10 Things I Think About Running

10 Things I Think About The Streets of Kilkenny 5K

1. Hardest Race in The Country

I think that this must be one of the hardest races in the country for someone from Cork who is not a teacher to run. I have entered and failed to run this race on at least four occasions. Mostly it was entering the race well in advance and then the week before typing Kilkenny into Google maps and realizing it was much farther away than it looks and beyond the acceptable range for a Thursday night in April. I was determined to make an effort this year.

2. Cobh Repercussions

I think that a normal 10 mile race the a few days before a 5k in magic shoes would be perfectly fine but Cobh was not a normal 10 mile road race. On Monday I was half crippled with hamstring and quad badness that was worse than any marathon I’ve run. I was debating not bothering going to Kilkenny again but then the weather got nice and a new pair of Vaporflys arrived at the door.

3. Give us 15 Extra Minutes

I think that it would make a big difference for the people of Cork if this race started at 1945 instead of 1930. It is about 90 minutes from beyond the tunnel to Kilkenny. Most Cork people work until 5pm which doesn’t leave much time for traffic and putting your Vaporflys in the boot. I arrived in Kilkenny which is much bigger than I thought at 1900, abandoned the car somewhere near the start ran over to collect the number and back to the car to install the Vaporflys before running back over to the start at the castle. It was very rushed if efficient.

4. Holy Thursday

I think that the start line of the race was very intimidating. There were an awful lot of very good runners on the start line some of whom you’d be more used to seeing on YouTube. Everyone was huddled together on the start line a good 10 minutes before the start which never makes sense to me. Before the start the man with the microphone attempted to thank the many sponsors but the speaker stopped working so he wisely gave up and we were quickly underway down the hill away from the Castle.

5. Wallop

I think that the starts of these packed 5ks are very dangerous. This one was no different. After about 50m I heard the most horrible sound of a man hitting marble. It was a very similar sound to a crash in cycling without the metal noise, more of a thud than a crunch. The thought briefly crosses your mind that you should stop and help before you quickly realize that stopping would be a terrible idea and the best thing to do is keeping going and try not to fall yourself. I’m not sure if anything can be done to prevent it, it’s every person for themselves at the start so people should probably just learn how to keep themselves upright.

6. Carrera Populares

I think that this race is a perfect example of why every town in the country needs to be pedestrianized. It was wonderful to run through the narrow medieval streets at dusk without the threat of being run over by a car. The crowd of people out watching the race made it feel like a cross country race where you never let up because there’s always someone cheering you on. The two laps make it even better for the crowd because they get to see the contrast between the effortless first lap and the tortuous second lap. Possibly the best course in the country. I’m sure they could do something similar/better in Cork City.

7. Vaporfly Cubed

I think that this was the perfect race to test out the new Vaporflys. I didn’t like the second edition at all. They were too firm and not bouncy at all, like fake Vaporflys but not fake. The third edition are much more to my liking. They are very squishy and soft under foot, they are so squishy that you’d think that they would be slower than normal shoes. When you get up to speed though the squishiness turns into springiness and suddenly you are bouncing along like that first wonderful race in magic shoes, it was nice to have that feeling back again.

8. Special Ks

I think that the organization of the race was impeccable. Everything was perfect. They had about a million traffic cones to keep the nasty cars away and because of the two lap course they had cleverly employed mobile kilometer markers that were held up by people. That was very clever. It is a very good sign of a 5 kilometer race when it is over quicker than you thought but still actually the correct distance.

9. Starships

I think that the music along the route was a great addition. Normally music in races can be annoying but the “Starships” song that was being played at kilometre four was the perfect rhythm for my bouncy slow Vaporfly stride. It motivated me so much that I started to make inroads into Barry who was just up ahead on his own.

10. Use Your Speed

I think that a race like Kilkenny is very difficult as there are so many people to race you can’t focus your hatred on one person so you end up kind of overwhelmed. I was exceptionally motivated for three miles, making good ground after a calm start. I had gotten past James Hayes which I thought was excellent and thought I was going to get Barry which would have been wonderful. Unfortunately, as my watch beeped for three miles my legs and lungs gave up. Someone shouted. “Leevale, use your speed” obviously confusing me for someone else from Leevale. The last bit took me what seemed like an age and as I was halfway up the ascent to the finish in front of the castle James Hayes danced by completing the Cork Track Club ambush. It was probably just about worth the three hours in the car on a Thursday night in April.