10 Things I Think About Running

10 Things I Think About The Cheetah Run 5K 2024

1. It’s Not About the Shoe

I think that magic shoes should be banned from the Cheetah run. It should be a natural run with no assistance from foams or carbon plates. The cheetahs, lions and ostriches have no magic shoes so it would be in keeping with the surroundings if we went back to basics. But we don’t do that so when the AlphaFlys arrived after 10 days spent in Little Island’s An Post depot I couldn’t wait to test them out and see if they would give me an unfair advantage over John Meade.

2. Thunder Road

I think that Bruce Springsteen could have done a better job of limiting potential adversaries at the Cheetah run, only Barry Twohig and Viv seem to have been diverted to SuperValu Pairc Ui Caoimh. The start list which MyRunResults helpfully send before the race so you can check if you are likely to win a prize or not contained quite a few people with more running talent than me, not to worry I had AlphaFlys.

3. Revolut Call

I think that I was right not to answer the phone call from an unknown number that showed up on the drive over to Fota. It turns out that it wasn’t a scam Revolut call as I had thought and was in fact another form of scam where John Meade looks for a singlet off you because he has forgotten his own. Just like with the other scam calls I think he eventually found a victim as he was wearing a nice Joma singlet when I met him on the line.

4. AlphaFly Indicators

I think that AlphaFlys should come with a set of indicators or perhaps an inbuilt siren which beeps when you are about to turn left or right. When the race started I got off the line really well as they are very, very, very bouncy in a straight line. I got to the first downhill lefthand corner by the cheetah enclosure in the lead but when I went to turn left like I normally would I couldn’t, so I had to nearly stop to get around the corner. This caused much upset and delay to Mark Walsh and allowed Sergiu to open a gap that would remain to the end.

5. Horses for Courses

I think that the Cheetah run was probably not the race to test a pair of AlphaFlys in. They are an incredible awkward shoe and need wide flat smooth straight roads to be of any use. The second kilometre around the back of Fota was entirely unsuitable to AlphaFlys, the only thing that was good about it was that the potholes were marked with the same colour paint as the AlphaFlys so it would have looked great if there was someone there to take photos. I decided that there was no point in taking any risks so I sat at the back of the second placed group led by John Meade and Mark Walsh until the surface became more AlphaFly friendly.

6. Cheetahflys

I think that the most encouraging thing about the AlphaFlys was the responsiveness of the shoe. I have not given up on them yet as the shoe that will give me a huge advantage over everyone else. When the surface improved and the road widened after about 2k there was a little gap to John Meade and Mark Walsh, all I had to do was stamp hard on those pods on the front of the AlphaFlys and the gap magically closed. It was an unusual feeling to be able to get back up to them without any great effort and bodes well for a more normal course.

7. Ostrich Climb

I think that the third kilometer was the hardest of the race. It is also the most interesting as you come back into the wildlife park and get to run past all the animals who wish that you weren’t there. As we passed through the wildlife park gates I was still just about in contact with the group fighting over second place. Mark received his instructions from Donie which were to stay there, there being behind John Meade and definitely not in the front of the group. Dermot from Carrick on Suir was the unknown quantity with Kris stuck to my back.

8. Kangaroo Corner

I think that kilometer four was where the battle for second was decided. Like most road races nothing dramatic happened. I noticed a bit of lull at about 3.5k as we went past the red panda enclosure so I tried to go to the front. John Meade was having none of this and picked up the pace again. Mark Walsh did as he was told and waited. Then as we passed the Penguins Dermot took it on with Mark stuck to his back still waiting. John Meade had no response to the Dermot attack. As we passed the Kangaroo running in circles around Billy I was left in fifth with Kris the only threat for the final prize.

9. Monkey Flyover

I think that the monkeys in the monkey flyover had the best view of the race. I imagine that the monkeys were very impressed with my bright yellow AlphaFlys as I bounced passed confident that it was the night when I would finally win a prize. As I bounced up the final hill and reached the crest of the hill by the Giraffes still in fifth I was confident that I could do it as I felt unusually good for the end of a 5k. All I had to do was get down the hill faster than Kris.

10. Snakey Sprint

I think that Kris did very well to outsprint me on the run to the line as I did everything right. It was about 50m from the line when I saw him coming up the inside. Having watched a lot of track races I knew what to do so I shut the door and left Kris with two choices go around the outside or go on the grass. Unfortunately, it hadn’t rained enough so the grass was no disadvantage and Kris was able to nip by and snatch the final prize from my claws by less than a second. I’m getting closer.