Sport Ireland Campus parkrun, 26th August 2023

A trip to Dublin this weekend, and it wouldn’t be complete without squeezing in a parkrun. I decided to avoid the parkrun tourist hotspots, going a bit further out to the Sport Ireland Campus, home of the National Aquatic Centre among other things. I was also strangely drawn to the distinctly functional and un-romantic name, and the fact it seemed like it would be mostly off-road…

2 laps around the National Cross Country Track, run almost exclusively on grass surrounded by trees and wild grass, the ground was mildly damp but firm, the undulations gentle. A small but enthusiastic team, I was slightly surprised at the complete lack of marshals on the course, but the yellow arrow signs were plentiful, so it would’ve been hard to go wrong.

Speaking of which, I found myself unexpectedly moving to the front after only a couple of minutes. Scenting the possibility of a surprising 1st place, I wasn’t able to let up, as at every sharp corner I glimpsed the same woman, not too close, but not far enough away to feel it was in the bag (indeed, she only finished 15 seconds behind me.)

There was free water and juice on offer at the finish line, and I had a nice chat with the photographer, who it turned out was the same person who’d responded to my queries from the parkrun Facebook account.

A lovely little gem of an event, with a great camaraderie among the regulars, warmly extended toward the handful of visitors.