From Donore harriers Donore members were busy participating in races both at home and abroad over the weekend . In Amsterdam, Donore was represented by Arthur Connick in the marathon and Samantha Conroy in the half marathon. Arthur started off at 9am and had a great run in the marathon completing in a time of 4 hours and 7 minutes, and finishing in the top half of the field. Samantha was next to go in the half marathon and a superb time of 1 hour 27 minutes saw her finish in 12th position in the ladie’s category. Well done to both Arthur and Sam – great results. In the Gerry Farnan cross country races staged today in the Phoenix park the most notable participant was the wind which proved very testing. The rain did also spill for a while but was not a downpour that many feared.
Hosted by MSB every year both races traditionally attract a competitive field and this year was no different. The races also serve as a trial for selection to the Irish Masters team.
The women’s race got underway at 2.30pm with Donore represented by Adrienne Jordan, Florence Curley, Cliodhna Carty, Louisa Nesbitt, Mary McDermott and Bernie Kavanagh. Sli Cualinn’s Fionnula Britton always pushing from the front made a decisive move at about halfway and was never going to be caught by the field. Hazel Murphy of DSD lead the chase and finished an excellent 2nd while last years winner Deirdre Byrne battled her way into 3rd place. First of the Donore athletes home was Adrienne jordan who finished in an excellent 10th place. It was the first cross country race of the season for many runners and it proved to be a tough one. Unfortunately Mary McDermott running in the over 40’s was a casualty and dropped out before heading into the final lap. Florrie was the next Donore athlete to finish in 35th place followed by Louisa in 41st, Cliodhna in 42nd and Bernie in 49th.
In the men’s race Donore’s representation was low in numbers and saw just 2 athletes compete over the 5 mile/5 lap race. Newcomer Eoin Rowan ran a great race in a tough field placing in the top 20. All the more impressive was his run considering he is still at Junior level and was carrying a slight injury earlier in the week. Joe Rankin also ran in the over 55 category. Exact placings are yet to be confirmed, but we will bring you full results as soon as is possible. Well done to all who competed and to MSB for hosting a great meet.
Earlier in day Juvenile races also featured over the same course from under 10’s to under 18’s. The under 18’s race was also billed as a Dublin Championship race and John Travers ran a decent race to finish 2nd in the same race he won last year. The race was won by Emmet Jennings DSD with Philip Hilliard MSB in 3rd. Our u10 girls continued their good form with Lauren and Katie finishing up in the top finishers. A great run by Niamh Clarke still a few more years at this age group, marks her out as a girl with a great future. We had a very good turnout of young athletes and all performed very well. In particular improved performances came from Sean Watkins and Aaron Lynch. Congratulations to Eoghan Meyler who had a great win in the boys u15, turning the tables this week on club mate Hugh Kavanagh who finished in second place. Well done also to Max Van Haeften who won his race in the boys u16. Don’t forget training this week , as we have the even age group championships in Raheny this sunday followed by the Uneven age groups the following Sunday.
In yesterdays BHAA 4 mile race in Castleknock College. Mike Boyle and Ann Woodlock competed and results are also pending.