Home Race Report National Road Relays 2018

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National Road Relays 2018

The road relays took place this past Sunday in their regular home around the roads of Raheny in Dublin. The sun peered in and out throughout the day with gusty winds curtailing fast times but that didn’t prevent some really great racing. The course is 50 meters beyond a mile in Raheny and involves tapping your teammate’s hand. Sportsworld had teams competing in 3 of the 4 races.

First up were the Master’s 35 men. Newbie Andrew ran a very strong leg and handed over to me, running an uncharacteristic 2-mile leg. I went out at 800M pace to make up some ground and paid for it on lap 2. It wasn’t the most sensible race plan but I enjoyed I made it to the finish and handed over to Michael who took us home on the final leg. Narrowly edging out Crusaders was the highlight. Minus Karol, it was always going to be difficult but the team ran well to compete. Coming 8 was a success on the day with many of the team had significantly more experienced runners. Declan, Noel, and Joe (visible from miles away) ran in the same race Maters 050 section. The lads faired better than their younger club mates finishing 6th.

Next up was the Senior ladies. For anyone new to running. “Junior” means younger, “senior” means older and Masters” means you reminisce about the good old days. Helen a welcome addition back to the team, ran a super first leg. Next up was Sinead on the 2 miler who somehow manages to look like she’s running effortlessly. Speedy Maria then flew off to finish out the race. Well done to the ladies for a solid 8th place. Witha bit more experience there’s no reason they cant get top 5.

Last up were the senior men. This is the most difficult race of the day. The format is different with a 2-1-3-2 mile format. First up was Conon McCarthy making a return to racing over the past few months. Conor put his 400m sessions to good use with a strong 2 miles. I was running the mile leg, my preferred distance. For me, the mile is the classic speed endurance distance. Battling your central governor, legs failing whilst starting to feel that metal taste in your mount, you cant get that feeling doing a marathon. I handed over to Sadanand who ran the 3-mile leg and Conor who completed the last 2 miles. Both of the lads did well. running in no man’s land is very tough.

Thanks for all the great support on the day and to Emily and Myles for their continued dedication to getting everyone to the start. Of special note was the team getting presented with our cup for the top club over the 2017 / 2018 cross country campaign.