I love the hills; the forests; the trails; the rivers and lakes… and clearly a bit of misery too.

To this end…and for a bit of a break… I headed off to the Glen of Aherlow in Tipperary on the Friday.  A joyful visit to the beautiful Emo Court and onto Aherlow, where I was greeted by the snow-capped glory of Galtymore as I looked out of the window of my hotel. The weak sunshine rays were glistening and sparkling on the fresh mountain peaks. The dry bright weather was to remain for the weekend and somehow I was not dreading the thought of the 50k and1,350m of climb ahead of me the following morning. I feasted on chicken wings and salmon and lemon drizzle cake galore; prepared my goodie-packed running vest; and had an early night.

The race is due to start at 9:00.  It is an IMRA (Irish Mountain Running Association) organised race. €40. I got to pick up the super IMRA t-shirt (!) that was unexpectedly included, at the pre-registration. The race had it’s 100 places sold out. Registration was super easy and relaxed, at the Aherlow GAA club… where the post race food would soon be making a brief appearance, before being ravenously scoffed later that day.

The Early Start crew had gone by 08:00. This was for those who expected to come in at over 160% of the winning time. I bravely stepped out at the 09:00 main start. I knew one of the other participants and one of the volunteers. I was soon to get to know several other people 😊.

The race started in Lisvernane village. There was a ‘drop bag’ location at ‘Christ the King’ statue (12k and 32K); and one at Bansha Woods (22k). Jellies / gels; water etc. were available here, and at the 37k aid station. I had never used ‘drop bags’ before but decided to have one at the 32k mark and to ignore the other stops other than to grab some jellies etc 😊. This worked well and allowed me to travel a little lighter.

After a short race briefing and a warning that the last 18k were the toughest, we were off. The cut-off time to be at the 32k mark was 4.5 hours. I felt that this would be achievable. Just under 8:30 /k pace.  Much of the race was in forests.  There were also plenty of fire road within. When not surrounded by trees, there were glorious views of the Galtees. The 12k mark was reached. I had started at the back, with my friend. I was soon to let my friend fire on ahead. I had passed a couple of people as I got into my rhythm after the initial climb. 7 min / k pace. This was over a half minute ahead of ‘A’ target pace, but heart rate had settled down after the initial spike and I was feeling comfortable.

A grab of jellies and I now headed to the Bansha Wood 22k mark. I adopted a strategy of fuelling throughout the race. A fun forest section, with little ups and downs and twists and turns and jumping of roots and fallen trees brought a smile to be face. This section was to be my fastest and I passed several more people here. Hitting 22k and my average pace was down to 6:54/k and I made a mental note to ease off a bit as I set off on the next 10k with just the briefest of stops to add 200ml of water to my soft flask.

I hadn’t checked the race elevation profile beforehand but had assumed that most of the climb was in the last 18k, due to the warnings that we had about the last 18k being the toughest. I was wrong in this. The hills slowed my pace…and I decided that I would be happy for my average pace to drift out to 7:30/k. 32k arrival was welcome. I had my drop bag full of goodies – too much, in fact. My legs were holding up ok. The weather was staying fine. I squashed my gels etc into my running vest and proceeded to walk the next 1k of hill whilst eating crisps etc. This 11:30 kilometre (including pit stop) was to be my second slowest one, but I felt set me up well. My average pace was now down to about 7:20/k.

After the hill came the mud. This was a seriously tricky and slippery 10k. Thank goodness the 48 hours prior had been dry, as I’d hate to think what this section might have been like! As it was, this section was barely runnable. I decided to plough straight through the brown puddles of unknown depths, with my average pace being dragged lower by the kilometre.

The 45k mark now reached and I had by now got to chat with many people as we yo-yo’d past each other time and again in the race. Everyone was so nice ! My pace was slower than many, but I stopped less…and managed some of the terrain better than some.

Still feeling good. After a very short respite, we had to face the steepest hill of the course though. It lasted for about a kilometre and nearly broke me. Although I thought I was feeling strong enough, I managed to fall 4 times over 800m, whilst walking! My legs seemed to just want to trip on whatever vines were floor-bound…sending me head-bound. On my last fall, J tells me that it is downhill all the way in from here 😊

The final 3.5k and my pace picks up to sub 6:30 / k, but not fast enough to stop 3 of my new friends passing me. The final k and I look behind to see a 4^th person gaining on me with each stride. I decide that I can’t have this and manage a sub 5 minute last kilometre to hold my final position. I finish in 49^th position of the 80 starters, in a time of 6 hrs and 24 minutes. Six minutes ahead of my ‘A’ target. 149% of the winning time.  Very happy with a glorious day of running in beautiful surroundings with amazingly friendly participants and volunteers. A superbly marked course – often through tricky forest. A great t-shirt and food etc provided. All in all a great day out!

National Novice and Intermediate Cross Country Championships: Mud, Medals & Missing Shoes

The National Novice and Intermediate Cross Country Championships brought Sportsworld to Abbottstown on Sunday, and after what felt like three straight years of rain, the big question on everyone’s mind was: how deep would the mud be?

Those who survived December’s National Novice still hadn’t fully recovered from the trauma, so news that the organisers shortened the races by 1km and built the whole thing around a 1km lap was greeted with cautious optimism. And to their great credit — the organizers even sanded the spectator areas. Truly above and beyond.

But make no mistake: it was still a proper mud‑fest.

Masters Ladies – Setting the tone A surprisingly sunny spell greeted the Masters Ladies as they toed the line for their 3km race. The race blasted off at a frantic pace before the mud tapped everyone on the shoulder and said, “Not so fast.”

Lisa Madden stormed her way to an incredible 4th place, leading the charge. Noreen Brouder and Elaine Kennedy rolled in 16th and 17th. Aoife O’Leary dug deep through the sludge for 41st to close out the scoring.

Strong backing performances came from Caroline Conway, Crona Clohisey, Deirdre O’Connell and Sinead Staunton. The O50 squad packed a punch of their own — led by Louise Bruton and supported by Anna Delaney, Lucy D’Arcy, Olive Fogarty and Martina Nolan Jones to take 6th place.

Not long after, rumours started flying around that the O35 team might have nabbed a medal. Then confirmation arrived: SPORTSWORLD – NATIONAL O35 WOMEN’S CHAMPIONS!

Masters Men – Mud, Grit & Gallant Efforts Next up were the Masters men, and the lads threw themselves at the course with gusto.

The O35 team of Ian Comeford, Karl Chatterton, Adam Furlong, Dave Fitzpatrick, Michael Cunningham, Paul O’Connell, David Saunders and Brian Conway battled hard for 11th. The O50 men finished 9th, with Bruce Campbell leading the troops home, followed by Anthony Gillen, Paul MacGabhann and Bernard Jones.

Intermediate Ladies – Determined, Dynamic & Down a Shoe Our Intermediate ladies were out in force, finishing 6th with a brilliant team display.

Roisin McMahon powered in first for the club, followed by Michelle and Veronica Burke, Niamh O’Keeffe, Lorna Sheehan, Megan Walls, Katie Nugent and Majella Hayden.

Special shout‑out to Lorna, who lost a shoe on lap one and simply kept running. Cross country spirit defined.

Intermediate Men – Rain? What Rain? Just as the men lined up, the sky decided the course wasn’t wet enough and opened up in dramatic fashion. But the Sportsworld lads proved allergic to excuses and ploughed on to finish 6th.

Dylan Keegan led the squad home, with strong runs from David Hannafin, Colm Murphy, Niall Carden, Donal Brennan, Tom Kelleher, Evan Ryan and David Madden.

All in All… A Brilliant Day Out Yes, we came home national champions. Yes, we fielded six full, competitive teams. And yes, somehow there were Sportsworld shouts everywhere on the course — even in the muddy bits no spectator should logically choose to stand in.

Huge thanks, as always, to Emily, Aileen, Myles, Paul and Adam. Without your coaching, planning and general wizardry, none of us would be out there collecting mud, memories and medals.

Roll on next year!

New York, New York…. what a city, what a race…and what a lot of procrastinating I have done with this race report. It has been two months since I ran New York City Marathon, high time to write a few lines before I forget details.

So much has been written about this race already, there probably isn’t much more I can add. I’ll spare too many details on my performance, other than note that I wouldn’t recommend only running 28km in total in the four weeks leading up to a marathon. I picked up an injury in September and even on the plane to New York was undecided on whether I would run. I arrived in New York on the Thursday before the race and went to the expo right away to collect my race number and keep my options open. While there, I nearly bought a baseball cap with “finisher” printed on it but put it back as I was still not sure I would do it. I knew if I didn’t do it I might never get another chance but was still unsure. On Saturday, the day before the race, I walked past a New Balance store and saw the same hat in the window and decided I would buy it and give the race a go or else I could never wear the hat. I’m glad to say I have worn the hat since.

In terms of the race itself, it was a brilliant way to see parts of New York I would otherwise never have seen and to soak up the atmosphere as we ran through each of the boroughs. The race takes in each of the 5 boroughs of New York, starting on Staten Island and leaving it pretty much immediately as you cross the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge into Brooklyn. That bridge is uphill, and I felt my lack of fitness immediately, but it was still amazing, with all these helicopters flying right beside us as we crossed. We then weaved through lively Brooklyn neighbourhoods for a lot of the first half of the race, before passing on through Queens and then over the Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan. The Queensboro Bridge was the hardest part for me, no crowds, uphill, everyone downbeat and struggling, and it seemed to go on forever, but then finally we reached Manhattan and had our spirits lifted by roaring crowds along a never ending First Avenue. Then we reached a short stretch of the race in the Bronx, before the course returned to Manhattan, following Fifth Avenue and finally entering Central Park for a tough last few miles to the finish line to be handed a shiny medal, some snacks, and a poncho, ….and have to face an evil uphill mile walk out of Central Park surrounded by hundreds of other grumbling finishers in a sea of orange ponchos.

The route and event are fabulous, the race really offers a vibrant showcase of New York’s diverse communities and iconic cityscapes, and it was great listening to the crowds’ cheers and reading all the funny signs and posters. I even think I heard a few “go Sportsworld”s along the way.

On finishing I learned Helen Obiri won the women’s race in a time of 2:19:51, and the amazing Fionnuala McCormack finished 10^th in a time of 2:27:00. Incredibly the men’s race almost came to a photo finish, with Benson Kipruto winning by just 0.03 seconds.

If you ever find yourself doing this race, there is one important thing you need to be prepared for – the marathon before the marathon. Getting to the start line is a trek to say the least, in fact the time between leaving the hotel and my race start was longer than the time it took me to do the race, and I was far from speedy.  I left my hotel at 5am for a 10.20am start. I was concerned I’d have hours waiting around in the cold but actually had very little time in the start village. The Verrazzano Bridge closes to traffic for the race so you need to be in Staten Island before that happens. That meant lining up for 90 minutes at the NYC Public Library to get on a bus for the trip there (there is a ferry option also), then it took around an hour for the bus trip, then a further long wait on the bus as there was a security traffic jam, then over an hour in that security line myself, and then I only had about 45 minutes in the start village to grab a bagel and a coffee before going into my start corral.  The atmosphere was great all the way and the time went very quickly, but you need to be prepared with snacks and if in an earlier wave, get to the Public Library very very early.  I think I was wave three and there were some very panicked wave 1 starters in the line for security at the same time I was. I doubt they made their corral.

All in all, the day was an experience I’ll never forget—equal parts exhausting and exhilarating. Despite the doubts and the interrupted build-up, I’m glad I took the chance and lined up on that iconic bridge. The support from strangers, the sheer scale of the event, and the sense of being part of something like that made every step worthwhile. That finisher’s hat was well and truly earned.

Lap 2 by Luke Kelly

When Richy gave me the hand tap, I found myself in 3rd place behind both the white and red teams. Not too far off the red team, I set off to close some distance. Not having a lot of running experience, I really wasn’t sure how to approach the race. My thought process was to go faster than usual and see if my legs hold up toward the end.

By Liam Lenehan

Firstly I would like to say a big thank you to everyone in Sportsworld for your support and good wishes. I will never ever forget the reception when I turned up (late!) at the Thursday Bushy training session after I got back from Italy. I think I hugged you all with joy!

I will keep my report short and simple, bullet points to highlight specific memories, moments and images from an incredible trip as part of the Irish team to the World Mountain Masters in Meduno in the Italian Dolomites. There are already several great reports and detailed Irish results/performances and videos out there, links below. No sense in repeating or cutting and pasting! I didn’t make it into (not pretty enough or athletic enough!) the official Youtube championship video but it’s a good watch and you might spot an Irish competitor or two that you recognise!

 

YouTube

Run Republic

IMRA

 

So, in no particular order:

 

– The team Pizza party on Sunday evening hosted by IMRA in Maniago  – 100 athletes and their supporters stuffed into a local pizzeria for food, drink, celebrations and speeches 

 

– Ger Maloney, one of Ireland top all time mountain runners and individual silver medal winner, (10 years on from winning a team O55 gold medal), putting his arm around me and saying, as we mounted the podium for our team gold medal presentation “Liam, these moments are very very rare and very special, savour them”

 

– Singing Amhran na Bhfiann atop the podium at Sunday evenings medal and closing ceremonies

 

– Racing Sunday morning back down the mountain and through the streets and stepped lanes of Meduno village in the closing stages of the Classic up/downhill race (15k with a 750 climb), on the edge, risk v reward, knowing that I needed to deliver a high finish for the team but would be no good to them if I fell and lost time or couldn’t finish 

 

– Rounding the final bend before the short sharp climb to the finish gantry, to the flags and cheers of the Irish supporters

 

– The moment earlier in the race when as I passed the German number 1 from Friday’s race near the top of the climb in the Classic and he glanced sideways and said “Go Irish”. 

 

– Not getting passed by any competitor in my age bracket on the Classic descent – a first for me, ask Anthony!

 

– Waking up Sunday morning after a restless nights sleep wondering have the legs sufficiently recovered from Friday to go again

 

– News early that morning that one of our main men, Martin McDonald was injured and unlikely to run meaning “you have to step up and deliver for the team Liam” 

 

– On course supporting our Irish team colleagues competing in Saturday’s long distance race, mad stuff! 

 

– Brilliant recovery pasta bowls and drinks after each race in a huge refectory tent rocking with live DJ tunes

 

– Reccing the two race courses with my team mates the day before each race 

 

– Team technical meetings after the recces – which trail runners to wear, deep lugs for the uphill race as very greasy and technical but OMG, can’t decide for the classic – deeper lugs for grip on the up or shallow lugs for speed on the down , went for speed! – whether to use poles or not – poles not compulsory but permitted for the uphill race but if you start with them you must finish with them, I am used to them so opted in, good call as it turned out.

 

– Keeping the body going and your head in the game during the seemingly never-ending slog straight up 800m of technical terrain over 5k in Fridays uphill race 

 

– Finding a kick up and over the uphill false summit (ready for it from the recce) with 250m to go, overtaking a small group including a couple of Austrians only for one to get back past me just before the finish line (see photo). We knew they would be in the mix so I was on tenterhooks that that lost place might count. Austria finished 4th, phew!

 

– Crossing the finish line at a the top of the mountain with teammate Conor there egging me home. 

 

– The moment with Conor Nolan and Martin McDonald when it was confirmed after Fridays race that we had finished third (Conor 5th, Martin 9th and yours truly13th, out of 48 competitors), a world championship medal, tears, I can believe it

 

– The moment with Gerard Maloney and Conor when their individual silver and bronze positions were posted and my 7th place (50 competitors in our age category) backing them up for our team gold

 

– The proud feeling being presented with the bronze medal in Fridays ceremonies not having any idea that we would do even better on Sunday

 

– Cheering every Irish podium at the medal ceremonies (1,100 athletes representing 32 countries across the 35 to 75 age categories)

 

– Travelling, rooming and hanging out with all the IMRA Irish runners – early evening, very large amazing pasta dinners and very early morning, simple carb loaded breakfasts

– Arriving back into Dublin airport with my medals and to my shock no sign of RTE Nine O Clock News cameras!

With some reluctance I signed up for the national masters track and field championships on July 26th in Tullamore. Joining me in the midlands were Adam (045 800m), Gavin (045 5k) and Anthony (055 800m).