By Sandra Gowran and Gareth MurranA large number from Sportsworld lined up for the Rathfarnham 5km this morning (29th Sept). The race route around the “Terenure lap” is well known to regular club runners and while it’s renowned for fast times knowing every undulation and gradient of a race route is not always a positive!
Over 1100 runners took part in the event with funds going to St. Luke’s hospital. There were some very strong performances from Sportsworld athletes, Karol Cronin who is just back from injury was first home from the club in 15:32 (11th overall); Mary Finn was first of the women posting a new PB of 18:39 and finishing 8th woman.The women’s team consisting of Mary Finn, Ciara Foster and Sandra Armstrong narrowly missed a team prize finishing 4th team. The men’s race was won by an impressive Mark Christie of Mullingar Harriers (14:37) while Ciara Durkan of Skerries AC won the women’s in a very fast 16:34.
Rathfarnham AC are to be complimented on a very well organised and enjoyable race. Thanks also to the Sportsworld supporters who dotted the course to cheer us on and to Paddy Lynch in particular for capturing the pain and ecstasy as we made our way round.
Sandra Gowran
It’s great to know that I can run the first mile of a 5K faster than world record marathon pace.The Rathfarnham 5K was taking place this morning at the same time as a mind blowing world record was being set in Berlin by Kenya’s Wilson Kipsang. 4.42 per mile for a Marathon. Wow!!!!
The Rathfarnahm 5K is one of my favourite races on the calendar. A fast course, we run this route throughout the year in training with many of us also using it on our easy days. Things went off pretty fast today , taking in the first downhill mile in 4:30 I knew the pain would be coming fast, but on those days that it clicks you fight it off to make it last. On your good days, you are not tryin’, it’s just happening. When you are out there enjoying yourself, almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of failure – just falls away, leaving you with a true feeling of satisfaction.
The central governor theory is based around the premise that the brain will override your physical ability to run and “shut the body down” before you’re able to do serious or permanent damage to yourself. I hit that point in the race at 4K.
People newer to running often ask when does it get easier? The answer is it gets harder. You have to prepare yourself mentally, not head into a race telling yourself that somehow this race is going to be different. Be prepared for it to hurt, but remember that you’ve trained yourself to push through this exact situation. Visualize the race during your training runs and picture yourself hitting that point in the race when your body starts to hurt. Recall those feelings from your last race or hard work out and then visualize yourself pushing through that moment. By preparing yourself mentally, you’ll be ready to face the realities of the race. Having this in your back pocket is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking your race is over.
I’m convinced that my enjoyment of last week’s 30th anniversary celebration helped me run well today. It reminded me why I love training and racing. Why does it feel so good to hurt so badly? Although I did struggle a bit with 800M to go (more tempos needed) I finished with a strong sprint to go under 16 minutes for the first time in well over a year.
The best feeling after a good race is the feeling that you want to go run again straight away.
Gareth Murren
Sportsworld Results:
Karol David Cronin 15:32
Garath Murran 16:02
Mark Small 18:17
Mary Finn 18:39
Shane Torman 18:43
Timothy Telford 19:05
Robert McMahon 19:11
Sean Donegan 19:32
Ciara Foster 20:18
Sandra Armstrong 20:25
Stephen Willoughby 20:44
Natalia Sokolowska 20:56
Eoin O’ Brien 21:03
Alison Warde 21:18
Mark Mc Daid 21:51
Enda McMorrow 21:53
Niamh Flaherty 22:09
Deirdre Heavey 22:52
Catherine Gilmore 23:19
Sandra Irwin-Gowran 24:36
