CORK MARATHON - 02Jun08

There was much nervous apprehension when I booked this race as I spoke to Roger Biggs (Chairman of the 100 Marathon Club) and he mentioned a number of 100 Club members would be doing the event, which I really wanted to do. I faced a dilemma though in that I would have to notch up something like 10 marathons in 12 weeks. I had booked up 9 in successive weeks and allowed a 2 week window after the 9th one this just in case I got injured so I could potentially fit one or two more in, fortunately it didn’t come to that!

Having completed Halstead the 99th which went well, I was really excited that the big day was just around the corner. Ireland has always been quite a special place for me, having done races in Dublin / Connemara it’s always drawn me back mostly due to the wonderful hospitality, great music bars and needless to say the Guinness tastes pretty good too.

We decided to spend a few days in Cork, so besides doing the race it gave us a bit of time to take in the sights i.e. Blarney Castle, Killarney etc. with some good friends that had joined us too for the occasion.

The registration was a bit of an anti-climax on Saturday before race day, it was in the Cork City Hall and there was no stalls selling running kit, music playing etc, which amazed me as it’s a wonderful marketing opportunity for Race organisers to promote other events, though understandably it was only the second year of the race’s history !

Race day had come around quickly after the hubbub of frenzied activity. We were all well rested having found a good Pizza restaurant the night before and really filled our faces (not my normal food of choice but the group preferred pasta to a steak & chips meal) but the food was washed down by some nice wine that was kindly offered to me my Jim. I hadn’t intended having anything to drink as I’d had a skin full the previous night, but as they say "when in Rome do as a Roman"!

My Scottish kilt was donned on race day, and off I went to breakfast for a nice bowl of hot porridge and some scrambled eggs. Phillip dressed up as Elvis which was fantastic, Edward as a woman with long black wig and short mini skirt; he nearly put me off my breakfast seeing those hairy legs..!! Dave Bayley dressed up as Forest Gump and really looked the part and Jim not to be outdone looked as though he’d just escaped from Alcatraz in his one piece convicts outfit! I knew about his past convictions but was sworn to secrecy…………

After our breakfast the motley clan of miscreants made their way to the start of the marathon en-masse whilst the some of the locals looked stupefied with mouths agape, whilst others chortled loudly.

We had a good photo shoot and then proceeded to get in place with the rest of the masses for the start of the race. The Claxton went off and our group of motley jesters were on the way. At the start we’d unanimously agreed that the fancy dressers would stick together, which worked well until about half way. It was great fun being part of the excitable atmosphere as we made our way down St.Patrick’s Street and along the River Lee to suburbia.

Cork nestles in a river valley and is surrounded within an area of verdant hills in the north and south, in my view though it was relatively flat, scenic but varied course.

On we went on our circuit of the city centre, before heading out to the suburb of Blackpool, (no there wasn’t a tower there) the incessant banter between us made light work of the miles. Soon we’d passed the 4 mile mark along the picturesque Lower Glanmire Road then we entered the long Jack Lynch 360 metre tunnel which was spectacular. I immediately started singing ACDC’s Highway to Hell at the top of my lungs and was joined in song by the mad Forrest Gump (aka Dave Bayley), the cacophony echoed throughout the length of the tunnel and I am sure there were some nervous looks as runners must have been thinking that there were some nutters on the loose………. ! As we neared the end of the tunnel there were some strange noises and it transpired that some drummers were pounding out a rhythmic beat that echoed throughout the tunnel. This really spurred us on and we upped the race pace.

The Jack Lynch tunnel lies beneath the River Lee and links Dunkettle to Ringmahon. Interestingly the 2007 Cork marathon was actually the first time that pedestrians had been allowed through it subsequent to the opening in 1999 when 100000 people walked through the tunnel over a 2 day period raising significant monies for charitable causes.

We passed through Blackrock Village still enjoying the electric atmosphere and headed along the Martina and Central Park road towards Turners Cross. The run along the Lee River was really scenic and having come around a bend we were awed by the sight of a lovely Castle, the road meandered along the river banks through a quiet residential area which was virtually traffic free. Spectators gesticulated from doorways, and clapped as we ran past. From the rapturous applause it was clear that they were enjoying the spectacle as the Scotsman lifted his kilt, other characters got much applause i.e. Forest Gump, Elvis and a tart called Edward who showed them a thing or two. Jim kept putting his hand up to screen his face as he passed a few bemused policemen, and only I knew what crimes he’d committed, but I can be bribed for a fee though…………

Our motley crew made their way to the half way mark along a lovely avenue bordered by trees. I looked at my watch then and it read 1.51.30 (or thereabouts) I looked over my shoulder but couldn’t see the rest of the fancy dress pack, at this time I was running with a guy called Steve Price from the 100 Marathon club and we’d been chattering away for ages. We ended up sticking together until about mile 16/17 when Steve mentioned that he was going to ease back a bit. I thought I’d pick up the pace at this point and started doing 7.30min miles, I felt good though by now my kilt was dripping with a sweat / water and my kilt had slid down a bit. As I ran I tried pulling up the kilt and tightening the belt (much to the amusement of the spectators) which was hard work whilst on the run, though I didn’t find it too uncomfortable apart from this.

At 21miles, we started heading back towards the city along a mile long Carrigrohane Road, locally known as the straight road. In fact the last few miles seemed unending as the road was slightly uphill and straight, the mile markers seemed to take ages to reach. The last bit was nice though as we went along Pope’s Quay and crossed a small bridge called the Christy Ring Bridge and Lavitt’s Quay when I was passed by a familiar looking runner, running the last 5 mile lap of a relay race (on at the same time). I questioned a spectator and she confirmed that the lady in question was in fact the great Sonia O’Sullivan. She’d actually commented having run past me "go that man in a kilt", great words of encouragement, but needless to say I would not be able to catch Sonia on any day of the week, least of all at the end of a marathon. The finish at St.Patrick’s Street was wonderful, and the crowds were going ballistic as I lifted my kilt whilst also attempting a sprint finish in order to get to the finish in 3.29.04, which I managed with only seconds to spare.

I made my way over to Jola (my better half) who was wearing her green Irish hat adorned with shamrocks. She handed me a bottle of bubbly and I popped the cork with gusto and proceeded to down the contents. We’d bought a few bottles as a celebratory gesture to share with the rest of our group, and as they came in they were whisked over for a wee libation and a photo shoot.

Having seen Sonia O’Sullivan in the crowd after the race, I walked over and started chatting to her; she was such a nice person and readily agreed to have a photo taken with me when I mentioned that I was celebrating my 100th marathon.

Phillip (aka Elvis) mentioned that we should get an interview on the local "Radio 96" they were covering the event; he had a word with the Event organiser who agreed to arrange our 5mins of fame on live broadcast. Yinhii mentioned later on that she’d heard the radio broadcast whilst changing back at the hostel, much to her amazement! Edward looked ravishing in his dress, Elvis was as handsome as ever whilst Jock (me) told the interviewer excitedly about the fun we’d had that day. Shame the listeners hadn’t seen us, but maybe this was fortuitous as we’d probably have been sectioned otherwise.

The rendezvous for the evening’s festivities was decided as being Clancy’s Bar, which was set up by the race organisers for the Post Race bash; however our group (including the 100 marathon club) were the only people at the bash which was good as the hot plates of food were relished and devoured with gusto.

Roger Biggs of the 100 Club made the presentation of my 100 Club medal and to the requests of "speech….speech" I said a few words to thank everyone for their wonderful support in supporting and helping me arrive at my milestone, we then continued our libations of the local brew - Guinness!!

The rest of the evening included learning how to do Irish jigs, to the sound of a local Irish band, which was a real laugh as needless to say there were a few sore toes at the end of the evening.

All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, one that will remain etched in my memory and a great weekend spent in the company of some wonderful friends that made it a very special occasion!