HIGHLIGHTS: Sorcha Loughnane won NATIONAL 50km CHAMPIONSHIP at Donadea in a World W45 record time (awaiting confirmation). Women’s team a gallant 5th in NATIONAL INDOOR LEAGUE FINAL. John Travers won the AAI INDOOR GAMES 1,500m in style. Barbara Cleary took individual bronze in the NATIONAL MASTERS XC CHAMPIONSHIPS in Co. Cork. Eric Keogh and Abdel Laadjel were back in action at ALLENDALE & BOSTON INDOOR MEETS. Zion Osawe, Anabella Omozee and Ruby Blake took gold on Day 3 of the DUBLIN JUVENILE INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS. Juvenile athlete Laura Nunan won the IMRA SHORT-COURSE race at Three Rock Mountain.

REPORT: Another busy week for our club athletes at a variety of events both in Ireland and the USA.
Top of the bill this week is Sorcha Loughnane, aged 45, who won the Women’s national 50km championship incorporated into the DONADEA 50km RACE at Donadea Forest on Saturday. It was an outstanding performance! Loughnane settled early into 9th position in the 10-laps race and gradually gained to place 5th overall from a field of 187 starters. Her time of 3.20.33 was 14 minutes faster than her previous best time set at the International Plate race in Royal County Down last May. Her new time is being put forward as a World record in the W45+ category. Indeed, she finished just one-minute shy of the national women’s record and was more than 20-minutes clear of runner-up Deirdre Martin of Carrick-on-Shannon AC.
The overall race was won by former Dublin Marathon winner Sean Hehir of Metro St. Brigid AC in 2.56.04 with the formidable ultra-runner Gary O’Hanlon next on 3.00.55. Thus, it was a race of good qualify, which confirmed the merit of Loughnane’s achievement. Also in the field were Rory Burke (3.25.35) who placed 8th and Grace Kennedy-Clarke (4.03.42), competing in her first ultra-distance race, 44th overall and 9th woman finisher.

A much-depleted Donore Harriers women’s team finished in the NATIONAL INDOOR TRACK & FIELD LEAGUE FINAL at the National Indoor Arena on Saturday. With star athletes Aoife Lynch and Caoimhe Mackey unavailable due to injury and illness – and Lara O’Byrne restricted from competing in running races due to an injury, the team was unable to make any form of inroads towards a podium place. There were, however, plenty of gallant performances! 17 years-old Emma Stacey continues to impress as an 800m athlete with great potential. She ran a gutsy and tactically astute race to finish 2nd in 2.21.20, finishing clear of former Irish international Maria McCambridge of DSD AC who placed 5th.
Lucy Hurley (1.45m) gained 5 points for the team with 2nd place in the High Jump. Lara O’Byrne came 2nd in the Shot Putt with a personal best throw of 10.47m. Louise Murray had a busy afternoon. She ran an 8-seconds personal best of 5.00.08 to come 5th in the 1,500m and later ran another PB of 1.07.79 to bag two more points (5th place) in the 400m. Another athlete who doubled up was Sophie O’Farrell, who placed 5th in both the 60m sprint in 8.54 and in the Long Jump with a best effort of 4.36m. The other team members were – 15 years-old Isabella Kelly (28.09) 6th in the 200m, Andie Maguire (10.46m) 3rd in the Triple Jump and Fiona Smith-Keegan (3.15m) 6th in the 28lb Weight-for-Distance. The team came 5th on 29 points, with Leevale AC (63) the winners.

Paul McDermott, David Campbell, John Travers, and Gavin Curtin competed in the AAI INDOOR GAMES held in conjunction with the league finals. McDermott posted a time of 7.10 to place 5th in his first 60m sprint race, and then improved to 7.03 to come 2nd in the second series of sprints. David Campbell (23.76) came 4th in Heat 1 of a keenly contested 200m race won by Robert McDonnell of Galway City Harriers. John Travers (3.47.89) was the convincing winner of the 1,500m A race more than two-seconds clear of runner-up Juan Ignacio-Pena of Raheny Shamrocks AC.
Gavin Curtin was disappointed not to get a spot on the start line of the more competitive 3,000m A race. Instead, he had to settle for front-running the B race to win in 8.44.87. He held off a late challenge from Sean Melarkey (8.45.18) of City of Derry Spartans, but the lack of competition in mid-race meant that he finished well outside his 8.30 target time.

Eric Keogh (14.22.33) came 11th of 26 starters in the 5,000m ‘A’ race at the GRAND VALLEY STATE BIG INDOOR MEET at Allendale, Michigan on Friday evening. One week earlier the dedicated Donore Harriers athlete placed 4th in the CAMEL CITY INDOOR INVITATIONAL at Winston-Salem in North Carolina. Competing for Queen’s University in North Carolina he clocked a time of 8.11.26.

Abdel Laadjel was also in action Stateside. On Saturday evening he raced the 5th ranked 3,000m race in the DAVID HEMERY VALENTINE INVITATIONAL at the Boston University indoor track. Competing in a field of 16 Laadjel took the lead at the halfway point, but he didn’t have the strength to challenge at the business end of the race and was overtaken to 8th place over the final two circuits. His time of 8.14.36 was well short of his 8.05 target, but it was still a very determined effort.

The NATIONAL INTERMEDIATE AND MASTERS CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS took place at Castlelyons in Co. Cork on Sunday. Barbara Cleary (14.30) won individual bronze in the 4km Master Women’s race behind the Leevale AC duo of Lizzie Lee (14.05) and Sinead O’Connor (14.12). Cleary used her strong endurance base to hold off the strong challenges of 4th placed Martina Kiely (14.33) of St. Finbarr’s AC and 5th home Kate Purcell (14.35) of Raheny Shamrocks AC.
Donore Harriers closed out a team in 6th position with solid performances from Audrey Gahan (17.06) in 52nd, Claire Mulligan (17.07) in 53rd and Ariana Ball (17.30) in 63rd. The race had 141 finishers.
In the Master Men’s race over 7km Ken Nugent (24.24) came 34th, followed by three M50 athletes as Niall Lynch (24.53) placed 48th, Donal Iremonger (26.22) 95th and Tom Fagan (30.16) 174th. The final Donore Harrier home among the 211 finishers was Tony Griffin, an M60 runner, who placed 190th in a time of 31.32. Tony Kynes was the club’s sole competitor in the M65-plus 4km race coming home 6th of 43 finishers in a time of 16.37. In the Men’s 8km Intermediate grade race the club was represented by Ryan Aikins (28.34) who placed 28th and Harry Vaughan (29.36) was came 38th of the 43 competitors.

Day 3 of the DUBLIN JUVENILE INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS (13.02.2022) had young athletes in the age groups up to Under 14 compete. Donore Harriers had about 40 juveniles compete, most of whom took the benefit of having done recent training sessions at the National Indoor Arena. Many were also competing for the club for the first time. The outstanding performances on the day came from Zion Osawe who took double gold with victory in both the Under 14 Girls 60m Hurdles and in the High Jump. Another versatile young athlete Anabella Omozee won the Under 12 Girls 60m sprint final, with a gold medal also going to Ruby Blake in the Under 13 Girls Shot Putt.
Elliot Whelan came 2nd in the final of the Under 14 Boys 60m Hurdles, with Saoirse Jackson also taking home a silver medal from the Under 13 Girls Shot Putt. Melody Omozee and Rachel Dowling-Barnes took bronze medals in the Under 14 Girls 60m Hurdles and Under 13 Girls Shot Putt respectively. Special mention also to Anna Peake, who was just outside the medals in both the Under 13 Girls 60m Hurdles and in the High Jump. She finished 4th in both competitions. More results below.
Under 17 athlete Laura Nunan was first home in the IMRA TICKNOCK WINTER RACES at the Three Rock Mountain on Sunday morning. Laura completed the 5km out and back short course route in 32.52 to finish over a minute ahead of her nearest rival. In the 8.8km long course Colm Kennedy (48.19) came 23rd of 145 finishers.

Club highlights for PARKRUNs held on the 12th of February included juvenile athletes Dylan McKenna and Lucas Collender placing 3rd and 4th at Waterstown, another juvenile Rosie-May Morris 2nd woman at Corkagh, and junior member Ruby Kelly 3rd woman at Castletown. More results below.

Results in brief:
CAMEL CITY INVITATIONAL, WINSTON-SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA (04/05.02.2022)
Men’s 3,000m: 4th Eric Keogh (8.11.26)
GRAND VALLEY STATE BIG MEET FRIDAY at ALLENDALE, MICHIGAN (11.02.2022)
Men’s 5,000m A Race: 11th Eric Keogh (Queen’s North Carolina) 14.22.33
26 starters
AAI INDOOR GAMES at NIA (12.02.2022)
Men’s 60m Series 1 Heat 2: 5th Paul McDermott (7.10)
Men’s 60m Series 2 Heat 2: 2nd Paul McDermott (7.03)
Men’s 200m Heat 1: 4th David Campbell (23.76)
Men’s 1,500m: 1st John Travers (3.47.89)
Men’s 3,000m ‘B’ race: 1st Gavin Curtin (8.44.
NATIONAL INDOOR TRACK & FIELD LEAGUE FINALS at NIA (12.02.2022)
WOMEN’S DIVISION FINAL:
60m: 5th Sophie O’Farrell (8.54)
1,500m: 5th Louise Murray (5.00.08)
60m Hurdles: no competitor
200m: 6th Isabella Kelly (28.09)
800m: 2nd Emma Stacey (2.21.20)
400m: 5th Louise Murray (1.07.79)
High Jump: 2nd Lucy Hurley (1.45m)
Long Jump: 5th Sophie O’Farrell (4.36m)
Pole Vault: no competitor
Shot Putt: 2nd Lara O’Byrne (10.47m)
Trille Jump: 3rd Andie Maguire (10.46m)
Weight 4 Distance 28lb: 6th Fiona Smith-Keegan (3.15m)
4 x 200m relay: no competitor
TEAM: 1. Leevale AC 63, DSDAC 60, Raheny Shamrock 57, Clonliffe Harriers 37, Donore Harriers 29, Galway City Harriers 24.
DONADEA 50km, inc Irish Championships at DONADEA FOREST (12.02.2022)
5th overall & 1st woman Sorcha Loughnane W45 (3.20.33)
8th Rory Burke (3.25.35)
44th & 9th woman Grace Kennedy-Clarke (4.03.42)
187 starters
BOSTON UNIVERSITY DAVID HEMERY VALENTINE INVITATIONAL at BOSTON UNIVERSITY, USA (12.02.2022)
Men’s 3,000m Section 5 of 9: 8th Abdel Laadjel (8.14.36)
16 starters
NATIONAL INTERMEDIATE & MASTERS CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS at CASTLELYONS, CO. CORK (13.02.2022)
Master Women 4km:
3rd Barbara Cleary W45 (14.30)
52nd Audrey Gahan W40 (17.06)
53rd Claire Mulligan W40 (17.07)
63rd Ariana Ball W35 (17.30)
141 finishers
TEAM: 1. Leevale AC (48), 6. Donore Harriers (171). 12 teams closed.
Intermediate Men 8km:
28th Ryan Aikins (28.34)
38th Harry Vaughan (29.36)
43 finishers
Master Men 6km:
34th Ken Nugent M35 (24.24)
48th Niall Lynch M50 (24.53)
95th Donal Iremonger M50 (26.22)
174th Tom Fagan M50 (30.16)
190th Tony Griffin M60 (31.32)
211 finishers
Master Men 65+ 4km:
6th Tony Kynes M65 (16.37)
43 finishers
IMRA TICKNOCK WINTER at THREE ROCK MOUNTAIN (13.02.2022)
Long Course 8.8km: 23rd Colm Kennedy M40 (48.19)
145 finishers
Short Course 5km: 1st Laura Nunan U/17 (32.52)
7 finishers
DUBLIN JUVENILE INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 3 at NIA (13.02.2022)
<<results list may be incomplete>>
U/11 GIRLS 60m FINAL: 5th Anna Whelan
U/11 GIRLS 60m HEATS: Robyn McCluskey – did not qualify to the final
U/11 BOYS 60m HEATS: Mark Keegan – did not qualify to the final
U/12 GIRLS 60m FINAL: 1st Anabella Omozee
U/12 GIRLS 60m HEATS: Ali Woods – did not qualify to the final
U/12 BOYS 60m HEATS: Leo Garry – did not qualify to the final
U/13 GIRLS 60m FINAL: 8th Anna Peake
U/13 GIRLS 60m HEATS: Thea O’Donohue, Freya Ryan, Petra Cunningham & Emma Jane Keegan – did not qualify to the final
U/13 BOYS 60m FINAL: 5th Dylan O’Connor, 6th Connor ?
U/13 BOYS 60m HEATS: Sean Culhane, Tom Nolan, Oisin O’Gorman, Sam Inverarity, Ethan Ryan & Hugh Cunningham – did not qualify to the final
U/14 GIRLS 60m HEATS: Rachel Dowling-Barnes & Zoey Conroy – did not qualify to the final
U/13 GIRLS 60m HURDLES FINAL: 4th Anna Peake
U/13 GIRLS 60m HURDLES HEATS: Thea O’Donohue – did not qualify to the final
U/14 GIRLS 60m HURDLES FINAL: 1st Zion Osawe, 3rd Melody Omozee
U/14 BOYS 60m HURDLES FINAL: 2nd Elliot Whelan
U/13 GIRLS HIGH JUMP: 4th Anna Peake
U/14 GIRLS HIGH JUMP: 1st Zion Osawe, 3rd Rachel Dowling-Barnes, also Lily Clarke
U/13 GIRL SHOT PUTT: 1st Ruby Blake, 2nd Saoirse Jackson, also Emma Jane Keegan
PARKRUNS 5km (12.02.2022)
ARDGILLAN: 50th Joe Murphy M40 (26.13)
CASTLETOWN: 15th & 3rd woman Ruby Kelly W18-19 (22.55), 45th Joan McTernan W60 (27.34), 92nd Anna McMahon W35 (35.26)
CORKAGH: 22nd & 2nd woman Rosie-May Morris W11-14 (24.46)
HARTSTOWN: 12th Mark Devine M45 (22.50)
MARLAY: 41st Patrick Moriarty M45 (22.00)
POPPINTREE: 75th Eilish Joyce W40 (31.52)
TOLKA VALLEY: 2nd Owen Robinson M35 (20.07)
WATERSTOWN: 3rd Dylan McKenna M15-17 (20.21), 4th Lucas Collender M11-14 (20.36)