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Who is she? A native of Letterkenny, Co Donegal, Catriona Jennings is a relative newcomer to marathon running. The 31-year-old won the 2010 Dublin Mini-Marathon but has only run twice over the full distance, once in Dublin last year and then in Rotterdam where she hit the “A” standard qualifying time.
Before turning her hand to the 26-mile test, Jennings was a promising triathlete and represented Ireland at youth level. She works as a tax advisor with Price Waterhouse Cooper and has been training with Rathfarnham AC since her move to the capital.
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Road to London: Jennings was the fourth woman to hit the “A” standard time when she ran a lifetime best 2:36:14 in Rotterdam in April. With Ireland only able to send three athletes to London, she faced an anxious wait before selectors confirmed her place on the plane to London.
What she says about herself: “I ran Dublin for the experience and I learned so much from it. I had my sights set on it from a while back – I didn’t want to run a marathon until I knew I could do a fast one.” (Donegal News, May 2012)
What they’re saying about her on the internet: “Finally injury free and she would have gone slightly faster in Rotterdam except for an unfortunate incident about 4 miles from home… She can and will go alot quicker and TBH it wouldn’t surprise me if she’s 1st of the Irish contingent home in London” (Liamo123, Boards.ie)
Medal chances: Based on the 2008 podium times, Jennings would need to run nine minutes faster than in she did in Rotterdam if she’s to medal. In only her third marathon, such a rapid improvement looks unlikely. One Jimmy…
If you meet her in a bar, ask her… to tell you a little bit about her sister Sinead, a former Irish international rower who switched disciplines and had hoped to qualify for London as a cyclist. Multi-talented.
On the Twitter: Unfortunately Caitriona’s not on Twitter. Not that we can see anyway.
If she was a YouTube video, she’d be… this montage of Tom Cruise running. Although the real question here is how does this have more than 160,000 views on YouTube?
Good to hear this. I spoke to several Ukrainians last week who were college students at home and would like to study here but didn’t know how to go about it. Hopefully there are similar information sessions in different parts of the country as the refugees are well spread out.
@Gerry McCaughey: don’t suppose by any chance you’ve had time to ask them where they will be accomodated while they take up thos great opportunity? Because my kids going to college can’t get accomodation?
@Patricia O’Brien: one of the girls I spoke to was being accommodated by the family of her Irish friend who have been so good to her. I saw videos she took on her phone that make what we saw in Bucha seem mild. The rest were all being housed in a hotel in the town I was working in that day which I won’t name. All I’m sure would rather be in their home country worrying about boys and grades than worrying about which of the family members they had to leave behind they might not see again. Puts a perspective on things, don’t you think?
@Gerry McCaughey: I wont apologose for being pissed off with the housing or accomodation situation in this country, there are families who have been in hotels and b and bs for years, silently waiting for housing, constantly overlooked, with kids who have NO chance of going to college, so spare me the smug comments, pity u don’t have the same compassion for those people… but then it’s fashionable to get involved in ukraines war but not so fashionable to be concerned about whats been going on on your own door step.
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