Dublin Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon Race 2015

A year ago who would have thought a group of skaters would visit another country to run? This weekend we did just that with a visit to Dublin for the Rock and Roll Half Marathon. I've said it before but it's brilliant that sport has taken me to new cities and countries.


We went two days ahead of the event race to enjoy a bit of sight seeing and indulgent in some local food and drink. One of the highlights was heading to the coast to the nearby town of Howth which is 30 minutes away by train, also known as DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit). We explored some caves and enjoyed the stunning cliff views with a 6km path walk before tucking into some amazing seafood at Crabby Jo's. (Loved the grilled swordfish steak).

Our other food discovery and favourite was Green 19. My lamb burger was super tasty. The chips were perfect as I didn't feel the need to have it with any condiments and you could see it was made out of actual potatoes for once! I think the most memorable moment (possibly of this trip) was my friend Theresa slurping up the tiger prawn salad dressing with her straw. Yum yum...

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My Race Plan.
So my own personal target was 2 hours 15 minutes. Which would be fine if I followed with my training of staying in my heart rate 3 zone, before stepping it up towards the end. Earlier this year I ran a 10k in heart rate 4 zone, however I have not since. This made me weary about being able to sustain the same demand over more than twice the distance. Plus my last run was not particularly enjoyable.

Race Expo.
The location of the race exhibition was held at the RDS (The Royal Dublin Society) complex about 4km away from Dublin city centre. As it was such a nice day we walked it instead of taking the bus down. Once there we got our race bag with all the usual race bits and freebies. There were probably around twenty stalls at the expo so we were done after fifteen minutes.


Race Day - Pre Race.
We were staying at the Ridley Court hotel who kindly opened the breakfast bar up earlier for us so we could do our pre race fuelling and give it time to settle. The start point of the race was at the 3 Arena, just a 15 minute walk away from the hotel.

As we waited around the clouds looked like they were about to open up at any time. I was feeling pretty chilly so was going to run with my rain jacket for the first part of the race, before handing over to my friend Chidi who came to support us. After doing my warm up I suddenly realised how hot I got. They say always try your race kit before race day, however I think the last time ran in the rain it was closer to zero degrees. Lesson learnt here, bring a disposable poncho or bin bag for the pre race if it's raining!

The Race.
30 seconds in and I'm pulled along with the stream of runners. I'm already in heart rate zone 4. Race plan out of the window but it felt comfortable. After a couple of minutes I see my friend Chidi waving us off which spurred me on to continue at this pace.

As I ran I noticed a cute oriental girl with the purple shorts was just in front. Her pace faster than mine. Some people would use that as motivation to step up. A guy in the grey top decided to do this. It was still early on during the race and decided better of it, especially with this being my first half marathon event. Eventually purple shorts and grey top were gone... alas.


I'm always going to be a street skater first when it comes to sport and it showed with my running mentality which I realised with this race! 

• I was making quick sideways bursts to nip through people. 
• Going up hill I sped up to over take everyone slowing down. 
• The first down hill I was controlling my pace but realised in actual fact I should harness gravity and work with it. So from that point on I changed my cadence to nice long strides, maintaining a steady heart rate but smashing it on the declines.
• Long windy straights I'd hide behind someone to conserve whatever energy I can.

Another thing I noticed was that I'm easily influenced by whatever is happening around me. So I'd stay happily behind someone without noticing my pace has dropped dramatically. This is especially the case when the path got narrow with little room to overtake. It was also reminiscent of the organised street skates when the pack of skaters get very tight, I'd slow down and end up at the back without realising. Something to take away from this is to keep my presence, keep in check with my own pace for these moments.


On one of the hills I could hear there was a band at the top trying to get a bit of runner participation with little success. As I got to the top of the hill I started clapping above my head for the musicians, I then heard a Mexican wave of clapping behind me. That was an amazing race moment!

What's that sound?!! A growling bear closing in?!..... and another!!! No wait, it was some panting sweaty people. Good for them they were persevering through their struggle, but the gasping zombie bear sounds was really putting me off. (That's why people wear headphones). In all honesty I still prefer not to wear headphones as use miss out on engaging with spectators and musicians, lap up the atmosphere! 

Energy gels. This was the first pure run event which I've used the gloopy syrupy goodness. One SIS shot was taken 30 minutes into the race. A second after 75 minutes, but caffeinated. I'm not usually a coffee drinker so 25 minutes later (along with knowing I was 3 miles from the finish) my heart rate jumped another 10+ beats per minute; and my pace stepped up 30 seconds per km faster than earlier. 

Wow, I was on fire. I did wonder if I may suddenly regret this sudden surge in pace, but I was living in the moment. To my surprised I saw purple shorts and grey top still running together, nevertheless I overtook them both. (That felt good). 


I saw a fellow Prostate Cancer UK fundraiser. Gave him a hello and asked him how he was doing. He looked a little confused until I pointed to the logo on the back of my shirt. 


I was beginning to feel the strain for the last few hundred metres but with the finish line in sight and thickening crowds of supporters I engaged for a sprint finish.

Race Review.
I smashed my race target with a final time of 01:55:34.
Guess my goal was a little reserved but it's given me confidence and courage to push my pace up for the full marathon in September. Looking at my GPS data there were points in the race I slowed down a lot for no real reason, it's quite easy to lose focus. As I've come to realise it's as much a mental feat as it is physical.


Looking at the organisation of the event it was run very well. Staff were very helpful whenever I had questions. It was a shame with the rain after the event as it meant there were just three people standing at the stage for the after party. Hear hear for the non-alcoholic beverage Erdinger at the finish. Could have fooled me! 

They also organised a 3k fun run after the main event. In an attempt to persuade more participants they also called it a "cool down race." I was already cooled down by the time they started to be honest. However our cheerleader Chidi took part in this event and it was nice for us to see her off and welcome her through the finish line.



All in all, it was an enjoyable race and weekend with the positive race results being a bonus. I'll certainly be back one day for another race or to continue sightseeing and over indulging on my food tour...

I heart Ireland. 





‪#‎RNRDUB‬