Grange Fermoy 4 Mile 2023
/10 Things I Think About The Grange Fermoy 4 Mile 2023
1. Fourth Time Lucky
I think that the fourth version of the Grange Fermoy 4 mile course is the best version. At the fourth attempt they have created one of the best 4 mile race routes in the county. It’s excellent, an almost square possibly rectangular 4 mile route with 4 left turns, a few little hills but mostly flat. If they had of used this course in 2020 all the people who ran that day would have comeback perhaps.
2. Masters Running
I think that road racing has an age problem. The start line of the race was all old men like me and Michael Herlihy. I had to reintroduce Michael Herlihy to Sergiu because it’s nearly 13 years since they last raced each other. No one under 28 seems to run road races, I don’t know why, perhaps they all have coaches now who make them do perfect training instead.
3. Original Magic
I think that it is terrible that Nike change the size of the Vaporflys on every model. The Vaporfly V1 and V3 require different thickness socks for a UK 12. As I had thin socks on I had to go for the Pink V1s. No harm as one of the ways to prevent injury is to change the shoes up every now and then.
4. Singlet Set
I think that I should get sponsored by Asics so that I don’t have to pay money for my singlets. I’m sure Sergiu didn’t have to put his hand in his pocket for his matching albeit different colour Asics singlet with tiny holes in it.
5. Yellow Belly
I think that it is natural to be worried when a fella from Wexford who looks like Brian Fay is up the front of a race after a mile. He must have meant business if he came this far, perhaps Brian Conroy gave him a lift in the van. After a mile he looked like he was going to leave the group and head off up the road after Sergiu. Then we took the first of four left hand turns and he fell back.
6. Sound of Mike
I think that when you run with someone a lot you being to know their sound. I could tell the sound of Michael Herlihy running a mile off. It’s very handy to know this when you are trying to drop him two miles into a four mile race. As we made the second of four left hand turns the sound of Mike disappeared.
7. Lesser of Two Evils
I think that sometimes you have to pick the best of two bad options. Between the second and third mile I was left with the choice between drag James McCarthy around to the finish or slow down and let Michael Herlihy regain contact. It was a simple choice.
8. Fourth and Final Left
I think that the last mile was very tough. I had already resigned myself to defeat by both Sergiu and James but I knew that staying ahead of James for as long as possible was the key to beating Michael Herlihy. It wasn’t until we could see the pop up races finishing gantry that James gradually eased by. There was no sound of a laughing Michael Herlihy closing in terminator style but as you can never be sure I sprinted as hard as I could to stay as close to James as possible.
9. Twenty Seconds
I think that I will have to beat James McCarthy on the road before the summer is out. In the last three four mile races he has beaten me by a sum total of twenty seconds which is nearly the same amount seconds that I beat Michael Herlihy by in this race.
10. Wardrobe Malfunction
I think that I will have to use the finish line photo that Graham took for Instagram to try and convince Asics of the need to sponsor me. The photo shows how well the Asics singlet fits men with long torsos like me. I’m sure that people will be queuing up in Lifestyle sports to buy them after seeing it scrunched up like a toga showing off my belly. Why wouldn’t a brand want to be associated with the 3rd place finisher in the Grange Fermoy 4 Mile.
