As one Dublin resident put it to me when I was about to start writing this, “St Patrick’s Day for us Dubliners means “get out of Dodge if you can” or stay clear of the city centre: hordes of seriously inebriated tourists dressed in horrible shades of polyester-green hats and tees… (yay!)”.
But surely they didn’t mean us ultra runners? Pure in our Lycra, dedicated in our nutrition and training, merely enjoying a cultural festivity to celebrate one of the great saints and also one of our favourite countries….
Here are our Top Tips for enjoying St Patrick’s Day the ultra running way.
- Fill your water bottles with Guinness – it has excellent rehydration value.
- Drink a couple of pints of Guinness after your run – it’s a fantastic recovery aid.
- Wear one of those green top hats during your run – it will prevent sunstroke and dehydration.
- Ensure that your running kit for the day includes at least ONE item of green Lycra – preferably tights, any kind of tights, and yes, that is a unisex tip.
- Get a shamrock tattoo on your gluteus maximus… a big one.
- Enter one of the great Irish ultras on offer – I fancy the Sligo Way.
- Shout out “Top O’ T’Mornin T’ye” to everyone you pass who is NOT Irish. Irish people may consider you to be an offensive moron.
- Dig out Thin Lizzy on your iTunes and give it a whirl – and if you don’t know who Thin Lizzy is…… shoot me now.
- Have soda bread for breakfast, in fact you should do that every day.
- Take a minute, relax, look round you and breathe. You are here to enjoy life and if there is one nation on the planet that knows how to do it, it’s the Irish!
Happy St Patrick’s Day!
