Wednesday, March 27, 2013

 

THE AIR may have been bitter and the temperatures freezing, but this was no match for the carnival atmosphere that brought the Promenade in Enniscorthy to life on Sunday morning for the Hope & Dream 10 mile run.

Despite hitting a RealFeel Temperature of minus four degrees, the huge gathering of participants and well-wishers were kept entertained by music, dancing, children’s activities and a host of familiar cartoon characters.

The Prom was bustling with the crowds of runners, joggers, walkers, supporters and kids as the entire locality enjoyed a family day out in support of the Hope centre in Enniscorthy and the Share a Dream Foundation.

Before the staggering 1,497 entrants began their arduous task at 10.15 a.m, well-known local DJ and fellow racer Liam Sharkey took to the stage to warm everyone up on the chilly morning.

 

 

After gathering all participants to line up in the position they would take off from, Mr. Sharkey then garnered many laughs by donning a pair of armbands and swimming goggles and telling the near 1,500 entrants: “This year we’re working on the inner thighs and hips.”

He added that he looked like he was going for a swim as almost 48 hours prior the area in which everyone was standing had been covered in water from flooding. “Everyone give the Town Council a big cheer for making sure we could go ahead with today,” he said.

Mr. Sharkey then gave a rousing performance of last year’s mega hit ‘Gangnam Style’, which had everyone from young children to participants of the race in fits of laughter, as they echoed the song’s now-notorious dance moves.

Before taking off, radio DJ Nikki Hayes, who M.C’d the event, beamed that she was delighted to be in Enniscorthy for the race for the second year. She passed the microphone to the founder of the Share a Dream Foundation, Shay Kinsella, who kept it short and sweet: “Best of luck everyone; you’re doing it for Hope & Dream and for the kids because they can’t do it for themselves.”

The Ballindaggin Pipe Band then took the centre stage briefly to perform a stirring rendition of Amhrán na bhFiann before the trigger of the starter’s pistol was pulled. As the race got underway, to the tunes of ‘I Would Walk 500 Miles’, the first runners were expected back within an hour.

In the meantime, the fun and joviality continued with Ms. Hayes and local DJ John O’Reilly, who provided music from the likes of Rihanna, Katy Perry and One Direction for the Little Dreamers, before they also took to the racetrack.

The 100 metre race saw so many children register that two races had to be run, but not before Winnie the Pooh, Tigger and Pluto introduced themselves to show their support. Two little boys named Séan came out on top in both races but it was the taking part that mattered to all the kids, who continued to laugh, dance to the booming music, and participate in games such as Rock the Boat.

Excitement heightened when the first runner was sighted at just 55 minutes, and all supporters scrambled to the fencing to grab a glance at who the impressive athlete was.

Cheers and claps rang out in the icy air as it emerged the first person to reach the finish line was also last year’s leader, Enniscorthy man Tom Hogan, who returned at just 56 minutes and 39 seconds. As he soared past his hero’s welcome, one onlooker commented: “How could he have run that fast and not even break a sweat?”

Following closely behind was Ferns runner Tommy McElwaine who arrived at 57 minutes 30 seconds. Local journalist Jimmy Gahan, who took over as M.C from Mr. O’Reilly for a period of time, commented that the men had completed some ‘fantastic’ running. He also had high praise for another Enniscorthy entrant, Catherine Murphy, who was the first woman to make it back to the Prom at one hour and seven seconds.

[For full story, see this week’s Echo]