7.15 the alarm goes. I look out the window. Clouds. Great. Today is the 35th running of the Ronde Ceretane, a 20km hill run in an adjacent village. 8.45 on the warm up track, the clouds are breaking up and the temperature is 22c. I hear Emily shouting “get some strides in, get some strides in”. I duly oblige. 9.25 not a cloud to be seen and now 25c. The music and the crowd at the start are in great form. The first km is gently downhill. I hold back knowing from previous that the 3.5km hill is next. It quickly becomes obvious that doing 600’s and 800’s round Bushy is not quite sufficient training for running up hills. I struggle to the top. Judith by this stage is well out of sight. On the downhill I am frustratingly passed by those I bravely overtook on the uphill. As I complete the first lap I am lapped by 3 African gentlemen crossing the finish line. Commencing the hills for the 2nd time the heat takes its toll and I rapidly loose the will to run. I need Val’s encouragement! Negative thoughts like why am I doing this when I could be sitting having a grand crème in the local café, flash into my mind. I struggle to the finish where Judith awaits me with a welcome drink. She had had a great run improving her previous position by coming first in her catagory. Somehow I feel I won’t be collecting too many more Ronde Ceretane tee shirts.

    It was cold and dry. The perfect morning for a race. After a nice warm up we gathered on Springfield Avenue near Tesco for the start of the race and shortly after we were off. The first km is along Dodder Park Road and we then took a left up the hill towards Terenure village. We then turn up along Templeogue Road and then back down Springfield Avenue and finish at Rathfarnham Bridge. It’s not a flat course by any means but tends to lend itself to pb times. Today was no exception. There was just over 1130 entries in the race which attracts some top athletes each year. The chosen charity for this year was Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. There were serious performances by all of the Sportsworld participants. PBs all around. I was delighted with my time after knocking almost 2 minutes off my time from the same race last year. Well done to all and thank you to everyone who came out to support us on the morning. Sportsworld results are listed below and apologies if I have missed anyone.

18. Karol Cronin 15.35
58. Karl Chatterton 16.29
86. Wesley Harrison 17.12
87. Adam Moss 17.04

116.Denis McCaul 17.51
117. Will Martin Smith 17.53
129.Kieran Long 17.54
135.Conor Keating 18.08
152.Noreen Brouder 18.27
180.Ruth Kelly 19.07
202.David Kennedy 19.32
203.Neil Purdy 19.37
229.Karl Shevlin 20.07
233.Lorna Quinn 20.03
247.Louise Jackman 20.34
252.Patricia Fitzmaurice 20.42
253.Katie Nugent 20.40
261.Derrick Long 20.46
272.Caroline Conway 21.06
301.Will English 21.24
305.Andrew Murphy 21.11
336.Angela Keane 22.11
358.Lisa Singleton 22.36
368. Jessica Kennedy 22.40
410.Tim Murphy 23.38
460.Colin Kenny 24.21
553.David Ryan 25.39
649.Laurence Delair 27.19

When I heard “International”, I had something else in mind….

I did okay in my second ever half. It was the 2017 Dublin Rock n’ Rock (finishing in 1:39, a number which would haunt me), and so I registered for the same event in 2018 in an effort to beat my time. Not a huge ask considering I’m running more. Who’d have guessed The Pope’s visit would mean a major course reroute to include major hills, which I’ll blame for a major 4 minute slower run – disgusted!  I would have to go again this summer to find my PB, and some pride.

“Charleville”, said Maura “XCountry” Ginty. The “flattest, fastest half”, she said. “Roadtrip!”, she gushed. “We’ll stay with Shona.” Who could resist this infectious idea! “Get on the club email there Dee, and tell people we’re going” she said. “Get a big gang!”.

Sportsworld Participants: Maura, Deirdre, Gareth.

While most of our club togged out for the Dublin Half, Maura and I benefited from the club’s Regional Hospitality Network For Elite Athletes, with the very fine overnight accommodation in Castletroy of Shona Keane. The current Limerick marathon winner, Shona offers very comfortable lodgings and pre-race pep-talks over a fine feed of pasta.

The morning of, the conditions were perfect. Sunny, crisp, a little cold. I felt okay. No passports required on the lovely spin onto International Charleville, we parked up. Finishing my third half this year in Cork in June with yet another 1:39, I vowed to beat that.

The run itself I found okay, grand at times, mostly tough, but fair. Unusually, I managed to stay with the 1:35 pacers for a good chunk – though my particular 1:35 pace group finished in 1:33! Ehh? The course is definitely not pancake flat, and while the last 2 miles seem like an eternity, I was very pleased to finish 1:36:00 on the nose.

William was there supporting us, or maybe that was more to do with Siobhan, who came in second! Crona Brady was there too, supporting Mick, the overall 2nd place finisher. All ran brilliantly, as did Gareth with a terrific 74 mins and Maura too, subbing 90 and well on her return to her peak performances.

I love Maura’s attitude on raceday, her positivity, goodwill and her drive to improve, and my enjoyment of the day was as much to do with her as my solid PB. Here we are, seemingly joined at the hip, with even Rob Heffernan unnable to come between us.

Well done all in this ‘International’ race, and to the Dublin Half gang too.

Deirdre “Will.i.am” O’Connell

This past weekend whilst most of us were partying the night away the Berlin 6 were having a sleepless night before they took on the 26.2 miles on a memorable world record breaking day. If you missed it Eliud Kipchoge’s ran 2:01:39 a performance distance fans may be talking about for a long, long time. Unless Kipchoge himself betters the record, one would think his mark will stand for a long time as his 78-second destruction of the world record marked the biggest single drop in the men’s marathon world record in 51 years.

As time goes on, records are supposed to be harder and harder to break, but he destroyed the old mark. Alas I digress. A few of the runners from the club have written their own reports. Some great reading and times. Get your extra cup of coffee on a Friday and a few extra biscuits. Top of the bunch were Ciara and Martin with Sedanand hitting sub 3 and Diarmiud, Paul and Tom all running well.

Martin 

I woke at 05:30 that morning,breakfast at 6am then ready and off to the race. I arrived there about 7:20,so plenty of time to drop off my bag and find the starting area.  There is 8 starting groups broke up in letters A-H.I was in group D, 3-3:30hrs finish.  There was a separate path for each group to their coral.It moved smoothly and well organised. Anxious not to get hemmed  back to far to far in the group I got up the front at 8:15,an hour before the start.It filled up quite quick,but an hour wait standing there felt forever.

So this is the fastest flattest marathon course in the world.I didn’t know what really to expect and was very anxious to try make the most of the opportunity. In Dublin last year I played it safe and stuck with a pacer most of the way.Today I was on my own not really knowing what I could achieve or how fast or slow I could pace the race. I decided to aim high and just see what happens. 9:15 the gun is heard and a huge wave of people move slowly forward over the mat.I could see the 3hr pacer about 300m in-front of me in the the crowds.This seemed to make me panic a bit as I need to definitely be in front of him.  The first 5k was really packed tight with little room to move.I checked my Garmin and was happy

With my progress of just over 19 mins but my heart rate was souring,I needed to settle down a little. Onwards to 10k still caught up with excitement and over eagerness to push on I reached it at 39 min.Heart rate still high but I didn’t feel I was pushing hard. There are water stations with cups every couple of kms. I made sure to hydrate at each one. On to the 10 mile at 62 min still happy enough doing calculations over and over in my head of what I could achieve. The course has a lot of long straights of wide streets that can feel like you are not making much progress and are tempted to surge in from time to time,which is not a good idea.I found it hard to find a group that were sticking to a steady pace.  Half way point 1:22,I thought great still on track.As we passed through the check point people started picking up the pace, I thought I’d slowed and got caught up with this mass move,then around 26k it hit me!

Between the heat and some fatigue the pace I was finding easy suddenly started to feel a bit more strenuous. I pushed on the the 32km thinking 10k left,I’ll get second wind and push it in. Second wind never came and mentally I was finding it tough as I could see my ambitious time slipping away. I just started counting down the kms one at a time, giving 100% effort but not getting the pace for the effort.
My breathing was fine but just hadn’t got the power to go any quicker. Trying to feed off the crowd I found I just couldn’t connect  with them, they seemed distant compared to previous marathons. Onwards I pushed really finding it to be a struggle, constantly look for the Brandenburg gate as a sign I was close to the finish. The last km you turn and a long straight run through the gate to the finish. With it in sight I picked up a little an gave it one last push. I was there 2:51:23. I was never so happy to be finished a race. I found it the longest marathon I’ve done. Maybe it was the long straights and lack of variety,it felt like running on a treadmill for 3hrs at pace! I may of started off too anxious and over reached from the start. Still you gotta try. End of the day it was a pb and a learning experience !

Diarmuid Ó Súilleabháin

Berlin is one of my favourite places to see in the world. Its history, its left wing spirit, it’s music, and built fabric have fascinated me for a long time. The marathon here is a massive event. This year they would have 44,000 runners, and Eliud Kipchoge had made his intentions clear that he would be trying to break the world record. I had run it in the past and really enjoyed it, so I was very happy when my application was accepted last December.

Convinced by arguments read during my research and nerdery of running, I decided to make some changes to my training for the marathon and include strength and conditioning training, and also train more by heart rate.

First of all I started going to a strength and conditioning for runners class on Friday mornings before work. I’ve really enjoyed this class and I would recommend you to give it a go if you think you might like it. It took awhile for me to start feeling the effects of it but after a few months I definitely felt that I was stronger in races, recovering faster, and that I no small niggles any more.

Secondly I went to Trinity to get my lactate threshold (LT) and V02 max tested. You’re lactate threshold is important when it comes to the marathon as you run just below the ceiling of this point of lactic acid generation for the duration race if you do it right. Increasing you LT should allow for improvements in your time at marathon, half marathon, and 10 mile distances. I have never targeted improving my LT I know that it is something that I will need to get a handle of with my future training.

At the end of the test I was given my training zones based on my heart rate and a program which I intended to follow as best I could until Berlin. In retrospect, it takes a long time to see improvements from this and 3 months before a marathon isn’t really enough time to see the real benefit of it and is something one needs to do over a longer time.

Come race day I was feeling good, I thought that I had prepared pretty well and the conditions were favourable. Come the start of the race I settled into the first few kilometers alright. I stuck to my plan of going out a little slower and then speeding up. From 3k onwards I started to get into it but before long I could feel that I really wasn’t getting up to where I should have. I pushed ahead hoping that that feeling would pass. Coming up to the half way point, I could feel I was pushing more than I should’ve been and once I went through 15 miles I realized that I was going to blow up if I didn’t cool my pace as I felt like as was at mile 22. I ended up spluttering through the last 10 miles and stumbled in at 3:17. I’ve no idea what went wrong, but there you go. When things don’t go the right way for you in a 5k you might be 30 seconds off goal. In a marathon you get to have the abyss stare back at you.

After the finish line outside the Reichstag I was very happy to meet Sadanand, Ciara, and Martin who all had terrific races. All of whom made a big improvement in their marathon time.

Paul 

After Dublin and Paris, Berlin was my third marathon adventure. We arrived on Saturday and went straight to the expo. Expo’s aren’t really my thing but if they are then you won’t be disappointed as there were plenty of things to see, try and buy.

Race day was fantastic experience even if I didn’t have the race I wanted.

A couple of things stood out to make it a memorable starting naturally enough with the start itself. It had the best atmosphere I have witnessed at a race start. The music, the introduction of the elite runners and the sheer volume and noise of people built the tension and the excitement.

Once you set of though, as I found as in Paris, you could be in any city in the world as you are concentrating on the race itself. There was good support from the Irish in the crowd and the Germans themselves, but I would have to say that nothing so far has compared to the support and atmosphere you get in the Dublin Marathon from your home crowd.

As for my race the first 36km were all going to plan and then I just fell off a cliff and struggled home.

As I said the start of the marathon was the best start I had witnessed but the finish was even better. You turn a corner with about a kilometer to go and in the distance the Brandenburg Gate rises to meet you and once you get through the gate the finishing 400m is a wall of noise. I managed to pick out my wife in the crowd who was having a great time cheering all the runners.

However by far and away the best element of the experience was being able to share it with my fellow Sportsworlders before and after the race.

We spent the next couple of days as tourists and Berlin is such a cool city. We did a cycling tour the next day with the Sportsworld team, which was great fun, and I would recommend. Other places to visit if you are in Berlin that I would recommend are:

1. DDR Museum – A cool interactive museum that shows you what life was like in old East Germany.
2. Topography of Terror – A look at the crimes of the SS. It really is terrifying to see what humans are capable of and you can draw parallels to what is happening around the world today
3. Klunkerkrainch – A really cool rooftop bar (too cool and hip for me). You have to go through a shopping center and walk through a parking lot to get there but it is worth it.

Also make sure you eat plenty of Currwurst and Kebabs. I would recommend the Berlin Marathon to anyone. It’s an iconic race in a great city and even better if you can share it with club mates and friends.

Tom

Late Friday evening I arrived in to Tegel airport (which makes Dublin’s Terminal 1 look like the Taj Mahal) and began the 40 minute drive/train ride to the hotel.

Noticing how smooth the journey was brought home how famously flat the Berlin course is.

The next morning I headed south to a different Berlin airport, Tempelhof, where the marathon expo was being held.

It’s a massive venue with lots of history and a WW2 Allied Troop Carrier plane on the runway but the expo itself was probably too spread out over the numerous hangers.

There is more than enough provided for pre-race fuelling/preparation (Gels, electrolyte tablets, tapes) and post-race merchandise (t-shirts, hoodies, jackets, shoes…).

After the expo the rest of the day was spent wandering the streets, watching the Liverpool Spurs match with Paul and Tina beside Checkpoint Charlie and then carb loading with Diarmuid, Adrian and Paul in the Mall of Berlin food court.

Race day:

There was a long walk to the bag drop area entering Tiergarten Park by the Brandenburg Gates. Wave sections were already crowded 40 minutes beforehand.

The start line was one of the best I’ve seen right by the Victory column in the center of the Tiergarten with the music blaring and the excitement at fever pitch.

Once the race got started it was pretty packed for the first 10km (note: try to aim for a wave of A-E for less crowded) so it was tough to get in to a rhythm.

It was hard to take in much initially as you were just concentrating on the feet of the runners in front of you but it soon opened up.

There were three lines along the route which indicated the most efficient way to run the course so this helped to cut out the additional meters usually clocked up during a marathon.

After 30km I began to struggle and slowed up so just tried to take in a bit more of the sights and support looking forward to that turn in to the Brandenburg Gates to the finish line.

The good:

Lots of international and local support along the route.

Flat course (concentration needed and a few long flat runs for training).

Very scenic and impressive start and end to the race.

Nice to share the race with World Record setting Eliud Kipchoge.

The bad:

Quite a few spectators crossed the road during the race bumping in to runners (myself included).

The water stops were crowded with plastic cups that were dropped in the middle of the road and could be a slipping hazard.

Overall disappointed with the time but enjoyed the marathon race experience as always and could now concentrate on exploring the tourist attractions around Berlin.

Well done to all the Sportsworld runners(Ciara, Sadanand, Paul, Martin, Diarmuid and Adrian) – a great representation this year.

We had a nice night out afterwards and enjoyed a 4 hour cycling tour of the city at 11am on Monday to loosen up J

A parting comment.

The next morning when walking/shuffling along to get some breakfast I got talking to a fellow marathoner(Peter from London) who mentioned that Berlin was the 128th he’s run.

Of those, 60 have been with a replacement hip, so there’s the motivation for those of you considering but haven’t run a marathon yet 😉

I am not sure who will want to read about a 5k in Drogheda the same week the Berlin marathon reports are hot off the press. But it has been a long time since I wrote a race report so I may as well give you the back story.

In 2017 I developed a race phobia. Maybe it was a race report phobia actually? Anyway unless I felt I was gunning for a pb, there was zero wind or the course was as flat as a football field, I was not signing up. Oh and I also had to feel in top form, had trained hard, slept well and tapered perfectly. So no surprise it was July when I finally toe’d the line in the Docklands 5k. The resulting DNF was not the acronym I was hoping for. With confidence shattered, that was my one and only road race of the year.

So I came in to 2018 with changes in mind. The plan was to commit to the club sessions, run more easy miles and return to the weekly LSR. Basically do everything that Myles & Emily had been prescribing all along! And also I was going to race more. Whatever the conditions or fitness levels or moon cycle, I was going to show up.

So in keeping with the plan, I wanted to squeeze in a 5k before the big one at the end of the month. I scanned myrunresults calendar and the Boyne AC 5k popped up. Facebook said a “flat fast paced course” and Google maps clocked the journey at 40 minutes. The course was a lap and two thirds (different start/finish points). No one likes lapping but it looked straight forward and the new me has stopped searching for perfection so “Sign me up!”.

A 12 noon start meant there was no early morning rush. The journey up the M1 flew by and I was directed off the M1 and straight to the club house in lots of time for a warm up. I am not sure what qualifies as a fast flat course in Drogheda. “Undulating hills” might be more apt. I got a few easy miles in followed by some (downhill) strides and made my way to the start line.

The buzzer sounded just after 12 and we climbed immediately followed by a long and bumpy downhill. I stayed in the lead pack of 5 and we motored over the hills for the first 1.5km before turning a corner to face the wind and the start of the climbs. Now I will be honest, if I was to go back up and run this course without the race pressure, I may downgrade the terrain classification but senses are heighted at race pace and the smallest incline can intensify in the mind. 2km in, I was safely tucked away from the headwind, clipping the heels of the 4th place chap. But he started to feel the pace or else he wanted me off his tail – either way I had to man up and overtake. At this point we were passing the start finish line on lap 1 so there were cheers from the crowd, which does help pass a few hundred metres. After that I knew the hills were coming. I tried to keep the stride going for as long as possible before switching to the duck step. It mightn’t look pretty but it does give the legs some temporary relief. It wasn’t long until the 4km marker and I was running downhill again, albeit with less grace & more desparation than the first lap. I tried to stay calm, get control of the breathing and keep the pace without the effort. This served me well and I started closing on second place. With 400 metres to go, he was close but a glance over the shoulder & step on the gas kept me rooted in third.

It took me a while to realise that races are not about pb’s or flat courses or head winds but it is about giving everything you have got, on the day. I crossed the line knowing I had done just that. After catching my breath, I made it back down the course to cheer on Audrey who is still learning what running is all about. I was delighted to witness her shave a few seconds off her personal best on a tough course.

The race was well organised with a pre and post race goodie bag, a massive spread in the clubhouse afterwards and cash prizes for all age categories. While not a fast 5k, I would definitely recommend it and hope to be back next year.

So roll on Rathfarnham and for those who are still with me, I can offer you this advice…

– Keep up the easy miles
– Don’t neglect the Sunday long run
– Race regularly and often
– Listen to Myles & Emily
– Finally & most important, enjoy the process!

It’s now Thursday afternoon and I have a gnawing sense of guilt regarding a Gareth text at 8am Monday morning looking for a race report.

Figuring it would take me as long to write my excuse to him, and I would still probably need to avoid him for the first half of Saturday night, decided to just give in and plug down a few words.  Oh, what price strava kudos?!!!

Anyhow, I am back home in Mayo a fair bit and there is a fairly active running club scene there – lots of club races but to date, I hadn’t been able to attend any.  So I saw the “Castlebar Greenway 10 miler” hosted by Mayo AC  and said I would give it a bash.

It’s the inaugural year and it really suits people from the West training for marathon who don’t want hassle of travelling too far to Dublin for a race.

As you would generally expect from a club race, the organisation was exceptional – plenty stewards, water stops, great feed afterwards, instant results and 2 timing mats (the second was at half way point so you could track exactly your positive split – mine was 3.5 minutes which is some going for a 10 miler!).

I learnt that castlebar doesn’t actually have a community centre so the registration was in An Sportlann which is attached to McHale park, the GAA grounds.  I have only ever been there on crowed match days so I had a proper wander around at registration and for one item alone, this place and race is worth attending… one of the famed Mayo footballers from the 1950s Mick Flanagan has his medals on display and in the middle of them all a Mayo All Ireland winners medal from 1951!  To be honest, that is actually the only picture I took of my whole Castlebar 10 miler adventure.  I was actually quite shook by the modesty of it.

Anyhow – the race…

Met a few people who when they saw me said “you’ll win this” which I found completely disconcerting especially as Colette Tuohy was warming up and another good few club type runners.  Anyhow I took them at their word and decided to try and stay with the lead women, make the morning interesting.  I’m not in PB shape (though not for want of trying) so didn’t care too much about time – as long as I was sub 70.

So for the first half of the race there was a pack of us: me, Colette and eventual winner Emma with a few lads.  I felt comfortable enough but looking at my km pace suspected it was too fast and I wouldn’t be able to sustain it.  Anyhow sucker for drama, I decided to persevere.

The race was out and back along castlebar greenway out to Turlough village –which is where the National Museum of Country Life is (currently hosting the National Treasures exhibition).  I actually didn’t even know this greenway existed so useful for a run if you are ever stuck in Castlebar for a few hours (which I somehow tend to be). The museum has good coffee shop/Sunday lunch spot.  Lough Lannagh is another area in castlebar for a run.

This greenway is not flat and in particular around Turlough village there are some sharp hills.  I hadn’t done any hill sessions for a while and this defo impacted my confidence approaching hills but most obviously, it impacted my speed.  So sensing my reticence,  Emma and her companion took off, followed a few minutes later by Colette and the rest of the gang.  Left for dust, I had a lonely turnaround at Turlough and knew I would be on my own into a breeze (which explained the speedy first half) for the remainder of the race.  Anyhow, blah blah dig deep, suffer blah.. I got to the finish line in time of 69:19 which is nearly 3 minutes off my PB but 11 minutes off my PW – so I suppose I gotta be happy enough.  Met my family after and the only thing they were interested in was the picture of the 1951 medal.  There is only one dream in Mayo!!

Lured here by the promise of scenery and muffins we arrive to the Lakes around 10 am.  The rain has cleared and we’re left with a watery grey morning, a cool 16 degrees and no breeze.  These are perfect conditions for a run.

Neither Conor, Sandra or myself are hell bent on a warm up.  En route we’ve passed Gareth and Karol out the road doing their routines and it looks a bit intense.  Instead we put down the time by asking a man who’s trying to put on his runners to take a picture of us with the lake.

Then there’s a meander down to collect our numbers (seamless) and visit the portaloos (which are of a particularly high standard, just short of having elevator music).   The smiling faces of Val, Anne, Phil and Lorna all materialize from the assembled runners and Myles appears offering some welcome support.  Between chats and photos, before you know it, it’s “go” time and there’s been no warm up.

Warm-up faux pas aside, I’ve put a lot of thought into this race.  Having read several of Gareth Murran’s race reports I realise it’s important to have a strategy in place.  So I’ve studied the elevation map and consulted veterans (i.e. Aoife:  “There’s a big hill at kilometre 6/7 but after that you’ll be laughing.”)  The plan is to keep as close to my “still breathing” pace of 5 minutes per km for the first 6kms, to just keep going on the hill and then for the last 3km run headlong towards the muffins.

Registering for this back in July, on the back of getting around two races with virtually no training, I resolved that if I could just up my training a few hundred percent to like, 3 times a week, I could achieve my ambition to break 50 minutes in a 10k and be done with that hateful distance for good.  My gruelling training regime since then (no need to take notes, I’ll send ye on the power point slides) has included, inter alia, running one and a half times up Mount Anville hill and numerous circuits around a field of bewildered sheep down in Tipp.  Pay off came with a big PB at the Rock and Roll 10k in August but it turns out that training doesn’t really suit me and, in the week up to this race, I’m creaking like a broken gate with niggles (real or imaginary) from my right shoulder to my left ankle.

In spite of the meticulous planning I’m nearly 2km into the race before I realise I’ve forgotten to turn on the watch.  There’s momentary dismay that that 8 minutes of my running life will never be synced to Strava but this is no time for a meltdown.   The first 2km of the route is bordered by trees.  10k is a lonely distance; short enough to need hard effort but too long to hold concentration.   It took a supreme effort to break 50 minutes a few weeks back I’m reluctant to let it go and yet neither body nor mind are hungry for the exertion today.    I fall into step with a non-sportsworld pal who I know is also aiming for a sub 50.   Around the 2k mark Lorna Quinn, who rumour has it is just back from injury, glides by at a steady pace.  Happily, I’m aware that Lorna could probably outrun me on crutches so I just stay chugging away.

The road opens up a bit.  There’s no crowding, there are glimpses of the lake now and there’s not a lot of movement in the race.    My legs feel heavy but every time this thought creeps in I remind myself how lucky I am to be able to do this, focus on the scenery and breathe.  Though I’m running alongside my pal both of us are working hard and there’s no chat.  Then it’s the halfway mark, signalled by a water stop and a noticeable turn at the top of the lake.  We’re over half way now but I’m aching and tired and wishing the infamous hill would just come.  When it does ( wonderfully signposted, as is all the course),  I’m so relieved to be this far along that I don’t worry too much about the hill itself.  Just stay going and don’t use it all up.  There’s a sharp decline thereafter and I make the mistake of breaking into my pre-planned Muffin gallop and going down too quickly.  It’s something I’ve done in all my races this year, looking for cheap gains from the downhill but today the impact reverberates up my limbs and jostles my stomach and by the time I get to the bottom I feel nauseous.  After that, there’s not the gradual decline that I’d expected but rather a slight incline from about 8.5 kilometres compounded by a light breeze into our faces.  So the muffin run idea gets shelved and there’s really no plan B except to stay going.  Then it’s the last 500 and, the welcoming sound of Myles cheering us home.  I realise only then that Sandra Kelly is close behind and gaining on me.  She steams by with about 200 metres to go and I have no response in the tank.  But it has been enough to scape a tiny PB on the big PB of August so that’s a satisfying reward to an unwisely overreaching effort on the day.

While I’ve been close to death to get sub 50 Karol has rumbled in in 5^th place with a time of 33:31 followed by Phil and a “jogging” Gareth both in under 36 minutes.

What do you mean you were jogging?

After collecting our medals and goodie bags we reconvene for the essential 2 hour coffee and lunch session and the good company and chats put things right with the world again.

It was the first of September, a day I’ll always remember: that was the day that my Sportsworld singlet died…

The Venue: Tallaght Track.

The Event: Sportsworld Club Championships.

The Races: 1,500m individual men and women, 400m team relay.

The Goal: shine like a star.

The Old Mantra: ‘You can lose fitness but you can’t lose talent’ (Byrne, Joseph. 2001. – sorry, just finished my doctorate and have developed an addiction of formally citing people’s quotes).

The New Mantra: if you have less talent, compensate with fitness.

Disclosure: The events recounted in this report are based less rigidly on actual facts and more loosely on how I interpret them; any levels of realism can rise as well as fall, please read responsibly.

Event 1: Women’s 1,500m

This was a great race for the spectator. Like a group of lean, graceful leopards on the Serengeti Plains, they lined up – the crème de la crème of Sportsworld female athletes gathered on a misty morning track just outside of Tallaght village.

It was a tight contest for the first three laps with Maria Jones (more about her later) closely tracked by Ruth Kelly, Stephanie Bergin and Deirdre O’Connell (yes, the sister of the famous Paul O’Connell). Looking equally comfortable, not far behind the leaders was my great 400m team captain Naoise Waldron, and in the second group were Sinead Farrell, Jessica Kennedy and Val Power.

With the bell chiming in their ears, the lead pack opened up with Maria putting the boot down, but Ruth was not giving up for anybody. Watching them fly past me on the 100m bend, it was not clear which of the two to bet my lunch money on for first and, likewise, the battle for third and fourth spot was being fought out between Steph and Deirdre.

Taking the ribbon, however, was Maria in 5:26, a very respectable time considering she spent most of the summer months recovering from injury; Ruth took second with 5:33; Stephanie third with 5:40; and Deirdre a close runner-up with 5:48.

The honours don’t end there, though, as Val Power took gold in the over-45 category with a time of 6:22, Anna Carrigan took silver for the same age group with 7:15 and Irene O’Connor rocked home in 7:05 to take gold in the over-50s. Well done to all 13 ladies who took part in the race, your times are recorded and listed below!

Event 2: The Men’s 1,500m

There were literally LOADS of us. There was a broad range of categories: under 35s, over 35s, well-over 35s and those-who-can’t-even-remember-when-they-were-35s.

This was truly a loaded field; big names, some with county, national, international and Olympic medals under their belts, like Gareth Murran, Karol Cronin, Michael Cunningham, Martin Keenan, Timothy Morahan and myself ‘most improved athlete of the year (2005)’. There was no gun-start, not even a ‘3-2-1’, just a ‘on the line…go’; this rattled me for a second and I never quite caught up with the boys again.

I took it handy for the first lap: I stayed with (the great) Paul Cassidy. I thanked him for his company and pushed on.

Next targets: Karl Chatterton, Wesley Harrison and Martin Keenan. I would have caught them no problem if they hadn’t had paid the other 30 athletes to block me in a finely spread-out and well-orchestrated group. Smashing into the third lap I set my sights on others like David Sanders (sprint specialist), Liam Lenehan (1^st home in the 400m relay), Neil Purdy (marathon man), Paul Duffy (club record holder for the marathon 2hrs29mins), and the young and up-and-coming Thomas Lyster.

Meanwhile up at the front, Gareth was using all his track experience to fend off the relentless attacks from Karol as they came into the last 200 metres (I didn’t actually witness this personally as they were about to lap me!). Gareth managed to do just about enough to keep Karol from getting his name on the silverware this year romping home in 4:20 with the primary school teacher settling for second place, a silver star and a two-second difference.

Michael, also running some very good races this season, was entertaining a consistently solid performer Karl who, likewise, was under a touch of healthy pressure from Brian Byrne, Adam Moss and the Talented Mr. Stephen O’Donnell. The Chairman, almost in a photo-(shop) finish, shaved third place in 4:29 and, in a blink of an eye later, Karl crossed the line in 4:30, followed closely by Brian (4:32), Adam (4:33) and Stephen (4:37).

As you all know, runners tend to suffer from amnesia in races and, as such, I don’t remember much of mine. However, I do recall booting around the final bend with an ambitious target: to catch the new man Thomas Lyster in the home straight. This, despite my best efforts, remained just that, an ambitious target, as, upon hearing my grunting get closer, this young man found another gear and out-kicked me, crossing the line (a mere) one second (or even less) ahead of me in 5:55. I didn’t mind, however, as this rising star went on to win a medal in his category so well done Thomas, I’ll see you next year!

The honours for the male athletes of the Sportsworld Track Championships 2018 in the 1,500m event are as follows:

• Gareth Murran: overall winner and undisputed Club Champion for 2018.
• Karol Cronin: overall second place and man behind the boo’s at Gareth’s prize-giving.
• Michael Cunningham: overall third place and still the Chairman of the club.
• Wesley Harrison: 1^st over 40 (4:40)
• Justin McKeever: 2^nd over 40 (4:53)
• Ronan Masterson: 3^rd over 40 (5:17)
• Martin Keenan: 1^st over 45 (4:48) – they say that this man now has more gold around his neck than Mr. T.
• Don José Chapa: 2^nd over 45 (5:27)
• Alan Hynes: 3^rd over 45 (5:30)
• Ed McEntee: 1^st over 50 (5:15)
• Joe Byrne: 2^nd over 50 (5:26)
• Noel Lynam: 3^rd over 50 (6:02)
• Liam Lenehan: 1^st over 55 (5:39)
• Derek Long: 2^nd over 55 (5:52)
• Don’t know who: 3^rd over 55
• Timothy Morahan: 1^st Newcomer (4:43)
• Donal Brennan: 2^nd Newcomer (5:12)
• Thomas Lyster: 3^rd Newcomer (5:55)

Event 3: the 400m Team Relay

This was the big one. This was what all the sunny Saturday morning track sessions, scones and coffees of the summer were leading up to.

Even though Naoise was our team captain, I knew everyone was calling us ‘The Dave Clarke Four’. Diarmuid led our campaign out and what a man to do it; the architect sailed around the opening lap getting us off to a very decent start, tapping our ‘Captain Naoise’ off to an equally inspiring second lap. Then, well, it was me.

According to Conor Kenny and Aileen Melody, I disappeared down the track like Shergar with my eyes fixed on another great Irish racing legend – a man renowned for getting great wear out of a Sportsworld singlet – Joe Byrne. He had, I reckon, about 100 metres on me as Naoise slapped my hand. No bother, I was nearly on his shoulder by 200 metres but something strange hit me and I just couldn’t pass. I told myself it was a physiological issue like ‘lactic acid build-up in elite athlete fatigue disorder’ but I knew it was really a socio-psychological problem: a much too deep respect for my elders.

Anyway, little did I know that another (much more recently developing) legend of the club was chasing me down (what an honour!). No need for names here but suffice it to say she has fair hair, blue eyes, is very fast, appeared on the front cover of The Irish Runner, is from Tipperary, her star sign is… (leave that with me) and she had just won the ladies 1,500m.

Picture the scene (at least in my head): tens of spectator-fans gathered around the track roaring us on; ‘We are the Champions’ blasting from their iPhone speakers, and this famous female athlete preying on my shoulder as we enter the final bend. I held steady for a millisecond, looked her deep in the eye, gave her the Eamon Coughlan salute and – BOOM!!! – I was gone! I ran so fast up the home straight that most of the letters on my singlet fell off and I feared my bottom limbs would soon meet with a similar fate.

I crossed the line (some said ‘like a charging elephant’ – but jealousy does funny things to your competition) after passing one or two other bemused fellow club mates – I only managed to stop myself by deploying my parachute. Even a track legend of yesteryear Michael O’Grady (ex-scholarship runner in the States) was clearly impressed, eating his prawn sandwich and watching on from the VIP section.

Somehow I managed to return to this side of the sound barrier and tap Declan Brady as certain members of other teams contested hotly to officials about my ‘Hand of God’ – whatever! Unhinged by the critics, the man Bolted into a great last lap for us and continued on up the back straight morphing into a hair-raising, X-factor winning, Mo Farah impression, securing another couple of places for ‘Team DC’ and bringing us nicely home in ninth place overall.

Hats off, though, to Liam Lenehan, who peaked at precisely the right time in his career and ran as much a tactically sound as a heroically impressive 400m to arrive first across the line fisting the air in victory (mental note: get Dave Trimble to do up a couple of bouquets for next year).

The honours for the Sportsworld Track Championships 2018 in the 400m team relay event are:

1^st Place: Andrew Brett, Jessica Kennedy, Liam Lenehan, Andrew Brett (ran two legs)

2^nd Place: Gareth Murran, Noel Lyneham, Stephanie Bergin, Mark Heffernan.

3^rd Place: Will Martin Smith, Donal Brennan, Ian Harrison, Val Power.

Finally, A Lap of Honours

But all competitive-seriousness aside, it was a truly fantastic morning for the club: I could see everybody buzzing after the race, lots of congratulating and the odd bit of good-humoured banter and slagging and good craic. Let’s now do a lap of honours together and thank the various people who made it happen.

I know it’s often said that behind every great man, there is a great woman. Well, behind this great event and, by extension, behind our club, is both a great man and a great woman of equal measure: Myles and Emily.

They put so many hours of methodical planning into this event, not to mention each and every Tuesday and Thursday evening and Saturday morning session with one uniting goal in mind: our improvement.

No matter how cold, wet or windy it is, they will always be out there to support and guide you in Bushy Park, the Pheonix Park, the Track, Kiltipper…

Thanks also to our two beautiful and bubbly tea ladies Ellen and Sean who kept the refreshments flying out. Thanks also to those who helped out pre-, during- and post-races around the finish line and beyond: Anna Delaney, Ceoimhe Daniels, Ann Higgins, (‘The Queen of Connemara’) Lucy Darcy, Adrian Lannigan, Conor Kenny, Aileen Melody, and Michael O’Grady.

Roll on 2019 and another chance to lead my team mates to podium glory…