Our Belpark Chairperson Helen French battled the elements in this year’s DCM. She finished in style and did the club proud as she blitzed the streets of Dublin. Have a read of this great report which she simply titled: If Carlsberg did Marathons..

Dublin City Marathon Race Report – Helen French

Dublin City Marathon was one of my target races for 2016. Having done it in 2015, I had an amazing experience with undoubtedly the best crowd support I have experienced, not least from my Belpark and Rathfarnham clubmates.

Race season started for me in February with the Duathlon series, followed by Triathlon with my main focus being 2 Middle distance races. By the time I had finished my Tri Season with IM 70.3 in Dublin, I had a good running base which would put me in good stead for DCM (mmm…or so I thought!). The day after the 70.3 I headed off for a holiday! with Clare Sullivan and Emer O’Hare to Font Romeu, in the Pyrenees which is a well renowned High Altitude training centre. We got some good running in there, mainly on trails and hills, but some decent downtime and relaxation too as well as an interesting trip to a nearby Spa.

The altitude effects are quite short-lived but I definitely noticed the benefit on my first tempo run when I got home (but it certainly didn’t last very long!). For the next 11 weeks or so, I followed Adam Jones’s (Rathfarnham Head coach) DCM plan. A few weeks in, I was noticing my times were not as good as last year on tempo and long runs, although my mileage was up and my endurance was better.

So, as DCM came closer, I decided a PB was unlikely on the day. I had done 3.27 in 2015 so decided I would start out on the day with the 3.30 pacers and stay with them until 21km. The weather for the race itself was not looking great, with wind and rain forecast, but the temperature was optimal for racing. After a very relaxing Sunday and a surprising solid night’s sleep, I woke refreshed on Monday morning.

I met some of the other Belparkers before the start. Merrion Square was buzzing with excitement.   With little time to spare I made my way to the start line and after the wheelchair and elites headed off at 9am, our wave was off at 9.10.

The first few km can be congested and a little slow due to some narrow streets and sharp turns. We crossed the Liffey and headed up through Stoneybatter. On we went through the Phoenix Park and as we got to Castleknock (mile 7), there were large crowds which really give a great lift. As the winds that day were south-easterly, we didn’t have the usual headwind that I have experienced so many times in the Park. Time was flying by but I was feeling fairly comfortable staying with the 3.30 pacers.

Crumlin road is the half-way point and notorious as a tough section due to the long drag and headwinds. On the day, the wind was behind us thankfully, but I still managed to fall off the 3.30 pace (a repeat of 2014 with the 3.20 pacers)

As we turned onto Cromswellfort Road, we headed straight into the headwind which we were going to have all the way to Clonskeagh. Coming closer to Terenure, more friends and clubmates were there to urge me and the other runners on. Terenure is the Rathfarnham WSAF marshal zone so there were lots of my clubmates out cheering and wearing the Rathfarnham vest makes us easy to spot. The legs felt more tired at this point than last year but my pace was steady. On we went towards Milltown, where I knew there would be a large support there from Belparkers so that helped me to push on…and they didn’t disappoint! I was more prepared this year for the long drag from Milltown Road to Roebuck and knew that once I got to the top of Roebuck Rd, it there were only 4 miles to go, with the wind at my back and relatively flat all the way. Ronan Kane went by me in Milltown, looking very comfortable and having started on a 3.40 pace, was likely to negative split. We exchanged a few words and then I waved him on, knowing I wasn’t going to be able to match his pace. A few more friends and my sister strategically placed on Roebuck kept me focussed going up the hill and then the final dig in to the end. A friend once advised me to think of a marathon of a 20 mile long run and a 10k race, which I have found really helpful. You know the last 10k are going to hurt but ‘knowledge is power’ and knowing everyone else is feeling it too keeps you pushing on.

The last 2k was different to last year, where we turned right onto Haddington Road, just to tease us some more. This year it was straight down Northumberland road where you can see the finish line in the distance, onto Mount St to cross the finish line in Merrion Square in a time of 3.33.

I was 6 minutes slower than last year, but it was a reflection of where I was in my training this year so really couldn’t complain! On the plus side, I felt much better at the end than in my 2 previous marathons, which entailed immediate light-headness, the need to accost the nearest person for anything surgary and adopting the horizontal position. A real bonus this time to stay vertical!

I would recommend DCM if you are planning on doing your first marathon. Whilst it is not the fastest course, being able to sleep in your own bed the night before, eating your own food in the days leading in make it all easier, and the crowd support around the course is incomparable. Those clappers that DCM provide make quite a noise.

Many thanks to all the Belpark and Rathfarnham WSAF members who were spectating and providing such welcome support- I reckon the weather was more miserable for them than those who were running (it really wasn’t that bad…) and the encouragement makes such a difference on the day…plus you get a pair of free clappers!