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.

Cork City Marathon 2024

10 Things I Think About The Cork City Marathon 2024

1. For Runners By Runners

I think that you can tell how good a race is going to be by the number or runners involved in the organization. This was a marathon for runners by runners, everything was how I would have done it, it was like Michael Herlihy organized it, impeccable. It was my sixth Cork Marathon which means I am nearly very old and possibly the person with the most experience of the route and conditions which is both good and bad.

2. Bagpipes

I think that I am very lucky to be classified as an “elite” marathon runner in Cork. I hope SuperValu don’t do what Mercadona did for the Valencia Marathon and turn it into the fastest marathon in the world. It’s great fun walking down from Elverys to the startline led by a man playing the bagpipes. We only had a few seconds on the start line before the best Lord Mayor, Kieran McCarthy fired the gun and off we went into the typical blinding sunshine of a June Bank Holiday weekend in Cork.

3. Computer Says No

I think that the worst thing about having run Cork a few too many times is that if you’ve stuck your hand into the fire that is going out too hard and ending up waddling in the straight road it’s hard to do it again. As we ran down the South Mall I was horrified to see Barry Twohig and Danny Mullins take off up the road not far behind the significantly larger than normal lead group. I considered going after them but as we turned back towards town after the short trip around Blackpool I saw a large group containing Viv and Tadhg behind and decided that I didn’t want to risk ending up on the straight road having my legs held up in the air by Kieran McKeown.

4. The Group

I think that the easiest way to run a marathon is to run with a big group. One or two people isn’t enough, you need about five or six to make it interesting. This is why the big city marathons are so much faster because there is always a big group to follow. I ended up with in a lovely group containing Viv, Tadhg, Anthony McCarthy, Joe from Mallow via Frankfurt and Peter in full Hoka kit who I mistakenly thought was an American but was in fact from Dublin. We stayed together until about 17 miles which is where the marathon starts in Cork.

5. Too Sweet

I think that I have work to do on my Maurten gel consumption. Every good influencer and podcast says that the key to marathon running is consuming 90g per hour of carbohydrate. I set off with 130g of carbohydrates in the pockets of my Soar Marathon shorts which over four years are slowly but surely justifying the significant cost. I managed to take 40g at miles 6 and 12, then 25g at mile 18, then it became too sweet for me, so I gave my last gel to Viv. I didn’t feel like I ran out of energy so perhaps 39.9g per hour is enough.

6. Water, Water, Everywhere

I think that the water on course was exceptional. There was water everywhere. It even came in the most perfect small bottles with sports caps that you could hold in your hand and run along with quite easily. Another advantage of being in a group is that you can give your water bottle to Viv to hold while you deal with the difficult task of opening a gel. Other notable excellent cold water came from Donal Coffey and Sheldon.

7. Slow Boil

I think that the major problem with Cork is the heat. There are lots of studies on heat and its impact on running, I bet there are none on the impacts of running a marathon in Cork. It is the perfect storm when it comes to heat and running. Because it starts off at 815am it feels kind of cool so it’s easy to go off too fast, then it warms up as it goes along and the hardest part of the course comes when the temperature has reached it’s highest point so if you’ve gone off too fast you are in big, big trouble. This doesn’t happen in Valencia as it’s on in winter so the temperature is the same at the start as it is at the end so judging pacing is a lot easier. There is no fixing this problem. It’s just figuring out how not to get boiled.

8. Leeside Lumps

I think that over the years I have come to like the miles from Turners Cross to Farranlea Road more and more. It is a terrible part of the course to end up solo but in a small group it is wonderful. The only thing I would change is I would have a shoe change station on the South Link where you could change from AlphaFlys to Vaporflys to deal with all the corners. Volunteers like Graham could then transport the Alphaflys down to the end of the straight road so that you could change back for the run home.

9. Clear Air Turbulence

I think that the best way to deal with the straight road is to think about it positively. I kept telling myself that the straight road was where I was going to be at my best because of how wonderful the AlphaFly3s are on a flat straight road so I was kind of looking forward to it. By the time we turned right out onto the most feared road in Cork the group in the battle for the all important 15th position had been whittled down to me, Viv and Tadhg. Sheldon was on hand to capture the moment Tour De France style when Viv was dropped in dramatic fashion by myself and Tadhg. This was very surprising as the slipstream created by two us two monsters running side by side was probably worth 30 seconds a mile, perhaps it was turbulent air.

10. Finishing Hug

I think that I should have asked Tadhg to leave it to a sprint down Patrick Street as there was no one on North Main Street to appreciate the greatness that was the battle for 15th position. It was epic, it began outside the Franciscan Well when Tadhg decided that it was time for the group to become a group of one. I wasn’t very happy about this decision. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about it and I was left to chase him down North Main Street past the historic falling down buildings held up with rusty metal bars before turning onto Patrick Street. I walked across the finish line triathlon style because I was tired before being hugged by Tadhg. I collected my car key from Graham and applauded Viv home a few seconds later. A great day out.

Bored the Night Before The Berlin Marathon 2017

10 Things I Think About Being Bored The Night Before The Berlin Marathon

1. Full Back

I think I picked the wrong sport. I'm not designed to run marathons, I should have been a GAA player. The doctor who first set eyes on me as a 11 pound baby said "Galtee Gaels have a new full-back" not "the Berlin Marathon has a new winner".

2. For God's Sake Take it Handy at the Start

I think I'll listen to Donie Walsh this time. Normally he doesn't even bother telling me to take it handy at the start of a road race because he knows that it is utterly pointless. Lizzie Lee has also suggested a sensible approach. I might just listen this time.

3. Boxing

I don't think I've ever gotten to the start line of a race in such good shape. There is literally nothing wrong with me, nothing. This isn't some David Haye style boxing nonsense where I'll reveal tomorrow that I actually have three broken toes and a torn ACL, I am actually perfect. I even survived a dramatic ankle roll at the Marina on Tuesday. Perhaps the robust ankles of a full back are exactly what's needed for a marathon.

4. Plague

I'm very happy to have avoided catching any diseases before the marathon. I had the misfortune of sitting beside a very diseased person on the plane but I seem to have avoided contracting whatever plague was going. I was going to ask him to move but I don't think that would have worked.

5. Beige Food

I think the best approach to the day before a marathon in a foreign city is to adopt a beige food policy. If it's beige you can eat it. Bread, croissants, rice cakes, bananas, pizzas and tiramisu are all ok.

6. Veins

I think I regret all those croissants in Font Romeu. I wish I looked like a heroin addict. It's horrible walking around the EXPO and seeing all these people who have veins like the U-Bahn map of Berlin. I wish I had veins.

7. Sleep

I think beer is great for sleep but I'm too afraid to drink one the night before the marathon. I had two on Friday after arriving and slept like a baby. I don't think I'll sleep as well tonight. I'll take some paracetamol instead.

8. The Da Vinci Code

I think there are two restaurants in Berlin called Da Vinci.

9. Rowdy Barber

I think deflation has struck in Berlin. My haircut only cost €44 this time. I think I like it. It's sort of German, it certainly wasn't worth €44.

10. 16071

I think my number has a nice symmetry to it, 1+6=7, 7-1=6. I hope it all adds up to a good time, whatever that is.

Tapering for the Cork City Marathon

10 Things I Think About Tapering for the Cork City Marathon

1. Leaving Cert

The Cork City Marathon is a lot like the Leaving Cert. It's on the first week in June, you pray that the weather isn't hot, you're pretty sure of the questions that will be asked and you get lots of questionable advice from people on how best to approach it. The only real difference is that my mother couldn't care less how well I do in the marathon.

2. Laois Hire

I think those signs on the motorway warning about the impending traffic chaos as a result of the marathon are actually injury inducing. Every time I pass those signs I see the words "you're not running the marathon are you, you'll definitely get injured again like the last time you tried".

3. Religion

I think tapering is against my beliefs. The concept disagrees with me. I have similar beliefs to Trump, I think the human body only has so much energy, except I think you may as well make use of it while you're fit and healthy. If I can run, I'd rather run.

4. Kobe Beef

I think stress is responsible for most niggles and injuries, I'm not a very stressed person but sometimes you have to do stressful things. Apparently Kobe beef is so good because the animals have no stress. This is because they get fed beer, listen to music and get lots of massage. I think I'll do that this week, drink some beer, listen to music and get massage.

5. Niggle

I don't think a marathon would be complete without a career threatening injury or minor niggle. My injury/minor niggle involved my right hamstring taking on the properties of a guitar string. Of course I tried to run on it for two days which played on the tendons at the base of the hamstring. Thankfully a good massage removed the guitar string, unfortunately the tendons remain less than harmonious. They're getting happier every day so I'm not too worried.  I know I'm nearly better because the niggle is moving back to my left calf, in my experience this is the best place to store your niggle.

6. Disease

Disease is another potential threat to a marathon. I used always get a disease before exams. To protect myself from diseased people I have been taking a Yakult every morning and evening along with some more probiotics and Vitamin D. Salazar and Team Sky are always right. I also keep a bottle of hand sanitising gel in the door pocket of the car as you never know when you might meet a diseased person, more marginal gains.

7. Diet

I read that a lot of people use a carbohydrate depletion diet in the week before the marathon. I was tempted by this because it sounded mad and the people In the 1980s running book did it. Then I thought about it logically and realised that it makes no sense to do something you've never done before the week before a marathon, having said that I've never tapered before either.

8. Pace

I think whatever pace I run at will be either too fast or too slow. There are all sorts of pace calculators that you can use. Marco has one and McMillan too. I think I'll stick to the Donie Walsh pace calculator. This is not available on the Internet.

9. Gels

I think gels are a marginal gain that I can live without, I know they help but so do lots of things. I'd rather not end up like Tom Dumoulin at the Giro. Marginal gains can easily turn into major losses.

10.Jinxed

I've probably jinxed the marathon now by writing about it. I don't know why the marathon is so important. You know what, it's identical to the Leaving Cert, you can just do it again if you don't  get the result you want.