The night before the 5k

Lord Mayor cutting the cake

When the thirteen students from Mercyhurst, including myself, signed up for the 5k we registered as international participants. This allowed us to partake in the gathering. This was a special organization just for the runners who were from different countries. The night before the race, Friday night, we were invited to the Lord Mayor of Dublin's house for dinner and refreshments. The mansion house is the only one left in all of Ireland and the UK and I went there for dinner! I felt very special :) As we walked through the massive blue front door we were greeted by the butler and brought to the back of the house. As soon as we walked into the room there was a delicious buffet table set up for us! We couldn't help but stuff our selves with the amazing (free!) food.

Then the man who created the race thirty years ago told us the story of how the whole race began. It was created by him and his father, who sadly passed away one week before the first race. Since then he has carried on the tradition. Then the mayor introduced himself and gave a few words of inspiration. He had heard that a group of students from America were here to participate and was excited to see how well known the race was becoming. As part of his campaign for healthier lifestyle, he was also going to be running in the race. He made a joke to go easy on him, and obviously I did :) 

Mercyhurst students with Lord Mayor