And we’re off!

That’s me.

On the left.

No, the other left.

I’m the guy wearing the black spandex tights and matching top, looking like a cat burglar out for a jog.

The man on my far side is Robert Gallagher from Tyrone and between us is a Dub, Donal Cashin, who we are both helping across the finishing line. I look great in it, well aside from the silly running gear that is. What I mean is, I look great helping Donal. So much so, the year after, they put this photo in the Dublin Marathon Programme for 2009 showcasing what is the "Friendly Marathon", and Dublin really is a friendly marathon. But the truth is I felt I was kind of responsible for Donal being on the ground and needing a helping hand in the first place and if anyone was a ‘hero’ it was Robert, but more on that later. Let me explain the blog first.

This blog is going to be about my journey over the next 100 days as I get ready to run this year’s Dublin Marathon.

But it is also going to be a little more than that. It hopes to be a companion for anyone who has ever pinned a number to their vest and got running and particularly for those who are about to begin training for this year’s great event. Every day I will post a running-related entry that will cover the full range from “fartlek” and “funny things I’ve heard happen to friends during marathons” to “hill sessions and “how you know you have become dangerously dehydrated”.

At the blogs heart however it will try to stay light-hearted, upbeat and funny. Why funny? Well if you are going to spend the next 100 days training with the real prospect of a fair share of blood, sweat and tears you’d want to have reading material that is not the running equivalent of War and Peace as company.

So this is where this blog comes in. The first ten entries will be some general reading. At the bottom of each entry, will be the type of running I did and distance covered. I would suggest that if you haven’t yet decided to enter Dublin (or any other marathon for that matter) go out for small spins to get the body back up to speed, to dust off the cobwebs or to just to see what it is like to breathe oxygen outside. By Day 10, July 31st, you will probably have decided and if the answer is yes, then book it and let’s run.

Rest Day :)