10 Things I Think About Running

10 Things I Think About The Allihies 5 Mile 2024

1. Dingle vs Allihies

I think it is a great pity that the Allihies 5 Mile and Dingle Half Marathon are on the same day. It would have been great to have had John Meade to race around the hills of Allihies and equally it would have been great to turn up unexpected on the start line in Dingle to torment him, instead we both went our separate ways with no one tormented.

2. Long Road West

I think that the drive to Allihies is wonderful. It is the sort of drive that you could market to tourists who like to drive nice cars on bad roads with great views. We had the luck to encounter the inevitable red Toyota Corolla with faded paint on the only climbing lane on the route so we got there slightly ahead of schedule but still late by most runners standards.

3. Sunshine

I think that it is great that in Cork you can drive for two and a half hours and emerge from the car in a different climate. Glamire was grey, coolish and cloudy whereas in Allihies the sun was shining with temperatures in the low twenties, a great contrast to last year’s yellow weather warning when we had to shelter in the hall before and after the race.

4. Agent Graham

I think that Graham should get commission from the BHAA for distributing race prizes. He now not only does my race entries but collects my prize. It was nice to collect the envelope from the Amazon 5K in the lovely Tramore Valley Park in a nicer place like Allihies.

5. Green Paracetamol

I think that the only problem with a two and a half hour drive with a four year old with a limited repertoire of songs on Spotify is that it can result in a bad headache especially when combined with 20 degrees and high humidity. When we arrived I checked the glove compartment and found some paracetamol that expired in 2018 which was interesting. Knowing something about pharmaceuticals and degradants I decided not to chance it and ran down to the local shop for some green paracetamol which worked as well as it said it would on the box.

6. Leevale Singlet

I think that the Leevale singlet is a great singlet. It is a very intimidating singlet as it makes you look like a wasp and no one likes wasps. On the startline there were two Leevale singlets and a few other fellas in new magic shoes that I haven’t tried yet like the Asics Metaspeed Edge Paris and the Saucony Endorphin Pro 4 which was slightly worrying. I went off as hard as I could and found myself solo by the time we reached the left hand turn with the jaw dropping view of the ocean.

7. New Tarmac

I think that the new tarmac in the town has made the course slightly faster. I can’t remember if it was there last year or not as it was so wet, cold and windy last year that I don’t remember anything except that it was very wet. It was very nice to run up through the mountain that runs through the town. There were huge crowds sitting outside the pub who had their lunch interrupted by the sight of a large runner in a Leevale singlet running moderately fast for a moderately old man up a big hill.

8. Course Record

I think that my course record from the time when I put Michael McMahon on a poster is very good. Even with the new tarmac and lovely weather I couldn’t get within a minute of it on my own. I tried quite hard but it is very difficult to run fast without hatred, well for me it is anyway. I know not everyone is the same.

9. Some Finish

I think that no matter whether you are racing Michael McMahon or running on your own the finish of the race in Allihies is special. No other race will leave you as out of breath. It is definitely the steepest finish to a running race anywhere in the country. Utterly miserable and wonderful at the same time. Luckily Graham was there to capture my third victory this year on camera. I only need five more victories to make it the new fourth. It was also important to win after Rhona’s victory on Thursday night, otherwise I might be forgotten about.

10. Holding up the Whole Show

I think that Allihies is possibly the best place on earth for a warm down. It is much easier to appreciate the stunning beauty of the place at warm down pace. I was even going to do a fourth lap for the day, luckily, I had sense and turned back as Carol and Mark said I was holding up the prize giving which was very efficient and excellent. I got a nice bag with a bottle of wine and an envelope with money which was more than John Meade probably got for Dingle which was great.