Report by John Dwyer
Photos and on the day support by Paddy Lynch
At training in Bushy Park I made a mistake of wearing a newly acquired race t-shirt that I got from the Fingal 10k race that was held on the previous Sunday. The t shirt was spotted by the editor and I was “coerced” into writing a race report. Lesson learnt from a green new member!
Race reporter John showing off the t-shirt that got him caught
Anyway, the Fingal 10k is the second race of the Dublin Race Series: Click here
When I heard the rain bouncing off the window on Sunday morning I was wondering would I bother going all the way out to Swords for some punishment. Anyway when I got out to Swords it was dry, warm and humid with no sign of any rainfall there.
The Fingal 10k is a well organised race. The bagging area, finishing area etc are set in the spacious grounds of Swords Castle Park. I met some of the Sportsworld guys there who were keen to go for a warm up. I left them to it, preferring to warm up in the first few kilometres of the race to try and conserve some energy!
The start line was on the main street in Swords with a good atmosphere generated. There was a special welcome and announcement for Mick Clohessy (Course record holder and representing Ireland in the Olympics in the marathon). We were in good company.
Race winner and Rio bound Mick Clohessy
The race started at 10:00 am heading south, up the main street, until we hit the Swords bypass dual carriageway. The race continued up the “dualer” for 3k. I hate running on these big straight expanses where you can see the big line of runners way out in front of you.
Eventually (at 4 km) we turned a sharp left onto a narrow country lane. I find these more interesting, with the more road bends and the nice adjacent fields to keep your mind off the job in hand. There was also the small matter of trying not to slip on the recent road kill and not getting your legs ripped to bits by overgrown briers.
As the race went on I’m sure the temperature went up a good few degrees. The heat was severe with no breeze in the area. Around the 8 km mark, the good people of the fire brigade were spraying water in an attempt to keep us cool.
When we hit the outskirts of town at the 9th km there is a long drag up a hill called Watery Lane. I know now why it is called this. I felt like crying myself as there was nothing left in the tank. You wonder what the hell is this running all about!!
The fastest man I know who ran on this road is Eoin O’Brien ……. when it came to going home time from Swords Labs, where we worked together, many years ago J.
The last stretch to the finish line is downhill but it still wasn’t easy. Naoise Waldron came running effortlessly past me to finish on a high.
I was really delighted to finish and meet the welcoming Sportsworld party just past the line. I found it very tough.
We received a nice “goodie bag” with the red “bloody” t shirt.
After meeting all the gang we went for a coffee in the Pavillion SC and had a good laugh in the afterglow of the race. It’s funny how you forget the pain during the race and start thinking of the next one.
Sportsworld Results:
Kevin Curran 00:36:19
Ian Cairns 00:39:18
Noel Tobin 00:39:46
Declan Brady 00:41:18
Peter Knaggs 00:41:49
Paul Brady 00:41:53
Stephen Willoughby 00:42:59
Naoise Waldron 00:42:41
Caoimhe Costigan 00:42:52
Johnny Dwyer 00:43:30
Phillip Kerr 00:43:53
Emma Barry 00:48:33
Patrick Mcmorrow 00:48:44
Catherine Gilmore 00:50:03
Caroline Lynch 00:52:11
Audrai Odriscoll 00:53:51
Sean Obyrne 00:54:31
Katie Nugent 00:49:24
Killian Dirwan 00:53:39
Peter Brennan 00:57:41
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