Great Railway Run 25K 2025

10 Things I Think About the Great Railway Run 25K 2025

1. In Brussels

I think that if it wasn’t for the terrible nearly running career ending calf tear and stress reaction in my left fibula back in February, I’d probably have been running the European Road Running championships in Brussels. It was very unfortunate as using the Michael Herlihy method of calculating where you would have finished in races you didn’t run I would have helped the Irish team to a bronze medal. It is comforting to at least know that for sure. The Railway Run was a good substitute.

2. Lateness

I think that races that send out the numbers in the post are great. It allows for chronic ridiculous lateness. Parking at 9:20 for a 9:30 start is fine, absolutely no problem, 5 minutes to put on magic shoes and 5 minute warm up to the start. I probably should have done 5 miles before hand to make it 20 miles for the day to get ready for Cork like most other people seemed to be doing.

3. Evan and Paul

I think that it was terrible to see both Evan Fitzgerald and Paul Moloney on the start line. I was pretty sure that the rampant marathon mania combined with Easter holidays and the Brussels event had taken care of all my known competition like John Meade and Barry Twohig from last year. I suppose a €500 first prize is always likely to draw out the big guns.

4. Kilometer of Hope

I think that it would have been great if I had been fit enough to run with Paul Moloney, even until the hill in Shanbally would have been grand. Evan made it clear from the start that he was going to win by being out of sight after only 500m, I ran the first kilometer full of hope with Paul until we ran back through the start where it became obvious that 5:30 pace was not possible to maintain so I let him go and resigned myself to a best possible finish of third.

5. I Go Solo

I think that it was much better last year when I had company for the whole 25k. This year I was left solo from kilometer one until kilometer twenty five, twenty four kilometers of solo running. I am not good at running on my own. I am not particularly motivated by time so I just get slower and slower as time goes on. My mind starts wandering and thinking about other stuff when I’m running on my own. I tried to focus on keeping the kilometer splits at 3:35, not for any particular reason other than that’s the first split I saw on the watch when I started looking at it once we got onto the line. This worked for about 5k then I lost interest and started looking across the water to Cobh.

6. Session Obsession

I think that the Railway Run is a great run to do as preparation for Cork Marathon. Even if I was solo there were plenty of water stops and the act of pining on a number provides a little bit more motivation than doing a session on the same route. It’s kind of odd really how because of Strava if I did this run as a session and ran the same pace as I did in the race I would expect to be hailed as the second coming of Christ but instead because it’s a race and I came third it’s only ok. Sessions are greater than races for some reason these days. I blame YouTube and Instagram.

7. Julius 300

I think that Julius in Monkstown provided key information that halted the exponential pace decline that was occurring. I asked him was there anyone behind expecting the answer to be “no you’re fine”, instead I got “300m”. 300m is very close so I started concentrating again, then I got a flashback of last year when the dynamic duo of Barry Twohig and John Meade flew by on the run to Raffeen which was very scary.

8. Shanbally Shakeup

I think that the U-turn around the traffic island in Shanbally provides the perfect opportunity for seeing who is behind you. The 300m that Julius had calculated had become about 100m by the time we reached Shanbally with Nathan and Ruairi closing the gap on the very steep raffeen hill where a barking dog provided more information on the proximity of my pursuers. As we began the climb out of Shanbally I remembered last year when I caught Danny Mullins with a kilometer to go to take third. Maybe it’s my turn to get caught with a kilometer to go I feared.

9. Fear

I think that there is no better motivator for running than fear. It is far better than clock watching, a bit of fear of being caught is wonderful, if you had both fear and hatred you’d be flying it all together. The fear of being caught made the last four miles fun. Luckily the fear provided enough motivation to get to the finish in Carrigaline in third again just like last year which meant prize money which is one of the reasons I like running races so much, no one gives you money for a good session, just kudos on Strava and emoji comments which are not money.

10. Race to the 220

I think I had the logistics of the race well worked out, once I crossed the line I met Paul, we had a photo then I ran over to the 220 bus stop where amazingly there was a bus waiting. I hopped on the bus, talked about golf to an 85-year-old lady and horrified everyone else on the bus with my short shorts, got off at St Finbarr’s hospital to have a short warm down back to the car. Drove to Glanmire to collect Billy from babysitting before back to Carrigaline to collect Rhona and my third place prize. I was almost as proud of the logistics as I was of the race.

Cork BHAA GNI 5K 2024

10 Things I Think About The Cork BHAA Gas Networks Ireland 5k

1. Old New Route

I think that the upgrade of the Marina has revealed the most perfect 5k route in the world, flat to slightly downhill with a likely tailwind for the crucial last 3k. If wasn’t for the pedestrian bridge it would be ridiculously fast. It seems that a lot of other people think the same, that or a t-shirt for €5 is capable of drawing a crowd of 600 people to Blackrock on a Wednesday night for a 5k at 8pm in July.

2. Is that the Start?

I think that the BHAA are making good progress in marking out the start line. There was a sign and a line with markers for the different pace levels. It was all very professional. It took very little shouting for people to push back for the race to get underway.

3. Photo, Photo, Photo

I think that it was great that there were so many photographers on hand to take photos of the start. This will be particularly handy for figuring out where the race is to start next time around. There was Graham, Mick Dooley and another photographer who I haven’t seen before. The new photographer was threatening to lie on the ground in the middle of the path about 50m up from the start. This didn’t seem wise even if we are all wearing nice soft magic shoes it wouldn’t be pleasant to be run over, especially by me or Michael Herlihy, thankfully he got out of the way just in time.

4. Tunnel of Sound

I think that the tunnel where the teenagers light fires and break glass bottles is a great tunnel to run in. There is a fabulous sound running through the tunnel in a pack of runners who have just started a 5k. Graham was on hand at the exit of the tunnel to capture the sights and sounds. I had decided after the last 5k on this route that I would stay calm until after the pedestrian bridge so I sat in behind Peter Hanrahan but ahead of Mike.

5. Patience

I think that I did very well to stay patient for the first few kilometres of the race. Normally I am immediately filled with pure hatred and want to get to the front immediately in the hope that I can stay ahead and beat everyone. I resolved this time to keep the hatred simmering before turning it up for the last kilometre if possible. It was difficult to do, it helped that Michael Herlihy was behind me.

6. Bridge the Gap

I think that I used the other runners in the race well. My main goal in the race was not time, it was to beat Michael Herlihy. I spent from the second kilometre to the third kilometre bridging between groups. I even got over the pedestrian bridge relatively fast. Describing how to pace a 5k properly is difficult, it’s like trying to describe how to kick a ball onto a particular point. It’s more of a feeling than anything else.

7. Unexpected Headwind

I think that the reason so many people turned up aside from the t-shirt was the wind forecast. I’m sure everyone else studies Windy before the race to check for excellent tailwinds. On the forecast it looked beautiful with a strong tailwind as soon as we took the sharp left onto the walkway back to Blackrock Castle. Unfortunately, weather apps are unreliable and when we turned we were hit with a brisk headwind for the first 400m. It took until the left-hand turn by Jacob’s Island for the forecasted excellent tailwind to turn up.

8. Trevor

I think that Trevor Cummins had a fantastic race. Trevor arrived with the tailwind. He was tremendously helpful to me over the last 2k. I probably wouldn’t have had any chance of beating Mike without him. We got into a good rhythm from 3k to 4.5k with no signs of Mike. I was happy to work with Trevor but I was not happy to be beaten by him. So I had to come up with a plan how to beat Trevor too.

9. The Taming of the Mike

I think that the best training for races is races. I have been working on the finish of races in my last few races and think that I have gotten slightly less terrible at the last few 100m. It takes concentration and hatred. Mix the two together and you get a sprint. I managed to shed Trevor when we turned left for the last time and could see Blackrock Castle. I kept going hoping and praying that Mike wouldn’t bound by laughing at me like he normally does. Thankfully all my practice paid off and I beat Mike and my new great rival Trevor. Nick O’Donoghue snuck up and finished between me and my rivals unnoticed.

10. First Ever Prize

I think that this is the first time that I have won a top three prize in a 5K BHAA race on in the city. These are the hardest races to win prizes in as loads of people show up. I actually finished fifth which was still great as it wasn’t fourth but Paul Moloney and Barry weren’t registered, so I came third and got a prize which I wasn’t there to collect because I didn’t think I’d won a prize. Thankfully Mark Walsh who came second but actually won was there and collected the prize for me.

Cork City Marathon 2024

10 Things I Think About The Cork City Marathon 2024

1. For Runners By Runners

I think that you can tell how good a race is going to be by the number or runners involved in the organization. This was a marathon for runners by runners, everything was how I would have done it, it was like Michael Herlihy organized it, impeccable. It was my sixth Cork Marathon which means I am nearly very old and possibly the person with the most experience of the route and conditions which is both good and bad.

2. Bagpipes

I think that I am very lucky to be classified as an “elite” marathon runner in Cork. I hope SuperValu don’t do what Mercadona did for the Valencia Marathon and turn it into the fastest marathon in the world. It’s great fun walking down from Elverys to the startline led by a man playing the bagpipes. We only had a few seconds on the start line before the best Lord Mayor, Kieran McCarthy fired the gun and off we went into the typical blinding sunshine of a June Bank Holiday weekend in Cork.

3. Computer Says No

I think that the worst thing about having run Cork a few too many times is that if you’ve stuck your hand into the fire that is going out too hard and ending up waddling in the straight road it’s hard to do it again. As we ran down the South Mall I was horrified to see Barry Twohig and Danny Mullins take off up the road not far behind the significantly larger than normal lead group. I considered going after them but as we turned back towards town after the short trip around Blackpool I saw a large group containing Viv and Tadhg behind and decided that I didn’t want to risk ending up on the straight road having my legs held up in the air by Kieran McKeown.

4. The Group

I think that the easiest way to run a marathon is to run with a big group. One or two people isn’t enough, you need about five or six to make it interesting. This is why the big city marathons are so much faster because there is always a big group to follow. I ended up with in a lovely group containing Viv, Tadhg, Anthony McCarthy, Joe from Mallow via Frankfurt and Peter in full Hoka kit who I mistakenly thought was an American but was in fact from Dublin. We stayed together until about 17 miles which is where the marathon starts in Cork.

5. Too Sweet

I think that I have work to do on my Maurten gel consumption. Every good influencer and podcast says that the key to marathon running is consuming 90g per hour of carbohydrate. I set off with 130g of carbohydrates in the pockets of my Soar Marathon shorts which over four years are slowly but surely justifying the significant cost. I managed to take 40g at miles 6 and 12, then 25g at mile 18, then it became too sweet for me, so I gave my last gel to Viv. I didn’t feel like I ran out of energy so perhaps 39.9g per hour is enough.

6. Water, Water, Everywhere

I think that the water on course was exceptional. There was water everywhere. It even came in the most perfect small bottles with sports caps that you could hold in your hand and run along with quite easily. Another advantage of being in a group is that you can give your water bottle to Viv to hold while you deal with the difficult task of opening a gel. Other notable excellent cold water came from Donal Coffey and Sheldon.

7. Slow Boil

I think that the major problem with Cork is the heat. There are lots of studies on heat and its impact on running, I bet there are none on the impacts of running a marathon in Cork. It is the perfect storm when it comes to heat and running. Because it starts off at 815am it feels kind of cool so it’s easy to go off too fast, then it warms up as it goes along and the hardest part of the course comes when the temperature has reached it’s highest point so if you’ve gone off too fast you are in big, big trouble. This doesn’t happen in Valencia as it’s on in winter so the temperature is the same at the start as it is at the end so judging pacing is a lot easier. There is no fixing this problem. It’s just figuring out how not to get boiled.

8. Leeside Lumps

I think that over the years I have come to like the miles from Turners Cross to Farranlea Road more and more. It is a terrible part of the course to end up solo but in a small group it is wonderful. The only thing I would change is I would have a shoe change station on the South Link where you could change from AlphaFlys to Vaporflys to deal with all the corners. Volunteers like Graham could then transport the Alphaflys down to the end of the straight road so that you could change back for the run home.

9. Clear Air Turbulence

I think that the best way to deal with the straight road is to think about it positively. I kept telling myself that the straight road was where I was going to be at my best because of how wonderful the AlphaFly3s are on a flat straight road so I was kind of looking forward to it. By the time we turned right out onto the most feared road in Cork the group in the battle for the all important 15th position had been whittled down to me, Viv and Tadhg. Sheldon was on hand to capture the moment Tour De France style when Viv was dropped in dramatic fashion by myself and Tadhg. This was very surprising as the slipstream created by two us two monsters running side by side was probably worth 30 seconds a mile, perhaps it was turbulent air.

10. Finishing Hug

I think that I should have asked Tadhg to leave it to a sprint down Patrick Street as there was no one on North Main Street to appreciate the greatness that was the battle for 15th position. It was epic, it began outside the Franciscan Well when Tadhg decided that it was time for the group to become a group of one. I wasn’t very happy about this decision. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about it and I was left to chase him down North Main Street past the historic falling down buildings held up with rusty metal bars before turning onto Patrick Street. I walked across the finish line triathlon style because I was tired before being hugged by Tadhg. I collected my car key from Graham and applauded Viv home a few seconds later. A great day out.

Cobh 10 Mile 2024

10 Things I Think About The Cobh 10 Mile

1. The Great Wind Island

I think that the winner of the race today was the wind. The wind was a great wind, an unusual wind, it was very strong, it was big, it was consistent, and it brought no rain. I heard a lot of negative things being said about the wind, if I were the wind, I would be extremely upset at what was said about me out on the course.

2. Rest Day

I think that I will never again take a rest day before a race. I said I’d try it as everyone seems to think that tapering is great. The wind on Saturday made it easy to do no running as it was even windier than today. I ran no miles on Saturday even though there was nothing wrong with me which makes no sense to me. I expected to wake on Sunday morning feeling like a fella who drives a Tesla after two weeks of restful holidaying in Center Parcs. Instead the rest day did nothing, if anything I felt worse that normal, even the combination of coffee and beetroot shots didn’t work.

3. Never Judge a Startlist by its Contents

I think that it was scandalous altogether that all the better runners than me were allowed enter after the entries had closed at 1000 people. The published start list looked very promising for a potential top 4 finish, John Meade, Barry Twohig and Anthony Forristal seemed to be the likely 1,2,3 so I was hoping for my usual 4th place finish and a few bob. I was absolutely horrified to arrive at the start line and see numbers that went over 1000. What made it worse was that every person with a number over 1000 was a very good runner with far more talent than I have. It was very unfair on me.

4. The Fast Two Miles

I think that the hardest job today must have been pacing. On a calm day the Cobh 10 route would be hard to judge but with the great wind it must have been next to impossible, even an AI robot would have had difficulty calculating the splits required. The race went began with two miles with the great wind behind us. They were also downhill miles which made them very fast. The late entries group plus Anthony Forristal took off at a Sean Tobin course record breaking pace. I was left with the group that entered the race before the deadline. We went through two miles bang on 10 minutes which was about as good as the race got from a Strava bar graph point of view.

5. Alp Du Cobh

I think that the geography of Cobh is unusual. It is an extremely hilly island, very similar to Achill in that it has great wind and great climbs. After the first two miles the Strava bar chart took a steep drop, the beetroot juice stopped working, the wind started blowing and the road went up and up. The first hill before three miles is probably the worst on the course. It destroys average pace, destroys it and makes ones Strava look terrible. I just about got up it on in contact with Barry and John who climb like sherpas compared to my elephant like efforts.

6. Hatred Acid

I think that the combination of the great wind, the great hills and constantly being destroyed by John Meade and Barry every time the road titled upwards generated excessive hatred. On Youtube influencers use €400 lactic acid testers to test their lactate so they can put numbers they don’t understand on Strava and sell stuff to people with too much money. I think I might develop a similar hatred tester, a simple prick of the ear to test the blood for hatred. There is probably a hatred inflection point too where the hatred becomes too much for the body to process like happened to me today just after mile 5. I’m not sure what you would do with the data but sure everyone loves data.

7. Sports Psychologist

I think that the next big thing will be in race psychologist calls. It’s only a matter of time. I would definitely have paid money for someone to talk to me from mile 6 to mile 8. The wind, the straight road, the John Meade disappearing up the road with the other fella I don’t know wearing AlphaFlys. It was torture. I needed to phone a friend and have them talk to me and tell me I can do it. Instead I was swimming in a sea of hatred acid with a horrible wind pushing me further and further away from John Meade.

8. The Rugby Match

I think that the worst part of the great wind was the turn just after mile 8. It was cruel, like a trick. I ran down the steep hill full of hope thinking that once I turned the corner the great wind would blow me back to Cobh. Unfortunately the shape of the great island meant that the great wind was a full on headwind for that crucial ninth mile. When I rounded the corner it was like the wind turned into a giant second row rugby player and stood me up preventing any further forward progress. Then to make it worse Barry Twohig came flying by like he was running in a different climate.

9. The Final Straw

I think that the last mile of the race was wonderful. If all the other miles had been like mile 1, 2 and 10 we would have been fine and all broken the course record. The race organisers should make that happen next year, they could either turn the island around or run the course in the opposite direction. I would have been very fast on mile 10 too but just as I started it I came down with a case of exploding toe nail which meant that I couldn’t be bothered trying to chase Barry so I jogged home, I slowed down even more when I saw that we were miles outside the most important metric in 10 mile running, the 55 minute cut off for being included in John Walshe’s list of almost good runners.

10. The Last Leg Hurter

I think that the Cobh 10 is the only race left that is brave enough to leave in the hills. Even though I’m terrible at the hills I love the hills, especially mad Cobh hills. It’s like returning to the good old days of Ballycotton, with wind, hills, sunshine, sore legs and a nice race mug at the end. The atmosphere in the town at the end is worth suffering for, just maybe dial down the wind a little and close the entries just after I enter so that I can win or maybe come 4th, that would be perfect.