A victory secured before the action begins

Paul Robinson, St Coca’s AC, Kildare leading in the senior men’s mile from Sean Tobin, Clonmel AC, Tipperary, and Andrew Coscoran, Star of the Sea AC, Meath at the Summer Games Meet at Moyne AC, Tipperary. Picture: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Through a Civil War, two World Wars, and now a global pandemic, it’s somehow still standing: 147 years, and counting.

And so, before a gun is fired in Morton Stadium today at the Irish Life Health national athletics championships, this already feels like a victory.