The Saturday morning training can be in different locations each week so check the weekly email or club Whats App group for location and time. At the moment one of the sessions is in Tymon park just beside the National Basket Ball arena. You can park beside the Basketball arena or beside St Faugh’s and jog over. At the moment the ground is really dry and you can get away with wearing runners but if you want to get used to wearing and running in spikes you can bring them. The Saturday training is similar to the Tuesday and Thursday training so if you miss a day or cant make a day you can train Saturday morning instead. Below is the standard lap in Tymon, 1500m with recovery between each lap.

Like the Sunday long run and week day sessions there are different groups and paces. The more people who go to the Saturday training the more groups there are and people to run with.

Couldn’t find the exact history of the Sunday long run in Phoenix park but I was told a number of years ago that the route has been going for over a hundred years. Above is one of the photos from Donore Harriers clubhouse just outside Phoenix park showing some of their runners from 1896 who would of run parts of the route we run today.

The meeting place for the last few years for the long run is the Visitor Centre Car Park near Aras An Uachtarain. Its normally an easy place to get parking at 9.30am on a Sunday morning and the scones and soup are pretty good after a long run too. The below Strava map shows the route is mostly around the inside edge of the park on trails. At the moment the trails are dry and not too soft and are good for doing a long run off the concrete.

It takes a few Sunday runs to remember all the turns in the standard loop but if you need to make the run shorter its easy to cut off sections or if your doing marathon training its easy to add on loops without having to run on the same ground twice. There are normally different groups on Sunday at different paces but mostly it’s a pace you can talk at. Some people can talk more than others.There are roads through the park but its easy to stay away from any traffic and even though the park is in the city centre it feels like you’re a million miles away.

When Emil Zátopek said that “a runner must run with dreams in his head and hope in his heart”, he was warning against the distractions of success and admiration. But the sentiment fits for the long absence of races in our calendars during the Covid-interupted 2020 and 2021 seasons. Most of us will have struggled at various points with some combination of overtraining or undertraining, injury, a lack of motivation, isolation or just the plain old fear of catching or passing on the coronavirus so the buzz to be back racing was a common topic of conversation before the Tallaght 5K on Sunday.

It was great to be back! The weather played its part too. Sunday morning was fine, still and dry – as good a day for racing as November could ever deliver. I was already warm and loose from cycling out so a short warm up of one or two kms with a few strides had me ready to go by the time I ran into Myles who had a few tips on the course. All downhill bar the hill at about 3km and then a flat run in to finish on the track. Easy-peasy.

Paul Hamilton was the only Sportsworlder who had told me he was running, but a Strava report of a 31km run on Saturday gave me a hint not to expect him. The race was doubling as the Dublin Novice Championships so there were lots of Sportsworld entries but as the race had been rescheduled, who knew who would turn up on the day. I saw Carmel, Anne and Val warming up and gave them a wave before fistbumping a very in-the-zone Timothy Morahan near the start. I had time for a quick chat with Anthony, Declan and Bruce before we got the call and then we were off.

The first 200m were run in tight formation along one side of the Greenhills Road so it was a shock to check the watch at the lights in Tallaght and see that I was running at an unsustainable 3.30km pace. I eased off a bit and found myself running nicely a little behind Anthony who was setting a good pace for his group about 30 metres in front.

As we turned onto Castletymon Road, my group was flagging a little, so I made the decision to start bridging across to Anthony. This was going pretty well until Myles’ hill appeared in the third kilometre. This knocked my pace a bit but I dug in to get up to the junction with Greenhills Road without dropping off too much. I was still congratulating myself on a job well done when the actual hill appeared on a bendy part of the Greenhills Road. My pace and spirits dropped in unison and I struggled on this section. As badly as that section went, the 4km marker beyond the crest of the hill reminded me that there was still time to repair the damage by knuckling down for the 600m to the turn into the track. At that point, with a downhill ramp onto a 300m lap of the track, it was time to go all-in on a gut bursting dash to the line.

To look at me curled up and moaning on the ground after the finish, you’d be forgiven for overlooking my delight at my time. I was aiming at sub 20 minutes, so a 19.26 chip time was a pleasant surprise and a good benchmark to bring into 2022.

In all the chats and coffee afterwards, everyone was saying the same things. ‘Good to be back’ and ‘onwards and upwards for 2022’. Well done to Tallaght AC for putting on an excellent race, even if there were some murmurs of complaint at the single bar of chocolate on offer in comparison to the riches on offer in Raheny in January!

Special congratulations to Aoife O’Leary who finished 5th in the Women’s race and to Bruce Campbell who won the Men’s over 50 race.

This was brutal but beautiful. All cross country races ought to be. None of this running monotonous laps around a GAA field on a bleak Sunday afternoon. Let’s have scenic courses flanked by trees and bends that sweep down and around and up again.

Avondale Forest Park is a gorgeous place. On a mild mid-Autumn day it’s especially magic. A special place to bring the family for a looped wooded walk and a sensational venue for cross country. Avondale House, originally built in 1777, was the birthplace of Charles Stewart Parnell (1846-91) – Home Ruler and the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party in the late 19th century. He also had one of the most luxuriant beards in modern Irish history. If only he could see his estate now playing host to Leinster’s best club runners. The 500 acre park is also regarded as the historic home of Irish forestry. Perhaps we could consider it the future home of or the “Croke Park” of Irish Cross Country.

In the day’s first Senior Race, Sportsworld Women’s team finished an impressive 3rd with the talented Lisa Madden – bouncing back with gusto after her Dublin Senior DNF last week – taking an individual Bronze behind Una Britton (Kilcoole) and Fiona McKenna (UCD). Caoimhe Daniels ran well and placed in the Top 20 (16th) with Aoife O’Leary (31st) and Deirdre O’Connell (55th), Katie Nugent (59th) and Maura Ginty (60th) bunching well towards the back. A brilliant team performance and good to see the club’s ladies representing on the podium again.

The Men’s race was a gruelling 10,000m (5 x 2k laps) through the “Great Ride” of Avondale (I thought that was Parnell’s adulterous lover!). The runners headed out down the centre of the “Ride” in what’s a furious first few hundred metres. Always hard not to get carried away here. Slight turn right and the course opens out to amazing views of the vale of Avoca. It bends back around into the first of the tough ascents. There was nice support around here before a sharp turn right onto an out-and-back spur complete with contraflow nods and waves before joining the lap again. Another hard and draggy climb here but mercifully not as long as previous years. While this was a hard course no doubt there were at least a few sections where you could recover and pick up the pace, particularly on the marginally downhill far side.

Perma-fit Gareth ran incredibly well from the gun and held on for 22nd place in 35:50 (an incredible time for 10k cross country). For a man who’s infamously apathetic towards XC, he’s getting better with age. I wasn’t feeling confident or racefit so went out steady hoping to be comfortably hurting at threshold later rather than sooner. Ended up feeling stronger than last week’s horror show in Santry at the Dublin Seniors and even managed a moderate kick in the last few hundred metres. Was there more in the tank earlier on? That question is always there I suppose. But with lacklustre training and motivation this year, top 50 was the best I could expect. The evergreen club stalwart Michael Cunningham was close behind in an impressive 49th in that (younger) field. Cross country debutante Conor Cavanagh (52nd) ran an outstanding race for his first effort. A bit more training and race experience for Conor, and he’ll do well in the future.

Despite a dizzy collapse after the finish line, this was such a joy to race: the low afternoon sunlight and Autumnal colours and perfect running grass and mud and the competitive field and energy and adrenaline of club racing with no watch and team camaraderie and cheering support. Special mention to Emily for getting me a Mars Bar to resuscitate me post-race!

Well done to all who raced and many thanks to those who supported us out there.

Gavin

Results:

Gareth Murran 22nd 35:50

Gavin Finlay 46th 38:28

Michael Cunningham 49th 38:44

Conor Cavanagh 52nd 38:56

Full results here

https://www.myrunresults.com/events/leinster_xc_senior_and_u23/4237/results

This one was a bit like a thriller – it starts out positively, things get a bit hairy, but the intrepid heroes somehow pull through to live happily ever after.  The movie was a cross between Twin Peaks and Cape Fear – 15km or so of mountain running on Maulin and Djouce, and the wind, oh god the wind.

Everyone was excited at the start in Crone Wood car park, but race director Lillian set an ominous tone when she said that IMRA legend Joe was on the top of Maulin and he wasn’t sure it was safe.  And Djouce may be worse, so they would see how it went and maybe cut it short.

The Sportsworld crew were dispersed – Tim showed up early, and avoided the epic car park congestion, I met Liam on the grassy ride going up Maulin before he upped the pace.  John and Phillip were also flying the club colours in the large (200+) field, and Bruce was leading us out – he is kindof a Caballo Blanco figure to me, always that bit further ahead.

It’s a stunningly beautiful course, and even though it is rated 3/3 for terrain, ascent & distance, it’s a very enjoyable mix of tracks & trails, okay underfoot even on the steep up and downhills, and relatively little water to deal with.  There were three climbs in total, so you needed to pace yourself and keep something back for the second ascent of Maulin and the final dash down the fire roads.  But the real story was the 50+ kph wind, which many people said was the strongest they’d experienced, certainly while running.

And so we were grateful to complete the full route, including the loop around the peak of Djouce which someone compared to standing in front of a jet engine.  You know the way people go to Wicklow on a spa day to relax and maybe get a facial – like that, except the facial involves the top layers of skin on your face being peeled off by ballistic rain, and you wish you invested in better jacket, hat, gloves, everything really.

Which made the mostly downhill return through some of the most beautiful scenery in the country around Powerscourt especially powerful.  We were greeted by an intense double rainbow descending from Djouce, and everyone finished the race with a broad smile, more invigorated than they started – the wind made us all feel more alive.

So despite or because of all that, it was a brilliant start to the weekend, and superbly organized by IMRA as usual, with some fruit, drinks and banter in the car park post-race.  The day was all about survival and digging deep, and enjoying a great running experience you’d be keen to share – d’you remember the time we did Djouce with the crazy wind …

https://www.imra.ie/events/results/id/2088

An ode to XC

It was the night before Halloween

When all were asleep

My eyes are open, my mind still awake

Cross country is upon us, the seniors no less

A 10k is a beckoning, and my hair is a mess

With a venue named Trinity, my prayers begun

As I head for the start line, the cries are rung

“Run, run, run” said the voice in my head

But boy oh boy my legs feel so dead

5 races in 5 weeks could be the answer

Yet the shouts from the sideline, made me run faster

Around and around the merry field we went

Until the line we crossed and our energies spent

A team of warriors, our sportsworld hero’s

A team of supporters, our sportsworld crusaders

After all is said and done

I’m glad for this race that I’ve just run

For those who fear the rain and the muck

Don’t worry at all, we’ll not see you stuck

Come one, come many and join in the fun

Cross country is calling, it’s time to run

Authors Note:

Well done to Lisa for championing sportsworld in the women’s race and to all on the men’s team including Gareth, Gavin, Karol, Michael, Conor and Brian for battling through the somewhat mucky terrain and strong competitive field of athletes. Also a big thank you to all who came out to support including Paul, Emily, Myles et all and even those from other clubs were shouting us on.

The results can be found at the below link

https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dublin_senior_and_junior_cross_country_championships/4210/results

Settlement. Containment. Survival. The three stages of a marathon.

This weekend just passed saw the long overdue 40th edition of the Rotterdam Marathon which was originally scheduled for almost 19 months ago in April 2020. When I initially signed up for this race it was with the intention of it being somewhat of a family affair as my wife & daughter were due to travel with me and we had planned a week long holiday in Portugal for afterwards. This time round it was just me boarding the flight as a new edition to the family meant it didn’t make sense for the others to travel as it would have been impossible for Michelle to navigate her way around the course in support.

This year has been a very frustrating year for me on the injuries front. A heel injury in March took the best part of 2 months to fully recover from and this was then compounded by a hip injury just when I felt like I was getting back on track. This again took a couple of months to get over and it was well into August before I was running pain free. This had me debating whether or not I would go ahead and race as I was quite unfit at this stage and wasn’t sure that I had enough time to properly train. After a lot of procrastination it was decided that I would increase the weekly volume and see how the body reacted and if there were no setbacks after a few weeks then I would book a flight. A sneaky text to Lucy got me an entry to the sold out Ratoath Half Marathon which I used a tune up race. Thanks Lucy!! The Monday after Ratoath I felt good and bit the bullet & booked the flight.

The rest of the training went seamlessly enough up until the last couple of weeks. Due to starting training so late I had made the decision that I would effectively train right up to the race & forego a taper. In the end I did an unplanned taper as a bout of food poisoning 10 days out had me bed bound for a few days. In hindsight the rest probably did me good but the loss of fluids was definitely a concern. It happened in the best possible week though as I had just about enough time on my side to get back on track and the original plan of no taper was probably a bit foolish anyway.

Representing the club out there was Sadanand and I, although it seems this was unbeknownst to each other! Perhaps we should pay a bit more attention to the Whatsapp Group as Rotterdam itself isn’t exactly the most thrilling of places and it was boring over there on my own for the couple of days before the race. To kill a bit of time on the Saturday I went to see the new James Bond movie which was a great way to pass 3 hours.

The race itself really couldn’t have gone much better. Conditions were ideal with wind perhaps being the only issue on what is a supremely flat course. Having said that, the wind had noticeably eased over the weekend compared to what it was on Friday when I arrived. The route itself is effectively like a malformed figure of 8 with a large lower loop of roughly 25k with a shorter upper loop of 15k. The two loops are linked by the architecturally magnificent Erasmusbrug Bridge which is where the race starts and you run over it two times, once in either direction.

Stage 1: Settlement.

The first 10km or so of a marathon is all about finding a rhythm and settling into it. Ideally you will be behind your target pace at this point with plenty of energy left in the legs to push on later. This went without incident and I settled into a pack and cruised along.

Stage 2: Containment.

This stage is all about containing yourself and trying to exert as little energy as possible for as long as possible. Between 10–30km really shapes the race. Focus is needed to make sure that the group

you’re in aren’t dropping off the pace. If this happens then you need to be brave enough to push on alone and try catch the group in front. Where possible you nestle in with a group and let the pack do the work, especially in windy sections. I ran a good portion of this section with a Norwegian guy called Ole who was the absolute spits of one of the Ingebritsen Brothers. It turns out he is from the same village as them. We worked together here and pushed on when necessary. When we were crossing back over the bridge towards the northern loop I spotted a Bros Pearse singlet and struck up conversation with a guy called Andy Durcan. Unfortunately I lost Ole at this point but ran with Andy for the next 5km or so.

Stage 3: Survival.

The last stage is all about surviving. You are never going to get through a marathon without hitting a tough spot. In Rotterdam the worst part of the race also happens to be the part when you’re at your lowest ebb. From 30-40km you are effectively doing a loop of a park but there are no spectators whatsoever in this section and the field was completely spread out so there were no groups to work with. The 35–40km section seemed to go on forever before you eventually get back into the city and the crowds pick up again. With no groups around at this stage I just kept setting myself targets of trying to pick off individual runners. It’s very satisfying at 40km to be overtaking runners and it’s evidence that your own strategy has worked. The last 2km were great and similar to Dublin with regards to the crowd. My fastest km of the marathon was the last one which again was very satisfying. The home stretch is on a road called the Coolsingel which had a grandstand erected on either side with huge crowds roaring you on. With about two hundred metres to go I ended up side by side with my new pal Ole from earlier. A quick fist bump with him and we sprinted home together, both elated to be finished.

Throughout the race I had made a conscious decision not to look at elapsed time. Instead I worked off 5km lap splits and knew if I managed these correctly the rest would look after itself. When I looked at the clock crossing the finish line and saw 2 hours 43 I was chuffed. Everything came together on the day and I don’t believe I had anything else in me, especially given where I was earlier in the year with the injuries and even with the food poisoning still so fresh in the memory. It was a 6 minute pb and that in itself makes it worthwhile.

By complete chance I then bumped into Sadanand in the bag drop area afterwards whose recent good form had followed through and he ran a huge pb to finish in a very impressive 2.39. Sadanand has made massive progress this year and has had a few breakout performances. If he can keep up the rate of progression then who knows but there might be a threat to Mr Duffy’s marathon club record!

Overall it’s very hard to find any fault with the race. The organisation was top notch, the Expo was so efficient (in and out in 5 minutes), the course itself is very fair, and the conditions were picture perfect. After the race I went for a load of delicious pints with Andy from Bros Pearse where we joyously kept tabs on a different Norwegian called Ole who didn’t have quite as good a day as my mate from earlier. 5-0 to Liverpool and an upgrade to business class on the flight home. Things just kept getting better! Running a marathon is like managing Man Utd when Ole’s at the wheel. Just trust the process, he just needs time J

After a very long break cross country returned but not to the usual wet, mucky, cold, farmers field but to a very warm, sunny, Tymon Park. For the first time Sportsworld took on hosting a championship race and with 19 races it was going to be a long day. Thanks to all the help from club members everything was done on time and all the runners appreciated all the support around the course.

After all the junior races the ladies were up next with one of the largest fields ever for Dublin Novice. A number of ladies had their first Novice cross country on a fast 4Km course. I don’t think anyone was expecting the heat during the race and some were not even expecting the race either. There was some great performances but DCH came away with the top team with their top 4 runners all in the top 10.

Next up were the men in the 6km race and again there were a few first time cross country racers. The rabbits the night before did their best to dig up new challenges for the runners but like the ladies race it was almost like a road race the ground was so firm. Raheny was the dominate team in the men’s race with 3 of their runners in the top ten but local club Tallaght secured 2nd place.

Full results can be found below.

Click to access Novice%20Cross%20Country%20Women%20and%20Men%20Results%202021.pdf

The decision was made on June 29th. With the Dublin Marathon looking more and more unlikely, I decided to throw my hat in the ring for the Belfast Marathon. I felt in good shape and decided to challenge myself to do the longer distance. Training started that very day, and fast forward 12 weeks I found myself up north ready to race.The marathon was scheduled for 9am on Sunday, 3rd October, but truth be told it really started on Saturday. We arrived up on the train and headed straight for Ormeau Park to collect the race pack. We were met with a huge queue that barely moved at all. In total, we were two and half hours waiting in the line. By the time I reached the top I realised why. There were less than 10 volunteers, and they were working with pen and paper, manually checking everyone in. It didn’t make any sense why they wouldn’t send the numbers out in the post in advance. I’m sure plenty of people (like myself) would have paid extra for postage if it meant not having to be on our feet for hours in the cold.

Once we collected the race number, I tried to forget about it. There was no point dwelling on it, and it was time to rest up before the race itself.

The race itself started promptly at 9am at Stormont. The first 6 miles or so were on the roads heading from Stormont towards the city, before cutting through Ormeau Park. I met a couple of familiar faces who are regulars at Cabinteely Parkrun and chatting with them broke up the first few miles. After running through the park, we headed up Ormeau Road towards the city centre. Gabriel, my long-suffering supporter, was waiting patiently for me with supplies at mile 9 in front of City Hall. There were great crowds all around the city centre, creating a fantastic buzz. After that, we headed out of the city and into areas I wasn’t familiar with. We passed through both the Falls Road and the Shankill area before continuing on towards the Waterworks park. The rain was coming down as we ran through the park, passing the 20 mile sign, but that didn’t deter the supporters and they lined the footpaths all around the park. In terms of my own running, I didn’t feel great from early on but I continued on with a pace that was probably too fast. A lack of experience probably pushed me to keep running at a pace that I would normally do week in, week out, when actually I should have realised that on the day it just wasn’t right. The middle miles from around mile 10 to 15/16 were tough as I physically didn’t feel at my best and mentally was thinking about how many miles I still had to do. From mile 16 onwards, I was running at a steadier and slower pace and managed to get comfortable again.

Everyone says the marathon only starts at mile 20 but actually for me, despite the pain in the legs, this was probably where I was mentally at my sharpest. I kept telling myself there was less than an hour of running to go. As we approached the city again, I was more familiar with my surroundings and had a good idea of the course back to Ormeau Park. After passing the train station, we turned onto a tow path and it was a long straight run up to the bridge at Ormeau Park Road. At mile 23, I got a bit of a shock as we passed a man being given CPR on the side of the path. As we continued on past him, we met numerous volunteers, nurses etc., running towards him to assist. I believe an air ambulance arrived shortly afterwards and I can only hope that he is making a full recovery.

At the turn on the bridge, I spotted Gabriel waiting with a caffeinated gel and energy drink. I took both on straight away as we started the long run all the way up one side of the park, around the top and then almost all the way back down the Ormeau embankment on the other side of the park, before we finally saw the sign – “Mile 26”. Hallelujah!!

A wise man advised me at training recently not to sprint the final metres up to the finish line and to just enjoy it. I took that on board and as soon as I turned the corner into the park and saw the finish line, the pain went away, and I could finally smile and enjoy the moment. I spotted Gabriel again, gave a wave, and motored on towards the line where I threw my hands in the air in celebration.

Overall, there was a great buzz in the air both during the marathon and afterwards in Ormeau Park. There was fantastic support on the course – both from people cheering and the official and unofficial volunteers handing out everything from water, energy drinks and bananas to ham sandwiches and tea! The course itself was hilly in parts, with most of the downhills coming in the second half, although some were so steep that there was no respite.

A few days on from the marathon and I’ve had time to reflect on two of the questions people have asked me.

Would I do another marathon? 100%. I’m already looking forward to Dublin next year. I enjoyed the discipline of training and with the experience of having done one marathon, I know I could make some improvements next time both to the race itself and the training.

Would I enter Belfast again? No, not unless the organisation improved. The race itself was great and there was brilliant support, but the chaos of the race pack collection would put me off. There were also sections where I felt that cars were encroaching on the course – event management could definitely be improved.

The countdown to the Dublin Marathon 2022 starts now!