Diary of a middle distance (age) athlete, Julian Grimes aged 39 and a quarter

Dublin 26th October will be a date that will be remembered for many reasons by myself and probably many others in the 12,500 thousand odd, who took part in the spectacular event which is marathon day in Dublin. For me, my first marathon it was a massive achievement. A year before I had driven past many times a small group running, cycling in all weathers and like all the rest of the non believers I thought they were mad. How silly they looked, but really, how jealous did I feel. Having had a reasonable sporting childhood I had descended into the armchair and nearly given up the ghost of Christmas past which we now know as sport. But as I stood in Donnie and Nesbits pub, just round the corner from the finish line, after completing my first ever marathon, I realised not only was I now one of these madmen, but they were my friends.
Marathons (or marathon in my case) are a battle between you and 26.2 miles, a solitary battle which can only be won or lost by yourself on the day. However preparation for a marathon is a different thing. This is where the madmen and madwomen come in, because without our little groups of comrades we would never take to the field. So yes the marathon was tough, the crowds fantastic and generous with their support, the weather perfect and atmosphere unbelievable, but, and a very big but, as I stood with that perfectly formed Guinness and surveyed our crowd in the cosy booth, there was a sense of achievement but much much more.
As a new member to Triangle this year I have been welcomed along to session after session with endless enthusiasm. Advice was given at every turn, real advice, not condescending stuff that we all used to get with growing up in sport. You were respected on effort and ability, times were only markers and not used as a form of elitism. Guys and girls with numerous Ironmans, marathons, time trial experience all there to help. As you know, and now me, cross training provides endless benefits to levels of activity, so having so much experience at hand across all disciplines has proved invaluable.
So, getting back to Donnie’s, I suppose I write this article as much as a thank you, sorry more of thank you to all have helped me beat that 26.2. Not all of them were there in Donnie’s on that day, but hopefully you all know who you are. So the next event, the next PB, or even the next training session, have a quick look around and appreciate what you have around you, because I know I would not have won my battle without my new friends.
Oh I suppose I should include times etc in this article, but I won’t, as this event for me was never about times or PB’s or who did what, it was more about what you can achieve with a little help from your …………..