*With thanks to Alan for this fantastic report.
Breaking 3 is a target many runners train and target for. It’s a tough ask involving running at about 6:50 pace for 26.2+ miles. This year we had 7 attempting this who all lined up on the start line.
They had arranged to meet at a certain point and were surprised to see so many in this group all surrounding the red and yellow 3:00 balloons. As usual there was slagging and abuse and of course the flow of anxious excited nerves. Emilia was in good form needing to complete this quick as she had a cake to finish. The guys promised to have her finished by 12 if they got a piece.
The 7 of Emilia Dan, Lewis McCann, Gerry Madden, John Maguire, Stephen Devlin , Alan Mc and Donal Kark got under way easing into the race with a nice easy first mile below marathon pace staying well back from the sub 3 balloons. It was a crowded field with lots of accidental heel tapping amongst the group as all sought adequate running space with Donal wanting a little more as he was from Cork and it was the real capital bla bla bla. Needless to say some of his tripping was not so accidental.
As the guys went through the water stations in the early miles they worked as a team – taking turns to get water while the others maintained momentum which can often be lost at water stations. Into the park they encountered the first of the major support segments along the course including the unbelievable internal support from fellow club members. The lift runners get from these guys going out of their way- giving up their Sunday morning to give their fellow members a motivational shout-out cannot be described.
For this group from early on they realised they would be playing second fiddle to their Transylvanian colleague Emilia as every second person was chanting her name as the lads felt chant deprived. Stephen at one stage was convinced even a dog in Stoney-batter was also heard barking her name.
Exiting Castleknock the support could only be described as mind blowing as a wall of noise encased the runners as they marched towards Myo’s. It was here Alan had words with Lewy in an apache western tone as Lewy had a large brigade here and Alan did not want him to get carried away ‘Lewy – ‘keep the adrenaline in my beautiful man of body and mind – maintain the pace and your chosen path shall in return choose you, and your goal shall be reached- look to the mountains and follow the bright star to utopia my friend’. Lewy would say that was actually said was ‘ don’t get f****n carried away up here ya tool’, but this does not read as well.
Lewy replied as he gazed into Alan’s eyes. ‘Tonto- cheers for the advice- it is appreciated and noted my fast beautiful friend or’ shut the f**k up – I’m grand’. One of these versions is true anyway.
As it turned out Lewy ran through this area with pure focus blanking all the support with the focus of a Kenyan champion. Entering the park the group had its first departure as the train lost a carriage as Stephen encountered chest and stomach pain which should have resulted in him entering the medical tent for assessment, but not marathon runners and not this one. He assessed the body – took a sip of water and went on to complete the remaining 18 miles. This shows his dogged nature which will have him wearing the sub 3 bandana next year although he had said just to avoid wearing one he would rather do a 3:01.
The remaining 6 marched on relatively comfortably going through the half way over 30 seconds ahead of target. John and Gerry at this stage were so comfortable having just completed an hour of ‘eye spy’ they then took out a cross word which they completed followed by a power nap and then caught up on some work e – mails. The remaining 4 observed this, so at about 15 miles Alan approached the baby-faced assassin John and explained ‘Son- it’s time for you to leave. You’re a big boy now. You and Gerry are toilet trained and are ready to face the world alone. Daddy needs to stay with Kark, Dracula’s daughter and The mad scientist’s creation. With a tear in his eye- John hugged Daddy- ran to Gerry and they made their way to OZ alone on the yellow brick road. (True story). Two more carriages had left.
The two boys (Gerry & John) increased the pace catching up on the furthest pacer and were seen with delight by the remaining 4 make their move and push on. These two have immense ability and are in for a cracking 2018 as they will progress massively.
The 4 remained. Emilia very comfortably slotting in behind the boys filing her nails. Lewy now was becoming pacer as the lads with their disobedient child constantly reigned him back, but to be fair he was very comfortable. Continuing to work as a group both Alan and Donal were water boys at each station hydrating the guys as the other fulfilled their duty to maintain pace and rhythm.
In truth all was very comfortable but with less than 3 miles to go the work started when Emilia encountered a stitch and slowed before having to stop. Donal using his physio training turned into the Knight in shining armour as he did some Heebeejeebee stretch move which alleviated the issue in seconds and they moved on.
In the meantime Alan and Lewy moved on watching behind for the remaining two. A pact was made ‘start together – finish together’ so the plan was to slow and wait. Lewy had an alternative plan though which involved in mid stride simply stopping just like a car which suddenly and without warning ran out of fuel. Two miles to go.
Lewy had chest pain and required 10 seconds which he took. This allowed Donal and Emilia to gradually catch. A few minutes later the car broke down again as Lewy told Alan to go on. What Lewy got back no human should ever bear witness and no man should have to take but it refuelled the car. The two up front moved to the side allowing people to pass so Kark and Countess Dracula could catch up. The last mile was epic as the 4 remained together taking in the crowds. Alan having learned the words to ‘Bring him Home’ from Les Mis, Donal’s favourite musical, sang to Lewy in a tone only described as a goat on fire being lofted from the side of a mountain being spiked by every tree branch as it slid to the bottom. Beautiful- simply beautiful.
It was now that Lewy started to sprint for home as the guys increased their pace to remain with him. There was hand holding as the 4 entered the finish line which made the race video. They crossed the line under 2:59 feeling euphoric and overwhelmed by their achievements. John and Gerry were there to greet them as the 6 were reunited.
A massive congrats to Gerry, John, Lewy and Emilia on this great achievement. This time to achieve takes work and dedication which these 4 have worked on since the end of last year. Cheers to Phelim and Gary for their coaching, training and their pragmatic marathon advice.
Thanks again to the support around the course as well as Ray’s flat coke. It’s important for those making this great effort to realise how much it’s appreciated and its benefit. The lift is unreal for a chant especially to the lads who will be changing their names to Emilia next year.
A special mention to Emilia who finished 1st in her age category. She took on this challenge last year only to realise how tough it is and missed out. In true Emilia fashion she made a decision minutes after the marathon last year to get back on the horse – re focus and do it the following year- and that she certainly did.
The now tradition of wearing a bandana after achieving this target was in force that night. Stephen was seeing looking at the lads thinking ‘Thank goodness for that chest pain’.
Well done also to all the other marathoners in both groups especially the first timers. Epic work resulted in epic achievements. A special mention to Jackie Brannigan who the lads saw in the home straight finishing in Lisa Lord style looking perfect, fresh and smiling.
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