O’Hare is like a hare! – Bogusboy reports from the A28
The Armagh 10 is ideal preparation for those in the final stages of preparation for the Dublin Marathon. With 15 days to go, the taper begins and this race was one final speedy push after all the hard grind of miles that characterised August and September. With thoughts now turning to pacing charts and racing strategies, a good hard 10 over testing conditions was just what The Prophet ordered! King’s Inn (outside not inside!) is the traditional meeting point and as 9:45am approached most were there – well without naming and shaming, everyone was there except ‘Wonderwall’ and then he arrived – faster than a cannon ball, like a champagne supernova in the sky!!! And so they set off with thoughts of PBs and one eye on the defibrillator in the back, just in case!
Here’s what you need to do Benny!!!
A quick two mile warm up afforded the opportunity to proffer some words of wisdom to Benny Teer – ‘Sure you just try to hang on to me for as long as you can and remember there is no shame in losing to me’ was one of the less ridiculous suggestions made!!! Teer would have a super run, finishing second to the superb Paddy Hamilton – there certainly is no shame in that. Hamilton would complete the lumpy (official designation!) 10 mile course in less than 50 minutes, an incredible performance by any accounts.
Wait to you see what my watch can do!
Jack O’Hare was the best of the NAC athletes on the day and came perilously close to the ‘holy grail’ of breaking the hour for 10 miles. Festooned with a new watch that did everything but run for him, he was in total control of his pace, his splits and his calorie burn throughout the race. No doubt this new piece of kit will be much talked about in the days ahead and the benefits it brings to fast times championed relentlessly. The Spartan was using this to gauge his form before the new road session sequence begins. On the evidence of today he is in good shape. He knocked well over a minute of his time from last year and finished the last three miles with considerable aplomb, leaving a few trailing in his wake and coming home in just over 62 and a half minutes. McCann was next home in just over 63 minutes and will perhaps not be recounting this tale as much as previous experiences on the same course. The Prophet was pipped at the post by Wonderwall in around 66 minutes (official times had not been posted at the time of writing) and the Non-Spartan Murtagh finished alongside Murdock in 68 minutes. Cunningham completed the scoring in around 72 minutes, impressive for his first outing over the distance. Our thanks to our club mate Paul Fegan for coming along to support us and take some great action shots along the way.
It’s all about the post–race refreshments!
With the trivial matter of the race out of the way it was time for the masses to descend on the Navan Centre for ‘tay’ and whatever could be devoured. The NAC posse were unusually reserved in their eating – well most of them were – much to the dismay of the organisers. Little did they know about the contraband the club had brought and shared after the cool-down! Muffins, freshly baked bread and cookies had been scoffed in typically County Down fashion from the boot of the car. Such was the feast on offer that Cunningham is already looking forward to the next race. Next race for some is the Gr8 in Dundrum, while for others the count down and ease off for Dublin is well and truly on.