Having arrived in the city a week before the run, I was greeted by weather in the upper 40s. I recall a conversation I had with a young Irish girl in an urban-style clothing store, and she said that “the weather is simply brilliant!” Brilliant for Californians means a warm sweater and fleece.
I had the opportunity to walk around most of the city before the event, and this proved to be THE way to get around. The streets are NOT designed for car traffic, so most take double-decker buses. Some drive, but they shouldn’t! My father and I found the streets disorderly, with 7 one-way streets in a row! The rest of the city is filled with a sense of liveliness that I have never seen before and jam-packed with pedestrians that walk twice the speed of us S. Californians. This might explain why I found only 3 runners in St. Stephens Green (a central city park) the whole week before the run. Perhaps walking is their training...
On race day, 7000+ runners and wheelchair competitors gathered along the River Liffey (which splits the city in half). Weather played a key role in race preparation - fortunately it was windy with nice, cool temperatures (perfect for running 40-50). There were close to 3000 Americans this year, somewhat fewer due to the 9/11 tragedy. The race started right on time at 9:00am.
A quick start with minimal bottle-necking led us around a harbor and across the River Liffey into the “posh” part of town. Most of the course is a beautiful, flat urban course through the streets and neighborhoods of Dublin, Ireland. I ran with a South African boy for about 21 miles. Because of the weather, crowds were sparse, but those out there were VERY enthusiastic - I remember hi-fiving several kids and overly excited Catholic nuns. For the first three miles, a weird crowd seemed to roar loudly as I ran by... men blowing me kisses and women laughing! Then I realized an Irish man had been running behind me dressed in a wedding gown and veil (He ran 3:15!)
The popular replenishment drink at water stations was Lucozade, and I found it similar to Gatorade, but better tasting. (check out lucozade.com) Water stops were every 3-4 miles, and 4-5 Lucozade stops. Miles were not marked off regularly - some at the beginning and the end, and those that were marked were 8-1/2 by 11” sheets of paper stapled to street posts. They gave out really nice finishers’ plaques, rather than medals and we were grateful for the warm mylar blankets at the finish.
The day’s event definitely didn’t end at the finish line, as most runners found their way into one of the city’s few hundred pubs for their daily vitamin G supplement (Guinness). I visited the Temple Bar district, which is Dublin’s cultural quarter, and a lively cosmopolitan area in the heart of Dublin City. This was really quite a site, with narrow cobbled streets flooded with pedestrians and street performers, up until I went to bed, at 3am! Altogether, a good marathon and a wonderful city for a visit.
