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	<title>Sergiu Ciobanu Archives | Fast Running</title>
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	<link>https://fastrunning.com/all-about/sergiu-ciobanu</link>
	<description>Running news, opinion, races &#38; training tips</description>
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		<title>International Stars to Compete at the Bobby Rea XC</title>
		<link>http://fastrunning.com/cross-country/international-stars-to-compete-at-the-bobby-rea-xc/27720</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Robbie Britton]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 01 Nov 2019 09:43:17 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Cross country]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ireland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bobby Rea International]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cross country]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Emile Cairess]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iona Lake]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mhairi Maclennan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sergiu Ciobanu]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://fastrunning.com/?p=27720</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>The Bobby Rea International Cross Country is on Saturday 9th November at the Billy Neill MBE Country Park. The historical Bobby Rea Memorial Cross Country will this year incorporate the Northern Ireland International Cross Country, attracting athletes from the UK, Ireland and across Europe to the Lisburn &#38; Castlereagh Council owned facility. The event is part [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://fastrunning.com/cross-country/international-stars-to-compete-at-the-bobby-rea-xc/27720">International Stars to Compete at the Bobby Rea XC</a> appeared first on <a href="http://fastrunning.com">Fast Running</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>The Bobby Rea International Cross Country is on Saturday 9<sup>th</sup> November at the Billy Neill MBE Country Park.</strong></p>
<p>The historical Bobby Rea Memorial Cross Country will this year incorporate the Northern Ireland International Cross Country, attracting athletes from the UK, Ireland and across Europe to the Lisburn &amp; Castlereagh Council owned facility.</p>
<p>The event is part of the Athletics NI XC League, so numbers are expected to be high, with local athletes competing to gain points for their club, as well as the newly introduced, International contingent.</p>
<h4>Strong fields for men and women</h4>
<p>Among those confirmed so far are Ireland’s Sergiu Ciobanu, who finished in 8<sup>th</sup> place (2:17.17) in the recent Dublin Marathon and Clonmel AC’s Kevin Maunsell. They will be joined by Irish Olympic Steeplechaser, Michelle Finn and Dublin City Harriers’ Jodie McCann.</p>
<p>GB’s female duo of Iona Lake and Mhairi McLennan, both of whom have previously competed at the Armagh International Road Races will be competing alongside European U23 10,000m Bronze Medallist, Emile Cairess.</p>
<p>From further afield will be Germany’s Thilo Brill and Niles Voight and Italy’s Said El Othmani in the Men’s event. In the Women’s event, Poland’s Sylwia Indenka and Klaudia Kaziemierska will compete.</p>
<p>They will be joined by the NI &amp; Ulster team, which you can see here: <a href="https://athleticsni.org/News/Athletics-NI-News/NI-and-Ulster-Team-Announced-for-the-Bobby-Rea-International">https://athleticsni.org/News/Athletics-NI-News/NI-and-Ulster-Team-Announced-for-the-Bobby-Rea-International</a></p>
<h4>More information below</h4>
<p>The day’s events will also include the NI &amp; Ulster Uneven Age Group Championships, with junior athletes from across the province competing to qualify through to the All-Ireland Uneven Age Group Championships on 15<sup>th</sup> December 2019.</p>
<p>Entries are now closed for the Uneven Age Groups, however, entries will be available on the day for the Bobby Rea XC from 1pm at Registration.</p>
<p>More information on the Bobby Rea International XC and the NI &amp; Ulster Uneven Age Groups can be found here:</p>
<p>Bobby Rea: <a href="https://athleticsni.org/Fixtures/Bobby-Rea-International-Cross-Country-2019">https://athleticsni.org/Fixtures/Bobby-Rea-International-Cross-Country-2019</a></p>
<p>Unevens: <a href="https://athleticsni.org/Fixtures/NI-And-Ulster-Uneven-Age-Group-Championships-2019">https://athleticsni.org/Fixtures/NI-And-Ulster-Uneven-Age-Group-Championships-2019</a></p>
<p><em>Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a <a href="https://www.patreon.com/fastrunning" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">patron</a>. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can <a href="http://www.patreon.com/fastrunning" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">support Fast Running</a> – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="http://fastrunning.com/cross-country/international-stars-to-compete-at-the-bobby-rea-xc/27720">International Stars to Compete at the Bobby Rea XC</a> appeared first on <a href="http://fastrunning.com">Fast Running</a>.</p>
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		<title>Sergiu Ciobanu and Sean Hehir among Irish weekend winners</title>
		<link>http://fastrunning.com/events-and-races/weekend-round-ups/sergiu-ciobanu-and-sean-hehir-among-irish-weekend-winners/24343</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Lindie Naughton]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 25 Mar 2019 10:50:18 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Ireland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Weekend round-ups]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sergiu Ciobanu]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://fastrunning.com/?p=24343</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>The pair win in Mallow and Roscommon, while Killian Mooney, Kate Cronin, Eoin Lennon and Nicola Duncan take the titles at the Maurice Mullins events. Sergiu Ciobanu of Clonliffe Harriers broke 50 minutes to win the Mallow 10 Mile in 49:21 on Sunday (March 24). Over two minutes behind in 51:28 was second placed Rory [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://fastrunning.com/events-and-races/weekend-round-ups/sergiu-ciobanu-and-sean-hehir-among-irish-weekend-winners/24343">Sergiu Ciobanu and Sean Hehir among Irish weekend winners</a> appeared first on <a href="http://fastrunning.com">Fast Running</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>The pair win in Mallow and Roscommon, while Killian Mooney, Kate Cronin, Eoin Lennon and Nicola Duncan take the titles at the Maurice Mullins events.</strong></p>
<p>Sergiu Ciobanu of Clonliffe Harriers broke 50 minutes to win the <strong>Mallow 10 Mile</strong> in 49:21 on Sunday (March 24).</p>
<p>Over two minutes behind in 51:28 was second placed Rory O’Connor of North Cork ASC, while third in 51:56 was Paul Moloney of host club Mallow AC.</p>
<p>First woman and 16th overall was Aoife Cooke of Youghal AC in 55:17. Linda Byrne of Dundrum South Dublin AC was second in 59:55 and Fiona Santry of East Cork AC third in 60:38.</p>
<p>Winners of the Tullamore Harriers 5km on Sunday were Mick Fogarty of Ferbane AC in 15:56 and Nadine Donegan of Tullamore Harriers in 17:43.</p>
<p>Sean Hehir of Rathfarnham WSAF was in action at the <strong>Ros Run Marathon, Half Marathon and 10km</strong> in Roscommon on Saturday (March 23), where he won the marathon by some distance in 2:23:23.</p>
<p>Hehir’s Rathfarnham clubmate Kevin Donagher won the <strong>Clongowes 5km</strong> in Co Kildare on the same day. Laura Buckley was first woman in 18:59.</p>
<p>At the <strong>K Club BHAA 10km</strong> held in the leafy roads around Straffan in Co Kildare on Saturday, Colin Maher in 30:10 and Meghan Ryan in 35:05 were the winners with just shy of 500 completing this popular race in the Business Houses calendar.</p>
<p>Marathoner Laura Graham of Mourne Runners continued her comeback from injury when she finished first woman at the <strong>Larne Half Marathon</strong> on Saturday.</p>
<p>Graham’s time of 75:46 saw her finish 19 seconds ahead of Gladys Ganiel from North Belfast Harriers, who clocked a time of 76:05. Jessica Craig of North Down AC was third in 79:24.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Well done to all our NDAC runners at the brilliant Larne half marathon today and congratulations to Jessica Craig on her podium finish <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/17.0.2/72x72/1f949.png" alt="🥉" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> <a href="https://t.co/KqLXk8IlTC">pic.twitter.com/KqLXk8IlTC</a></p>
<p>&mdash; North Down AC (@NorthDownAC) <a href="https://twitter.com/NorthDownAC/status/1109572944710328320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Overall race winner in 69:40 was Vincent McKenna of Acorns AC. Foyle Valley AC’s Gary Slevin was second in 69:56 and John Black of North Belfast Harriers third in 71:01.</p>
<p>Over 2,000 completed the race, which is part of the Pure Running Half Marathon Series.</p>
<h4><strong>Trails</strong></h4>
<p>Killian Mooney of Dundrum South Dublin finished over eight minutes clear of the field to win the <strong>Maurice Mullins Trail 25km</strong> in Co Wicklow on Saturday.</p>
<p>Mooney&#8217;s finished in 1:40:25; second was Mark Stephens of Newcastle AC in 1:48:34, while third was Tom Lupton of Portlaoise AC in 1:49:20.</p>
<div id="attachment_24344" style="width: 1010px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-24344" class="size-full wp-image-24344" src="http://fastrunning.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Killian-Mooney.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="600" srcset="http://fastrunning.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Killian-Mooney.jpg 1000w, http://fastrunning.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Killian-Mooney-300x180.jpg 300w, http://fastrunning.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Killian-Mooney-768x461.jpg 768w, http://fastrunning.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Killian-Mooney-400x240.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><p id="caption-attachment-24344" class="wp-caption-text">Photo: IMRA</p></div>
<p>First woman and 13th overall was Kate Cronin of Raheny Shamrock in 2:04:38. Laura O&#8217;Driscoll of Setanta AC was second in 2:11:01 and Deirdre Galvin of Westport AC third in 2:12:46.</p>
<p>Winning the 51km ultra race was Eoin Lennon of Carnethy HR in 3:53:00. Martin Lynch of Milford AC was second in 3:52.29 and Brian McFlynn of Newcastle AC third in 4:06.15.</p>
<p>Nicola Duncan of Galway City Harriers was first woman in 4:27:20, followed by Angela Speight and Kelly-Anne Speight from Co Fermanagh, who finished together in 4:43.58.</p>
<h4><strong>Schools Cross Country International</strong></h4>
<p>A battling performance in the mixed relay proved the highlight of the Irish performances at the performance in<strong> SIAB Schools Cross Country International</strong> in Santry on Saturday (March 23).</p>
<p>Held for the first time at this event, the race consisted of four 1500m laps, with Matthew Lavery and Fiontann Campbell, both from St Malachy’s Belfast, along with Emma Landers of Pobalscoil na Trionoide Youghal and Ava O&#8217;Connor Scoil Chriost Ri Portlaoise making up the Irish team.</p>
<p>Ireland led at the first change with Scotland second and England third. Those placings remained the same on the second lap, with just three seconds between the teams.</p>
<p>On the decisive third lap, Ireland and England pulled away before England took the lead on the final lap. England won in 18:42, with Ireland second in 18:47 and Scotland third in 19:08.</p>
<p>Making it a clean sweep of the team titles races was England, who also had individual wins in all four races.</p>
<p>In the intermediate boys race, double All Ireland champion Michael Morgan of Summerhill college finished fifth – an improvement on his 11th place of a year earlier. With Scott Fagan of Luttrellstown College 10th, Callum Morgan of St Malachy&#8217;s 15th, and Eanna O Bradaigh of Colaiste Eoin 17th, Ireland took the runners-up spot by seven points from Scotland for a second year.</p>
<p>English athletes took the top three places, led by Mohamed Ali.</p>
<p>Jack McCausland of Belfast Royal Academy had earlier finished fifth in the junior race, where the Irish team finished third. Myles Hewlett of CBS New Ross was 16th and Nicholas Griggs of Cookstown HS 18th. England took seven of the top eight places.</p>
<p>Best of the Irish girls was Roisin O’Reilly of Loreto Wexford who finished 11th in the girls inter-race. Holly Brennan of Sacred Heart Drogheda was 14th, Lucy O’Keeffe of St Mary’s Midleton 17th, Cara Laverty of Thornhill College 18th and Hannah O’Keeffe of Loreto Kilkenny 19th with the team finishing third. England’s Beatrice Wood was the race winner.</p>
<p>The Irish junior girls finished fourth, led by Catherine Martin of Down HS in 17th place, followed closely by her school mate Kirsti Foster 19th, and Neasa Ni Ainifein of Gaelcholaiste an Chlair 21st. Holly Weedall of England the individual winner.</p>
<h4><strong>parkrun</strong></h4>
<p>Dunleer AC&#8217;s Garry Campbell ran an excellent 14:44 at the St Anne’s parkrun in Dublin to not only record the fastest time across Ireland on Saturday, but also the quickest time ever at Irish parkruns.</p>
<p>Kerry Bamber was the quickest woman across Ireland after running a parkrun best 17:51 at the Belfast Victoria event.</p>
<p>The top runs at parkrun over the weekend can be <a href="https://fastrunning.com/events-and-races/parkrun/10-fastest-irish-parkrun-times-on-saturday-23rd-march-2019/24314" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">found here</a>.</p>
<p><em>Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a <a href="https://www.patreon.com/fastrunning" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">patron</a>. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can <a href="http://www.patreon.com/fastrunning" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">support Fast Running</a> – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="http://fastrunning.com/events-and-races/weekend-round-ups/sergiu-ciobanu-and-sean-hehir-among-irish-weekend-winners/24343">Sergiu Ciobanu and Sean Hehir among Irish weekend winners</a> appeared first on <a href="http://fastrunning.com">Fast Running</a>.</p>
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		<title>Freddy Sittuk and Sergiu Ciobanu among winners in Clonakilty &#8211; weekend round-up</title>
		<link>http://fastrunning.com/events-and-races/weekend-round-ups/freddy-sittuk-and-sergiu-ciobanu-among-winners-in-clonakilty-weekend-round-up/21622</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Lindie Naughton]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 10 Dec 2018 11:49:22 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Ireland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Weekend round-ups]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddy Sittuk]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sergiu Ciobanu]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://fastrunning.com/?p=21622</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>The duo take the half marathon and full marathon titles, while at the Mighty Oaks Cross Country, Aaron McGrady and Katie Moore claim the wins. Sergiu Ciobanu of Clonliffe Harriers was an untroubled winner of the Clonakilty Waterfront Half Marathon IX on Saturday (December 8) in a time of 73:22. Over a minute behind for second [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://fastrunning.com/events-and-races/weekend-round-ups/freddy-sittuk-and-sergiu-ciobanu-among-winners-in-clonakilty-weekend-round-up/21622">Freddy Sittuk and Sergiu Ciobanu among winners in Clonakilty &#8211; weekend round-up</a> appeared first on <a href="http://fastrunning.com">Fast Running</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>The duo take the half marathon and full marathon titles, while at the Mighty Oaks Cross Country, Aaron McGrady and Katie Moore claim the wins.</strong></p>
<p>Sergiu Ciobanu of Clonliffe Harriers was an untroubled winner of the <strong>Clonakilty Waterfront Half Marathon IX</strong> on Saturday (December 8) in a time of 73:22.</p>
<p>Over a minute behind for second and first M40 was Niall Sheil of St Killian’s AC in 74:49, while third was Mark Guerin in 76:56.</p>
<p>First M50 was former Irish international athlete Tony O’Halloran of Dundrum South Dublin AC in 88:33.</p>
<p>Jackie Carthy of Kilmore was first woman and first W45 in 86:49, followed by Kana Akimoto of North East Runners AC in 92:59 and Deirdre Ansbro of Youghal AC in 96:14.</p>
<p>Winning the marathon was Freddy Sittuk of Raheny Shamrock in 2:39:20. First woman in 3:18:07 was Charlotte Kearney of Donadea RC.</p>
<p>Winners of the 10k were Barry O’Shea of Midleton AC in 35:26 and Zoe Quinn of Raheny Shamrock AC in 39:34.</p>
<p>At the <strong>Ballyroan 10 Mile</strong> on Saturday, An Bru AC’s Niall Shanahan ran a big personal best to win the men’s race in a time of 51:27.</p>
<p>Gowran AC’s Niall Sheehan was second in 54:01 ahead of Celbridge AC’s Stephen Conroy who crossed the finish line in 56:32. In total six men finished under the hour mark.</p>
<p>Tullamore Harriers’ Pauline Curley won the women’s race in 64:13. The Beijing Olympian finished ahead of Sharon Kiely in 67:28 and Tara Malone in 68:06.</p>
<p>In Dublin’s Phoenix Park, Brian Maher of Kilkenny City Harries led home over 800 finishers in 31:50 at the annual <strong>Aware Charity 10k</strong>.</p>
<p>Rathfarnham ESAF’s Sean Hehir in second place was given the same time. Eoin Taggart clocked 33:51 for third place.</p>
<p>Finishing sixth and first woman was Caitriona Jennings of Letterkenny AC in 36:16. Anne O’Brien of Balbriggan and District AC was second.</p>
<p><img decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-18565" src="http://fastrunning.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Caitriona-Jennings.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="600" srcset="http://fastrunning.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Caitriona-Jennings.jpg 1000w, http://fastrunning.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Caitriona-Jennings-300x180.jpg 300w, http://fastrunning.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Caitriona-Jennings-768x461.jpg 768w, http://fastrunning.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Caitriona-Jennings-400x240.jpg 400w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></p>
<p>Aaron McGrady of East Down AC was the clear winner of the men’s 4-mile race at the <strong>Mighty Oaks Cross Country</strong> at the Mid-Ulster Sports Arena Playing Fields, Cookstown, on Saturday (December 8).</p>
<p>McGrady finished in 23:29, with the battle for second place won by Willowfield’s Neil Weir from Vincent McKenna of Acorns AC and Gareth Lyons.</p>
<p>Willowfield proved best of the 18 teams entered, with Ballymena Runners AC and Acorns AC second and third.</p>
<p>Katie Moore of North Down AC won the women’s 3-mile race in 20:03, with Karen Wilton of Jog Lisburn RC and Catherine Diver of Beechmount Harriers second and third.</p>
<p>Lagan Valley, led by Julie Murphy fourth and Shileen O’Kane fifth, were first team of the 19 teams ahead of Beechmount Harriers and Omagh Harriers.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, at the <strong>European Cross Country Championships</strong>, <a href="https://fastrunning.com/events-and-races/race-reports/irelands-ryan-forsyth-fourth-in-u23-mens-race-at-euro-cross/21546" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ryan Forsyth</a> impressed in the under-23 men&#8217;s race with a great run to finish fourth, while <a href="https://fastrunning.com/events-and-races/race-reports/sean-tobin-secures-top-10-finish-at-european-cross-country-championships/21563" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sean Tobin</a> delivered a strong performance to finish 10th in the senior men&#8217;s event.</p>
<p>Full reports from the European Cross Country Championships can be <a href="https://fastrunning.com/all-about/european-cross-country-championships" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found here</a>.</p>
<p>At <strong>parkrun</strong> events across Ireland on Saturday, St Malachy’s AC&#8217;s Conall McClean ran 16:14 at the Waterworks event to record the fastest men’s time, while Raheny Shamrock&#8217;s Annette Kealy topped the women’s rankings after running 18:24 at the Malahide parkrun.</p>
<p>The 10 fastest parkrun times in Ireland can be <a href="https://fastrunning.com/events-and-races/parkrun/10-fastest-irish-parkrun-times-on-saturday-8th-december-2018/21626" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found here</a>.</p>
<p><em>Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a <a href="https://www.patreon.com/fastrunning" target="_blank" rel="noopener">patron</a>. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can <a href="http://www.patreon.com/fastrunning" target="_blank" rel="noopener">support Fast Running</a> – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="http://fastrunning.com/events-and-races/weekend-round-ups/freddy-sittuk-and-sergiu-ciobanu-among-winners-in-clonakilty-weekend-round-up/21622">Freddy Sittuk and Sergiu Ciobanu among winners in Clonakilty &#8211; weekend round-up</a> appeared first on <a href="http://fastrunning.com">Fast Running</a>.</p>
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		<title>Kerry O’Flaherty and Sergiu Ciobanu race in Romania &#8211; Irish weekend round-up</title>
		<link>http://fastrunning.com/events-and-races/weekend-round-ups/kerry-oflaherty-and-sergiu-ciobanu-race-in-romania-irish-weekend-round-up/20923</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Lindie Naughton]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Nov 2018 10:54:33 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Ireland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Weekend round-ups]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[catherina mckiernan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kerry O’Flaherty]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sergiu Ciobanu]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://fastrunning.com/?p=20923</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Duo head overseas for road 5k, while athletes impress at the Leinster Cross Country Championships and on the Tollymore trails. 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. Sergiu Ciobanu of Clonliffe Harriers and Kerry O’Flaherty were in Brasov, [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://fastrunning.com/events-and-races/weekend-round-ups/kerry-oflaherty-and-sergiu-ciobanu-race-in-romania-irish-weekend-round-up/20923">Kerry O’Flaherty and Sergiu Ciobanu race in Romania &#8211; Irish weekend round-up</a> appeared first on <a href="http://fastrunning.com">Fast Running</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Duo head overseas for road 5k, while athletes impress at the Leinster Cross Country Championships and on the Tollymore trails.</strong></p>
<p><em>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 <a href="https://fastrunning.com/sponsored/soar-supports-the-sport/20472" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.</em></p>
<p>Sergiu Ciobanu of Clonliffe Harriers and Kerry O’Flaherty were in Brasov, Romania over the weekend competing in the <strong>Crosul 15 Noiembrie 5km</strong> on Sunday (November 11).</p>
<p>O’Flaherty finished eighth in the women’s race in a time of 16:32. Race winner in 15:12 was Romanian steeplechaser Ancuţa Bobocal.</p>
<p>In the men’s race, Ciobanu finished 17th in the men’s race in 14:44. The winner was Rinas Akhanadeev in 13:45.</p>
<p>Raheny’s Kieran Kelly was nearby in Bucharest where he finished third in a men’s mile race in 4:11.</p>
<p>Jessica Craig and Rachel Gibson of North Down AC competed in the <strong>Scottish Short Course Cross Country Championships</strong> over 4000m on Saturday (November 10). Craig finished 11th in 14:05 and Gibson finished in 14th place in a time of 14:12.</p>
<p>Liam Brady of Tullamore Harriers was a comfortable winner of the men’s 10,000m race at the <strong>Leinster Cross Country Championships</strong> in Adamstown, Co Wexford, on Sunday (November 11).</p>
<p>Brady broke away early and built up a lead of almost a minute on the very soft course before crossing the line in 32:57. Sean Hehir of Rathfarnham WSAF was second in 33:36 and Liffey Valley’s Peter Arthur third in 34:26.</p>
<p>Tullamore Harriers took the team title with Liffey Valley and Celbridge AC second and third. Dublin proved best of the county teams.</p>
<p>Winning the women’s race in 19:10 was Lauren Dermody of Castlecomer AC. Tullamore’s Nadine Donegan was second in 19:30 and Sally Forrestal of St Josephs’s AC third in 19:40.</p>
<p>In a closely fought team race, Sportsworld AC, led by Helen Brouder in fifth place, won the title with 40 points. Three points behind were Liffey Valley while third were St Senan’s AC on 47 points. Kilkenny won the county team medals.</p>
<p>In the juvenile races Annie McEvoy and Shay McEvoy, both Kilkenny City Harriers, won the under 19 races. At under 17 level, Neasa Reilly of Dunleer AC and Tadgh Donnelly of Drogheda and District AC were the winners.</p>
<h4><strong>Roads</strong></h4>
<p>Irish marathon record holder Catherina McKiernan finished first woman at the <strong>Remembrance 5km</strong> in Dublin’s Phoenix Park on Sunday (November 11).</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">For the past 20 years I have run in the Phoenix <a href="https://t.co/R71STu80fd">https://t.co/R71STu80fd</a> was very memorable. 4,000 people ran at 7th Annual Remembrance Run.<br />Everyone was there to remember loved ones that have passed away. There was a sense of togetherness for this lovely occasion. <a href="https://twitter.com/FrankGreally1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FrankGreally1</a> <a href="https://t.co/a56G6PDW9G">pic.twitter.com/a56G6PDW9G</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Catherina McKiernan (@cat_mckiernan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cat_mckiernan/status/1061728699710627840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 11, 2018</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>McKiernan finished ahead of UCD pair Ellie Hartnett and Richael Browne. This year’s race coincided exactly with the 100th anniversary of the ending of the First World War at 11am on 11 November 1918.</p>
<p>Simon Ryan of Boyne AC led home 350 finishers at the Our Lady’s Greenhills Remembrance 5km in Drogheda on Sunday (November 11). Ryan finished in 17 mins 2 secs, with his Boyne AC clubmate Sally Clarke first woman in 22:20.</p>
<p>Gary Thornton of Galway City Harriers was a comfortable winner of the <strong>Moycullen 5km</strong> in Co Galway on Sunday (November 11).</p>
<p>Thornton finished in 15:59, while his GCH clubmate Conor Dolan was almost a minute behind in 16:58 for second. First woman was Monika De Almeida in 22:16, with Lucy Chapman just four seconds behind for second.</p>
<p>Making it a Newbridge AC double at the <strong>Clane 10km</strong> on Saturday (November 10) were Brian Byrne first man in 33:43 and Michelle Cox fifth overall in 37:29.</p>
<p>John Craig of Victoria Park &amp; Connswater AC and Sarah Graham of Mourne Runners were the winners at the <strong>Ballynahinch 5km</strong> on Saturday (November 10). On a tough course, Craig led home 250 finishers in 17:12, with Graham sixth overall and first woman in 20:25.</p>
<p>In West Cork’s beautiful Beara Peninsula, Shane Harrington of East Cork AC was the winner of the <strong>Eyeries 5 Mile</strong> on Saturday (November 10).</p>
<p>Harrington was on his own for much of the race finishing in 29:19. Second in 30:21 was Eddie Casey of Clonakilty Road Runners with Leevale’s Paul O’Callaghan third in 30:29.</p>
<p>First woman and sixth overall in 33:51 was Rachel O’Shea of West Muskerry. Local athlete Deirdre O’Sullivan of Beara AC was second in 36:03 and Alice Coppinger of Bantry AC third in 36:45.</p>
<h4><strong>Trails</strong></h4>
<p>Mark Sheridan of Dundrum South Dublin was a comfortable winner of the shorter race at the annual <strong>Run the Line 13km and 26km</strong> in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains on Saturday (November 10).</p>
<p>The event, starting and finishing in Glencullen Adventure Park, is held in aid of Dublin and Wicklow Mountain Rescue, with all funds going towards finding a permanent for the busy rescue team.</p>
<p>Sheridan came home in 58:47 and, in the wet and slippery conditions, was the only athlete to break the hour. Second was James Benson in 60:29, while third was Caoimhin Mac Maolain of Sli Cualann in 61:31.First woman and eighth overall in 64:51 was Eva McNelis of Dunboyne AC. Jill Horan was second in 66.27 and Noreen Brouder third in 68:38.</p>
<p>First home in the 23km was George Snee in 2:05:36. Adrian Hennessy of Kilfinane AC was second in 2:07:30 and Sebastien Giraud third in 2:11:43. Charlotte Kearney of Donadea RC was first woman in 2:28:05, followed by Rosy Temple and Ellen Vitting of Trim AC. A total of 700 from an entry of 800 competed on the day.</p>
<p>Olympic marathon runner Breege Connolly was overall winner of the half marathon race at the <strong>Tollymore Trail Ultra, Marathon and Half Marathon</strong> on Saturday (November 10).</p>
<p>Her win sees Connolly joining the select group of Irish women who have taken on the men – as well as the women – and beaten them. Among those also on that list are Maria McCambridge, Lizzie Lee, Anne Marie McGlynn and Siobhan O’Doherty.</p>
<p>Connolly won the race with over four minutes to spare in 81:13. Second and first man was Thomas O’Gorman in 85:29.</p>
<p>Winning the marathon in 3:07:02 was Chris Denton with Natalie Bowbanks in 3:52:38 the first woman. In the ultra race, Paul Tyrrell was first home in 5:05:51, with Louise Smart first woman in 6:26:07.</p>
<p>At the opening round of the <strong>Sperrin Harriers Winter Trail Series</strong>, held over a 10km course in Darvagh Forest, the winners were Eoin Hughes of Acorns AC and Gillian Wasson of Ballymena Runners.</p>
<p>Hughes was the class of the men’s race, winning in 36:25. He was followed home by Jason Wilson of Ballymena Runners in 37:55 Gavin Corey 38:17.</p>
<p>Wasson finished in 43:15 ahead of Leanne Sands from Acorns AC in 44:49 Olivia Mullin of Greencastle AC in 45:05.</p>
<h4><strong>parkrun</strong></h4>
<p>Mark Kirwan and Úna Britton ran the quickest parkrun times across Ireland on Saturday. Kirwan ran 16:06 at Darndale parkrun, while Britton clocked 17:14 at the Marlay parkrun.</p>
<p>The 10 fastest Irish parkrun times can be <a href="https://fastrunning.com/running-athletics-news/ireland/10-fastest-irish-parkrun-times-on-saturday-10th-november-2018/20902" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found here</a>.</p>
<p><i>Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a </i><a href="https://www.patreon.com/fastrunning"><i>patreon</i></a><i>. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can </i><a href="http://www.patreon.com/fastrunning"><i>support Fast Running</i></a><i> – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.</i></p>
<p>The post <a href="http://fastrunning.com/events-and-races/weekend-round-ups/kerry-oflaherty-and-sergiu-ciobanu-race-in-romania-irish-weekend-round-up/20923">Kerry O’Flaherty and Sergiu Ciobanu race in Romania &#8211; Irish weekend round-up</a> appeared first on <a href="http://fastrunning.com">Fast Running</a>.</p>
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		<title>Laura Graham and Sergiu Ciobanu ready to defend national titles &#8211; Dublin Marathon Preview</title>
		<link>http://fastrunning.com/running-athletics-news/ireland/dublin-marathon-preview-laura-graham-and-sergiu-ciobanu-ready-to-defend-national-titles/8984</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Lindie Naughton]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Oct 2017 11:42:36 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Event News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ireland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dublin Marathon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Laura Graham]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sergiu Ciobanu]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://fastrunning.com/?p=8984</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Ireland’s top distance runners will be joined with top international competition on Sunday (October 29) for the 38th edition of the Dublin Marathon. For the first time, Ireland&#8217;s premier marathon has topped 20,000 entries. In the elite race, which also incorporates the Irish National Championships, defending champions Sergiu Ciobanu and Laura Graham lead the Irish [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://fastrunning.com/running-athletics-news/ireland/dublin-marathon-preview-laura-graham-and-sergiu-ciobanu-ready-to-defend-national-titles/8984">Laura Graham and Sergiu Ciobanu ready to defend national titles &#8211; Dublin Marathon Preview</a> appeared first on <a href="http://fastrunning.com">Fast Running</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Ireland’s top distance runners will be joined with top international competition on Sunday (October 29) for the 38th edition of the Dublin Marathon.</strong></p>
<p>For the first time, Ireland&#8217;s premier marathon has topped 20,000 entries. In the elite race, which also incorporates the Irish National Championships, defending champions Sergiu Ciobanu and Laura Graham lead the Irish entries.</p>
<p>Ciobanu of Clonliffe Harriers has prepared for this year&#8217;s race with a five weeks training block at altitude.</p>
<p>The 34-year-old leads a Clonliffe team that includes Northern Irish athlete Stephen Scullion, who ran a personal best 2:17.59 at the London Marathon last April and could prove his biggest rival. More recently, Scullion ran a time of 65:52 at the Great North Run Half Marathon in September and was second in the Belfast City Half Marathon in 66:11 a week later.</p>
<p>Also on the Clonliffe team is prolific marathon runner Gary O&#8217;Hanlon, who was fourth last year and ran a personal best 2:19.25 to finish first M40 at the Berlin Marathon last month. Making up a strong team is David Mansfield, fifth last year.</p>
<p>Not running is Sean Hehir of Rathfarnham WSAF winner in 2013 and in 2015 and second last year. Hehir has already run marathons in London and at the World Championships this year.</p>
<p>In solid form at the moment is Tomas Fitzpatrick of Tallaght AC, who has raced consistently over the past few months and ran 69:13 at the Cardiff Half Marathon.</p>
<p>Laura Graham of Mourne Runners is the defending women&#8217;s national champion and has been churning out good marathon times almost at will for the past two years.</p>
<p>She ran a personal best of 2:37.5 at the Berlin Marathon in September and followed that up with victory in the Bangor 10km in 34: 47 a week later. Last spring, Graham won the Belfast Marathon for a second year, in both cases running a week after the London Marathon.</p>
<p>Letterkenny&#8217;s Caitriona Jennings, second last year, ran a personal best 75: 38 to win the Belfast City Hal Marathon last month.</p>
<p>At her first marathon in Dublin 2008, Maria McCambridge of DSD ran 2:36.33 to win the national title. She repeated that victory in 2012 and in 2013 and in 2014, improved her PB to 2:34.19 when finishing second overall. In her first race for some time, McCambridge won the Dublin Half Marathon last month in 82 mins 26 secs.</p>
<p>Favourite to take the overall win is Ethiopia&#8217;s Alemu Gemechu who won the race in 2015 with a time of 2:14.02 when aged just 20. Another Ethiopian returning to Dublin is Asefe Bekele, third last year and second in 2015.</p>
<p>Leading the Kenya entry is Bernard Rotich winner of the Belfast Marathon last May in 2:16.04. Also entered is Dan Tanui who finished second behind Rotich in Belfast and went on to win the SSE Airtricity Walled City Marathon in Derry a month later. Making his marathon debut is John Koech, who has a best of 65 mins 22 secs for the half marathon.</p>
<p>Then there&#8217;s Freddy Sittuk, who divides his time between Eldoret in Kenya and Dublin. In 2015, Sittuk clocked a time of 2:15.19 for fifth in Dublin. Last year, battling injury, he dropped out at eight miles. Last month, he won the Waterside Half Marathon in Derry in 69 mins 18 secs.</p>
<p>Returning after her women&#8217;s victory is 2015 when she finished in 2:31.08 is Nataliya Lehonkova of the Ukraine. One to watch is Ashu Kasim from Ethiopia, who ran 2:23.09 for the marathon in 2012 and has consistently clocked time of around 2 hrs 30 mins since then. In January, Kasim won the Marrakesh Marathon in 2:30.18.</p>
<p>Last year, Paralympian Patrick Monahan of the Le Cheile club in Co Kildare became the first man ever to break 1 hour 40 minutes on the tough Dublin course when he finished in 1:39.18. Monahan is going for a fourth consecutive wheelchair win on Sunday.</p>
<p><strong>Added incentive for Irish winners</strong><br />
Winners of the Irish Marathon Championships at Sunday&#8217;s Dublin Marathon will book their places on the Irish team for the European Athletics Championships Marathon Team Cup in Berlin next August.</p>
<p>That&#8217;s providing they run faster than 2:18 for men and 2:39 for women, which is the general standard for the team.</p>
<p>The marathon team qualification period runs from 1 January 2017 to 22 April 2018, which is the date of the 2018 London Marathon. Half marathon times of 65 minutes for men and 75 minutes for women during the qualification period will also be taken into account.</p>
<p><em>Live </em>streaming<em> of the Dublin Marathon on Sunday (October 29) can be <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZgjItq9-Ic61za7HCkKz8g" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found here</a>.</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="http://fastrunning.com/running-athletics-news/ireland/dublin-marathon-preview-laura-graham-and-sergiu-ciobanu-ready-to-defend-national-titles/8984">Laura Graham and Sergiu Ciobanu ready to defend national titles &#8211; Dublin Marathon Preview</a> appeared first on <a href="http://fastrunning.com">Fast Running</a>.</p>
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		<title>After 40 Years Legendary Ballycotton &#8217;10&#8217; Road Race Ends</title>
		<link>http://fastrunning.com/running-athletics-news/ireland/after-40-year-legendary-ballycotton-10-road-race-ends/8292</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Lindie Naughton]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Oct 2017 21:10:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Ireland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[athletics ireland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Jerry Kiernan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lindie Naughton]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lizzie Lee]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mick Clohisey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Noel Berkeley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sergiu Ciobanu]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sonia O'Sullivan]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://fastrunning.com/?p=8292</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>The Ballycotton &#8217;10&#8217;, one of Ireland&#8217;s legendary road races, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last March – is no more. A meeting to decide the fate of the race, which had become a must-do for all serious road runners in Ireland, was held last night and statement issued today. &#8220;It is with regret and a [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://fastrunning.com/running-athletics-news/ireland/after-40-year-legendary-ballycotton-10-road-race-ends/8292">After 40 Years Legendary Ballycotton &#8217;10&#8217; Road Race Ends</a> appeared first on <a href="http://fastrunning.com">Fast Running</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>The Ballycotton &#8217;10&#8217;, one of Ireland&#8217;s legendary road races, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last March – is no more.</strong></p>
<p>A meeting to decide the fate of the race, which had become a must-do for all serious road runners in Ireland, was held last night and statement issued today.</p>
<p>&#8220;It is with regret and a certain amount of sadness that we wish to announce that the Ballycotton ‘10’, the Summer 5-Mile Series and other events organised by Ballycotton Running Promotions have come to an end,&#8221; the statement begins.</p>
<p>It stresses that although the running community may be shocked and surprised by the decision, the organising committee behind the races had been considering their future for some years.</p>
<p>At last night&#8217;s well-attended meeting held a unanimous decision was taken to halt the races immediately &#8220;on our own terms&#8221; before outside circumstances forced them to halt.</p>
<p>In particular, the logistics of organising the Ballycotton &#8217;10&#8217; in a village situated on a headland with only one point of access had become a major headache, particularly when the weather turned nasty. &#8220;For the past two years, the possibility of the Ballycotton ‘10’ having to be cancelled was a live issue up to 24 hours before the race,&#8221; says the statement.</p>
<p>The problems of finding parking and facilities were also proving a problem for the four summer races. Although race director John Walshe is a member of East Cork Athletics Club, the five annual races were organised not by a club, but by a small group of local running enthusiasts under the Ballycotton Running Promotions banner. Finding replacements for this core group has proved difficult.</p>
<p>Road racing in the Ballycotton area began in August 1977 with a five-mile race that attracted 34 runners. It was one of just four road races held in the Cork region that summer. The inaugural race was won by Ray Treacy.</p>
<p>The Ballycotton &#8217;10&#8217; took place the following March with 31 started, all men. The winner was Richard Crowley of Cork club St Finbarr&#8217;s.</p>
<p>A year later, women also ran with Mary Dempsey (later Sweeney) from Youghal the first female winner and still running all these years later. Winners down the years have included Sonia O&#8217;Sullivan, Jerry Kiernan, Pauline Curley, Lizzie Lee, Maria McCambridge and six times winner Noel Berkeley.</p>
<div id="attachment_8304" style="width: 810px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-8304" class="wp-image-8304 size-full" src="http://fastrunning.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/mickcl.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="492" srcset="http://fastrunning.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/mickcl.jpg 800w, http://fastrunning.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/mickcl-300x185.jpg 300w, http://fastrunning.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/mickcl-768x472.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><p id="caption-attachment-8304" class="wp-caption-text"><em>2017 winner Mick Clohisey</em></p></div>
<p>Sergiu Ciobanu of Clonliffe was aiming to equal Berkeley record of six wins last March but lost out to Mick Clohisey of Raheny.</p>
<p>Belgrave&#8217;s Gary Staines holds the course record at 47 minutes exactly, which he ran in 1997.</p>
<p>Last March’s race had a record entry of 4,100, with virtually all places filled within hours of the entry opening last December.</p>
<p>&#8220;Since our first race, we have had a simple aim which was to provide a well-organised, value for money event for runners of all abilities. We can proudly say we have played a defining role in the popularity and promotion of running events so evident today.</p>
<p>&#8220;Now, the finish line has finally been reached for Ballycotton Running Promotions and its events. It has been a long and winding road, a road filled with many memories and stories, and a road that has enriched the lives of thousands from far and near.&#8221;</p>
<p>The post <a href="http://fastrunning.com/running-athletics-news/ireland/after-40-year-legendary-ballycotton-10-road-race-ends/8292">After 40 Years Legendary Ballycotton &#8217;10&#8217; Road Race Ends</a> appeared first on <a href="http://fastrunning.com">Fast Running</a>.</p>
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