Race Reporter: Sébastien Berlier

A couple of weeks ago I signed up for the St Oliver’s Hospital 5K in Dundalk, with all the enthusiasm of a kid in a candy store – well, minus the candy part. Here’s how it all went down:
The race was on Saturday morning, September 16th at 11am. But why was I even running this race? Well, picture this: I can’t make it to the Rathfarnham race on the 24th because I have a wedding to attend in France. But I couldn’t resist pinning a race number to my Sportsworld singlet. Priorities, right? Oh, and it was also the perfect way to kickstart my training for “La Rochelle Marathon” on November 26th.
I’d been checking the weather forecast because it had been raining all week. But miracles happen, on race day, the skies decided to give us a break. Hallelujah!

Dundalk holds a special place in my heart – it was the first city I lived in when I moved to Ireland back in 2012. So, racing there felt like a pilgrimage, complete with its own brand of motivation. And let’s not forget my enthusiasm of getting a medal and a T-shirt with “Dundalk” on it. Plus, I have friends there, so it’s always a great excuse for a little trip (yes, even to Dundalk).

I arrived an hour before the race with my good friend Sébastien – yes, another one. By the way, I’ve been trying to convince him to join Sportsworld, and I promise I won’t give up. Sébastien (the other one, in case you’ve lost track) didn’t run the race, but he was a massive support and a fantastic motivator.

Being possibly the only runner from Dublin, as I arrived early I was quick to grab my race number… and the T-shirt included for the first 100 that register online. But here’s the kicker, they ran out of size S. Well, the lovely volunteer convinced me that size M would fit like a glove. Let’s just say it didn’t. It’s officially my new sleep robe.

Just before the race, my trusty Polar watch decided it was update time – 30 seconds before the start, naturally. It froze for 25 long seconds. But 5 seconds before the gun, it magically came back to life.

I had a chuckle at the starting line when the organizer asked if we knew the route. “Take the 2nd left, then take the greenway, go to the left at the roundabout etc.” But to be fair, the race was actually well organized. Volunteers were posted at every corner of the route, and distance signs were posted at every kilometer. I even did a double-take when I spotted a water station at the halfway mark – pretty fancy for a 5K, right?

Not many spectators along the way, but I wasn’t bothered. I was laser-focused on keeping my pace consistent. Those grueling Tuesday 8 X 800 meters interval sessions were finally making sense.
As soon as I passed the halfway point, my legs started reminding me that I was venturing into unknown territory pace for a 5K. But hey, I couldn’t back down now. We’ve all been there, right? Convincing ourselves that the pain is all in our heads, just a tiny bit of torture before the glorious finish line. The 3rd place was too far ahead, and the 5th place was way behind.
With less than 1 kilometer to go now, my legs felt like they were encased in concrete, but there was nothing to chase but a good time.
I crossed the finish line utterly knackered. My time? 18’12”, just shy of the podium. I smashed my previous PB (18’59” two months ago) by a whopping 47 seconds!
After the race, I treated myself to some much-needed indulgences. I went all in with a couple of “Celebration” sweets, a cupcake, a black coffee (no milk, no sugar – I’m a purist, you know) and good sharing moments with my Dundalk mates.
So there you have it, a wild adventure in County Louth, filled with personal best, T-shirt size mishaps, friendship and a watch that couldn’t resist a last-minute update. Running always has its surprises, doesn’t it? Until next time, keep those feet pounding the pavement and the laughter flowing!

With the first week of real summer in 2023 it was perfect timing for this years track championship. 1500m, 200m and mixed 4x400m relay. For some it was an annual event of collecting their trophy and medals but for others it was their first time on track and their first time wondering where all the oxygen had gone.

First up was the women’s 1500m giving the men a few more minutes contemplate their life choices. Maria Jones took the lead and kept it for the 4 laps and paced herself to a 1500m PB. We had a number of new senior runners in the women’s race and hopefully that will lead to full teams in the final championship races of the year.

In the men’s 1500m Donal Brennan showed his improved form and lead the race with Karol, Wesley and Gareth but in the final lap Gareth finished strongly and retained the 1500m trophy again.

200m sounds easy, short enough that you can see the finish line from the start line but it is a few seconds of burning muscles and lungs which that leaves you barely able to stand at the finish line. It looks like we have some potential sprinters in the club who might enjoy giving the indoor track races a go in the winter.

Finally it was the mixed 400m relay. Everyone knows they are going to be picked for a team but are they going to be put on the good team, there is always a good team. The main thing about the mixed relay is finding out the new club member names for the first time.

Thanks again to Aileen, Emily and Myles and all the helpers for organising the track races and results.

Women’s 1500m

1st Maria Jones2nd Megan Walls3rd Veronica Burke

Men’s 1500m

1st Gareth Murran
2nd Karol Cronin
3rd Wesley Harrison

Women’s 200m

1st Veronica Burke
2nd Megan Walls
3rd Shauna O Callaghan

Men’s 200m

1st Stephen O Donnell
2nd Eoghan Gallagher
3rd Timothy Morahan

Charleville famous for its cheese is a historic town located in County Cork, Ireland. Its history dates back to the late 17th century when it was founded by Roger Boyle, the 1st Earl of Orrery, in 1661. The town was strategically situated on the banks of the River Blackwater, which made it an important trading hub and contributed to its growth over the centuries. Charleville played a significant role in the agricultural and industrial development of the region, with a strong focus on dairy farming and cheese production.

Enough of the history lesson, Charleville also hosts one of the more famous half marathons in the build-up to the DCM or Chicago Marathons. It’s a flat and fast course with a  good quality field to get those fast times, but despite the favourable system I’ve never run well here.

After running Dingle last weekend and a 1500M run on Saturday I had considered skipping this one but two friends were running and looking to run solid sub 90-minute times so I decided to do this with the group as part of my 2-hour long run.

Two hours after running the 1500M I was on the M7. I was lucky to be offered a spare room in Limerick the night before so it wasn’t an early start to get to the race. Limerick is only 30 minutes away if you stick to the speed limit. I was running with my speedy friend Shóna (Former Sportsworlder) and PB-seeking Padraig Looby.

Running with a group is an absolute blast! There’s something incredibly invigorating about pounding the pavement with a bunch of like-minded individuals. The camaraderie that forms during those sweaty, heart-pumping sessions is hard to beat. It’s a fantastic way to stay accountable and stick to the race plans. And let’s not forget the post-run high – the feeling of accomplishment and the shared endorphin rush is the perfect recipe for a great time. We all did a few strides and 3K of a warm-up before the race at 10 AM.

After the heat of Saturday, the race started in a cloud of fog but quickly got warm and sticky. The agreed pace was 4.10 kms and it was my job to block a little of the wind, carry a few water bottles etc. The loop starts in Charleville and runs out to Killmallock in Limerick before heading back to the start. The start was a bit bunched but we soon found ourselves running with a smaller group of 5-6.  The first 7K was chatty but then everyone got down to business.

As we got to Kilmallock we were on pace despite me being accused of running all over the road, instead of taking the racing line. Remember who the donkey carrying the water is people. As we reached the halfway mark in 44 there was a collective feeling that things were going well. This stretch back onto the main road has a bit of a bumpy surface and it’s where people who have gone out too fast start to struggle.

As we reached 17-18K we were catching so many other runners. At 19K I could sense that  Padraig was tiring a wee bit from the heat. Your job as the one setting the pace is to drive on and keep hitting the splits as we got to 19K there was some baying for blood and we hit the last mile well under 7 minutes.

The time on the clock was 1.27.10 (4.08s not bad pacing) as we crossed with Padraig just 20 seconds behind. A good job by the whole crew with neither Padraig nor Shóna having a full block of training behind them.

I  kept running through the finish and finished out 2 hours with a bit of marathon-pace running, a hard task given how warm it was out there.  Can the next 7 weeks be over already. Alo running for the club was Noreen Brouder who had a tough day but still ran a very respectable 1.26 on a warm day.

This is an excellent race that I can’t recommend enough. My tip would be to stay down the night before, There is a nice hotel in Charleville and it is very close to Limerick or Tipperary.  Killmallock also has a lovely 4 miler in May.

I can thank Anne and Anne-Maria for this.   Dingle half regulars,  they sold it to me at the end of last September saying “it’s worth it for the nice tshirt”.  And because far away races look shorter and I have ridiculous FOMO,  we signed up.  So we find ourselves on the long road to Dingle on Friday afternoon.  Anne and Anne-Maria, alert to the no-singlet-equals-race-reporter rule, appear to have packed every piece of Sportsworld Merch they’ve ever owned.  Alongside this,  a lack of coordination has the boot loaded with 2 to 3 kilos of porridge (for just the 2 breakfasts) and a small suitcase of gels because some people are experimenting for the marathon.

Beyond food and fuel, there’s no real race plan between us.  For Anne this is a stepping stone to see where she is at on her marathon build up. For Anne Maria, veteran of every Dingle Half in since it’s inception in 2009, it’s just part of a weekend home in the Kingdom doing her bit for the  Kerry tourism board.  Myself and Mary are bringing the camera phones and resolving not to squander the privilege of running in such a scenic location by chasing any particular time.  That said, I’m using 2 hours as a guideline.   It’s my 3rd half marathon (kind of) and I’m feeling a bit short on mileage, having done just one 18km long run since April,  but I hope I can get around in one piece by breaking it into  5km blocks.

Race day dawns hotter than expected. 14 degrees forecast but in a singlet and shorts on the mile or so stroll to the start line it becomes apparent it’s more like 17 or 18 degrees and  windless (a scheduled sailing regatta is cancelled).   We gather on the sunny harbour, the brightly painted shopfronts of Dingle adding to the general good mood of the day.  Anne and Anne-Maria, regulars at this race, seem to know everyone and  are continually breaking off for warm exchanges with friends and acquaintances.  Irene – heading for her 80th marathon today –  emerges smiling from a Camper on the harbour and it’s all hugs and good lucks and photos.    Martin, Tom and Paul come meandering by , the 7 pints of the night before hidden behind their sunglasses.  Is anyone taking this thing seriously?  Gareth pops up moments later, 7 pints too but no sunglasses, bouncing around after a 10k warm up – of all things, on such a day!

We find our rightful places in the corrals (the 2 hour bracket for me) and after much noise,  and build-up it’s off we go, quickly out onto the fuschia laden ditches of the outskirts of town.  Maybe the sunshine is impacting, but the people of Dingle are giving what feels like a genuinely warm welcome at every junction and house front.  Its as if they don’t mind these nuisance runners closing their roads and tossing water containers and gel packets into their ditches.  The elevation map has shown that the 2nd half of the race the hills, already apparent, will lose the run of themselves, so we start at what feels like a fairly conservative pace.  We meet Irene again. I suppose she’s casual enough about the marathons at this stage because she has the time and generosity to suggest we sip from our water bottles every km or so in this heat.  Simple enough idea but something that’s easy to forget as the heat and effort melt the brain. I drift on, sometimes ahead, sometimes behind, the 2 hour pacers.  The course is busy but not congested.  At Ventry village they cheer us on “as gaelige” (I think they are cheering us on, they may be saying “get off our land”) .  One of the runners says “go raibh maith agat” back so that’s a good sign.   At random spots on the road we encounter box players, bongo drummers and darth vader (real, not just the heat on my brain saying that).  Welcome to Kerry.

I’ve run with a litre of water and am congratulating myself on my “leave no trace” efforts for the first 2 water stops but then  the enviro cred gets abandoned in favour of immediate self preservation and I’m taking the water cartons and pouring them onto my head to try and keep the temperature down.

By 16k the scenery is more rugged and more beautiful than before but my appreciation is dissolving in the waterfall of suncream and sweat.  There’ll be better photos on the internet anyhow.

Just before Slea Head I fall into running alongside a lady in blue tshirt.  I’m mad for a chat to distract from the effort and it emerges that we are both pleasantly surprised to find ourselves just ahead of the 2 hour pacers and now eager to hold onto that time.  We run alongside for a bit, appreciating the brief cooling respite of Slea head cut into rock and the open vista into the Atlantic and what must be the Blaskets.  Around 18k there’s a long and gruelling hill.  The memory of the Khyber pass in the Phoenix Park national 10k* (*8.5k ) earlier this year seems to have built some resilience on this front and I adopt the same approach  – gear down all you need to but don’t walk and don’t stop.  It’s not clear there’s any physcial gain from this approach but i’m sure it’s character building.  The newly built-character nonethless fails to withstand the tummy wobbles that take hold in the final 2km and a brief walk is required.  Even as my wheels are wobbling I can sense the gathering energy of blue-tshirt-lady into the final  push and I think, before my next half, I’ll deffo try and have the miles in my legs to be able to enjoy the last bit.    Still no sign of the finish gantry, nor any congregation of finishers but then thankfully, finally, the signs and bollards splitting us from the  mad yokes who have signed up for the full.  I pick it up and this final downhill and see the clock turning to 1.57.  I’m over the line and getting over a strong urge to throw up when Gareth and Tom emerge from the pub to say hi.  Then it’s tshirt collection, mind regathering.  I regroup with the quartet of Anne, AnneMaria and Mary.   There’s a festival vibe with DJ Big Jim pumping out the tunes in the warm sun.  Our cool down stretch routine includes enjoying a cider on ice on the grass and a bit of a boogie and a sing-along with Big Jim in the bus queue.

On the bus we grab the back seat so we can look out for Irene on the full marathon route.  As we pass the marathoneers there’s a fair bit of pain going on.  Many walkers and the rugged scenery has been replaced by more hills and high ditches.  So there’s a cheer of triumph when we see Irene slugging it out, looking strong and faster than she was going some 3.5  hours ago as we met starting the race.  I guess you know how to pace yourself by marathon 80, not to mention the Connemara 100 (MILES!) she completed less than 3 weeks ago.  We are dropped off in perfect time to cheer her in over the last 50 metres.  Considering the levels of my own head chatter I’ve had to endure on the half marathon my admiration for marathon runners  – physically and perhaps more so mentally, grows every year.    We hang around to soak up some reflected glory.

Within 10 minutes of finishing  she’s chatting to a fellow endurance athlete and we hear the words “so, what’s next?” .   Whatever response that prompts from an endurance athlete,  what’s next for us is to stroll off into the sunshine and find  ice-cream, our lovely blue tops on,(except Anne-Maria, who’s back in the red, not taking any chances on the race report front), fancy medals a-jangle, delighted to have been part of such a fabulous race on such a lovely day.  Where’s sign up for next year?

https://www.plotaroute.com/route/407625

https://www.goandrace.com/en/map/2013/dingle-marathon-half-marathon-2013-1025-course-map-2.php

https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dingle_half_marathon__full_marathon/4672/results

report by Fiona Leheny

The 2023 Irish Life Frank Duffy 10 miler took place last Saturday 19th August. I decided to sign up mainly because I have never raced 10 miles before and I need to get as much experience into my little legs before the 29th October (say no more about that yet!)

To prepare for the distance, I headed out on Friday night….. to Sprezzatura in Rathmines to get a good feed of pasta followed by a relaxing visit to the cinema to see Oppenheimer. The last time I wrote a race report, it seemed to be more of a weather report for a very good reason. I thought that this was going to be along the same lines going by the storm that was banging the roof of the Omniplex that night. Thankfully, I woke up to a pleasant, windy & warm Saturday morning.

I arrived at the Phoenix visitor centre in plenty of time and was delighted to see some familiar faces rock up shortly after me. Myself, Eileen and Mary chatted for a bit to kill some time and headed up towards the start line. 

I hadn’t thought much about pacing for the race but decided to place myself behind but in sight of the 80mins pacers. At this point, I had lost all fellow club members at the dreaded port aloo queues so I put my music on to get in the zone. I felt good starting off for the first 5km. I finally spotted a SW jersey beside me but not for long. It was Jean flying past me. There was, no way / Jose, that I was going to keep up with her.  She was in the zone but I still managed to get her attention and wave her off into the sunset!

I slowed down somewhat in the second 5km as it was a little hillier and lost sight of the 80min pacers but got back in the zone and felt good again in the final 5km. I suppose the giveaway that I am new enough to racing is that my brain still works in KMs for a 10mile race. I tend to break most races down into ‘5km parkrun chunks’ as that is what kick-started my joy of running.

With the lack of red and white SW jerseys, I found a couple of Brother Pearse runners (assuming no restrictions here on mentioning other clubs in these reports) doing a similar pace and keeping up with them was my goal which got me over the line in 1:23.

Once I caught my breath, I met up with the fellow club members, a small group evidenced in the pic below. Everyone was content with their performance & well done to Jean with a PB (missing from the pic). Myself, Eileen and Mary headed back for a well deserved coffee and some lovely chats which was the perfect end to the morning. Thanks, Ladies, for the company.

Full results available at: www.chiptimes.biz

Report by Gareth Murran (former club email writer)

The 2023 Galway Clinic Streets of Galway 8km, organised by local club Galway City Harriers, took place this year on Sat 12th August at 7pm. Since its inception in 1986, the event has grown into one of the most prestigious road races in the country yet remains true to its original motto of Sport for All, as many locals and visitors take on the event year in year out.

This event is a jewel in the crown of road races in the West and tours through the famous City of the Tribes. The race route takes in many of the sights of Galway City, including the Spanish Arch, Eyre Square, the landmark Galway Cathedral and the University of Galway, and routes out towards Salthill, past Pearse Stadium and then back in the ‘Prom’ along Galway Bay for a fast section into the finish at the historic Claddagh.

Having ran this with niggles on a beautiful summer evening in 2022 I was looking forward to going back with my Sportsworld crew and giving it another try in 2023. It’s a fabulous course, challenging in parts with more typical Galway weather often making it challenging.

A Saturday evening start at 7 PM was perfect, with time to drive from Dublin around noon, get some lunch, pick up the numbers (Thanks Mau) and watch the AAI stream whilst yelling at the TV for Gavin and Maria to win their respective races at the national Masters. Motivated by their success we strode down to the start line about 6.15 PM.

After a few less than stellar workouts over the past two weeks or so I had set my stall to start out slow and use the wind at my back in the last stretch to make up some ground on my competitors.

I had 3.22s in my head for the pace with a 3.25 to get me going. I started a decent bit back as I find many people go way too fast at the start of road races. Starting a bit further back and getting faster as the race goes seems to work well for me.

At 7 PM we were off and the first thing I noticed was that there was amazing support the whole way around the route. It really is a great experience to run through the middle of Galway city with the roads closed and crowds cheering.When someone shouts your name it gives you such a massive boost.

As we ran down Merchants Road I was questioning if my pace was too fast or too slow. It was at this point that I just decided to race. I wouldn’t look at the watch again until I crossed the finish line. I got into a good grove after Eyre Square and kept picking groups off, not wanting to get isolated I’d wait or push on depending on the terrain up ahead. My stregth is speed so I use the downhills to my advantage. I felt like I was going a little slower than I should have but was really enjoying the run.

Having ran the course last year I knew that I’d have the wind at my back in kilometers 7 and 8 and kilometer 6 was slightly downhill. This was in the back of my mind and the plan worked.  Looking back, I went through 5K very comfortable and could finished with a 3.15 and 3.10 for the last 2 kilometers. I was chasing down runners in the last part of the race. It such an enjoyable experience to still be feeling strong going into the last few minutes.

Karol was first home for the club in 26.58, 27.15 for myself.  I must appologise to the other Sportsworlders as full results are available on Red Tag Timing which sadly has crashed at the present time. Congrats to Gary, Adam, Maura and Deirdre on theur runs. Myself and Deirdre Picked up 2nd M40 prizes, Karol 1st M40 and Maura 6th overall. Special credit to Adam for just squeezing into the top 100 and making a new friend ‘Dave Mahon’ the whippet architect who finished 5th (pictured below with his blone streaks).

A fun night was had in Monroe’s with the 7 PM start being ideal for some craic afterwards. It was great to hang out with the GCH race comitee and compliment them on a job really well done. With the Sportsworld contingent having missed the prize giving sound local lady ‘race photographer’ Caoimhe Daniels stood in and made the presentation over pints of Connemara and shots of Tequila. Sadly no training will be done for the next week.

This is a genuinely great race with an atmosphere you just cant get in a Dublin race. Give it a go next year and stay the night. There was time for brunch at ArdBia at Nimmos and a quick plunge at Salthill before the tired trip home. Looking forward to the 10 mile next weekend already. The City of Tribes is my kinda town.

In Galway’s lively streets I stride, where culture and history coincide.
Cobbled lanes and vibrant hues, Echoes of tales from different views.
From Eyre Square to the waterside, Past ancient walls where stories reside.
With every step, a journey anew, Running the streets, a dream pursued.
Past Shop Street’s bustling, lively tide, I’d race, with dreams and hopes as my guide,
The Claddagh’s ring, a promise to confide, Love’s eternal dance, forever side by side.
Through Munroe’s charming grace, where buskers’ melodies interlace,
I run, a free spirit unconfined, In Galway’s heart, my tequila face aligned.
Galway’s energy ignites my feet, as laughter and music gently meet,
In this city where dreams take flight, I run the streets, with pure delight.

The extremely popular St Coca’s 5km road race took place last Friday night 30^th June in Kilcock, Co Kildare.  This race always proves a big hit with a fast course that has an overall downhill aspect of 9 metres.  This race is usually stacked with fast 5km runners.  The warm up was telling.  Lots and lots of serious looking athletes with impressive warm up routines.  My warm up consisted of a few handy kilometres followed by a number of strides on the St Coca’s 100m track.  I’ll try and look the part I thought as I did my strides on a track that resembled Grafton St 2 days before Christmas.

The race starts on the road just outside the athletic club.  Like the race itself, getting into position was a competitive business.  I’m never sure what to say when a stranger in a running singlet accidently drips sweat on you two mins before the off.  Anyway.  Thankfully the sound of the gun came quickly and we were off.  There was a few Croke Park type shoulders in the opening moments.  Andrew Brett was almost jostled off the start mat, but thankfully manage to activate his chip and recover (not coming in last place like Emmett did that time)

For all the above, this is a well organised race.  I soon settled into my first km and found a bit of road to run on.  I was a bit concerned my first km split was a little fast for a man of my ability (3.45) but I kept moving.  My second split was then 3.42 but I felt OK.  I thought to myself there are only 3 to go so just keep the head down and plough on.  I was heartened to see a number of Sportsworld jerseys all around me – it gave me something to aim at and focus on.  Paul Hamilton, Adam Furlong, Anthony Gillen, Ronan Masterson, Rossi Faulkner were all in close attendance.

The latter part of this race is a treat – there is some gentle downhill and the last 200m is on a narrow house lined street which really lends itself to building atmosphere with the smattering of supporters who came out to brave the rainy weather conditions.

I managed to keep my splits steady and finished with a 3.48, 3.44 and 3.44 for a grand total of 18.43.  Happy to be back in the 18s.  Its been a while.

Unsurprisingly, there were plenty of fast Sportsworld times but special mention to Maria Jones (17.03) and Aoife Carroll (17.54).  The sky is the limit ladies and the Summer is long.  Andrew Brett led home the male contingent despite being under the weather and taking a near hiding on the start line.  Well done Andrew (16.22)

Full results are below.  Well done to all who participated on a wintry night.  The 2024 of this race is highly recommended.

St Coca’s results

The Waterford Viking Marathon takes place annually in the Crystal County. The route is known to be a challenging course with a couple of climbs but is always really well supported by the running community and charities within the county with upwards of 3,000 entered this year. The options on the day are a ¼ Marathon, ½ Marathon or a Full Marathon. I opted for the ¼ Marathon for my own entry having had a subpar run of training in the run up to the event for various reasons.

The route begins with a loop around the city – starting at Waterford Crystal and heading around the city-centre before landing on the quay. A good stride down the quay for about a kilometre then happens before a turn across the river by Plunkett Station. The route veers up towards the ringroad and motorway. Still with the full and half runners, you then run down the Cork road, across the toll-bridge, and quickly take to the Greenway where the full and half runners go out for an out and back for their course. However, at this point the quarter runners turn back for the city; downhill on the Greenway and past WIT before a nice finish up the quay where there was fantastic support from WLR Radio and the local community.

My own run began by meeting my pal Mark a few miles outside the city for our warm up. Mark was running the half-marathon. We spent 15 minutes making our excuses to each other during our warm up before landing on the line for the start where there was a great atmosphere. There was a bloke dressed as a Viking with a drum doing the Viking call to war (Think Iceland football team at the Euros and World Cup over the last few years but with people in Carbon plated shoes and colourful singlets instead). It was a hot and muggy day with a thunderstorm just passed about half an hour before we took off.

I was conscious that the first 7km of the race would be run alongside the full and halfers so I didn’t really want to go out too conservatively as I had no idea who was doing what discipline. Thankfully, this isn’t any different to my usual race tactics as I tend to blow bubbles after 2 miles in most races. Once I began to leave the city however, I managed to control my breathing and pace and was running fairly comfortably which I was happy with – I was tailing the lead group of 4 or 5 runners by about 45 seconds or so. We turned then onto the tollbridge where I made some hilarious jokes that only I laughed at to the lads around me about how we would pay our way through the toll. Thankfully this was a running event and not a comedy competition so we then turned left back down the Waterford Greenway after the tollbridge where the leaders for the full and half turned off down the Greenway and I quickly realised I was running in 2nd place with about 3.5k left to go in my own event. However I was being chased down by the third man so I stuck the foot down about a mile from home and managed to get myself over the line for a podium place and delighted with my morning out!

The race is a brilliant event and the sense of community and support from the people was the best part of the day. The attention to detail from an organizational perspective on the day was clearly evident. Well done to all the organisers, runners, charities, walkers and Kimberley Kennedy for making me write this race report

The popular Micheal Manning Memorial Dunshaughlin 10k 2023 took place last Saturday at 7.30 PM with a large club crowd participating. This is one of the most popular races on the calendar and one which  I’ve done almost every year since joining the club in 2009. Thanks to Andrew Brett for sorting me out with a race number at the last minute.

The confidence curve built up there for a few years in the early 30s, flirting with mastery only for the decline to kick in with a bang. We all must accept that times will slow and that the “beep-beep” will into “creak-creak”! The super shoes now disguise the aches and pains and have you pull up fine the next day. I’m not sure how I ever raced in flats looking back.

Dunshaughlin is a short hop, only 30 kilometres (18 miles) northwest of Dublin.  It is situated in the eastern part of County Meath and is surrounded by a beautiful rural landscape. The course is one of my favourites with most of the course feeling either flat or downhill. After a flat enough start, there’s a more challenging course section between 6K and 8K but then the rest is flat or downhill into the finish. I’d go as far as saying that this is in the top 3 races on the calendar each year. You’ll have to debate the others over a pint at the next Sportsworld outing. The depth is great with 275 runners under 40 minutes.

After going to the afternoon Taste of Dublin on Thursday and then heading straight for the Docklands 5K I wasn’t feeling my absolute best doing the warm-up on Saturday evening. I planned to run a smidge under 34 minutes which breaks down to a 3.24 pace. Knowing the course I thought I might sneak a few seconds in the last section.

There was a huge crowd at the start and with a wide open road the pace went off quickly. I settled in nice and comfortable being bang on my pace after 3K. It’s so easy to get the balance wrong and be passing people out at this point in the race, only to realise you messed it up and drift back at 6-8K. If I can give one observed tip to newer runners it would be not to blow your race in the first couple of kilometres.

That said I made a mistake between 3-5K on Saturday. I was running behind a large group of 10 with nobody willing to push the pace up to the next group. As we hit the 5K and not having looked at my watch I realised that I was 10-12 seconds behind where I wanted to be at this stage of the race.

I started to move better at this point but wasn’t brave enough to risk blowing up and get some of that time back. I’ve stopped to walk in this race before and those pains are still fresh 5 years later. The 8K mark is the main hill on the route and this is where I let the side down. I’d gotten into a nice group and decided to jog up the hill in 3.35. When I crested the top I picked things up, running my best part of the race, continuing to pass people into the finish. It was good to finish with a 3.18 kilometre but the lack of race sharpness earlier had already blown the time goal. “Lost time is never found again.” – Benjamin Franklin

In hindsight, nobody passed me on the whole run, which normally signals I had a bit more in me. That said your effort needs to be balanced over the entire run and it wasn’t here. I can put that down to race sharpness. This was my first 10K in some years.

The main goal now will be to get back on the right side of 16 minutes for 5K and 34 for 10K before the grind starts in mid-July. I’m naturally a speedier runner so the 5K times will come easier, but I do plan to run the Dublin Marathon in October. The PB might be out of reach this year but I still will target a good clocking.

Full results are available on Pop Up but the club results are listed below. Special mention to Maria Jones who keeps getting faster and leading her team of Noreen and Maura to second. She’s been sharing those club records in their WhatsApp group, you can be sure. There were PBs and SBs down the results with too many to count. Overall winners of the race were Ide Nic Dhomhnailland  and Conor Duffy.

Thanks for everyone who supported and here’s to a lot more evenings like this over the Summer. This really is a must do event.