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Streets of Galway 8k, August 2003

The Start

Once upon a time, on a wintry sunday evening, after a cold, deep dive in Annaghvaan, in a well known pub in Furbo, Martina Kelly suggested that club members should partake in the Streets of Galway 8k road race, which was taking place the following August. It would be a good fundraising exercise, she said. 'Great idea', 'yeah', 'put my name down', were the responses as we called for more pints. This was not the first time we had heard of such crazy ideas and it was nice to keep Martina happy. Martina kept the 'joke' going, by sending out training and 'get fit' regimens to members during the following months. We started to get worried when she requested €10 entry fees, and dates of birth etc. Huddled conversations were held in the clubhouse and at dive sites, as to how we could extricate ourselves from the situation. We knew we were really in trouble when she hired experienced road runner, Rory Martin to print and hand out sponsorship forms and to check on training progress. Some very unlikely people were seen walking/jogging/crawling at various locations around the town. Unbelievably , as the event drew closer, some more members actually volunteered to run the race. So, on August 9th, at 6.30pm, twenty four members and friends of the club, assembled at the clubhouse for the brief and pep talk. Two hours later, all twenty four crossed the finish line in Eyre Square after completing the 8k. After a short adjournment for showers or a jump in the river, the group reassembled with supporters for the debrief in Garavans pub. As the night wore on, tales of 'hitting the wall' and setting 'personal best for the season' and the like were exchanged. After we eventually finished in Morgans at 2.30am, curried chips were the order, and so ended a very unusual outing for Galway SAC.  Congratulations to all that finished, especially Adrian, Rory and Barry who achieved excellent times. The runners were:       Adrian Clarke (30;14), Rory Martin (34;20), Barry Coll (35;27), Michel Georges, Dave Murray, Cathal Curtis, Ken Byrne, Derek Kerrigan, Pat Folan, Eddie Joyce, Craig Wedley, Kevin Keane, Padraig Cotter, Ed Curry, David Tully, Ailish Flaherty, Aoife Ni Rathaille, Oisin Osborne, Denise De Paor, Kevin Woods, Tom Moore, Silvana Acecedo, Martina Kelly, Paul Griffin

Back fro left: Ken Byrne, Eddie Joyce, Martina Kelly, Rory Martin, Kevin Woods, Paul Griffin, Oisin Osborne, Ed Curry, Dave Tully, Adrian Clarke, Pat Folan, Aoife NiRaithaille, Craig Wedley, Derek Kerrigan. Front: Cathal Curtis, Michel Georges Silvana Acedevo Ailish Flaherty. Missing: from photo: Tom Moore, Dave Murray, Kevin Keane, Denise DePaor and Padraig Cotter.

At the finish.

Eddie and Pat round the final bend watched by Michel.

Kevin and Tom near the finish.

Kevin, Oisin, David, Aoife and Tom at the finish.