The 35TH AXA Raheny 5 mile took place this past Sunday with over 4,600 runners and walkers signing up, making it one of Ireland’s biggest club races. The race marks the beginning of the season for most runners and attracts both elite runners along with fun runners, joggers and walkers. This is very much an event for everyone. Nobody wants to miss the Raheny 5 which has turned into a must do race at the start of the year. The event is noted for fast times, a fantastic atmosphere and the now famous goodie bag that other races struggle to match up to.
The weather on Sunday was good with cold and sunny conditions. The last time I ran this race was in 2016. The course route has changed somewhat since then. Despite the dreaded last mile on the old course I did prefer it in comparison to the course today, more on that later.
I have been running relativley well over the past month and was looking forward to this one. I set myself a target of 25.45 going into the race which equates to 3.12 per kilometer. Very achievable given recent training and races. The plan was to do the bulk of my running at the start of the week and taper down at the end. Best laid plans don’t always come to fruition. I ended up being sick after training on Tuesday, not running Wednesday and felt really sluggish on Thursdays doing the Terenure lap. Not an ideal
Come race day I did around 5K to warm up and was on the start line with 10 minutes to spare. During the warm up I sensed I was a little tired as I wasn’t feeling any kind of a kick when doing strides. With a chill in the air I felt my hear beating a little too much.
At 3.00 PM we were off and 3000+ runners went hurtling down All Saints Road. I had a bad start to the race, almost walking off the line but pretty soon I was galloping around people, dodging cars and making up furlongs.
I felt sluggish even at this early start in proceedings, this should have been an early indicator that there wasn’t too much in the tank. The course looped back around Wade’s Avenue, well known as part of the beloved national road relays course. The 3rd kilometer was probably the toughest part of the course for me. I have it in my head for years that when you hit the top of All Saints Road in the relays that it’s all downhill. I really slowed to a crawl here and was running exposed at half marathon pace into the strong headwind.
Normally so early in the
It was clear after 3 kilometers that it was not going to be my day for a PB but I was never the less determined to keep pushing the pace for the next couple of miles. On Sybil Hill, the lead lady Anne Marie McGlynn of the cross country face was up running alongside. I pictured Myles telling me to hang up my spikes if she beat me so I kept pushing on. It was quite an enjoyable part of the course. Very flat, great support and some good surfaces. As we came into St Anne’s however I was starting to lose a few meters and then running onto the main avenue my legs weren’t having any of it, despite my breathing being comfortable. I’ll happily give up the cross country spikes after the Nationals next week. Fair play to Anne Marie she ran a super fast 25.59
In slow motion, almost exactly like a freeze-framed runner, I was falling behind. I really struggled in my last two kilometers. Not even with the wind at my back,
In hindsight today I’m glad I ran but just didn’t have the energy to execute the plan.
A little bit about the course to finish. The support was amazing, the looping around Raheny not so great. The turns in the park were tight, particularity the one on the main avenue. This really broke my stride. I would have preferred there to have been a chicane, it would have required just a few more cones. On the old course, you had a tough hill but a good downhill section before it. As you are running up the main avenue in the park you can see the runners coming down the other side. It’s not really clear how far ahead they are. I didn’t like this part of the route. The long finish as always is fantastic. It seems so much wider than it did 26 minutes earlier.
As always a great race, superb goodie bag and well recommended. It’s probably the second best 5-mile race in Dublin after the Terenure 5.
Well done to all ofthe Sportsworld runners who took part and thanks to our great supporters and their photos. Note the times below are from the gun. Which is all that was listed on the club results page. Many people ran great personal bests which are not fully reflected below. Check My Run Results for accurate chip times.
The race was won by the home town and extremely popular Mick Clohisey of Raheny Shamrock A.C. The women’s race was won by Anne Marie McGlynn of Letterkenny A.C. This was Anne Marie’s second successive title.
| Name | Club | Result |
|---|---|---|
| » Marie BRADLEY | Sportsworld RC | 40:23 |
| » Ciara BRADY | Sportsworld RC | 31:03 |
| » Declan BRADY | Sportsworld RC | 33:11 |
| » Donal BRENNAN | Sportsworld RC | 31:38 |
| » Andrew BRETT | Sportsworld RC | 27:22 |
| » Helen BROUDER | Sportsworld RC | 30:24 |
| » Cian BUCKLEY | Sportsworld RC | 33:39 |
| » Brian BYRNE | Sportsworld RC | 28:49 |
| » Ray CARPENTER | Sportsworld RC | 35:56 |
| » Margaret CROWLEY | Sportsworld RC | 36:02 |
| » Aidan CURRAN | Sportsworld RC | 34:45 |
| » Phil DALY | Sportsworld RC | 46:04 |
| » Sean DONEGAN | Sportsworld RC | 33:23 |
| » Martin DOYLE | Sportsworld RC | 31:13 |
| » Maria FINNEGAN | Sportsworld RC | 40:35 |
| » Patrica FITZMAURICE | Sportsworld RC | 35:04 |
| » Catherine GILMORE | Sportsworld RC | 41:40 |
| » Andy GORDAN | Sportsworld RC | 31:52 |
| » Paul HAMILTON | Sportsworld RC | 32:24 |
| » Mark HOGAN | Sportsworld RC | 27:47 |
| » Sandra KELLY | Sportsworld RC | 41:05 |
| » David KENNEDY | Sportsworld RC | 33:43 |
| » Jessica KENNEDY | Sportsworld RC | 36:02 |
| » Conor KENNY | Sportsworld RC | 38:53 |
| » Peter KNAGGS | Sportsworld RC | 34:00 |
| » Ellen LAVIN | Sportsworld RC | 45:43 |
| » Padraig LOOBY | Sportsworld RC | 31:57 |
| » Noel LYNAM | Sportsworld RC | 35:54 |
| » Thomas LYSTER | Sportsworld RC | 41:51 |
| » Sadanand MAGEE | Sportsworld RC | 28:41 |
| » Will MARTIN SMITH | Sportsworld RC | 30:33 |
| » Conor MCCARTHY | Sportsworld RC | 28:30 |
| » Timothy MORAHAN | Sportsworld RC | 30:16 |
| » Rosie MULHERN | Sportsworld RC | 38:54 |
| » Tim MURPHY | Sportsworld RC | 42:26 |
| » Gareth MURRAN | Sportsworld RC | 26:22 |
| » Gerard NEENAN | Sportsworld RC | 34:15 |
| » Martina NOLAN JONES | Sportsworld RC | 38:58 |
| » Sean O’BYRNE | Sportsworld RC | 45:44 |
| » Paul O’CONNELL | Sportsworld RC | 29:25 |
| » Stephen O’DONNELL | Sportsworld RC | 27:47 |
| » Diarmuid O’SUILLEABHAIN | Sportsworld RC | 30:24 |
| » Valerie POWER | Sportsworld RC | 40:41 |
| » Neil PURDY | Sportsworld RC | 38:39 |
| » Colum ROCHE | Sportsworld RC | 36:33 |
| » Derek SAVILLE | Sportsworld RC | 30:04 |
| » Karl SHEVLIN | Sportsworld RC | 32:36 |
| » Diarmuid SUTTON | Sportsworld RC | 34:18 |
| » Anne SWEENEY | Sportsworld RC | 39:25 |
| » Sibeal WALDRON | Sportsworld RC | 36:22 |
| » Bronwyn WHITE MURPHY | Sportsworld RC | 41:38 |
| » Carley YABROUDY | Sportsworld RC | 44:34 |
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