Dublin Club Activities, 10 - 13 April 2025

FOURTH IN EUROPE FOR EFREM

Efrem Gidey (Clonliffe Harriers) produced the run of his career to date when finishing just out of the medals at the inaugural European Road Running Championships held in Leuven Belgium over the weekend. Running in the half marathon, Gidey lost out on the bronze medal when beaten to the line by Valentin Gondouin of France. He finished in 61:55 seconds - just a second behind Gondouin. The Clonliffe man had hoped to finish second or third, but a stitch midway through the race slowed him down. Race winner was Jimmy Gressier of France in a personal best 59:45.

In the Netherlands, Irish record holder Hiko Tonosa (DSD AC).finished twelfth at the Rotterdam Marathon in a time of 2 hrs 9 mins 52 secs - just ten seconds off his Irish record of 2:09.42 set in Dublin last October. Tonosa went through 10km in 30:49 and halfway in 65:04. Winner was Geoffrey Kamworor in 2: 04.34.

LOCAL ROADS 

Mollie O’Donnell (Liffey Valley AC) was first woman home at the Great Ireland Run 10km in Dublin’s Phoenix Park on Sunday (April 13). O’Donnell finished in 38:32 with Aisling O’Connor (Rathfarnham WSAF AC) second in 38:48. 

In the men’s race, won by Colin Leonard (Drogheda and District AC) in 32 mins 45 secs, Cian Charlton (Raheny Shamrock AC) was third in 33.58, while Michael Wycherly (Crusaders AC) was seventh overall and first M50 in 34:59. Rathfarnham WSAF AC did well in the older age groups with Colm Murray first M60 and Tom Cuddy and Gerry Boyle first and second M65. Trevor Lloyd from Sportsworld AC was first M75. In a team competition that mixed club and business teams, Raheny Shamrock AC proved best of the men, beating Deloitte and Metro St Brigid’s AC. Donore Harriers, led by Emily Cunniffe, took the women’s title with Accenture second and Clonliffe Harriers third. Close to 2,5000 completed the race.

TRACK AND FIELD - DCU 17 NOT OUT! 

Dublin City University stretched its winning streak to seventeen years and counting at the Irish Universities Track and Field Championships held in Santry on Friday and Saturday (April 11 and 12). Perennial rivals University of Limerick and UCD finished second and third. No other college has won the track and field title in the nineteen years since DCU’s first win in 2007 (there were no championships in 2020 and 2021). In cross-country, however, they are occasionally vulnerable with University of Galway winning the title last October. DCU, which holds a 40-year-lease on Santry, were hosts of the competition this year and over the weekend records were set by Jonas Stafford (UCD) 8:55.37 men’s 3000m, Eimear Maher (UCC/DSD AC) 4:27.15 1500m, Michaela Walsh (DCU) 14.46m shot and Olympian Nicola Tuthill (UCD) 68.70 hammer. Other Dublin club or college medal winners included Emma McEvoy ((UCD/DSD AC) and Faye Dervan (DCU/DCH AC) first and second in the women’s 5000m and Gavin Curtin (TUC/Donore Harriers) was the winner and Shane Spring (TCD/ (Raheny Shamrock AC) runner-up in the men’s 10,000m. In the sprints, Nkemjika Onwmereh (DCU) won the men’s 100m and Ciaran Carty (UCD/DSD AC) the 400m. Field event winners were Hubert Adamczyk (TCD/Clonliffe Harriers) javelin, Anna Gavigan (DCU/LSA AC) discus, Daphni Doulaptsi Teeuwen (DCU/Raheny Shamrock) triple jump (and second in long jump) and Ciara Sheehy (DCU) women’s shot. In the relays, UCD won the men’s 4x100 in 41.69 while DCU won the men’s 4x400m in 3:26.98. 

Abroad, at the Friar Invitational, in Providence, Rhode Island, on Friday (April 11), Scott Fagan (Metro St Brigid’s AC) ran a personal best 14:20.48 when finishing sixth in the 5000m, while in Clermont, Florida a day later, Israel Olatunde (Tallaght) also ran a personal best of 21.49 secs for the much chorter distance of 200m. Olutunde also ran 10.47secs for 100m.

ULTRA RUNNING

Karen Clarke (Brothers Pearse AC) was the last woman standing at the Hellevation Munster Backyard Last One Standing on a tough 4.176 mile loop in Grange, Co Tipperary over the weekend.