Capodanno di Corsa San Giovanni Valdarno 2026
/1. 49th Capodanno di Corsa
I think that it is great to do new races, it is also great to do new distances. I’ve always liked the races where it is just whatever the loop around the town is so I was delighted to find a 13.5km race on New Years Day about the same distance from Florence as Mitchelstown is from Cork in a town called San Giovanni Valdarno. The ideal race, no expos, no queues, no sold out 12 months in advance, sign up on the day if you like, perfection.
2. Sub Zero
I think that it has been over 15 years since the last time that I ran a race in sub zero temperatures. That time was the All Ireland XC in Derry when there was a thick layer of snow on the ground for the race. There was no snow in Italy but it was ridiculously cold. Dry cold, cold which is good for running fast but not for standing still.
3. Music Hall
I think that the registration and number collection was very efficient. I had been in contact with the race organisers on Facebook to send them our medical certificates. All we had to do was queue up in the music hall, collect out numbers and the generous goodie bag which contained all my favourites, wine, coffee and pasta. We even got a running singlet all for the very low entry price of €10, yes €10 for a race.
4. Partenza
I think that the start line was very atmospheric. The advantage of having a loop or two loops of the town is that the start line can be in the best spot possible which in this case was the centre of the town in front of the main square framed by a large old building with impressive arches that you only see in Italy. I warmed up by jogging up and down the main street in my Pumas as it was too cold to be changing shoes. A local club seemed to have exactly the same purple and white singlet as my Glanmire A.C top so I exchanged confused salutes with my new clubmates. Before the start we were all huddled together like penguins before being walked up to the start line where the mayor fired the starting pistol to get us underway.
5. The Man in The Van
I think that races with a man in a van are my favourite. This race had a very excellent man in a van, the van drove off in front of us with the man in the van with the boot open videoing and doing commentary on the race. We would occasionally get too close to the van at which point he would shout at the driver to go faster. We followed the van for about 2km until he pulled over to video the rest of the field, before overtaking us and resuming the coverage. I made sure to make my move to the front every time the van appeared as it is the age of social media and it’s important to be seen.
6. YouTube
I think that this must be one of the most well televised races in the world. After entering the race I found the videos of the previous editions on YouTube. Before Covid the race seemed to have a contingent of Kenyan runners who would dominate. This years race was the 49th edition making it the longest running race in the locality. Luckily for me I appeared to be the only foreign athlete on this occasion.
7. Podium
I think that my favourite thing to do on holidays is to get on the podium in a local road race. After the first 5km lap around the town I knew I was in with a great chance as the group at the front had been whittled down to three of us, me and two athletes from a local club with green singlets. I led the race going through the line for the first time as it isn’t too often than you get to lead a race in Italy while running over a red carpet. The second lap was a larger lap of the town to make up a total of 13 km or so. With 3km to go the man in the van was back to see the group further distil down to just me and one of the two green singlets.
8. Sprint
I think that I knew I was in trouble if the race came down to a sprint finish. I have never out sprinted anyone so I decided to try and go from a kilometre out. I picked a point just before a sharp right hand turn into the long finishing straight. Initially I had some success but I knew from the lack of heavy breathing from the pursuing green singlet that it was only a matter of time before I was defeated. Sure enough with 100m to go the afterburners were initiated and I was left to sprint home on the red carpet happy enough in second place four seconds behind the winner.
9. Hot Tea
I think that one of the best things about racing in Italy in winter is that once you cross the finish line they always have hot lemon tea as a post race drink. There is no better post race drink. I think it is just the Lipton stuff warmed up but it is so good in sub zero temperatures. I had a nice cup of hot lemon tea while I discussed the race with the winner who is aiming for a 68 minute half marathon in Florence at the end of the month. I warmed down by running out to Rhona and finishing the race with her. I told her they had the hot tea at the finish to motivate her.
10. Spider Baby
I think that the local organisers were delighted to have an Irish person on the podium. They were very interested in interviewing me. I had learned some Italian sentences quickly from google translate so that I could make some attempt at an interview but they also had an excellent translator who had spent two months working in a hardware shop in Cork. It was great fun and a great way to spend New Years Day. After the interview we had a nice coffee and vegan croissant in the local bar. The Italians know how to organize races to perfection, I suppose after 49 previous editions they have had plenty of practice.
Alghero Half Marathon 2025
/10 Things I Think About The Alghero Half Marathon 2025
1. It’s Always Sunny in Sardegna
I think that Sardinia is probably my favourite island. It is like a warm Achill Island, an amazing place with beautiful and stunning scenery. The only problem and it’s a small problem is that it can be a little warm for running. Luckily on Sunday some cloud rolled in from the mediterranean making it more like Achill Island than Sardinia.
2. Cannonau
I think that even if you weren’t going to Sardinia for a half marathon it would be worth going for the food and wine. Cannonau is the local wine which is very good and fregola is the local pasta which is so good it is amazing that it isn’t everywhere. They are clearly very proud of the fregola as there is a restaurant at the airport that cooks fregola from scratch.
3. Olive Oil
I think that it is worth going to Sardinia just for the olive oil. I replaced the usual football match and race combination with an olive oil farm tour and race combination. Unfortunately, we picked the worst time to go on the tour as they had just started the harvest, so all last year’s olive oil was sold out and this year’s olive oil hadn’t yet been produced.
4. Singlets
I think that there are a few important things to remember when running races in Italy, number one is that you need a medical certificate signed by a doctor to run the competitive race as Julius and Evita the other Cork runners in the race found out. Number two which I forgot is that they have separate women’s cut singlet. Forgetting this I ordered Rhona a medium as usual. My mistake meant that I had to run up to the registration on the morning of the race to swap for a large, luckily, they were also selling last years singlets for €5 so I returned with three singlets and a good 4km warm up.
5. Gazzetta Dello Sport
I think it is a pity that we don’t have a newspaper like Gazzetta in Ireland. I can’t read Italian but I know it is a great newspaper. My favourite feature is the detailed player ratings, I think this would work really well for rating people in races, John Meade 6/10, Michael Herlihy 5/10 etc along with a paragraph tearing their performance to pieces. Gazzetta seemed to be involved in promoting the half marathon as on the start line an influencer was doing a piece to camera for Instagram for which I tried to get my new makeshift Glanmire A.C Fiorentina inspired purple singlet in the background
6. Moto
I think that the start of the race was great fun. The competitive 10k which Rhona had opted for went off 5 minutes before the half marathon so after about a mile we ran into the back of the 10k. We had two fellas on motorbikes who seemed to enjoy greatly clearing a path through the 10k runners for the front of the half marathon. Eventually it became too crowed for the motorbike, so we were left to weave our way through the 10k on our own.
7. Cinque
I think that I was too happy with 5th place in the race. I had looked up the regulations before hand and saw that there were cash prizes down to 5th with €400 for first. The front three quickly opened a gap while I was left with a fella in a red singlet with some sort of dragon on the back of it in fourth and fifth. After about 10k as we turned back to run out the road to Fertillia for the second time the red singlet fella made a move and left me firmly in fifth.
8. Mistral
I think that the mistral is a very unusual wind. It comes off the land in France and comes at the north of Sardinia, as we found out for the 5k between Alghero and Fertilla it is quite a strong wind. My friend in the red dragon singlet somehow managed to bridge across to second and third into the wind while I watched my kilometer splits drift from 3:30 to 3:40 remaining firmly stuck in fifth as was confirmed by Julius who was passing on the other side of the road in the competitive noncompetitive 10k.
9. Scirocco
I think it is great that the opposite wind to the Mistral is the Scirocco which is my favourite car. Once we turned in Fertillia at 15k the Mistral became my friend. Suddenly I felt good and the Adidas Pro 4s that I had packed started to work. 3:40s returned to high 3:20s and the gap to the group of second, third and fourth slowly closed. I thought I would catch fourth but despite closing to within five seconds as I passed Rhona’s Camino friend Pino who provided the best Italian support on the course, I could only finish 5th.
10. Podiums, Champagne and Forms
I think that the most important thing when doing a race on holidays is to make the podium. Luckily for me the podium in Alghero had five places. The premiazione took place in the same place as the registration with free Peroni beer on tap and as much food as at the prize giving in Coolagown. On the podium I received two bottles of champagne, local olive oil and some shower gel. I thought that was it but then the fella with the red dragon singlet who ended up second came up to me and told me about the desk where you fill out a form with your bank details to get the cash prize which was very kind.
Rhona, PINO AND ME
Cursa D'Age 2025
/1. Return to Running
I think that when you are returning to running after a significant ankle injury it is very important to follow a carefully monitored return to run program. The one I use is run for 15 minutes, then take a day off, run for 20 minutes, take a day off run for 25 minutes, take a day off, run for 30 minutes, take a day off then drive on. Ain’t nobody got no time for that walk run stuff.
2. Running Streak
I think that once you can run every day for about a week you are good to go. There isn’t much to be worried about if it was an injury where something tore or broke. Once it is healed it is healed and it probably won’t go again. Fear is an awful thing, fear should be gotten rid of as quickly as possible. If it doesn’t hurt it’s fine, drive on.
3. Sessions = Races
I think that if you can do a session, you can do a race. There is no point waiting for months to get back in shape, a race is better than any session. I probably would have waited ages to do a race due to my enlarged ego but a half trail half road race in Font Romeu where the only person I would have to suffer a bad beating from would be John Meade provided the perfect opportunity for a race without any significant ego damage.
4. Ageless
I think that I have done the Cursa D’Age more times than most of the locals, I’ve been doing it since 2016. It is a wonderful race, a small gem of a race with no fuss and no stress. Unfortunately, while the race has remained the same I have not and have gotten significantly older and more injured, the only consolation is that I am now eligible for the masters prize so there is a reasonable chance of a podium every time I run.
5. Speed Doesn’t Go Away
I think that it is fascinating that after nearly 11 weeks of almost no running I was able to run close enough to a five-minute mile for the first mile of the race. It kind of shows that the only thing training does is allow the pace to be maintained. The five-minute mile was no good in this case as Age had been invaded by elite athletes from the Asics house in Font Romeu which meant that I was miles off the front even after 500m. Even John Meade found himself trailing the leading lady who I recognized as Julien Melody who led the Women’s Marathon in Paris until halfway.
6. Fitness Does Go Away
I think that while speed doesn’t disappear, fitness does not hang around. After the first mile I soon ran out of oxygen, the five-minute mile reduced to closer to six and John Meade disappeared up the road at a rate that I have thankfully become unfamiliar with. I was left in a small group who I calculated I would have to beat if I wanted to stand on the podium in the masters category. I didn’t fancy my chances.
7. Masters Battle
I think that I should have fought harder when a local runner about the same age and height came past me after about three miles as the route entered the dirt road section before the deadly rock section. Try as I might I just got slower, the sessions on Zwift did nothing. He disappeared up the trail in his Vaporfly 3s taking my podium ambitions with him.
8. Deadly Rocks
I think that you could not pick a better race to test a dodgy ankle than this race, three miles in the route turns into a trail containing a section of deadly rocks for about a mile. As my podium ambitions were over I took it handy and gently and carefully picked my way through the rocks in my battered 6 year old Vaporfly 1s. Soon I became aware of footsteps behind me. I got to the top of the hill still in front but knew there would be a battle to the finish.
9. The Sprint That Cured Me
I think the thing that I missed most while injured was having a race with someone. It was great to have a battle with local hero Alvaro Rance over the last mile. With about 400m of the 8100m left to go he was right on my shoulder. I forgot that I was ever injured and launched the most vicious sprint which miraculously resulted in me going faster and maintaining my 11th position, 4th moderately old man and more importantly uninjured runner.
10. No Podium but Well Done John Meade
I think that while it was terribly disappointing not to make the podium it was good to be able to shout well done John Meade at John Meade when he was called up to stand on the top of the moderately old man podium. It was also good to find out that 11 weeks of almost no running results in a decrease in performance of two minutes which isn’t too bad. After the race I was happy to find that my ankle was no worse than it was before which is a key metric when returning from injury, once it doesn’t get worse it’s fine, hopefully it stays that way.
Padova Marathon 2025
/10 Things I Think About The Padova Marathon 2025
1. Football Italia
I think that if it wasn’t for watching Football Italia on Network 2 back when I was 10 years old I wouldn’t have been so keen on running the Padova marathon. 1996 was a great year, I was 10 which is probably one of the best numbers to be, Padova were in Serie A and there was the perfect amount of Football on TV not the incessant unfollowable amount there is now. Fast forward to 2025, Serie A is not on RTE, Padova are in Serie C and I prefer running to football.
2. B Here Now
I think that it was fitting that my arrival in Padova coincided with the promotion of Padova from Serie C to Serie B. We arrived on the Friday evening from Venice oblivious to the important football match that was taking place at 4pm. Rhona and I went for a jog around the Prato delle Valle only to have our planned route blocked by a flash mob letting off flares and smoke bombs, we diverted through the city streets where we saw lunatics on scooters and a gravel truck full of jubilant Padovans touring the town celebrating promotion.
3. Training Marathon
I think that aside from football the other reason I wanted to do the Padova marathon is that it is five weeks before the Cork Marathon and I don’t like doing long runs so it was the perfect way to get a good long run in. While Strava stalking I’ve noticed that the new trend with the young fellas who watch YouTubers is 23 mile long runs at about 6 minute mile pace, sure why not just do a marathon at 6 minute mile pace, same thing really plus it would be warm and sunny in Padova just like Cork.
4. Trams and Buses
I think that Padova is very similar to Cork, it has a very old university, a population of about 250,000 and a boom and bust football club. Unlike Cork it has a nice new tram system which we used to get to the Marathon Expo which was very like a big marathon Expo with lots of stalls. It was very straightforward to pick up the bibs and nice t-shirts although they did look for Rhona’s medical certificate again which was fine as I had it on the phone. There were doctor clowns for Billy so a very good expo.
5. Logistics
I think that it is very important when you are doing marathons abroad to look up the logistics of the event. Unfortunately I got a bit distracted before Padova and hadn’t a clue where the race started, all I looked up was the finish so that I could book accommodation by the finish. At the Expo I discovered that the marathon started at the Padova Football ground which is sort of like if they built the Bertie Bowl but maybe say in Curraheen, to complicate matters Rhona was doing the half which started in Abano Terme about 13 miles away. Luckily we had a car and the football stadium had a huge solar panel covered parking lot so we could park there and then there was a bus to take Rhona to the start of the half. It all made sense when we got there and was exceptionally well organized which is the great thing about Italian races.
6. Il Canto degli Italiani
I think that if there is one thing that we should do at races here that they do in Italy is that we should start playing the national anthem before race starts. The marathon started on the road outside the parking lot for the stadium. There were two or three elite men and women introduced. Then we had a minutes silence for Papa Francesco followed by the Italian National anthem. Then we were underway on a road not too dissimilar to if you started the Cork marathon in the car park of the Grehound stadium at Curraheen.
7. Tranquillo
I think that I will do more marathons like I did Padova. It was great not to have the pressure of holding some silly pace for a sub 2:30 marathon that no one cares about except yourself and your huge ego. I was aiming for somewhere between 2:38 and 2:44 depending on the weather so I started at about 6:05 minute mile pace and eventually after about 5 miles found myself in a nice group with the lead Italian lady, her male pacer and most likely her coach on a bike. The race route was mostly on country roads with nice green fields, there were no hills, there was no wind and it was a little warm and sunny.
8. Bravo! Brava! Bravi!
I think that the training marathon plan went excellently until about halfway. I went through halfway with my group in exactly 1:20. I wore the AlphaFly 3 because while they are not very fast they are by far the shoe that results in the least post-race badness which was my main concern. I continued to bounce along with my group listening to the bravas for the lady and the bravis for myself and the pacer. It was all good until we ran into the back of the half marathon at around 16 miles, there was a slight headwind and I found myself getting distanced from the bravas and having to make do with bravo.
9. Nuns, Run
I think that the support on the route was great, there were crowds out in every little town we ran through with water stops with bottles every 5km. Padova is a very religious place with the Church of St Anthony in the last kilometer of the race route so it was no surprise to see lots of nuns out of the course supporting the runners. The last two miles of the race were almost entirely on cobbled streets with spectacular architecture everywhere if you weren’t too tired to look around. I seemed to be very good at the cobbles so I caught back up to my initial group for the finish and an encore of the bravis that I had become used to.
10. Sister Event
I think that the finish of the race on the Prato that had been blocked by the Padova supporters on the Friday evening was very nice. There was a big gantry like in an big city marathon and a huge crowd out watching in the sunshine. I ended up finishing in 18th position and 3rd moderately old man. There was even a prize for the third moderately old man but I didn’t get it because I forgot to look up the details of the prizegiving assuming that I wouldn’t be anywhere near a prize. So if you like the Cork marathon, the Padova marathon is basically the sister event, very similar but with added nuns and Italian flair. I’d recommend it.
How to Get There:
Fly from Cork to Venice Marco Polo with Ryanair, 45 minutes from the airport to Padova.
Rented a car from Sicily by Car.
Parked at the Parcheggio Prato della Valle, parking was a bit hectic during the day but loads of places at night. It was €15 for 24 hours.
Where to Stay:
We stayed at the Padova Suites C20. The room had a fabulous view of St Anthony’s Church. Our room didn’t have a kitchen which would have been handy but the beds were wonderful and it had blackout blinds. There was a nice cafe downstairs.
Where to Eat:
Pizzeria Al Borgo had wonderful pizza just across the road from the accommodation.
Seville Half Marathon 2025
/10 Things I Think About The Seville Half Marathon 2025
1. Escaping Éowyn
I think that Ryanair have a great can do attitude. Only Ryanair will get you to Seville no matter the weather. Going to bed Thursday night I was pretty sure that a flight to Seville scheduled to take off in the midst of a red weather warning was both unwise and unlikely. Luckily there was some winter fat in the Ryanair schedule so the only impact of the storm was a welcome lie in and a three hour delay in departure.
2. Unsevillean Weather
I think that I was probably overdue some rain in Spain. Seville to me means blue skies, no wind and air so light it makes running almost effortless. Unfortunately on this occasion Seville resembled Cork on a soft damp day in May. Wet, humid, almost warm and a little windy.
3. Sub Elite Cajón Rojo
I think I’d be better off if I had never experienced what it is like to be in the elite start. Somehow the last time I did the Seville Half they gave me an elite number so I didn’t have to queue up with everyone else. This time I had to make do with the first corral of sub 1:20 runners along with my great enemy, friend and rival John Meade who was terribly disappointed when I told him that he hadn’t a hope in the M45 category because of Reyes Estevez who has run 2:16 for the marathon at 48.
4. In the Trenches
I think that the only issue with having to line up with the masses is that you have to experience what it is like to stand huddled nervously for about 15 minutes with mainly other men. It is mildly unpleasant but would make you appreciate that you were born in 1986 rather than 1886. I will never understand why so many people have to sprint the first 400m of a 21 kilometer race. The pushing and shoving is totally unnecessary, at least the roads are good and wide so it only lasts for a minute or too before normality is resumed.
5. Woman + Man = Pacemaker
I think that the great thing about big city half marathons is that there are always pacemakers to run with. They aren’t actually advertised easily identifiable pacemakers but if you see a woman running side by side with a man in the same shoes and uniform you know that you have a professional steady pace to follow for the entire race. It took me about 3k to find my Asics pace group which was moving along at a relatively metronomic 3:25 per kilometer. I got myself comfortable and tried to turn off my brain which is very difficult if not impossible.
6. Inoperable Water
I think that it is amazing how much trouble water causes in races. The trouble in Seville was the bottles. The bottles were very unusual with a weird cap so hard to open that it would have been easier if the water was in Calpol bottles. Then to cap it all off the fella in front had a nasty habit of just dropping his bottle onto the ground without any consideration for the people behind. Luckily my agility and nimbleness of foot is at its peak it being cross country season.
7. Juan Meade
I think that I had a good fifty minutes of running without sight or sound of John Meade. I was expecting him to turn up at some stage as he had completed an impressively intense week of crash training the week before with nearly 30 miles at or below 6 minute mile pace which was two miles more than I had managed to do. As I passed the 13k marker I was convinced that I could hear him behind so without looking I said hello John Meade, to my surprise the man making the exact same foot and breathing sounds as John Meade was not John Meade but a Spanish runner of similar stature and stride. Phew I thought.
8. The Water Trick
I think that I should be better at resisting the spirit crushing tactics of John Meade. Three kilometers after my initial misdiagnosis of John Meade I was horrified to be greeted by actual John Meade just after the water station at the 10 mile mark. He could clearly see that I had managed to open the unopenable water bottle but being the astute racer that he is he offered me a drink from his bottle almost as if to say “you look terrible, here have my water which I don’t need as I am fine”. I declined the water and watched horrified as the St Finbarr’s singlet surged ahead making impossible inroads into the many groups scattered along the road by the unsevillean wind.
9. 100m, SOS
I think that there is no beating John Meade if he passes you late in a race. You are in big big trouble. It doesn’t matter who you are, if John Meade gets within a mile of the finish you are in trouble. I could see from his stride that he was delighted with himself having passed me out. I did my best to hold the gap but as we ran down Ryan Creech’s beloved cobblestone road past the giant mushroom the gap began to open to the length of at least six shops.
10. A Monk Swimming
I think that the last kilometre of the race was a little odd. It was like I was running in a race that I didn’t belong in. All of the men had been filtered out and I was left in a battle I didn’t want to fight with five women all but one of whom outsprinted me. Once across the line I said Well Done John Meade, collected my medal, before commencing a slow jog back to the apartment with the winner discussing the ridiculousness of going all the way to Seville to race only each other. Well Done John Meade.
Campaccio XC 2025
/10 Things I Think About The 68th Campaccio XC 2025
1. Italian Races
I think that Italy might be my favourite place not in Ireland for doing races. They really do races excellently. Everything is wonderful, the registration is cheap, €12 for an international cross-country race, the courses are imaginative, and the races are packed with elite athletes and lots of “sub elite” Italian fellas like me who like running. They even have squirrel dragons as race mascots.
2. Capital of Cross Country
I think that Legnano might have the two best cross country races in the world. It is a very small place to have both the Cinque Mulini and the Campaccio races. We stayed at the same hotel as we did for Cinque Mulini, Hotel Poli because it was excellent and near the squirrel park for Billy. All of the elite athletes also stay in the hotel so you get to see how they get treated and how early they leave for the race, 12:30 for a 2:30 start which is approximately an hour earlier than me.
3. Irish Weather in Italy
I think that it was great for the race to be held in conditions so wet and cold that it was almost like being in Ireland. The only thing that was missing from an Irish race was wind, there was absolutely no wind, but the thick continuous wet rain that we get at home was there along with 4 to 5 degree temperatures. Perfect for cross country and slowing down the track runners.
4. Rhona Recce
I think it was great that Rhona’s race was on earlier in the day so that I could get an idea of what sort of spikes would be needed. Rhona ran in Dragonflys with 6mm spikes which she said were fine but with the continuous rain I was pretty sure that 9mm would be perfect by 2:35pm by which time a lot of rain and a lot of races would have torn up the course.
5. If Only I Had 9mm Spikes
I think that I was lucky that the box of spikes that said 9mm actually had 12mm spikes in it. I am slightly obsessed about spikes as they are very important. I was slightly worried that the Italians wouldn’t allow me run with 12mm spikes as some of the course was on the track so I got to the call area very early so that I would have time to change the spikes if a man deemed them too long. Luckily no one looked at my spikes so I had to stand in the call area for about 10 minutes waiting for everyone else to finish their elaborate technical warmups. I asked one of the On sponsored Burundian runners what spikes he had, he said 9mm which was probably the safest option given the sections on the track.
6. Penguins
I think that I should have gone further up towards the front of the start line. I was very cold after standing around in the call area so it was nice to be bunched together on the startline like a bunch of penguins sheltering from the cold. I was a bit worried about falling so I took it handy off the start which was a big mistake as the course was quite narrow so I ended up miles back after a few 100m.
7. 93rd
I think that I did well to recover from my slow start. The race was televised live on RAI as Italians don’t have GAA so this is the equivalent of the National League GAA matches. According to the TV coverage I was 93rd after the first of the ten kilometres which was quite near the back. It took me a while to figure out the twisty turny up and down course but after a lap I had it figured out and I started to make progress.
8. Habemus Grip
I think that it was only after a lap that I realised that all of the Italian runners had the wrong length spikes on. It was like in a Formula 1 race where one driver has wet tires on and everyone else has slicks. Any bit of muck and I would fly by the Italian fellas slipping and sliding while I was nailed to the ground in my 12mm spikes. It was great fun, I was passing what felt like the whole field, although when you are 93rd after a kilometre there are a lot of people to pass.
9. Fanclub
I think that it was great to have my own fanclub on the course. A group of Italians who were standing with Billy and Rhona started cheering for me every time I went passed which was a lot of times as the course looped back on itself a lot. I think they thought I was called Dada not Donal because of Billy but sure what harm.
10. Pointless
I think that I did very well to get from 93rd to 53rd by the end of the race. I was actually in 52nd just before the line but an Italian destroyed me in a sprint so I lost one of my hard earned places. I didn’t get lapped which was great but I didn’t get on the TV as much as I would have liked as they were doing the podium when I finished 5 minutes behind the Ethiopian winner Bekele. In addition to the nice cup of warm sweet tea in a branded squirrel dragon cup I also collected some world ranking points which have now put me 299th in the world athletics cross country rankings which is utterly pointless but for some reason makes me very happy.
