The calm before the storm. Probably not the best analogy with the beautiful weather we are
having but from a running point of view, you might see where I am coming from. The big day
is almost here and I can’t wait. It’s all easy runs at the moment. I ran with some of the Eagle
gang last Sunday around the marina and we chatted afterwards, over coffee, about race
day. All the usual stuff, “what pace are you going at? “what time are you heading in”? ” It’ll be
a hot one! The run and chat only whetted my appetite more. Since then it’s just about
keeping the body ticking over and not overdoing it. I’m trying to keep hydrated and keep the
energy levels up with plenty of pasta and water. The gels have been bought and the gear is
already laid out. I’ve been through the course online and also in my mind plenty of times
now. It’s going to be warm but I am ready to go. I’ve been thinking back of my past
experiences in marathons in the heat. I ran the Barcelona Marathon in 2016 in blistering heat
and fared ok on the day. I remember running one Cork marathon in sweltering heat also.
Keeping hydrated and cooling the body down is key in the heat, I’ll also take some salt
tablets to try to avoid cramping. Some of my family will be out to support me on the course
and will have lucozade sport ready to go for me. Cork will be marathon number ten for me
and I’ve been thinking back on my previous nine. Listed below are the nine marathons I’ve
ran to date:
● 2012 Cork 4 hours 11 minutes
● 2012 Dublin 3 hours 58 minutes
● 2013 Cork 3 hours 41 minutes
● 2014 Limerick 3 hours 41 minutes
● 2014 Cork 3 hours 59 minutes
● 2014 Midleton Indoor 4 hours +
● 2015 Cork 3 hours 27 minutes
● 2015 Berlin 4 hours
● 2016 Barcelona 3 hours 31 minutes
● 2023 Cork ???????
All the marathons I’ve done have special memories. I’ve mentioned before that my first
marathon was in Cork in 2012 and I will always look back on that with pride. I broke the 4
hours mark in Dublin later that year which was a huge achievement for me at the time. Lorna
and Ella were there to celebrate with me.
I ran that marathon with Derek (although he maintains that I bailed on him in the Phoenix Park!) and we had a great night out afterwards
with him and his wife Majella. In 2013, I ran Cork again and bettered my time to 3 hours 41
mins. By far the most interesting marathon I have run is an indoor marathon in Midleton in
2014. This indoor marathon was bonkers, it was set in a Midleton CB and we ran around the
corridors of the school. It was all arranged by Ultan Savage, whom I used to work with at the
time. The whole event was done to raise funds for East Cork Rapid Response, and Ultan
and his team put in a huge effort to organise the whole event. While running indoors was
difficult with all the twisting and turning the buzz on the day was incredible and it was such a
novelty to run a marathon indoors. We received beautiful one of a kind wooden medals for
this marathon, something that will also be in place for Cork this year. Berlin in 2015 is the
only marathon major I have completed so far, the crowds there were huge and the course
was the flattest I’ve run. Hopefully going forward I will get to run some of the other majors.
My Boston dream is always there. But it would be fantastic to try and run some or all of
London, New York, Chicago and Tokyo sometime in the future. Right now it’s all about Cork,
it seems like so long ago that this marathon journey began. I’m looking forward to stepping
out in my home city and running on roads that I am familiar with. In 2015 I ran my marathon
PB in the lashing rain in Cork. That day was miserable weather wise, but I didn’t care as I
was thrilled crossing the line after grabbing myself a new personal best. This year in Cork,
the weather will be a lot different, and regardless of what time I run, crossing that line will be
the best feeling yet. Happy running!