An Cosantóir

12 THE 41ST AN COSANTÓIR 10KM ROAD RACE THE 41st AN COSANTÓIR 10KM ROAD RACE By Sgt John Rossiter Photos by Airman Sam Gibney & Cpl Jamie Martin On the 12th October 2022, the ever popular An Cosantóir 10km race returned to the Phoenix Park in Dublin after a two year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This race is unique in that only currently serving and retired soldiers, along with DOD and invited guests, can take part on the day. Runners are blessed to be able to take part in a scenic location such as the Phoenix Park, with its endless number of historical buildings and wildlife on display for all who take part. The park offers a picturesque setting for a 10km race, with its wide-open spaces, beautiful scenery, and well- maintained paths. This race is important to so many who take part for a variety of different reasons. For many, it is old individual or team competitive sporting rivalries going back many years. For others this is an end of year run to gauge the years training, to see if all those tough training sessions have worked, asking themselves that pre-race yearly question, "will I beat my time from last year?" And for many more, this is a day out to meet up with old friends and work colleagues and to have those vital face to face chats that had not happened recently due to COVID-19. This race is always a hugely competitive race across all categories, due to the elite level of athletes currently serving and those retired from the Defence Forces. Race goers this year were blessed with perfect weather conditions, the sun was shining and just a gentle breeze was blowing. This type of weather always helps with any race day and aids to the overall atmosphere. On the day, it was apparent just how much this race was missed by many over the last two years, with small and large groups gathered everywhere. The sound of laughter and that great Defence Forces humour that we have in abundance, was happening amongst many groups around McKee Bks. It was great to see our veteran groups back out again at this event, and for them to be able to meet race goers to establish and offer those vital links to services for recently retired members, and to guide possible future retirees in the right direction. This is what makes the race special, for an organisation such as the Defence Forces to be able to bring old friends and comrades back together in large numbers for one day, to catch up on recent events, tell old stories and to offer the opportunity for race goers to establish social and professional networks into the near future. This was the first time that I had a role in the organisation of the event, my role on the day was Chief Steward. This opened my eyes to the amount of work involved leading up to the race and on the day, it was a huge event, with so many pieces coming together to make it a successful and safe day for all. All the DF members involved were professional, as always, in the lead up to and on the Runners crossing the 10km race start line Providing the race day music, Pte Conor Murphy 7 Inf Bn Race day prizes sponsored by Druid Craft The legendary CQMS Pat Byrne

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