New York Times - Big Marathons Article

A few weeks ago I was called my a journalist on the New York Times and we had a telephone discussion about the state of play of large city Marathons - Here is a link to the article from today's NYT.

Big Marathons, Already Packed, May Still Grow
By JULIET MACUR
Published: October 29, 2008
Race directors are looking for ways to make their marathons even bigger, while somehow maintaining a safe and enjoyable experience for runners.

Wonder what others might think - Seems a very fair piece to me -

Dublin Marathon Weekend 2008

As I reported earlier, obvioulsy I wasn't running this year, but it still meant a busy weekend at the Adidas Dublin Marathon. Went to the expo on Saturday to check out the stands, catch up with a few friends, and generally get re-enthused about the Marathon.

On Sunday, I was hareing a trail for the Dublin Hash House Harriers, and we welcomed a group of Runners/Hashers in from Sweden, along with a couple of Americans, and the usual Dublin crew. This was a sightseeing hash and a gentle run was planned for those taking part in the Marathon on Monday, and an enjoyable time was had as I showed them the sights of Dublin.

This took me through to Monday and Marathon Day. This year, it was no trip down to the start to wave good-bye and await the return - We were off at 7.30 to Terenure, and Mile 15 of the race. The Hash operate a Water Station here, and we arrived to find 10,000 bottles sat on pallets, tables awaiting building and a few like minded souls looking forward to the day. It was clear, cool, but dry, all in all a perfect day for running, and we quickly erected the tables, started to unpack the water bottle, having to pull off the plastic tops on 10,000 bottles. Then the van arrived with some banners, the FM104 Girls arrived in their Beetle, and 20 boxes of gels were dropped off for us - we were prepared -

At around 10.15 the lead car was spotted, and before we knew it the leaders were among us - and as quickly as they arrived, they were gone, their special drinks collected, drunk, discarded - water taken, and not a stride broken as they sped off. Gradually the rest of the field started to appear - Strung out at first as the leading Irish runners came through, then those looking to break 2:45, we spotted a few familar faces, some looking worse than others, and before we knew it, the masses were upon us. Hundreds of tired runners, pounding their way thru Mile 15, over half way, and starting the countdown to home.

Water was collected, dropped, gels ripped open, thank you's called to us volunteering. The kids helped us, handing out bottles without getting in every ones way, they were a welcome help - Runners must be the most polite people in the sporting world, as they thanked us for being there, we were all glad to help. After two hours of constant masses, the runners started to become walkers, the numbers dwindled, but still they came. Simon Baker, who would go on to set a world record for completeing a marathon on crutches, came by and chatted with us as he rested his arms - His "minders" complaining he was going too fast! We saw the Toucan, a friend of mine from Wales was yelled at - and went on to run 4:22, most looked great at our station, and the happy smiles of the walkers at the tail of the field said it all as they enjoyed their day out in Dublin.

Many were raising money for charities close to home, many just aiming to complete the run for their own satisfaction - One would come first, but everyone was a winner. Having run a fair few myself, I recalled the pleasures and pains of a marathon, part of me missing being out there running - As we wound down the operation as the numbers became a trickle, we waited for the last runners to pass, cheering them onwards to their own goals - I know I want to be a part of this again. Next year is Dublin's 30th Anniversary, my shoes will be laced, my training done, and I will be back on the streets of Terenure, and beyond - I'll be looking for my water at Mile 15 - On On ..

Stop - Start

Just in case I am talking to myself these days - I deserve to. I have been so irregular on here, I would be amazed if anyone has any patience left with me.

On the plus side, I am now injury free. I am still hashing and this has allowed me to keep some semblance of running in my life. This weekend here in Dublin, it's Marathon time. Obviously I am not running it this year, but I am contrbuting by Volunteering at a water station on Monday (Mile 15!), and I am also leading out a hash on Sunday for those visiting, a Sightseeing Hash!

But where does that leave my running. I had been thinking of running the Cross Country this winter, but knowing that being out of shape and running X-Country are not ideal friends, I will postpone those until the New Year, but I will target two low key races in December as runs. A 10K on Dec 6th, the Aware Race, and the Jingle Bells 5K the following weekend.

The biggest problem I have at present is my weight. I crept over 200lbs a couple of weeks ago, but glad to say I am back under again, and really will have to work on getting this back down to my Running Weight, which is below 185 - We shall see.....

Little acorns

You know the old saying about acorns, well, tonight saw a small step for Liam, a giant leap for my running! I headed to the gym, and ran a 3Km session. It was slow, painfully, 15:57. But it was a 3 Km run with no niggles as I ran, no running through pain, no feeling every muscle as I ran.

It's a long road back, I have 20 lbs extra around my belly - and a long way before I can honestly say I will be race fit again. Probably no real chance of anything this side of Xmas of note, but I will work at it, and get back. I love running too much to give up on the project....

Maybe not quite - But it's a start

Saturday was an absolutely gorgeous day, and I didn't take advantage and run! But I did have a lovely day - walked around Greystones, had lunch al fresco, watched some soccer.... and that continued into Sunday.

But Monday, and a Hash in Santry! Now, hashing can sometimes be far more about the drinking afterwards, and little of the running. But Monday's was a run, and a good one to boot. For those not atune to hashing, it's nothing to do with smoking anything, it's running, following a trail laid by a hare before we all follow on, and it's all good fun, with a few beers at the end to justify the exercise! Well, last night we had a good run of around 75 minutes, and I got a good workout. OK, it's not a structured exercise routine, but it was a good run around Santry and Beaumont, and I felt it was well worth it as a way of kicking off the campaign.

Feeling stiff this morning, and will aim to go the gym tonight to work on a stiff right quad as well as take a nice sauna. I've added a little pic from the weekend, which shows my newly added weight quite well :)

Light at end of tunnel

Some of you will recall when I used to be a runner - Hey! Even I can just about remember the days, the Alzheimer's hasn't kicked in quite yet. This summer has been a write off - story of so many recent summers, but this year wasn't just me being lazy. The muscle in my back has cost me hard, and a virtual ten week layoff has ensued. Now, I can confess to Hashing a little, well, every week to be honest, but those of you who have hashed yourselves will know, that running is not the most important part of a Hash.

Well, 20 lbs extra from when I was in Cincy in May, clothes that barely fit me, and a chubbiness that I detest, here we are in mid-September, and I am ready to start running again. Ironically, I should be running a half-marathon on Saturday, but instead, I plan to start with a gentle, easy 2.4 miles around docklands, and as long as I can put one foot in front of the other, Saturday morning will be the start of something big.

Obviously any plans for this year are shelved, but I aim to be back running, with a proper level of fitness for the BHAA Cross Country Season. Now I hate cross country at the best of times, but I have to make a realistic target, and the road race season will be over by the time I am prepared again - so the BHAA Teaches XC on Oct 18th, over 4 miles, will be my comeback attempt.

I do plan to write garbage on here, to get me going again, and so my posts may actually make some sense :) - Here we go again - Come along for the ride...

Oh My Gawd - What happened to August ?

Where did it go - Did I sleep through it?

Well, I sure as hell didn't run through it at 90 miles an hour - or even ninety miles a month! My serious running has certainly taken a nose dive over recent months, and whilst I continue to Hash, the training in-between hashses has been sporadic at best, and non-existant in any structured plan. I have been struggling to run more than 5 km, and will continue to do so for a while, as my weight is only just hovering under the 200lbs mark. I could use excuses, I did incur an injury or two, but these were relatively minor, and normally I would have run through these, so what is it?

As I say, I am enjoying my Hashing with the Dublin Hash House Harriers, and have taken part in most of the runs since May, culminating in The Hash In The Bog last weekend, and a couple of pics are attached - although, sadly I'm not in any of them, I had the camera :), but you get the idea. Maybe the time has come to accept that my Serious Running Days are over for good, and I should just enjoy the fun that Hashing brings - a new set of friends - Maybe the next few months will tell me the direction to go - Maybe I can lose 10 lbs and start to run better again, and get motivated to run hard - Maybe Oasis will have a hit album!......

Time, as they say, will tell........

I am still alive - No, really, I am

As you can see the operation was a complete success and I'm now able to run again having had a Red Dress Transplanted onto my body.....

OK, maybe not, but he truth is, apart from Hashing I haven't been running for a month, as I pulled a muscle on July 5th, in my lower back, and couldn't run. No whave the all clear, have added 10 lbs in weight, and will be chuggling along slowly as I lose tehweight and get back into shape. Don't you just hate getting old!

Back to the Phoenix Park

Slowly but surely getting back into it. After a busy start to the weekend with a trip up to house in the North to get the builder set as he makes good the water damage from last week, it was home and an early night after watching the first games in the European Championships from Austria/Switzerland. With no Ireland, and even England failing to qualify, it's open as to who to cheer for, and tonight sees a potential good game between Germany & Poland, I have a lot of Polish friends here in Ireland, including my builder, so I'll be wanting them to win tonight, and I have drawn Croatia in the sweep at work, but it will be Spain that I will be following most attentively, they have 4 Liverpool players im their squad, so Viva Espana!

I digress away from running.

This morning I met up with my training partener and friend Kieran in the Phoenix Park and we took a leisurely 5 mile run around the park, catching up on our American trips, as he ran Cleveland Marathon while I was in Cincinnati. He is in better shape than I at present, so I let him run off on me (truth told, there was no way I could keep up!) over the last mile, and I have a lot of work to do to get back into proper shape.

24 weeks to Philadelphia, with Dublin 20 weeks tomorrow - The clock is ticking!

Update and Up and At Them

Thought I'd bring you up to date with what has happened since my run in Cincinnati, and where I'm planning on going next. Well, after the race, it was vacation time in San Diego and Palm Springs, and I only managed a few little runs between pool time, but it kept me ticking over, and the relaxation gave me the chance to re-charge the batteries, and take stock of whether running was still in the plans - maybe it was getting too hard to keep the fitness levels.

Well, I took stock, and decided that as running is in my blood, there is no way I can relinquish the adrenalin that comes from a good run, or a race finish, so it was home, and the Dockland Fun Run over 7.75 Km, starting right outside my front door. I ran it steadily, clocking an unimpressive time of 39:44, but happy enough, and then flew off to Belgium to run the Brussels 20Km Road Race, as part of a team from Irish Revenue, where on a very warm day, and avery tough course, I ran 2:01:26, to finish around 12,000th in the race, but with a further 10,000 behind me! It wasn't the time that I had hoped for, and I have to admit that it is not a race that I would want to repeat, the course is too hilly and the numbers too high for the size of the roads, but I did enjoy my weekend, where our Belgian hosts treated us superbly.

I returned from Belgium with a BIG Blister on my right foot, so I took the whole week off running to allow it to heal - This was down to new shoes, that I thought I had broken-in, obviously not, so they will be discarded as running shoes, and I'll switch to my new Asics Gel Nimbus 10's, over those 9's -

June is here, and I have a plan. I was always intending to run Philadelphia this year, a Thanksgiving Vacation to Pa is a regular occurrance now, visiting family, and Dublin is 4 weeks before Philly. So, Starting on June 9th, I have a 24 week build up to Philly, with Dublin being my last long run before Philly, which I will run as a long training run, and hopefully help a pal reach a goal of his own at the same time. He can reach his goal, and I can contain myself and treat the race as a 2 minute slower than desired pace, training run.

I would point out that my weight has crept up to 196 lbs again, and this WILL be reduced to 175 by the time of the races, and with a summer of running to look forward to, I intend to make this one to remember. Last night I ran with the Dublin Hash House Harriers for a bit of fun too, and will continue to do this, and maintain the fun element of running alongside my serious training.