Introduction

We visited Tolka Valley parkrun back in August 2022. It was here that we heard the rumour that the Sport Ireland Campus parkrun is a cross country course. I didn’t fully believe it at the time. Now I do. You start looking across the beautiful country space below .

As most you know I’ll sling some link to politics or current affairs into this blog. Well as this trip included a visit HQ Sport Ireland and politics around here it’s been in vogue. Here is a summary of some of the issues in more recent times.

FAI accouting scandal
OCI Olympic Tickets Scandal
Swim Ireland - Where is George Gibney?
parkrun CEO kickbacks

You may love Sport and you may not be interested in politics. Politics however remains extremely interested in you especially when it comes to Sport. Sport as a business model is very much dependent on the participant model (the electorate) in Ireland. In my career as a coach I met very few of our world class athletes who were 1) Well funded and 2) Able to pay for coaching or access to facilities. Sport isn’t a long career even as a coach you have a shelf life of 10 - 15 years if you’re at the top of the game. The majority end up with less and the elite athlete funding model nowadays is endorsements from leveraging your brand on social media. This is extremely hard. The time and effort that goes in here will distract an athlete from their main goal or at least drain their energy. It’s easy to say sure there so fit they don’t even feel it however at the time of writing 0.1 of a second is the difference between gold and 26th place in swimming. The 100 meter sprint may begun to time to the third decimal place (9.777 etc) to determine the winner very soon. Millimeters matter at the top and in Ireland we need all of them. Funding for Sport is largely taxpayer driven. Irish Sport Business Models often try to largely equivocate expenses with income huge profits are hard to find. Ireland has limited fire power and if we need to do one thing it is reduce the scandals above and keep that good will from the public by providing more campuses and facilities like Sport Ireland Campus throughout the country.

Journey to parkrun glory

At the time of writing this was my 28th parkrun in 2022. I’m aiming to run 40. parkruns in a calendar year. We have 15 Saturdays left in 2022 so in theory I should reach 40 on December 10th 2022 and then spend Christmas volunteering.

Course

The course is two laps. 99% of your run will be on grass. The morning we attended (Sept 17th 2022) the dew hadn’t lifted and we got our feet a little wet. The Sports Ireland campus is definitely on the short list for the most beautiful parkrun in Ireland.

This a tough parkrun. The surface is uneven though you have plenty of space to run. The Hills are gentle but long and they sap your legs in the second lap in particular. I loved the run because it felt like an adventure. It reminded me of orienteering with my buddy Mike one of our school tours. If you’re visiting set your expectations before you start. This isn’t a conventional parkrun. It’s a cross country parkrun. You’re going on a running adventure take it handy but bring your hustle in the second lap. The first lap for me was a learning curve I took it handy. On the second lap I gave that hill a fight and on the downhill I couldn’t resist a sprint and almost lost my footing but I felt younger for 30 seconds so it was worth it.

In summary, from the start gallop across the flat country side turn right downhill get through the tree tunnel, around the jut and then up the hill, around the back of the old house, then wave at the finish funnel volunteers and go faster on the second lap.

Live a Little

As always you should live a little at parkrun and take in a piece of parkrun to nourish your soul. At the start look out over the course and dream of how great your health and fitness will be if you do this weekly. You’ll be running across beautiful open country enjoy it.

Next up I found it no harm on the downhill to look left and right. What a view !!!

For the competitive amongst us give that hill everything you have on the second lap. I felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment running hell for leather at it on the second lap and not stopping until I hit the finish line.

Volunteers

I didn’t realise the volunteer team were less than 50 events into their tremendous parkrun adventure. Even with all the things that come with a new parkrun they came across cool and calm. The First Timers briefing opened with “any first timers here or anyone who wants to get lost?”. At the finish funnel we were greeted with cheers and well done. Go join them if you can.

Conclusion

Sport Campus Ireland parkrun is a spectacle.

Sport Ireland Campus parkrun | Spectacular Cross Country Mayhem