'The last six miles were just torture'

People from all walks of life, nationalities and ages took part in the Dublin City Marathon.

People from all walks of life, nationalities and ages took part in the Dublin City Marathon.

Brian Peppard (38), Ashtown, Dublin, who came in under four hours, was one of the 12 runners in the Adidas marathon first-timers' team. He was running for the Irish Cancer Society.

"It's very hard, very rough. The first half was okay but for every mile from then on it was hard. I haven't done any running since I was about 20/21 but then got injured. I started running again as I was putting on a bit of weight," he said.

Deirdre Daly-Cahill from Co Clare was running her first marathon and was inspired to do it for the Clare Crusaders in aid of cerebral palsy. A local man started the charity and this year had organised 65 runners, some from Canada and the US, she said.

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"I did the Clare 10K and so I thought I'd go on to the next step. I was doing a steady nine-minute mile today but then the last six miles were just torture. The crowd were so good. A little girl came up to me and gave me a lollipop and as I hadn't had anything to eat or drink, it was wonderful," she said.

One marathon veteran is Tom Hunt, who will be 59 next month. From Carracastle, Co Mayo, he trains with Mayo Athletic Club.

"It's my eighth marathon. I've done Dublin, New York once and London twice. I started when I was 42. I'm here for the pain but everyone's a winner," he said jokingly.

One of the many overseas visitors taking part was Sonia Wiedenhoff, who had come from near Heidelberg in Germany to run her first marathon.

"I came here with my club and we're hoping to have a holiday here too," she said.

There were more familiar faces among the runners. Broadcaster Ray D'Arcy was running his first marathon and came in, he reckoned, at 3 hours 43 minutes. He estimated he had brought in at least €90,000 for the charity Little Star Fund.

"People along the course are brilliant. The training was much easier. I started feeling the pain at 10 miles today. It's all new to me," he said.

Colm Barco was running for Cry charity for sudden death syndrome.

"It's very emotional as there's a few of us running for a friend of ours, Joe Cronin, who died suddenly this year after doing a five-mile run. We're raising money for Cry for him." he said.

Sisters Chris and Marty Burke from Cork have competed against each other in previous marathons. This time Marty won.

Chris, who has run four marathons, said: "The crowd is better than ever. At Milltown I got hairs on the back of my neck and I've run the New York marathon. People don't realise what the crowd means."

Marty, who has run three marathons, said the weather was the best yet and the crowds in Westmoreland Street were great.

Avril Byrne from Portlaoise was running her second marathon. "The last couple of miles were hard but there was loads of support along the way," she said.

Hugh Burke (41) from Kilconnell, Co Mayo, said it was his fourth marathon and he had done Boston too. "I started running when an uncle who always did the marathon on his own said 'you have to do this'."