Stig for CF Ireland 2008

We've been longlisted

2009-01-20T13:57:00.005Z

Stig for CF Ireland has been longlisted for the Irish Blog Awards. Thanks to Damien for continuing to organise these awards.

This is the third year we've made it to the long list stage. This blog has been nominated in the Best Specialist Blog category and faces stiff competition, not least of which comes from Piaras and Colm, if it is to make the shortlist for the first time ever. Thanks to everyone who has read and contributed to this blog including: Sinead and Blair who provided guest posts this year, Coilin Duffy and Ciaran Ruane who helped provide content including live blog coverage of the New York City marathon, John Healy who was our webmaster, and everyone that played a part in the numerous videos we made this year.

We'll let you know if the third time is the charm as soon as the nominations for the shortlist are out.

EDIT: Apparently the list published is not the long list as such so we'll have to wait and see if this blog post title is correct.

FURTHER EDIT: It turns out that while we don't know if it's longlisted, this is still formally considered a nomination so I've edited to included the above pic.

The final total: €4,750

2009-01-08T16:39:00.004Z

Thank you, thank you, thank you. The final total of €4,750 raised is three times our previous best effort.You are all amazing and as a mark of gratitude here's the highlights from the big one. Ladies and gentlemen, video coverage of my participation in the New York City marathon with commentary by Cóilín Duffy.

Thanks to everyone who supported us in any way. I'd like to extend a personal thanks to John Craddock for his efforts in Dublin and to Cóilín for taking time out of his busy schedule to record the commentary for that video.

Like the video says, we'll have a new challenge in August 2009 and we'll be announcing details in March.

A round up of stuff

2008-12-18T09:26:00.003Z

Hello one and all. We've been rather infrequent in our posting lately but we're making this post to let you all know that there's one more post this year that you will want to keep an eye out for.

Yes, I know, it's rather odd that I'm blogging to tell you to keep an eye out for a future blog post but I've some other tidbits as well so rather than have three or four one line posts we'll stick it all under a round up.

First off, our final video of the year is coming soon. I hope to have it up before Christmas. It depends on when some footage reaches us here in campaign HQ. We've already put together some of the audio and it promises to be a good one.

In other news, I know a few of you were asking about the 5k Jingle Bell Run in the Phoenix Park. It was meant to be my return to training but sadly my health got in the way. A nasty cold hit and I wisely thought it would be foolish to go for a run in that state on a cold Sunday morning. The new return to training shall now hopefully be at the GOAL mile on Christmas morning.

Plans are already in place for our 2009 campaign which is going to be a considerably different undertaking to anything we've previously tried. It'll be a few months however before we go into detail on that event. Needless to say it's going to be epic.

Finally on the news front, we'll be closing acceptance of donations on the 8th of January and will likely announce the final total on the 9th or 10th.

Of course I can't do a post at this stage in December without saying Merry Christmas to everyone.

Furthermore I'll be away in Cork from the 27th to around the 3rd or 4th (must check that) so if I don't see you between now and then have a Happy New Year.

Race photos now online

2008-12-08T18:46:00.005Z

They're finally here, the photos from the big race. The pics here are just a taster of the full selection photos which are here.

We've decided to name the 8th of January as the final date for donations. If you want to support us you still can by going to our MyCharity page but remember time is running out.

We'll have our final video online shortly before the deadline, and hopefully this will include some actual race video coverage.

Congratulations JoePa

2008-11-23T00:14:00.003Z

I'm a die-hard Notre Dame fan and I should be upset tonight. The Fighting Irish lost to the joke that is Syracuse but I can't help being happy for Joe Paterno and the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Paterno is 82 years old and in need of a hip replacement. Still, one of the most likeable men in College Football has pressed on as Penn State's head coach. Today, in one of the greatest feel good stories of the year (though not as much as the dude in the video linked in my last post) he saw his charges play a great game and hammer Michigan State to secure their first place in the Rose Bowl since 1995.

Congratulations JoePa. After all these years, you're still one of the best.

This is hardcore

2008-11-21T15:20:00.004Z

The word hardcore gets bandied about a lot but this dude is something else. Having trouble embedding the video but it's well worth clicking on the link. A young runner picked up a ridiculously serious injury late in a 5k race which sent him crashing into the dirt. Unable to regain his footing, despite numerous attempts, he did the only sensible thing he could do, drag himself to the finish line.

A big thank you

2008-11-18T11:51:00.005Z

It's just over 2 weeks since the race and I'm pretty much recovered. We haven't got the bulk of the photos yet but thanks to John Sheridan we can show you two from near the end.

Seeing as I'm thanking John for the pics I might as well take this opportunity to thank everyone who has helped the campaign.

First off Comit Marketing deserve a particularly heavy dose of praise. The guys in there helped us secure a lot of the prizes for the draw and showed interest throughout the campaign. Likewise Heneghan PR were a great help in securing prizes for the draw and supporting the cause and we are very grateful to them.

Damovo, Strencom, Cable & Wireless, Motorola, the ESB (in particular Gerry McGough), Tipperary GAA and Dublin GAA (in particular John Costello) were all a great help in either donating or securing prizes for the draw and we are delighted they were able to support us. Thanks also to Paddy Power (in particular Michelle Daly) for providing odds on the race.

Running this campaign took a lot more than just one person. John Craddock made an immense contribution. On top of doing the Dublin marathon, John was also my training partner and the man that drove me to the Dublin 10 mile and half marathon races.

Ciaran Ruane, Fergal Casey and Cóilín Duffy all gave a great deal of support in help in our promotional effort. The trio, along with John, helped make so many of our videos possible. In that same respect, a big thanks to Lee Daly, Greg Bowler, Cian Ginty, Mary Dobbs, Gareth Murphy and Niall McClave for appearing in our videos.

Greg, John Sheridan, Kate Fitzgerald, and the whole DCU debating posse deserve a big heap of praise for their backing throughout the campaign. The DCU Saints also gave tremendous support all season long and that was a big help.

On the UCD side Sir Keith Thompson, who did the Great North Run, Eve Rowan, who is always there to support me, and a shedload of other people deserve a whole heap of praise. Nearish to UCD, Eoin Kennedy in Slattery Communications offered great encouragement over the last few months.

Martin Cahill, Grainne Kennedy, and all the guys in the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland helped a great deal both pre and post race.

Last but not least I want to thank everyone who has supported this cause in any way. Be you well wishers, people that bought tickets for the draw, or anyone else that donated, your help is thoroughly appreciated.

Oh and it's not over...you can still donate through our MyCharity.ie page. We'll keep taking donations for about another month before formally announcing our total either in late December or early 2009.

Pain heals, chicks dig scars, glory lasts forever...pain however lasts a fair while before healing

2008-11-06T04:09:00.005Z

Snipers overhead, helicopters circling and thousands of people ready to charge across a bridge. Just a regular day in the city.

At 5.30am on Sunday, local time, myself and David got out of bed to get ready for a very long day. Our bus left for Staten Island an hour later and en route I sent a quote from Keanu Reeves in The Replacements to some friends, it's the title above minus the little bit I put at the end.

We had to hang about for 3 hours on Staten, fighting off the cold and nerves with coffee, bagels and Gatorade. We gathered into our coral, at the back of the third and final wave of runners as the snipers above looked down. This isn't Dublin anymore. We wished each other well and I gave some final words of encouragement to the rookies around me.

"Pain is just weakness leaving the body," I quipped. If this is the case then I had plenty of pain to expunge. It would later turn out that these words actually helped one of the runners, so that was a pleasant surprise.

David, who I was sharing a room with, took off running with two of the other lads from our group. I stuck to my plan of walking the first mile. As a result, with less than 800 yards of the race underway, there was widespread panic in Paddy Power's headquarters.

Okay I have nothing to back that up but at this stage I was just fifth from the back of the field. If I finished last then the odds of 200/1 on my picking up the wooden spoon would have proven quite generous. Ne'er the less I stuck to the plan. Walk the first, run the second. Walk the odds, run the evens.

The bridge from Staten was over a mile and a half long. With no crowds allowed and with my fear of heights this wasn't a pleasant experience.

As it ended and I approached the 2 mile mark I realised that sure enough, there was no marker at the 1 mile point and all I had done was walk so far. New tactic, walk the evens, run the odds.

I was off and running, blowing kisses at construction workers as I entered Brooklyn. The crowd had a huge impact as I tore through the next mile. On and off, run and walk, I kept it up. The people roared me on and I responded vocally and with my feet. The race was truly on.

It was after all a race, pride was at stake. Craddock had set a time to beat and I already felt behind. The people of New York proved a huge difference maker. There were even a few Obama supporters out and I yelled "Yes we can" at them every time, which you can imagine garnered a positive response.

Run and walk, on and off, it continued and as I saw the clocks I adjusted for my wave's start and knew the pendulum had swung. Around 7 miles my left foot felt a little sore in the shoe but the pain eased quickly.

Bands and well wishers lined the way, including one group that held up a sign offering free High Fives. Well I couldn't turn that down. Booya.

By halfway I knew I was near by personal best for the half marathon and well ahead of John's time. I had to dial it down it gear now. Running was proving tough and I needed a break, over the next three miles through Queens I knew I had lost some of my advantage.

It was time for a miracle mile. I knew that to make up the lost ground I'd need one more running mile and it was only going to come sooner not later. On the 17th I charged, down the bridge, around the corner and into Manhattan.

"Lets hear some love for the Irish" I yelled at the mob with tricolours that awaited, the responded well. As I rounded onto First Avenue I saw Martin, our organiser, fiddling with his hair. I shouted at him to sort it out though he would later claim it was time to keep warm.

I knew what to expect from the avenues in Manhattan. The previous day was the 2.5 mile long International Friendship Run. Despite sounding like an event the Care Bears would run in, it did serve the useful purpose of showing me how undulating the avenues on the island.

That was playtime, this was business time, I kept powering through until the mile marker when I slowed to a walk again. A new plan, walk the uphills and flats, run the downhills. On one of the downhills there was a guy around Craddock's size with a different banner.

'Free Hugs' it read.

Oh what a foolish boy. One patented Emmet Ryan Bearhug later and he weakly uttered "Thanks".

As I tired on First Ave I opted to hold off on any more running until the Bronx. Once there I continued the plan of running the downhills. There was less than a mile on this borough, the only part of the course in the mainland US, before returning to Manhattan.

Harlem greeted my arrival with tremendous cheers, I pressed on towards Midtown. No longer able to run the downhills it was merely a matter of protecting the lead I had.

Approaching 23 miles I was nearly crying tears of joy. I welled up thinking of the people I do this for. I have two very dear friends with Cystic Fibrosis that are my inspiration when races get tough and questions are asked. This race had been relatively easy so far but I had to hold myself together.

It wasn't over yet, there was business to be done. I began the long way round central park singing along to my iPod. Abide With Me was swiftly followed by Flower of Scotland. I really don't care what the locals thought of my singing but I know it caught some runners off guard. Scotland the Brave was next as I rounded the corner into the Park.

My vocal performance ended just after 24 miles, to the mercy of all no doubt. As I exited the park there was just over one mile to go, but there were still two very important persons to greet. Greg and John both received high fives from me as I marched towards the final turn before the return into the park.

As I re-entered Central Park I punched the air, there was fire in my belly and the crowd loved it. Hell they loved all 40,000 of us. They were like one giant embodiment of the Battle Hymn of the Republic (which oddly isn't on my iPod) all day long.

The finish approached and it was time to truly milk it. Once again I started blowing kisses to all and sundry in the crowd before raising my hands to the heavens, like some South American footballer, as I crossed the finish line.

The poor woman that bestowed me with my finishers medal probably wasn't expecting that hug either. Ah well. And so it was over. The wall never hit and no harm done save for the usual stiffness.

You already know the rest, I hammered my PB and beat Craddock by 12 minutes...

Oh like it was going to end that easy!

Every year the race report entry brings the pain and we aren't going to disappoint you now. Remember that pain in my foot I mentioned early? Yes that was a tease to a later part in the tale.

It turns out pulling off a Compeed is a bad idea. So much so that when I pulled one off the dark red blister the day after the race (it was very beefy, nearly black) that it took a lot of skin with it and gave me the heebie jeebies.

The wound is (it's still there) 2 inches long and 1 inch wide and is right on the arch of the foot. By Monday evening the pain was so bad that standing was agonising and walking was the opposite of pleasant. With infection looking likely and no improvement whatsoever, I went to the hospital on Tuesday morning.

"Oh that looks bad. You're going to be in agony," said the first doctor. Well thank you ma'am, I know I've been stored in the cardiac ward for some reason but that doesn't mean you have to induce a coronary through fear just to make me feel at home.

On the upside there was no infection. The dude in the bed beside me meanwhile had what sounded an awful lot like an actual heart attack while queuing up to vote. He was a determined chap and refused to go to hospital for 90 minutes until he got to cast his vote for Obama.

"That's huge, and very beefy. You will be in agony sir," how about that for a second opinion that I never even asked for. At least the third doctor had a look of total disinterest in her face and didn't say a word.

She probably wasn't a doctor though. Her tells were that she wasn't faking an interested look, which coupled with her looking fairly young meant the best bet is that she still had a couple of years to go in Med School. By graduation she'll learn to fake attentiveness.

So I was patched up and sent on my merry way without anything to ease the pain. They told me to take some Tylenol for that, and I knew I'd need it as my foot was killing me. I needed to move hotels first however so I hailed a cab and head for the Chelsea Star on 30th St.

I open the door, a heavy bag in either hand and a throbbing pain in my foot, and all the colour leaves my face. There was a flight of stairs to climb.

The End.

Emmet's New York Marathon Times

2008-11-02T22:16:00.003Z

(Posted by Cóilín)

Event Information:
Event:The ING New York City Marathon
Runner:Emmet Ryan
Latest Results at 05:10:33 PM (END OF RACE FOR EMMET!!!!!!!-----WOOOOOOOHAAA!)

And it's over!

2008-11-02T22:11:00.003Z

The finishing time: 6 hours 32 minutes and 27 seconds. John, hang your head in shame.

The winning bet is 6:30-6:45. I don't know if anyone else is still going so the finishing last bet may still be on but Paula Radcliffe finished about 5 hours ago so the 10,000/1 on Emmet winning won't pay out.

40km update

2008-11-02T21:46:00.003Z

Emmet has been running/walking for 6:06:43 now with about 2.2 km to go. He has just under 38 minutes to finish to beat John's time. There are, no doubt, some confused runners hearing him shouting "It's on like Donkey Kong" right now. How this goes down with the residents of Central Park is another matter.

30km update

2008-11-02T20:13:00.002Z

Emmet's 30km time is 4:20:32, meaning his lead over John is down to just 7 minutes now. His speed still indicates a 6 hour 6 minute finish but the distance is bound to take its toll on him coming up towards the finish.

The Grand Prix was fantastic by the way, the most unbelievable finish to a championship I've ever seen. If you get a chance, watch the last 10 laps or so!

Half distance and beyond

2008-11-02T19:29:00.002Z

At half distance, Emmet has taken 2:57:17, indicating a finishing time of 5 hours 54 minutes. John's time at the same stage of the Dublin marathon was 3:09:34 so Emmet has kept his 12 minute lead from the 10km mark.

The e-mail with this update was late arriving and the latest split we have is 3:43:51 at 16 miles, meaning Emmet has slowed a little, in line for a 6 hour 7 minute finishing time if he can keep up his pace so far. Chances are, he'll slow more over the last 10km or so but John's time from last week is still on the menu.

10km update

2008-11-02T17:32:00.003Z

After 10 km of the race, Emmet's time is 1:24:10. To compare, John's 10km time in Dublin was 1:36:55. So a 12 minute lead for Emmet at this stage, has he gone too fast at the start or is he on course to beat John's time?

The next update will be the half-distance one as the Brazilian Grand Prix is taking precedence for the next hour and a half. Come on Massa!

5km update

2008-11-02T16:25:00.002Z

We have our first update on Emmet's progress today. At the 5km mark, his time is 43 minutes and 53 seconds. If he continues at this rate, that would be a 6 hour 10 minute time for the race.

Before the race, Emmet thought that these times would not take account of the time spent getting to the start but it took over an hour from Emmet's start time for the e-mail with this info to arrive so it might be his actual time for the 5km. We'll be able to tell from the 10km update anyway.

One hour to go

2008-11-02T14:22:00.003Z

Emmet will be starting the New York City marathon in a little under an hour, at 3:20 pm Irish time. The clocks went back an hour last night in America so hopefully he knows that and doesn't turn up an hour early. I'll update you with his progress every 5 kilometres or so and see how he's going compared to John's run in Dublin on Monday and whether any of the 200/1 bets on Emmet finishing last are likely to win.

The final pre-race update - All the info you need to stay in touch on Sunday

2008-11-02T01:27:00.004Z

There's just 13 hours until the start of the 2008 ING New York City Marathon. First off, we're aware that there's problems with the audio interview file, we are working on it and hope to have it fixed by 1pm tomorrow. (edit - Interview now available - Cóilín)

Next up the race updates will begin around 4pm Sunday Irish time. There'll be five or six in total, ending around 11pm. Don't be disturbed and go ripping up your betting slips if my time initially seems to slow, the race chip on my shoe is what counts and not the clock on the course. This is because I'll start way back and the race will be on between 10 and 30 minutes when I get started.

Keep an eye out for the updates as the splits will give you a good time of how my race is progressing.

Finally I'd just like to give a brief mention to the International Friendship Run, a 2.5 mile event I walked today. It was great buzz and it was cool to hit the streets with my fellow foreigners. Make no mistake though, today was playtime. On Sunday moring, it's business time.

The Big Interview

2008-10-31T22:29:00.007Z

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

2008-10-28T21:42:00.004Z

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

2008-10-28T08:54:00.004Z

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

2008-10-27T17:00:00.003Z

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

2008-10-27T13:11:00.004Z

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

2008-10-27T09:41:00.005Z

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

2008-10-26T15:18:00.005Z

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

2008-10-26T10:47:00.003Z

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!