Stressed, worn out and cheesed off I got to the Easter Bank Holiday weekend like most people, relieved that there was a much needed break ahead. We (Me and Julie) spotted the Kenmare Bridge Run 5 km and 10 km was advertised online during the week and the prospect of heading to Kerry for a run on Easter Saturday and then a day out was a great motivator to keep pushing through the week at work. I had an adventure to look forward too.

We decided that the 10 km race would give us our desired workout and that Mick and Jimmy's would be a great choice for some post race food. We are now at such a high level of running fitness that we can at the drop of a hat sign up for and complete a 10 km race with very few worries. Not everybody is able to do that and when I got to Friday evening I was grateful that I was in the position to go and run around a beautiful part of Ireland. Extremely fortunate was how I felt all day in Kerry. The running was a bonus spending time joking with Julie about how cool I looked in my Bandanna was priceless.

The atmosphere in Kenmare was chilled. Most people appeared to be on holiday. The run was an opportunity for young and old get lost in beauty of Kenmare which I did. The race directors instructions were simple 'The route is sign posted and marshalled at every turn if you get lost you need to get your head examined' Common sense was the order of the day and in a world where common sense is so rare it's impact is felt far and wide when it is applied I was delighted to hear that the race director had decided not burden us with too much information. The marshals were equally jovial I recall one character with his Kerry wit in high gear reminding me 'You're doing great now turn left and then run faster'. I recall laughing to myself as I stared at the 15-20 degree hill just to my left. This was Healy-Rae territory and when it came to hard work this Marshal preferred to encourage everyone to embrace it and rightly so.

At about 4.5 km I begin a long steep climb. My legs were on fire and the field was so thin that I was battling this hill alone and then at the very moment when I was cursing myself for not adding more hills to my training I spotted this amazing view.

I was running up a monster of hill, taking in the view and listening to the water trickle gently in the background. I was in running heaven out of breath, my legs were burning but my mental health benefits were on point. I felt the stress of the week float away with the water. A tough run really can solve all your problems one hill at a time.

The run itself was tough overall but I would gladly do this run again at the drop of a hat. The scenery was refreshing, the atmosphere oozed holiday fun, the organizers were a pleasure to deal with and the course had the thrill of flying down hill after a long climb and at the finish line.

Kenmare Bridge Run 10k March 2018