Sonia enjoys moment in sun with thousands in her wake

Some public figures are so well known we refer to them only by their first name.

They appear to have been around for ages and have seeped permanently into our consciousness. By some quirk of genetics, they seem as energetic now as they were in the distant days of their prime.

But enough about Bertie, he was only starting the race. Yesterday was Sonia's day, the first leg of the last lap of a stellar career. More than 9,000 runners of all shapes and sizes came out in the sunshine for the Bupa Ireland Run to bid the country's greatest woman athlete a fond farewell.

A few of those gathered in the Phoenix Park might even have entertained thoughts of nipping at the heels of the now 37-year-old mother of two. If so, they could think again, because Sonia still belongs to the elite of world running. There she was at the start line of the 10km event, side-by-side with an Olympic champion and a handful of rising stars half a generation younger than her and reaping their respect in a round of applause by all present.

Will she miss these moments in retirement? The stomach-churning nervousness before the race begins, the wary sidelong glances to check out the opposition, the weight of public expectation, so cruelly disappointed at key points along her otherwise stunningly successful career?

Who knows? It was hard to see beyond the familiar toothy smile and the autograph-hunting hordes. They came from all parts of the country, patiently queuing to ask the Cobh athlete to sign notebooks, scraps of paper, the backs of children's jerseys.

The aristocracy of Irish running was there, too, to salute one of their own - Eamonn Coghlan, a spry Ronnie Delany, plus another visiting hero, the great English distance runner, Brendan Foster.

Bertie Ahern, who was once a bit of a runner himself, started the race with a dull klaxon rather than a starting-pistol, much to the disappointment of photographers hoping to catch the Taoiseach in gunslinger pose.

The race itself showed that the elite runners had expended all their generosity before the start.

Sonia struggled to keep up with the frontrunners and eventually had to settle for 11th place behind her 25-year-old training partner in Australia, Victoria Mitchell.

Afterwards, she was stoic. "I thought I would have ran a lot better, but on the day you only get what you deserve.

"But it was a great day for me with a fantastic atmosphere and plenty of support from fans all around the course. Really, I couldn't have asked for more in the way of a farewell."