Street spirit: 14,000 race to prove a point

Maria McCambridge had a point to prove.

Maria, who failed to make the Irish Olympic squad this summer, was the first Irish woman to cross the finishing line in the Dublin City Marathon yesterday.

The Donegal athlete was delighted with her time of two hours and 35 minutes. “It might not have been the Olympics but it was still a very satisfying run,” she said.

McCambridge, who was devastated at her omission from the Olympics, had a point to prove.

“Once the decision was made, I just put it behind me and focussed on trying to get my speed up over the summer,” said Maria, one of the 14,000 runners who enjoyed near perfect weather conditions for the race.

The 36-year-old mother-of-one was one of four Irish women who had achieved the ‘A’ marathon standard of two hours and 37 minutes for the Games in London.

But, with only three women’s marathon places per nation, it was Maria, who ran in Athens in 2004, who lost out.

Asked had she a plan in the Dublin marathon, Maria said she just raced and “stayed with the guys”.

Coming up a good bit behind Maria was her husband, Gary Crossan, with their 17-month-old son, Dylan, in a jogging buggy.

“After about 10 miles he wanted to get out but, once he had a bit to eat, he fell asleep then and slept until the last four miles,” said Gary.

Both Gary, the four-time national marathon champion, and Dylan, crossed the finishing line in three hours and five minutes.

However, Gary and Dylan did not start the race together. “I collected him at the corner because it was just too dangerous,” he said.

Asked why he took Dylan with him, Gary joked he was concerned that children were spending too much time in front of computers and not getting enough fresh air.

The old adage that once is never enough was proved by Dubliner Robbie Kelly. Robbie began his first marathon at 4.30am before joining the thousand of runners at 9.30am to run it all over again. He completed his first run in three hours and 48 minutes — two minutes faster than his personal best.

He completed his second marathon in five hours and 18 minutes and was delighted to have a achieved the double — a personal challenge he had set himself.

He only had a 45-minute break between the two marathons. A meal of pasta and chicken refuelled his body for the second run.

Near the finishing line at Merrion Square, Majella Costello from Grange, Cork, was waiting with her three children for her husband, Derek.

The children had draped white T-shirts with ‘My Dad My Hero’ written in bold red letters over the railings so he would not fail to spot them as he completed the run. Majella said it was the fifth time Derek had run the marathon.

“He just runs for the pure joy of it. His personal best is four hours and 26 seconds but it will take him more than four hours today because he has an injured knee. So he is running through the pain.”