Wild Encounters is located just outside Newcastle West. They have a range of birds, reptiles, meerkats and farm animals. Also, a tanuki, which was both cool and very timely given how popular Animal Crossing currently is in our house. There was plenty to keep us entetained in terms of talks, a hands-on petting of the rabbits and guinea pigs, and ferret racing in which Venla and her team mate Polly took first place!
On Saturday, I ticked off my first parkrun in the compass club. It’s a lovely small parkrun with friendly volunteers and a three lap course around the castle demesne which was lovely and shaded by the trees.
I ran the Sandyford 5k last year but this time I did it as one of the Cabinteely Hill Harriers teams. This year, I was significantly faster, completing the course in 22:33 so happy with that. No prizes for me personally but plenty for the club.
Ulster Museum is composed of three levels: history, nature and art. There is loads of interesting stuff including a piece on The Troubles, the formation of continents since the creation of the Earth, and two discovery rooms with lots of hands-on items for children. It’s also located in the Botanical Gardens so you can have a walk around those as well. And it’s all free.
You need ten parkruns beginning with the letter S to complete the snakes challenge. That is a lot of Ss. Stormont was my sixth. It is a well attended event that takes in two laps of the Stormont Estate with the start and finish on Prince of Wales Avenue looking up at the parliament building. Thank you to all of the volunteers for making the event happen.
Leeds United confirmed their promotion a few weeks ago, but clinched the Championship title on Saturday. They finished with six wins in a row. Let’s hope that serves us well in the Premier League next season.
I first did the Phoenix Park Duathlon back in 2023 and it was a well-organised and inclusive event. This time, DUCC brought a whole team.
The event was well organised again with loads of marshals available. There was a slight delay to starting the race when the ambulance broke down en route to the event but everything was still very smooth. It went off in three waves and despite promising to run a 25-minute 5k I ended up in the last one.
The first run was two laps of the field and nice and flat. Transitioning on the bike was fine and we set out to complete three laps of the park on fully closed roads. The bike course is fast, too, with only one meaningful hill at the end. I was able to stay aero for a lot of the first lap. On the second, the wind picked up and it was harder to stay on the aero bars but it calmed down again for the final lap. Another smooth transition and it was onto the run for a final lap around the field.
My total time was:
1:23:10
I was slightly faster across everything compared with two years ago. I am pleased with that as I felt like I was fitter back then. I looked at my heart rate and I was working slightly harder this time but I also think my running form has come on a lot and that has helped.
| Discipline | 2025 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Run 1 | 23:31 | 24:55 |
| T1 | 1:01 | 1:23 |
| Bike | 46:12 | 47:46 |
| T2 | 1:05 | 1:27 |
| Run 2 | 11:21 | 11:23 |
| Total | 1:23:10 | 1:26:56 |
Well done to Hugh, Finn, Paddy and Naz who has completed the event. Paddy won his age group and Naz completed the race despite dealing with a medical emergency in the middle. Great effort all around. The photographers managed to find me this year: thanks to Triathlon Ireland and Belpark Triathlon Club for the pictures.
Last weekend I went to Navan parkrun. It is a three-and-a-half lap course following the loop around Blackwater Park. One hill but a slow downhill, too. Some nice views of the river and what looks like an old mill. Thank you to all of the volunteers for looking after us.
But you don’t look autistic at all is a book by Bianca Toeps. It’s a great read for anyone who is/suspects they are autistic or anyone with a friend or family member who is autistic and wants to understand that person better. it explores the phenomenology of autism mixing together Toeps’s personal experience, interviews with others and some solid science, too.
Last weekend I completed Porch Field parkrun. It’s my 60th different parkrun event It’s located in Trim and it is a lovely run. Two laps of the park which features a ruined church, riverside section and sheep including some lambs. Friendly volunteers, of course, as well.
I was almost take to the start due to a racist parking app so I had to sprint to the start line. That apparently left quite a lot of adrenaline in my system and I ended up running 23:30 including stopping to take a selfie. I could have taken it after but that would have meant doing another lap of the course. it also gave me an age group victory, coming 1st out of 5!
