Dublin Marathon is a city marathon and one of the biggest running events in Ireland with 20,000 athletes taking part. I was really nervous about taking part but also determined to do what I could.
For background, my physical and mental health has taken a real battering over the past two years. I’ve gone from finishing IRONMAN Copenhagen and running 100k to struggling to make it around the 10k at EcoTrail Wicklow last month.
The last time I tried to run a marathon, which was Westport in April, I dropped out at 21k which was my first ever DNF in a running event (not counting backyard ultras, where everyone but the winner is officially a DNF).
Preparation wasn’t what I hoped. I was planning to do the 47k or 30k at EcoTrail but was too ill due to stomach issues. I got one 30k run in beforehand and a 14k + 10k at EcoTrail day, but everything else was 20k or shorter. I knew returning to the marathon was going to be a huge psychological challenge and went in thinking “it would be nice to finish but if it is not on the cards, at least I tried.”
Registration
You have to collect your number from the RDS. It’s a pain because it is about 3km out of the city centre so too far out for public transport and too close to the city centre to find free parking.
It was very well organised, though. There was no waiting to get my number and there were lots of volunteers on hand. I cycled down and between all of the things I had in my pockets and I ended up leaving my phone on the registration deck! Thankfully, a volunteer spotted it and kept it safe for me.
Pre-race
I took the tram into town on the morning of the race. It was the first one of the day to get there on time and was so busy that even from my stop it was already standing room only. It just kept getting busier and by halfway it was so busy that it looked like one of those scenes in Japan where professional shovers cram people onto the metro.
This was not fun. I was in a full panic. I told myself it was only another 15 minutes. But the tram was running so slowly it took an extra 10 minutes to get into town. By the time I got off the tram, I was visibly shaking. Not the start I really wanted.
It was quite a long walk to the start with a choke point for bag checks, then bag drop, then a 2k walk or so to the start pens. By the time I got there, I had already done 8,000 steps. But that’s somewhat inevitable with such a large event.
The first hour
Almost as soon as I crossed the start line I started feeling panic again. The start goes around the city and there were probably some lovely sights but I was finding it difficult to engage in anything.
I knew my friend Holly was working on the water station at 8k so I kept telling myself “just get to 8k and Holly will be there and say encouraging things”. Thankfully, I made it, and Holly was there and gave me the first pep talk I needed to keep going.
The second hour
Anxiety still running high I plodded on. After the first hour of heading north through Phoenix Park, you turn back and come back along the bottom of Phoenix Park and I took a walking break here to gobble some Haribo. Thankfully, I was able to stick to my nutrition strategy for the whole race.
As halfway approached my anxiety built as that is where I dropped out in Westport. I hoped it would get easier after the halfway point but also knew it was unlikely to make much of a difference.
Luckily, my friend Monica was cheering people on at 21k and she was the perfect person to run into at this point, delivering an impromptu counselling session on the side of the road.
The third hour
The lonely 20s. You’re hurting by this point and yet still nowhere near the end. I brought two flasks with me: one with Lucozade and one with Red Bull and at the magic 28k point where I had decided I could start on the caffeine. Delicious caffeine.
I think one of the walking breaks paid off as I managed to crack a smile at some point.
The fourth hour
Into the 30s and things did start getting a bit easier here. The mental pain was receding slightly as the physical pain really started to ramp up. Approaching the four-hour mark I was getting really sick of gels and took a Quality Street from a kind man on the street. I was starting to recognise some places here and that was nice.
The finish
As we approached 40k and beyond I was now feeling confident that I had done it. The last 2k were lovely: I was hurting but it was only physical pain and I was quite misty-eyed knowing that I was going to make it. It felt great to finally be able to take some of the atmosphere in and enjoy it.
My official finish time was:
4:33:07
I met Patricia just after the finish line. She started in a later wave than me but ran a wonderful time to finish well ahead of me. We then met some of the other club members at a local coffee shop for some well-earned caffeine and cake.
Conclusion
I’m absolutely delighted to have finished. I feel like I instantly got some of my mojo back.
I came in thinking it would probably be hell. And it was. Just hours and hours of it and I wanted to quit so bad. But I stuck with it and I finished it. A massive thank you to everyone who came out and cheered, and especially to Holly and Monica for their mid-race pep talks.
I went straight back to running on Tuesday, which I wasn’t physically ready for, but I was just so excited to feel like I was probably running again that I just wanted to get back out there. Everything over the past two years has felt like things were getting worse and this feels like things are getting better. Here’s to much more running to come!
