Irish junior international athletes Sarah Healy and Darragh McElhinney turned out for UCD at the Irish Universities Road Relays at NUI Maynooth on Saturday (November 16) – although neither was on a winning team.

After completing her Leaving Cert exams last June, Healy took silver in the 1500m at the European U20 Championships in Boras, Sweden. She’s now studying law at UCD. Also in Boras, McElhinney took bronze in the 5000m.

First up on Saturday were the women with teams of three running a mile leg, two two mile legs, and a final mile leg. Winners with Trinity College with a total time of 34 mins 10 secs. Making up the team were Caron Ryan, Sorcha McAlister, Cliona Murphy and Eavan McLoughlin. The team moved steadily through the field catching early leaders DCU on the third leg. DCU’s quartet of Aoibheann McGoldrick, Jodie McCann, Lauren Tinkler and Nadia Power finished second in 34:22; UCD, with Healy running the second two-mile leg, finished third in 35:12.

The men’s event

In the men’s race, similar to the women’s but with the addition of a three mile leg, DCU took the lead on the second leg and went on to win in 43 mins 14 secs. Making up the team were Conor Duncan, Cathal Doyle, Cormac Dalton, Brian Fay and Colin Smith.

UCD, with McElhinney running the 3-mile leg, finished second in 43:43; also running were Fionn Buttner, Paul O’Donnell, Luke McCann and Christian McKenna. Finishing third in 44:48 was NUI Galway.

Carrick Aces Yared Derese receives the Viking 10k trophy from Patsy Carroll, brother of Annagassan’s legendary Olympic athlete Noel Carroll

Battles on the roads

Yared Derese of Carrick Aces AC clocked a time of 30 mins 36 secs to win the Viking 10km in Annagassan, Co Louth on Sunday (November 17) .

Gary Campbell of Dunleer Ac was second in 31:10 and Declan Toal of North East Runners AC third in 32:07. First woman was Laura Mathews of North East Runners in 37:21. Michelle Cox of Newbridge AC was second in 38.20 and Claire Leavy third in 40:10.

Pauric Ennis of Tullamore Harriers was the winner of the men’s 10km at the Hollymount International Road Race in Co Mayo on Sunday (November 17).

Ennis was a clear winner in 33 mins 56 secs, with David Bohan of Mayo AC clocking 35:23 for second and Ger Hartnett of Tuam AC third in 35:28. Best of the teams was Tuam AC.

Winning the women’s 6km was Regina Casey of Galway City Harriers in 22 mins 24 secs. Edel Reilly of Mayo AC was second in 23:25 and Heather Foley from Sligo TC third in 23:58. Mayo AC was first team. In the junior 3km, Rory Gallagher and Leah Toner were the winners.

Also on the roads on Sunday, Kieran McKeown of Watergrasshill AC in 12 mins 55 secs and Leevale’s Niamh Roe in 14 mins 53 secs were the winners at the Cloyne Commons 4km which attracted an entry of close to 500.

In Co Kilkenny, William Maunsell of Clonmel AC beat his brother Kevin to win the Stook 10km held near Gowran, also on Sunday.

William finished in 32 mins 24 secs, with Kevin just three seconds behind. Third was Brian Kirwan of St LOT AC in 37:55. First woman in 42:27 was Bronwen Kiernan of St LOT AC.

Winning the 10-mile race, held on the same day, were Freddy Sittuk in 54 mins 12 secs and Angela McCann in 61:50.

Masters tackle Grand (inter) National

Irish and Northern Irish teams competed at the British and Irish Masters Cross-Country International in Aintree, England, with both teams picking up wins.

Overall winner of the men’s M35-45 race for a second year was Mark McKinstry of Northern Ireland. Other winners for Northern Ireland were Terry Eakin M70 and Brigid Quinn W75 and the M50 team of Eamon White, Steve Cairns, Gary Henderson and Justin Reid.

For the Republic, Annette Kealy won the W50 title, while both the W35 and M40 teams teams took gold. Making up the W35 team were the trio of Fiona Kehoe, Claire McGuigan and Kate O’Neill who packed brilliantly to take the fourth to sixth places.

Leading the M40 team home, in another fine example of good packing, was Paul Moloney who finished second followed by Alan O’Brien 3rd, Paddy O’Toole 5th and Dermot McElchar 6th.

Last year’s women’s winner Teresa Doherty of the Republic had to be content with second place overall this time behind England’s Kirsty Longley, both of them in the W40 age category. There were also second places for Kay Byrne W55 and Tommy Hughes M55, and third places for Jackie Carthy W45, Niamh O’Sullivan W55, Pauline Moran W60, Margaret Glavey W65 and Paul Elliott 3rd M65, plus eight second places for teams.

For Northern Ireland, Eamonn White and Steve Cairns were 2nd and 3rd M50, while David Clarke 3rd M60. The W35 and M35 teams both finished third. Overall winner (as usual) was England.

World Mountain Running Association Champs

Best of the Irish at the World Mountain Running Championships in Villa La Angostuna, Argentina on Friday (November 15) was World Cup champion Sarah McCormack who finished 12th in the women’s race in 80 mins 43 secs.

That put her five minutes behind the American winner Grayson Murphy of the USA, a recently converted steeplechase runner, who finished in 75:40. The 14.7km race, held in wet and windy conditions, included a waist-high river crossing and a super-fast trail descent.

Of the other Irish women, Kate Cronin was 31st in 85:58 and Henriette Robinson in 98:34. The last of the 61 finishers crossed the line in 2:13.39. Failing to show on the day were the Kenyan and Ugandan teams with visa problems stopping the Kenyans apparently. First of 14 teams was France ahead of the Czech Republic and Great Britain; Ireland was 9th.

Men’s classic race

In the men’s race, won by Joseph Gray of the USA in 65 mins 13 secs, Zak Hanna finished 32nd in 73:53, followed by Ian Conroy 64th in 81:59, and Eoin Flynn 69th in 83.02. First of the 17 teams was the Czech Republic, with the USA second and Italy third. Ireland was 16th.

A day later, at the long distance championship on a 41.5km course which included not one but two river crossings, Paddy O’Leary finished 50th in 3:57.42; Winner was Jim Walmsley of the USA in 3:12.18. Of the other Irish, Brian Furey was 69th in 4:12.32 and Gavin Byrne 76th in 4:32.23. Spain was first team, with Ireland 15th.

Best of the Irish women was Angela Speight who finished 36th in 4:40.05. Becky Quinn was 40th in 4:40.46 and Nicola Duncan 47th in 4:47.03. The Irish team did have a rather difficult ordeal getting to the event with airport staff strikes leading to an additional night travelling to the race.

Running the line

Winner of the Run the Line 13km trail race from Glencullen in the Dublin Mountains on Saturday (November 16) was John McAuley of Crusaders AC in 58 mins 32 secs.

His team mate Warren Swords was second and first M40 in 58.44. Ninth overall and first women was Sonya McConnon of Dundrum South Dublin AC in 62.46. Barry Cronin was first home on the 26km long course in 2 hrs 10 mins 43 secs. First woman was Elizabeth Wheeler in 2:34.13.

Grassroots cross country

Annette Quaid of Leevale AC won the women’s title at the Munster Masters Cross-Country held in Beaufort, Co Kerry on Sunday (November 17).

Mary Daly of Farranfore Main Valley AC was second and Sinead O’Driscoll of Midleton AC third. Tenth overall and first W45 was Evelyn Cashman of Youghal AC. Karina Teahan of St Finbarr’s AC was seventh overall and first W35.

Other winners were Joan Ennis of Grange/Fermoy W55, Aisling Power of Ennis TC W50, Joan Ennis og Grange/Fermoy AC W55, Anne Mangan of Star of the Laune AC W60, Marion Lyons of St Finbarr’s AC W65 and Kathleen O’Brien of St Catherine’s AC first W70. Dooneen AC was first of the W35 teams and Ennis TC first W45 team.

Niall Shanahan of An Bru AC won the men’s race and was first M35 with Martin Doody of Limerick AC second and first M40 and Sean McGrath of East Cork AC third and second M35.

Winning the other age groups were Michal Harrington of Durrus AC M45, Dermot Hayes of Dundrum AC M50, Kevin Griffin of An Riocht AC M55, James Kenny of Kilmurray/Ibrick/N.Clare AC M60, Joe Gough of West Waterford AC M65, Richard Piotrowski of Eagle AC M70 and Billy Caball of Rising Sun AC M75. East Cork AC was first of the M35 teams ahead of Leevale AC , while Dundrum AC was first M50 team.

Irish Life BHAA 6km XC – Lindie Naughton

Other cross country

Perfect running conditions for the Women’s Meet and Train League 2-mile at the Cow Park, Dunboyne on Sunday (November 17) where there was a miraculous absence of the usual muck. Top three were Lorna Quinn of Sportsworld, Eimear English of Dunboyne AC and Maura Mahoney of Crusaders, with teams in the four grades still to comeNext round is at Irishtown, Dublin, on Sunday December 8.

A day earlier, the Business Houses Athletic Association celebrated its 40th anniversary at the Irish Life 6km cross-country in Santry – a month later than planned after permission to run in the national course at Abbotstown was withdrawn by Campus Ireland at the last minute.

A good race up front was won by Sean Doran of C& E Products in 20 mins 42 secs, with Rory O’Connor and Darragh Lynch second and third and just five seconds separating the top three.

First woman was Ciara Durkan of Teachers who was running her first race after a long battle with injury. She finished in 24 mins 22secs; second was BHAA regular Adrienne Jordan, also Teachers, in 24.47, while for third place Alma Hanevy of the Health Group just pipped Blaithin Shiel of the Law Society – and Fastrunning.com.

Since the race was also the BHAA Championships all finishers received a special commemorative medal plus a copy of “Keeping Business on the Run – 40 Years of the BHAA”, the recently published history of this remarkable organisation with its philosophy of putting on friendly races for runners of all standards.

Even better, everyone has a chance of winning a prize thanks to its unique grading system for teams from the workplace.

Want to join in? See www.bhaa.ie or www.corkbhaa.com.

Catch up

Amy O’Donoghue of Emerald AC was the winner of the women’s senior race at the Munster Cross-Country Championships held in Conna, Co Cork on Sunday November 10. Fiona Santry of East Cork AC was second and Aisling Kelly of St John’s AC third. St John’s was first team ahead of Leevale and East Cork.

Winning the men’s race was Sean Doyle of North Cork AC. Tim O’Donoghue of East Cork AC was second and Evan Byrne of Togher AC third. East Cork beat Ennis TC and Togher AC for the team title.

parkrun

Irish international  Sean Tobin ran a new Irish parkrun best of 14:19 at Malahide parkrun this weekend and Iseult O’Donnell was the quickest lady, also at Malahide in 17:25. Full rankings here.

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patron. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

The post Cross country season in full swing – Irish round-up appeared first on Fast Running.

Early leaders beaten to the line at South Dublin 10km

Paul Pollock of Annadale Striders was the winner of a competitive men’s race at the South Dublin 10km in Clondalkin, Dublin on Sunday (July 21).

Pollock pulled away in the second half of the race to win in a time of 29:28. Finishing second in 29:44 was early leader Mick Clohisey of Raheny Shamrock, with Hiko Tonosa of Dundrum South Dublin AC third in 30:03.

Finishing fourth and first M35 in 30:31 was Mark Kenneally of Clonliffe Harriers, while fifth in 31:05 was Peter Somba of Dunboyne AC. Tommy Hughes of Termoneeny RC continued his astounding current streak by finishing ninth overall, third master and first M55 in 33:57.

In an Ulster double, Breege Connolly of City of Derry Spartans finished first woman in 35:19. Making a solid return to racing after a long stretch of injury was Laura Graham of Mourne Runners who was second in 35.40 after pushing the pace in the early stages of the race.

A close third in 35:46 was Gemma Rankin of Kilbarchan AC. First W60 was former Dublin Marathon winner Christine Kennedy in 42.10. A total of 2,450 completed the race.

At the Edenderry 10-Mile on Sunday (July 21) Mary Mulhare of Portlaoise AC picked up valuable KIA Series points when she finished first woman in 58:11. Just one place behind her was Siobhan O’Doherty of Borrisokane AC in 58:26. Overall race winner was Paddy Sharkey of Longford AC in 54.39.

U20 team bringing home medals

A large Irish team at the European U20 Championships in Boras, Sweden (July 18-21) came home with three medals.

Kate O’Connor began the Irish account by taking silver in the heptathlon in the opening days of competition. In a closely fought competition, her score of 6093 made her the first Irish women ever to go over 6000 points and broke her own Irish record.

Highlight of her performance was a personal best throw of 52.92m in the javelin, which puts her second behind many times Irish champion Anita White on the all-time Irish list.

Sarah Healy won silver in a nail-biting women’s 1500m final, taking the lead on the penultimate lap and winding up the pace from there. She led turning for home and just lost out to Switzerland’s Delia Sclabas in the run to the line, the 18-year-old Blackrock athlete claiming a silver medal for Ireland in 4:27.14. Sclabas took gold in 4:25.95.

McElhinney was equally as courageous and no less brilliant in the men’s 5000m final, the Bantry athlete taking the lead with a kilometre to run and pushing the pace out front. He was passed with one lap to run but fought all the way to the finish to come home third in 14:06.05. The race was won by Spain’s Aaron Las Heras in 14:02.76. Jamie Battle came home 14th in the same race in 14:42.37.

Just out of the medals in the 200m races were sprinters Aaron Sexton and Davicia Patterson whe both finished fourth. In the women’s 4x400m, the Irish squad finished fifth in a new Irish U20 record of 3:37.42.

There was Irish interest in the men’s javelin won with a mighty 79.44m throw by Simon Wieland of Switzerland. Wieland is coached by 21 times Irish champion and six times Olympian Terry McHugh, who lives in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Irish mountain going from strength to strength

Photo: Sport Pictures Cymru

In Wales on Saturday (July 20, Sarah McCormack won the Snowdon International mountain race for a third time in a superb time of 74:49 – just ten seconds off the women’s course record and a personal best for McCormack by six minutes for this gruelling 10 mile race.

The Irish woman, who is based in England’s Lake District, had to fight hard for her win first passing early race leader Hatti Archer of England and then battling to hold off Italy’s Elisa Sortini, who finished just 22 seconds behind her.

McCormack’s victory consolidates her position at the top of mountain running’s World Cup rankings.

On a great day for the Irish, Zak Hanna of Newcastle AC was fourth overall while Killian Mooney of DSD AC was a fighting 14^th. There were strong runs also from Mark Stephens 19th and Conor O’Mahoney 24^th and of the women, from Becky Quinn 12^th and Sinead Murtagh 18^th.

Season’s bets for Mageean

With the National Championships taking place in Santry next weekend, Ciara Mageean continued her excellent season with a season’s best time of 4:03.70 in the 1500m at the Diamond League Anniversary Games in London on Saturday (July 20). Mageean placed eighth in a race won by Scotland’s Laura Muir in 3:58.25.

Magian racing Muir last year in Berlin. Photo: Getty

In Barcelona on Wednesday (July 17), Mark English ran a time of 1:46.96 to finish a fighting tenth in the 800m. Winner in 1:44.38 was Ayanleh Souleiman of Djibouti.

At the BMC Meet at Eltham on Saturday (July 20), Amy O’Donoghue of Emerald AC won the A 1500m race in 4:16.58; Katie Kirk of Team New Balance was fourth in the A 800m in 2:06.85 and Mitchell Byrne of Rathfarnham WSAF AC second in the B 1500m with 3:45.35.

European track exploits

A number of Irish athletes were in Belgium for the Heusden-Zolder Night of Athletics on Saturday (July 20), where Andrew Coscoran of Star of the Sea AC clocked a time of 3:40.79 on his way to victory in one of the 1500m races. That improved on the 3:41.19 Coscoran had run a week earlier in Kortrijk, also in Belgium, which put him top of the current Irish rankings. Behind him, John Travers of Donore Harriers finished eight in 3:44.32.

In the B 5000m, Ryan Forsyth of Newcastle AC, who will defend his 5000m title in Santry next weekend, finished 10^th in 13:55.17. Claire Mooney of UCD AC clocked 2:05.08 for second in one of the 800m race series while in the men’s B 800, Zak Curran of Dundrum South Dublin AC finished fourth in 1:48.29. Over 1500m, Ellie Hartnett, of UCD AC, recorded a time of 4:36.76.

Irish steeplechase specialists were in the Finnish town of Lapinlahti for the Savo Games on Wednesday (July 17) not too far from Gavle, where the European U23 Championships had taken place a few days earlier. Brian Fay of Raheny Shamrock, who had competed in the steeplechase in Gavle, finished fourth in the 1500m in 3:46.05. In a 5000m women’s race, current Irish women’s steeplechase champion Michele Finn went through 3000m in 9:20.27 before dropping out.

League titles for Clonliffe and DSD

Clonliffe Harriers men’s team successfully defended their national league title after a long day in Tullamore making it a fifth title in a row and a tenth overall since the National League was first held in 1978.

In the women’s competition, Dundrum South Dublin AC were regaining the title they last won in 2016 for an eighth title overall. St Abban’s, who had won for the past two years, were missing their big name athletes and had barely managed to qualify for the final.

DSD performed well across the board with a team mixing the experience of Sinead Denny, Meghan Ryan, Fiona Clinton, Meghan Ryan, and Fiona Clinton with the youth of (among others) Molly Hourihan, Charlotte Burke, Emma Ryan, Rachel Dunne, and Kate Doherty winner of both the 100m hurdles and 100m flat. Then there were club stalwarts Harriette Robinson, Emmy Coffey Nguyen, Sonya McConnon – and club president Lucy Moore who did her bit in the hammer.

Clonliffe dominated the men’s competition with seven wins, starting with Simon Galligan in the hammer.

Other wins for the Santry- based club came from Greg Hosseny walk, Niall Counihan triple jump, Stephan Rice javelin, Jayme Rossiter steeplechase, Ian Guiden 5000m and the 4 x 100 relay team of Eamonn Fahey, Israel Ibanu, Keith Marks and Keith Pike.High scores from Keith Marks high jump and long jump, Timmy Crowe 110 and 400 hurdles, Luke Mangan shot and 56 lb, Thomas Pitkin 400m and Colm Rooney 1500m all helped.

An impressive second was a new look team from Raheny Shamrock, with winnning performances from Eric Favors, 18.45 in the shot and 48.59 discus, as well as Kieran Kelly in the 1500m and the 4 x 400 team of Brandon Arrey, Jamie Sheridan, Cillian Kirwan and Kieran Kelly.

With the national championships only a week away, there were a number of other eye-catching performances in Tullamore.

Michael Bowler for Wexford County looks well on the way to retaining his pole vault title after soaring over 4.50. In the 400m, Cillin Green of Galway City Harriers was first in 47.75, with Brandon Array of Raheny Shamrock a close second in 47.80. Sharlene Mawdsley, representing Tipperary County, won the women’s 200 in 24.08, while Claire Fitzpatrick for Kerry County showed that she is right back in form after a year’s break from the sport with a winning 50.58 in the discus.

School walkers win in Swansea

At the annual SIAB Schools International in Swansea, Ireland’s only winner was race walker Matthew Glennon with James Hanlon second. In a thrilling girls’ 300m, Jenna Breen was pipped for gold by Cedelle Agyei-Kyem of England who finished in in 39.73 secs; Breen’s times was 39.74. Other Irish competitors taking silver were Oliver Swinning 10.94 secs in the 100m, Aoibheann McMahon 14.65 for the 3kg shot, Tadhg O Muircheartaigh 61.00 in the 700g javelin, and the girls’ 4×100 and boys’ 4 x 400m relay teams.

Earlier on the roads

Winning the Sea to Sky 10km race in Newcastle Co Down on Friday (July 19) was Gordy Graham of East Down AC  in 36 mins 26 secs. Gladys Ganiel of North Belfast Harriers was eighth overall and first woman in 38:42. Neil Curran of East Down AC won the 5km race in 17:38, with junior athlete Anna Gardiner, also East Down AC, sixth over all and first woman in 19.47. Over 900 competed between the two races.

Sean Hehir of Rathfarnham WSAF AC and Renae Cicchinelli were the winners of the St James’s Hospital Liberties 4-Mile Fun Run in Dublin on Thursday evening (July 18).

Hehir’s time of 19:41 saw him finished well over a minute ahead of Eoin Callaghan from Star of the Sea AC and Karol Cronin of Sportsworld, who finished in 21:08 and 21:15 respectively. Cicchinelli clocked a time of 25:48; finishing second and third women were Andrea McNamara of Sportsworld in 26:09 and Jean Murphy in 27:11. A total of 1,306 finished this popular inner city race which starts and finishes in the scenic surroundings of the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham.

Peter Somba of Dunboyne AC led home 618 finishers at the Bettystown B-5 organised by Cilles AC in Co Meath on Tuesday (July 16).

Somba’s time of 25:37 put him almost a minute clear of Sean Doran from Clonliffe Harriers, who finished in 26:30, with David Rooney of Rhaney Shamrock third in 26:45. First woman was Niamh Devlin of Dundrum South Dublin AC in 29:31. Laura McDonnell of Tallaght AC was second in 29:50 and Aoife Parrella of Star of the Sea AC third in 32:02.

Winners of the Clyne 5km in Co Cork on Wednesday (July 17) were Kevin O’Leary of East Cork in 15:30 and Ann Geary of Midleton AC in 19:01.

parkrun

Your timely reminder that parkrun isn’t actually a race, but we know everyone likes to see the top ten times each week so here are your quickest runners from Ireland on Saturday July 20th.

RELATED: 7 ways to run faster at parkrun

Lindie Naughton is a journalist and writer based in Dublin who joined the athletics club at her college many many years ago and has never quite escaped. You’ll normally find her jogging around some orienteering course somewhere – or down at the Irishtown track coaching kiddies!

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patron. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

The post Medals at U20 Champs, Snowdon victory & hard racing at South Dublin 10k – Irish round-up appeared first on Fast Running.

Darragh McElhinney of Bantry AC set a new Irish junior 5000m indoor record of 14:13.68 seconds at the Connacht Indoor Championships in Athlone on Saturday (February 23).

McElhinney’s time smashed the 14:37.02 record set by Aaron Hanlon of Clonliffe Harriers in Boston in December 2014.

The 18 year-old, who has an outdoor 5000m best of 14:11.80, represented Europe at the Great Stirling XCountry in January.

Second in the race was Michael Power of West Waterford with a personal best 14:29.96. Evan Power of Togher AC was a close third in 14:30.11.

At the Dunboyne Throws Meet on Saturday, Sean Mockler’s 66.82m in the hammer was a qualifier for the European U20 Championships.

Finishing second behind the Moycarky Coolcroo AC athlete was Tom Furlong of DMP AC with a personal best 62.47. Winning the men’s discus with 53.32m was Eoin Sheridan of North Westmeath AC.

Cross Country

Mark McKinstry of North Belfast Harriers streaked away from the field to win the men’s title at the Northern Ireland and Ulster Cross Country Championships at Lurgan Park on Saturday.

Photo: Keith McClure

McKinstry’s time of 40:48 saw him finish with over half a minute to spare on the chasers led by Declan Reed of City of Derry Spartans.

Mark Long, also City of Derry Spartans, was third and mountain runner Zak Hanna of Newcastle AC fourth.

City of Derry Spartans, with five finishers in the top 15, were clear winners of the team title on 44 points. North Belfast Harriers with 88 points were second and North Down AC third with 150 points.

Breege Connolly of City of Derry Spartans won the women’s race by a wide margin from Sarah Lavery of Beechmount Harriers and Rachel Gibson of North Down AC.

Photo: Keith McClure

North Down AC retained the team title with Beechmount Harriers second and City of Derry Spartans third.

Martin McGann, originally from Co Meath, completed his fiftieth consecutive English National Cross Country Championships at Harwood House near Leeds on Saturday.

McGann, 72, a member of East Cheshire Harriers, had upped his daily training for the hilly 12km race by running laps of his local park.

He finished a respectable 1990th in the senior race and was delighted not to be lapped by the winner, Southampton’s Mahamed Mahamed.

McGann holds the record for the most consecutive ‘Nationals’. His former club-mate Gareth Raven, at 44 years of age, is the next nearest with 25 senior and two juniors runs.

McGann, a brother of Olympic marathon runner Desi has no intention of retiring. “I’ll not pack up yet,” he said. “There’s another year in me, hopefully.”

Other Irish finishers included John Eves of Dundrum South Dublin AC, who was the second counter for the Bedford and County AC team which finished just out of the medals in fourth place.

In her first ever Business Houses Athletic Association race, Bronagh Kearns won the women’s two-mile race at the AIB Cross Country in NUI Maynooth on Saturday.

Kearns finished in 12:17, with Maura Kearns (no relation) of the Teachers team second and Katie Rogers of Google third. Health Services beat Teachers for the team prize, with Revenue third.

In a competitive men’s four-mile race, Barry Murphy pushed the pace on the early laps with Conor Burke of KPMG in close attendance.

On the final lap, Sean Doran of C&E Products took over in front and finished first in 20:56. Second in 21:04 was Thomas Sherlock of Bank of Ireland with Burke in third place ahead of Murphy.

First of the A grade teams was Eir, with HSE second; Revenue was best in grade B, ESB in grade C and OPW in grade D.

Roads

Paul Pollock finished second in the Brighton Half Marathon on Sunday (February 24) in a time of 66:35. It was a first race for Pollock in some months.

“Absolutely stunning location for my first race back in lots of months,” said Pollock after the race. “Thank you Brighton Half Marathon and all the volunteers!

“Glad to have (hopefully) put all the injuries and illnesses behind me. First time the vest and sunglasses have been out in a while!”

Rory O’Connor of North Cork AC led home a capacity 657 finishers at the Adare 10km in Co Limerick on Sunday.

His time of 30:43 put him ten seconds ahead of Sean Hehir from Rathfarnham WSAF AC who finished in 30:53, while Alan O’Shea of Bantry AC was third in 31:37.

First woman was Barbara Cleary of Donore Harriers in 36:06. It was a first race for Cleary in three years, and she had tuned up for the race with a few parkruns in recent weeks.

Siobhan O’Doherty of Borrisokane AC was second in 36:47 and Ide Nic Dhomhnaill of Donore Harriers third. Finishing fourth was former international athlete Rosemary Ryan.

Also in Munster, Tim O’Donoghue of East Cork AC won the Kinsale 10 Mile road race in 51:56. Katie Hickson of Cork Tri Club was first woman in 65:35.

Clonliffe’s Efrem Gidey won the Duleek and District 5k in 14:42 on Sunday. Thomas Moran of Dunshaughlin AC was second in 14:54 and Ben Guiden of Clonliffe Harriers third in 15:56.

With four finishers in the top five, Clonliffe was top team ahead of Drogheda and District and Dunshaughlin AC.

First woman was Linda Byrne of Dundrum South Dublin AC in 17:17. Becky Woods of Clonliffe Harriers was second in 17:45 and Laura McDonnell of Tallaght AC third in 18:30.

Na Fianna AC was first club, with Sli Cualann and Drogheda and District second and third.

Noel Kerr and Gladys Ganiel were the winners of the Born to Run Castlewellan 10k on Saturday – the final round of this year’s Born to Run series.

Kerr finished in 37:09, with Ganiel fourth overall in 37:39.

Hills

Irish mountain running international athlete Killian Mooney of Dundrum South Dublin AC proved the class of the field at the Trooperstown hill race in Co Wicklow on Sunday.

Mooney finished the 9.7km course in 38:06 with Brendan Murphy of Crusaders AC almost three minutes behind for second in 41:01 and Barry Minnock of Rathfarnham WSAF third and first M40 in 41:54.

First woman was Kate Cronin of Raheny Shamrock AC in 45:03. Aoife Coffey of Lucan Harriers, who is still a junior, was second woman in 47:10. Niamh Corbett from Cork was third in 49:06.

parkrun

St Malachy’s Conall McClean ran 15:33 at the Belfast Victoria parkrun to record the fastest men’s time across Ireland on Saturday.

Catherina Mullen claimed the women’s quickest honours after running 17:21 at the Porterstown event in Dublin.

The fastest times from Irish parkruns this weekend can be found here.

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patron. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

The post Darragh McElhinney sets Irish junior 5000m indoor record – weekend round-up appeared first on Fast Running.