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.

Well last week’s Sportsworld email headline has well and truly backfired on me. After calling out for race reports, somehow, I now find myself writing one. And all because I committed that most mortal sin – I didn’t wear my club singlet in a race. I also called out Conor Cavanagh for the same sin in the Dromana 5 last week. Talk about karma. Well, I can explain…. Last Sunday the first of the Dublin marathon race series took place, the Corkagh Park 5 Mile. I work with Irish Life, who are title sponsors for the marathon race series and the Dublin marathon itself this year and was doing the event with a group of colleagues. Irish Life Health kindly organised running t shirts for us. If something like this happens again, I will avoid photos with Sportsworld and go in disguise.

Anyway, back to the race and despite it being relatively nearby, I’d never been to Corkagh Park before. We’d been told parking was limited, so worried I might miss the start if I struggled to find a space and unfamiliar with the area, I convinced my husband to drop me out there bright and early on Sunday. He wasn’t impressed but I was glad of the lift as there were tailbacks to get into the car park and the place was already bustling with activity when I arrived.

While it was a bit cloudy initially, the sun soon came out and as I jogged around to warm up, I noticed my tired legs, possibly thanks to the Docklands 5K and Pride Run the days before. I gave up on the warmup and just made my way to a very crowded start area. I found Eileen, Padraic and Siobhan, we chatted for a minute or two and then suddenly we were off. I thought I’d tag along with Eileen, but after less than a mile gave up on that notion. She flew off into the distance. I cursed the sugar laden aperol spritz habit I picked up in Florence in April and settled into a slower pace. Once we got past an incline along by the road and turned back into the park, I took in how pretty it was. Corkagh Park was opened to the public in 1986 and consists of 120 hectares, formerly part of a manor house and its estate Corkagh Demesne.  Running around it was not the worst way to spend a Sunday morning, out in the sunshine in a park full of wildflowers, around a pond, and with brilliant support encouraging us on along the way.

The temperature went up over the final few kilometres and it was a bit of a slog, especially the twisting and turning approaching the finish line, but we were well rewarded when we got there, with that happy finish line feeling and a goodie bag containing a t shirt (I do like a nice race t shirt – take note Mini Marathon) along with drinks and snacks.

Overall, a great morning and very well organised event. Well done to all who took part! And just so we are all clear, if you don’t wear the club singlet, don’t be surprised if you end up writing a race report.

Race reporter Will Martin Smith; photo reportage by Belen Corocco, Peter Knaggs & Eoin O’Brien 

Ah, the Docklands 5k. A fixture on my calendar and, it seems, on that of the sun. Over 1500 racers in short shorts and singlets descended on the docklands area yesterday to amuse the hordes of Dubliners enjoying warm cans of cider or overpriced Aperol Spritzes in beautiful evening sunshine.

And the usual horde of Sportsworlders turned up too, mostly laying off the cider until at least after the race. Crusaders run a good show, and everything ran like clockwork until an announcement was made that a bus had broken down on the race route on the north quays. This might have been a problem for the pampered runners of other clubs, but with senses sharpened from years of avoiding dogs, children and swans in Bushy Park, this obstacle would surely be an advantage for the team in red and white!

I was making my season’s bow having not raced since the same event last year. Together with a big gang of Sportsworlders all in fine form, I settled in behind the 20-minute pacer and waited for the countdown. Off we went, charging up the south quay, over Matt Talbot Bridge and (mind that bus!) along the north quays to the Point. The pacers went a bit quick for the first km (3.49) but, happily, they reined themselves in for the middle section. I motored along nicely, just behind Stephen O’Donnell and Declan Brady, to the turn on just over 2km. I had just entered the hurt zone at 3km when, out of nowhere, I got a nosebleed. It was nothing serious and I considered soldiering on, but I decided to stop and wait it out rather than treat the watching crowds to a slasher movie victim impression. Good decision really, you can’t get away with that carry on around the gentrified quays these days. Anyway, this wasn’t cross country or IMRA!

As I stood waiting for the blood to stop, Deirdre McGing, Lorna Quinn, Deirdre O’Connell and Noel Tobin all went past me looking strong with 2km to go. I must have missed a few more as I saw a few more familiar faces after I started out again towards the finish. From Matt Talbot Bridge, the run-in to line is about 1.25km and it feels like a looooong drag. That said, it is well supported, and it is an enjoyable finish all the same. With a chip time of 22.55 including the stop along the way, my time wasn’t what I had hoped for, but this live sport – these things happen.

One major takeaway from the race for me is that I don’t race nearly enough. I knew that already, but I feel my mental toughness is nowhere near where it used to be. Chalk that down as my work-on for the next few months.

Elsewhere, Sportsworld runners did the club proud. At the prizegiving, the announcer said that it seemed that one or other of the two team cups went to Sportsworld nearly every year. Right or wrong, that was a ringing endorsement of the hard work being done in D6W!

Congratulations to Karol Cronin, Eoin Fitzpatrick and Trevor Sweeny on bringing home the men’s team trophy. Congratulations too to Caoimhe Daniels for a super run to come home in 5th place and to Aoife Carroll in coming 7th. Along with Deirdre McGing, the women’s team were 2nd, losing out to a magnificent family performance by the Richardson sisters and their mother to win that prize for Kilkenny City Harriers.

Well done to the many Sportsworld racers who took part. Thanks to the supporters to who came down to cheer us on! 

https://www.myrunresults.com/events/docklands_5k_2023/4825/results

The VHI women’s mini marathon kicked off on Sunday the 4th of June, on of the biggest annual charity events. As expected the anticipation and excitement as everyone gathered created a lovely buzz. Over 20,000 women took part, that included 13 Sportsworld women. The sunny weather meant that the race drew in crowds of supporters, that were tremendous in lifting the spirits of the runners on nearly every corner. The music, fire brigades, cheers and incredible volunteers added to a seamless event that was truly atmospheric. With the only major downfall being, not enough portaloos (that always seems the case!) There was also no race championship this year, which may have influenced some racers from not partaking. However the standard was still high with the winning woman Nakita Burke clocking 34.27 on a very hot day.

Personally, the week prior was marked with many overheated runs, that did not bode well for the inevitable hot temperatures predicted for Sunday. Electrolytes were purchased and plenty of sunscreen.

The morning of the race was filled with excitement, as crowds of women were milling in from every corner to their race positions. Myself and Maria met and proceeded towards the entrance point on Fitzwilliam square where the bag drop was located. Unfortunately, due to the queue that was only growing in size, we had to leave our bags in after a short warm up. With our racers on quite early, we headed to the warm up area, that was just before the start line, for strides and drills. Here we met with Lorna Quinn and Maura Ginty, both in high spirits. Ginty conceded she was warmed up after a solid two minutes… however, she did squeeze in a few fast strides for good measure. Emily’s friend and former competitor Christina Kennedy doled out some advice; to forget the t-shirts when it’s this hot! (On an important side note, Christina is waiting on a potential world record from the Terenure 5 mile for her age category, in a time of 33.32, fingers crossed it is confirmed!)

Photo by Stephen Collins

Finally it was time to line up, and honestly, as someone who usually gets quite nervous before a race, today was completely different. The nerves dissipated as women chatted and wished each other luck.

When the gun went off Maria and Zoe Quinn went out ahead of the elites, with some excellent pictures from the beginning of the race to prove their guts! We were carried with the group for the first kilometre, which was markedly faster than I would normally do. I fell into a pace beside Caoimhe Kilroy of MSB, but she pushed on after the first water station. Annette Kealy came up beside me soon after, and we ran quite close together. The cohort of women running between sub 36 to sub 40 were more strung out, so I was thankful for having another runner to keep the motivation and pace in check.

I only glanced at my watch on a few occasions, but at the 5km mark, I knew I had to pick up the pace. The last 5km were a bit of a blur, I focused as much as possible on my breath and running posture. To combat the heat, I poured a glass of water over my head and my chest at each water station, except for the final one. This, along with the music, kept the energy flowing. When I saw the 8.5km balloon I gritted my teeth and made the decision to catch the two women in front, just doing so during the last 200 metres. This meant I finished in 10th position behind Edel Gaffney, with a new PB of 37.24, 56 seconds faster than my previous one.

I mustn’t forget to mention Emily on her motorised bike, insuring we were running our hardest for the last stretch!

I was over the moon, and this was doubled when I saw the smiles of friends who had equally great races. Maria ran a PB of 36.54, after a major month of racing. The support, hugs, name swaps and race debriefs are a reminder of the importance of running as a sport that sparks community, support, healthy competition and friendship.

And, of course, the true finish line was in Toners, where plenty of pizza and pints were indulged in. Until next year…

Maria Jones 36.54 PB

Caoimhe Daniels 37.25 PB

Maura Ginty 40.26

Lorna Quinn 44.02

Lucy Darcy 45.52

Shauna O Callaghan 49.22

Bronwyn Murphy White 51.22

Clare Finnegan 54.47

Darina Hynes 54.55

Marta Diaz 1.00.14

Tara Burke 1.04:58 PB

Emily Rossler 1.08.53

Annmarie Clyne 1.31.53