This blog marks Eric's 25th post! You can read back all of Eric's previous blogs through the Stories section of the An Taisce website.

If you want to share your thoughts on any of Eric's blogs, he'd love to hear about it. You can email [email protected].

By An Taisce member Eric Conroy

Running (or jogging as some call it) is a major part of my life and helps keep mind, body and soul together. Ironically I've started writing this blog in hospital after a hernia operation! I'm 71 now and feel that it will add a few extra years of healthy living to me. In my youth, I did one Dublin City marathon and clocked 3 hours 46 minutes, despite hitting the wall in Raheny! My run lengths are around 5 miles or 8 km. and take about an hour to complete. I run every 3 to 4 days, or two a week. This equates with health advice to exercise vigorously (like running) for up to 150 minutes a week, or 2.5 hours. I like to run with biodiversity in mind, even though I'm in a big city. Being in nature is good for your mental health. By running past trees, river banks etc. I'm seeing them twice as fast as walking: good use of precious time!

My favourite routes in Dublin are along the watercourses near my home. The nearest river is the Poddle, which runs partly underground and gave Dublin it's name - Dubh Linn (the Black pool around Dublin Castle). Flooding alleviation works are now in progress, following a consultation process with local people. I got some advice on this from Elaine McGoff of this parish (An Taisce). Hopefully they will not impact unduly on the biodiversity of the river banks. I run along the Grand Canal, not only to admire the vegetation along the canal banks, but to check up on our monthly canal cleanup work!

Further away from home, I love running along the River Liffey from the War Memorial Gardens at Islandbridge to Chapelizod, and back to my bike through the Phoenix Park. I like watching the rowers on the river, where all the major rowing clubs have their homes. There are plans to have a footbridge from the Gardens to access the Phoenix Park on the northside. This was part of Sir Edwin Lutyens’ original plan for the gardens. 

A lesser known river is the Camac, which runs under the Grand Canal at Inchicore. The Lansdowne valley park is an attractive part of the river course. Last but not least, is the Dodder in South Dublin. I run through the combined green spaces of Bushy Park, which runs along the river, and Terenure College grounds. The latter includes Lakelands nature space near the college rugby club. To further minimize running on city streets, I will jog through institutional grounds. The green spaces of the hospice in Harold’s cross are peaceful to run around and I pay homage to the dead while jogging in Mount Jerome cemetery!

The Dodder and the Liffey both rise near Kippure Mountain in Wicklow, but take very different routes to Dublin. The Liffey meanders in a circuitous 125km. journey through counties Wicklow and Kildare, while the Dodder takes a direct route of 29km. to Dublin Bay. The name "Dodder" for the river comes from the Irish word an dothrach, meaning "a turbulent stream" or dorra, also meaning "turbulent" or "adverse". This name reflects the river's nature as a flashy waterway that can flood quickly after rainfall, a characteristic noted by locals for centuries.  I walked 22km. of this Source to Sea last year and found it challenging!

While out on a run, I get new angles on my problems which help me resolve them. I get good ideas for blogs! I keep an eye out for fine buildings – to admire or to note dereliction.

I will also advise pedestrians against using one-use cups while I run pass them. They have exploded since Covid which is disappointing. If a car is parked so far up on the footpath, that it is impeding my progress, I will mention this to the driver. Running helps me leave the scene if I get some negative feedback!

From time to time, I run with my English neighbour Mark and we sort all the world’s issues while we run! I generally prefer to run on my own, to concentrate on what I’m doing and conserve my energy, but it’s good to run with somebody else as well.

Eagle-eyed readers of my blogs will know that I love the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). I collect many plastic bottles and cans on my runs and have bulging pockets at the end. I have a dilemma if the container does not have the DRS logo – I feel I must bring it home and not throw it away!

I always sleep well that night. I look forward to many more runs in my life.

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