Kevin Seaward of St Malachy’s AC moved into second place on the Irish all-time marathon list when he ran 2 hrs 10 mins 12 secs at the Seville Marathon on Sunday (February 23).

Although it was a personal best, Seaward’s time was only enough for 26th place in the race. Race winner Mekuant Gebre of Ethiopia ran a time of 2:04:46 with the top 14 finishing in under 2:08. Last year, before the use of shoes with carbon fibre inserts became almost universal, the tenth runner finished in 2:08.50.

Seaward’s time was more than three minutes faster than the 2:13:39 he ran in Berlin last September and comfortably inside the Tokyo Olympics qualifying mark of 2:11:30. Three Irish athlete now have qualifying times – the other two are Paul Pollock of Annadale Striders with 2:10.15 from the Valencia Marathon in December and Stephen Scullion of Clonliffe Harriers who finished fifth in 2:11.52 at the “gold label” Houston Marathon last month. All three athletes come from Northern Ireland.

In only his second ever marathon, Hugh Armstrong of Ballina AC missed out on the Olympic time by less than a minute when he finished in a personal best 2:12:26. Mick Clohisey of Raheny Shamrock, who has been struggling with an achilles injury, dropped out of the race.

In the age groups, Ray Hynes of Donore Harriers was sixth M40 in 2:24.15, while Mary Lynch of Raheny Shamrock was Ireland’s only winner of the day when finishing first W65 in 3:39.49.

In Australia, Michelle Finn of Leevale AC won the women’s 3000m steeplechase at the Sydney Track Classic on Saturday (February 22). Her time of 9 mins 38.04 secs was a personal best by over five seconds, and although outside the Tokyo Olympics standard of 9 mins 30 secs, it puts her in a good position to qualify.

Finn, currently training full-time, has competed in two World Student Games and two World Championships as well as the 2016 Rio Olympics.

McGroarty still had perfectly coiffured hair, even after 24hrs of indoor running. Photo: Robbie Britton

24hr wondershow

In Espoo, Finland, Ed McGroarty of Lifford Strabane AC set a new overall Irish 24-hour record of 249.626km – a personal best by 27 kilometres.

He finished second in the race, held indoors, behind local athlete Jari Soikkeli who completed a distance of 253.916km, also a Finnish record. There are three Irish 24-hour records records – road, track and indoors – with Eoin Keith’s 248.4km from the 2017 World 24 Hour Championships, held outdoors, previously recognised as the best overall.

Fast Running’s Robbie Britton was in Finland and said “McGroarty ran an excellent race, pacing well from the start and looking almost effortless until the final few hours. He was in the lead and all set for the Irish record when the Finn accelerated around 21 hours in. Sensibly Ed ran his own race and focused on his national mark as we all expected Soikkeli to falter but he just kept going.”

“Both men had an excellent race in the Esport Arena, with the usual carnage of a 24hr race making entertaining watching. Several different race leaders come and went, with some simply faltering and others dropping out of the race altogether. Afterwards McGroarty put his big improvement down to woking heavily on his mental game and he looked like he enjoyed nearly every moment of the event”.

Also in action was Alex O’Shea of St Finbarr’s AC, who completed 170.057km after having some difficulties early on in the event.

All hail Mitchell and Johnston

Emma Mitchell and Neil Johnston were the winners of a well-supported Northern Ireland and Ulster cross-country championships, held in rain and hail at University of Ulster Coleraine on Saturday (February 22).

In the women’s race. Mitchell, a member of Dublin club Clonliffe Harriers, was a clear winner in 24 mins 9 secs. Catherine Whoriskey of City of Derry Spartans was over half a minute behind for second in 24:47 and Lauren Wilson of Lagan Valley AC third in 24:53.

First home of the 14 teams entered was North Down AC led by Katie Moore in sixth place. Beechmount Harriers finished second and City of Derry Spartans AC third.

Johnston, a member of of Springwell RC, won the men’s race in 44 mins 47 secs, with Eskander Turki of Annadale Striders second in 45:06 and defending champion Mark McKinstry of North Belfast Harriers third in 45.47. The clear winner of team gold ahead of 16 other teams was Newcastle AC, led by Patrick McNiff in fourth place with mountain running international Zak Hanna not far behind for seventh.

City of Derry Spartans AC and North Belfast Harriers were second and third of the teams.

At the English “Nationals”, also on Saturday, Jayme Rossiter of Clonliffe Harriers, representing Newham and Essex Beagles AC finished 13th.

In Dublin’s Phoenix Park, the annual Colours Cross-Country between Trinity College and UCD on Saturday (February 23) resulted in a double victory for Trinity.

In the women’s 4km race, Trinity took the top three places with Cliona Murphy the winner by over a minute in 14 mins 52 secs. The men’s victory was even more comprehensive with Trinity taking five of the top six places. Oisin McKinley led them home, clocking 21 mins 36secs for the 6.44km course.

Winning a thrilling men’s race at the Central Bank BHAA cross-country in Wesley College, Dublin was George Snee of Fidelity Investments Ireland who just made it to the line ahead of Sean Doran of Harrier Products.

So close were the two that they were both given a time of 22mins 33 secs for the four mile course. With one race to go, Doran currently leads the BHAA Winter League Table for Grade A. Best of the A graded teams was Bank of Ireland led by Michael O’Connor in eighth place. Dublin City Council won B, ESB were tops in C and AIB the winners in D.

First woman was Rachel Yorke of Deloitte in 27:06. Grainne Butler of the Health Group was second, while Niamh Corby of Revenue was a close third. Next BHAA race is the CIT 5km in Bishopstown, Cork on Sunday March 1 (11am). That’s followed by the AIB NUI Maynooth Cross-Country on Saturday March 7 (11am) – the final cross-country fixture of the season.

Home roads

Kevin Maunsell of Clonmel AC showed a welcome return to form when winning the Adare 10km in Co Limerick on Sunday (February 23).

Maunsell’s time of 30 mins 18 secs saw him finish 21 seconds ahead of Rory O’Connor from North Cork AC and Alan O’Shea of Bantry AC. Rathfarnhm WSAF AC’s Kevin Donagher was eighth overall and first M40.

Best of the women was was Sorcha Nic Dhomhnaill of Donore Harriers in 36 mins 41 secs. Dympna Ryan of Dundrum AC and Siobhan O’Doherty of Borrisokane AC were second and third. Former Irish international athlete Rosemary Ryan of Dooneen AC took the W40 prize.

South Galway AC was first of the men’s teams ahead of West Limerick AC and Dooneen AC, with Watergrasshill AC beating Dooneen AC and North Cork AC in the women’s team category.

Winning a well-supported Kinsale 10-Mile on Sunday (February 23) was Pat Hennessy of West Waterford AC in a course record time of 51 mins 13 secs. Jeremy O’Donovan of St Finbarr’s was second and first M40 in 53:55. Clare Gibbons McCarthy of Leevale AC was first woman in 61:21.

A day after finishing second in the Central Bank BHAA Cross-Country, Sean Doran of Clonliffe Harriers was the winner of Sunday’s Clogherhead Seaside 5km in Co Louth with a time of 15 mins 42 secs. First woman was Claire O’Malley of Dunleer AC in 19:37.

In another Sunday race, Brian Kelly of St Abban’s AC in 32 mins 34 secs and Aisling O’Connor of Edenderry AC in 35:31 were the winners at the Graiguecullen 10km.

Slight shorter indoor action than Finland

Anne Gilshinan of Slaney Olympic AC in Enniscorthy, recently named world master athlete of the year for middle distance running, continued her current purple patch with victory in the W55 1500m at the Leinster Indoor Championships at the NIA, Abbotstown, on Saturday (February 22).

Her time of 4:46.10 was the fastest women’s masters time of the day. Winning the women’s senior title was Niamh Kearney of Sli Cualann AC in 4:33.02. Taking the senior men’s 1500m title in 4:06.98 was Mitchell Byrne of Rathfarnham WSAF AC.

Over 3000m, Emmett Jennings was the winner in 8:25.75 beating his Dundrum South Dublin AC clubmate Robert Corbally who finished in 8:37.56. Winning the senior men’s 800m in 1:55.88 was Cillian Kirwan of Raheny Shamrock AC. The M65 winner was world champion Joe Gough of West Waterford AC in 2:22.81.

At the final NIA Live meet of the season on Tuesday (February 18), 17-year-old Cian McPhillips of Longford AC ran a time of 4:13.00 for the mile – the fastest of the night. Last month, McPhillips improved the Irish junior 1500m to 3:44.85. He then went to New York where he won the boys’ invitational mile at the Millrose Games. Second in the NIA mile race with a time of 4:18.25 was U23 athlete Kevin McGrath of Bohermeen AC.

Not far off the world M50 mile record with a time of 4:26.66 was Shane Healy of Metro St Brigid’s AC. Winning the women’s mile in 4:47.82 was former Irish international athlete Kelly Neely.The National Indoor Championships are the big event for next weekend, taking place at the NIA, Abbotstown.

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 Seaward runs 2:10 marathon in Spain – Irish round-up appeared first on Fast Running.

Olympic standards for Mellor and Seaward in Seville

The first big-ticket European marathon of the year Seville Marathon did not disappoint with fantastic results for lots of athletes, some jumping into the distance at the last minute after Tokyo plans were cancelled.

Jonny Mellor ran a stunning PB of 2:10:04 to take over two minutes off his previous best and finish 23rd in an Olympic qualifying time. Mellor work the whole race in a strong group which included UK based Kiwi Malcolm Hicks (2:10:03).

The group also include Kevin Seaward who ran a stunning negative split of 2:10:08  – a new Northern Ireland Marathon record (the 3rd time the record has fallen in the last five months), a PB and an Olympic qualifying time.

Other notable performances came from Hugh Armstrong of Ballina AC who ran a massive PB to finish in 2:12:26, Thomas Cornthwaite of Salford Harriers who rewrote a five year old PB with a 2:22:42, Ray Hynes of Donore Harriers (2:24:18), Barry Sheil of Longford AC (2:28:27) and Michael Morgan of St Finbarrs AC (2:29:23). Sheffield based Spaniard Iraitz Arrospide ran 2:13:26.

Big PBs for Gyurko and Pascall

It wasn’t just the men who had a great day out in Spain either, Fanni Gyurko of Central AC ran a PB of 2:35:54 to finish 18th. Beth Pascall, who can normally be found in the mountains and running 100 miles, took her strengths to the roads and came back with a sub 2:50 as a reward. She finished 26th in 2:48:06. Team New Balance athlete Jip Vastenburg produced a stunning debut performance of 2:33:38.

Abingdon AC’s Sarah Dudgeon made lemonade out of a Corona-virus lemons by ditching the taper and grabbing a last minute spot in Spain when her Tokyo dreams were cancelled. The perseverance paid off and she absolutely smashed the sub-three barrier that has cruelly eluded her until now, running a brilliant 2:55:27.

Jane Faram of Southville AC took over 3 minutes off her PB to run 2:56:38 flat while Adrienne Jordan of Crusaders AC also ducked under the magic three mark with a 2:58:45.

We believe Mick Clohisey and Gladys Ganiel stopped after 30km.

2:10:05 for @jonnymellor9 and 2:33:38 debut for @JipVastenburg – an awesome day for the Team in #seville @MaratonSevilla #TeamNB #OTEfuelled #NewbalanceUK pic.twitter.com/mvCZ04hxOu

— TeamNBMCR (@TeamNBMCR) February 23, 2020

British Indoor Championships

Just a week after the Muller Indoor Grand Prix, Glagow’s Emirates Arena took centre stage again for the SPAR British Athletics Indoor Championships.

Jonathan Davies of Reading AC was the winner over 3000m in 8:07.96 ahead of Philip Sesemann of Leeds in 8:08.86 and Cardiff’s Michael Ward who ran a season’s best to take home bronze in 8:10.31.

Melissa Courtney-Bryant won the women’s 3000m in a slow tactical race crossing the line in 9:48.54. After a strong cross country season last year Verity Ockenden moved indoors this year and she claimed herself a silver medal running 9:50.39 as Dorset athletes finished first and second. Rosie Clarke was 3rd in 9:52.02.

8th time lucky #SPARBritishChamps @mcourtneybryant pic.twitter.com/9871iLMmHW

— British Athletics (@BritAthletics) February 23, 2020

In the men’s 1500m George Mills took victory in 3:50.69 ahead of under 20 Tom Keen (3:52.40) and Jonothan Kay (3:52.55). Cambridge and Coleridge’s Holly Archer 4:21.99 claimed the women’s 1500m title seeing off the challenge of Jenny Selman (4:22.57) and Jacqueline Fairchild (4:22.58).

Earlier in the week on the indoor circuit, Andrew Osagie ran an eye-watering 2:19.31 to take second place in the 1000m at the World Athletics Indoor Tour  in Lievin, France. Charlie Da’Vall Grice was fifth in 3:38.95 in the 1500m.

In the 800m Guy Learmonth (1:46.89) edged out Andrew Osagie (1:46.98) with Piers Copeland (1:47.21) taking bronze.

Under 20 Keely Hodgkinson is a fabulous talent and she took the women’s 800m title in 2:04.37 ahead of Mari Smith (2:04.72) and Philippa Millage (2:07.27).

Moller repeats her BUCS success

Some area XC matches have been cancelled recently, but there was no risk of that at any of the four national XC Championships taking place this weekend. Indeed, Nottinghamshire council are quoted as having said “it will not be cancelled because of the state of the course” and they were right.

Despite a pond-like finish, at the Saucony English National XC Championships in Wollaton Park effort levels were the same as always in a #muddybrilliant day of racing. Times were slower but not less hard fought than last year.

For the Senior Women, 8k was the challenge and it was UK based Dane Anna Moller running for AF & D who blasted round the course fastest in 32:59. In a re-run of the BUCS Cross Country Champs earlier this month Moller finished ahead of Jess Judd (Blackburn Harriers & AC) who ran 33:20 – an upgrade on her third place last year. Bronwen Owen of Leeds City AC took bronze with 33:45 up from 14th place last year.

Jess Gibbon of Reading AC ran a storming race to finish fourth in 33:56 –  a fantastic follow up her win at the South of England Champs in January.

Leading women. Credit: Nigel Bramley

Johnson does Gateshead proud

In the Senior Men’s race Calum Johnson (Gateshead Harriers) was crowned English Champion over 12k in 43:36 after convincingly holding his own against Joe Steward of East Cheshire Harriers and Tameside AC whose 43:59 resulted in a big jump up the ranks from his 9th place last year. Johnson became the first Gateshead Harrier to win the National Cross since Brendan Foster in 1977.

Linton Taylor of Leeds City AC also leapfrogged up the placings to go from 12th to a Bronze spot this year in 44:13. Adam Hickey (Southend on Sea AC) couldn’t quite grab a podium spot but can be pleased with 44:24 for fourth place after losing his shoe at the start of the race – all detailed on this Twitter.

The Junior Women (6k) stepped up to the plate just after 1pm and it was  Amelia Quirk of Bracknell AC who took the win in 25:33. For the Junior Men (10k) Zakariya Mahamed declared himself champion for Southampton AC in 36:27.

The U17 Women’s race (5k) was the first race of the day and it was  Rushcliffe AC’s Maya Todd McIntyre in 21:49 who got everyone paying attention by boosting her standings in style from 8th place in last year’s race to take the win this year. Will Barnicoat of Sale Windsor Slough Eton ran his 6k in the fastest Men’s U17 time of the day, 22:42.

Kiya Dee (Highworth AC) stepped up from silver in 2019 to take the top spot this year in the U15 Girls’ with 18:35 for 4k and Lewis Sullivan ran the same distance to give Saint Edmunds Pacers the premier spot in the U15 boys race. Alden Collier of Chiltern Harriers narrowly won the Under-13 boys race in 14:21 and clubmate Zoe Glbody grabbed gold in the Under-13 girls race (both 3k) in 15 minutes flat.

Mhairi Mclennan and Jamie Crowe crowned Scottish Champions

The Lindsays Scottish National Cross Country Championships took place in the midst of hail Storms at Callendar Park. In the Senior Women’s race Mhairi Mclennan (Inverness Harriers), who was fourth last year finished a convincing first in 39:44, finding her way back to form and regaining her 2018 title  ahead of Annabel Simpson of Fife AC (40:14), and bronze medallist, Moira Stewart (40:46) of Cambuslang Harriers.

Stephanie Penycook opted to forgo the option to take an English racing spot now that she runs for Leeds City. She stayed true to her Scottish roots and was rewarded with a fourth place in 41:18 for Fife AC.

Jamie Crowe raced hard against Jonny Glen of Inverclyde AC and ultimately came home with a gold for both himself and Central AC in the Senior Men’s and club competition (35:29 and 35:43). That’s ten years in a row now that Central AC have bagged the club title – quite the winning streak.

Crowe told BBC sport afterwards that he couldn’t feel his hands for the whole race!  Kevin Wood of Fife AC took the final podium spot in 36:06 and Andrew Douglas of Inverclyde AC was fourth by one second in a tantalising 36:07.

Hunt and Wilkins overcome the wind to take Welsh Champs

The 116th Welsh Cross Country Championships at Pembrey Country Park saw a clean sweep at the top for Cardiff Athletics. James Hunt was crowned Senior Men’s champion over 10k in 31:58  and with a good lead over club mates Ciaran Lewis (32:22) and Dan Nash (32:29). Dewi Griffiths was fourth – we’re all delighted to see him back racing!

Unsurprisingly the team topped the club competition too, with Swansea Harriers and Pontypridd Roadents AC having to settle for second and third.

The Senior Women’s race was a more varied affair – it was Melanie Wilkins (Wycombe Phoenix) who will spend 2020 as Senior Women’s Welsh XC champion thanks to her 26:45 over 7k. Lauren Cooper of Parc Bryn Bach RC took silver in 27:18 and Cardiff AC made sure they weren’t out of the medal spots in this race either, thanks to Rebecca Evans and her 28:03.

The dominant team of the day reign again in the women’s club competition as Cardiff AC finished ahead of Lliswerry Runners and Les Croupiers RC. A full write up of the Welsh XC Champs can be found here.

Mel Wilkins Credit: Alex Donald

Johnston and Mitchell win NI & Ulster Champs

The NI & Ulster Senior XC Champs had only ‘light hail’ to contest with, so practically perfect conditions, right?  Neil Johnston of Springwell Running club capitalised on those oh-so-balmy conditions to claim champion’s rewards in 44:47. Annadale Striders’ Eskander Turki was second in 45:06 ahead of Mark McKinstry (N Belfast Harriers) in 45:47 and Patrick McNiff (Newcastle AC) in 45:53.

The Senior Women’s champion for NI & Ulster is Emma Mitchell (Clonliffe Harriers) with a 24:09 run. Silver went to on-form Catherine Whoriskey (City of Derry, 24:47) and bronze to Lauren Wilson (Lagan Valley) in 24:53. Sarah Laverty of Beechmount Harriers was just outside the podium in 25:02. In the team results, North Down AC topped the women’s competition and Newcastle AC nabbed the men’s win.

Windy conditions slow finishing times at Wokingham and Brighton

Gusty conditions let to a fartlek-type run for those taking on the seafront at Brighton Half Marathon. Kevin Moore broke the tape in 69:05 with a reasonable lead over Neil Boniface in second (69:17) and Paul Martelletti in 69:40. Sheffield RC’s Phillipa Williams topped the women’s podium in 77:55 ahead of Woodbridge Shufflers’ Heather Noone (79:53) and Maisie Trafford (1:21:08).

Similarly tricky conditions were not the only problem at Wokingham Half did not deter Lousie Damen (Winchester & District) who showed true grit to finish in 76:23. Hercules Wimbledon’s Claire Grima was second in 78:48 and Rebecca Ducbury of OXford Tri was third in 79:35.

Hercules Wimbledon were in action in the men’s race too. Their athlete Jonathan Cornish took the win 67:13 with enough clear road between him and Nick Torry of Serpentine RC (67:39)  to catch some breath. Joe Wade of Ryde Harriers was shortly behind in 68:01.

UK road racing action

It wasn’t just wind that was the issue at Winchester 10k as some athletes were sent the wrong way, adding over half a mile to their race. Congrats to the men’s winner Andy Greenleaf and George King on second place – we’re working on finding out the full results…

Hillingdon Half Marathon was won by Ian Crowe-Wright (Brighton and Hove) in 69:43 ahead of Paul Piper (74:52) and Ben Hetherington (1:20:09).

Annabel Gummow was first home for the ladies. Her chip time was 73:07 but she had a gun time of 75:38 so the Winchester athlete was either very late getting to the start or something is slightly up with the chip readings. Either way she had a massive lead over Tessa McCormick (1:21:26) and Cyn Cano (1:29:48) in 2nd and 3rd.

In the 10k edition  of the race, Hillingdon AC’s own Mohamed Mohamed took the win with a 31:43/ He finished ahead of club mate Aramias Zeration (32:05) and David Ready (36:16, Ranelagh Harriers). Joanne Shale grabbed the women’s win in 41:56. The Richmond Half Marathon  was won by Jeongmin Lee in 1:28:13 and Scott Mitchell in 79:57.

Yesterday the Sri Chinmoy 10k in Battersea Park lived up to its reputation for being a swift one. Local club Clapham Chasers took the win in 31:36 thanks to Nick Bowker who held out over William Woodcock (31:41) who hails from just down the road at Hercules Wimbledon. Ben Shearer of Cambridge Harriers chased them both home to take third place in 31:44.

For the ladies, Clapham were again victorious. Laura Bohm ran 37:01 for first with a massive lead over Amy Billups of South London Harriers who finished in 39:28. Kelly Morgan (London Frontrunners) was third in 40:37.

At the Draycote Water Race Organiser race Neil James (38:21) and Rebecca Beasley (44:54, Kenilworth Runners) won the 10k. Mark Thomas (01:01:05, Black Pear Joggers) and Emma Bush (01:14:04) finished first in the 10 mile.

Lucy Davies crossed the line first in 39:06 at the  Runthrough Hyde Park 10k and Alberto Ugarte took a convincing victory in 32:49. Hannah Pullen ran the only sub-20 in the women’s 5k to take the crown in 18:06, not far behind the men’s winner Nacho Garcia who finished in 17:54.

24hr party people

Last, but certainly not least, Ry Webb of Waverly Harriers was out in Espoo, Finland for the Endurance 24hr that was held entirely indoors on a 390m track. The ruggedly handsome Robbie Britton lookalike ran an excellent race and finished third with 232.3km, which was a 16km PB.

Both first and second broke their national records with Ed McGroarty besting Eoin Keith’s Irish mark with a wonderful 249.761km for second place. Sweden’s Therese Fredriksson was the winning female with over 222km and fourth overall in a race that saw many ups and downs.

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 Olympic standards in Seville and National titles decided – weekend roundup appeared first on Fast Running.

Yet another chapter was written in the amazing athletics story of Sinéad Diver at the World Athletics Championships in Doha on Saturday evening (September 28) when the Mayo-born athlete finished 14th in the women’s 10,000m.

Running for Australia, Diver’s time of 31 mins 25.49 secs was a personal best and just .49 secs off the Tokyo 2020 qualifying mark. It is also a new world W40 record and puts Diver third on the all-time list for Irish-born athletes behind Sonia O’Sullivan and Catherina McKiernan..

Best of the Irish so far at Doha has been Brendan Boyce who finished sixth in the 50km walk. In the 400m hurdles, Thomas Barr of Ferrybank AC qualified for the semi-finals and although he ran a season’s best 49.02 secs, he narrowly missed out on a place in the final finishing 10th overall.

On the streets of German

Clocking a personal best 2 hrs 13 mins 39 secs at the Berlin Marathon on Sunday (Sept 29) was Kevin Seaward of St Malachy’s. That time knocks over a minute off Seaward’s previous best of 2:14.52 run in Berlin 2015 and puts him top of the current rankings. Seaward also tops the current half marathon rankings having run 63.59 in Barcelona last February.

Behind him, Ciaran Faherty of Galway City Harriers finished in 2:19.06, Robert Murphy of Rathfarnham WSAF AC in 2:22.05, and Tomas Fitzpatrick of Tallaght AC in 2:24.38. Of the women, Siobhan O’Doherty of Borrisoleigh AC finished in 2:44.54 and Fionnuala Ross of Armagh AC in 2:47.19.

In the USA, Aoibhe Richardson of Kilkenny City Harriers wearing the San Francisco vest, won the women’s 6km in 20 mins 47.7 secs at the Roy Griak invitational cross-country held in St Paul Minnesota.

Road running. Meep meep.

Photo: Lindie Naughton

Clonliffe junior Efrem Gidey, originally from Eritrea, returned to racing with a bang when he won the Rathfarnham 5km on Sunday (Sept 29) in 14 mins 18 seconds.

Just two seconds adrift was his Clonliffe clubmate Ian Guiden, while third was Kevin Maunsell of Clonmel AC in 14:23. First master was Brian Maher of Kilkenny City Harriers who finished seventh in 14:41.

Best of the women in a time of 16:46 was Mary Mulhare of Portlaoise AC. Behind her, Cheryl Nolan of St Abban’s won a close battle for second place, finishing in 16:55, with Kilcoole’s Una Britton and Rachel Gibson of North Down on her heels. Sixth and first W50 was Annette Kealy of Raheny Shamrock in 17:23.

In the team competition, Clonliffe Harriers won the men’s senior category with Dundrum South Dublin AC second and host club Rathfarnham WSAF AC third. Rathfarnham proved best of the women’s teams finishing comfortably ahead of Clonliffe and Raheny Shamrock.

Best junior teams were the Clonliffe men and the Rathfrnham women. A total of 837 completed the race.

Overall winner of the Rás Gaelscoil Eanna 7km in Navan, also on Sunday (Sept 29), was Catherine Mullen of Metro St Brigid’s AC in 24 mins 28 secs. Second and first man in 24:42 was David O’Connor of Trim AC.

Photo: Steven Donegan

Bangor 10km doesn’t disappoint

Gideon Kipsang of 1Zero1 proved the class of the field at the Bangor 10km on Saturday (September 28).
Kipsang led from the start and had built up almost a half minute lead on the chasers by half way. He finished in 30 mins 15 secs, with Declan Reed of City of Derry Spartans second and first M45 in 30:57 and Conan McCaughey of North Belfast Harriers third in 30.58.

First woman was Emma Mitchell who has recently joined Dublin club Clonliffe Harriers. She finished in 34 mins 44 secs, with Glady Ganiel of North Belfast Harriers second and first W40 in 36:33 and Lauren Wilson of Edinburgh AC third in 37.11.

Photo: Steven Donegan

A total of 926 completed the race which incorporated the Northern Ireland and Ulster 10km road championships. Full report on the North Down AC website here.

Thursday night racing

For a second year, Robert Connolly of organising club Dundrum South Dublin AC, was the winner of the Sandyford 5km. The race was held on a wet Thursday evening (September 26) in the Sandyford industrial park, with corporate teams making up the bulk of the 703 finishers.

Connolly was a clear winner of the race in 15 mins 39 secs. Second was Ian Conroy of Raheny Shamrock in 16:26 with Davis Willis third in 16:44. First woman was Malika Hammani of Cabinteely Hill Harriers in 19:33.

Trail running with Eoin Keith back in action post-UTMB

Joe Warne of Doheny AC was first of 115 entries in the inaugural Ecotrail Wicklow 80m on Saturday (September 28) – an out and back course taking in Little and Great Sugar Loafs, Powerscourt, Djouce, and Roundwood before the turning point at Vartry.

Doheny finished in 7 hours 53 mins 59 secs. Second was Jason Webb in 7:59.45, while third was Keith Mullen in 8:06.17. Fourth and first M50 was Eoin Keith in 8:13.42. First woman in 9:58.53 was Aoife Mundow of Drogheda and District AC. Julie McNamee of Tir Choinaill AC was second and first W40 in 10:01.12 and Vanda Hosekova from Slovakia third in 10:06.56.

French athlete Kevin Rethore won the 45km, to Djouce and back, in 4:04.39, with Lucy Gossage from the UK first woman in 4:29.46. Ruairi Long of UCD AC was a clear winner of the 28km in 2:21.04, with Jill Horan first woman in 2:58.39.

Making it a Raheny Shamrock double in the 18km were Ian Conroy in 1:25.22 and Kate Purcell, who was also second overall, in 1:28.07. In all, 885 runners from all over the world finished.

Mountain Masters

A bronze medal for Becky Quinn in the W45 age group gave the large Irish team at the World Masters Mountain Running Championships in Gagliano del Capo, Salenta, Italy over the weekend (Sept 28-29), something to celebrate.

Quinn finished in a time of 62 mins 47 secs for the 10.9km course on the classic Trofeo Ciolo race route. She was followed by Zoe Melling 11th in 75:29, Helen O’Callaghan 34th in 79:52 and Deborah McCarthy 35th in 80.49.

Of the men, Thomas Blackburn finished 5th M50 in 58.02 – the fastest Irish time. John Paul Quirke was 4th M40 in 58:09 and Bernard Fortune 13th M45 in 65.09.

Over the shorter 6.5km distance , run on Saturday, Martin McDonald finished 8th M60 in 37 mins 20 secs.

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.

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!

The post Strong PBs in Berlin and Diver excels again – Irish weekend round-up appeared first on Fast Running.

Wales’ largest 10km race will attract 7,000 runners to compete around the flat and fast course in the Welsh Capital. The elite fields this year feature a host of names who have competed at major championships and the conditions look set for fast times.

Steel goes head to head with Wales’ best

Gemma Steel of Charnwood AC has the fastest PB in the women’s race with a best of 31:26 which places her third on the UK all-time list. The 2014 European Cross Country Champion will face some major Welsh competition however led by Cardiff AC’s Charlotte Arter who is the second fastest Welsh athlete of all time with a 32:17 best set at Brighton in 2018. Arter will only need to shave two seconds of that mark to re-set the record held by Angela Tooby in 1984.

2019 UK Inter-Counties Cross Country Champion, Jenny Nesbitt is a club mate and training partner of Arter and will also be in action on Sunday. A third Cardiff athlete, Clara Evans will add further strength to the Welsh contingent here. The 25 year old is enjoying somewhat of a breakthrough this year following a 72:52 clocking for Half Marathon set at Barcelona in February.

Arter winning the 2018 Cardiff 5km. Credit: Paul Stillman

Barlow, Law and Damen will be challengers

World and European Championship marathon runner Tracy Barlow of Thames Valley Harriers is a twice winner at the JCP Swansea Half Marathon and will be looking to revise her 10km PB of 33:21. Barlow is joined by 2018 English and UK Inter-Counties Cross Country Champion Phoebe Law of Kingston & Poly AC and Louise Damen of Winchester AC who took the same honours in 2013 and finished 7th at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Marathon. Law has a 10k best of 33:11 and Damen has a 32:41 clocking to her credit.

Sophie Harris of Swansea Harriers and Welsh 800m & 1,500m Champion Jade Williams of Amman Valley Harriers will also be in action. Marathoner Natasha Cockram of MMRT is another athlete who is enjoying a fine run of form which includes 2019 victories at Porthcawl, Barry and Vienna.

Kate Maltby of Bristol & West AC and Sophie Cowper of Rotherham AC are two further sub 34 minute performers worthy of a mention and capable of upsetting some of the races big name entries.

Cockram finishing the 2018 race. Photo credit: Cardiff 10km

Clowes, Seaward and Smith head the men’s field

Local club Cardiff AC will provide six sub 30 men to the race, led by Club Captain Matt Clowes. He is the fastest of the club men on paper having run 29:19 in the past and will target an 11thrace victory of 2019 in his home town. Jake Smith has a time of 29:01 over 10,000m to his merit, achieved whilst on GB duty at the European U23 Championships in Gavle.

Kevin Seaward was fourth at the Commonwealth Games Marathon last year running for Northern Ireland and a lifetime best over half marathon in February shows promising 2019 form. Seaward along with Clowes will use this race as preparation for the BMW Berlin Marathon later in September.

Clowes winning the JCP Swansea Half Marathon Photo: Owen Morgan

Sub 30 quality throughout the elite field

Ciaran Lewis and James Hunt both dipped under 30 minutes in 2019 with Lewis running 29:47 at the Brecon Carreg Cardiff Bay Run and Hunt setting his P.B. at 29:58 at the Healthspan Porthcawl 10k in July.

Sub four minute miler Tom Marshall is the final Cardiff man with proven calibre over 10km’s who will race on Sunday during a fitness comeback that will see him making a welcome return to racing on the roads.

Aldershot Farnham & District’s Josh Grace finished seventh at the race in 2017 but as a regular sub 30 minute performer is likely to be nearer the front this time. Shaun Antell of Bideford AC stormed to a 29:13 best for the distance at the Brighton Marathon 10k race in April and on Welsh soil in May at the ABP Newport 10k.

The post Fantastic elite field assembled for Cardiff 10km appeared first on Fast Running.

Letterkenny’s Anne Marie McGlynn and Kevin Seaward of St Malachy’s both ran personal best times at the Barcelona Half Marathon on Sunday (February 10)

McGlynn went under 72 minutes for the first time with a big personal best of 71:59 and finished seventh in the women’s race. Seaward was 12th of the men in 63:38 – his first time under 64 minutes.

Hiko Tonosa of Dundrum South Dublin AC and Fionnuala McCormack of Kilcoole were the winners at the Enniscorthy 10k on Sunday.

Tonosa continues his return to racing after injury with a solid victory in 31:02, while McCormack, who gave birth to her first child last September, ran a strong time of 33:21 to finish fourth overall.

Sergiu Ciobanu of Clonliffe Harriers finished second in 31:13, while David Mansfield of Clonmel AC was third in 31:47. Second woman was Linda Byrne of DSD AC, a previous winner of the race, in 36:26, with Sally Forristal of St Joseph’s AC third in 37:48.

Clonliffe’s Gary O’Hanlon broke his own course record by four minutes when winning the Donadea 50km, which doubles as the national championships, in Co Kildare on Saturday (February 9).

O’Hanlon took a commanding lead in the first 10km of the race finishing in a time of 2:50.48. A distant second was Shaun McLaughlin of Westport AC in 3:17.45.

First woman in 3:48.16 was Laura O’Driscoll of Setanta Triathlon Club in Dundalk.

Indoors

Phil Healy of Bandon ASC ran a time of 53.72 secs in a tactical women’s invitational 400m at the annual Millrose Games in the Armory, New York on Saturday evening.

Winner was Jaide Stepter of the USA in 53.25, who was third at 200m; Healy was fourth.

Healy ran a time of 52.31 in Vienna last month – not far off her personal best of 52.19. Having missed out at the World Indoors last year, her immediate target is a place in the 400m final at the European Indoors in Glasgow next month.

Winning the Fastest Kid in the world boys’ race over 55m at the Armory was Shane Haran from Curry in Co Sligo in 8.68 secs. His secret? “To pump my arms.”

Also on Saturday, Mark English ran a European Indoors qualifying time of 1:48.66 at the IFAM Meet in Ghent, Belgium. The qualifying mark is 1:49.

Lauren Roy of City of Lisburn AC clocked a time of 7.48 secs to finish eighth in the women’s 60m at the British Indoor Championships in Birmingham on Saturday.

Roy qualified for the final by running 7.54 and 7.52 in the heats and semi-finals. Race winner was Asha Philip of Newham EB in 7.19.

At the Irish University Indoor Championships in Athlone on Friday (February 8), Molly Scott and Joseph Ojewumi both ran qualifying marks for the 60m at next month’s European Indoors.

Scott, representing IT Carlow, ran a time of 7.36 secs to win the women’s title comfortably inside the required mark of 7.40. Ojewumi, a student at DCU, was just one-hundredth of a second inside the men’s qualifying mark of 6.78 secs with a time of 6.77.

Finishing second in 6.85 was Marcus Lawler of IT Carlow, with Tralee IT’s Travane Morrison third in 6.86. Scott also won the 60m hurdle in 8.34 secs, beating UCD’s Sarah Lavin.

In a closely-fought men’s 200m final, Craig Newell of the University of Ulster narrowly beat DCU’s Cillin Green with the pair timed at 21.68 and 21.70 secs.

Almost as close was the 400m, where Andrew Mellon of Queen’s clocked 47.70 to beat Brandon Arrey of DCU second in 47.83.

Winning the women’s 200m in 24.07 was Sophie Becker of DCU with Sharlene Mawdsley from UL second in 24.21. Becker already has a European Indoors qualifying time for the 400m from last weekend’s Indoor Games.

Michaela Walsh of DCU dominated the women’s shot, winning with a season’s best so far of 14.42m. Best in the men’s shot was Eoin Sheridan of DCU with 15.17m.

In the men’s combined events pentathlon, Shane Aston of IT Carlow accumulated 3324 points on his way to victory. A time of 2:49.50 in the 1000m helped UCD’s David Dagg into second place with 2949 points. Winning the women’s title with 3049 points was Katie Walsh of CIT.

Overall, DCU dominated both men and women’s competition, winning both titles. UCD and IT Carlow were second and third of the men while UCC and NUIG were second and third of the women.

Ciara Mageean continued her preparations for the European Indoors with a second place in the 1500m at the Meeting Madrid in Spain on Friday; the meet is part of the IAAF World Indoor Tour.

Winning the race in 4:08.31 was Poland’s Sofia Ennaoui; Mageean was clocked at 4:10.12.

Highlight of the NIA Live meet in Abbotstown on Tuesday (February 5) was a time of 1:52.34 clocked by Shane Fitzsimons of Mullingar Harriers in the 1500m. Next round is on February 19.

parkrun

Scottish runner Tom Roche ran 16:53 to at the Naas parkrun to record the fastest men’s time across Ireland on Saturday, while Annette Kealy claimed the women’s top spot after an 18:35 run at the Malahide event.

The top 10 runs at parkrun 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 Kevin Seaward and Ann-Marie McGlynn impress in Barcelona appeared first on Fast Running.

Charlotte Arter continued her impressive form with a 69:40 run to finish fifth at the Mitja Marató de Barcelona on Sunday (February 10).

The 27 year-old, who was the first European runner across the finish line, improved her personal best by almost two minutes after running 5k splits of 16:29, 16:23, 16:31 and 16:44 before her 69:40 finish.

Arter’s performance was 16 seconds quicker than the previous fastest half marathon by a Welsh female athlete – 69:56 ran by Susan Tooby (Wightman) in 1988 – and sees her jump from 21st to eighth on the UK all-time rankings.

Just last week, Charlotte Purdue also ran inside 70 minutes for the first time and both British athletes will race at The Big Half next month in London.

Meanwhile, Irish international Ann-Marie McGlynn finished seventh after posting her first sub 72 minute half marathon with a big personal best 71:59.

Also in the women’s race, Sonia Samuels ran a PB of 72:19 to finish ninth, with Lily Partridge running the same time in 10th place.

There were also a number of other strong performances by British athletes in Barcelona, including Tracy Barlow who ran 72:26, Eleanor Whyman-Davis ran a PB of 72:44, as did Clara Evans who clocked 72:49, while Jenny Nesbitt ran 73:14.

In the men’s race, Kevin Seaward, who finished fourth in the marathon for Northern Ireland at last year’s Commonwealth Games, finished 14th after running inside 64 minutes for the first time in a PB of 63:38.

Dan Studley crossed the finish line in 17th place running 63:58, while there were new bests for Dominic Shaw (64:28), Lucian Allison (64:29), Josh Griffiths (64:53), Andy Davies (64:57) and Will Mycroft (65:16).

The overall victories went to Kenya’s Eric Kiptanui and Ethiopia’s Roza Dereje. Kiptanui clocked a time of 61:04 to win the men’s race, with Dereje running 66:01 to claim the women’s title.

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patreon. 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 Charlotte Arter runs Welsh half marathon record in Barcelona appeared first on Fast Running.

Charlotte Purdue’s 69:46 clocking at Marugame Half Marathon on Sunday (February 2) cemented her place as one of the UK’s top endurance runners.

Purdue’s time was a significant slice off her previous best recorded at last year’s Big Half Marathon in London, where she ran 70:29 to take the win in the English capital.

The Aldershot, Farnham & District runner was fourth in the Marugame international event, which was won by Kenya’s Betsy Saina in 67:49, while the Netherland’s Abdi Nageeye took the men’s race in 60:24 to set a new Dutch record.

Purdue finished one place behind Irish-born Australian international Sinead Diver who continued her sizzling form running a PB of 68:55.

Diver, who turns 42 later this month, broke the over-40 world record by over a minute.

The County Mayo native moved to Australia in 2002 and made her debut for her adopted home at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing. If Diver was running for Ireland her time would have also set a new Irish half marathon record.

Purdue and Diver have been training together with the Melbourne Track Club and both athletes will take on the London Marathon in April.

There were impressive performances back in the UK too on Sunday, with the Chichester 10k seeing seven men dip under 30 minutes and a new course record Steph Twell.

Twell took the women’s title in 33:17 in her first race outing since running a fantastic 2:30:11 marathon debut in Valencia last December.

The Geoff Wightman-coached athlete will be looking forward to duelling with Purdue in London in April as she sets her sights on a World Championships qualifying time.

Twell’s fellow AFD athlete Lauren Hall was also in record breaking form of a personal nature as she ran a 33:59 PB to finish runner up, while Worthing & District Harriers’ Leah Harris ran a superb 34:54 10k debut to finish third.

The men’s race was an incredibly tightly fought affair that saw the top seven all beating 30 minutes, with Enfield & Haringey’s Will Mycroft slicing a massive 62 seconds off his PB with a winning 29:32 result.

Last year’s Cambridge Half Marathon winner, Mycroft has made stupendous progress over the shorter distances over recent months.

For example, the 14:38 5k runner brought his parkrun time from 17:21 (set last December) to 15:39 just last weekend, albeit on very different courses. 

He beat second placed Paul Navesey from Crawley AC by just one second as the versatile athlete also ran a massive 61 second PB to cross the line in 29:33.  

Navesey’s trophy cabinet includes an impressive variety of silverware, with gold medals from the 2018 Sussex 5000m sitting alongside one from the 2016 UK 100k Championships! 

He ran 6:58:52 to go 23rd in the all time rankings at the Perth ultra event, but has clearly since focussed on his top end speed with admirable results.

Third place at Chichester went to Clapham Chasers’ Andy Coley-Maud, with the former GB international and last year’s runner up clocking 29:37 to just miss his PB. 

Fourth placed Calum Johnson also ran a PB of 29:38, as did Bristol & West’s Peter Le Grice (29:39) – who also ran the fastest UK parkrun time yesterday of 15:10 – and Lewes AC’s Tom Evans (29:44), who finished 5th and 6th. 

Notts AC’s Doug Musson ran 29:50 to follow up on his Nottinghamshire Cross Country Championships win last month.

Matt Clowes and Rosie Clarke won the popular Alsager 5 mile road race on Sunday.

Cardiff AAC’s Clowes clocked 24:16 for the win ahead of clubmate and Commonwealth Games fourth-placed marathoner Kevin Seaward, who was also awarded a 24:16 finish.

Notts AC’s Stuart Spencer also finished inside 25 minutes with a 24:30 clocking.

Not long back from a stint at altitude training in Kenya, GB international steeplechase Clarke won the women’s race in 27:14.

After winning the Midland cross country title last weekend, City of Stoke’s Kate Holt was back racing and finished second in 27:30 ahead of Swansea Harriers Elinor Kirk, who posted a time of 28:31.

Over in Germany on Saturday night, Melissa Courtney ran a world-leading time of 8:43.36 to win the 3000 race at the Indoor Meeting Karlsruhe.

The Commonwealth 1500m bronze medallist’s winning time was also a Welsh indoor record and she jumps to eighth on the UK indoor all-time list.

Super run from @mcourtney93 in Karlsruhe! And a @WelshAthletics indoor record too! #iaafworldindoortour https://t.co/Nz2bWdQGBf

— Fast Running (@FastRunning) February 2, 2019

There was an international winner at Colchester’s Great Bentley Half Marathon on Sunday when GB’s Helen Davies won in convincing fashion in 72:49, her second fastest time and her quickest since 2012.

Photo: Simon Howlett

The V35 athlete continues to impress as she makes inroads into PBs across the board, and based on this form it surely won’t be long before her 72:35 half marathon best will be under threat.

Witham RC’s Rachel Sweatt was a distant second but still posted a very strong time of 79:28, a result that would easily win most events in the UK.

Davies’ club mate Laura Thomas was third lady in 81:25, a great result for the Suffolk County Cross Country Championships bronze medallist.

Further north the Yorkshire hills saw some fast times for the Dewsbury 10k winners, the consistently excellent Julie Briscoe from Wakefield and Jarrow & Hebburn’s Chris Parr on Sunday (February 2).

Briscoe ran a scintillating 35:04 to run her fastest 10k in well over a year to take the victory from Leeds City’s Rachel Friend.

Friend crossed the line second in a fine 35:38, which was just seven seconds shy of her PB set at last December’s Ribble Valley 10k. 

The Leeds City athlete was nearly two minutes clear of third placed Amy Young from Hyde Park Harriers, who ran 37:31 – a near 80 second PB.

Parr led the men’s pack in for the win in 31:22 to hold off Spenborough & District’s Joe Sagar, who finished fast in a time of 31:37. Penistone Footpath Runners’ Scott Hinchcliffe made all those fell training runs worthwhile with a 31:43 clocking for third and a new PB to boot.

Staying with the 10k action, there was a dominant win for Heanor’s Chris Rainsford at the London Winter Run on Sunday (February 2), while Luton’s Charlene Jacobs-Conradie took the women’s top prize.

Rainsford won comfortably in 31:23 from Spaniard Sergio Santos Rodriguez, who posted a 32:07 result. Patrick Townsend took the final podium spot in 32:17.

Jacobs-Conradie only started competing less than four years ago, when she was already a V35, but has gone from strength to strength during that short period. Her 35:48 result here was a three minute improvement on her debut over the distance in May 2017!

The runner’s up medal went to Ana Fox, who ran 36:14, while Herne Hill Harriers’ Jordan Foster posted yet another PB in third with a 36:51 result. Foster’s new lifetime best represents a 41 second revision of her previous PB from last month’s RunThrough 10k in Richmond.

Blackburn’s Winter Warmer 10k saw wins for Tipton’s Stephen Corbishley and Victoria Mousley from the host town’s Harriers club (February 2).

Corbishley is a prolific racer on all surfaces, finishing fourth at the recent Stafforshire County Cross Country Championships. The versatile athlete won here in 34:08, ahead of Blackburn’s Josh Holgate’s 34:17 and Thomas Blaney’s 34:50.

Mousley won the women’s race by exactly two minutes when she crossed the line first in 40:59.  The V35 ace beat off Sara Baranowska’s 42:59 and Swinton RC’s V45 Lauren Marsden, who ran 43:23 for third. 

Liverpool Pembroke’s top endurance runner and increasingly competitive athlete at all levels, Kirsty Longley finished fifth overall at the Mad Dog 10k in Southport on Sunday (February 2).

The V40 ace ran a strong 35:30 to beat club mate Helen Sahgal into second place, the V35 running well herself to post a 39:08 result. Carmel Triggs took the third prize and beat 40 minutes as well to clock 39:42.

The first man across the line was Red Rose’s Simon Croft, who ran 33:57 to top the podium in Merseyside. Salford Harriers’ Paul Bannister was a clear second in 34:41, while Steel City Striders’ Liam Turner just held off fourth placed Francois Rafferty by 10 seconds with a 35:15 result.

Saturday’s BUCS Cross Country Championships at Bicton in Devon saw wins for Emile Cairess (by 1000th of a second!) and Anna Møller (February 1). Click here for the full report.

Photo: JHMSport

Peter Le Grice and Jen Elkins were the speediest in the UK at parkrun events yesterday, find out who else made the top ten here.

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patreon. 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 Charlotte Purdue runs UK’s 9th fastest half marathon in Japan – weekend round-up  appeared first on Fast Running.

This week’s Irish round-up is supported by SOAR running, who are offering an exclusive 25% discount to club runners. Find out more about the offer here.

Armagh AC’s Fionnuala Ross ran a big personal best 33:30 to win the Leeds Abbey Dash 10k in England on Sunday (November 4).

Ross, who competed for Ireland at the World Half Marathon Championships earlier this year, took 27 seconds off her previous best for the distance.

Photo: Leeds Abbey Dash

In the men’s race, Irish marathoner Kevin Seaward made it into the top 10 running 30:05, while Raheny Shamrock’s Kevin Dooney ran a PB of 30:17 to finish 11th.

Colm Rooney of Clonliffe Harriers and Ide Nic Dhomhnaill of Donore Harriers won the senior titles at the Dublin Cross Country Championships in Santry on Sunday.

A group that included Rooney, his Clonliffe team mate Cathal Doyle, Dundrum South Dublin pair Robert Corbally and Killian Mooney and Mitchell Byrne of Rathfarnham WSAF led the men’s 10km from the start. Only on the final lap did Rooney break free for victory in 30:55, followed by Doyle, Corbally, Mooney and Byrne in that order.

Despite missing their big name athletes including Gary O’Hanlon, Sergiu Ciobanu, David Flynn and Stephen Scullion, Clonliffe emerged as comfortable winners of the men’s team trophy with Eoin Taggart eighth, Sean Doran 15th, Thomas Sherlock 18th, and Adam O’Brien 21st.

A distant second was DSD, with Crusaders AC third and defending champions Raheny Shamrock, who like Clonliffe, were missing their top men, fourth.

In a dramatic women’s 6km race, Niamh Allen of Crusaders AC pushed the pace from the start and built up a 30 metre lead on the chasing pack which included Ide Nic Dhomhnaill along with Dundrum South Dublin’s Meghan Ryan and Linda Byrne, and Anna Reddin of Crusaders. With about 2km of the race left, Allen pulled up briefly allowing Nic Dhomhnaill to power into the lead, with Ryan chasing hard.

Nic Dhomhnaill held on to win in 20:34, with Ryan second in 20.46 despite the best efforts of Reddin to catch her. Linda Byrne was fourth and Allen fifth. With Orla Drumm sixth and former champion Caroline Crowley ninth, Crusaders finished best of the teams on 23 points with Dundrum South Dublin four points behind for second and Donore third.

Winning the junior men’s 6km race by almost half a minute was Dublin novice champion Sean O’Leary of Clonliffe Harriers. Aaron Donnelly in second place was leading DSD to team victory over Clonliffe Harriers and Lucan Harriers. David Troy of Metro St Brigid’s finished third.
Ailish Murtagh of Raheny Shamrock won the junior women’s 4km race with Clonliffe Harriers the only club to enter a full team.

Front running performances gave victories to Mark McKinstry of North Belfast Harriers and North Down AC’s Jessica Craig at the 84th annual McConnell Shield Cross Country in Sixmilewater Park, Ballyclare on Saturday (November 3).

In the women’s 3 mile and men’s over 60 race, Craig was followed home by Laura Bickerstaff of Dromore AC and Cara Laverty from City of Derry Spartans. First M60 and second overall was Laurence Johnston of North Belfast Harriers.

Mark McKinstry was taking his first ever victory in his local race and finished well clear of Glaslough Harriers’ Conor Duffy with Noel Logan of City of Derry Spartans third.

International

Shona Heaslip of An Riocht, who goes for a third national cross-country title at the end of the month, finished a close third in the women’s race at the CrossCup Mol in Belgium on Sunday. Polish athletes Anna Gosk forced the pace from the start and finished first ahead of her compatriot Katarzyna Rutkowska.

Heaslip was just two seconds behind for third. Also competing was Avril Deegan of Ballyroan Abbeyleix and District AC who finished 16th.

Emma O’Brien of Sli Cualann and DCU won the women’s junior race by almost a minute from local athlete Mathilde Deswaef. Jodie McCann of DCH was third and Avril Deegan of Ballyroan, Abbeyleix and District fifth.

In the senior men’s race, won by German cross-country champion Samuel Fitwi in 28:39, Kevin Maunsell of Clonmel AC was ninth in 29:42 and Luke McCann of Dublin City Harriers 26th in 31:37.

Wheelchair athlete Patrick Monahan of Le Cheile AC closed out his season with a fourth place at the Seoul Marathon in Korea on Sunday. His time of 1:33:11 was five minuted faster than the time he recorded in Dublin a week earlier.

Indoors

An Irish schools team picked up two individual silver medals at the annual SIAB Schools Combined Events International in Glasgow on Saturday (November 3)

In the U16 age group, both Harry Nevin and Laura Frawley finished second. The U16 boys team also took silver, as did the over 16 girls led by Chloe Casey who finished fourth in 3598 points.

The boys’ over 16 team finished third with Wiymin Sivakumar the team’s highest scorer with 3429 points. The U16 girls team also finished third.

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patreon. 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 Fionnuala Ross impresses in Leeds as cross country takes centre stage in Dublin appeared first on Fast Running.

Irish national cross country champion Shona Heaslip and Clonmel’s Sean Tobin won the senior races at the Autumn Open International Cross Country at the Sport Ireland National Sports Campus in Abbottstown on Sunday (October 21).

An Riocht’s Heaslip was pleased she made the journey up from Kerry to defend the race she won last year covering the 6000m distance in 20:05.

It was a top performance ahead of Scotland’s Mhairi McLennan who was second in 20:12, with Armagh AC’s Fionnuala Ross third in 20:22.

Senior women’s presentation made by Deputy Mayor of Fingal. Cllr. Grainne Maguire at the Autumn Open Cross Country International Festival @Fingalcoco pic.twitter.com/IOzzRzYRVE

— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) October 21, 2018

Sean Tobin headed a strong showing by Clonmel AC storming to the win in the senior men’s 7500m race in 21:45.

Raheny Shamrock’s Kevin Dooney, who features on Fast Running as part of the Fast 10: class of 2018, finished second in 22:21 ahead of Kevin Maunsell of Clonmel in third in a time of 22:25.

William Maunsell finished sixth overall for three Clonmel runners to be in the top six for a strong team showing ahead of the Irish Life Health National Cross on November 25.

They will be on the hunt for a strong fourth man to threaten the main two clubs in the last number of years – Raheny Shamrock and Clonliffe Harriers.

Finn Valley’s Teresa McGloin was first female master across the line, and first F40, in 21:02 with Fiona Kehoe of Kilmore AC next and first F35 in 21:47.

The next age group winners were Jackie Carthy of Kilmore in the F45, Annette Kealy of Raheny Shamrock in the F50, An Riocht’s Niamh O’Sullivan in the F55 Pauline Moran of Mayo AC in the F60, Margaret Glavey of Mayo AC in the F65 and Dundrum South Dublin’s Joan Coyle in the F70.

Emma O’Brien of Sli Cualann continued her fine form to win the women’s U20 race over 4500m in 15:45. Mia McCalmont of Tir Chonaill was second in 16:07, with Bandon’s Laura Nicholson third in 16:11.

Brian Maher of Kilkenny City Harriers headed the men’s masters’ field and was first M40 in 23:29 with Colm Rooney of Clonliffe Harriers second across the line and first M35 in 23:42.

The next leading masters were Shane O’Neill of Rathfarnham first M45 in 24:36, Shane Healy of Metro/St Brigid’s first M50 in 24:14 and Sli Cualann’s Mick Byrne was first M55.

Martin McDonald of Ballyroan, Abbeyleix & District was first M60, Paul Elliott of Beechmount Harriers first M65, Tom Hunt of Mayo first M70, Mike Duggan of Annalee first M75 and James Bennett of Clonliffe Harriers first M80.

Bantry’s Darragh McElhinney Bantry ran a brave race to try and hang in with the seniors and dominated the U20 men’s 6000m race in 18:05 ahead of Sean O’Leary of Clonliffe Harriers in second in 18:19 and Jamie Battle of Mullingar Harriers in third in 18:25.

At the Great South Run in Portsmouth, Kevin Seaward impressed to finish fifth overall.

The Irish international marathoner clocked a personal best 48:41 over the 10-mile course, finishing less than two minutes behind race winner Chris Thompson.

RELATED: How I train: Kevin Seaward

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us. 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 Shona Heaslip and Sean Tobin among winners at Autumn Open Cross Country appeared first on Fast Running.

Ireland’s marathoners battled the tough conditions to finish six in the men’s team competition and eighth in the women’s event at the European Championships in Berlin on Sunday (August 12).

Kevin Seaward was the best of the men and once again impressed in a championship marathon to finish 15th overall in 2:16:58.

Seaward, who claimed a top-four spot at the Commonwealth Games in April, was followed across the finish line by Mick Clohisey in 18th place running a time of 2:18:00.

Less than a minute behind in 25th was Sean Hehir who clocked 2:18:58 to secure sixth place for the Irish team in a combined time of 6:53:55.

Conditions got progressively hotter throughout the race which proved challenging for the runners as the temperature got hotter the further they went into the race.

Sergiu Ciobanu was next for Ireland in 36th place running 2:19:49, followed by Paul Pollock in 47th posting a time of 2:23:26.

Koen Naert of Belgium took gold in a championship record of 2:09:51 ahead of Switzerland’s Tadesse Abraham in 2:11:24 with Italy’s Yassine Rachik completing the podium in 2:12:09.

In the women’s race, Lizzie Lee led the team to eighth place after crossing the line in a time of 2:40:12 to finish 29th overall.

Breege Connolly finished 31st in a time of 2:41:53, with Gladys Ganiel running 2:42:42 to cross the line in 33rd place.

The trio posted a combined time of 8:04:46 to finish eighth in the team competition.

Afterwards, Lee said: “Position wise and time wise I was hoping for a bit better but if you had told me I was going to finish at mile 22 I would have bitten your hand off.”

Women’s marathon team post race where they placed 8th overall pic.twitter.com/z4FhEjTQkz

— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) August 12, 2018

Volha Mazuronak of Belarus won gold in 2:26:22, just seconds ahead of France’s Clemence Calvin in 2:26:30, while Czech athlete Eva Vrabcova-Nyvltova completed the podium in a personal best 2:26:31.

The Belarusian lived up to the tag of pre-race favourite despite suffering nose bleeds and almost taking a wrong turn in the last mile.

RELATED: The marathon story of Kevin Seaward

RELATED: The alternative route to the top by Ireland’s marathon women

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patreon. 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 Ireland’s marathon teams sixth and eighth in Berlin appeared first on Fast Running.