Report by Emmet Wardell

The Athlone ¾ marathon is held three weeks before Dublin city marathon and is very much advertised as an ideal stepping stone for the big day itself.  Having heard contrasting views on the merits of running a race of such a distance 3 weeks before the marathon, I hummed and hawwed as to whether to get involved or not.  Eventually, when a mate from work who has helped drag me around on many of my long weekend runs said he was keen to give a go, I let that make up my mind and so agreed that he should sign both of us up.

As a relative novice when it comes to running, coupled with the fact that I am a slightly competitive individual, I’m no stranger to taking off a little hard when racing and paying the price later on.  When chatting to Myles on the Tuesday previous I mentioned I was running the Athlone 3/4 as a training run.  He immediately displayed a look of concern and was quick to inform me that he and others in the club did not promote the running this race given its proximity on the calendar to the full marathon on the October bank holiday weekend.  “It is grand though Myles” I said, “I’m not gonna race it, I’m just gonna take it nice and handy and treat it as a training run” at which Myles smirked and threw up his eyes as he walked away, quite obviously suggesting that he had heard that plan before, and subsequently watched it fail leaving many a hopeful Dublin marathoner with legs not as fresh as they should be on the start line a proper.

So with this exchange with Myles playing and replaying in my mind (I didn’t dream about it the night before, honest….), I took off from the picturesque setting of Glasson golf club at 10.30am on Sunday morning.  Being the ‘apprehensive’ (please see the photo attached!) sort of guy that I am, I was nothing short of terrified that was I gonna take off too fast, and take too much out of my legs in what was only supposed to ultimately be a training run.

However, with the help of Myles’s subtle/not to subtle wise warning (thanks Myles!) and some rarely seen good discipline, much to my pleasant surprise I managed to run at the race in reasonably consistent splits at about 5.10 per kilometre (was planning for 5.15 per km).  For the last 4 to 6 kms my legs were heavy enough and I undeniably felt tired but after running 30 odd kilometres I think it is fair to say that that is to be expected.  It’s worth noting here that my preconception that Westmeath, being in the midlands, would offer up a nice flat course was well wide of the mark and there was not insignificant hills a plenty!  This also served to contribute to my weary legs from kilometre 26 and beyond but should hopefully stand to me in three weeks’ time.  All in all though, I thought the race was extremely well set-up and offered a great chance to do a training run under race conditions. Once the race is approached with sufficient caution I think it is a great stepping stone before the Dublin city marathon (although I would take that advice with a word of caution given it comes from a man with zero marathons under his belt!).

With a time of 2 hours and 43 minutes with relatively even quarter marathon splits I came in 209^th out of over 900 plus runners.  From a man who 12 months ago had never run more than 10km, it wasn’t a bad effort although I think it is fair to say I couldn’t have got this far without the help of Myles, Emily, Paddy and all the other wonderful and kind people down in Sportsworld.

Roll on the big day on October 26^th.  And for now…..let the taper begin!!!!!

The only other Sportsworld runner was Enda McMorrow who came in a time of 3:04 – great going, well done Enda!

Report by Ellen Lavin

Last Friday a group of us headed to Paris for the Paris to Versailles 16k road race. Paul, Breda Walsh and I (plus two people from my French class) travelled together from Dublin to Charles De Gaulle.  Ray had already arrived early having flown from Lisbon via Beauvais. He got busy sampling the local produce while waiting for us to arrive. Trevor and Judith flew up from Carcassonne whilst Sean and Jill were already in situ as he was attending college on the far side of the city.

Once we had arrived and met up with the rest of the running party we headed for the pub adjacent to the hotel and then on to a nearby Bistro for dinner. At this stage we were joined by Eileen and her Finance John, to whom she had recently become engaged. The ring was thoroughly inspected for authenticity and a great night was had by all. Eileen was very impressed when John and herself were serenaded by Bernie from the French quarter.

Saturday morning we were up and ready to head to the Expo. We presumed we had to be there early to get pins, however, there were none.. the French obviously  think we are all magnetic offering only our paper number.  Were there any freebies? None, they don’t do that either apparently. I was obviously spoiled in Lisbon. While Jill and Breda went in search of a haberdashery the rest of us ensconced ourselves outside a cafe for coffee and croissants, courtesy of Judith, merci beaucoup. Some sightseeing followed then back to the hotel and out to dinner as some sustenance was required for the race the following morning.

Sunday morning we all met in the hotel lobby for the official photo. It took us approximately 10 mins to walk to the start line which was under the Eiffel Tower. This is when the magnitude of the race really took hold. 25,000 + runners all lining up along the river Seine with such an iconic structure as the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Paul and Ray were well positioned to battle it out as were Trevor and Judith. Sean, Breda and I opted to wait for the 30th wave. It was very cold so we enjoyed hot chocolate courtesy of Sean. In fact the vendor wanted to put a shot of whiskey in each but we decided not to drink and run, the adrenaline was enough lol!

The course took us along the banks of the Seine and through the Andre Citroën Tunnel. This was the flat part of the race. The website had displayed a map describing a climb of over 2k. Seeing it on screen was one thing but running up it was quite another. Although there was plenty of support along the route from the locals, it was the brass bands usually situated at the top of a long hill that was a welcome distraction. There was a change in terrain as we turned onto Route Royale and entered the forest. This road was mostly paved and some people opted to run on the grass. This was going to take us to Avenue de Paris that leads to the Palace.

Jill was at the finish with a green balloon hoisted above her head and a fantastic picnic in a satchel that reminded me of Hermione Granger in Harry Potter, an endless bounty of food was produced from it. It’s no wonder we all recovered so well. We headed to the Village for coffee and so the dissection of the race began.

It was a great race… with great company… in a great city.

Paul Cassidy – 1.20.39

Ray Carpenter – 1.21.35

Judith Lloyd – 1.31.47

Trevor Lloyd – 1.33.03

Sean O’Byrne – 1.41.00

Ellen Lavin – 1.41.00

Breda Walsh – 1.43.51

Report by Joe Haugh

Team selfie by Ronan Murray!

Well, races outside Dublin have always thrown up different challenges and this race was no different. Moone in co Kildare is a nice sleepy village, and I heard about the race from fellow runners Ronan Murray and Stephen Willoughby, who ran the race last year. About a 40 min drive down the motorway, we arrived early enough to pick up our numbers and get prepped for the race ahead.

Stephen and Ronan, veterans of the race filled me in on the no of hills that I would encounter and how you should be prepare for the finish line hill, which you incidentally run down at the start, you feel good then, but on the way back it is a different story.

The race started at 11am, and we all started together, we did discuss our own personal goals for the race, and soon each of us got into our own rhythm. The roads where well marked with signs for each race as there was a 10km race also on the day, one wrong turn and you would be back home quickly! We made our way through the course, for the 26.2 km stint 159 competitors took to the roads. The water stations where well positioned and plenty of them, which we were grateful for as the heat had picked up during the race.

By now if you have run a couple of races in the country side, you are going to be subjected to hills and this race was no different. In saying that, similar to the club runs in the water works, they are a great way of building stamina, getting you race ready and race fit, I certainly recommend people to consider it, and this race is an ideal race for lead up to any marathons over the next few weeks.

In the end the results of the three of us are as follows:

Joe Haugh 29th in a time of 2.05.33
Ronan Murray 47th in a time of 2.13.23
Stephen Willoughby 70th in a time of 2.22.04

A tough day at the office was made up for by the sandwiches and drinks afterwards, I enjoy this bit, have drawn up a list of favourite races where the spread is worth the sweat for!

Thanks to Ronan for driving down, and Stephen for the company and the banter!

Recommended race for people’s calendar, Ill be back next year.