Lindie Naughton reports on other successful weekend for Irish athletes, with those in Tallinn leading the way. 

In the space of an hour and a half on Saturday (July 17), Ireland won three gold medals at the European U20 Track and Field Champions in Tallinn Estona.

First up in the women’s 200m final  was Rhasidat Adeleke, of Tallaght AC in Dublin, who had already won the 100m a day earlier.  Not only did Adeleke win the race at a canter, she set a new Irish record of 22.90 secs.

About 35 minutes later it was the turn of Cian McPhillips  from Longford AC in the men’s 1500m.

In a tough race, McPhillips, who was lying eighth with 300m to go, pushed hard to win in 3:46.55. “I could  actually see the shadows of the guys coming after me, but luckily I had a little extra to allow me to finish first. I’m still a bit schocked that I managed to pull it off,” said McPhillips after his win.

Finally, Nicholas Griggs of Mid-Ulster AC, aged only sixteen, ran an assured race in the men’s 3000m to take the gold with a time of 8:17.18. “Of course, when I saw the other guys winning, I wanted to show something similiar. But in the end, I just did my job and focused on my race. I knew I had enough power to win a gold,” said Griggs.

It meant that for a few hours, Ireland, with only three medals in total from these championships in previous years,  would briefly top the medals table, ending up third overall behind  Great Britain and Germany.

Yared aces it!

On the roads, Yared Derese of Carrick Aces was back in action  racing away from the field at the Glaslough Harriers 10km in Co Monaghan on Sunday (July 18).

On a challenging course in exceptionally warm conditions, Derese’s time of  30 mins 13 secs  saw him finish almost two minutes clear of the field. Second was Eoin Mullan  of Omagh Harriers in 32:11. In a well spread out race, Kieran Sherlock of Monaghan Town Runners was third in 33:42.

The veteran Donna Evans of Clones AC was first woman  in 41:04, followed by Irene Clements of 1 Zero 1 in 41:22 and Anne O’Rourke of Carrick Aces in 42:03. On a good day for Carrick Aces, Darragh Scott was first M40 and Liam Ryan first M50.

The Zak Hanna show continues

In Kerry, international orienteeer, Ruari Long of UCD AC was the winner of the Reeks Skyline on Saturday (July 17) clocking  3 hrs 50 mins 37 sec for the 24km distance with a savage 2,400m climb. Simon Duggan from Cork was second in 4:17.46 and Gavin Byrne from Dublin third in 4:19.25. Rosy Temple from Dublin was first woman in 5:42.58.

Abroad, Zak Hanna of Newcastle and District was also tackling a longer distance and finished  32nd in the Dolomyths Run in Canazei, Italy, on Sunday (July 18). His time was 2 hrs 4 mins 56 secs.  Leading home the 572 entry was Stian Angermund of Norway in 1:51.36. The 22km race, which included 1,700m of vertical climb, is part  of the Golden Trail World Series.

Winner of the British and Irish Junior Trial at Camaderry, Co Wicklow on Saturday (July 17) was Aaron Smith from Co Meath in a time of 33 mins 50 secs fro the 5km distance with 500m of  climb. Jack McMahon of Ballyroan and District was second in 33.50  and Niamh Bose from Donel third and first woman in 34:18.

The Leinster mid-week league continues in Co Wicklow and at the 10.6km “Ayling Abyss” race at Djouce on Wednesday (July 14),  Karol Cronin of Sportsworld was the winner in 52 mins 28 secs, with Edna Cloake of Slaney Olympic a close  second in 52:37 and Barry Minnock third and first M45 in 53:01.

Sarah Brady was first woman in 65:23, followed by Caroline Harney in 68:02 and Ciara Largey in 68:08. Finishing a shorter course was Caitlin Bent, one of the pioneers of Irish mountain running, who’s now in the W75 age group.

The post Tallinn young stars shine bright appeared first on Fast Running.

Yared Derese of Carrick Aces took a fine win at the Bohermeen Half Marathon on Sunday (March 8) when he defied the cold and blustery conditions to finish in a time of 63 mins 54 secs. The only athlete attempting to stay with Derese was Kevin Dooney of Raheny Shamrock AC and he was rewarded with a fine time of 64 mins 26 secs.

A distant third in 69:25 secs was former international race walker Colin Griffin of Ballinamore AC. In a closely fought team battle, Trim AC, with Sean Murphy in 21st place their first counter, beat Carrick Aces on count-back. Raheny Shamrock finished third.

First woman in 77 mins 16 secs was Barbara Cleary of Donore Harriers who was also first W45. International mountain runner Sarah McMahon (nee Mulligan) of Dundrum South Dublin AC was second in 78:26 and Fiona Kehoe of Kilmore AC third in 80:05. Taking the team title was Brothers Pearse AC from Dublin, led by Sinead Tighe in 16th place. Raheny Shamrock AC was second and Trim AC third.

Surging over 10 miles

In Cork, at the Duhallow 10-Mile, also on Sunday (March 8) newly minted Irish citizen Hiko Tonosa of Dundrum South Dublin AC was a clear winner of the race in 50 mins 38 secs. Cillian O’Leary of Raheny Shamrock was second in 51:56 and Tom Lupton of Portlaoise AC third and first M40 in 54:35.

First woman was Linda Grogan of Dundrum AC in Co Tipperary with a time of 62:19. Niamh Cronin of St Finbarr’s AC was second in 65:46 with Sandra Manning of Eagle AC a close third in 65.57.

Letterkenny’s AnnMarie McGlynn was in fine form at the Walled City 10-mile in Derry on Saturday (March 7) where she finished first woman in 57 mins 15 secs. Race winner was Craig Simpson of Foyle Valley AC whose time of 52 mins 14 secs put him comfortably clear of the chasers led by Eoin Hughes of Acorns AC in 53:05.

Winners at the Kinvara 10km, also on Saturday, were Louis McCarthy in 433 mins 26 secs and Julie Kirwan in 39:07, while in the accompanying half marathon David Bohan ran 75:32 for victory ahead of Brian Furey, with Jane Ann Meehan first woman in 83:12.

Another Saturday race was the Simon 5-Mile in the Phoenix Park which had moved from its traditional autumn date and attracted over a thousand finishers. Leading them home was Tim Grummell of Sli Cualann AC in 27 mins 29 secs. Second and first woman was Laura Shaughnessy of Galway City Harriers in 27:33. while third was Robin Mooney in 27:41.

At Quest Kenmare on Saturday, winners of the elite 78km multi-sport race were Sebastian Giraud in 3 hrs 14 mins 10 secs and Ellen Vitting of Trim AC in 3:34.41. The athletes had to run, cycle and kayak their way along the near 50 mile route.

Photo: Lindie Naughton

Schools hat-trick for Morgan

Michael Morgan from Summerhill college in Sligo made it three in a row when he won the senior boys’ race at the All Ireland Schools Cross-Country Championships held in Santry in windy conditions on Saturday (March 7).

Morgan, who had won intermediate titles last year and the year before, played a waiting game when Daniel Stone of Belvedere broke away to lead the race by some distance early on, When he made his his move on the third of four laps, he soon caught and passed a tiring Stone.

In an absorbing battle for the minor placings, Conall McClean of DMC Titanic Quarter and Shay McEvoy of St Kieran’s Kilkenny had also passed Stone, while not far behind were Shane Coffey of Naas CBS, Louis O’Loughlin of Moyle Park and Oisin Spillane of Mercy Mount Hawk.

In the end, they finished in that order with Morgan finishing the clear winner in 18 mins 53 seconds, McClean six seconds behind for second and McEvoy just making it to the line in third place after staggering and falling within sight of the line.

For Stone in fourth place there was the consolation of leading Belvedere to a rare senior team victory, with St Malachy’s Belfast second and St Kieran’s Kilkenny third.

Tactical racing

Equally tactical was the girls senior race, which was over 3,500m compared to 2000m in the past, and proved a tough challenge. Lucy Holmes of Ard Scoil nas nDeise was the winner in 13 mins 56 secs, followed by Celine Gavin of St Dominic’s Cabra in 14 mins 4 secs, with Holly Brennan of Sacred Heart Drogheda third. Loreto Kilkenny was first team followed by St Angela’s Waterford and St Dominic’s Cabra.

Dominating the boy’s inter race was Abdel Laadjel of Kishogue Community College, who had a clear victory over Matthew Lavery from st Malachy’s and Dean Casey of St Flannan’s Ennis. St Flannan’s was first teams, followed by St Malachy’s and St Kieran’s Kilkenny.

In the girls inter race, Eimear Maher of Mount Anville in Dublin caught early leader Kirsti Foster of Down High School who had looked certain of victory in the later stages of the race and stromed home for the most dramatic victory of the day. Avril Mellerick of Midleton High School was third and Pobailscoil na Trionoide first team ahead of Loreto Mullingar and Down High School.

Junior winners were Lauren Madine of St Mary’s Downpatrick and Oliver Hopkins of St Declan’s CBS Cabra, while minor winners were Saoirse Fitzgerald of Lucan Community College and Luca O’Shea Breen of Temple Carrig in Greystones.

Doyle and Coscoran battle it out

At the Irish Universities Cross-Country, also on Saturday, at Curraheen, Cork, Cliona Murphy of Trinity College won the women’s title with a good win over Claire Fagan from DCU.

With Caron Ryan third, Sorcha McAllister eighth and Claire Rafter 15th, Trinity finished top team, beating perennial winners DCU by three points. Completing a Dublin clean sweep was UCD in third place.

DCU’s Cathal Doyle won a competitive men’s race from man of the moment Andrew Coscoran, also DCU, with just three seconds in it. Paul O’Donnell of UCD was third and Pierre Murchan of NUI Galway fourth. With four in the top six, DCU retained its stranglehold on the title. University of Limerick was a distant second and Trinity College third. Best college overall was DCU followed by Trinity and NUIG.

Photo: Lindie Naughton

Closing out the BHAA cross-country season was the AIB promotion in the tranquil setting of NUI Maynooth on Saturday (March 7) where Colm Turner of Garda was the winner of the men’s open 4-mile race in 21 mins 44 secs.

He was followed home by Thomas Sherlock from Bank of Ireland with Seoirse Comerford from Cairn Homes third and first M45. In th eteam categoriesBank of Ireland won grade A from Central Bank and Gardai; Teachers won B, Dublin Bus C and Revenue D.

Winner of the women’s 2-mile race was Helen Brouder of Teachers, with Sonya McConnon a close second and Niamh Corby of Revenue third.

The Health group, led by Grainne Butler in fourth place was first team, ahead of Retail and Revenue. In the open 4-mile, Rachel Yorke of VHI was first woman. Next up on the BHAA calendar is the RTE Indoor Mile in the NIA, Abbotstown on Wednesday April 1 (7.30)

Golden Gilshinan at indoors

Anne Gilshinan of Slaney Olympic AC underlined her status as the world’s best female master middle distance runner when she posted the fastest women’s 800m time of the day at the National Masters Indoor Championships in Athlone on Sunday.

Running in the W55 category, Gilshinan finished in 2 mins 20.10 secs which would have won her the title in any age group from W35 up.

Equally dominant in the men’s M65 400m was multiple world 800m and 1500m champion Gough of West Waterford AC, who only narrowly missed breaking the minute when he finished in 60.04 secs.

Winning both the W40 3000m and 1500m was former Irish senior international athlete Kelly Neely of City of Lisburn AC. She clocked 5:03.81 for 1500m and 9:50.54 for a 3000m race where the lap counting went somewhat awry for the later finishers.

Before that happened, Annette Kealy of Raheny Shamrock AC added the W50 title to her already impressive collection with a time of 10:20.43.

Taking the M50 800m title with a time of 2:04.31 was Shane Healy of Metro St Brigid’s AC who has been re-writing the record books for his age group over the past few weeks. He then finished third in the 400m with a time of 57.99 secs.

Middle distance race of the day was an M45 show-down between Mark O’Shea of Drogheda and District AC and Shane O’Neill of Rathfarnham WSAF AC. O’Shea just shaded it in 2:03.13 with O’Neill second in 2:03.90. O’Neill went on to win the 1500m in 4:16.66.

In the older age groups, Martin McEvilly of Galway City Harriers won both the M70 800m and 3000m in times of 2:53.45 and 11:55.18 respectively.

Cronin cruises it on the hills

A small piece of athletics history was made on Saturday (March 7) when Kate Cronin of Raheny Shamrock was the outright winner of the Howth hill race in Co Dublin. [It’s a fine way to celebrate International Women’s Day – ed.]

Cronin finished the new-look 9.6 km course in 45 mins 55 secs. Her fellow international athlete Killian Mooney of Dundrum South Dublin AC was second in 46:22 and orienteer Conor Short of CNOC third in 46:26.

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 Golden Gilshinan over 800m indoors – Irish round-up appeared first on Fast Running.

Yared Derese of Carrick Aces was a comfortable winner of the Trim 10-Mile in Co Meath on Sunday (February 2). By halfway, which he reached in 23 mins 32 secs , Derese had built up a minute’s lead and he went on to win the race in 48 mins 1 sec, with Eric Keogh of Donore Harriers, the only other athlete to break 50 minutes, second in 49:29.

Hugh Armstrong of Ballina AC was third in 50:22 and former Olympic race walker Colin Griffin of Ballinamore AC fourth in 51:56.

First woman was Ciara Durkan of Skerries AC in 59:16. Isabel Oakes was second in 60:48 and Caroline Donnelly of Edenderry AC third and first W40 in 60:53.

In Co Waterford, Mick Clohisey of Raheny Shamrock AC was the winner of the John Treacy Dungarvan 10-Mile in 48 mins 16 secs.

Kevin Maunsell of Clonmel AC was second in 48:30 and Conor Duffy of Glaslough Harriers third in 50:07. Alan O’Shea of Bantry AC was fifth and first M40 in 51:02. Dublin visitors Crusaders AC were first of the 25 teams, beating East Cork AC and St Finbarr’s AC.

First woman in 54 mins 23 secs was Irish marathon champion Aoife Cooke of Eagle AC. Sarah McMahon of Dundrum South Dublin AC was second in 59:16 and Fiona Santry of East Cork AC third in 60:18. Fourth and first W45 was Angela McCann of Clonmel AC. Cooke’s aunt, the great Mary Sweeney of St Finbarr’s AC, finished third W55.

Eagle AC proved best of a massive women’s team entry of 43; Watergrasshill AC and Clonmel AC finished second and third.

Dublin Track Club in action.

Another sizzler from Coscoran

After his sub-four minute indoor mile a week earlier, Andrew Coscoran, of the Star of the Sea club in Co Meath, continued his recent streak of good form with a personal best 3:37.98 for 1500m at the Boston University Scarlet and White Invite on Saturday (February 1). Dublin Track Club athlete Coscoran finished third in the race, with Josh Thompson the winner in 3:37.21.

In Vienna on Saturday (February 1), Phil Healy of Bandon AC finished second in both the 200m and 400m in times of 23.46 and 52.65 secs.

Meanwhile in Melbourne a week earlier, Sean Tobin of Clonmel AC and Michelle Finn of Leevale AC won the 3000m races at the Box Hill Classic in times of 7 mins 59 secs and 9 mins 6 secs respectively.

Cross country

Sean Horan of Harrier Products was the winner of the Garda BHAA open four mile cross-country in Dublin’s Phoenix Park on Saturday (February 1).

Doran’s time of 22 mins 18 secs saw him finish ahead of George Snee from Fidelity Instruments in 22:24 and Ross Hurley in 22:28. In the graded team categories, Bank of Ireland won both A and B, and finished second in C behind ESB. Revenue teams finished first and second in grade D.

A clear winner of the women’s two-mile race in 12 mins 38 secs was Laura Buckley, with her Teachers team mate Eva McNelis second in 13:21 and Claire Ní Fhaircheallagh third and first W35 in 13:36. With Ashling Smith finishing ninth, the Teachers finished first team ahead of Health A and HSE. The race, part of the Lord Mayor Series, had a massive 332 finishers.

Some women opted for the longer distance race with Rachel Yorke of Deloitte the best of the bunch. Next BHAA race is the ALSAA cross-country at Dublin Airport on Saturday February 15.

At the first Irwin Speirs Memorial Cup cross-country held at MUSA, Cookstown on Saturday (February 1), host club Acorns AC dominated with Vincent McKenna not only wining the men’s 4-mile race, but leading Acorns AC to team victory.

Gemma Whitehouse made it an Acorns AC double when she won the women’s 3-mile race; team winners were Victoria Park and Coniston AC.

The races were held in memory of the late Irwin Speirs, a highly respected masters’ athlete and coach of Acorns AC who died suddenly last December.

Irish action in Scotland

Finishing third in the men’s long race at the BUCS Cross-Country Championships in Edinburgh’s Holyrood Park on Saturday (February 1) was Jayme Rossiter of Clonliffe Harriers representing Aston University.

In the women’s short race, Louise Shanahan of Leevale AC, a PhD student in physics at Cambridge University, finished fifth. Shanahan, a track specialist, competed at the European U23 Championships in Sweden last summer.

At the Fox Trail winter series in East Lothian it was Irish ultra runner Nicola Duncan who victorious over the half marathon distance event.  The muddy trail race saw Ian Logan of Linlithgow AC the men’s winner in 1:26:36 and Duncan ran 1:35:39, whilst training for her first ultra race of the season at the Madeira Ultra Trail. Follow the speedster’s preparation in the Fast10 blogs.

Montserrat Sky Race

In the mountains outside Barcelona, Spain, last year’s IMRA World Cup Winner was getting her season into action. Sarah McCormack won the women’s race with a strong performance and it was actually a Yorkshire 1-2-3 on the men’s podium. We’re exited to see how well McCormack runs again in 2020, seemingly going from strength to strength every year.

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 Fast 10 milers the flavour of the week – Irish round-up appeared first on Fast Running.

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

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

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

The men’s event

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

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

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

Battles on the roads

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Masters tackle Grand (inter) National

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

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

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

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

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

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

World Mountain Running Association Champs

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

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

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

Men’s classic race

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

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

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

Running the line

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

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

Grassroots cross country

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

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

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

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

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

Irish Life BHAA 6km XC – Lindie Naughton

Other cross country

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Catch up

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

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

parkrun

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

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

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

Yared Derese of Carrick Aces and Breege Connolly from City of Derry Spartans were the winners at the Frank Duffy 10 mile road race in Dublin’s Phoenix Park on Saturday (August 24).

Derese’s winning time of 49:06 was the fastest in some years, with second placed Mick Clohisey of Raheny Shamrock also running a fast time of 49:39. In third place was regular Irish visitor Josh Griffiths of Swansea AC in 50:10.

Breege Connolly was taking her second victory in the Dublin Marathon Race Series finished well clear of the opposition in 58:30. Gemma Rankin of Kilbarchan AC in Scotland was over a minute behind in 59:55 with Star of Laune AC’s Niamh Clifford third in 62.21. Major target for Connolly this year is the Dublin Marathon.

Breege Connolly, City of Derry

Just shy of 4,000 runners complted the course on a warm and humid day; well up on last year’s total of 2,700. Next race in the Dublin Marathon Series is the Dublin Half Marathon will take place on Saturday 21 September, again in the Phoenix Park. A record entry of 22,500 will take place in the 40th Dublin Marathon on Sunday 27 October; the race is sponsored by KBC Bank.

Going for half

David Mansfield of Clonmel AC made it a home win at the Boston Scientific Half Marathon in Clonmel on Sunday (August 25) leading home 824 finishers in 70:09.

Mansfield had well over a minutes to spare on second placed John Kinsella of Bilboa AC who finished in 71:42.

Finishing seventh and first woman was Siobhan O’Doherty fo Borrisokane AC in 78:33. Anegela McCann of Clonmel AC, winner of the national half marathon title a few weeks ago, was 11th and second woman in 79:48.

Also on Sunday, Brendan Conway was the winner of the Longford Half Marathon in a time of 71 mins 44 secs. Second in 72:25 was Patrick Sharkey , with John Higgins third in 73.44.

Adrianna Mulligan was first woman in 82:54, followed by Adele Walsh of St Senan’s AC in 84:09 and Isabel Oakes in 85.50.

Barry Shiel was the winner of the marathon in 2:26.27. First woman in 3:12.28 was Niamh Kieran. Winning the ultra in 4:50.19 was Jacek Latala. Jenny Mullarkey was first woman in 6:24.22

On a packed weekend for half marathon races, Joe Lillis in of United Striders in 78 mins 26 secs and Niamh Murphy in 91:18 were the winners of the Oylegate Half Marathon in Co Wexford again on Sunday (August 25)

Winning the Celbridge 5km on Thursday (August 22) was Paul Stephenson of Rathfarnham WSAF AC in 15:22; secs; second was Sean Doran of Clonliffe Harriers in 15:48. First woman was Maria Snell of Newbridge AC in 19.16.

Track and field

Thomas Barr of Ferrybank AC continued his preparations for next months’s World Championships at the Paris Diamond League meet on Saturday (August 24) where he finished seventh in the 400m hurdles with a time of 49.32. Barr’s best this season in a 49.11 run at the Bislett Games last June; he is currently lying seventh on the world rankings list, which is good news with Doha just a month away.

In action at the Brussels Grand Prix meet a day earlier on Friday (August 23) was a group of Irish sprinters with Leon Reid of Menapians AC winning 200m race in a season’s best 20. 57 secs. Marcus Lawler of St LOT also won his 200m race though in a slower time of 20.85; behind him, Stephen Gaffney of Rathfarnham WSAF AC was fourth in 21.60.

Gaffney, who tops the current 200m rankings, did better in the 100m, winning his heat in 10.58 (+0.06) – not far off the personal best 10.54 he ran at the Cork City Sports.

Over 400m, Chris O’Donnell of Sligo AC clocked a season’s best 46.54 for second place in his race. Katie Kirk of Ulster University ran 2:04.93 for 800m, another season’s best, while Kerry O’Flaherty of Newcastle AC clocked 10:03.51 in the women’s steeplechase.

Morton Games

Rain may not have stopped play at the Morton Games last Wednesday but for the first time in eight years, the weather gods did not look kindly on the meet organisers with the cold, windy and wet conditions making fast times a near impossibility.

In the men’s 800m, Mark English of UCD AC, fresh from his spectacular win at the Birmingham Diamond League meet, had be be content with fourth place in 1:49.267; race winner was the American Isaiah Harris in 1:48.20.

Over 400m Brian Gregan of Clonliffe Harriers was hoping for a return to racing in front of his home crowd after a 23 month lay-off. Despite a troublesome hamstring, he started the race but then abruptly pulled up. Everyone at Fast Running hope the injury isn’t serious and Gregan is back racing again soon.

In the women’s 200m, held into a fierce -2.2 headwind, Phil Healy of Bandon AC clocked a time of 24.02 for second place behind Kiara Parker of the USA who finished in 23.94. Ciara Mageean of City of Lisburn AC had opted for the 800m, where she finished fourth in a solid time of 2:01.94.

Feature event of the evening was the Morton Mile, and despite the challenging conditions, five men went under four minutes with Robert Domanic, winner at the Cork City Sports a week earlier, beating fellow American Sam Prakel for victory in 3:58.90. Best of the Irish was Cathal Doyle of Clonliffe Harriers who finished 10th in 4:02.65.

On the trails

Belgian athlete Max Drion who lives and trains in Switzerland, was the winner of the annual Warrior’s Run to the top of Knocknarea and back in Strandhill Co Sligo on Saturday (August 23).

Finishing in 51 mins 56 secs, Drion held off the challenge of East Cork’s Tim O’Donoghue who came home in 52:16. A distant third in 53.32 was Shaun Dixon of Phanos Amsterdam. Seamus Somers in fourth place was first Sligo athlete and first M45, with a time of 56.55.

First woman was Irish mountain running international Becky Quinn who was also first W45 in 66:34. For a fourth year, Heather Foley of Sligo AC was second in 69:59 and Sinead Fowley third in 72.07. A record total of 1,107 completed the race.

parkrun

Kirsty Foster and Rachel Gibson were joint fastest females, whilst speedy Hiko Tonosa was the quickest chap for parkrun times in Ireland this weekend. Full rankings here.

If you would like to run faster at parkrun, top tips to help runners of all abilities can be found here.

RELATED: 7 ways to run faster at parkrun

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 Fast times at Frank Duffy 10 miler – Irish round-up appeared first on Fast Running.