The first Irish woman to cross the finish line at yesterday's Irish Life Dublin Marathon has said she is "still in shock" after her achievement yesterday.
Nineteen-year-old Limerick runner Ava Crean crossed the line with a time of two hours and 34 minutes, and came sixth overall, and became the youngest person to win the women's national title.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Ms Crean said she is "feeling great" following the marathon.
"I'm in shock still. My legs, they’re a lot better today," she said.
"Maybe walking around a bit was helpful and I was up a bit last night with my toe because it was bleeding. But other than that, I feel great."
Ms Crean said she found the conditions difficult on what was a wet and windy day.
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"Starting was probably the toughest part because we were probably just standing for five minutes and I get really cold really fast," she said.
"But then once I kind of got into it, I was warming up a bit but my hands were numb, it was kind of difficult picking up my drinks and taking my gels. I couldn't really feel my hands.
"I remember trying to throw away my drink into a bin and I nearly hit a guy next to me because I couldn't feel my fingers, but I just missed him so it was fine."
Ms Crean said she took up running during the Covid-19 pandemic, and initially did not want to run outdoors out of embarrassment.
"It started off really small on a treadmill. I didn't want to run outside because I was kind of embarrassed, I couldn't run 500 meters without stopping," she said.
"My first 5k outside, I didn't stop ... and it just became a consistent part of my day because I just loved it."
She added that she wanted to try long-distance running to test her capabilities.
"I remember listening about marathons and hearing that it's 42 kilometers and I was like, 'that's insane’," she said.
"I just loved the long (distance) stuff for some reason ... I was just going out to see what I was capable of.
"I love the long stuff to see what I'm capable of, because that's what really tests me, I think."
Ms Crean’s coach, John Kinsella, also completed the Dublin Marathon yesterday, and said that yesterday "couldn’t have gone any better".
"It was just an amazing day," he said.
"Because she’s so young, I was so worried about her. I tried to take all the pressure off her going into it. We just trained away in the background, preparing for the day.
"When I finished the race myself, I was at the finish line and I didn't know who was going to come around the corner but then I saw the yellow singlet, and just started crying myself.
"I was just so proud of her, all the hard work she did and she gets to come home and take the victory. She's an amazing athlete, an amazing person and she deserves everything she gets," he added.
