Introduction

My son Edward has flown through the neonate phase of his life. While everything is new to him including sleeping more than 4 hours a night. Everything I have ever done is also new again now that I have to blend him into every activity, everyday, every year until he’s 18, even then I probably won’t stop there and he’ll probably take up marathon running to get away from me.

On father’s day 2023 I raced the Corkagh 5 mile which was the first race in the Dublin Marathon Race Series 2023. My son Edward and Wife Julie were there in support. Edward was born May 17th 2023 at 19:25 and he’s attended five of my running related events already. I’m his father and whilst everyone will tell you it’s different when you have kids I’ll tell you it is not impossible and that you should be leading by example with your health. I had a lot of clients use the kids excuse with me during my Mardyke days. I should have been a much tougher coach hard with them. I have one of my own now and they may not all be made the same but the majority can be incorporated into your fitness routine. And as proof of that I did the midnight and 7 am feed with Edward, packed my family into the car and still ran the race. I’ve never once slept well before the Dublin Marathon (which I’ve ran 5 times) and don’t expect I will this time so I’m leaning into my uncontrollables early and getting on with it. Finally, I’m well aware that Julie is going to return to activity as well, she’s set for a 60km cycle in August and she’s eager to get a new PB at Tymon parkrun. We’re not going to solve our problems we’re going to overwhelm them.

Race

The organisation was absolutely superb. I really couldn’t fault anything. I have an ongoing pet hobby horse where I relay how much I depise water cups but dying of thirst (as I was when passing the water station) meant I would have drank from a hosepipe. I should have just carried my own water on my running belt. I need to get used the running belt again anyway and the cups were compostable. It’s hard to ask race organisers to offer sports bottle caps when their trying to be sustainable and save the planet my son has to live on for the next 120 years. Other sustainability measures that were greatly appreciated were the cycling infrastructure, park and ride and the bus route information that helped get people too and from the race safely.

My aim for the race was simple, Run a pace of approximately 4:36 min/km. I’m building up to the Dublin Marathon and this is my target pace. For me target pace needs to be chosen and then wired into your working muscles until you’re 100% sure you can live with it for an entire marathon. I train to extend the endurance at that pace. If you make a mistake with your pace for the marathon as I have done you need to carry it for 26.2 miles and it’s usually brutal. I finished the 5 mile with a chip time of 38:25 or 4:47 per km pace. In Corkagh park I could feel the heat from mile 2. The temperature hit 18 degrees and 70% humidity before I finished at 10:15 am but even with that to consider I need more training. That last drag was not unlike the hill at the back of UCD in the marathon at 22 miles. I wasn’t ready to fight with it. I’ll be better mentally prepared next time The series will help me focus.

Course

The Corkagh 5 mile is mostly flat. It pulls, drags and at the end twists but unless the heat is at you (which it was for me) then I think careful race management will help you PB over 5 miles. I found the finish brutal you ascend a drag for over 400 meters, take a hairpin turn left then drop a little followed by twists like a river meandering before finally with a flat 300 meters to go arriving at the finish line. I was with a bunch and I heard plenty of grumbles about the twists and turns but as one lad from clondalkin put it “if you can talk you can kick at the end”. I liked that so I picked a mark just before the last right turn and threw the kitchen sink at it.