Roads
A thrilling finish to the Lucan 5km on Sunday (September 3) saw Peter Somba of Dunboyne AC catching Mick Clohisey of Raheny Shamrock AC with abou 100 metres to go and then holding on for victory in a sprint for the line. Somba’s time was 25 mins 5 secs, with Clohisey just one second behind. Third in 25:28 was David Scanlon of Rathfarnham WSAF AC in 25:28. Laura Buckley made it a Dunboyne double when she finished first woman in 30:35, with Aisling O’Connor of Rathfarnham WSAF AC second in 31:33 and Breda Smyth of host club Lucan Harriers third and first W50 in 34:39. In a closely fought men’s team competition, Lucan Harriers and Raheny Shamrock AC both finished on 50 points. With Cillian Murphy 11th, Alex O’Brien 18th, and Will Byrne 21st, Lucan won on count-back. No such drama in the women’s team competition where with Breda Smyth third, Ana Barbu fourth and Anne Whelan seventh, Lucan Harriers were comfortable winners ahead of Navan AC and Waterstown Warriors. A new Lucan-based club called Wolfpack RC was a close fourth. Other Dublin clubs represented included Donore Harriers, Civil Service AC, Crusaders AC, Love2Run AC, Sanctuary Runners, Polish Runners Club Ireland, Esker Running Group and Blackrock AC.
Evan Reid made it a home win at the Portmarnock Beach 5km in Dublin on Thursday (31st August), winning in 16 mins 45 secs. Second in 17 minutes exactly was Stephen Butler of Raheny Shamrock AC while third and first M40 in 17:50 was Conor Fitzpatrick, also Portmarnock AC. Eighth and first woman was local resident Annette Kealy of Raheny Shamrock in 18:56, followed by her Raheny clubmate Zoe Quinn in 19:08 and Ciara Peelo of Clonliffe Harriers in 20:15. Other local clubs represented among the 329 finishers included Lusk, LSA , Portmarnock Tri Club, Rathkenny, Garristown Flyers, Abbotstown Fun 4 Fun, Phibsborough RC, Clongriffin Runners, Dublin Bay Runners and Sloggers to Joggers, along with a few blow-ins from Co Meath, the southside and Northern Ireland!
Esther Ntoko and Brian Sexton, both members of host club Raheny Shamrock AC, are the winners of the 2023 Lord Mayor Of Raheny Series of two-mile road races. On Tuesday (August 29), Ntoko, still a juvenile, was women’s winner at the Peter Doody Cup, which was the final round in the annual series. It was her eighth race and seventh victory in the series. Orla Gormley, also Raheny Shamrock, took second place, with Martina Harte of Dublin Bay RC third. In the men’s series, Sexton was taking a second title, following his victory five years ago in 2018. Aaron Tansey finished second and Ger Copeland of Dublin Bay RC third.
TRACK
Sarah Healy of UCD AC finished seventh in the women’s 1500m at the Diamond League Xiamen in China on Saturday (August 2). Although Healy’s time of 4:01.48 was slower than the 3:59.86 she ran at the World Championships, she was in the thick of the race from the start. Freweyni Haile of Ethiopia was the race winner in a meet record time of 3:57.65. Two days earlier, at the Diamond League Weltklasse in Zurich, Switzerland, Brian Fay of Raheny Shamrock , making his Diamond League debut, finished a creditable sixth in the men’s 5000m with a time of 13:24.61. Winner was the pre-race favourite Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia in 12:46.91.
MOUNTAIN RUNNING
Dave Gowan of DSD AC set a new record of 3 hrs 56 mins 26 secs for the Dublin 7 Summits Challenge on Saturday (September 2). Starting at the Kilmashogue forest gate, Gowan headed for Seahan taking in Fairy Castle, Prince William's Seat, Knocknagun, Glendoo, Kippure and Seefingan along the way. Total distance is about 31.22m with 1, 313m climb depending on the route taken.
TRAIL
Metro Saint Brigid AC’s Declan McDonagh headed to Poland for the NorDan 24km trail run in Wolsztyn, Województwo wielkopolskie, which he completed in a time of 2 hrs 01 min 57 secs despite enduring temperatures of around 24 degrees.
ULTRA
At the annual UTMB ultra trail run in Chamonix, France, a gruelling 170km race from Courmayeur in Italy to Chamonix in France via the Swiss Alps, Dublin-based Gavin Byrne finished 55th and 15th M35 in 26 hrs 8 mins 16 secs. The race started on Friday evening.
The Jerry Kiernan Foundation 2-Mile at UCD, scheduled for Saturday September 16. Pictures are from the Lucan 5 mile and Portmarnock Beach races
