Adare 10k 2023

10 Things I Think About The Adare 10k

1. Limerick

I think that I will do more races in Limerick. I’m from Limerick not Cork even if I have spent nearly all my life in Cork. When I started running there were no races in Limerick, then there was the Ballyhoura series and now there are lots.

2. Tiger Woods

I think that Adare is an unusual place. It is like an oasis in a desert of terrible roads, a bizarre place, like someone from Limerick County Council decided to copy Kenmare and got funding from J.P McManus. It is a very good copy, very clean and tidy with a nice golf course and Manor. It would be nice if the race went in around the Manor but I suppose the golf is very important.

3. Late/Elite

I think that it is just as well that I can just about qualify for an elite entry for some local races. I wish that they would call it something other than elite, perhaps “Decent Club Runner Entry” or “Moderate Responder to Training Entry”. The only reason I went for an elite entry is because I missed the normal entry, and it was sold out. I emailed Kevin O’Donoghue with the required evidence of time over 10k and was quickly sorted. Very efficient.

4. Cold

I think that it was sufficiently cold enough in Adare to wear arm warmers without being accused of being a Kipchoge wannabe. Arm warmers are ridiculous looking things and probably completely unacceptable for a 37 year old man from Anglesboro to be seen wearing in public. They do however help when it is cold like in Adare. My ones are €8 from Decathlon so they aren’t as bad as the Nike ones.

5. Numero Uno

I think that Rory Chesser is a good target to have in a race. It helped that he was wearing the number one. I wanted to try and run 32 minutes for 10k and decided that Rory was the 32-minute man. At the start just like in Dungarvan William Maunsell was gone, unlike Dungarvan there was no man in a van tormenting him about a course record after 200m. Niall Shanahan was just off the back with Rory just ahead of my group which contained lots of people like me, some of whom were also wearing arm warmers and all of whom were wearing magic shoes.

6. The First Hill

I think that I did too much work over the first 4k of the race. I could see Rory an annoying distance ahead, I thought John Kinsella would be interested in catching him but he seemed happy to run steady, so I went to the front and tried to catch Rory. It wasn’t too bad as the wind was behind us. I didn’t succeed in catching Rory but I kept the gap the same. Then at 4km we met the first of many small hills and quickly realised that John Kinsella and Declan Moore were much better at running up hills. A gap quickly developed which only Chris Jeuken was able to bridge.

7. An East Wind Blows No Good

I think that was a particularly evil wind in Adare yesterday. It was a very unusual wind, from the east, very cold and very strong. It would have been much better if the wind was from the normal direction. Once we got to 5k the wind started to have an impact. Despite knowing that it would be very bad to get stuck on my own after 5k I got stuck in no mans land just off the back of the Kinsella led group.

8. Thank God for Colm Turner

I think that if it wasn’t for Colm Turner I’d have been a minute slower in the race. He appeared at the perfect time just as we reached the 6k point where we turned into the head wind. He was the perfect person to run with, almost the same height so excellent wind blocking and very good at running downhills. It was perfect and we started to close in on the Rory and Chris group which had become detached from the Kinsella group of two.

9. Chris Look and Go

I think that Chris Jeuken could be a name to watch out for in running. I first met him years ago on a bike, he was an incredible cyclist, the sort of fella you are glad doesn’t run. Now he has started running so we are in trouble. I thought it would be good to beat him, so I was motivated to try. Colm helped greatly to close the gap but as we approached 8k Chris turned looked back saw we had nearly caught up and took off up the road like he wasn’t troubled at all by the pace.

10. Not Able

I think that racing is very hard. Running at a steady pace is lovely, trying to race people is completely different. When Chris took off after detecting our presence, Colm immediately left me and took off after Chris quickly bridging the gap up to Rory and taking Rory with him. It was terrible, it was almost unfair, I was tempted to shout at them to come back it was so ridiculous. I couldn’t comprehend how quickly they dropped me. I was left to run the last kilometre on my own into the wind which was very lonely. Then I saw the finish line in lovely Adare so I did a bit of a sprint for the photos pretending I was racing someone.

Eagle A.C 5 Mile 2023

10 Things I Think About The Eagle A.C 5 Mile

1. Are You Trying to Win The €250?

I think that Lizzie Lee was definitely trolling me when she asked me the night before the race if I was going for the €250 for the 25:00 course record. It is not a compliment to ask someone if they are going for something that is physically and scientifically impossible.

2. Regular

I think that the best description of John Meade that I have ever read is “Regular winner John Meade”. I really enjoy racing John Meade, particularly now that I can beat him, it is an honour to race (and beat) him, Cork running regular royalty.

3. Deliveroo

I think that I could have an idea for a business after today, a gel delivery service. Imagine an app where you could order a specific gel to be delivered to a specific point at a specific time. I think it would be wonderful. I had to deliver a Citrus High5 gel with caffeine to Lizzie on the line. I was going to kneel down and present it to her but she snapped it out of my hand and downed it before I had the chance.

4. Pat Hennessy

I think that Pat Hennessy ruined the potential showdown between myself and John Meade. At the start Pat Hennessy tore off which was just as well as it lined the field out before we had to pass through the timing gate for a reason I’m uncertain of. I jumped in behind Pat unsure as to whether it was a good idea to follow or not. The Well Done John Meades were immediate so I knew that John Meade was right on my tail.

5. Two Miles Peace

I think that the first two miles of this race are lovely. It is a very nice two miles out the back road towards Ringaskiddy, I just followed Pat Hennessy which was quite difficult and waited until eventually I could no longer hear John Meade’s purple Next%2s. This took about a mile and a half.

6. Let The Hills Begin

I think that this course would make a good cycling race. It has a lot of punchy little climbs. These climbs do not suit me at all at all and I was tremendously vulnerable to an ambush by John Meade who can fly up the short ramps. I have learned over the years not to panic and to not try and follow someone who is not as tall as me on these climbs and to catch them back up on the inevitable downhill. It’s a tricky balancing act but it’s the only way when you have long tanned legs.

7. Outside Shanbally

I think that after three miles of this race I was very happy. We had just left Shanbally and I was suffering majorly trying to hang onto the back of Pat Hennessy. Fortunately we were running downhill into the wind so I was able to keep up. I was pretty sure that I wasn’t going to win but I was growing less and less fearful of a John Meade counter insurgency on my second place.

8. Eurosport

I think that Pat Hennessy is a clinical racer. I was very impressed at how he destroyed me on the hill once we turned off the main road out of Shanbally, it was like something you’d see on Eurosport live from Belgium on a Tuesday afternoon in April. He kicked away off up the hill and there was nothing I could do except focus on not letting the gap get too big.

9. Victory in Defeat

I think that the last mile of this race was just flat enough to allow me to fend off John Meade. Pat Hennessy was well gone so at every junction I turned my attention to I counting the time between my passing and the inevitable “Well Done John”. It was at least 20s, he’d have 10s in the finish on me but not 20. The finish took along time to come but it arrived eventually. I was so happy I threw myself on the ground in a heap like I normally do.

10. Hurried Photo

I think that course records are a great idea. For some reason time is very appealing to people especially round numbers. No one really seemed interested in my ferocious battle with John Meade they were only interested in Lizzie and the clock. “Can we take the photo of the top 3 quickly before Lizzie arrives?”. There was plenty time, nearly two minutes. My gel worked.

All Ireland Masters XC 2023

10 Things I Think About The National Masters XC

1. More XC

I think that it is a terrible shame that the cross-country season ends in February. There is room for at least another three or four cross country races. I don’t know why the intermediate and masters couldn’t be separated out, I would have run both. I wonder would there have been anything to stop you doing both on the same day. 15k cross country would make good marathon training.

2. Kilkenny

I think that this was the first race that I have run in Kilkenny. I have entered the streets of Kilkenny about three or four times but baulked at driving to Kilkenny on a Thursday night every time. It is a lovely place, very flat with very nice grass. The race wasn’t actually on in Kilkenny but in Gowran which has a unique combination of a golf course, horse racing track and cross country track all in one.

3. Don’t Forget Your Dragonflys

I think that you might as well not turn up to a cross country race when the ground is dry if you don’t have dragonflys. Michael Herlihy is a recent convert, he was so astonished by how good they were after a session at the farm last week that he hasn’t stopped talking about them all week. John Meade hadn’t a hope as he was wearing spikes from at least 2001.

4. Pink Pants

I think that it is terrible that as a man you can’t wear tracksuit pants that are any other colour than grey, black or navy. Mark Walsh was horrified by my pink Adidas tracksuit pants which I think are lovely. I wore them on the warmup to annoy him. For the warmup we weren’t allowed on the course by a “where do ye think ye are going” man so we went into to a bumpy field before finding that you could hop a fence and get onto the course which was also bumpy but recently rolled.

5. Fast Old Men

I think that it is incredible how fast the start of the race was. Last year the old man race went out very slow, it was very polite and almost pleasant. This race was very different. It was a mad dash to the first corner, I was miles back but not too worried as the course was nice and wide with plenty of space to pass people like John Meade who had gone off too fast.

6. Sensible Conor

I think that following Conor McCauley in a race is the most sensible plan of action. Conor is the most excellent pacer. You simply could not go wrong following Conor, well maybe if you were able to follow Tim O’Donoghue that would be better. Once the madness of the first few 100m was over I looked around and found Conor in the pack and followed him for the first nice flat loop. It took the first small lap and most of the second big lap to move up into the top 20.

7. And Now to Pass John Meade

I think that I did some excellent overtaking in this race. One of my favourite overtaking maneuvers was on John Meade. It was so fast that he probably didn’t even notice the blur of Leevale singlets sweeping past. After about a lap and a half I realized that I hadn’t actually hit anyone while passing them as Conor is very polite and doesn’t do anything like that. So when I saw David Power up ahead at the left hand turn as you returned to the start I took my opportunity to give someone a gentle right shoulder providing the perfect amount of momentum and adrenaline to get through another lap.

8. Course

I think that the course was very similar to the one in Donegal. It was very fast, excellent for dragonflys. The turns were either fast sweeping turns or ninety degree turns through gaps. There was also no mud. It was very like a road race on grass. The only complicating factor were the many little holes in the second field, sort of like hoof prints. Fortunately they were no problem to someone with huge feet like me but the smaller footed runners were complaining about getting their feet stuck in them

9. Tony O’Brien

I think that Tony O’Brien must know what is going to happen in these races. Before the start he came over to me and said if you are lapping me halfway around the last 2km lap you’ll be running a good race. As we came onto the last lap I was in about 8th trying to hang onto the back of Brian Conroy. As we entered the big field for the last time we passed Tony going up the hill so I knew that I was having a good race. A good race being defined by beating Michael Herlihy, Viv and John Meade in the same race.

10. Catch Conroy

I think that I need to get better at finishing races. I have no kick at all. As we came down the hill for the last time I thought I had a chance of catching Brian Conroy but he took off after Conor taking a Rathfarnham fella with him. I wasn’t too worried as I knew I was having a good race so I kind of relaxed until I heard Mark Walsh and Noel Murphy flying behind me. Unfortunately, I got to the line before them so there are no excellent photos like in Dungarvan. John Shine was in shortly after Mark so we won the team with possibly the youngest looking masters team in history.

Dungarvan 10 2023

10 Things I Think About The Dungarvan 10 2023

1. Guidelines

I think that you know you are doing too many races when your mother starts worrying about you. “Are you sure you are within the guidelines for running?” She’s right there are no guidelines for my nonsense and if there were I’d be well outside them. My rule is no niggles then drive on, sure what could possibly go wrong if you’ve no niggles.

2. Perfect for Dungarvan

I think that the weather for Dungarvan was amazing, it wasn’t as perfect as Seville but for Dungarvan in February it was perfect. It was cold but tolerable with an aimless wind that neither aided nor impeded running at my modest pace. There was no rain and no clouds.

3. Kieran McKeown

I think that everyone should meet Kieran McKeown at the start line of a race. He is a very nice man. He told me that I looked very lean and that I didn’t need to lose a stone. He was very complimentary about my shoulders which have almost disappeared. I think it might have been the black arm warmers but I felt very confident after meeting him. Then I met Viv and Alan who congratulated me on my great PB by me in Seville. I almost felt good at running.

4. Next%

I think it is obvious that people prefer the original Next% to the Next%2. If you look on the start line of most races you will see a lot of the original Green and Pink ones which are almost four years old, this is because they are the fastest ones before World Athletics told Nike to cop on. Thankfully I have a source of new Green and Pink Next%s which I will not be divulging.

5. Course Record

I think that William Maunsell might actually have broken the course record if the guy in the van with the megaphone had not spent the first 4 miles of the race talking about the course record. It didn’t help that because of the cold still air the megaphone was extra powerful. If I was William Maunsell I’d have backed off the van and gone back to the group just not to have to listen to “he’s going for the course record” and it 400m into a 10 mile race.

6. David McCarthy

I think that when I was running along with David McCarthy for the first mile or two of the race it must have looked like a thoroughbred racehorse running along with a hairy donkey. It didn’t last long as Conor McCauley has no respect for either donkeys or thoroughbreds and tore by on the way down to the third mile marker at GSK taking the thoroughbred with him and leaving the donkey behind.

7. Noel Murphy

I think that Noel Murphy was the perfect person to run the race with. He didn’t annoy me in any way, I could have run a marathon with him no problem. I’m unsure if Noel Murphy thought that I was the perfect person to run the race with. I thought we ran well together taking turns into the aimless wind but after the race Noel said that I was a terrible man for surging. One man’s taking turns is another man’s surging I suppose. Michael Herlihy also thinks I surge.

8. Gels

I think that you don’t need a gel in a 10 mile road race but it is no harm to have one with you. I remember Fabian Cancellara taking a gel 5km from the end of The Tour of Flanders and winning so perhaps it has a placebo effect. I took my gel from up my sleeve just after 7 miles. We had just been passed by Neil Wiktorski who went by like he was fuelled by many gels. I didn’t actually take the gel just swished it around in my mouth and spat it out. It seemed to help.

9. Vivophobia

I think that I have a terrible fear of Viv. He is a terrifying prospect in a race. John Meade isn’t as bad because if he does pass you it looks like he is trying. Viv sort of glides up to your back like a well trained Russian spy before effortlessly and incredibly annoyingly gliding away. Thankfully because of my work/surging with Noel I had put a massive colossal insurmountable distance into both Viv and John Meade that could not be closed no matter how much hatred they were fuelled by.

10. The Sprint for 8th

I think that I would have been a lot happier if this had been a nine mile road race. At nine miles I was in 6th, 6th in the Dungarvan 10 would be amazing, I’d almost be happy with it as I’d nearly have won and have been close enough to worry Conor McCauley. Unfortunately myself and Noel got destroyed by a Tipperary and Waterford duo on the last hill leaving us to sprint for 8th. It was a fabulous sprint, extremely fast, possibly the best sprint of the day with €10 at stake, we crossed the line in the same time but because Noel is from Waterford and no one likes me I was 9th. John Meade and Viv were after 9th.