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SUNDAY 30th October - Dublin Marathon 2016 |
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I wanted to replace my previous sport with something more flexible in terms of time, regarding training, so my brother-in-law Brian arranged to meet me at the Rand Athletic Club in Parktown, Johannesburg, South Africa for an 8k time trial. After a short meeting with the club’s membership chairman and a short run, I decided to join. I had two and half great years there, where I made some fantastic friends and great memories of 10Ks, half marathons, marathons, ultra marathons and of course the Comrades Marathon 90K. |
I then changed clubs to Midrand Country Striders, a new club close to my home. I stayed there until I left to return back to Northern Ireland in 2001. We also had many great friends and lot of completive runners. |
| Some of my great race times and personal bests are, starting with my best times |
| 8 kms (5Miles) |
31.5 mins |
| Half marathon 21Km (13 Miles) |
81.50 mins |
| Vaal marathon 42Km (26Miles) |
2 hrs 48 mins |
| TwoOceans56Km(36Miles) Marathon, Capetown |
3 hrs 52 mins |
| The Comrades Marathon, the largest and most challenging race in the world over the distance of 90 kms (56 Miles). My best from all 5 which I completed was 7 hrs 07 mins. |
7 hrs 07 mins. |
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| These were all completed within the silver medals times. We used to train from 1250 to 1500 kms for the Comrades Marathon 90km race. |
| After returning to Northern Ireland and interested to get to know Europe and looking to build up my fitness, after taking some out in order to organise my family moving back to Cookstown. |
| Within a few weeks, a gentleman by the name of Stanley Reid from Cookstown, picked me up and took me to my first race in Armagh, a 10 mile race. I soon joined the then called Cookstown Harriers. A few years later, they became Sperrin Harriers Mid-Ulster. |
| So, in the last 14 years, I again have made many great friends with in the UK, Ireland and Europe. I have had the privilege to experience of running many great marathons, such as Paris, Berlin, Rome, London, Dublin, Barcelona, New York and Dingle, to name a few. |
| Running is a great way to keep fit and also can be used as a form of stress management. You get to experience many great outdoor venues, parks, etc. Of course you require good discipline, motivation, a training program and a positive mental attitude. All these qualities can be applied to your work or your business with great benefits. |
| If you are a newcomer to the marathon world, allow yourself to have two to three years to build up your strength and endurance. Join a suitable club that has a good training program for beginners as well as experienced runners |
| My favourite song has got to be Chariots of Fire, as this was the theme tune at the beginning of every Comrades 90 km race. |
| So I hope to see many of my friends and supporters at the Dublin Marathon 2016 on Sunday the 30th October. |
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