This Tuesday May 26th sees the start of the Lord Mayor summer road series in Raheny. These are a low key, harmless series of races that take place throughout the summer, and along with the graded track meets on a Wednesday evening offer an alternative to doing a session in the early part of the week. There is very much a fun and sociable atmosphere at them, and the race finishes with tea and biscuits back in the club house where many stories are exchanged. The fact that it’s bright so late adds to the event.
They take place over 2 full laps of the (virtually traffic free) flat course that the National Road Relays were held on (= 3338m = 120m longer than 2 miles). They are well organised and stewarded by people who not only have an admirable knowledge of how to run these events but who have also enjoyed magnificent athletics careers themselves, some even Olympic standard. Race numbers are typically anywhere from 30 – 50 people though of course this may vary. Chances of winning are very high, with prizes galore for most age categories, so this is an added confidence booster.
If you enjoy racing regularly, they serve as a series of races if so wished, with overall prizes being dished out. I did the series in 2006 and if I remember rightly entry fee was only €5, and if you did 4 out of the 6 races you qualified for the series. Ray Carpenter also competed that year and it’s not uncommon for a good Sportsworld gang to turn up.
The event kicks off of a Tuesday evening at 20.00. Registration is at the small hut that is Raheny’s clubhouse (opposite the church in Raheny village). The dates are May 26th, June 9th, June 23rd, July 7th, July 14th and July 28th.
Packie.
