This Sunday the riverside town of Dungarvan was once again flooded with a rather unique breed of human, The Runner. This was all due to to the annual John Tracey ten mile being held. The race is a staple of the south-east running calendar and as such we had a large team of Striders who made their way down and braved the race.

The sun was shining and there wasn’t even the slightest hint of a breeze when we arrived in Dungarvan. Ideal running conditions. There was close to 4000 people participating and you could tell. The streets were mobbed with runners and there were vests from every part of the country. We were all treated to a selection of pop songs as elaborate warm-up routines commenced. Eventually the massive crowd was gathered on the starting line and the whistle was blown.

The throng of people came rushing out, all eager to grab a spot. For a solid minute the river of vests and Nike Alphaflys flowed past me, like a singular being. While I spotted some of our Striders, most were hard to see, hidden among the crowd. I wouldn’t see them again until they came into the finish.

The finish was about a kilometre out from the start in the Eurofins industrial estate. The air was electric as we eagerly awaited our first finisher, and that was William Maunsell, a Tipperary man from Clonmel A.C. He finished in 49:52, only a minute over the course record but still a might impressive time. The first Striders home were Colin Carney and Tomas Harrington. Both men are having fantastic seasons and proudly led our team home.

Alan O’Connor, Thomas Moran and Adam O’Connor were next, closely followed by John Hickey and David Larkin. All five of the men came bounding in. Kate Reidy was just behind, being the first Strider woman home. Next came Sean Meaney, Padraig Barnes, Sandra Young, Seamus Kehoe and John Byrne, all having braved the ten mile and survived.

Next came Beth O’Connor, Martin Kehoe and Catherine Ronan, all finishing well. Sean Bolger, Paul Cullen, Lorraine Harrington and Liz Conway came next, all finishing steady. Zara Murphy, Catherine Redmond and Aisling Moran came through, all finishing just under the 90 minute mark. Aisling Wall, Bernie Cashin, Ann O’Reilly and Emma Mooney all ran and finished strong. Tina Noonan, Patricia Foran, Caroline Murphy and Yvonne O’Connor all had exemplary runs. Karen Dillion, Michelle Foley, Ann Marie Walsh and Marina Byrne rounded out our team and all raced extremely well. Let's not forget the great efforts of Lynda Fogarty, Steffi Davis, Lorraine O'Brien and Chantal Rowe.

Well done to all who chose to race, it takes a lot to make yourself stand on that start line and respect should be doled out to those who did. We should also give thanks to the team who organise this amazing event every year. It’s a staple of the calendar because of how well it’s ran.

It was a proud day for the club, and while we didn’t bring home any medals the team atmosphere is prize enough as it fills me with pride for our club. The road race season has officially begun and it seems it will be a good one for the Striders.