The Big Interview

Technical problem with Interview now rectified and available for download.

With less than 48 hours to go until the start of the 2008 ING New York City Marathon, STIG for CF Ireland brings you this exclusive interview, as sports journalist extraordinaire Cóilín Duffy speaks with Emmet Ryan.

To listen to this controversial one-on-one, just click on the link below.

The Big Interview

Remember to tune into this blog from 4pm on Sunday Irish time, 11am Eastern time, to catch regular updates of my progress in the race.

The Transatlantic Challenge is set

As the interview above indicates, I'll be gunning for John's time of 6 hours 44 minutes and 30 seconds when I hit the Five Boroughs on Sunday. It's quite simple. If I'm faster I win. If I'm slower I lose. The battle for bragging rights is on, it's on like Donkey Kong!

Dublin Marathon highlights

A confident and assured John Craddock took to the streets of Dublin on Monday morning, and our cameras were there to capture all the action.



Congratulations to John, he avoided the personal worst and completed the full 26.2 miles. John's formal chip time was 6 hours 44 minutes and 30 seconds, which is based on when he crossed the start line. This will be my secondary target in New York, after my existing PB of 6 hours 49 minutes.

If you want to show your support for John's efforts you can do so at our MyCharity.ie page. We'll have further updates throughout the week leading up to part two of this year's campaign, the New York City Marathon.

Dublin City Marathon - Update 3 - The final update

It's Emmet here again, John finished the Dublin City Marathon in 6 hours 48 minutes and about 32 seconds (we aren't quite sure how many were on the clock when he crossed the line). When his chip time is calculated that'll drop around 5 minutes. Even we that reduction however we can say this, for pretty much the first time ever we have a race on. John's final time will be a few minutes inside my PB meaning that the Transatlantic race is on. We'll have more on that later in the week.

While I was out and about I ran into Cormac Toomey, former Sports Editor of the University Observer, around the corner from my house. He was on course to break 4 hours at that stage. Later on I ran into Barry Alistair again, I believe it's his first time doing the distance, and he was on course for around a 5 hour time. Well done to both lads.

The highlight of the day was undoubtedly the effort of a Limerick man with one leg amputated who shattered the world record for completing a marathon on crutches. Other notable finishers were the pint of Guinness and a toucan. At the 17 mile mark there was a solid 6 minute gap between them, with the toucan leading. If what might be considered a fix the two crossed the line together a couple of hours later.

Congratulations to John and all the other finishers today and thanks to everyone who came out to support them.

We'll have video highlights of the day and the marathon expo up either later on tonight or early enough tomorrow.

Dublin City Marathon - Update 2

Emmet is out on the course showing John how it's done so it's left to his flatmate, Ciaran, to give you the latest update on today's race.

It's now 4 hours and 13 minutes after the race started (or thereabouts) and John has reached the 17-mile mark, only a couple of miles from where I'm writing this post. This keeps John ahead of schedule for beating his Personal Worst time but unfortunately the race win has escaped his grasp with Andriy Naumov crossing the finish line about 2 hours ago. John assures me that he would have been in contention for the win if he didn't have to save a drowning child at O'Connell St. Bridge.

Dublin City Marathon - Update 1

John started the Dublin City Marathon around 40 minutes ago. He seemed in good form at the start and was happy with the weather conditions.

It's already been an active enough morning for me. While waiting for John to reach my vantage point at Merrion Square I saw fellow UCD fan Bryan Casey and IrishDev's Barry Alistair, both of whom are running the race this year. Earlier in the day, before the race start, I ran into Linda Stanley. Linda was involved in DCU FM and made the foolhardy but welcome decision of greenlighting my old business show 'Adam Smith Should Know Better' many years ago.

There's 11,900 runners, walkers and wheelchair competitors out on the course. If you're anywhere near the race today be sure to go out and offer you support. We'll have further updates later in the day.

The Sunday Column - Part one of the campaign is just hours away

Monday morning will see John Craddock take to the streets of Dublin in part one of STIG for CF Ireland 2008.

John's done plenty of these before so he knows what he's doing and despite his own protestations he has done a reasonable bit of training for this race. A personal worst will be mocked if it occurs, the pressure's on.

We'll have updates during the day when possible, though this will likely be just one highly useless one just after the start. My flatmate however might be able to deliver more useful updates later in the day with more relevant information.

Late tomorrow night we'll have a video of John's race highlights, including pre-race experiences at the registration Expo. Stay tuned to this blog for further updates.

Oh and seeing as it's been at least three days since the last shameless plug for the charity element of this, you can donate to the campaign to show your support for John and me at our MyCharity page. As always we're grateful to everyone that's supported us to date.

A motivational day

All of 593 years ago yesterday, the 25th of October, a battle took place on the field of Agincourt. The army of King Henry V, starved and ridden with dissentry, faced a fresh French force with at least five times the number of forces. French historians go so far as to say their advantage was 6 to 1. Despite these odds Henry's army was victorious through its excellent deployment of longbowmen.

This battle and the tactical genius involved has always held a special place in my heart. A couple of centuries later Shakespeare immortalised this day with the play Henry V. There have been a few film versions, most notably Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh's interpretations.

It's a great work, and truly inspirational. No part of the play is more likely to rouse a man to action than The Crispin's day speech, Shakespeare's imagining of how the King motivated his troops before battle. Below is a video of Branagh delivering that famous speech, I wish a belated happy St Crispin's day to one and all.



"Old men forget, yet all shall be forget, but he'll remember with advantages what feats he did that day" - Best of luck on Monday John!

Paddy Power lay 10,000 to 1 odds on Emmet to win New York City Marathon

A big thanks to Michelle Daly who helped get Paddypower.com to provide odds on my chances in the New York City Marathon.

A full list of the odds on offer can be found here. The standout odds obviously being the 10,000 to 1 shot at victory. Given there's around 40,000 runners, these odds do tend to overstate my chances.

Paddy Power have been great, they're offering a broad mix of betting options so it's well worth checking out. Across the board there's great value to be had so it's well worth a look...and if you happen to win feel free to donate part of your winnings to the campaign.

Yes, we'll shamelessly ask for donations whenever a chance arises. Also just to clarify, and this is no disrespect to PP who we think are awesome, the bets don't go towards the fundraising. It's just good old fashioned gambling.

Before anyone asks. No, I am not going to deliberately come last. I know 200 to 1 makes it sound like a good idea but seriously I am not going to do that.

For anyone looking at betting on specific times, here's the form:
My PB is 6 hours 49 minutes but I was 4 stone lighter when I set that. My time last year was 7 hours 15 minutes however I did the half marathon this year a full 19 minutes faster than last year's half marathon.

The other point of note to keep in mind is that I'm unfamiliar with the course and it's meant to be a tough one however it's also meant to a fast course, faster than Dublin.

In essence you've a choice between history and what-have-you-done-for-me-lately. Best of luck to all the punters out there.

Welcome Irish Times readers

Some of you today will be visiting this blog for the first time after reading about my escapades in this article from today's health supplement of the Irish Times. Welcome to STIG for CF Ireland's blog...let's get you up to speed.

As you'll be aware from the piece I'm doing the New York City Marathon on 2 November in aid of the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland. On top of this my good friend and training partner John Craddock will be competing in the Dublin City Marathon on 27 October, which is this Monday, as part of our campaign.

Here's a montage charting our preparation that regular visitors to this blog will be familiar with.


There's plenty of info in the posts below about other activities we're doing as part of the build up and other ways in which you can get involved in the campaign.

If you would like to donate check out our MyCharity page and thanks for your support.

The Sunday Column - News update

There's been a few developments in the campaign lately so this week's column is dedicated to bring you all up to speed on these, along with other musings.

John Craddock will formally kick off this year's campaign on Monday week, that's the 27th, when he takes part in the Dublin marathon. We're both in tapering mode which means no booze or training until after our races. I may even consider giving up caffeine, maybe.

Before all that I've a feature appearing in Tuesday's Irish Times related to the event. It'll be in the Health supplement and focuses on the unique physical challenges facing a man of my build that opts to do a marathon. Keep an eye out for it.

We've received plenty of reaction to this post where we're looking for you all to suggest songs for my iPod playlist. Keep recommending tunes please. Every song you suggest will be played so long as we can find it.

Healthwise, the cold is setting in. I still feel grand for the most part and am piling in vitamin C and soup. I am getting a tad stressed about this whole matter so my apologies if you run into me and I seem a bit on edge about it.

16 days to cease being ill

I don't look ill and in truth I don't feel all that unwell, at least not yet. Deep down, inside me, however it's coming and the signs are already showing. The croakiness in my throat, the feel of the wind outside deep in my lungs. That most inevitable winter irritation. A cold, one of the simplest of ailments. One that could do serious damage to my marathon hopes.

Now reading this you might be thinking that a cold isn't that bad. In general you're right. A person can still work while they have a cold, indeed for the most part they can still socialise and they'll still get over it reasonably quickly. Time however is the only cure. Time is a limited commodity.

In 16 days I line up for the 2008 New York City Marathon. I have 16 days to get the full onset of the cold and get over it. After the race doesn't matter a hoot to me. I can catch the worst flu or chest infection since 2001, when I missed a full month of college because of such ailments, and I'll consider it a fair trade.

Getting this now is not what I need. I've had to stop training a week earlier than planned. I'm wrapping up heavily whenever I leave the house. Every possible step is being taken to keep well, yet every one feels futile.

There's no cure for the common cold, I just have to wait it out. Powerless to act all I can do is hope the full onset happens soon and isn't too harsh. Then at least I can work on the recovery. The clock is ticking.

New York playlist

Some of you will remember this post from last year where I asked you to suggest songs for my iPod during the marathon.

Well we're doing it again. Suggest a song and I guarantee I'll put it on if I can find it. You can have any reason for selecting a tune or indeed no reason, but if you're struggling for a reason to pick a song why not just use one of these tried and tested reasons:

1. You want to torture my ears (Barbie Girl, Hey Mickey, Macarena)
2. You want to inspire me (Rocky, Here I go again, Harder Better Faster Stronger}
3. You want to be cheesily thematic (New York New York, King of New York, Englishman in New York)
4. You love Jim Steinman (Anything for Love, Total Eclipse of the Heart, Holding out for a Hero)
5. To hell with Jim Steinman, you love AC/DC (Back in Black, For those about to Rock, Let there be Rock)

So you can choose the easy/lazy option and pick one of those or you can come up with anything you like. Leave it in the comments section below and we'll include it in the playlist.

The Sunday Column - The last big runs

I am breathing heavily as I write this. I'm set to 'taper' in a week (more on that further on) so I needed to get in a couple of decent length runs before then. Thus this morning and yesterday I hit the mean streets of Ranelagh.


'The Distance', by Cake

I had contemplated doing the Simon Community's 5 miler in the Phoenix Park on Saturday morning but getting out there in time for the 10.30 start was just plain unfeasible.

Instead I opted to do a similar distance around my own area in Ranelagh. I've a lap of the area set out that's just under 2 miles long so three of these would be ample replacement. At 11am with my iPod on my arm I set out from Anna Villa. Around the corner on Ranelagh Road I encountered what would be a recurring obstacle that morning.

Babies, lots of babies. Ranelagh's full of them in their buggies, being rolled around and generally proving an obstacle to cumbersome runners like myself. If slalom running ever becomes an Olympic sport I'm a shoo-in for gold in the over 100kg category.

In my haste to get around them I realised that I had done an awfully fast first mile, I kept this up for the rest of the lap and was duly feeling it with two thirds of my run still to go. I ran a much slower second lap, as more toddlers swarmed the streets of my adopted village.

Up by Belgrave Square I took a mild breather before getting going again. Word to the wise, when you're feeling wrecked and need to keep running 'Stronger' by Kanye West (yes I know it's just a Daft Punk cover, but it's a great cover) is quite a good choice. In more refreshed form I took off on the final lap of the morning, slowing as I came to Birchall's at the corner of my road.

Later that day, having realised I wouldn't be drinking that night, I figured "Fuck it, I'll do another five tomorrow". So at 9.30am this morning I took off once again on another three lap stint.

Sundays are great. Parents are too tired or hungover to bring their kids anywhere, especially that early, so the roads were empty. Ranelagh was a virtually buggy free zone. The one family I did come across that could have impeded me even managed to spot me at a distance and the father moved the rest out them out of the way to clear a path (yeah, that dude's a ledge).

This morning's five was actually faster than yesterday, and both sets were done at a pretty hard pace. Thus I am sitting on my couch three hours later, still somewhat out of breath. Of course the flatmate isn't even out of bed yet, lazy sod.

The reason I decided to put in these two sets when I did was very much a matter of timing. From next Sunday I'll be tapering, which is the fancy way of saying taking it easy until race day. The typical advice is that runners don't do any hard runs in the two weeks before a marathon and instead just focus on staying loose.

So with my training nearly complete for this phase it was time to get in some good miles before race day. I'll likely do another five next Saturday morning before the tapering period begins.

You can never beat a bit of cross-promotion

The pic above was taken just before the recent Eircom League game between UCD and Drogheda Utd, which UCD won 1-0. We used the event for two purposes. Firstly to present Alan Mahon (who is pictured with me) with an award to mark his passing the 250 league appearance mark for UCD.

The ulterior motive was of course to promote the hell out of this campaign. UCD's next home game is against Bohemians on Hallowe'en. By that stage I'll already be in the air for New York but John will be there, where he'll likely still be hobbling a bit after doing the Dublin City Marathon the previous Monday.

At that Bohemians game we'll be selling the last ever regular edition of STIG. Due to constraints on the producers we simply won't have time to make it regularly from now on, however there will still be occasional issues released. All funds, not just profits we mean all funds, from the sale of that issue will go towards the campaign. It's a great way for the league's longest running and most prolific fanzine to bow out of regular publication.

Breaking News - John Craddock signs onto the STIG team

After frantic negotiations that required emergency legislation from both houses of the Oireachtas, STIG for CF Ireland can announce a major breakthrough. Veteran marathon runner John Craddock has signed on to the STIG for CF Ireland team for 2008. Check the video below for details:



John has acted as Emmet's coach and training partner to date in this year's campaign. He will now also compete in the 2008 Dublin City Marathon on 27 October, giving STIG for CF Ireland a competitive presence on two continents within the space of a week.

If you want to show your support for John and Emmet and donate to STIG for CF Ireland you can do so at our MyCharity page.

The Sunday Column - Draw results announced

The 2008 STIG for CF Ireland Prize Draw was held on Sunday and no expense was spared...actually scratch that, no expense was incurred in our staging of the event. Check the video below to find out who won.



Congratulations to all the winners. We have a major announcement coming midweek so keep an eye out for another video in the next few days.

If you missed out on the prize draw and still want to donate you can do at our MyCharity page.

Guest post by Sinead Keogh

Just like busses, you wait for a guest post and then two come along at once. Today's contribution is from Sinead Keogh. Sinead's a fellow journalist whose Inkheart blog where she unleashes the ink from her veins in all directions.

Enjoy.

Bah Normal Society...

In just over one month my student card is going to be out of date. No more printing stuff for free on the fly. No more discounts on clothes and cinema tickets. No more considering the best use of high speed library internet to be watching YouTube videos. Boohoo, well why don't you guest post about it?

It's difficult to know what to do with a guest blog – kind of like driving somebody else's car. You don't want to move the seat on them and piss them off but when you're a girl in a boy's car, you generally have to. STIG is a boy's blog. It has never, to my knowledge, concerned itself with make-up, pink things or frivolity. It's tough to find something in common with it as someone eternally concerned with pink things, make-up and frivolity who has never run a marathon. The common ground comes in the acronym: Student 'til I Graduate.

You wouldn't be wrong if you called me a joiner. I like belonging to things and being helpful. I enjoy events and lists and a nice bit of a sense of occasion. They invented extra-curricular activities with me in mind. As such, my memories of college will always be centred around debating and writing and attending things as if it was going out of fashion. It is those things that I'll miss the most.

In the "big bad world" there's plenty to be doing with yourself. There's always community theatre and charity groups to join. After that, it's almost as if joining groups to make friends when you're an adult becomes a bit weird. When you're 17 you're actively encouraged to social calendar your day up a notch in the pursuit of successful integration into college life. You get past 20 and suddenly that's odd. Suddenly the landscape of things to be a part of is curiously less vibrant. You can play poker or do a musical at any age – but what happens to the brave souls whose common ground was debating or student radio or clubbing together to get really, really good alcohol promotions and not much else?

A lot of college situations don't have to end with parchment in hand. Degrees become jobs, student housemates become young professional housemates, thinking it's perfectly acceptable to stay up all night watching Dawson's Creek episodes remains a curiously static thought. The best part though, the organising of things for free just because you want to, the meeting people you never thought you would, the random things you find yourself doing just because you got up that morning and chose college over bed – seems consigned to studentville. I can live without a Student Travel Card, weekday lie-ins and free stuff in Freshers' Week, but I'll never understand why there aren't adult societies for the pursuit of anything-that-takes-your-fancy-really all about the place. College caters to the random draws and niche callings, and they don't go away. STIG indeed, STIGDAKAS…Student 'til I get dragged away kicking and screaming.

Sinead Keogh's wordpress blog can be found at sineadkeogh.wordpress.com

Guest post by Blair Hurley

I'm delighted to present the first ever guest post on this blog. Fellow blogger Blair Hurley, is a creative writing student and author of Creative Writing Corner which is one of my favourite blogs.

I've previously guest posted on her blog and it's great to have her deliver some of her insights into writing to the readers of STIG for CF Ireland. Enjoy.

Fighting Information Overload
Writers today face unique challenges. The internet and television has surrounded us with wave upon wave of information and content, so that we frequently feel swamped and overstimulated. This overstimulation leaves us desensitized to beautiful writing or a poignant story. It's the job of writers, though, to bring us back to a state of sensitivity and appreciation for things, to make the world beautiful again instead merely a blur. So here are a few tips for fighting information overload and making distinct details in your writing seem special again.

When you write, just write. We've all become powerful multi-taskers these days, with our ability to switch instantly from email to websurfing to chatting with friends to a document. The truth of the matter is, though, that these tasks will inevitably bleed into one another. The chatspeak you use with a friend isn't the best frame of mind for writing creatively; nor is internet surfing or even reading serious journalistic articles online such as the New York Times. When you write creatively, don't multi-task. Hone in on your subject and give it all of your attention. Not only will your writing improve, you'll probably feel glad afterwards to have gotten a little break for your brain. Changing mental tv channels so rapidly can be exhausting.

Take notes on your story to identify key points. Before you begin writing, you can make key points stand out by identifying them beforehand. Take a few minutes to think about the most important parts of your writing and what you want to highlight. Imagine a few details standing like lighthouses in your mind, shedding illumination on the rest of the work. Write down those few important details in note form, then write around them. If you think about it this way and organize accordingly, your writing will naturally bring those details to the fore.

Appreciate and notice. Nabokov thought that the most important ingredient for leading a conscious life was in noticing details. His novels are masterworks of detail, begging for multiple readings just so all of the intricacy can be truly appreciated. The best way to create this intricacy in your own writing is to appreciate detail in your daily life. Stop for a moment to smell the roses, and remember what they smell like. Take in the colours, shapes, and smells of things. If your memory falters, keep a notebook and get it all down. The greatest problem with information overload is that our brains tend to do triage. They keep the broad sweeps of things and lose the details. Combat this tendency we all have by paying attention to the little things. Your writing -- and your consciousness -- will be enriched and stimulated as a result.

Blair Hurley is a student of Creative Writing and the author of Creative Writing Corner (www.writerlylife.com).

Keep an eye out for more guest posts from authoers of some of the other interesting blogs I've come across in the coming days and weeks.

The Sunday Column - Meeting my team mates

Saturday morning saw me pay a visit to the Spawell to meet up with the other members of Team CF Ireland.

Twas an interesting enough event. We heard the different stories as to how people got there. Many of these were tough going, no shock there, as we heard from one girl in our group who lost three siblings to Cystic Fibrosis and two guys, also doing the race, who have children with Cystic Fibrosis.

We also shared war stories about past experiences in distance running. A couple of the others are a tad worried about the prospect of doing their first marathon. I reassured them somewhat by pointing out that I'd done three to date and was still standing.

Martin Cahill, no not The General or one of his relations, is organising our group which will participate in the race. There are three Persons With Cystic Fibrosis (PWCF) in our group that will do the race, though none were present on Saturday. I was informed at the event that this is the preferred term and henceforth it's the one this blog will use.

On the kit side of things we hit a snag. While we had no problem getting tracksuits bottoms, a polo shirt, and fleece to fit me there was one problem. I'm comfortably the biggest member of the team (no shock, how many offensive linemen do marathons?) and getting a singlet for me is proving a challenge. It's be handy to have one to wear over my t-shirt come race day.

If we don't resolve the issue it could lead to the continuation of a bizarre little tradition that has occurred in every marathon I've done to date. In 2000, 2006, and 2007 at least one American has roared "Come on O'Neill's" at me as the sports gear manufacturer's logo was the most recognisable/only insignia on my t-shirt while racing.