FOUR FROM FOUR FOR MURCHAN
Road performance of the week came on Tuesday (May 21) when Pierre Murchan (Dublin City Harriers) made it four wins from four outings in the Peugeot Road Race Series when winning the Bob Heffernan and Mary Hanley 5km in Enfield, Co Meath, Although he must have felt slightly weary after his victory in the Tullamore round of the series just two days earlier, Murchan still nailed down a solid victory in 14 mins 27 secs. He was taking home the top prize of €1,500 with a race to spare. First woman was junior athlete Emma McEvoy of Dundrum South Dublin in 16 minutes exactly. McEvoy, recently returned from injury, held off the challenge of her club mate Grace Lynch, second in 16:08. In the team competition, DSD won both the men and women’s categories as well as the overall mixed category for the series.
* The sold-out Dunshaughlin 10km on Saturday June 22 is the final race in Peugeot Series 1. In the remaining four races, the distances get longer.
David Rooney (Raheny Shamrock AC) was the winner of the LSA Peninsula 4-Mile in Donabate, Co Dublin, on Sunday (May 26). Rooney finished well clear of the field in 20 mins 15 secs. Second in 21:59 was Anthony Brady (Coolock RC) while third in 22:16 was Pearse Ryan (Donore Harriers). First woman in 26:45 was Katie Halpin (Clonliffe Harriers) . Geraldine McHale (Lusk AC) was second in 27:08 and Aneta Maher third in 27:46.
Louise McCarthy (Rathfarnham WSAF AC, M40) was the winner of the Newry City 10km in a time of 32 mins 32 secs.
EARLIER IN THE WEEK
On a perfect evening for the race, Aidan Jones made it a home win for organising club ESB (and Raheny Shamrock) at the annual ESB BHAA Beach 5km, on Dublin’s Sandymount strand, where the going was relatively firm. Jones, a consistent winner at BHAA level these days, led the race from early and and finished in 17 mins 3 secs. Second and first woman was Laura McDonnell, another BHAA regular, in 17:48 while third in 18:05 was Colm Murray of the Media team. In the team categories, ESB won both Grades 1 and 2. Many super-veteran stalwarts of BHAA running had signed up - among them Davey Byrne, Irene Walsh, Eileen O’Brien, Joe Delaney, June Comiskey, Mary Kelly, Ciaran McGrath and Matt Cooley; all of them over 60 - at least! Pictures are at https://www.flickr.com/photos/
TRACK AND FIELD - AT HOME
David Troy (Lucan Harriers) struck out early and was rewarded with a Dublin Championships for the 10,000m which was held as part of the third Dublin Graded Track meet of the season on Wednesday evening (May 22). Troy finished in 31:9.35 seconds. Second in 33:46.05 was Geoffrey Alexandre (Liffey Valley) with Daniel O’Brien (Lusk AC) a close third in 33:46.75. The pair had run together for most of the race. Also taking place were mile races with Clonliffe clubmates Niall Carbery and Sean Heaslip Owens battling it out in the fastest of the races. Carbery finished in 4:36.65 with Owens clocked at 4:36.6. In the 400m races, which were also the Dublin Championships. Ailin Rock Geraghty (Tallaght AC) proved fastest of the men with a time of 50.64 secs. Robert Hayes (DSD AC) was second with 51.13 and Charlie Boston (Crusaders AC) third in 51.61. Fastest of the women were Aisling Stratford (Raheny Shamrock ) in 57.43 secs, Freja O’Carroll (Raheny Shamrock ) in 58.55 and Grainne Moran (Dundalk St Gerard’s AC) in 59.16. Continuing her successful comeback after five years away from athletics was Isobel Mullaney (Rathfarnham WSAF) who won the women’s shot with a heave of 9.11m. Full result at http://pastresults.
Some pictures from the Graded Meeting are at Lindie Naughton's Flickr account at https://www.flickr.com/photos/lindie/with/53738800597
At the Leinster Track and Field Championships held in Carlow on Saturday (May 25), Sadhbh Mohan (Metro St Brigid’sAC) won a thrilling women’s senior 1500m in 4:40.72, holding off the challenge of her sister Aisling who finished second in 4:41.03, with Aoife Coffey (Lucan Harriers) third in 4:41.03. Winning the senior 100m was Sarah Murray (Fingallians) in 11.93. Killian Kirwan (Blackrock AC) won the U20 100m in 10.69, while Simon Essuman (Tallaght AC) was second in the senior race in 10.68. In the masters categories at the Leinster Track Championships, Colm Keogh of Ballymun AC won the M50 100m in a time of 12.64 secs. It was a first ever track medal for the north Dublin club which only started up last year. Here’s to many more! Full result at http://results.
DUBLIN ATHLETES ON TOUR!
At the BMC Meet in Manchester, on Saturday (May 25) Sarah Healy opened her outdoor season by lining out in the 800m, finishing fourth in a personal best time of 2:00.86. In the 800m series of races. Dara Donaghue (Lucan Harriers, U23) clocked 1:50.12, Rocco Zaman-Browne (DSD) 1:50.44 and Finn Woodger (MSB) 1:51.34 in the men’s races and Susie Nestor (UCD) 2:08.19 and Paralympian Greta Streimikyte (Clonliffe Harriers) 2:17.56 in the women’s series.
Over 1500m, Philip Marron (DCH) finished fifth in the A race (one of ten races) in 3:45.52 while Ellie Hartnett (UCD) ran a time of 4:24.46, Kate Nurse (also UCD) 4:31.55 and Edel Monaghan (DCH) 4:375.2. In the women’s 5000m, Niamh Kearney (Raheny Shamrock) finished seventh in 16:27.87. Full result https://www.britishmilersclub.
A large number of Irish athletes, many of them from Dublin, travelled to Belgium for the two-day IFAM Outdoors meet in Brussels and on Saturday, John Travers (Donore Harriers) ran a time of 13:43.21 for third in his heat , while behind him, Pierre Murchan (DCH AC) ran a personal best 13:45.36 to finish sixth. Also for Donore Harriers, Jack Raftery ran 46.68 secs in his 400m heat on Saturday finishing 26th fastest from 165 starters and on Sunday, finished second in his 200m heat in 21.99 secs coming second in his race. Aoife Lynch ran times of 25.01 secs in the 200m and 12.10 secs in the 100m.
For Clonliffe Harriers, Brian Gregan (Clonliffe Harriers) clocked a time of 47.93 secs in the 400m heats, while his clubmate Chris Sibanda ran 21.62 for 200m. Over the longer distances, Stephen Cashin ran an eleven second PB of 14.43.81 in the 5000m. Cathal Doyle finished second in his men’s 1500m heat in in 3:36.14 — just shy of the European Championships qualifying mark of 3:36. Two days earlier Doyle had won a 1500m race in 3:38.09. Also in the 1500m series of races, Sean Cronin chopped over a second off his PB with a time of 3.47.80, while in the women’s 400m hurdles, Jess Tappin clocked 57.72 .For Dundrum South Dublin, Mollie O’Reilly finished fourth in her 100m heat in 11.65, while Kate Doherty was third in her 100m hurdles heat with a time of 13.45. In the women’s 800m, Iseult O’Donnell (Raheny Shamrock) clocked a time of 2:06.51 and Nadia Power (DCH) 2:08.19. Full result https://www.athletics.app/
Earlier in the week, Sophie Becker (Raheny Shamrock AC) was in Kladno, Czech Republic, where she finished third in the women’s 400m in 51.75 secs. Becker ran a personal best 51.13 secs at the IMC meet in Belfast on May 11, which qualified her for the European Championships, along with Rhasidat Adeleke and Sharlene Mawdsley.
Hammer thrower Nicola Tuthill (UCD AC) improved her personal best to a new Irish U23 record of 70.32 at the P-T-S Meet in Banská Bystrica in Slovakia on Friday (May 24).It was a third U23 record for Tuthill this season and her first 70m throw. Tuthill’s performance should confirm her place on the Irish team for the European Championships in Rome next month.
Also on Friday, Georgie Hartigan (DSD AC) finished fifth in the 800m with a time of 2:03.85 at a meet in Gorzów Wielkopolski.
At the NCAA West qualifiers in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Thursday (May 23), Elizabeth Ndudi (DSD AC) finished 14th in the women’s long jump with a best of 6.52m, which wasn’t enough to see her qualify for the NCAA finals.
Also in the USA, Davey Davitt (Clonliffe Harriers) ran a brilliant PB of 52.31 in the 400m hurdles at a meet in Randall Island, NewYork. The time is a World U20 B standard. Davitt later finished second in the 400m in 48.18 secs — another PB.
HILLS.
In Co Wicklow on Sunday (May 26) Brian Furey (Brothers Pearse M40) was a close second in the 25.5km long Circuit of Avonbeg with a time of 2 hrs 59.59 mins 6 secs for the tough course with a massive collective climb of 1,345m.
