ROADS Grace Richardson (Kilkenny) became the second member of her family to win the VHI Women’s Mini Marathon in Dublin on Sunday, when her time of 34 mins 17 secs saw her finish eight seconds ahead of Claire Fagan (Mullingar Harriers) second in 34:25 and Jessica Criag (North Down AC) third in 34:55. Grace’s older sister Aoibhe, race winner in 2019, finished fourth in 35:03. First Dublin club athlete was Ciara Brady (Raheny ShamrockAC) who finished eighth in 37:48, followed by Megan Brunt (Blackrock AC) tenth in 38:19. First master overall, as well as first over 55 for a third year, and third Dublin club athlete, was the evergreen Annette Kealy (Raheny Shamrock AC) winner of the race in 2008 after many years of trying - and already a ‘master’ even then. This year, she finished eighteenth overall in 38:49, about the same time as a year earlier. Fourth Dublin athlete and first for organising club Dundrum South Dublin AC was Lisa Gaughran, who finished 15th in 38:50. Other age category winners (by chip timing) from Dublin clubs were Aoife Quigley (Crusaders AC) W40 and Grainne Grennan (Blackrock AC) W65. Placers included Olivia Sexton (Portmarnock AC) third W40, Katherine Duff (Blackrock AC) and Ciara Peelo (Clonliffe Harriers) second and third W45, Eileen Rowland (Sportsworld) second W60, Mary Lynch (Raheny Shamrock) and Hazel Foster (Waterstown Warriors) ,second and third W70, and June Comiskey (Raheny Shamrock) and Carol Lynch (Sportsworld) second and third W75. A total of 23,704 completed the race, according to the timekeepers TDL. More pictures from the WMM at https://www.flickr.com/photos/lindie/albums/ At the Cork Marathon, Half Marathon and 10km, also on Sunday, Cillian O’Leary (Raheny Shamrock) finished sixth and first M45 with a time of 73.04 in the half marathon. Ten years ago exactly, in 2015, O’Leary, who comes from the city, won the Cork Marathon. Leading home 410 finishers at the Balbriggan Summerfest 5km, Co Dublin on Thursday (May 29) was Ronan Dunphy (Skerries AC) in 16 mins 40 secs. Stephen Sharpe (Raheny Shamrock) was second in 17.43 and Mark Kelly (Clonliffe Harriers) sixth and first U16 in 18:26. First woman was Katie Halpin (Clonliffe Harriers) in 20:39 closely followed by Emma Przymusinska (Lusk AC) in 20:40 It was business (sorry!) as usual for Sean Doran (Clonliffe Harriers) when he won the Irish Life Canada Life Dunboyne BHAA 5-Mile in a time of 25 mins 16 secs on a wet Tuesday evening (May 27). Colm Turner (Rathfarnham WSAF AC) was second in 25:54. A total of 220 completed the race, among them the ever-consistent June Comiskey (Raheny Shamrock AC) first W75 and Terry Mee (Donore Harriers) first M80. Next BHAA fixture is the Trail 5km in the Phoenix Park on Tuesday June 10 (7.30pm) Jonas Stafford (UCD AC) proved the class of the field at the Star of the Sea Michelle McKiernan 5km, in Stamullen, Navan, winning with well over a minute to spare in 14 mins 53 secs. Finishing fifth and first woman in 17:11 was Faye Dervan (DCH AC) TRACK AND FIELD At the All Ireland Schools Track and Field Championships held in Tullamore on Friday and Saturday (May 30-31) Emily Bolton ( Institute of Education/Clonliffe Harriers) won the senior girls’ 3000m also finishing second in the 1500m. Jacob Ciomek (HFCS Rathcoole/Lucan Harriers) won the inter boys’ 1500m steeplechase by a clear margin in 4:29.20. Charlie O’Neill (Belvedere/Donore Harriers) won the inter boys’ 1500m title in 4:03.12. In the senior boy’s race, Lorcan Benjacar (Ard Scoil Rís/Clonliffe Harriers) was the winner in 3:58.12 with Ryan O’Neill (Terenure College/Rathfarnham WSAF) second in 3:59.63. In the sprints, Cillian Doherty (Belvedere/Crusaders AC) won the senior boys’ 100m, Ellie Oldrey (The High School Dublin//Rathfarnham WSAF) the junior girls’ 200m and Louis Blinco (Castleknock CC/Metro St Brigid’s) the inter boys’ 400m. Julian Browne (Blackrock College/Blackrock AC) won the junior boys 80m hurdles, with Des O’Neill (St Fintan’s Sutton/Raheny Shamrock) taking the senior boys’ 400m hurdles title. Conn McCluskey (St Benildus/DSD) won the junior boys’ high jump and his clubmate Lauren Healy (Loreto Foxrock) the inter girls’ title. For Belvedere, Theo Quinn won the senior boys’ high jump and Ethan Thompson (Fingallians AC) the inter boys hammer. Dublin winners in the 4x100m relays were Blackrock (junior boys), Dominican College Griffith Avenue (senior girls) and Oatlands (senior boys). Overall, Belvedere took both senior and inter boys’ titles and Blackrock the junior boys’ title. TRACK - OVERSEAS Cillian Kirwan (Raheny Shamrock AC) finished ninth overall in the men’s 800m with a time of 1:47.13 at the PUMA NITRO Lange Laufnacht, in Karlsruhe, Germany on Saturday (May 31). On Friday, at the Irene Szewińska Memorial meet in Bydgoszcz, Poland, Cathal Doyle (Clonliffe Harriers) clocked 3:34.67 for third place in the 1500m.I n the women’s 1500m, Jodie McCann (DCH) finished eighth in 4:09.78. A day earlier, at the Kaaternes Dag meet in Denmark, Irish record holder Niamh Fogarty (Raheny Shamrock AC) finished third in the women’s discus with a 56.33m effort. ULTRA RUNNING Congrats to Ger Prendergast and Ballymun AC, who organised the first ever ‘urban’ Backyard Ultra at Trinity Comprehensive last weekend. The club’s own Gavin Tracey finished third after completing 15 hours and 100.5km of running. The purpose of a ‘backyard ultra’ is to complete a set distance of 6.7km in an hour which, if achieved, in 24 hours would add up to 100 miles.

CHAMPION GEOGHEGAN! In warm conditions for distance running, Pierce Geoghegan (Liffey Valley) won the Dublin 10,000m title held as part of the third Dublin Graded Track and Field meet at the Tallaght track on Wednesday (May 21). Geoghegan proved the class of the field winning in 32:51.62. Second in 34:25.09 was Feidhlim McGowan (North Sligo AC) while third in 35:05.52 was Reuben Bartelink (DSD AC). Fastest in the 400m series of races was Christopher Lynch (Clonliffe Harriers) in 59:63 secs, who was declared Dublin champion. Harrison Jamison (Regent House) was second in 59.87 and Mathias Godwin (DSD) third in 51.46. Visually impaired athlete Kamil Tomko (Clonliffe Harriers) finished strongly in 63.89. In the mile, Jared Murray (Rathfarnham WSAF AC) clocked up a solid victory in 4:28.15. Martin Cox, who is currently unattached, was second in 4:30.24 and Martin Kiplagat (Clonliffe Harriers) third in 4:30.60. Maria McCambridge (DSD) proved the class of the field in the women’s mile winning in a time of 5:19.59. Elaine Kennedy (Sportsworld AC) was second in 5:21.65 and Mollie O’Donnell (Liffey Valley) third in 5:23.98. Winning the 400m and so the Dublin title in 58.03 was Lara O’Byrne (Donore Harriers). Last summer, multi-eventer O’Byrne became the first Irish woman to compete officially in a decathlon. A second decathlon in Paris at the end of June is one of her summer objectives. A well supported men’s hammer competition was won by visitor Cóil Ó Muiri (Fr Murphy’s) with a best effort of 49.49. Junior athletes Dylan Jones (Crusaders AC) and Ethan Thompson (Fingallians) threw 46.44 and 45.74 respectively with the 5kg weight. In the women’s hammer, junior athlete Daisy Lara Leonard (Lusk AC) was the winner with a 35.34m effort. Karen Conway (Crusaders, W45) was second and first senior with 29.71m and Holly Roigrok (Lusk AC) , also a junior, third with 26.54m. The full results are on the Dublin Athletics Live site at http://live.dublinathletics.com/graded-25-3/menu.html. More graded pics at https://www.flickr.com/photos/lindie/albums/72177720326284370 . The next Dublin Graded Track and Field meet takes place on Wednesday, June 4 in Santry (7pm). CLONLIFFE TEAM TOPS IN ENFIELD At the Bob Heffernan and Mary Hanley 5km, in Enfield, Co Meath, on Tuesday (May 20), Fintan Kerins (Clonliffe Harriers) finished second in 14 mins 31 secs and Anthony O’Brien (Raheny Shamrock) third in 14:34. For Dublin City Harriers, Faye Dervan finished second woman in 16:22. The race was the fourth round of this year’s Peugeot Road Series and Clonliffe Harriers won the mixed team category, where sixteen teams were entered. Making up the team were Fintan Kerins, Sean Doran, Cathal McHale, Natalia Lungu, Ciara Peelo and Claire Smith. Finishing second of the massive eighty-seven teams entered in the men’s team category was Raheny Shamrock, with O’Brien backed up by Adam Condon and David Rooney. DCH, with Faye Dervan, Sinead Cronin and Ellen Byrne the counters, was first of the 36 women’s teams. Dublin winners in the age categories were Noreen Brouder (Sportsworld) W45 and Eileen O’Brien (Lucan Harriers) W70. Just shy of 700 completed the race. TRACK INTERNATIONAL Efrem Gidey of Clonliffe Harriers AC ran the race of his life to win the European 10,000m Cup in Pacé, France on Saturday evening (May 24). Gidey, the pre-race favourite for the title after his fourth place at the European Half Marathon a few months earlier, was always to the fore in the race passing through halfway in 13:46.19. He kicked for home with less than two laps to go, finishing in a time of 27 mins 40.47 secs. Valentin Gondouin of France who had out-sprinted Gidey for bronze at the European Half Marathon, finished second in 27:41.95 with Felix Bour, also from the host nation, third in 27:42:00. In the past eight months, Gidey, aged just 24, now a member of Hoka professional running team and coached by London-based Andy Hobdell, has set Irish senior records for the half marathon, 10km and 10,000m. Originally from Eritrea, Gidey arrived in Ireland in 2017, and after discovering a talent for running, joined Clonliffe Harriers, where he was coached first by the late Joe Cooper and then veteran coach Peter McDermott. He made his debut in the green vest of Ireland at the 2019 European Cross-Country Championships where he finished third in the U20 race. His aim now is to qualify for the Tokyo World Championships. A day later on Sunday evening (May 25), Sarah Healy (UCD AC) ran a personal best 8 mins 27.2 secs to finish third in the women’s 3000m at the Diamond League round in Rabat, Morocco. Ahead of her, Beatrice Chebet of Kenya knocked over twelve seconds off her previous best time for a runaway win in f 8:11 56. Second in an Italian national record time of 8:26.27 was Nadia Battocletti. In the men’s 1500m, Cathal Doyle (Clonliffe Harriers), who was making his Diamond League debut, finished eighth with a time of 3:33.34. Nicola Tuthill (UCD) finished fourth in the women’s hammer at the Halplus Werfertage meet in Germany on Saturday (May 24) thanks to a 69.68m effort in the sixth and final round. Tuthill also threw 69.15 in the fifth round and all six of her throws were legal. (To come: In the U23 women's discus a day later, Anna Gavigan (LSA) 53.91m Sunday May 25 Diamond League, Rabat, Morocco, 7pm. Cathal Doyle (Clonliffe Harriers), Sarah Healy (UCD) - both 1500m Saturday May 24 European 10,000m Cup, Pacé, France. Efrem Gidey (Clonliffe Harriers), BMC Grand Prix 2025, Bury, Manchester. www.britishmilersclub.com 1500m D: Charlie O’Neill (Donore, U17) , Women: A- Amy O’Donoghue (DSD) . Saturday May 24- Sunday May 25 IFAM Outdoor Bori Akinola (100m), Sean Aigboboh ( Tallaght AC, 100m), Michael Farrelly (Raheny Shamrock,100m), Christopher Sibanda (Clonliffe Harriers, 100m), Sophie Becker (Raheny Shamrock, 400m, 200m), Joe Doody (UCD AC, 400m), Ellie Hartnett (UCD AC, 1500m), John Travers (Donore Harriers, 5000m), Emma McEvoy (5000m), May 22-24 NCAA Div 2 - Louis O'Loughlin (Donore Harriers, 800m) Internationally, an Irish team was competing in Italy at the annual Trofeo Nasego on 25th May, where Killian Mooney (Dundrum South Dublin) was best of the Irish in 25th place with a time of 1 hrs 44 mins 3 secs for the 21.5km course. Edel Monaghan (DCH) was 38th woman in 2:21.11. In the ‘vertical’ 4.245km race, a day earlier, Mooney was 46th in 42:41, while Monaghan (DCH) was 36th woman n 51.00 WALDRON WINS THE LAP OF THE GAP Leading home 343 finishers at the Lap of the Gap half marathon in the Glendalough area of Wicklow on Saturdy 24th May was Wayne Waldron (Donore Harriers) in 75 mins 19 secs. Finishing second in the marathon was Shane Arrowsmith (Artane Beaumont RC, M40) in 3:08.58. Both races were well supported by overseas visitors.

ROADS At the Irish Runner 5km in Dublin’s Phoenix Park, Dublin, which incorporated a national championships on Saturday (May 17), over 2,000 finishers were led home by James Gormley (Carmen Runners) in a time of 14 mins 01 sec. Second in 14:18 was Pierre Murchan (Dublin City Harriers) winner of the Terenure 5-Mile six days earlier. Killian Mooney (Dundrum South Dublin AC) was third in 14:35 with Kieran Kelly (Raheny Shamrock AC) just a second behind for fourth and first M35. Ella Fennelly (DSD ) was second woman in 16. 40 and Catherina Mullen (MSB AC) third in16:47. Meghan Ryan (DSD) was fourth in 15:59. First U19 was Cliodhna Ryan (DCH ) 19:49. In the team competition, DSD won both men and women’s titles. Raheny Shamrock was second of the men and Metro St Brigid’s s third of the women’s teams. Brothers Pearse beat Clonliffe Harriers in the M35 category with Rathfarnham WSAF third. In the W35 category Rathfarnham WSAF and Raheny Shamrock finished second and third. Among the newly established Dublin clubs who entered teams were Coolock RC, Liberties RC, North Clondalkin, Castleknock RC and Shelters Running Community. Age category winners from Dublin clubs were Louise Gaffney (Rathfarnham WSAF AC) W35, Adrienne Jordan (Crusaders AC) W45, Annette Kealy (Raheny Shamrock) W55, Sheelagh Jones (Rathfarnham WSAF) W65, Cillian O’Leary (Raheny Shamrock) M45, Damien Martin (Raheny Shamrock) M60 and Vincent O’Neill (Civil Service Harriers) M70. At the Riga Marathon in Latvia on Saturday (May 17), Dean Hayden led home a large group of runners from Ballymun AC, finishing in 2 hrs 51 mins 33 secs— just off his target time of 2:50. Ultra marathon man Ger Prendergast (M45) was second in 3:02.31, followed by James Power (M50) with a net time of 3:28.23 and Joshua Griffith in 3:34.46. Best of the women was Ann-Marie Burns in 3:34.15 (net). Competing the half marathon were twenty-seven women from the club, led by Ashley Carroll in 1:44.39, Susie Hickman (W60) in 1:53.17 and Shannon Fleming in 1:53.31. Finishing third in the over 70 age group was Colette Shannon in 2:27.03. Best of the twelve men finishing was Calvin Alexander in 89:11, followed by Derek Daly in 1:34.57 and Ken Coakley (M50) in 96:42. A further seven ran the 10km. In total, 57 runners from Ballymun AC were in action. Bravo all! * A few days before they headed for Riga, Ballymun AC in conjucntion with Ballymun Health and Fitness, hosted the annual Ballymun Running Festival, with races taking place all day at Trinity Comprehensive School on Wednesday May 14. First up was the Breakfast Run at 7am followed by schools races and then a final 5km/10km in the evening. A great day with record numbers turning out for all runs. At the Bear Races FastLane 10km in Clondalkin/Grand Canal, Co Dublin, also on Sunday, Eleanor Alexander (Clonliffe Harriers) was first woman. WEEKDAY EVENING RACES In a battle to the end, Sean Doran (Harrier Products) beat Thomas Sherlock (Bank of Ireland) for victory at the ESB BHAA Beach 5km on Sandymount Strand, Dublin on Wednesday (May 14), The pair were given times of 16mins 52 secs and 16 mins 56 secs. Third was the ESB’s own Aidan Jones in 17:48. Clare O’Sullivan (CSO) was first woman in 20:21, followed by Niamh O’Keeffe (ESB) din 21:18 and and Fiona Byrne (HSA) t in 22:39. TRACK AND FIELD Brian Fay (Raheny Shamrock AC) clocked a time of 7:34.48 when finishing third in the 3000m at the Tokyo Golden GrandPrix promotion in Japan on Sunday (May 18). SCHOOLS At the Leinster Schools Track and Field Championships in Tullamore on Monday May 12, Jacob Ciomek (HFCS Rathcoole/Lucan Harriers) was a double winner at inter level with victories in the 1500m steeplechase and in the 1500m where Charlie O’Neill (Belvedere/Donore Harriers) finished a close second. Winning the inter boy’s 800m earlier in the day was Conrad Latham (St Paul’s Raheny/Raheny Shamrock) where Charlie O’Neill was also a close second. Winning the senior girls’ 1500m was Emily Bolton (Institute of Education/Clonliffe Harriers). Lorcan Benjacar (Ard Scoil Ris, Clonliffe Harriers) took the senior boy’s title with Ryan O’Neill (Terenure College/Rathfarnham WSAF) second. Ciara Houlihan (Sancta Maria) won the senior girls’ 3000m. Abigail Farrell (King’s Hospital/Donore Harriers) won the senior girls’ 100m hurdles and Rachel Lynch (Muckross/Dundrum South Dublin) the seniro 400m hurdles. Dublin winners in the 100m sprints were Alicja Doyle (Belmayne ETSS/Clongriffin AC) inter girls, and Cillian Doherty (Belvedere/Crusaders AC) senior boys. Over 200m, Dubem Amah (Moyle Park/Tallaght AC) inter boys Sadie Meade (Mount Sackville/Metro St Brigid’s AC) inter girls I and Donal Martin (St Michael’s/Blackrock AC) senior boys were all winners. Martin was also second in the 100m. Louis Blinco (Castleknock CC/MSB AC) won the inter boys 400m and Sarah Kiernan (Our Lady’s Terenure) the senior girls 400m. In the 4x100m relays, Belmayne ETSS beat St Dominic’s Cabra for the inter girls’ title with Castleknock College winning the inter boys’ title. Dominican Griffith Avenue and Belvedere made it another Dublin double in the senior 4 x 100m races. In the field, Archie Monaghan (St Columba’s College) with the senior boys triple jump, Eva Munnelly (Loreto Foxrock) the inter girls’ long jump, Ava Lewis (Lusk CC) the inter girls’ pole vault, Patryck Pucek (PS Neasain Baldoyle/Clongriffin AC) inter boys’ high jump, Theo Quinn (Belvedere) senior boys’ high jump and Lauren Healy (Loreto Foxrock/DSD) the inter girls’ high jump. In the hammer, Ethan Thompson (Belvedere) won the inter boy’s title. At senior level, Sami Bashti (Blackrock/DSD) and Daisy Lauren Leonard (Lusk CC) took the boys and girls titles, while Conor Cunniffe (Belvedere) won the senior boys javelin wand Holly Helme (Rathdown/Cabinteely AC) the inter girls discus. All will nwo compete in the All Ireland Championships in Tullamore on May 30/31. TRAIL East Cork AC made it a hat-trick of victories when winning the Wicklow Way Relay on Saturday (May 17) in a time of 7 hours 33 minutes 35 seconds for the 104km distance with 3,500m of climb. Making up the winning team were Graham Swords, Tony Forristal, Fiona Santry, Donal Giltinan, Matt Horrigan, Kevin O’Brien, Nick O’Donoghue and Tamzin Muldowney. All teams had to include at least two women and two master runners. Less than four minutes behind in 7:37. 09 were TT Racers, a team based in Trinity College, while third in 8:15.54 was Rathfarnham WSAF in an exact repetition of the result in both 2024 and 2023, although times were slower, possibly because of the warm conditions. TT Racers had led on the opening leg of eight from Kilmashogue Woods to Curtlestown, but were soon caught by East Cork, who then maintained their lead all the way to the finish in Shillelagh, with the penultimate ‘long’ leg proving crucial. Other Dublin clubs in action included Dundrum South Dublin, eighth in 8:55.39, Cabinteely AC, 15th in 10:04.51, Blackrock AC 17th in 10:07.50 and Lusk AC 26th in 10:45.22. Members of other Dublin clubs also lined out for composite teams. Of the thirty-five teams who completed the eight-stage race, four were women only, with YBCV3 proving the fastest when finishing 12th overall in 9:32.07. Next was a Crusaders AC team called ‘Agony of Defeet’ which finished in 10:46.30.

TRACK AND FIELD Ireland’s mixed relay and women’s 4 x 400m teams proved the stars at the World Athletics Relay Championships held in Guangzhou, China over the weekend, with both qualifying for the World Championships in Tokyo next September. In a clever use of the available squad members, Tallaght’s Rhasidat Adeleke and Sharlene Mawdsley from Tippeary who helped the mixed team to second in their opening heat and automotic qualification for Tokyo, were transferred to the women’s 4x400m squad, which hadn’t qualified automatically. That squad needed a top three placing in the repechage race if they were were to make Tokyo. The Irish four did it with ruthless efficiency winning their repechage heat in a superb time of 3:24.69. Almost as busy as Adeleke and Mawdsley was Jack Raftery of Donore Harriers, who on Sunday, first ran the fourth leg for the Irish men’s s 4x400m repechage. Although the team didn’t quality, his split of 45.89 secs was the fastest of the four. Raftery then lined out in the final of the mixed 4 x 400m, running a split of 45.87 for the opening leg and helping the team to eighth place overall. MAHER, BOLTON PLACE AT BELFAST MEET In the women’s 1500m at the Belfast Irish Milers Meet held on the Mary Peters Track in Belfast on Saturday (May 10), Eimear Maher (Dundrum South Dublin AC) was a fighting second in 4:14.87 and Emily Bolton (Clonliffe Harriers) third in a massive PB time of 4:16.77, which qualifies her for the the European U20 championships. Winning the women’s A 1500m was Niamh Carr (Dublin City Harriers) in 4:22. Sean Cronin (Clonliffe Harriers) was third in the men’s A 1500m in 3:48.11. First home in the B men’s 1500m was Louie Woodger (Metro St Brigid’s AC) in 3:651:26. In an all- Dublin top three, Shane Spring (Raheny Shamrock) was second in 3:52.18 and Fintan Kerins (Clonliffe Harriers) third in 3:52.66.Lorcan Benjacar (Clonliffe Harriers) was fifth in 3:54.78. Leia Ryan (Metro St Brigid’s AC) won the women’s B 1500m in 4:28.06. while junior athlete Jacob Ciomek (Lucan Harriers) won the men’s D race in 3:57.60. In the men’s international 3000m, John Travers (Donore Harriers) finished tenth in 8:12.59. DSD pair Amy O’Donoghue and Emma McEvoy fourth and fifth in times of 9:16.93 and 9:17:98 respectively in the women’s 300m. Sean Aigboboh (Tallaght AC) won the men’s 100m in 10.72 secs. Finishing third in the international men’s 400m was David Bosch ( UCD AC) in 47.52. Molly Hourihan, also UCD AC, finished fifth in the women’s international 400m in 54.57 secs. Over 800m, Charlotte Myers (Crusaders AC) won the women’s B race in 2:10.00, with Renee Crotty (UCD AC) third in 2:11.86. Saoirse Fitzpatrick (Lucan Harriers) was third in the women’s A 800m in 2:07.00. Jack Kelly (Tallaght AC) was third in the B 800m in 1:51.93. MIXED BAG OF RESULTS AT SECOND DUBLIN GRADED MEET Santry was the venue for the second Dublin Graded League of the season the men’s 1500m proved the race of the day. From the start, Cian Kelly (St Abban’s AC) was clearly determined to post a fast time and he won the race in 3:53.22. Doing his best to hang on was Ed Tottenham (Clonliffe Harriers) who finished in 3:58.22. Jared Murray (Rathfarnham WSAF AC) won the B race in 4:02.15, Malcolm Kiplagat (Clonliffe Harriers) the C race in 4:17.62 and Lea Fulcher (Plant Based AC, M50) the D race in 4:22.41. Winning the women’s A race was Holly Carroll (Blarney Inniscarra AC) in 4:32.11. Emily O’Shea (St Abban’s AC) was second in 4:33.56, Niamh Kelly (Clonliffe Harriers) third in 4:34.00 and Maria McCambridge (DSD AC) fourth in 4:42.63. Emma Przymusinska (Lusk AC) won the D race in 5:23.96. Earlier, Mathew McMeekin (Sligo AC) had won the 5000m in 15:40.91. Daragh Keegan (Donore Harriers) was second in 16:10.10 Two series of 200m races in all four grades were held with Andrew Egan (Galway City Harriers) proving fastest overall of the men with times of 21.24 and 21.10. Ciara Neville (Emerald AC) ran a time of 24.04 . UCD’s Aisling Kelly ran two races clocking 24.24 in both. In the field, Anna Gavigan (LSA AC) threw 50.51 in the discus and Aibhe Gordon (Greystones and District) AC 45.71 in the javelin. Eoin Sheridan (Clonliffe Harriers) won the men’s discus with a 53.92 effort, while Hugh Kelly (UCD) threw 48.92 in the javelin, with Euan Canniffe (Clonliffe Harriers) second with 47.23 and Lorcan Murphy (DSD AC), competing in his first ever competition, 40.83 for third. Murphy, a multi-eventer, also finished second in the pole vault with 4.60. More pictures are at https://www.flickr.com/photos/lindie/albums/72177720326026590/ ROADS Pierre Murchan (Dublin City Harriers) was the runaway winner of the Terenure 5-Mile, leading home 1.369 finishers on a sunny Sunday morning (May 11) By halfway, Murchan was already well clear of the chasers and he finished in 24 mins 11 secs, over a minute ahead of Tomás Fitzpatrick (Tallaght AC, M40), who was second in 25:22. Third in 25:30 was defending champion Peter Somba (Ballyskenagh AC). Finishing fourth in 25:39 was racing machine Sean Doran (Clonliffe Harriers). First woman was Meghan Ryan (Dundrum South Dublin) who also had plenty to spare when winning in 28:54. Second in 29:58 was Rachel Birt (Annalee AC) , while third in 30:15 was Ciara Brady (Raheny Shamrock). Ryan was leading DSD to a comfortable team victory with four finishers in the top eight. Crusaders AC, led by Yvonne McCauley in seventh place, were second and Raheny Shamrock third. Rathfarnham WSAF won the W40 team prize, with DSD second and Brothers Pearse third. Raheny Shamrock proved best of the men’s teams led by David Rooney in 10th place. Brothers Pearse were second and DSD third. Metro St Brigid's won the M40 team category ahead of Rathfarnham WSAF and Civil Service Harriers. Category winners were Romaine King (DSD) W40, Claire Shiels (Rathfarnham WSAF) W455, Sinead Tighe (Brothers Pearse) W50, Pauline Robertson (Brothers Pearse) W55, Carol Dempsey (Civil Service Harriers) W60, Aidan Murphy (DSD) M45, Colm Murray (Rathfarnham WSAF) M55, Martin Kelly (Rathfarnham WSAF ) M65 and Mick Carolan (Brothers Pearse) M70. More pictures are at https://www.flickr.com/photos/lindie/albums/72177720326025656 Also on Sunday, Eanna Ó Bradaigh (DSD ) finished second at the Ashling Murphy 4-Mile in Tullamore, Co Offaly in a time of 19:52. The race was third round of the Peugeot Race Series 2025. In Co Kildare, Adam Nason (Donore Harriers) in 16:01 and Mollie O’Donnell (Liffey Valley AC) in 18:38 were the winners of the Maynooth 5km. Winning the Leixlip 5km in Co Kildare on Saturday (May 10) was Sean Doran (Clonliffe Harriers) in 15:17. David Carroll (Liffey Valley AC) was second in 15:23 and Mark Ryan (Rathfarnham WSAF AC) third in 15:26. First woman in 16:45 was Aoife Coffey (Lucan Harriers) Mark Kirwan (Raheny Shamrock AC) in 16:08 and Aoife Quigley (Crusaders AC, W40) in 19:11 led home 673 finishers at the Sandyford 5km, in Dublin on Thursday evening (May 8) .

TRACK AND FIELD AT HOME … A number of Dublin club athletes travelled to Co Tipperary for the Irish Milers T-F Meet on the newly-opened track at the TUS, Clonmel, on Saturday. Winning the women’s 3000m in a personal best 9 mins 22 secs was Eimear Maher (Dundrum South Dublin AC). Emily Bolton (Clonliffe Harriers) was the winner of the women’s A 1500m in 4:21.35, while Faye Dervan (DCH) was second in the B 1500m in 4:34.40. In a closely-fought men’s A 1500m, Jonas Stafford (UCD AC) finished second in 3:47.91. Other good results came from Daniel Conway (DSD) second in n the men’s B 400m with a time of 51.55, Saoirse Fitzgerald (Lucan Harriers) second in the women’s A 800m in 2:06.63, Finn Woodger (MSB) third in the men’s A 800m in 1:52.5, and junior athlete Charlie O’Neill (Donore Harriers) second in the C 800m in 1:53.78. Winning the men’s D 1500m in 4:06.12 was Aidan Benjacar (Clonliffe Harriers). Over 3000m, Stephen Cashin (Clonliffe Harriers) finished fifth in the men’s A race in 8:45.91, while Ryan O’Neill (Rathfarnham WSAF AC) won the men’s B 3000m in 8:40.40. Sprinters took centre stage at the opening round of the Dublin Graded Track and Field League held in Santry on Saturday (May 3) — a six-hour marathon. Two rounds of 100m races were divided into four grades with a number of heats in each grade, and variable winds affecting times in all grades. Fastest of the men in both rounds was Bori Akinola (UCD AC) who ran 10.42 secs in the first heat of the opening round and 10.32 in the second race where the wind was just about legal at + 2. Second in both races was Michael Farrelly (Raheny Shamrock AC) with times of 10.58 and 10.40. Ciaran Carthy (DSD AC) won the second grade A heat in 10.62 also running 10.60 in the second round when the wind was over the +2 limit. Lorcan Murphy (DSD AC) won the third grade A heat in 10.47 (+2.2 wind). The women’s races were affected by even stronger winds with Aisling Kelly (UCD) finishing second in the opening round with a time of 11.78 (+4.2). In the second round, with winds at a slightly more moderate +3.2, Kelly was again second in 11.76. Winning the men’s 3000m in 8:19.88 was Colm Rooney (Clonliffe Harriers, M40). A clear winner of the men’s 2000m steeplechase was Jacob Ciomek (Lucan Harriers) in 6:22.57. Rounding out a long day were the 800m races, with Leia Ryan (MSB AC) proving fastest of the women with a time of 2:14.30 in the B race. In the field, junior athlete Conor Quinn (Crusaders AC) proved the class of field in the shot with a 14.18 effort. Best of the women was multi-eventer Lara O’Byrne (Donore Harriers) with 10.73. Lorcan Murphy (DSD AC) won the men’s high jump with 1.84m. Best in the women’s long jump was Daphni Doulaptsi Teeuwen (Raheny Shamrock) with 5.51. Full results on the Dublin Athletics live website at http://live.dublinathletics.com/graded-25-1/menu.html. More pictures are at https://www.flickr.com/photos/lindie/albums/72177720325829461/ … AND AWAY Rhasidat Adeleke (TallaghtAC) was in action at the Diamond League meet in Shanghai/Keqiao, China, on Saturday (May 3) where she finished second in the women’s 200m in 22.72 secs. Adeleke will join the Irish team at the World Relays in Guangzhou, China, next weekend. Ireland has teams competing in both the men and women’s 4x400m and the mixed 4x400m with the top-14 in each race qualifying for the World Championships in Tokyo next September. Jack Raftery (Donore Harriers) and David Bosch (UCD AC) are also on the squad. Good luck to them all! In the 5000m, also at the Diamond League meet, Brian Fay (Raheny Shamrock AC) finished tenth with a time of 13:12.10. In the USA, Elizabeth Ndudi (DSD AC) was second in the long jump in Champaign, Illinois, also on Saturday, with a leap of 6.16m. A week earlier, Niamh Fogarty (Raheny Shamrock) broke the Irish record for the discus with a throw of 58.40m in ‘Throw Town’, Ramona, Oklahoma - the controversial ‘wind tunnel’ open field venue, designed to make best use of the prevailing winds for discus throwers. Patricia Walsh’s record of 57.60m, set in Santry Stadium on 7 July 1984, had stood for 41 years. ROADS Sean Doran (Clonliffe Harriers) was the winner of the Drogheda 10km in Co Louth on Sunday in a time of 32 mins 13 secs. Eoin Gallagher (Skerries AC) finished third in 34:05, while Fiona Roche (Raheny Shamrock AC) was second woman in 36:49. At the Great Limerick Run Marathon, also on Saturday, Tudor Moldovan (Clonliffe Harriers, M35) finished third in 2:27.55. Sergiu Ciobanu (Clonliffe Harriers, M35) finished second in the associated half marathon in in 69:14 with Colm Turner (Brothers Pearse, M35) fourth in 70:47. On Saturday, a large groups of athletes from Sportsworld AC travelled to the Leinster Master and Novice Road Championships, held in Gowran, Co Kilkenny, and picked up quite a a few medals. Lorna Sheehan won the novice women’s 3km race in 10 mins 46 secs and helped the team to second place behind Kilkenny City Harriers with just a single point separating the two. Dublin was the second county team. Of the masters, Louise Bruton led the Sportsworld W50 team to second place in the women’s 3km. In the men’s 6km race, the Sportsworld M35 team finished third, led by Paul O’Brien in ninth place. Donore Harriers, with Kenneth Nugent finishing seventh was fourth. Sportsworld was also fourth of the over 50 teams. Dublin finished second of the M35 teams and third in the M50 category. Winning the women’s masters 3km was Rachel Murphy (Plant Based AC, W40) in 11 mins 9 secs. Rathfarnham WSAF, led by Clare Shiels, finished third team. ULTRA RUNNING In the Irish championships incorporated into the Anglo-Celtic Plate 100km held at Mallory Park, Kirkby Mallory, near Leicester, England, Matthew Collins (Portmarnock AC, M35) finished second with 7:26.44 and Rob Kelly (Raheny Shamrock AC) third with 7:41.01. Both men and women’s Irish teams finished third overall in the Anglo-Celtic Plate.

A BUSY DAY FOR MARATHONS On a busy weekend for marathons, races took place in London, Manchester, Hamburg, Dusseldorf and Connemara, with Dublin runners lining out in most of them. At the Hamburg Marathon, Karl Fleming (Portmarnock AC) clocked a time of 2:38.33, while Kate Purcell (Raheny Shamrock) finished 13th woman and first W40 in 2:47.46. She crossed the line with her Raheny clubmate Ian McConkey. A total of 143 Irish had registered to run. Well over a thousand Irish had nabbed a place in the London Marathon. Finishers included John Eves (Dundrum South Dublin AC) in 2:35.46, as well as John McCarthy who clocked a time of 2:37.56 in the wheelchair race. Locally, Edward O’Connor (Brothers Pearse AC) was second in 2:45.32 at the annual Connemarathon in Co Galway. Maura Dineen (Raheny Shamrock, W40) finished third woman in 3:41.34. ROAD RELAYS - WINS FOR DSD AND RATHFARNHAM MASTERS! Dundrum South Dublin AC successfully retained their title in the women’s senior race at the National Road Relays held on the All Saints circuit in Raheny on Sunday (April 27). After a solid start by Olympian and team coach Maria McCambridge on the opening one mile leg, Emma McEvoy on the two-mile leg and Eimear Maher on the final mile brought the defending champions home for the club’s sixth win since 2009 in a time of 20 mins 50 secs. McEvoy and Maher also clocked the fastest times of the day for their legs. UCD, who had led after the first leg, finished second in 21:31 with Kate Nurse, Mary Horgan and Ellie Hartnett making up the team. Finishing third was the host club Raheny Shamrock’s trio of Lucy Barrett, Kate Crowley and Niamh Kearney. Crusaders finished fourth, Sportsworld fifth and North Down — the only non-Dublin club in the race — sixth. In the men’s race over four legs, defending champions Clonliffe Harriers finished third behind Ennis Track Club and Craughwell AC from Co Galway. Clonliffe had led for the opening two legs, thanks to good runs by Ben Guiden and Sean Cronin but a strong run on the three-mile leg proved decisive for Ennis and Clonliffe Harriers ended up third in 37:32 - twenty-one seconds behind the winners. Dundrum South Dublin finished fourth, Raheny Shamrock fifth and a second Clonliffe team sixth. In the masters races, Sportsworld (Lorna Quinn, Noreen Brouder, Aoife O’Leary) finished runners-up in the W35 race. Crusaders finished fourth, Clonliffe Harriers sixth and two Donore teams seventh and eighth. Raheny Shamrock’s trio of Tara Kennedy, Annette Kealy and Mary Walsh finished second in the W50 category. Defending champion Raheny Shamrock (Aidan Jones, Kieran Kelly, Mick Clohisey) could only manage second this time in the M35 category behind Letterkenny AC, with Clonliffe Harriers (Tom Sherlock, Cathal McHale and Niall Sherlock) third. Donore Harriers was fourth and Liffey Valley fifth. First home in the M50 class was Rathfarnham WSAF AC (Paul Fleming, Shane O’Neill, Sean McCreery) in 20: 534, with a time of 4 mins 59 secs for the final mile from Paul Fleming, who celebrated his 50th birthday on the day, proving crucial. OTHER WEEKEND ROAD RACES In Darndale, Dublin on Saturday (April 26) Cian Charlton (Raheny Shamrock AC) led home over seven hundred finishers at the Another Way 5km in 16 mins 36 secs .Stephen Butler was second in 16:41. Tracey Coleman (Artane/Beaumont Running Club) was first woman in 20:38, with Beth O’Connor (Ballymun AC) second in 21:51. At the Cootehill 10km, in Co Cavan on Sunday, Catherina Mullen (Metro St Brigid’s AC) was first woman in 37:18. TRACK AND FIELD - STATESIDE At the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, USA , from April 24-26, Washington State won a thrilling College Men’s 4 x mile with Ronan McMahon-Stagg (Dublin City Harriers) running an opening leg of 4:06.10. A day earlier, Washington had won the medley relay title, with McMahon-Stagg again on the opening leg, this time of 1200m. McMahon-Stagg, now aged twenty-two, began his college career with UCLA. He currently tops the Irish 1500m rankings thanks to a personal best time of 3:38.23 run in Azusa, California on April 18. Elsewhere in the USA, Roisin Treacy (DSD AC) won the women’s 1500m at the Elmhurst Invitational in Illinois on Friday (April) 25) in a personal best 4:26.45.

TRACK - OVERSEAS Rhasidat Adeleke (TallaghtAC) finished fourth in the 200m with a time of 22.57 seconds at the Tom Jones Invitational, in Gainesville, Florida on Friday evening (April 18). It was Adeleke’s first individual race of the outdoor season. Big target for the Tallaght sprinter this summer is the September’s World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, where she will concentrate on her specialist 400m. At the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California (April 16-18), Louis O’Loughlin (Donore Harriers) finished third in the 800m ‘invite’ race on Thursday with a personal best time of 1:47.71. A day later, on Friday, he ran 3:46.06 in one of the five 1500m races on offer. Also running a 1500m on Friday was Ronan McMahon Staggs (Dublin City Harriers) who finished seventh in the men’s elite trace in a personal best 3:38.23. Fiona Hawkins (Dublin City Harriers) ran a time of 4:25.10 having run 16:55.60 a day earlier earlier for 5000m. Niamh Fogarty (Raheny Shamrock AC) was in Ramona Oklahoma, where she threw 56.21m in the discus competition. - not far off her personal best 56.49 set last summer. ROADS Pierre Murchan (Dublin City Harriers) finished second in the sold-out Streets of Kilkenny 5km on Thursday evening (April 17 ) with a time of 14 mins 21. Murchan was just six seconds behind the winner Cathal O’Reilly of (Kilkenny City Harriers). Anthony O’Brien (Raheny Shamrock AC) was fourth in 14:45 and Stephen Cashin (Clonliffe Harriers) finished eighth in 14:55. Orla Duffy (Dublin City Harriers) finished third woman in 16:38. The race was the second round of this year’s new-look Peugeot Race Series with €2,000 in ‘bonuses’ to be handed out at each of the ten races in the series. Next round is the Aisling Murphy 4-Mile in Tullamore on Sunday, May 11. Full details at www.popupraces.ie Kenneth Nugent (Donore Harriers) led home 371 finishers in the Kilmovee 10km in Co Mayo on Saturday morning. Conditions were wet. Former Irish marathon champion and Rathfarnham WSAF Member - Sean Hehir (Croghan AC) was the winner of the Battle of Clontarf 10-mile in St Anne’s Park, Dublin, on Easter Monday April 21. His time was 54 mins 53 secs. First woman was Fiona Roche of host club Raheny Shamrock in 60:01. Both winner were also first over 40. Jason Reilly (Civil Service Harriers) was second overall in 55:10 and Anthony Doran (Clonliffe Harriers) third in 55:27. Colm Costelloe (Brothers Pearse AC) was ninth and first M50 in 57:21. Of the women, Niamh Clifford was second in 60:27 and Fiona Kehoe (Kilmore AC, W40) third in 61:09. Other age group winners for Dublin club athletes were Denis Farrell (Portmarnock AC) M55, Gerry Boyle (Rathfarnham WSAF AC) M65, Ronan Ward (Civil Service Harriers) M70, Yvonne Macauley (Crusaders AC) W35, Tara Kennedy (Rahney Shamrock AC) W50, Deirdre O’Mahony (Blackrock AC) W60 and Grainne Grennan (Blackrock AC) W65. Raheny Shamrock won both men and women’s team titles. In the men’s race, Raheny beat Donore Harriers by less than a minute with Civil Service Harriers third. Crusaders was second of the women’s teams, followed by Tullamore Harriers. Civil Service Harriers finished fourth and third Dublin club. The race was a Leinster Championships.