Ireland: The Ideal Place to Run

I just returned from a short visit to Ireland, but managed to venture out to my ancestral home of Kinsale in addition to Dublin. I did not run as much as I planned, but I did manage to clock some miles in the Emerald Isle.

Ireland is not a country typically associated with world class distance runners - the honor typically reserved for Kenya and Ethiopia – but my ancestral homeland proved to be a near perfect spot for my marathon training, especially in the summer, for the following reasons:

The Climate

During the course of my visit, as my home town suffered in heat, humidity and violent thunderstorms, the weather in Ireland remained mostly cloudy, cool (daytime highs never passed the 60’s) with the occasional rain shower the first two days, ideal racing weather. I did not experience a fluke, but typical Irish summer weather, a climate similar to the great American running Mecca of Portland, Oregon. For those who would remind me about my recent post about heat training, I know I will have plenty of opportunities the remainder of the summer for heat acclimated training.

The Irish climate is also considerably more forgiving in the winter. While many residents of the eastern two-thirds of the United States suffered through multiple polar vortices, Ireland’s climate reduces the risk of slippery ice, obstructive snow, and frost bite.

Green Space

Yes, Ireland is nick named the “Emerald Isle” for its Kelly green hills, but on the urban leg of allowed ample opportunity for “green” running. Dublin boasts more public green space than any other capital city in Europe. Phoenix Park alone, Dublin’s largest park, is larger than all of the combined park space in London and twice the size of New York’s Central Park.

In the tiny picturesque town of Kinsale I ran less than a half a mile from the town centre to rural trails that offer soaring harbor views. On the trails there is another added benefit…

Absence of Snakes

Legend holds that St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. It’s widely interpreted as a metaphor for driving out the evil spirits upon Christianizing the island, but there literally are no snakes, at least in the wild, in Ireland. Runners are immune to the danger of a venomous ambush.

Absence of Hangovers

This sounds laughable. After all, the hangover is frequently labeled the “Irish flu.” Predictably our first stop upon arriving in Dublin: The Guinness Storehouse. We proceeded to enjoy Ireland’s pub culture throughout our trip, including the iconic Brazen Head Pub (in operation since 1198).

But the unexpected happened: neither of us woke up with a hangover the entire trip. Perhaps, we theorized, it’s the quality of the beer?

Admittedly our experience is anecdotal with an added caveat that we stuck to beer (mainly Guinness, Murphy’s, and Smithwick’s) and did not take advantage of Ireland’s famous whiskeys (shameful I know). But the clear heads each morning knocked out one excuse to skip a workout.

Long Hours of Daylight

Dublin sits at 53 degrees latitude which is well into Canada in North America. In the summer that means more daylight. Sun rays still streamed over the city past 9:30 PM. Longer hours of daylight opens a larger window for safer running. If you intend to visit Ireland in the summer don’t bother to pack your nighttime reflectors or head lamp. You will be fine. Trust me.

The trade off to those lengthy summer days is the dark winter days. So if you intend to visit over Christmas vacation, I recommend scheduling a run midday or packing the aforementioned reflectors and head lamp.

So for those seeking a lovely "runcation" spot, I highly recommend Ireland.