Hi all,

Half-Marathon Mick here with the first of hopefully many blog posts charting my leap into the world of competitive running. I nailed down long-distance running as a New Year’s Resolution back in the first fresh week of January. It’s so far so good as I’ve kept my feet off of the comfy couch and pounding concrete pavements in the cold, wet winter-weather instead. My average running pace is around 5 minutes per kilometre with my current race record standing at a respectable 10K in 55 minutes. I’m aiming to build on this with 60K worth of races over the next two months, including a half-marathon and an adventure-quest chucked in for good measure! These races will take me all over the country starting Shannonside with the Castleconnell 10K in Limerick on 12th March. It’s up to the Big Smoke then for the Focus Ireland Tunnel Run on Sunday March 26th . April events will ramp it up a few gears. I’ll be kicking off the month in Wicklow by slogging it through the 19K route on Quest Glendalough on Sunday 8th. Then it’s back down to the Treaty City for my first major challenge; the Barrington’s Hospital Great Limerick Run Half-Marathon on April 30th . So check back here every week as I track my progress tearing up the tarmac. I’ll also drop in some training tips along the way on every aspect of running from technique, diet, shoes and books to the best Spotify playlists to push you through that final few kilometres!

Check out the links below to brave the races mentioned above:

Castleconnell 10K http://castleconnell10k.com/

Focus Ireland Tunnel Run https://www.focusireland.ie/get-involved/dublin-tunnel-run/

Quest Adventure Series: http://www.kayathlon.ie/quest-glendalough

Barrington’s Hospital Great Limerick Run http://www.greatlimerickrun.com/register/