from 26 Extreme are from the Mournes area and they did everything to help the competitiors. The weather at times on Saturday was dismal but they had everything organised to look after everyone's safety, particularly on the mountains to prevent anything going wrong.

"They are very family oriented and having my two sons Fraser and Alex and my parents there at the finish line was wonderful."Andrea added: "It would be great to see other girls out there next year."

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