Chronicle man"s dawn yawn as intrepid runners welcome sunrise

It"s not that often that I"d hear the dawn chorus. Maybe on a CD from the RTE Guide, or on the way home from The Palace or some such establishment in the early hours of a weekend morning. Dawn Run was that inspirational horse that Jonjo O"Neill steered to victory in Cheltenham all those years ago, now a distant childhood memory that becomes even more legendary as the years pass. But a 'Dawn Run" on the Hill of Tara at four o"clock in the morning is another story. To see this (note 'see" rather than 'take part"), the alarm clock would have to be set for an ungodly hour of the morning for a trek up the famous Hill. Business colleagues James Gibbons from Skryne and Andy Reilly from Trim organised the second Dawn Run on Tara for the longest day of the year, 21st June, the summer solstice, this year in aid of the Niall Mellon Township Trust. Andy is taking part in the Cape Town challenge this year. It was a busy morning on the Hill, and there were well over 120 cars parked in the car park and approach roads as the sun was rising. Outside the main gate, there was a ring of chairs around a stove, where those waiting for the sunrise had shared fireside stories and beverages. The weather was, as one would expect on midsummer"s morning, not the rain and storms experienced over the rest of the weekend. The sun was rising over the north-east, and on the Forradh - the Royal Seat - a mound close to Teach Cormaic and the Lia Fail stone, up to a dozen bodhran players stood facing the rising sun, beating their instruments in a welcome to the summer solstice, surrounded by around 100 onlookers. The sound of the bodhrans thundered across the Hill. Elsewhere at the national monument, the Dawn Run was taking place. The route was around the inside perimeter of the Tara lands, with a finishing line near the Banquet Hall, one of the other mounds on the Hill. Around 60 runners were participating, running individually, in pairs or in small groups, all at their own pace. Down at the finishing tape, those that had finished were catching their breath and being treated to Nutri-grains and water by Patrick Gibbons, brother of James, and comparing notes on the hills and slopes that they had just taken on. Last year"s run of two circuits was reduced to just one of about 3.5k to accommodate the amateurs who were joining in the fun, but there were plenty of professionals there, too, although many were already after having hectic nights. Trevor Giles, Mick O"Dowd, James Looby and many more of James Gibbons" compatriots from the Skryne team had been out against Rathkenny in the championship the night before, including the 'Drogheda 5", Andrew Curry and the lads who did the run in their clubbing gear on the way home from Drogheda! Bohermeen AC members were after having a road race the previous evening, and many of Andy Reilly"s fellow players in Trim Celtic had been at the presentation night on Friday, including player of the year, David Conway, recovering from his celebrations. There were runners from sports clubs in Kilmessan, Dunsany and Dunshaughlin, and individuals taking on the challenge, some of whom had been out of practice for a while. Like Caughoo in the fog, yours truly slipped onto the course with the finishing line in sight, just in time to bag a Nutri-grain and refreshments, before crossing the Hill to Odder where Willie Rogan and his famous red van and helpers were overseeing the barbecuing of burgers and sausages as an early breakfast, with another Cape Town crusader, Trim"s Rev Robert Jones, among those lending a hand. I"ll have the burger worked off in time to do the full circuit in 2009!