Peter Bissett & Siobhan McCarthey report: Friday evening saw a 30 strong team depart a sunny Dublin, arriving in Belgium just as the sun prepared to set. The crew headed off on a mission of fun and freedom from the confines of Santry and surrounds to the cobblestones of Namur, a beautiful historic city near Brussels in Belgium. After much messing during a drawn out roll call, the crew got going, arriving by the river banks of Namur just in time to head out and check the course.
Race HQ
Namur is a city of water, along the banks of the magnificent Meuse River. Indeed most of the race was run along the river. The hotel had quite an eclectic design with each room being very tastefully decorated by some rather unique artwork. Depending on the luck of the draw, you may have had a male or female portrait behind your headboard! Continuing on the unique theme of the hotel, there was a room with a full length window from bedroom to bathroom. As ever Pam has a gift of pairing people together that has been known to produce a few bromances over the years (ahem Dave & Anto). I couldn’t possibly disclose who got the room with that view or who indeed got a view of the swimming pool. More on that later…
Saturday saw the black and amber preparing for race day by taking over the city. Clonliffe kit could be seen walking, running and crawling up and down the hills of the beautiful Namur Citadel. Wobbly legs were well tested on the cable car and cobblestones by the riverside.
Race Day
Sunday was race day. The breakfast room was awash with the fresh scent of deep heat, udder milk and suncream, black and amber filling the room as athletes filled their stomachs. Outside, the sun had begun to beat down, ahead of the 1pm race start. The whole crew started their warm up with a cheer and a shout for Pat Devitt, who competed in the earlier Namur Half Marathon.
The Clonliffe Language School was put to the test as the M.C. in the warm-up area interviewed some of the Clonliffe team. We later found out that he had asked “What time are you hoping to do?” instead of “How many of you are there?”. When the anonymous athlete proudly answered “around 25”, the M.C. called it out on the loudspeaker to much applause at the world record attempt!
As the 3,2,1 was roared out in French, the 25 strong team of athletes set off by the riverside, cheered on by the coaching & supporting team of Pam, Ben, Johnny and Mick.
The weather was glorious and the race went well for most but the extra 300m or so meant that the course was not conducive to a PB. Pam had arranged for us to have a group photo at the end. This allowed us to soak up the atmosphere outside the finish and we had time to get in a celebratory drink in the sun. Full results are included below, but a special shout out to:
- Catherine Harvey: 1st Clonliffe woman home
- Mick McMahon: 1st Clonliffe man home; M40 3rd place
- Fergal O’Shea: M50 2nd place
- Michelle Watters: 3rd M40
- Orla Deighan: 2nd M50
- Siobhan McCarthy: 3rd M50
- Mandy McMenamy: First race since injury this time last year – well done!
- Best french accent: photo finish between Emma Cooper & Pat Devitt
- Most well hydrated athlete: TBC
When the race was over we all headed back to the hotel and the plan was for us all to jump in the outdoor pool, which had to be seen to be believed! It was so tiny it could be confused for a water feature. Such confusion must have existed that they actually had to put a sign underwater saying “Swimming Pool”. The pool was certainly giving Mosney vibes – if anyone is old enough to remember the pool in Butlins in County Meath. It also had a glass panel which allowed the bar clientele to admire our athletic legs. Luckily the clientele were all Clonliffe who were well used to seeing our legs so no one was offended. Indeed the hotel management described us as “Adorable” – us!
For our last night, we were treated to a top notch dinner thanks to the generous committee and would like to thank them sincerely for this lovely gift! Dessert was accompanied by a birthday candle for our wonderful coach Ben, just in time for him to hop up and deliver a stellar (and very clean!) comedy set for our ears only! You can ask Ben about the goldfish…
All in all this trip was a great success from start to finish, and we’re already saving up for the next one!
Full race results are available here: https://www.chronocompetition.com/wp-content/glive/g-live.html?f=../2025/NAMUR/BNM25.clax
