Searching for Sonia….
This week was a very special one as Galway City Harriers hosted the 40th Medtronic Streets of Galway 8K.
There is nothing quite like it on this earth. Participants follow a route through the city centre on a Saturday night in peak summer season that takes them past Eyre Square, Galway Cathedral, the University of Galway, and back along the iconic Prom to finish in the Claddagh.
The support on the route is second to none, with deafening cheers from revellers and bystanders, the closest thing to being an A-list celebrity you will ever experience.
As a member of GCH, I served on the committee for several years, which was a real eye-opener to the huge amount of work it takes to host this event successfully.
I have also had the pleasure of running in this race many times in the past and was very excited to be running yet again this year. But I had one nagging concern……How could it possibly be better than last year?
Last year I had lined up in great shape ready for a strong run after a good summer of training. On race night, I started well and was feeling great, things were going to plan.
However, at 3k I became aware I had ‘company’ sitting on my shoulder. As I looked around, I realised I was being tailed by the great Sonia O Sullivan. I was filled with a mix of delight and dread simultaneously and began to agonise over what was the most ‘mannerly’ thing to do when running with a world class Olympian.
I speculated that it would be rude to draft off her, and most likely quite impolite to pass her out. I therefore concluded as a hospitable Galwegian, that running ‘socially’ beside her was the best option. And so I did, stride for stride, I ran with Sonia….
What happened next was somewhat of an embarrassment. As, although Sonia may be famous, all that could be heard were shouts of ‘Come on Jane’, ‘Well done Jane’, ‘Looking strong Jane!’
Quite frankly, I was a bit ‘scarlet’ for Sonia and lamented the Galway public’s ignorance of the celebrity in their midst. In an effort to mitigate this shoddy treatment, I spent much of the race pointing to her in an attempt to balance things somewhat in her favour. Alas, to little avail.
By the 7.5k mark Sonia had had enough of this carry on and picked up the pace, unleashing her raw powerful Olympic sprint. To be honest, I thought this was a bit unfair on her part considering our equitable ‘buddy running’ experience to that point. To say nothing of my attempts to ensure she got a decent portion of the cheers enroute. Nevertheless, I thought the only thing to do was to give it a lash to stay with her and let the finish results reflect our new-found friendship….
As we galloped towards the finish in what was a personal near-death experience, upon staggering across the line I was relieved to see that we had finished together. It transpired later when the results were published, however, (and much to my embarrassment), that I had pipped her on the sprint…..
Fast forward to this year and the lead up was quite different, with training having been patchy, summer frolicking dominating the focus instead.
I was fortunate enough to have the company of a running buddy of similar pace for this year’s race, who was content to join me in wearing pink.
Spirits were high as we did our pre-race warm-up, and we spotted Sonia doing the same nearby. I greeted her in a friendly manner and as she turned to look, she eyed me somewhat suspiciously, eyes that said ‘I remember you’…
Well, I was quite pleased about that, whilst not being entirely sure what she remembered exactly. Undeterred, we continued with our pre-race strides, whizzing past her as she jogged in a relaxed fashion to the race start.
In the minutes before the gun went, we took our place on the start line. The atmosphere was electric; the excitement was palpable….
The gun went, and we were off, alongside 4,000 others, the adrenaline was pumping.
I looked around for Sonia, but she was nowhere to be seen…
Steady does it I thought as we started running, a long way to go. The plan was as always, negative splits, start nice and steady, don’t lose the head, keep plenty in the tank for the second half the race.
The first few kilometres we were buzzing. The sound of Drumadore’s drumming on O Brien’s bridge would raise the hair on the back of your neck. The streets were thronged with supporters; the cheers were loud and uplifting. As we continued around by the Skeffington Hotel, partygoers put down their pints long enough to behold in awe the display of athleticism before them.
It was just at that moment John O’ Carroll tore past us like we were walking. We’ll see him later, I thought to myself. In fairness to John, he lasted for several kilometres at that blistering pace, until we spotted him later having a short walking break. ‘Fruitcake’ apparently, not the ideal pre-race nutrition, perhaps exacerbated by a shortage of Jelly Babies.
As we passed Ward’s pub around the halfway point, the cheers from the Langan swimmers were deafening ‘Come on Jane!’. They were so loud. for a minute or two, we thought we might actually be leading the race.
But still no sign of Sonia….
It was at this point that many of the marshals felt it incumbent on them to let us know that Sonia had stolen a march and was well up the road ahead of us. I can only assume that they felt it was right that Sonia and I be ‘reunited’ after our amazing bonding experience last year. ‘Come on Jane, she’s not far ahead, if you just push the pace, you can catch her’…
Despite this very tempting challenge, the next kilometre or so were mainly taken up with fielding abuse from my children who were marshalling all the junctions along Dr Mannix Road ‘Lift those knees Mum, put some effort in!’. My main thought at this time was I shouldn’t have had so many children. It’s also possible that posing for the photographers enroute may have cost us some time here…
At this stage our faces were already matching our pink tops. But we dug in and gritted our teeth for the last 2k along the prom with the wind behind us. We started winding up the pace along by the Claddagh, where we were cheered on by the President of Ireland Catherine Connolly, who was out spectating. But still no sign of Sonia…
We gathered every last bit of energy and pushed ourselves to speed up towards the finish, encouraged by cheers from the crowd. Utter relief and delight as we finally crossed the line with happy smiles.
As we made our way over to the water station, we finally spotted Sonia. A little wave of acknowledgement and although I can’t be sure, I thought I saw her wink at me…
Massive congratulations to all at Galway City Harrier and to the amazing team that made this historic 40th running of the Medtronic Streets of Galway 8k yet another iconic and memorable event.
Now, time to get training properly for next year…