Emily Young, 2024

Pub 317’s Run to the Pub was almost exactly one year after I started running again as an adult so I was super excited to sign up for the race, giving me some motivation to keep running over the winter and then carry that through the summer. 

I can't believe how lucky I was to have won one of the trips to Ireland. It didn’t seem real for so long and then all the sudden it was here! 

I got to go to Ireland for two weeks-- the first week with my partner and the second week with my parents. My boyfriend and I flew in to Dublin, rented a car and immediately drove to County Kerry, where we spent time biking through Killarney National Park, hiking Carrauntoohil, exploring the Dingle Peninsula and finally making our way to Skellig Island. We had so much fun exploring the wild and green countryside of Ireland.

The next week I met up with my parents, and we spent the first few days in Cork where we saw a gazillion castles and cathedrals and enjoyed a lot of trad music. Then went up to Dublin for the Irish Life half marathon in Phoenix Park. 

The race itself was amazing, the weather was great for running and it was so fun to run with 8,000 other runners. Being in a race that size was new to me, and I loved that I was constantly surrounded and motivated by those around me. It was such a friendly and inspiring race environment, and made me fall in love with Ireland even more. 

A million thank yous to Pub 317’s Run to the Pub, this was an experience that I'll be talking about for the rest of my life!