Welcome Beauty with a Purpose!

ISSUE
17 | MAY 2009
ISSUE 16 | MARCH 2009
Welcome
With the Connemara
and Wexford Half Marathons just
gone, the last two months have
been very busy for the Dublin
Frontrunners and we’re now in
the busiest time of the year with
the Womens Mini Marathon and
the Achill Half Marathon just
around the corner, not to
mention Dublin Pride 2009.
So hopefully the sun will come
out this year and will shine on
all Dublin Frontrunners!
Beauty with a Purpose!
Do you want to be the
first ever Mr. Gay Dublin
Frontrunners?
Who knows, maybe you
could become the next
Mr. Gay World in Canada
next year! We’re looking
for nominations for
contestants now so
don’t be shy! Email
[email protected]
TABLE QUIZ
TABLE QUIZ
Our 4th annual table quiz was
another great success. That
would not have been possible
without you. Thanks for
coming along and for bringing
your friends and families. This
year we had 32 tables and
raised over €2,600!
Thanks especially to everyone
who donated prizes and to
RGB for hosting the night and
Steve and Aidan for all their
hard work behind the scenes.
Upcoming Runs and Events
MAY
15
MAY
17
MAY
19
JUN
1
JUN
1
JUN
9
JUN
21
JUN
26
JUN
28
JUN
30
JUL
4
JUL
12
BHAA Civil Service AC (Phoenix Park)
www.bhaa.ie
Sportsworld Dublin 5 mile
www.sportsworld-terenure.ie
Dublin Docklands Fun Run
www.dublindocklands.ie/funrun/
Womens Mini Marathon Dublin, 10k
www.womensminimarathon.ie
Cork City Marathon or Marathon Relay
www.corkcitymarathon.ie
BHAA ESB Beach race (Sandymount)
www.bhaa.ie
Pride Sports Day and DFA Run
Phoenix Park
BHAA Civil Service AC (Phoenix Park)
www.bhaa.ie
Clontarf Half Marathon
www.irishmultimarathon.com
BHAA Army 6km (Curragh)
www.bhaa.ie
Achill Half Marathon
www.achillmarathon.com
Adidas Race Series, 5 miles
www.adidasdublinmarathon.ie
JUL
25
World Outgames Copenhagen.
www.copenhagen2009.org
AUG
16
Adidas Race Series, 10 miles
www.adidasdublinmarathon.ie
AUG
30
Longford Marathon, Half and Relay
www.longfordmarathon.com
SEP
20
Adidas Race Series, Half Marathon
www.adidasdublinmarathon.ie
SEP
20
Berlin Marathon
www.berlin-marathon.de
If you know of any races or events
that other Frontrunners might be
interested in, please e-mail us at
[email protected]
CONNEMARATHON
We can’t complain about the weather so far
this year. The sun shone in Connemeara again
and, once more, we had a great DFR team who
survived the Connemeara hills for another year...
Well done everybody!
Run Direct - FREE Running Magazine
Run Direct is a new Irish online running magazine. This month’s
edition has a great article and photos on Dublin Front Runners.
It’s free to sign up for it - visit www.rundirectireland.com
WEXFORD HALF
Wexford Half Marathon was a big hit this year, so it’s
definitely on the DFR calendar for next year. The 2km
finish through the narrow streets of Wexford and
down the quays made it all worth while - despite an
unexpectedly hilly course.
Congratulations to the two Brians, Ingo, Steve, John,
Declan, Joe and Garreth for, once more, smashing the
speed of sound!
Weekly Fartlek
Fartlek training was developed in the 1930s
by Swedish coach Gösta Holmér and has
been adopted by many athletes since. It was
designed for the downtrodden Swedish
cross-country teams that had been thrashed
throughout the 1920s by Paavo Nurmi and
the Finns.
DFR are now copying the Swedes with weekly
Fartlek sessions organised by Marius and Jill
every Monday evening at 7.30pm. The venue
varies - either the Polo grounds or the
Magazine Fort in the Phoenix Park and email
will let you know where it’s happening.
Please don’t tell the Swedes we’re copying
them. And, whatever you do, we definitely
don’t want the Kenyans or Ethiopians to
know what we’re doing!
Its not all about running with DFR! The
Dublin Gay Pride Festival is only around the
corner so whatever you’re plans are for this
summer, Dublin is the place to be from June
19 to June 28.
The Dublin Pride Sports Day & DFR Pride Run
takes place on June 21st and the Pride March
is on Saturday 27th.
COMMENTS, ARTICLES, SUGGESTIONS? E-mail [email protected]
Hold A Wedding Breakfast
in aid of Marriage Equality
DFR Tshirts & Vests
Dublin Front Runner member Moninne is
encouraging everybody to hold a wedding
themed breakfast, lunch or dinner to help
raise funds for www.marriagequality.ie
The idea is simple 1) Set a date well in advance to give people time.
2) Decide on breakfast, lunch, dinner.
3) Pick 6+ friends who you think would be
interested, give them a call and invite them over.
4) Plan the menu and remember, keep it simple.
It's meant to be fun.
5) Don't forget to collect the donations. We can
provide envelopes.
6) Call us if you want infomation packs on civil
marriage equality for LGBT people in Ireland.
7) Enjoy yourself and tell your friends about it,
We’re ordering more DFR shirts
and singlets now. To order, email
[email protected]
and get ready for this summer
and Dublin Pride!
and ask them to hold a wedding breakfast in
aid of MarriagEquality too!
The organisation is aiming to raise €47,000 by the
end of September so that they can continue to
Thanks again to our
table quiz sponsors:
work with for equality for same sex couples and
our families and children.
For more information contact Moninne at
[email protected]
COMMENTS, ARTICLES, SUGGESTIONS? E-mail [email protected]
Steve’s Running Log
If you’ve conquered Ireland and all its runs, it
might be time to start looking a little further afield.
There’s no better place to start than with some of
the biggest races the continent has to offer…
LONDON One of the most famous PARIS The Paris half-marathon,
marathons in the world is London,
which is run every April.
It can be difficult to secure a number
for the race – there is a specific ballot
for overseas runners but, if you’re doing
it to raise money, there are a large
number of places allocated for
charitable organisations.
You’ll run through Canary Wharf, past
the Tower of London, Nelson’s Column,
all the way to the finish in St James’s
Park. Over 30,000 runners compete
every year so there’s plenty of support
to be had from fellow runners along
the way. The London half-marathon is
held in March at the world-famous
Silverstone motor racing circuit.
which Val completed this year, is run
in March, four weeks before the full
marathon. A number of DFRs also ran
the Paris marathon in April 2008.
The only downside to the marathon is
that the April date means that most of
the training has to be done during the
winter but it’s a rewarding trip
nonetheless, especially when you turn
a corner and see the Eiffel Tower
standing right in front of you.
Hugh Hannigan, one of the DFRs
who ran there last year, loved
running alongside the Seine and
said that the home support and
especially the support of the Paris
DFRs was very welcome.
Steve’s Running Log
AMSTERDAM Amsterdam is
BERLIN Berlin’s September kick-off
big European destination that allows
you to train through the summer.
Upwards of 20,000 runners are
expected to compete in this year’s
race on October 18th.
means that it’s another that allows
plenty of summer training beforehand,
and it has become one of the biggest
and best marathons on the world
calendar.
John O’Shaughnessy, who ran there
in 2007, says that while the route isn’t
very exciting, it is very flat and you do
get to cross the finish line in the
amazing 1928 Olympic Stadium.
The very flat course means that it’s very
attractive for both beginners and
world-class athletes alike; Ethiopian
Haile Gebrselassie currently holds the
world marathon record when he ran
the course in just under 2 hours, 4
minutes, in 2008.
There’s a huge contingent of DFRs
travelling to Berlin this September and
registration is generally open until July,
or until all 40,000 or so places are gone.
There in Spirit
A Poem by Martin Nealon
I will be;
the bleeding of your nipples
the chaffing of your thighs
the creek in your knees
the sweat in your eyes
I will be;
the itch in your groin
the boil on your foot
the sprain of your ankle
the wall - with any luck!
Chairman Dec, who ran there last year,
says there’s huge crowds everywhere
and a fantastic atmosphere all along
the route. It’s really well organised
with plenty of water stations and lots
of historic sites to distract you from the
growing pain in
your muscles.