David takes marathon relationship up a gear by proposing after Clonakilty run

Elaine Murphy did all the running — but boyfriend David Mellamphy stole her thunder.

As 29-year-old Elaine crossed the finish line of the Clonakilty Waterfront Marathon after her half-marathon triumph in appalling stormy conditions, it was David who fell to his knees, produced a ring, and proposed marriage.

“I knew she’d be too exhausted to turn around and run away. Thankfully, she said yes,” said David after the upbeat event of the day, when 1,400 runners faced gales, hailstones and the salty elements, in 10k, half marathon, and full marathon races on Saturday in the run-up to Storm Imogen.

“Well, she said ‘yup’, so technically she might have her options open still,” he joked.

Both from Waterloo near Blarney in Cork, they have been together for nine years, and are building a home due for completion in March.

“I always thought we’d get engaged before moving into it, and was going to propose in three weeks time at the Cliffs of Moher,” said David, “but after a weekend stag party I decided on Monday to surprise her at the Clonakilty race finish, so I lined up her parents and mine to be there too as Elaine feels a race finish is always an anti- climax.”

And Elaine’s reaction: “I really pushed it for the last leg of the race and was afraid of getting sick. I crossed the line and David gave me a hug and said he had a surprise for me. I felt for a split second he’d propose and I thought ‘no, no, don’t do this, not here.’

“I turned around and saw my parents there too and thought ‘oh, that’s the surprise, great.’ But, when I turned back David had ‘Will You Marry Me?’ printed on a race bib on his own chest.”

Having got the question off his chest, David and Elaine’s number (1551) is now well and truly up. The two, both CPA qualified acountants, hope to get married in 2017, and admit they haven’t exactly rushed things. In fact, they started in the same national school together 25 years ago.

It was Elaine’s third half marathon, she ran it solo in one hour and 54 minutes, a ‘personal best’.