Cork Photos

Two days on and I’ve had time to reflect on my 15th marathon/ultra. Considering how low my expectations had been before the race, this has gone very well. I would gladly have taken 3:12 at the start, so I have no reason to complain about that time now.

Michael left a lengthy comment, wondering if I’m overtrained. I gave this careful thought, but I really do not think this is the case. The main reason why I was not very enthusiastic about the race was that it was a late addition to my racing calendar this year, I signed up a few weeks ago, mostly on a whim. Then, when I got sick with a week to go, I expected a long slow disaster, and this wasn’t something I was really looking forward to. In contrast, I am very much looking forward to Dingle, both the training and the race. I take this as a good sign.

My legs are feeling very good. I can even skip down the staircase at work without a bother. That’s a new one after a marathon. Still, I haven’t run yet. I might in the next few days if I happen to wake early enough, but I won’t set my alarm.

Unlike a few other marathons, there were loads of photos around, and I have been busy scouring the net. I found plenty of pictures of myself, looking ugly in basically all of them. That’s ok, a marathon is no beauty contest. Thanks To Paudi, Private, the official photographers and everyone who posted a picture on flickr.

Early on, you can see me (673) with Seamus (1470) tucked close behind.


Very close by, we’ve temporarily attached ourselves to a bigger group.


At mile 10, probably the stretch where I felt best, Seamus was still very much with me.

Mile 11, and we all just realised that we would be running straight into the wind for the next 2 miles. Seamus, of course, knew it too but at least had a handy wind shield in front of him. And you can admire Blackrock Castle in the background.

Close to the halfway point and we found a fairly big group that stayed together for a good few miles. Seamus is right behind me.

Pretty much the same group at mile 15. Me and my shadow Seamus.

And shortly afterwards. Seamus is – you guessed it – right behind me.

By mile 20 things have changed and I'm on my own. I can hardly recognise myself in that picture. I look about 10 years older.


Crossing the finish line.

Blimey, that was hard work.

I should have left my glasses at home. I was running blind half of the time.