Preparation pays off for Kenneally

ATHLETICS:THE LONDON Olympic dream is now almost a reality for Dublin's Mark Kenneally after he clocked an excellent 2:13.55 in the Amsterdam Marathon yesterday – over a full minute inside the A-standard for London.

Kenneally thus becomes the first Irish athlete to qualify for London in the marathon, and although it doesn’t yet guarantee his selection, it certainly puts him in the driving seat. Several other Irish runners will chase the 2:15.00 A-standard in the coming months but Kenneally is massively relieved to have hit his target time.

“I knew I was in good shape, but it’s another thing to actually produce the result on the day. It’s a great feeling, because so much hard work goes into preparing for a marathon, and you can never be sure how things will work out.

“And ever since it was known the Olympics would be in London next year it was my ambition to try to make it. It’s been a hard road, but running a good marathon is all about proper preparations, and I tried to do everything possible to do what was right for me.”

Indeed he did – the 30-year-old physiotherapist clocked 2:17.22 in Vienna last April, and built on that in the months since. He’s also been sleeping in a portable altitude tent, supported by the Dublin Marathon Mission.

Kenneally overcame some tense moments along the way yesterday. “The (water) stations were really crowded, and I actually just had to stand there looking for my drink at 5km. Once I got it I felt a sense of panic and ran that next 5km much faster than I had planned, and as it happened was the fastest of the whole race.

“Then in the last few miles the calf muscles started cramping, quite badly, and I started to really worry about cramping up altogether. I tried to relax as much as possible and kept concentrating and just maintaining my rhythm, but had to stop to stretch out a few times. But once I got in sight of the finish I was full of running, and actually think there is more there, in terms of time.”

His 2:13.55 left him 18th overall and third European finisher, and also moves him to joint 11th on the Irish all-time list. It’s no great coincidence that it’s also the fastest Irish marathon time since the 2:10.54 Mark Carroll ran in New York in 2002, as Carroll, who now coaches at Auburn in the US, has in fact been coaching Kenneally for the past few years.

Even with the cramping problems, Kenneally ran near-perfectly even splits, passing half way in 1:06.33. Fittingly enough, the race finished in Amsterdam’s old Olympic Stadium, which staged the 1928 Games. Amsterdam has also been good to Irish marathon runners – it was there Catherina McKiernan set her Irish record of 2:22.23, in 1998, which still stands.

Victory on the day went to Kenya’s Wilson Chebet in 2:05.53 – Kenya filled nine of the top 10 places, all but one under 2:10.00 Unfortunately, the other Irish elite entrant Gary Thornton fell short of the A-standard when clocking 2:19.27, in 29th place. However there is increasing hope Ireland can produce three qualifiers for both the men’s and women’s marathon in London.

Martin Fagan came agonisingly close in Chicago last week (he was on 2:11 pace when dropping out with a mile a go) and will try again in the new year; Seán Connolly is targeting sub-2:15 in Dublin at the end of the month, and in December Alistair Cragg runs the Fukuoka marathon in Japan.