The Cork City Marathon.
The Cork City Marathon tookplace on Sunday the 2nd of June in Cork. There was also a halfmarathon event available on the day and a team relay race. The BlackwaterTriathlon Club was represented in all three events. Bernard ‘Barney’ Kiernanand Dave Bartley both did the marathon, along with over a thousand otherathletes on the day . For Barney it was the first time to attempt the distanceand he was delighted to finish and get another item off his bucket list. Theday was nice and cool for the first 20km or so, but at that point the windchanged and became a little more problematic. There were lots of small hills onthe second part of the race that sapped the energy from the runners’ legs asthey made their way back to Patrick Street and the finish line. Barney wasdelighted to turn the corner and see the finish line ahead with his familywaiting there for him and cheering him on. He finished his first marathon in 4hours and 58 minutes, much to the delight of his family. He’s already planningto return next year and aiming to break 4:30!! Well done to Barney and all theother first timers who took part on the day. Also doing the marathon on the daywas Dave Bartley who finished in 3:39:40. Dave’s training this year has beenmore focused on triathlon training and as a result he hadn’t spent quite aslong pounding the roads as in previous years. By mile 18 he was feeling thestrain and he really suffered for the last 4 miles. Like Barney he was veryglad to see the finish line, and he also felt a real sense of achievement andsatisfaction as he crossed the finish line. As he said “all the pain runsslowly from your legs and your heart fills with pride”. Also taking part in the half marathon on theday were Ashleigh Byrne O’Brien and Niamh Fleming. Ashleigh finished in 1:43:55and Niamh in 2:36:23. Stephen Dalton also ran a couple of legs in the relayrace on the day. Well done to all who took part on the day, a great achievementfor everyone.