The Wind that Shakes the Barley: Kinsale Regatta 5 Mile

Friday 4th August 2017

By Diarmuid Ó Súilleabháin

On a showery and sunny and then showery and sunny again evening on the Friday of the August Bank Holiday weekend a few of us find ourselves in Ireland’s food capital to build up an appetite for ourselves.

(Race route)

The rolling landscape around Kinsale and its patchwork of deep green fields of grass and ripe golden grains made for the backdrop for this hilly race. Starting at the top of the town the route works its way outward to the tidal estuary of the River Bandon and then following the river back into the town again. Scenery at the start and then the atmosphere sprinting through narrow medieval streets to the finish.

(Paul taking it out)

A gentle breeze and light rain made for reasonably good conditions. I’d struggled in the heat in the other races earlier in the summer, so the conditions were welcome. The race started at a fast pace, our own Paul O’Connell taking it out and quickly disappeared from sight. The small number of runners meant that we weren’t being dragged along by a group, and you couldn’t sit on someone’s shoulder, so one had to focus and push a bit harder than normal.

(Denis and I, what time is it?)

I’d paced myself well enough but was struggling coming to the end of the race and knew I was slowing but roughly on target. On entering the town I knew the finish was near. The shouts of encouragement from the people was great. I came across Paul on the final straight who gave a good shout and gave me a good boost. Coming to cross the line I saw the 29 on the clock and gave a shout, a long time goal finally achieved.

(Final Straight)

Denis who the week before had a great weekend of running, breaking 5 minutes for the mile and winning his first Parkrun, finished strongly as the 4^th master. After catching our breaths and taking on some water, the important business of interrogating the après race spread was undertaken with gusto. Hunger sated, glycogen stores restocked.

(Denis flying it)

It was only when attempting the warm down jog back to the car did the effects of the legs pounding themselves on the hill presented itself; ouch. Took a few days to recover from, but more than happy with the day out.

8^th         Paul O’Connell 27:42
15^th       Diarmuid Ó Súilleabháin 29:50
26^th       Denis McCaul 31:08 (4^th Master)

A video of the finish was uploaded by Cork Athletics to Vimeo; https://vimeo.com/228466541.

For many first-time visitors to New York, New York equals Manhattan. But just a couple of subway stops across the river lies a whole other delicious world that deserves your exploration. So set aside a day to take a tour of Brooklyn when visiting New York. Having traveled to Brooklyn 9 times in the past year I feel like I could produce their next tourism video.

I’m no stranger to running in Brooklyn. As far back as 2010 I would stay with friends and run around the 5.92-kilometer loop in prospect park. Brooklyn’s answer to Central Park, Prospect Park contains a zoo, an Audubon center and the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Its entrance is marked by a large Memorial Arch and it is a mecca for exercise lovers who go running, cycling and to watch the world go by on a beautiful summers evening.

When in Brooklyn I always stay in the same hotel and get up at 5 am so I can catch some of the work day in Dublin before going to meet the New York clients at 9.30. At the moment I’m working on an accessible taxi program for wheelchair users in the city which means long days and tiring taxi rides to all parts of the city. Getting the run in at 5.30 AM is a necessity because it probably won’t happen in the evening due to other commitments and excessive humidity.

The morning of 19 July 2017 was no exception I did my usual 1.5 laps of the laps and back which ticks my OCD tendencies at 12K on the button. Even on a slow day I can cover 12K in an hour sometimes going up to 14 if all cylinders are firing. At 5.35 I was sitting in the client’s office thinking to myself that I may not make this race tonight. Registration closes at 6.30 and I have to go back to the hotel to change.

At 5.51 I hear the magic words “lets pick this up in the morning” I dashed out the door and hailed a ride back to the hotel. Frantically pushing the buttons on the hotel lift I was back on the street at 6.11 leaving the hotel room in an almighty mess. I had almost 19 minutes to cover the 2.3K to the registration point. New York is warm in the summer months and tonight was no exception 94 degrees and very very humid. when the locals are saying how crazy warm it is the pale Irish guy goes overlooked on the start line.

The race itself started off on the only real uphill part of the course. I made a conscious decision to go out on the first uphill mile at 10K pace and it paid off. After 1 mile I felt like I had just run 10K and 10 or guys in front of me already looked to be struggling. With a naturally long stride, I love the downhill and as the course switched from uphill to downhill I started to put the rubber to the floor and coming into the last K there were only 2 guys in front. Pausing for a few seconds to gather myself I started to pick up the pace. At the 600M to go mark, I was on the shoulder of the leading runner with his buddy on the sideline shouting “don’t let him go past you” closely followed by “stay with him”. With 400M to go, I could see the finish line and the time on the clock. I managed to put 18 seconds on the guy in second and run 16.52.

Not a time to remember in years to come but a good win none the less. It’s always satisfying to get your tactics correct and get the win. This was the 5th of 8 in a summer series so I would love to make another on a cooler day. For the most part the race felt like a 10K effort with a fast finish.

After the race it was on to Denver Colorado to visit the running mecca of Boulder and run in the mile high city. An amazingly beautiful place taht I will be sure to visit again soon. After the 4 days of altitude training (slow running) I’m  down to do the national half for the first time in 7 years.   Have that Masters bug!

Report by Eoin O’Brien

Photos by Noel Tobin

So my time as finally come. After explicitly telling Grainne Lynch on Thursday afternoon that Sportsworld race singlets do have to be worn for this event; I rocked into the Liberties sporting a grey number. I was never getting away with not writing this race report. Do as I say not as I do.

That smile was soon wiped off my face

I had packed my singlet but it doesn’t leave much to the imagination these days, and with a 7.45pm race start, it was still well before the 9pm watershed to have me running around in that thing in public.

Picking up Andrea McNamara who works up the road to me, it was obvious my reign of race report terror has crept into people’s unconsciousness as she was wearing her race singlet getting into the car. It transpired she actually wore into the courts that morning for fear of forgetting it and be writing this piece in my place.

We ended up parking in the first spot we saw, only after I insisted on a 20min recon of Kilmainham looking for a better spot closer to the start. I’m a runner not a walker. Andrea spotted a café on the course and suggested we just hang out there and cheer everyone on as the go by instead.  Finally realising she was just joking I cancelled by skinny latte order, much to the annoyance of the barista, and followed her up the road.

The Liberties Fun Run is a great little race starting and finishing in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham with all proceeds going to St James Hospital next door.  This was the 9^th year and for the first eight years it was a 6km race, this year they extended it slightly to make it an even 4 miles as Ireland has now fully adopted metric units.

This race has by far the most impressive number pick up, baggage area and jacks of any race. The hospital was built in 1684 and race registration and bag drop was in the impressive Great Hall. I actually love picking my number up here. The high ceilings and huge windows are complemented by portraits peering down on us that have been in situ since 1713, portraits of heads like King Charles II and the Duke of Ormond who built the place. It’s the only public collection of portraits in the country that have remained in their original position. They don’t hang pictures like they used too.

17th Century Registration and bag drop area

After a short ‘McNamara Special’ warm up at my race pace around the hospital grounds with Messer Greensmyth, we got into position at the start along the leafy boulevard at the Kilmainham Jail side of the hospital.  Me lining up with my hands on my knees after the warm up.

Mile 1

There was a scattering of about 20 Sportsworld runners around the start, all in good spirits as always. I tucked in beside Claire, Grainne, Eileen and Audrai before the gun went off. First mile is through the hospital grounds, around the courtyard and out the east gates towards Thomas Street. As we approached Thomas Street a band was inadvertently entertaining the crowd blasting out tunes on the upper floors of the Jam Factory rehearsal rooms.

It’s a congested start until you get out of the hospital grounds but it is clearly sold as a fun run and sure what’s the panic. I just wanted miles in my legs and to enjoy the evening, I can be an impulse shopper, I once owned a Slap Chop (Slap Chop explained on this video: Click here) so I entered the marathon last week before it sold out. Operation transformation to fit back in my singlet has begun.

Mile 2

The most enjoyable thing about this race is that it’s one of the few road races on the city streets – bringing you into parts of the city too I wouldn’t normally frequent. Passing Vicar Street we turned on to Francis Street into the Liberties and old Dublin. Here lies the Tivoli Theatre, where along with the SFX near Mountjoy square, were two of the main venues for gigs back in my rocker days. Back then they were both basically glorified bingo halls but still hosted the likes of Megadeth, the Stone Temple Pilots and Oasis in their pomp. The SFX is now long gone (probably for the best), as is my long hair (also probably for the best).

Going right near Patrick’s Cathedral we are deep into the Liberties, past rows of terraced houses and their small grottos built for industrial workers in the 19^th century. We also passed the former portico entrance to the original Coombe Maternity Hospital. After the hospital was moved to Dolphin’s barn in 1967, where I was born (not in 1967), they demolished the old hospital but retained the portico as a monument.

Old Coombe Maternity Hospital portico in the Liberties

Mile 3

We are around the back of the Guinness Brewery now. Support had actually been good along the course, the rain holding off helped, but this is a lonely part of the city apart from the 1 million tourists annually visiting the Guinness Store house.

The attraction to the Store house is something I’ve never fully understood, I prefer to visit places where stuff actually happened.  For example I just discovered the church opposite Cafe En Seine on Dawson street was where Bram Stoker married Florence Balcombe and Oscar Wilde was baptised (not all on the same day). Keep those facts up your sleeve until next time you are there for late pints.

I did actually worked in Guinness for a few months and it was an amazing place to explore going across rooftops and the warren of tunnels under the place; on my wanders I pulled back a tarpaulin one day I was standing in the old brew house with its old Guinness brewing tanks and birds flying in the rafters.

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Mile 4

Along the Spirit of St Luas tracks at the back of James hospital, onto south circular road I decided to pick it up. This race has a great finish as you pass through the Richmond Tower, where photographer Noel Tobin was waiting, and on to the Royal Hospital boulevard for the sprint finish. That tower gate we ran under was actually built in 1812 and located down at the River Liffey at Waiting Street beside the Guinness Brewery. When Houston Station opened the tower gate bottle neck was holding up commuters trying to catch their newly invented trains so it was dismantled and rebuilt in its current location in 1846.

The Richmond Tower – you’re not from around here are you

At the finish I first came across Lucy D’Arcy, encouraging as ever and who raced in the red and white as opposed to being the time keeper for a change. Stand out performances was Will Greensmyth being the first lad home in 24:53 getting a great 29^th place and Naoise Waldron just behind him in 25:53 and 4^th overall, narrowing missing out on 3^rd place by 7 seconds. We had two other top ten finishers in Ruth Kelly and Andrea McNamara.

Mile 5

This took us to Arthur’s pub on Thomas Street where a gang went for post-race rehydration – a top tip we learnt from the senior ladies team going to Longitude last Sunday.

Good news – The pub was giving out free pints in exchange for race numbers.
Bad news – I learnt this after I’d put my number in the bin.

I exited stage left early as I was yawning so hard my eyes where watering after a big night out the day before with friends back visiting from the states. Again do as I say not as I do.

To sum up, a really enjoyable race as always, I’ll be back next year, I’ll take the Friday off and keep my race number.

So there you go ladies and gentlemen, I hoped you learnt a little more about Dublin, a little more about me and a little more about the race.

Amazingly I didn’t mention Michael Cunningham once although today was Friday so I had my fun in the weekly email I suppose.

Ruth Kelly below: The next race report is yours.

Sportsworld Results

29th Will Greensmyth 00:24:53
47th Naoise Waldron 00:25:53 (4th female)
51 Ruth  Kelly 00:26:03 (5th female)
57 Alan Hynes 00:26:02
67 Andrea McNamara 00:26:40 (9th female)
74 Liam Lenehan 00:26:48
88 Peter Knaggs  00:27:31
94 Anna Delaney 00:27:42
118 Katie Nugent 00:28:29
149 Maura  Ginty 00:29:26
150 Stephanie Bergin  00:29:25
156 Lucy D’arcy 00:29:35
178 Eoin O’Brien 00:30:04
195 Eileen Rowland 00:30:20
209 Grainne Lynch 00:30:34
231 Claire Rowley 00:31:26
321 Audraí O’Driscoll 00:33:11
597 Eimear O’Neill 00:37:56

Report by Trevor Llyod

One thing the French do well (apart from producing wine!) is organising fetes in every village. One in our vicinity was organising ‘Un Boucle de Jeanaisse’ – a 10km walk at 8.00am and a 10km run at 7.00pm.

Why not give the run a try – €10 to enter and you got a nice T shirt. When registering and after producing evidence of insurance which is required for all fun runs and races in France, I enquired if there was a map of the course. “ah Non”. However it was explained the run was 2 laps of the village followed by a lap of 2 local lakes. Lakes are generally flat so that was ok. What I had forgotten was that like many French villages this one was set on the top of a hill. Setting off the temperature was a cool 24c- down from 34c the same time the previous week. 2 laps of the village entailed visiting the top of the hill at least 4 to 5 times –merde! Then around the lakes and back to the village to the finish, but merde encore, another 3 or 4 hills!

All female finishers received a rose and the male finishers- Michael take note- received a roof tile! Admittedly it did have an inscription. I presume those that had done the race the previous 24 years could now roof their garden shed. As we have found with races in France there was a full sit-down meal for participants and friends after the race. Now that I know the course I may give it a go another year when I can better time my finishing sprint!

Trevor in action

Massive congratulations to Eoin Keith who finished 18th in the world and won the Irish Championship at the 24 Hour World Championships last week in Belfast!!!

Great running also by Claire Harrington in the open race to finish 64th and cover 119km!!!

A short note from Eoin on his great achievement:

For the second time in a month, I drove down the M4 motorway destined for the bright lights of the Tullamore track. The national master’s championships took place this past Sunday in Tullamore Harries. I like running down in Tullamore. A tall hedge around the course reduces the wind, making it a fast course.

Due to injuries, there was only Anthony Gillen and I taking part. For those not too familiar, the Masters is run by age groups. Often they will combine two groups in the same race but there are still first and second in each category. Anthony was taking place in the over 50 and Gareth the over 35.

Anthony was taking advantage of the generous 3.5-hour break between the 800M and 1500M to line up for both events. Anthony toed the line in the 800M at 2.30PM and finished a respectable 7th place in a time of 2:24.54. Back on the track at 6PM he finished 8th this time in 5:03.74. A good day and congrats to Anthony for taking part in both races. His 800M time was a recent best as Anthony was a competitive runner in his teenage years.

In between Anthony running the 1500M I was up in the 1500M. At the start of the season, this was my A race but the season has not gone to plan. I won bronze in the indoors but the outdoors are more competitive. I expected to need to run sub 4.10 to medal. I had a bad summer last year with injury and although fit again now I didn’t factor in how much harder it would be to run a fast 1500M at 35 compared to 32 or 33. My PB of 4.04 in 2015 seemed like a distant memory over the Summer as I kept coming in around 4.15.

Going into the race on Sunday I felt great. I did a few reps at the track on Saturday and it felt easy. Warming up I felt like there was a bit in the tank. I was determined to get into 3rd or 4th place and track the leaders. I got a great start and quickly found myself in 2nd place. We went through 300M in 54 seconds and then 2.07 for 700M, effectively jogging in a 1500M and the pace was sure to pick up from there. Over the next 300M, there were some challenges to my inside line but a few elbows and injections of speed later I found myself chasing down the leader with 500M to go. The pace was now getting faster with the previous 400M going through in 66. I love these races were the pace just keeps getting faster and faster. It really puts your speed endurance to the test.

Every time I challenged the lead the guy in front matched it. I gave it one more go on the last bend but With 50M to go, I was more focused on keeping my silver medal than making that last push and potentially falling flat on my face when the legs give up. I leaned into the line just to make sure my celebrations weren’t premature. Happy with the effort. The last lap was by far the fastest in the race, running a 61.

Myself and Anthony had a nice cool down run in the old cross-country course across the road that brought back nightmares of muddy races from years gone by. Driving home there was a sense of satisfaction in the summer sun. I had my eyes on gold earlier in the year but will happily take silver at this stage of the season.I said to myself that if I ran well I would run the Seniors. I’ve also contemplated taking a break from the shorter stuff and throwing myself into marathon training. The next few weeks will tell what comes next. people do say that 35 is too young for masters. Whilst that may be true on the roads the track is a young persons event and it does get tougher as each years passes.