10 Things I Think About Running

10 Things I Think About The Raheny 5 Mile

1. This is Going to be Great

I think that the 2020 version of Raheny was so spectacular that everyone turning up to the race today was expecting a huge PB in their well-worn magic shoes. Only the weather could possibly interfere with the inevitable ridiculous times. What could possibly go wrong?

2. The Fear

I think that the thing that I fear most about Raheny is the pace. I spent the whole drive up worried that I wouldn’t be able to run fast at the start because I haven’t done anything fast since Spain. It is kind of odd because the ability to run fast isn’t the limiting factor. It’s the ability to keep running fast, anyone can run fast for a bit.

3. Enjoying the Warm Up

I think that not racing for a month is bad for you. You get way too nervous before the race and start to self sabotage. I did a ridiculous warm up and kind of forgot about the time. I got back to the car with 10 minutes to put on my magic shoes and sprint down to the start. This would be fine in most races but Raheny is not most races.

4. It'll Be Grand

I think that Ireland’s approach to the disease is very strange. It has gone from absolute hysteria and madness to “Sure, It’ll be grand” in the space of a week. A few masks wouldn’t have gone astray in the cattle pen of the start, it will probably be grand.

5. Selfie Crowd

I think that if the people in front of you at the start of a race are taking selfies then you are way way too far back.

6. Slalom

I think that starting so far back was probably the best thing that could have happened as it calmed the first mile down significantly. I spent about 5 seconds getting across the start, then I had to slalom my way through people on their phones drinking water from their hydration packs for about 500m.

7. Blame the Racewalkers

I think that races with cone turnarounds are always problematic. When I was doing my warmup I saw all the marks from the race walking championships a few weeks back up and down the avenue I thought I’d hate to be the poor guy responsible for the cone. When we came out onto the avenue during the race it seemed to take forever to get to the cone. I assumed it was just the terrible headwind.

8. I Can Move When I Want To

I think that my sprinting ability is very underrated. When we exited the park I suddenly felt Bernard on my shoulder. Then Kieran McKeown’s Aidan appeared. When we rounded the corner into the finishing straight one of the Runnerbeans podcast fellas appeared. This made me very angry so I found speed from somewhere and flew up the finishing straight passing a surprised looking Bernard and destroying the Runnerbean. I was delighted with myself.

9. The Russians

I think that because I was so focused on racing Bernard and the Runnerbean I didn’t look at the clock initially. When I did look I didn’t believe it. My first thought was “Have the Russians hacked the carbon plates in the magic shoes and disabled them? It couldn’t be true could it? That time? What if it is? I’ll never be able to trust myself again and will have to spend the entire race looking at my watch every two seconds to make sure I’m running fast enough like John O’Connell used to.

10. Alternative Facts

I think that if you wanted to torment a load of runners then this was possibly the best way that you could have. When I crossed the line, you could tell something was wrong. The grief was palpable. Most people were bent over staring at their watches praying that it would offer an alternative fact. It was almost funny. Having run in so many approximados races in Spain I’m well used to it so I didn’t really mind the alternative distance. It is a race after all, a very very good race, maybe the best race.