This run is very popular in the calendar with 2018 being its sixth year of the event.
All proceeds going towards a needed playground in Garristown as well as the community centre.A donation will also be made to the Laura Lynn Foundation.
My first 10k of the year! Well it was supposed to be.It was scheduled for February but with the snow this year it was cancelled until March and then changed to the end of May.
It was an early start in the quiet little village on the outskirts of Dublin.The race started at 9:30,so I was up early Sunday morning and after just a 30min drive I arrived in plenty of time to collect my number and t shirt. After a small warm up I made my way to the start line which starts at the bottom of the village.
The first kilometre is uphill,a lot of people get caught out,pushing to hard out and sending heart rates soaring.
I sat back a little and let them off. By the end of the first km I had easily caught them and pick them off one by one. As I looked ahead I could see just one runner ahead,I had managed to move into second place.i thought if I can hold the steady pace for a few km I won’t be doing too bad.
The course is a loop of what felt like rolling hills until about the 5k mark were you get some recovery with a good drop downhill that levels out between the 7 and 8km.
At this point I was still holding second place,hanging on to the leader.I was afraid to look behind me, just kept pushing! I knew there was a big hill coming at the 8.5km mark and thought even if I get passed at this stage I won’t have done too bad. I turned out off a small side road and could see the hill ahead. The worst part of this was you could see it stretch ahead of you for about 800m before it turns for another hill to the finish!
At this stage my breathing was getting heavy and legs starting to tire, Only about a km left so just hang in and keep pushing. On the last 400m I almost caught the leader but he heard me coming behind and pushed it on to get in just ahead!
The race was a nice mix of uphills ,downhills and a few flats. Good to challenge all types of runners.
All the village turned out to support the race and gave a great atmosphere as you came into the finish.
Getting to the race was easy,there was plenty of parking and well organised. They provided a huge amount of refreshments after with a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. I would recommend the race as a good challenging 10k.

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