The Great Limerick Run 2022

“Oh, well done, running a marathon is an achievement,” is something a lot of people have said to me to which I generally reply, “Meh, getting out of bed is an achievement too”.

On race day, I find that the hardest bit is, literally, getting out of bed at stupid o’clock to go and stand in the cold for an hour before running around the road for a few more hours. I’m not a person that’s interested in finisher medals but I think I’d be partial to the idea of getting one for getting up early of a Sunday morning and standing, semi-naked, with a few thousand others of the same persuasion who, for some reason, seem rather cheerful about the prospect.

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Losing With Style At The Connemara Marathon 2018

“Well, at least you finished,” was a sympathetic response I got from several runners when I told them I did the Connemarathon last Sunday in 5hours 20mins. Most of these people had done sub 4 hours.

To this sympathetic tone and sincere look of pity, I felt the need to defend my manhood.

“I was wearing these barefoot shoes, see,” said I, showing them my VFFs as proof, “I’m doing Limerick in two weeks in ‘normal’ shoes and expect I’ll do sub 4 hours.”

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Death-match at EAMS’ 6 Hour St Patrick’s Day Challenge in Belfast

In the pre-feminist days of the caveman there must have been many, many occasions where such a man had to fight off a rival caveman who wanted to dash his brains in with a rock, murder his children, and take his woman for himself. Continue reading “Death-match at EAMS’ 6 Hour St Patrick’s Day Challenge in Belfast” →

How To Do A Marathon Without Training

Writing this post feels kind of stupid because doing a marathon no longer seems like a big deal to me. But notice how I said “doing”, not running.

I had aspirations of running a marathon since my mid twenties but every single time I got into the rhythm of training my knees, back, or hamstrings, or something else got screwed up and my running came to an abrupt end. Continue reading “How To Do A Marathon Without Training” →

One for the Family at the Lakes of Killarney Marathon 2017

A car exploding into flame on my route down to Kerry for the Lakes of Killarney Marathon 2017 meant that traffic on the motorway was halted for about half an hour.

It always hits me as strange how there’s a giant, and maybe infinite web of interconnected and unfathomable occurrences which lead to every split second happening across the space time continuum.

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Out of the Shadows at the Galway Bay Marathon, 10KM, & Half-Marathon

“JESUS CHRIST!” exclaims a passing lady after I say “good morning” to her from my carefully chosen vantage point a short while before the Galway Bay Marathon events start (Photos here). A whimsical part of me wants to say, “No, ma’am. I am not Jesus Christ. I am the COW! The Galway COW,” but, afraid that she might call the men in the white coats, or a veterinarian who may subsequently have me put to sleep for having a clear-cut case of mad cow disease, I elect to simply apologise and it turns out that she didn’t actually think my name was Jesus but the fact was, because I was sitting in the shadows beside a wall with the sun at my back, she couldn’t actually see, and was frightened by, me on account of being blinded by the bright early morning sun and startled by a voice that seemed to come out of nowhere.

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Smile Catching at Achill Ultra

Why am I doing this? I ask myself, groggy-eyed, as I arrive on Achill Island to photograph the first day of their marathon events which consist of a half marathon, a full marathon, and an ultra marathon. This is the same question I always used to ask myself any time I ran any of these races in the past, as opposed to today where I’m photographing. (All pics will be here soon). Continue reading “Smile Catching at Achill Ultra” →

Into the Wild with TrailHeads’ First Western Way 50 & 100 Mile Ultras

Lord of the Rings style landscapes are what many describe as the kind of scenery that one sees in Connemara. Indeed, author of the trilogy, J.R.R. Tolkien, is said to have visited here and it is believed that it may have been a source of inspiration for his books. But here today there are no goblins, orcs, wizards, hobbits or talking trees, but like the obsession of Golem in the movies, there is something precious. There are 25 real-life heroes undertaking a task unimaginable to most mere mortals. And most are wearing blue, like Superman or Wonder Woman, so it is obvious that these folk are the real deal. Continue reading “Into the Wild with TrailHeads’ First Western Way 50 & 100 Mile Ultras” →