Carramore in South Mayo is well hidden. At least that’s my excuse for not arriving at Race HQ until 20mins before the off. I ‘navigated’ as Mick drove us in increasingly erratic patterns in search of Carramore. One signpost at a lonely crossroads was passed a number of times before I acknowledged that perhaps it hadn’t been turned the wrong way by some mischievous Mayo native. Perhaps we should follow its instructions despite my flawed sense of direction indicating otherwise.

It wasn’t the first visit to Carramore, so we should have known better. We had both ran there in 2003 and Mick had even made a return visit. As I said, Carramore is well hidden (funny how nobody else had trouble finding it!).

The visit in May ’03 was well remembered for all the wrong reasons. I obviously couldn’t recall how to find the place, but I do remember the nightmare run I had there. It was one of those races that stand out in the racing memory banks; I was in trouble during the first kilometre and by 2k I was dead. I recorded a dismal 38:16 at a time when I was regularly breaking 37 minutes, and Carramore was designated a rotten-run in my head.

Thus I found myself togging off close to the start line, with a few minutes to go, and five-year old baggage on my shoulders. A few minutes jogging confirmed that the legs were heavy, I was feeling enervated and ‘Carramore, the Sequel’ was about to unfold.

The maroon-clad Athenry Brigade consisted of four men and a lady. Maeve Noone was the sole female and she arrived with Frank and the kids to shout her on. The men’s team was made up of Conor Dolan, Derek Conerney, Mick Rice and I. The five of us mingled into the seventy-or-so athletes at the start-line and set-off on our various odysseys.

Carramore is a nice, fast, one-loop course. Whatever demons had shackled me in 2003, I couldn’t blame the route. The surface is good all the way around and, apart from a little tester of a hill with 600m to go, the road is flat. Conditions were also very good. It wasn’t quite a balmy Saturday evening, but it was warm and bright and only a small breeze added a bit of grit to the last few kilometres.

My race went well. Starting at a good clip, I found myself in about 8th position as we settled in to our rhythms. After a fast opening kilometre I averaged 3:25 per km for the next three. This was very fast for me, but I was feeling well within myself and decided to keep going. Passing one or two people, at the 3k mark I found myself running alongside Martin Corcoran of Craughwell AC. Suffice it to say, I switched into competitive mode and spent the next seven kilometres trying to stay with Martin. We were joined by Paddy Murray, of Mayo AC, at about 4k and our triad turned into the breeze. The watch clicked off splits at each marker, but I was racing and not time-trialing, so the splits were ignored. Martin may tell the story differently, but I began to tire at about 7k and I think he began to throw in a few surges – it certainly felt that way. It was all I could do to stay with him, and I promised myself that I’d hang in there at least until the 8k mark, at least until the 9k, at least until the hill …

We raced side-by-side until we hit the hill with just over a half-kilometre to go. Paddy fell off the pace a little and as we approached the rise I sensed that Martin’s breathing was laboured and he was tiring and I resolved to attempt a break. As we battled we were both closing in on TJ McHugh ahead of us. I did manage to find an extra gear on the hill and broke ahead for the first time. Critically though, Martin did not allow the gap to open to more than two or three metres. I crested the hill just ahead and ran helter-skelter through the last bend. You think the tank is empty but from somewhere a last effort drives you towards the line. Alas, the natural speed in Martin’s legs took him past me with a few metres to go. TJ had managed to hold both of us off and only three seconds separated us, in fourth, fifth and sixth positions, at the finish.

It was at this stage, gulping in air that I noticed I had just ran a personal best. As Mick came across the line, I began to realise that my pb was almost a minute faster than anything I had ever run before. 34:34 for God’s sake! That’s just ridiculous. I immediately suspected that the course was short. My km splits had been consistent and there was no evidence of poor measurements there. I began to make some discreet enquiries and nobody felt that there was a problem with the distance. Finally I spotted a GPS watch and it confirmed the distance was right. Believe it Peter, you’ve just knocked a major chunk off your pb!

I was not alone. The Athenry team of five managed to record three pbs on the night so there were plenty of smiling faces. Mick finished in 9th position in 36:03 indicating that he has returned to some form after an injury-enforced absence. That run should help push him forward in the coming weeks.

Conor Dolan was involved in a sprint finish and unlike myself, managed to take 17th position from his adversary just a few strides from the line. Conor’s time of 39:16 was about 2mins faster than anything he had done before. As a relative newcomer to the sport he is improving quickly and that sub-40 10k propels him well into the ranks of the Athenry AC team.

Derek Conerney struggled a bit – said that the batteries fell out after 2k and could never get going – he came home in 44:21. I only hope he doesn’t have to wait five years for his revenge on Carramore. Derek is training very hard at the moment for an Olympic distance triathlon and this race was simply a hard session squeezed into a busy run, bike and swim training schedule.

The biggest smile of the day was on Maeve’s face though as she got in under the 50 minute barrier for the first time. Frank and the kids got very excited as she crossed the line in an excellent 49:24. This was a break-though race for Maeve, demolishing her previous best of 50:20.

At the head of the field Mayo AC swept the boards. Led home by John Byrne (soon to compete in the Edinburgh Marathon) in 31:54, they claimed the first four positions and had five finishers inside the top ten. Regina Casey of GCH is in great form lately and won the ladies race, finishing in 13th position overall, in a time of 37:26. She was not far ahead of Mary Gleeson of Mayo AC who pushed her to the line.

And so my view of the Carramore 10k has gone through a paradigm shift of sorts – I have now raced there twice and have recorded a personal worst and a personal best on the same ground. I’ll just have to go back again next year to make up my mind on it.

Carramore 2008 Results

1 John Byrne Mayo AC 31.54

2 Anthony Devaney Mayo AC 33:42

3 Timmy Glavey Mayo AC 33.44

4 TJ McHugh Mayo AC 34.31

5 Martin Corcoran Craughwell AC 34.32

6 Peter Delmer Athenry AC 34.34

7 Paddy Murray Mayo AC 34.57

8 David Corcoran Civil Service 35.54

9 Mick Rice Athenry AC 36.03

10 Sean Gallagher Ballina 36.23

11 Ronnie Naylor Mayo AC 36.27

12 Billy Gallagher Mayo AC 36.34

13 Regina Casey GCH 37.26

14 Mary Gleeson Mayo AC 37.41

15 David Mullens Tuam 38.52

16 Michael Killeen Mayo AC 39.14

17 Conor Dolan Athenry AC 39.16

18 David Kearns Ind 39.17

19 Catherine Conway Mayo AC 39.32

20 Patrick O Toole Westport 39.41

21 Ann Lennon Mayo AC 39.52

22 Pat Burke Galway Triathlon Club 39.57

23 John King Ind 40.04

24 Siobhan Lennon Ennis Track 40.16

25 Brendan Naylor Ballina 40.28

26 Brian Cusack Westport 40.38

27 Paul McDermott North Leitrim 41.28

28 Noreen McManamon Mayo AC 41.33

29 Ronan Casey Ind 41.49

30 Edel Reilly Ind 42.23

31 Cathy Connolly Mayo AC 42.29

32 Ann Murray Mayo AC 42.33

33 PJ Hall Mayo AC 43.24

34 Angela O Connor Mayo AC 43.51

35 Derek Conerney Athenry AC 44.21

36 Michael Courell Ballina 44.22

37 Caroline Conway Mayo AC 44.35

38 Christy O Malley Mayo AC 44.42

39 Billy Heverin Ind 46.04

40 Ryan Toner Ind 46.15

41 Sean Murphy Ind 46.24

42 Christina Regan Mayo AC 46.34

43 Mary Moylett Ruane Mayo AC 47.09

44 David McKenna Ind 47.19

45 Yvonne Byrne Mayo AC 47.20

46 Tricia Naylor Ballina 47.33

47 Bernie Kelly GCH 47.35

48 Tom Moran ESB Dublin 47.41

49 Shane Gilligan Ind 47.54

50 Michael Ruane Mayo AC 47.57

51 Martin Walsh Ind 48.03

52 Kenny Sloan Mayo AC 48.14

53 Brid Staunton Mayo AC 49.02

54 Tom Cullen Ind 49.06

55 Maeve Noone Athenry AC 49.24

56 Deirdre Regan Ind 49.40

57 Chris O Connell Mayo AC 50.05

58 James Heaney Ind 51.11

59 Seamus Ruddy Mayo AC 51.41

60 Dermot Gibbons Ind 53.09

61 Conor Gibbons Ind 53.30

62 John Timothy Ind 54.20

63 Deirdre Ruddy Mayo AC 54.49

64 Grainne Kinnevey Ind 56.49

65 Mary Walsh Ind 58.39

66 Geraldine Connolly Ind 62.47

67 Teresa Connolly Ind 62.54

68 Tricia Golden Ind 63.00

69 Carol Currid Ind 64.00

70 Robert Tyrell Ind 69.00