Stone Mad Half Marathon, 11th July 2015

Report By Ronan Murray

Early morning on Saturday 11.07.14 and 4 Sportsworld musketeers headed off to Leighlinbridge in Carlow to take part in a little known event called the stone mad Half Marathon. It only took an hour to get there and before we knew it we were ready for action and full of enthusiasm.

After registration, a short race brief , & a coach ride , we were at the start line .The route took us from Leighlinbridge in Carlow along the beautiful scenic banks of the river barrow to Graiguenamanagh in Kilkenny. Everybody was excited and the whole crowd were discussing the race route and what if we get lost, etc. Along comes the race director with final race instructions “ Go that way and keep the river on your right. If its on your left, your going the wrong way…..3,2,1 Go”. And we were off…..

50mts to the finish

The route was flat and the miles just ticked by, before we knew it we were around the 10mile mark and feeling good and it was then that we started to think about where we might place in the race as nobody had passed us since the start. In the distance we could see a few other runners, so we upped the pace and started the chase. Over the next few miles we caught and passed 3 or 4 people and before we knew it we were coming up to 13ml , but no finish line in sight. 13.1 passed , 13.2 , 13.3 and finally we see the finish on the other side of the river , we had to cross a bridge and come back down the other side and finish at 13.5ml !!!

Finally it was over , time for a cool down and celebration!

With the race finished we all settled in for a feast of soup , sandwiches , tea & cake.

Defo on the calendar for next year!

Sportsworld Times:
Madeline Byrne 6^th female home
Emma Barry 8^th female home
Stephen Willoughby 12^th Male home
Ronan murray 12^th Male home ( identical time)

Full results: Stone Mad Half