One of the highlights of my year is definitely running the Amsterdam marathon in October. It had been 7 years since I had run that distance and I was apprehensive about doing it all again. For one reason or another there had not been many half marathons in Ireland that I had been able to attend this year but I started the marathon training. So myself and Conor were looking for a venue mid to late October that was running both a marathon and a half marathon.

My brother and some of his mates had already enrolled so we decided to head to Amsterdam too. To be fair, its handy to get to from both Dublin and Cork and we had no problems in booking reasonably priced accommodation near the Centraal Station. The marathon was due to start at 9.30 am with the half marathon starting 4 hours later. It was a gorgeous sunny, cool Autumnal morning.

The race started in the Olympic Stadium which was a short train away. The Olympic stadium was an awesome venue.

The course was about as flat as you can get which suited me down to the ground. There was a terrific atmosphere and plenty of supporters cheering on the runners along the route. A lovely touch was that every runner’s number had their name printed above it. We ran along the Amstel river, past windmills, along the canals and through parks. There were plenty of well spaced water/energy drink and banana stations. My only minor gripe with these was that the water was served in plastic cups rather than bottles.

I liked the occasional band or DJ playing music along the way. I would be lying if I said the theme to chariots of fire wasn’t running through my head as I approached the finish line in Olympic Stadium

I really enjoyed the whole day. Conor declared his post race frankfurter with sauerkraut to be probably the best he’d ever tasted.  Am definitely tempted to run it again next year.

Sunday May 1st at 10am saw myself, 3 of my siblings and other pals running through a forest in Virginia, Co. Cavan. Why? I hear you ask. Well, it was the first Jailbreak 10km trail run. We were going to be up and about early anyway as our Dad’s anniversary mass was taking place at 8am so we jumped into the car after it and a quick drive to Virginia later, we were set.

Some runners were assigned to be “prisoners” and they started the run a minute before the runners who were assigned to be “guards” took off in pursuit. Each guard was supposed to try and catch the same bib numbered prisoner. Alas I was the guard who was supposed to catch my prisoner brother who had recently completed the Paris marathon. No chance. The sibling rivalry kicked in and he took off!

It was great fun. The morning was gorgeous, sun out, bluebells growing in the forest. Some of the trail was along the lake so plenty of lovely vistas to keep us distracted from the running. We all thoroughly enjoyed it. For €25 registration fee, everyone received either an orange prisoner or a navy guard t-shirt, a handcuff shaped finisher’s medal and water en-route and at the finish line.

I would definitely recommend this trail run and intend to take part again next year. Good craic and a lovely way to start the day!

After the hills of Dingle, we decided our next run would be somewhere flat. A google search later, we settled on Galway bay’s “fast, flat, fun and very scenic” half marathon on October 2nd.

I was looking forward to this run as I thought I’d find it much easier than Dingle. However, despite completing it in a faster time, I didn’t really enjoy it as much. I did like the fact that most of the route was along the salthill promenade and so close to the sea. I didn’t like the full belt of the wind as we ran out the causeway. I didn’t enjoy doing two laps of the same course to notch up the requisite half marathon mileage. Also I discovered that I much prefer starting a run early in the morning rather than waiting till 1pm.

I prefered the atmosphere of Dingle. I loved the music at the startline there, it got everyone in top form. There seemed to be more people along the route in Kerry too.

That said, the Galway bay half marathon was, to my eyes, well organised.  The race packs contained a decent running top amongst other goodies. I relished the sambo in the finish pack and it was really nice to have a coffee in the tent after finishing as the day turned inclement. The free massages in the finishing marquee were also a nice touch.

Will probably think about doing this road race again next year but will keep my fingers crossed for less wind and I’ll know what to expect this time. Now I need to start some decent training as hoping to take part in the Clonakilty half marathon on December 11th. It looks to have quite a few hills on the route so will be ever so slightly more challenging.

Saturday the 4th of September saw myself, my husband and a group of my siblings and pals take part in the Dingle half marathon.

It was an early start on a Saturday morning. Luckily the holiday home we had rented for the weekend was a stone’s throw away from the start line. We ambled down after kitting ourselves out in assorted running attire, fixing our race numbers to our tops and breakfasting on various porridge, granola, toast and yoghurt combinations.

The atmosphere on the quayside was brilliant. The sun was shining and the DJ played tunes to get us in the mood to run the miles ahead.

It was a most excellent day. We each ran at our own pace. The sun shone thoroughout the duration. The scenery around Slea head and along most of the race route was breathtaking. An absolutely stunning part of the country, it did the job of distracting me from my muscles as they began to ache. There were plenty of  water stations and they were well spaced out which was just as well as the hills took their toll. The locals were out in force along the route to encourage and cheer the runners on. There were pace setters for those who wanted to keep a steady race time or beat a personal best.

I loved it and I will be back to take part in next year’s one. Check it out here. There’s also a full marathon and ultra marathon on the same day for those who are much fitter and braver than I.