Dublin City Marathon - Race Report

So the day finally came and went.  So much for a good night sleep the night before...  I'm not sure if I was excited or nervous, either way I didn't sleep much.  The alarm went off at 6am and with all my gear set out from the night before I got ready.

After a nice breakfast of porridge with banana and honey, Jimmy arrived to drive me to Dublin.  When we got to Dublin most of the roads were already closed so I got out as close as to the start as possible and then off I walked.  I got to the start line a good 90 minutes before the start, with plenty of time to drop off my bag and get warmed up.

There was a good crowd with 14,000 people taking part and there was a great atmosphere.  The race was very well organised and started on time.  Of from Fitzwilliam square we ran on past St. Stephen's green around Trinity College, across O'Connell Bridge, up O'Connell Street,

Passing the GPO

Parnell Street, Dorset Street, North Circular Road and into the Phoenix Park.  These were very enjoyable parts of the run and my legs were beginning to wake up after a sluggish start.  I started in the 4 hour 30 minute wave and was taking it nice an easy unsure what was to come as this was my first marathon.  By the time we were leaving the Phoenix park I had past the 4:15 pacers and settled into a nice rhythm.  The weather was great, nice and cool with the occasional short bit of rain.  I was enjoying this.

At 16km I past Kilmainham Jail to hear my name being called.  I looked across and saw three of the girls from the local athletics club.  It was great to see them there and great to be cheered on.  At 19km I past the trainer from the athletics club and gave him a shout as I past.  Things were going well.

At the halfway point I felt a sharp twinge in the base of my left foot, which gave me a little fright.  I tried to flex my toes but that just seemed to cause more pain so I favoured the foot for a few kilometres making sure I landed correctly hoping that it would hold up.  At 24km I saw yet more people from the club.  It was great to see so much support from Carlow up at the race.

From here on in it began to get tough.  At 32km I had hit the furthest distance that I had ever run before and the running, or should I say shuffling, was tough.  I think from 34km to 39km I may have switched off as I don't remember how I got through them.  The worst kilometre was number 37.  I stopped to stretch, which in hindsight was probably a bad move as it took ages to get my legs going again.

With a little over 3km left to go the heavens opened, the wind picked up and within a few moments I was saturated.  I did get an extra burst of energy here.  I'm not sure if it was because I was close to the end or if it was because I wanted to get out of the rain.  So on we went around Trinity College for the second time...

Outside of Trinity College

and on towards the finish line.  I was so happy to finish, doing so in 4:10:58.  It was a great race for me and an emotional one also.

Coming up to the finish line

For those who have been reading my blog for a while would know I signed up to run the marathon 7 months ago, back in March.  I decided to run this to try and raise money for the Irish Cancer Society as there is a history of cancer in my family, my cousin had been diagnosed with cancer and a good friend of mine had been diagnosed with leukaemia.   A month before the marathon my friend with leukaemia got the news that it was terminal.  6 days before the marathon my friend lost her battle against leukaemia.  We will miss her energy, vitality, sense of humour and joy of life.  The world is a much better place because of the time she spent here. We miss you.

The Medal

The T-Shirt

 If you would like to sponsor me in my goal to raise money for the Irish Cancer Society there is still time.  Please click on the image on the right hand column of mychairty.ie.  Thank you for your support.