8.30am this morning and the Walled City Marathon was due to get underway. So it seemed a shame to miss out on the fun. Alarm sounded at 7am (unknown for me on a Sun morn) so off I headed to the City of Culture 2013. At 8am it was rather quiet and desolate but yet peaceful and very inviting. I came upon a lovely cafe and decided that I deserved a sausage bap and coffee to get my blood going. What a delightful little place I found in Martha’s Kitchen.
Then it was off to Craigavon Bridge to watch the near 2,000 runners come by. Local girl Maria was also there waiting to see her beloved Sean. Muff really is hard to escape! Under the bridge  was indeed a special viewing point seeing everyone come by after the first few miles and all still looking strong and positive.
It was back to Martha’s Kitchen around 10am for a Mocha to keep the adrenalin going and the lovely proprietor kindly charged up my camera battery (for which I’m most grateful). Watching the wheelchair athletes coming off the Peace Bridge was one of my highlights today. They were amazing. And coming in for such a close finish, was simply outstanding.
Cheering local young man Nathan Marston on along the key was particularly special (the son of friends) and then seeing Pig locals Chuck and Liam made it all worthwhile. Local GAA coach Martin Mailey and Danny Moore (former owner of The Ture Inn) ran by quite comfortably. Then local girl Maria McColgan’s partner Sean McCabe was headed for home looking good on his feet.
The finish line saw many a sight and some strong and not so strong legs. Very well done to Tommy Hughes on winning the Marathon today. At 53 years of age, it really was a great time at just over 2 hours 30 mins.
It was great to see so many locals from the Muff area taking part in this event which proved Derry once again to be Legenderry!
(a few pics of the local runners and more on the craic on Muff FB page)