Imelda May’s classic was the order of the day as her popular tune was chanted down the M6 on the pleasant journey to Roscommon by Mick Foy, Alan McKernan and Donal Cashin – aka The Hammer, S3A & The Guard. This was not the originally planned CD as the Moulin Rouge soundtrack was selected following the previous success of ‘Les Miserable’ and ‘James Taylor’ as enjoyed by previous lucky passengers in Alan’s car. Espionage was detected and an investigation is on- going as the CD would not work after being with The Hammer and Guard for seconds. The trip was little over 95 minutes which included a leg stretch stop in Athlone or an Indian like war dance around the car as chosen by Donal. Peter Somba chose the option of driving with Coach Tony. They set off on Wednesday and were looking tired and fatigued as the lads passed them on the M6 with beeps and roars out the window as Tony displayed to Peter the traits of Morgan Freeman in his favourite film ‘ Driving Miss Daisy’. This would be the only time they would pass Peter on this day though.
The group of five arrived and met to collect their numbers and get in the zone for this superbly arranged race. Numbers were collected in a sealed bag containing their previously selected size T Shirt, number and pins in a tent to protect runners from the rain, but on this day the rain was hibernating in the invisible clouds as the heat and a warm tropical like breeze blew resembling the feel of being in the Mediterranean sun. Warm- up done and the race commenced after the horn was sounded by the Roscommon Rose Aisling McNeill.
Before too long Peter was a vague distant figure as he sat in adjacent to the lead group running comfortable as the rest ran their own races in attempt to achieve the times they sought. Peter went on to win his second race in days running very comfortable to win in a time of 53:06. This was Peter’s last race before he embarks on the long trip home to Kenya following a near 4 month stay in Ireland. We hope to see him back for the marathon in October. Peter chose this race due to the obvious strange and wonderful company which was promised along with some S3A merchandise which he took back home to promote within his home country. That company started to arrive many minutes later as Alan arrived next in 9th place overall in a time of 60 minutes and 37 seconds with a PB of 2 minutes much to the disgust of the lads who had the unfortunate pleasure of listening to him on the way home. This did not feel as quick for them as the drive down for obvious reasons. Donal arrived a mere 14 seconds later in a time of 60 minutes 51 seconds. The two lads are in the midst of training for their marathon in Berlin in September and utilised this as stepping stone to hopefully achieve their marathon targets. Donal is showing great recovery following his year out and is getting stronger by the race whilst Alan is now requiring a marathon PB for the much coveted 2016 PB grand slam.
Next home was our own’ Rose of Dunboyne’ Mick ‘The Hammer Foy’ who arrived down the home straight like a freight train fully fuelled arriving at its destination with still plenty in the tank. This man gets stronger by the race as he resembled the 2011 Hammer who conquered all races including an epic 3:16 Dublin marathon. This will be Mick’s 10th Dublin marathon in a row as he sets to achieve a target he set himself in 2007 to run 10 in 10 and it promises to be an epic one with a potential Dunboyne sub 3:15 group gathering to conquer the streets of Dublin on what promises to be an epic day in October. Mick set his best 10 mile time in 5 years as he came home in 68 minutes and 48 seconds only 40 seconds off his PB. This truly is the year of The Hammer – watch this space!!!!
Tony is now in the midst of training for his first marathon in many years and treated this as a solid training run following his club tempo 6 miler on Thursday. He eased home in 73 minutes and is running better than he has in many years as he rolls back the years. We look forward to seeing Coach Tony PB in October and hope to see him back in Meath by Tuesday all going well. He is set to hit Athlone by Monday morning so he has every chance. Needless to say Daisy O’ Neill will not be acquiring any penalty points too soon J. Massive thanks got to Tony and Gary for their efforts over the last few months as runners are improving by the week as the club rains PB’s of late due to their coaching and excellent club sessions.
After the race Peter, Alan and Donal were told the good news that there were team prizes which they were unaware of and indeed they had won first team much to their delight. They received a fabulous cup which to no surprise Alan took. We will take a wild guess that we see this cup on Tuesday. The good news is training will be moved to an alternative site by invitation only possibly close to Athlone so Coach Tony has a chance of making the session too. Thanks to Donal who treated Peter and the lads to post race massages to help with recovery. This should help Peter in his long trip home- not to Kenya but to Clane with Daisy. Alan and Mick then reciprocated the token by taking a leg each of Donal and giving him a massage. Peter arrived back over to the lads at this stage with a very confused look as the two lads were in competition to provide the best service to Donal. The lads then had a massage-off as judged by Donal which Mick won as in Donal’s words ‘he got in there’.
This transpired to be one of the best ran races the lads had encountered from start to finish and beyond. The genuine hospitality of The Roscommon Harriers to all was exceptional and the lengths they went to ensure a safe and positive race experience was beyond impressive. The course was fair with undulating up’s and down’s and definitely one to achieve a solid time. The day itself made it tough as it was extremely hot with a warm breeze but with 4 water stations containing bottles ensured all were well hydrated and cool making it a nicer experience. This was extremely generous and also well appreciated by the runners. As it transpired this was only the start as the lads in Hannons Hotel where the start and finish existed, they were treated to post race curry, burgers, drinks and a selection of cakes that turned Alan into Augustus Gloop in Willy Wonka as he stared opened mouthed at the trays of pastries containing cream, jam chocolate and numerous other ingredients that made for great post-race sustenance. Tony was also looked after as Mick utilised his experience of being a Daddy of four in arranging for a gluten free sandwich which the Hotel without fuss were very happy and quick to provide. A massive and genuine well done to the organisers and all involved in Roscommon Harriers. This is a race that we thoroughly recommend and hope to bring both a men’s and women’s race to next year. Well done The Harriers!!!! This is a road trip well worth the journey.
Well done to lads and judging by the pictures you can see aside from some great racing proven by their impressive times, there was also the usual and expected messing and craic as occurs with this group. Well done to the team on their win and we wish Peter a safe trip home to Kenya and we can only hope he is not too tarnished from his interactions with the lads on Saturday 🙂
