#31 Diary of a War Correspondent

It feels a bit like we are reporting on a conflict all week with news coming in on all fronts. The WhatsApp has been going bananas not just with our own crew but also with communications coming in from Tralee. Our posts to FAcebook are being shared far and wide and the competition is definitely hotting up!

So where do we stand right now?

Top number of participants: Tralee with 108

Top number of runs: River Valley with 204

Kerry vs North East Fingal aka Dublin: Dublin with 143.

No time for Dublin to gloat. None of the Dublin parkruns are way above average with only being slightly up on previous weeks. Inch Beach on the other hand recorded their first runs since July when (not) parkrun started. We suspect they may get a bit more in the future. Likewise Killarney House are up this week and may build on that. The Dublin team has a weight advantage in the average number of runners but it is not an insurmountable challenge.

All of this, of course, is at the time of writing and may all change before midnight. As Tony Higgins said it is like election night with all the buzz. Now we get to see who exactly has a few more to come in and who has been holding back!

The Full Table

Shout outs this week to those keeping the craic going, Tony Higgins, Siobhan Kearney and Kathleen Curtin from Tralee.

We would also shout out to Sandra Hoffman at Inch beach and Karl J Connon at Donabate who are both not exactly spring chickens. Karl put in not 1 but 4 runs this week not bad for someone in the 70-74 age category.

River Valley Results

This week we had 94 people run/walk/jog 5k (and more) Of those 15 were first timers and 14 people hit new PB's.

Well done to both groups. We would also, again give a shout out to those ladies who completed their VHI Womens Mini-Marathon. Pictured is Sam who is fighting back from illness and managed to get through the 10k including 3 trips up the Hill!

Two people we would also mention is Mary and Isaac both of whom are special needs and completed their runs this week.

So lets get down to the meat and two veg for this week. First finisher this week was Luke Murphy. Luke may well be dedicating this one to Pat Hooper who coached him in Raheny Shamrocks. More on Pat later in the report.

First female was (no drum roll) Cecile. First junior was Ruby Davy with a cracking time of 34:43.

Womens Mini-Marathon Follow Up

There is no real time when it is acceptable for a man to run in the Women's Mini-Marathon other than as a visual guide for a visually impaired woman. However there are exceptions and we feel this week we will give Kevin a by on this. Kevin's missus, Mags was due to run this week but she really hadn't factored in that it was only 3 weeks until she was due. She also hadn't factored in that baby Adam wasn't going to hang around and decided to join us all. (Maybe Adam heard about Tralee's numbers).

Here is the result!

A huge congratulations to Mammy Mags, Daddy Kevin and first time Granny Peggy and not forgetting Uncle Eoin. Kevin was determined that someone had to earn that medal and fair play to him for getting his drag one. You look fabulous darling 😂

While we are at it we would like to wish Brian Tucker a happy birthday today. Big one next year Brian. Enjoy the last of this decade!!

Pat Hooper R.I.P.

Many of the River Valley family knew Pat and were saddened by his sudden passing. His service to not just Ireland as an olympian but to Raheny Shamrocks is immeasurable. We do not think we can do justice to any tribute here and instead would link to the lovely tribute by Sean McGoldrick on the Raheny Shamrock Facebook page. Read the full tribute here.

The Ink Blob Test

Get a pen and paper and from the four images above examine them closely and write down what you see. Did you see

Dobby from Harry Potter
A Brontosaurus
States expected to vote Trump in the forthcoming US presidential election
An upside down image of someone struggling on the loo

If you have matched on all four then we can definitely diagnose that you need to talk to somebody. The four images are in fact all taken from a certain members runs on Strava. Knowing this person we also suspect it was an intentional attempt at GPS art!

So the real question is whose Strava art is it?

Speaking of GPS here is..........

The Strava Results

Cecile takes the top spot with the total distance with 68.8km. Followed by Dave Gargan on 50.6km. The longest run this week was another Gargan in Ann-Marie with a 21.1. However it must be marathin season because Bryan "I am injured" Donovan and Ross"Go Faster Stripes" Mara both put in 21.1km runs too! Well done all 3 of you.

It really is "Go Faster Stripes" on the Ross fella as he is consistently putting in PB after PB these weeks. So it is no surprise that he takes the top spot for the overall best pace with 4:41/km. Ross is putting in some serious training under a new coach. Seems to be paying off Ross.

Eamonn O'Neill takes the honours for elevation gain with a climb of 382m. To put this in perspective our Hill is about 21m tall. Therefore a normal River Valley parkrun gives about 40m elevation gain. Eamonn has therefore done nearly 20 climbs of the Hill.

Runner Profile

Week after week after week we report on the fact that Cecile is our first female finisher and on occasion overall first finisher but what keeps her going? What drives her? Here she is in her own words.

Why participate in (not)parkrun?

To beat Tralee, of course 😁

For some, it is the motivation to get (back) out walking or running. Not really for me as I do love running, and I do so most days. But the thing is, I only love running at my easy leisurely pace. It requires some amount of motivation for me to pick up the pace and challenge myself. I usually find that motivation as I am training for parkrun and the next bigger race (10k, half or full marathon). When lockdown started and parkrun and all the other races got cancelled, I didn’t get into the virtual race bandwagon because, generally, for me to perform, I need what an actual race provides: to chase and be chased, be cheered… I’m not one of those who can race against the watch.

But when River Valley started their virtual league… Well, River Valley is my home right? Not participating was simply not an option. And once I started participating, well… There was that time Sigita was only 2 seconds behind me… I had to watch my back right? And so it is that I started working hard again. I started doing speed work again (intervals, hills…) and a fast 5k every week. I can credit the RV virtual league, followed by (not)parkrun, for the amazing shape I am currently in 😁 THANK YOU!

The Recruiting Sergeant

You may all think Pete is the competitive one but he is not the one going down to the park and stopping people out running to ask if they are registered. No, it is none other than Andy McAllister. Andy was shocked to meet two stalwarts of River Valley and discover the pair of them are registered to Malahide. We would never be so bold as to name Manus and Alan but it might slip out!!!

........and finally

We love the fact that Inch Beach started logging (not) parkruns again. We know our numbers are up and we also know it is not down to just logging runs. It is in fact also due to people actually getting out and getting active. If our friendly rivalry inspires you and others on then long may it continue.

This week it looks like DUBLIN are definitely the winners so we at least we have cause for celebration. But it ain't over yet and who knows what may transpire over the next few hours.

Don't take it too seriously

See you all next week folks. Stay safe, Stay Active!!

River Valley parkrun