I travelled about 120km this morning on excellent motorways from Argelés sur Mer, on the Mediteranean coast, via Perpignon and Narbonne to the quaint village of Mirepeisset for the 10km de la Garenne. The race started at 9am so I arrived in a lot of haste at 8:30, abandoned the car and legged it to...

Ok chaps! Here's my first and probably last race report. Last Sunday I ran my 7th marathon in Belfast and finished in 4.21.11. I never felt better after a marathon for two reasons: 1. It is a lovely course. Monday was a perfect day for running and my time was slow, even by my standards which brings...

No long report today folks you'll be delighted to hear! Belfast is now officially a very tough marathon. Changes in the route included a major climb to half way and another (if my memory is right) up to mile 24 - either that or I wasn't standing straight when I stopped to look. It was very windy too...

If you are new to running, or maybe thinking of taking on a marathon and are looking at this report for some insight into the preparation required, look away now and don't come back! I'll keep this report short. My preparation for the London Marathon was not the best. Maybe the build up to the...

UK:A 100k Champs and Anglo Celtic Plate 02nd April 2006 RAF Innsworth, Gloucester, England. Race Report by Mick Rice Where to start? Sometimes, even when there’s a good story to tell, it’s hard to know where to begin. Deciding to train for and race this event wasn’t a decision I took lightly...

Connemarathon 2006 ”“ We came, we saw, we got wet, but we conquered the Hell of The West. I should temper my report with the sad news that a fellow runner, a Frank Haines from England, who was running the Half Marathon, collapsed and sadly passed away despite the best efforts of the wonderful...

I knew I was in trouble when I passed Johnny O’Connor inside the first mile. I’m sure he won’t mind me saying that like the proverbial bullet-from-a-gun Johnnie usually goes out hard before gravity takes hold and slows him down. By going past him inside the first mile, I knew that I too had gone out...

Well It was either this or the Parade. Alan Burke's Race Report; Tubbercurry 10km 2006 Mary Porter's report here On St. Patrick's Day, the options I had were to stand around in the bitter cold in Athenry and watch a parade of snotty kids and Agricultural machinery, sometimes all at once, or hit the...

Welcome to Wind Back Wednesday. A new feature where we reproduce a story from the depths of the Athenry AC newsreel. We start off with a Mick Rice account of his 2006 Ballycotton 10. Of Spritzers And Sprinters Thursday 2nd March ”“ 03:28pm: On the phone from work to my wife, Margaret. Mick: “Yeah, I...

Another March and another trip down to West Cork and the Ballycotton 10. This is a classic road race that has been going for 29 years, and has increased in size from the 30 brave souls who competed back in the 70's to yesterdays 4000 entrants (although only 2800 completed the course). It was a cold...

Raheny Shamrocks 5 Mile Race ”“ Sunday February 5th 2006-02-06 The first race of the year for me, and a chance to see how my training has developed in the first 5 weeks of the year. Last year was all about getting my motivation back after a few years in the wilderness, feeling like a European Runner...

Alan Burke's race report. Waterford Crystal 10 mile road race Dungarvan: 5th Feb 2006 After getting a notion to do all of the Munster 10 mile classics, I thought I had fallen at the first hurdle when I ended up in Austria instead of Mallow. Luckily for me, while I was practicing my big Airs, 360s...

Title: It doesn't matter how or what you feel before the gun goes... Race: Tuam 8KM. Where: Tuam, Co. Galway. When: 2 January 2006 @ 2:00 PM. Distance: 8KM. Conditions: Cloudy, dull, cold, spits of rain, road fairly dry though. Course: Nearly twice around a circuit from the centre to the northern...

Saturday morning, I was preparing my bag for work and was thinking to go for a short run before the race on Sunday in Ballina. I was ready to start my day when Alan called me asking if I waiting for him in Tuam. I was surprised and asked him why. When he told me that the race was on Saturday and not...

Having spent a happy hour glued to the superb race booklet that Athenry AC produced for their recent 10k on St Stephen’s Day, I decided it was time to write my first personal race report following the Tuam 8k on 2 January. Having targeted the Athenry 10k for months and having got a new 10k PB that...

Well, we love 'em, our spouses, don't we, but what do you say when you are training for a marathon and you hear "Don't run too fast"! ... I had planned to make a bid for a goodish time in Dublin this year for my first marathon but a bad chest infection in early Summer meant that I couldn't train so...

Where: Dundrum, Co. Tipperary. When: 6 July 2005 @ a little after 8:00 PM. Distance: 10KM. Conditions: Drizzly, breezy, dull. Course: Two lap circuit over quite varying road surfaces. Competitors: 100+ including five from Athenry AC, four of whom were wearing the new club gear (very, very sharp!). I...

Where: Claregalway, Co. Galway. When: 20 August 2005 @ 6:00 PM. Distance: 10KM. Conditions: Cloudy but dry, slightly breezy. Course: Single slightly overlapping circuit through local countryside. Competitors: 130+ including 11 from Athenry AC. Detail: I had run Claregalway twice previously, neither...

I first really heard about the Dunshaughlin 10KM a few months back, probably via the Irish Runner. A quarter page advert. Usual thing! Sounded like an interesting race, albeit a bit away from HQ in Athenry. What made it a much more viable and doable option in recent weeks was the fact that it was...

Ballycotton 2005 (6 March 2005) was my 4th attempt at its famed 10M obstacle course. 2002 was taken semi-seriously and I trotted around in something over 74 minutes. 2003 was more serious and a few additional training miles were committed beforehand to clock in the mid-71s. Yet more miles...

Sligo on a very wet and freezing cold early Saturday morning in the middle of one of the wettest January in recent memory. One to warm the cockles of the heart? Absolutely not! Lady wife was not impressed with my upping stumps to head off to a "nothing" (Connacht Cross-Country) race, thus negating a...

Ran my third Ballycotton 10 yesterday (7 March 2004)! My first attempt two years ago was for a bit of crack. Started at the back of the field: jogged around the first half, speeding up during the second half, passing a load of people in the process, coming home in 73:25, with a negative split of...

Mick and myself travelled up from Athenry for this last race in the Mayo Series version 2003. It was my first race of that series, having missed the others for a variety of reasons including refereeing duties and injury. The evening itself was cool but dry and bright. Typical late August weather...

Lovely day out, again! Drove down with Mick in his person-carrier with James Corbett, Dee McGrath and Philip Magnier in the back too. Was a much nicer day than last year at the same venue. This time around, there was no wind, on-shore or off-shore. There was no rain, only sun. The roads were dry and...

Training for this race had gone well enough, with runouts on the Claregalway and Athenry 10KM circuits in the month before yielding almost identical times, 44:47 and 44:46. The day of the race itself was clear, cold and dry. Excellent running conditions! Mick and myself made it up from Galway, as...