Kildare marathon was an experiment.

It had been over two years since my last marathon in London in 2024. In the few years before that, I had been taking on two or three per year. However, it was taking its toll, and my knees in particular were feeling the effects. Following an MRI, my GP advised that pounding the roads over long distances might not be a great idea and recommended I should cut back significantly. Reluctantly, I resigned to putting marathons out of my mind. I went on the Revive Active Joint supplement and Turmeric Tea to lubricate the knees. I kept on training  but reduced to shorter running distances and heeded my GP. But an addict is always prone to relapse and after a good half marathon in Limerick followed by a long 25km run a week later, I could not resist the temptation and at the end of May, signed up for the Kildare marathon.

The marathon itself took place on 21^st of June. Training had been going well and while I had not been on a typical marathon training plan, I had a good level of endurance and fitness from cycling and swimming over the Spring. The experiment was to see what it would be like to take on a marathon with a mix of training that limited the running distance but leveraged the cross training. My run training was mainly focussed on 2 sessions per week. The interval sessions on Wednesday evenings generally added up to 10-12km when the warmup, cool down and stretching laps are added to the intervals. The long runs at the weekend went from the half marathon in Limerick on the May Bank holiday weekend to a 25km a week later and finally a 30km which included the last 3miles as part of our club Odd Mile challenge. There was an occasional brick run (run off the bike) including an 18km at the Athy triathlon. When I look back on the Garmin app, it shows a weekly running average going from about 30km in April up to 40km at the peak of training at the start of June. While this would be well below any recommended marathon plan, I was swimming twice per week and getting in a long cycle each Sunday and I hoped this would compensate for the reduced running distance.

The Kildare marathon is a small event with just 85 participants this year. There is a half marathon, 10km and 5km which had 1200 participants in total so there was a nice buzz around the town for the finish. Race numbers were posted out in advance, so it was a case of just getting to the start line in the town on time for the 8am start.  I let home after a good breakfast, cutting it a bit tight with a 5:55am departure and arrived in Kildare just 20 minutes before the start gun. Parking was easy but I just had about enough time to plaster on the suncream and Vaseline, lace up the runners, get in the final loo visit and make my way to the start.

This was old school marathon territory. There was no sign of the new‑era “content runners” — no lads stopping for Insta selfies, no freshly sprayed fake tan, no ironic micro‑moustaches. Instead, there was a scatter of 100 club vests and faded DCM tops, and any tans were the honest kind, earned mile by mile, weather beaten and not squeezed out of a bottle. I felt I belonged, back with my tribe!

We started on the edge of town and headed east out the old Dublin Road. We moved quickly into the wide-open spaces of the Curragh of Kildare where the occasional curious grazing sheep looked up to see what was going on. Even with the early start, it was already 20degrees and sunny with little shade on the open road. I was trying to hold back as I expected to suffer towards the end with the reduced mile training. I had ran the Bullaun 8km on the Friday evening just 36hours beforehand and the legs were a little bit heavy so holding back was easier.

At around 6km we turned to run up the main entrance and through the Curragh racecourse, a long drag but interesting surrounds. All the signs were up and preparation underway for the Budweiser Irish Derby which was taking place later that week. The official name of the marathon is the Thoroughbred Kildare marathon, and while our gallop may be a lot slower than the runners competing there a few days later, it is a nice idea to incorporate the horse racing theme and equine surroundings in the race.

Water stops were at every 5km point and they were all needed on the day. They had the small bottles with the sports caps, good to carry and drink from. Nutrition tends to be a problem area for me with a sensitive tummy. Breakfast was a good bowl of porridge and a scone 3 hours before the race. I had a 500ml bottle of a carb mix before the race as recommended by our club member Louise Geoghegan. It contains 70g of carbs, goes down easily and with a name like “Speed Dust”, it must be good. Noel Gorman claims it can cause wind, and let’s just say I would not disagree but the extra carbs are useful. The day before the race, I took a couple of shots of “Beetit” juice and one in the morning. The beetroot formula helps to reduce the build-up of lactic acid in the muscles and I find it works if you can tolerate the taste. On the course I was carrying four gels. Typically, I can only manage two to three before the gastro system goes into overload. I discovered the Maurten hydrogels and for me they are easier to take. My plan was to have one at the 10, 15, 25, 35km points just before the water stations, alternating between the caffeine and non-caffeine ones.

After we passed through the racecourse, we took a right turn onto narrower country roads with the more familiar shaded hedgerows and undulating hills, just like running around home. I noticed a lady running alongside me that was on a run-walk strategy. I have seen it promoted for ultra races and Ironman events (Galloway method) and if used right can be effective. She kept passing me out while running and then I would pass her out while she walked for a short section. This kept going until we got back to Kildare town at the halfway point and I didn’t see her again until the finish where she came in with a very good 3hr54min time.

After a run through the streets of Kildare, the second half got off to a great start with a very nice run through the Irish National Stud and Gardens. We ran up the long tree lined avenue with the welcome shade and through the gardens before heading out onto the quieter country roads. With the smaller race numbers and wider spread, it got a bit lonely and there were sections where there was nobody in sight and the mile markers were seeming to get further apart. The mental strategies of trying to block out negative thoughts and keep a positive mindset come into play now, but it is always a challenge. We came into the picturesque village of Suncroft and I was happily telling myself how lucky I was to be in such a lovely place on a sunny day until the wind blew and I discovered they have the same problem as our own expanding village and need a new sewage system. The happiness departed and I blocked my nose and tried again to find the positives!

I ground out those tough miles and while the pace was slowing a little, I was not hitting any major issues. The nutrition was going to plan and not long after I got my fourth gel in at 35km, we turned a corner and were back onto the Curragh of Kildare. The wide-open plains and strong smell of sheep s**t were a sign that we were not far from the finish. We passed the crossroads at the Curragh army camp, and I was feeling surprising well. We got to the edge of town and merged with the big numbers at the back of the 5km and 10km races. It was nice to be back among large numbers for the last section, and it helped me pick up the pace for the final 2km. There was a great buzz with the big numbers crossing the line and I felt strong running down the final straight to get over the line in 3hr39min, 14^th place overall.

The finishers medal was unique with the Thoroughbred theme. We got a t-shirt and a burger voucher after we crossed the line. The race organisation was great, and the town was buzzing with all the runners and supporters from the four different races all coming together. Definitely one I’d recommend for any of the distances. I had to make a quick exit as my own supporters were not willing to make the trip to Kildare, even on Father’s Day. They’ve seen enough of me running and I was back in Galway at 3pm for lunch.

The experiment yielded positive results overall. The key finding for me was that pulling back the pace a little makes it so much easier to get through the race. Marathons are tough and need to be respected and taken on with a good level of fitness, but it is possible to run one with lower levels of mileage training by managing pace and nutrition well. This means less high impact on the joints and mixing in some low impact cross training can compensate for the reduced miles. Previously I trained hard and enjoyed testing my limits and trying for the best times I could achieve. Typically for any of the faster marathons I ran, the marathon times would have been (2x half marathon time) +(10 to 15 minutes). For this event, it was 30 minutes on to my half marathon-based time. So, the net loss in time of 15-20 minutes which could have been achieved if I had trained longer distances and ran hard for the marathon, was more than compensated by the reduced impact on the body and hopefully the prolonged ability to continue to run long.

For anyone thinking of doing a marathon, there are multiple ways to approach it depending on your running experience, ability, age, ambitions and available time. This one worked for me, the run walk strategy worked for the lady I met along the way and I know the longer training worked for those that finished closer to the top and achieved PBs.  I’m happy now in the knowledge that marathons are back on the menu for me, looking forward to next one in October!