(With thanks to Louise Taylor for this super report)
It was that time of year again, the annual outing and opportunity for DAC F4L and Seniors to take on their neighbouring Maynooth 10k or 5k run. This is always a popular run with the club and this year was no exception. The run was appropriately named ‘The Rebellion Run’ to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1916 rising. All finishers receive a commemorative medal, so needleless to say, the usual suspects, and suckers for a bit of bling or t-shirt signed up. A few of us met at the club on the Sunday morning (Myself, Ana, Vivienne, Clare and Annette) to car pool. Soon we were on our way. The weather conditions were perfect for running as we were greeted with a sunny day and a light breeze.
The 10k race started in the grounds of Maynooth College. This race is always well patronised, and this year was no exception. We gathered around the start line and met Lisa, Nicola, Lauren Pauline and Rob. We bumped into Alan and Mick from the Seniors too. We had our photos taken by some local newspapers and we were more than willing to oblige. Lyndon was on hand as club photographer and was snap happy. Cheers Lyndon! We did our 5 min warm up, and then off to the start line.
The race took us around the grounds of Maynooth College for a couple of miles. Then it was out onto main street Maynooth, with a slight incline, and up towards the top of the town. As we reached this point, we were suddenly joined by what I can only describe as a stampede of people. This was the start of the Maynooth 5k race. At this point things became a bit crowded but soon thinned out. Up we went towards Tesco, then left down the R157. This part of the course was a loop. Going down was flat enough, but the return leg seemed a bit more challenging due to the incline. Then we turned left heading towards the entrance to Carton house. The heat definitely intensified at this stage. Water stations were really well organised and most importantly, there were lots of them. Carton as always provided a beautiful scenic run. There were a few small inclines, but nothing major. The cross winds blowing over the golf course were challenging enough. On my final approach to the finish line, I was stopped in my tracks by one of the race marshals and had to wait to let the traffic pass. I found it quite strange to be stopped mid race. Definitely something they need to address for next year.
Anyhow, we all finished with some fantastic times and a PB for some (Times listed below) we received our commemorative medal and headed back to Maynooth school for tea, cake and sandwiches. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day as always. It was my first 10k in a while and I was just delighted to finish and be back in action so to speak. The support on the day was fantastic as usual and much appreciated. Many thanks to Lyndon, Angela, Deirdre, Dave and everyone else along the way. Great run, great atmosphere and with a little tweaking on the organisational side of things, it was a great running day out. I’d highly recommend it for next year.
10K Times
Ana Quigley 58.52
Clare Bexon 59.16
Lauren Flood 49.19 (1st time under 50 mins)
Lisa Lord 58.38
Louise Taylor 62.33
Nicola McKernan 63.31
Pauline Singleton 56.37
Rob Webb 60.58
Vivienne Lennon 55.34
