Report by Dermot Sullivan
The Annual Virgin Media night run took place on last Sunday 23rd of April. This race marked my return to consistent training after the ups and down of injury over the winter.
The conditions were looking great for the night and after a quick warm up and a couple of strides I gathered with a group of runners from the club. Start time for the race was 9pm and numerous warnings advised that it was a busy race so a good starting position was critical. Due to our timely arrival and with a spot of luck we had a pick of position in the start pen.
The atmosphere in the starting area was buzzing with the convention centre lit up red for the occasion and the DJ warming up the crowd nicely with a few tunes. A few minutes behind schedule a countdown display and fireworks signalled the start.
The course took us westwards heading past custom house and up Eden Quay. It then turned around and back down O’Connell street before turning left back up the north Quay. After crossing over the Liffey at Talbot Bridge I was spurred on by support our club stewards. This support continued all the way to Grand Canal approaching the 5km mark. One steward enthusiastically shouted instructions to take a ‘Sharp left at the end of Misery Hill’, which much to my relief was downhill!
What felt like the longest sections took us down Pearse Street, taking a loop around Ringsend before heading back up the Liffey. My pace dipped a little here as my legs began to feel the km’s. We then crossed the toll bridge, before the turnaround and the 9km mark. Timing on the last km provided gave great motivation for home straight section. This final push making up for the earlier dip in pace. I was very happy with my time as I crossed the finish line, with a new PB and my second 10km race in the bag.
Overall it was a great race for the club. Congratulations to Sinead for her superb effort taking home the winning female spot, as well as plenty of fantastic performances all around. The race was well organised, had a great atmosphere and perfect conditions, so all in all a great Sunday night!
Thanks to the Sportsworld stewards including Emily for the support along the way.
Sportsworld results
Sinead TANGNEY 37:19 (1st place!)
Diarmaid Ó SÚILLEABHÁIN 39:00
Martin DOYLE 39:51
Dermot SULLIVAN 43:27
Gerard NEENAN 43:52
Liam LENEHAN 44:08
Eoin O’BRIEN 47:00
Derrick LONG 54:49
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