Boyne 10k

At long last I'm back on the racing circuit!  After a lay off of over 9 months I finally took to the roads of Drogheda last Sunday along with Benny for the spectacular Boyne 10k.  My time may not have been great, my PB certainly wasn't touched but what a fantastic feeling to have clocked a race again.

This wonderful race drew 1,600 runners from all over the country, with the vast majority coming from the wee County of Louth and surrounding north eastern counties.  We started off in West Street, at the steps of the magnificent St. Peter's church that holds the remains of St. Oliver Plunkett (a freakishly well preserved skull) and headed off eastward up the town, crossing the lights and running along the river.  

Benny, who hadn't really trained all that much (except for an unexpected return to Gaelic football during the previous week), shot off at lightning speed - being pulled ahead by the fitter and faster runners.  I managed to tag him back and caution him against this instinct for speed at such an early stage and so we both paced ourselves slowly for the first five kms.

Benny gets a little refreshment after the Boyne Run.

The first half of this race was sheer heaven, especially when we turned off the main road, heading downhill under the tunnels and onto the little country road that led us along the river bank.  Benny kept at my shoulder throughout the first half of the race and we paced it out nicely.  

At the 7km mark came 'Heartbreak Hill'.  Wow, what a climb.  It went on for nearly two kms, twisting and climbing ever so slowly.  It was at this point that Benny and I were cut adrift - there's only one way to do a hill like this and it has to be at your own pace.  I must admit, I loved this hill - it reminded me of the hills at home in Conamara.  I was climbing tigerishly and passing most runners.  We topped the hill at about 8.5km mark and I began to up the pace considerably, running sub 8mile for the next 1km and motoring past people.  

While it was difficult to maintain that pace to the very end I was happy enough to cross the line at 54.43mins - a tale of a race in two stages, 0-7k at a leisurely pace and 7-10 (which included that tough climb) at a decent canter.  Benny crossed the line in 57.52mins - impressive for a man who rarely gets a chance to train.

The most important thing of all - we're off!  There's another 10k in the Cooley peninsula in two weeks time and I plan to be there.