Hi all

Just to you know how Dublin Half Marathon went for the us last Saturday there was six of us from Athenry club and I think i saw 2 others in the Club top.

It started off this year with the Flora mini marathon followed by the Clare people 10k, Galway 5km May Series, Headford 8K, Streets of Galway and a few others, the aim at the end of the season was the Galway Bay 10 but that all change on the morning of the Connemara Breakfast run.

I got talking to Grainne Breen who told me that she was going to do her first half Marathon in Dublin for her 40th Birthday along with her husband Mark and did I know of anyone from the club that would be doing it. At the time I didn’t but by the time we left the Connemara Gateway Hotel Pauline Murray, Bríd Moran, Breege McGrath & myself had all agreed to do it.

So last Saturday the 22nd of September I found myself in Phoenix Park with the other for what was for some our first half marathon.

The sun shone without a cloud in the sky and everyone around us was in great form and nobody seem to mind that the race was was delayed by 15 minutes.

We found ourselves not to near the front as we didn’t wouldn’t go off to fast. The gun went off the 1st mile along Chesterfield Avenue, was a nice wide road with plenty of room to spread out so people did not have to weave around each other. I hoped to finish in just under two hours and by the time I reached the 5miles at Wellington Road I was very hot but very happy with my pace and time.

Then I hit the hills on Military Road- mile 6 up to the Upper Glen-mile 7 God they were tough and they slowed me down by the time I reach Ordnance Survey Road-Mile 8 road I had just recovered but the thought off doing the hills put a nagging thought in the back of my head would I manage to finish in 2 hours. So when I reached the hills again at 10 miles I knew what I had to face. I found my struggling through the couple of miles but I managed it, although with slow miles but I was still underway to finishing in under the 2 hour mark.

On Ordnance Survey Road I saw Mark Breen who had finished in a great time of 1:32:00 who shouted a word of support so I dug in. When I crossed the line in 1.55.30 I was delighted followed by Grainne Breen 1:59:20, Pauline Murray 2.22.03. Breege McGath & Bríd Moran 2.06.50 all doing better than we expected.