Introduction

I’m a lifelong Arsenal supporter. That may sound like I suffered through the George Graham era which I did not. I was a kid barely aware of George and his ferocious defending that left little room for attack. I grew up when Arsene Wenger took charge of Arsenal and suddenly Arsenal’s soccer changed they became sharp and focused in their attack. I thrawled the newspapers looking for clues to the training methods. What I found was the complete opposite to what I was experiencing as a player. Wenger emphasised training your body specifically for soccer, short explosive bursts, mediterranean nutrition, combined with skilful first touches of the ball and recovery of possession quickly. The Sport Science driven PlayStation Football era began. When Wenger left yes I was sad but I accepted that all careers in sport including my own were finite. The Arteta era seems like it is getting the same enormous criticism that George Graham receieved. Apparently it’s boring scoring from set plays though it is part of the marginal gains era we live in. One thing I was surprised by is that not one single pundit was willing to point at Arsenal as the example of what a determined, resilient team can do. I would think that any kid looking at Arsenal might think I don’t need to be a superstar to be a professional football player. They might look at Arsenal and think I can be focused, hard working and resilient to win or better yet continue to play a sport. This is where I think the Cork Marathon excels the participation is the reason we can afford to host it. A sub 2 hour marathon finish might hit the headlines but the thousands that choose a stronger, healthier and mentally tough lifestyle are the backbone of this marathon. After 2025 where tragedy struck one of our athletes the Cork Marathon 2026 needed to draw on this resilience and just like Arsenal the Cork Marathon clawed it’s way to victory.

Race

The Cork Marathon 2026 was the largest that I have ever participated in. In previous years I would have nearly always found myself in a gap of maybe 50-100 meters between groups of participants. This didn’t happen this year I was in good company the whole way around the course. With Vicky and Kofi, I paced the 1:50 Half Marathon group to ultimate victory.

My start was a 6 am wake up followed by a check of Graham Meikles Facebook. As ever he had the set up photos from 4 am up online. In a lot of ways I just show up and run even whilst pacing. Graham and the other hi vis heroes are setting up the race hours before I even wake not to mind run. I donned my gear, ate and got down to the blackash park a ride for 7 am. I got into city hall for early morning pacers meeting. There is always plenty to do here a number of pacers are meeting for the first time having come in from abroad or worse Dublin (like myself 😜). We talk through the different parts of course. We know it measures longer even with the most experienced racers. We go over the pacing strategies like where up to a minute can easily be lost on a hill, attach and trim balloon strings and check each other for equipment before heading out to the start line. I hang back with the half marathoners as we won’t be needed until 10:00 AM on Monaghan road.

The race start on Monaghan road was emotional. For those who don’t know Ellen Cassidy had passed away during the Cork Half Marathon 2025. Hearing her mom give the commencement speech was one of very few moments in my life of complete crowd solidarity when no one said a word. The respect resonated across both waves. At the conclusion the crowd broke into applause and the song Yellow by Coldplay rang out in tribute to Ellen and her favourite color. Yellow balloons were released. Later Mount Pleasant Avenue was lined with yellow decorations. Most of us lining up had a yellow ribbon on in tribute. Cork ran behind the Cassidy family a fitting tribute.

I felt the pressure with this pacing job right from the moment I agreed to come back into the pacing team. Eamon Hayes spotted me sharing the news with glee that Cork would host the national half marathon in 2026. I had stepped out of the pacing team in 2025. Eamon felt fresh team members needed to be given a chance to represent their city. Having benefitted from this opportunity myself I stood down in 2025 but raced as a participant. Now Eamon asked was I interested in coming back into the fold. I was of course, I might have been in Palma until the Saturday night before the race but I wanted to be there for this one. Not only was this now going to be the national half marathon but it was going to be a tribute to Ellen Cassidy as well. I knew I had to strive to deliver the right balance as a pacer. I was gutted the second the news of a fatality hit me in 2025 and the tribute to Ellen was the least we could do. With the national half marathon on the same day I would have to meet the competitors where they were, help them squeeze every second out of their race and I would need to balance that with Ellens friends and family who were likely to be right next to me. I couldn’t help but remember how running helped after my father passed away. My mother worried about me disappearing for runs until my Uncle Denis asked one day ‘Does running solve all your problems?’ It did and still does. I felt I had the tools for this pacing job so when the word came out to wear yellow and put my intention and experience into action I had no problems. I blew the dust off my yellow Garmin strap got a hold of yellow socks at the expo and got my pacer strategy out in public. As a pacer it’s not my race day it’s YOURS!!!. I was making it clear from the outset I was there to help you. I don’t take pacing for granted. I’ll run even splits and tell you it’s my job to keep to the time on my balloon. You focus on your effort. I’ll prompt you for gels and water. I’ll call out as much advice as I can to give you the best shot of reaching the time on my balloon. At the top of Mount Pleasant after a long drag I called out my heart rate of 186 bpm to the group and invited them to go steady with me now on the upcoming flats and bring there heart rate back down. At four miles Vicky talked the group through gels and water. Kofi guided us out of a tough spot by the marina where our half marathon merged with the main marathon. These might sound like nothing but to someone running at their limit from the gun this can buy vital seconds and claim a personal best.

The 1:50 group racing alongside myself, Vicky and Kofi that day couldn’t have been more driven and attentive. They dug in under tough circumstances and finished strong.

Course

The course changed in 2026. The finish was moved to the Grand Parade. The final jaunt through UCCs North Campus was taken out along with the bumpy North Main Street. In it’s place you bent right and passed outside the front gates of UCC onto Western Road, down Washington Street and turning right onto Grand Parade. I enjoyed the changes they kept the last few miles largely straight, avoided the harsh surfaces and kept the crowd involved in the finish. The crowd were absolutely brilliant lining Washington Street and screaming encouragement. This made pacing the large group of 1:50 athletes in the last mile almost easy. At that late stage I was feeling the heat and I could only imagine how the guys running at their limit felt at this stage but I kept encouraging them all the way to the end. With 400 meters to go I yelled “400 meters to go give it hell 1:50s”. I had been counting down from 1,200 metres with the group re inforcing how brilliant their achievement was. I crossesd the line with Vicky and Kofi my wonderful pacers partners precisely as planned.