Unknown

28 November, 2009

Howth -0
Report by Jane Watt
You?ve heard about the sting in the tail but in Howth it was the dart at the start. The race began with a lap around the pitch to spread out the field before heading into the narrow track through the trees, over the log and around the spike. Speaking of which that well known poser, Desie Shorten was not standing in the middle of the track just to be noticed but swears he was there to protect all of you from being injured by the aforementioned metal projection. Mind you Pat Mason (all of 34 today) managed to find his very own spike unmarked and unnoticed by the rest of the field.
Anyway up front the lead group headed (I think) by that top class orienteer, Hugh McLindon, side stepped a group of walkers, missed the marker (excellent job there Doug Corrie and crew - not your fault) and took the wrong track ending up down on the road looking for a taxi. This caused John MacEnri to have his first ever finishing position in double figures. (these days there are many runners glad to miss out on treble figures). Paul Mahon saw the error and shouted at Sean and Aaron. However Aaron thought that Captain Scallywag was messing (what does this say about you Paul) continued to follow the Hugh faction. This left Paul in the lead at the start of lap two. Dessie claims that Paul, finding himself in such an unexpected situation, bottled it and yielded first place to Sean.
Meanwhile leading lady Joan was wondering where Nicky Cinnamond was. She thought she heard her running up behind only to see her in front - not running but marshalling! Emma, 2nd Lady, had her thrill when she found herself being passed by Hugh - " how did I get in front of him?" Eva (alias the witch) had yours truly (alias the wagon - Campervan - gedit!) in her sights. But yours truly was targeting John Fitz and sprinted for the finish once the last hill was crested. Kathleen Bent commented on the lovely views, not just the scenery but the very short shorts of the (? Male) runners. Maura Higgins preferred the views from the bar. Brendan D admired the style of the (? Female) runners. Indeed Justin, on computer, was momentarily distracted by " the most stylish one piece running suit ever seen at a hill race" (quote Diarmuid!) I asked Andy Pandy, also manning the finish, for a comment. "I was observing the style of the finishers" So who stood out? "You can?t really write this" he said, "but Graham really looked good" Now how could I leave that out!
Another notable feature of the night was the return of some faces from the past notably John McElhinney -first race in four years - and Joyce Mitchell, strong as ever, but now only an occasional visitor to the hills. See you all next Wednesday in Brockagh.