You know you’ve got a great friend when she suggests flying to Ireland for 22 hours to run a 10K AND buys you the race entry as a birthday gift!
This weekend I travelled to Dublin to run the Fingal 10K which is part of the Dublin Marathon Series. Here’s my race recap...
Race organisation
The race was well organised - parking was a short walk away, the race village was spacious and set in the grounds of Swords Castle, lots of toilets and organised, calm starting pens and chip timing.
Route
After a short leg on a dual carriageway you head out into country lanes where you get to see lovely Irish farmland and countryside. The final stretch is around a park and back along the road to the finish. The picturesque route had a couple of inclines but no major hills as well as two water stations. There were full road closures out on course which made for a great race atmosphere amongst runners.
Goody bag
On the final slog to the finish, my mind turned to the goody bag and it didn’t disappoint. At the finish we were gifted a high quality Ronhill t-shirt, milkshake, water, energy drink, cookies, banana and energy gel - all of which were finished by the time I left the race village!
Personal thoughts
This was my first race in over a year following a seriously lost running mojo. My goal was to just enjoy myself. Despite some pre-race nerves, I did just that! It left me wanting more and ready to achieve more running goals for the rest of 2023 and early 2024 (more on that to come!).
Final words of wisdom
If run-tourism is your thing Fingal 10K is perfect for you - it's a 10 minute journey from Dublin airport with plenty of accommodation in the surrounding areas, making for a stress free trip. You might also want to check out the rest of their races in the series.
If you’re there for the weekend you should also check out Father Collins’ parkrun on the Saturday (bonus that they start at 9.30am!)
If you’re feeling inspired and want any tips, drop me a message!
Lydia xx
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