Crowds 10ft deep cheered as runners completed the final stretch of yesterday’s Dublin Marathon.

A record 20,000 runners will stride out on Merrion Square South tomorrow morning for the SSE Airtricity Dublin Marathon, with club runners from Acorn AC right through to Youghal in search of that coveted finishing medal.

Far too many four and five-star hotels in Ireland are under-performing and proving a disappointment to high-paying guests, according to Georgina Campbell, the woman behind the annual hospitality awards.

Fair play to you, Moira.

X Factor finalist Mary Byrne has been included as one of the contestants on this year’s Celebrity Operation Transformation.

Despite lingering jet-lag, after a long-haul flight from the US, San Francisco runner Chris Mocko still managed to limbo under the finish line to win the Irish Examiner Cork City Marathon.

Irish Examiner Cork City marathon

Defending national champion Sean Hehir believes tomorrow’s SSE Airticity Dublin Marathon showcases the capital at its best where record numbers of just under 20,000 will be led out by a strong East African representation.

WHEN Uncle Ben’s asked us to be a guinea pig for its healthy plate campaign here at Feelgood, muggins put up her hand.

For several of Ireland’s best marathoners, the door finally closed on Olympic qualification at the London Marathon yesterday, with the race to Rio de Janeiro now left in the hands of selectors ahead of next month’s deadline.

The Irish Food Writers’ Guild announced the annual selection of the best of Irish producers and food heroes.

John Meagher visits Viewmount House and experiences VM, the restaurant that put Longford on the culinary map.

Love them or hate them, they are the vegetable of the season and so for a brussels sprout farmer, Christmas is even more crazy than for the rest of us says Deirdre Reynolds

Sean Hehir and Pauline Curley stole the headlines winning the national titles at the SSE Airtricity Dublin marathon as Alemu Gemechu and Nataliya Lehonkova took overall glory ahead of a record entry of more than 15,000.

Eoin Callaghan goes into Monday’s record entry Dublin marathon on the cusp of realising a dream.

In recent times Kenyan distance runners have become regular visitors to Ireland where they run for local clubs and hoover up prizes on the road racing scene before returning to the Rift Valley.

Though it had been some time, at least a couple of Ice Ages, since The Menu had last trod barefoot through the fields to school, several years ago he returned to the groves of Academe.

Weighed down with all his gear, Alex O’Shea blazed a trail into the book of Guinness World Records, shaving a massive 58 minutes off the record for running a marathon in full firefighting apparel.

Smorgasboard of West Cork Food Festival tastes

Celtic cook-off in West Cork

A trickle of blood from the occasional stumble, lots of dribbling sweat, but no sign of tears as the fitter citizens of Cork and Dublin took to the streets to give each other’s city marathon a run for its money.

A Polish man has won the Cork City Marathon.

A great man for Shank’s Mare, one of The Menu’s finest ever escapades was on the Burren, so the prospect of a walking weekend at the peak of wildflower season led by author/guide Tony Kirby (May 10-12) in Co Clare has him dusting down the clogs.

The Woodie’s DIY AAI Games in the new Athlone IT indoor arena produced a long list of new personal bests and one new record.

THE head chef disliked me from the off.

‘VM’ at Viewmount House, Dublin Road, Longford; tel: 043-3341919; viewmounthouse.com

Before the begrudgers let rip with a broadside, implying The Menu’s life is one long holiday, The Menu would like to point out his current sojourn in West Cork is strictly research — for his return in September to one of the nation’s longest running food festivals, A Taste of West Cork, Sept 10-16.

Strong wind at Santry Stadium played a telling factor on Day One of the 2012 Woodies DIY National Track and Field Championships today.

Freddy Keron denied Sergui Ciobanu a notable three-in-a-row triumph when the Kenyan broke the course record to win yesterday’s sixth edition of the Cork City Marathon since it was revived in 2007.

Sergiu Ciobanu (Clonliffe Harriers) yesterday retained his Ballycotton 10 mile road race title with a powerful display in East Cork.

Eddie McGinley (Annadale Striders) yesterday won his first Irish senior cross country title after leading from the gun in the Woodie’s DIY Inter Clubs Cross Country Championships in Santry.

SOME of Ireland top young talents secured qualification for international events at the Woodie’s DIY AAI Games at windswept Santry yesterday.

FOOD fashionistas are going green – eating locally grown food and reducing their carbon footprint, Ireland’s leading food critic has claimed.

Brendan Mooney