Category Archives: Senior

Weekend Roundup

Club News, Events, Results, Senior

Very well done to John Travers who was 2nd in the IUAA (Intravarsities) cross country championships in Jordanstown, he competed for Athlone Institute of Technology and he was followed in by Eric Keogh (running for UCD) in a brilliant 11th place. Jona Kalemi competed for DCU in the women’s race to finish in 42nd  place.

On the road Eoin Durkan easily won the Malahide Parkrun 5k in 17.06 and Dervila Holmes continued her great racing form to finish second woman in the Enniscrone 10k on a very tough course (no times available).
In the BHAA Maynooth the last cross country race of the season we had Ian Redican, Terry Mee 1st O65 and Ann Woodlock 1st O70.

From Gothenburg to Ballycotton

Club News, Results, Senior

Well done to John Travers on a brave run in the 3000m in the European Indoors in Gothenburg, it is great to see John represent Ireland at this level and while he must be disappointed with not making the final his brave front running style is fastly becoming his trademark. John always gives 100% and he races from the heart which guarantees an eventful race every time so watch this space for more from John in the near future, very well done John and we are proud of you. A big congrats to Ciaran O’Lionard and Fionnuala Britton on their bronze medals in this event from Donore Harriers.

Meanwhile back on home turf we had a very busy weekend of road racing in Cork, Meath and Dublin which saw some great performances with a good few pb’s thrown in.  There were some great performances in the Ballycotton 10 where we had a large contingent who made a weekend away of it.  Twenty four of our athletes braved the chilly conditions and were faced with a strong headwind on the final one and a half mile uphill climb to the finish.  The ever improving Dervila Holmes was our first finisher in 62.45 taking a large slice of her previous best and earned herself a brilliant 6th overall placing in the women’s race, she was followed in by Joe Murphy 67:18 and Des Gill 67.19 both slicing huge chunks off their pb’s, the rest of the club finishers were St John Walsh 70.16, Breda Mahoney 70.45 (pb), Nicola Dowdall 73.42 (pb), Joe Rankin 74, Joan McTernan 76.14, Frank McNally 78.35, Dave Hudson 80.48, Colm Nugent 81.05, Sarah Ni Ruairc 81.01 (pb), Mary Kingston 82.03, Niamh O’ Brien 83.00, Liz Mc Curtain 83.27, Jennifer O’Keefe 83.38, Tom Halton 86.19, Michelle Murphy 86.23, Linda Curtin 88.19, Lou McCurtain 90.57, Barbara Riddell 91.39, Tony Jenkins 91.56, Michael Brophy 92.14 and  Deborah Duffy 92.08.  Unfortunately Cliodhna Carthy had to pull out at mile 7 due to a knee injury.  Very well done to all!
In the Bohermeen Half Marathon, we saw some great runs from Graham Hopkins 76.18 (pb) and 2nd O40 followed by Fred Kiernan who also got a pb in 77.54 followed  in by Derek O Neill in 83.17, all three are training for spring marathons so their form is looking good for fast times over the big distance, next in was Shane McAuley in 84.42 (pb?), Florence Curley was next in in a pb of 85.18 and was 2nd woman overall, this is a great return to form for Florence who now seems to be back to her old self on the roads, next in was Andrew Rodger who is making a welcome return to road racing in 97.57, followed by the unstoppable Jim McNamara who was using the race as a warm up for an upcoming ten miler in Mallow, unfortunately his hamstring went at 11 miles and he hobbled in in 140.19, nevertheless he was delighted with his effort  as he still ended up being the first O65 and no doubt will keep running on one leg till he gets better! John Gleeson was next in 142.23 followed by Terry Mee in 142.49 2nd O65, Alma Hanevy was our second lady to finish in 144.41 and she was followed in by Peter Daly in 151.33. Michelle McCabe ran 24.34 in the 5k race. Well done all.
In the Carlingford Half Marathon in Louth we had one representative Lee Chambers who ran 151.28.
Aoife Rickard was first woman in the Malahide Parkrun in a pb of 1859. Well done Aoife!

National Senior Cross Country Championships Tullamore

Club News, Events, Results, Senior

A crisp cold but very pleasant bright day saw some great racing in Charleville Estate in Tullamore. The course was tough with a steady uphill start and some tough climbs throughout but conditions underfoot overall were quite dry with some nice downhill stretches.

First off were the women and Barbara Cleary and Sinead Jennings were dominant in the first lap of the 4 lap undulating course. As the race settled down Barbara pushed on and mixed it with the elite group which earned her a fantastic 9th place, she is continuing to return to her best form after a recent break from racing but there is lots more to come from Barbara and no doubt she will show her true form on the road in the months to come. Next in was Sinead Jennings who had a powerful run to finish in 20th place. She went out fast and never gave up holding off fierce competition from far more experienced runners.  This was her first cross country race since the National Intermediate in 2007 but it was no surprise that she could pull out such a gutsy run as giving it 120% is Sinead’s known trademark, it is great to have her back as part of the team and we hope to see more of her if she can find the time with her very busy rowing schedule not to mention being a mother to two young children.  Not far behind Sinead was Anne Curley in 25th place who was running very strongly for most of the race before hitting a bad patch and losing a few places but it was a good run coming off a tough marathon schedule. She was followed in by the ever improving Dervila Holmes who had a fine run in 29th, there was probably  a few more places there for the taking but Dervila will show her recent great form again in the months ahead and is fastly making a name for herself in senior women’s running.  Íde NicDhomhnaill ran brilliantly in her first ever outing over 8k in 31st, it was probably a baptism of fire for Íde over the longer 8k distance but it was a fine end to what was a superb cross country season for her.  Sinead McCauley was next in and probably paid for her very fast and brave earlier pace to finish in a very decent 40th but Sinead and Íde will be the backbone of senior teams in the future when they get more experience of senior cross country running under their belts.  Not far behind was Florence Curley who was delighted to be back running on a national senior team after a long spell of below par running, she is definitely coming back to her old self and ran around with a smile on her face to finish in a solid 43th , hopefully there is a good road season ahead for Florence.  The stalwart experienced Samantha Conroy completed the team in 53rd place and found the going tough on the day. It wasn’t a good day for Samantha who has scored on previous silver and bronze medal teams in this race in 2008 and 2009 but no doubt she will be back showing her true form on the road in the next few months. This was a superb team effort from everybody with our strongest ever team  of 8 women running, unfortunately it wasn’t enough to secure a medal on the day where the competition was white hot but 4th place wasn’t bad on a day that saw the most competitive women’s Interclubs race in years.
Next off were the men who had 6 gruelling laps and we just had the bare four brave souls Darren Hand, John Downes, Fergal Whitty and Jonathon Daly who put themselves on the battle line. All had superb performances and 6th place was excellent considering the team was sorely depleted. Darren had a superb run in 36th and is continuing to improve on his recent great form, he was followed in by the evergreen John Downes whose teak toughness and years of experience got him around in 40th place, he looked to be enjoying himself on the tough course as he left much younger competitors struggling behind him, closing him down was the teak tough Fergal Whitty who seemed to struggle early on but rallied brilliantly in the second half of the race to push through the field finishing in 46th, He was followed closely by Jonathon Daly who had been been ahead for much of the race but tired a little in the latter stages probably due the effects of his  recent marathon training, nevertheless he rallied to finish strongly in  49th. Less than a minute separated our four finishers who packed brilliantly in a what was a solid team effort. This is superb running in one of the toughest days in the racing calender and well done to all who turned out. A big thanks to everybody who came down to support us and to Maurice Ahern, Tom Byrne and John Geogheghan who got down to Charleville Estate early to get the tent set up on a bitter cold day!

Weekend Round Up

Club News, Results, Senior
John Travers had another terrific run over the weekend in a special 1500m race that took place in conjunction with the junior and U23 national indoor championships in the Athlone arena which is fast becoming the site of some record breaking runs in recent weeks.  He had an great win in 3.44.53 holding off second placed Darren McBrearty and a host of stellar middle distance talent.
In the junior competition, Sean Lawlor competing against some much older runners placed 6th in 23.76, Cian O’Doherty 5th in the 60m hurdles in 8.70 and Emily Geoghegan was 8th in the 60m in 8.34
In the U23 section, Eamonn Fahey won gold in the long jump with a leap of 6.95,  David Campbell was 6th in the 400m in 53.47, Lynda Ngakam was 6th in the 60m in 7.96, Eric Keogh was 4th in the 1500m in 4.14.
A day earlier our Master athletes competed in the same arena.  Anne Gormley was 1st over the line and gold W45 in the 3k walk in 19.08.58.  Terry Mee did the 800m/3000m double in 2.49.61 and 12.49.07 respectively and was awarded with double M65 silver.  Ian O’Leary ran the 3000m – time not available.
Barbara Cleary made her 2013 comeback to racing in her home county of Clare to finish 1st lady in the John Minogue memorial 8k in 28.28 where she also placed 5th overall

Donore girls take gold at National Intemediates in Derry

Club News, Meet & Train, Results, Senior
A very busy racing weekend for the club in Athlone, Derry and Dublin saw some great results for the club with medals of all colours being won and records being set.
First off was a very impressive showing from the club at the Irish Universities National Indoor Championships in Athlone with John Travers (representing Athlone IT) winning the 1500m in new IUAA record of 3:44.24 and Eamonn Fahey (TCD) winning the long jump. Emily Geoghegan (UCD) won bronze on the 4 x200 relay and was 7th in 60m with 8.07.  Lynda Ngankam (DCU) finished 7th with 9m 24 in the triple jump and Eric Keogh (UCD) 6th in the 3000m with 9:36.28. The Leinster Indoor championships were also held in Athlone at the weekend and David Campbell was 5th in the 400m in 52.61 seconds. Masters stalwart Terry Mee picked up two medals in the V65 category – silver for the 3k in 13.02 and gold in the 800m in a time of 2.57.
The big cross country event of the weekend, National Masters and Intermediates in Derry saw a big contingent from the club travel north to fly the flag. The infamous snow of the 2010 Intercounties on the Gransha course at the foot of the Foyle Bridge was replaced by an abundance of muck and surface water. Yet again the women brought back the goods with another team gold in the Intermediate 5000m.
Íde Nic Dhomhnail ran herself to a standstill in her persuit of an individual medal. In the end her massive effort was rewarded by 5th place. She was followed closely by her sister Sorcha 9th who magnificently strode around the course giving every ounce of her energy resources to have her finest run yet in the black and white singlet of Donore. Sinead McCauley was next in for the team. From the off she was aggressive in her approach and showed her tremendous strength to hold her quick start throughout the race. Next in for the team was Aoife Rickard who completed the team scoring. Just eleven months after breaking a bone in her foot in the National Senior XCs, there was no-one more deserving of this invaluable gold medal after all her hard work and commitment to get back to full fitness which culminated in a magnificent race. The four scorers were aided every step of the way by very strong runs from Breda Mahoney and Marianne Dunleavy who had her best race yet. Brilliant running girls and a great team effort. Our master women were unlucky to finish just out of the medals but it was a great result on a team that was arguably not at full strength. Anne Curley ran strongly from the start and finished in 5th overall. A busy racing schedule of late probably kept her out of the overall top-three but no doubt she can achieve top-three next year. An added bonus was the fact that Anne helped Mayo county to silver medal. Anne was followed in by her sister and great team captain Florence who re-found her pep to have a great race. The new master on the block Sharon Moore and Michelle O’Hagan completed the team scoring with strong runs. Well done girls- medals await next year.
Our Intermediate men were unlucky to finish out of the medals by a mere 5 points. Aside from the fact that they missed out on the medals, all can be proud of their performances on the increasingly tough 8000m course as the lovely Northern rain eventually arrived. Darren Hand is continuing to show his latest sparkling form by being our first man home. Gavin Keogh was nest scorer. Gavin Keogh had led the way for the men for most of the race an really dug deep to hang on to Darren over the last lap. Both are showing they are in great shape for the upcoming National Senior XC. Jonathon Daly was next in after a great run that made up for his disappointment at the Leinster Senior XC. Jonathan was followed closely by Fergal Whitty who gave his characteristic battling performance. Next in was Gerry MacDonald who ran a great race and is showing very good recent form. New member Rene Kilrane was next in for the team. This was a great introduction to cross-country running for Rene as this sort of course is a little different to what he is used to in his native Canada. Unfortunately Lee Van Haeften who had been sick during the week was unable to finish the race which was a big disappointment to him after making the long journey up. The fact that he even tried to race is a mark of the man and no doubt he will be back next fitter, stronger and healthier to show us what he is capable of. Well done lads on a great team effort and also to Gavin and Jonathan who were on the gold medal winning Dublin team. Dave Wogan and Des Gill were our only representatives in the masters men’s race and both ran brilliantly with Des getting spiked and losing half a shoe mid race! It was a pity that they didn’t have a team to back them up on this occasion but with two teams in the Dublin Masters, it is clear that Masters running is strong in the club and hopefully this is the last time for many a year that we won’t field a team.
Thanks to the organisers of the event including our own Athletics Ireland Officials Harry Gorman and Charlie O’Neill. Harry’s cheering and Charlie’s warm words and hand-shake were very much appreciated by the teams at the finish line.
A nice surprise at the presentation afterwards was when Jim McNamara was presented with the IMAA Tadgh Lynch Master of the Year award by Mick Fennell of the Irish Masters Athletics Association. Well done Jim and its long overdue! The only award now overdue is a coaching one!
Meanwhile back in Dublin the girls continued to keep the flag flying when a big group of 16 Donore ladies ran the  final leg of the Meet and Train league in Lucan with Karen Behan in a brilliant 8th followed by Rhona Duane 11th, Alma Hanevy 12th, Mary McDermott 18th, Rachel Burke 22nd, Caren Crowley 26th,  Lee Chambers 31st, Angela Eustace  35th , Michelle Dawson  48th, Linda Curtin 51st, Eilish Joyce  58th, Deborah Duffy 60th, Sheila  Casey 63rd, Ann Woodlock 79th, Sue Lynch 82nd, Roz O’Connor 84th. Great running girls. Thanks also to Ger Lynch, Medbh Peavoy and Tom Byrne for the great support.

AAI Indoor Open Games from Athlone and Weekend Round Up

Club News, Results, Senior

The AAI Games were held over the weekend in the brilliant new indoor track facilities in Athlone and we had John Travers, David Campbell, Lynda Ngankam and Simon Taggart flying the flag for the club: David was 3rd in his 60m heat in 7.55, Lynda was also 5th in her 60m heat in a time of 8.05 and Simon was 6th in his heat with 7.21. David finished 5th in his 200m race in 24.11. Simon won the 60m hurdles in 8.38 and posted 7.35 in a second 60m race later in the day. John Travers ran a pb in the 3000m in 8.02.58 which was won by Juan Higuero of Spain in 7.5214. John was just a second outside the qualification time for the European U23 Indoor Chmapionships and although posting a PB was a little disappointed with his performance. Earlier in the week however, John ran a superb 3.42.53 for 1500m which did secure him a qualifying time for the European U23 championships. That time was achieved on Tuesday evening, also at AIT, during an inter colleges trial which opened the new Athlone arena.

Jack Rudden Kelly was 4th in his age group at the National Juvenile combined events indoors and got 4 PBs in his events. Darragh Fitzgibbon ran in the West Leinsters schools CC.

It was also a busy week on the roads in Raheny and Dungarvan but windy conditions might have dented a few potential pbs.

In the Raheny 5 we had a large contingent of runners and first in was Fergal Whitty in a brilliant 27.06 followed by John Dunne 28.00, Gerard McDonald 29.22, Conor McCauley 29.48, Dervila Holmes 30.24 (10th woman), Donal Iremonger 31.06, Tomas Griffin 31.15, Shane McAuley 31.12, David Wogan 32.45, Breda Mahoney 33.51, John Gleeson 33.50, Tony Griffin 34.19, Karen Behan 35.42, Rhona Dunne 35.43, Tony Dunne 36.30, Caren Crowley 37.10, Janette Strickland 37.14, Terry Mee 37.24, Alma Hanevy 38.34, Kim Strickland 39.51, Tom Halton 40.15, Betty Kehoe 45.39, Nicola Dowdall 47.00.

In the Dungarvan 10 we just had two Donore runners who made the journey south.

Anne Curley finished 4th woman in a PB time of 60.15 and Florence Curley ran 66.53.

In the IMRA Ticknock Winter race Rob Scanlon had a great run to finish in 2nd place.

Dublin Masters XC Championships plus Meet & Train 3rd Leg

Club News, Meet & Train, Results, Senior

There was a great team spirit in the air yesterday for the club at the annual Dublin Masters cross country, team numbers were bolstered by the O/35’s who were allowed to run this year. First off were the women and a very fast start to the 3000m race saw Jean Wilson of Sportsworld take the lead and she maintained that lead to the finish, Anne Curley followed her into the finish in 2nd place followed by Dervila Holmes in 3rd, Anne and Dervila worked through the field and battled well together in the second lap to hang on to their positions and get them clear from the rest of the field. Next in was Samantha Conroy who is enjoying a definite return to form in a very strong 10th place, she was followed by Florence Curley in 15th who ran very well after recent illness and is hopefully getting back to form too, we had Michelle O’Hagan next who ran a great race closely followed by Karen Behan, both are welcome new faces to the masters and a it was a great debut for both, Janette Strickland was our next finisher a rapidly improving member of Barry’s For Life group who made the jump into championship running for the first time, well done Jannette, and finally we had the evergreen Ann Woodlock who flew around the two lap course and looked like she could run another 2 more at the finish. Ann won her O70 age group, Anne Curley was 1st O40, Dervila Holmes was 2nd O35,and our team won the silver medal so a great day’s work for the ladies.

The third leg of the Winter Meet and Train Cross Country league took place in Bushy Park on Sunday 13th January on a very cold frosty morning.  It was a super 2 mile course, fast, flat with a few tricky bits!
This was the first ever Meet and Train hosted by Sportsworld AC, and it didn’t fail to disappoint with 112 athletes lining up to take part; by far the biggest ever field seen in Meet and Train.
Donore had a great turnout with a total of 17 athletes participating – and they didn’t disappoint either with 5 placed among the top 20 finishers and very strong runs from everyone:  Cliodhna Carthy 8th (12:56); Medhb Peavoy 11th (13:07); Alma Hanevy 13th (13:18); Rhona Dunne 15th (13:27); Cristina Gonzalez 18th (13:34); Eileen Walsh 25th (13:45); Caren Crowley 29th (13:59); Michelle Murphy 33rd (14:06); Sarah Nu Ruairc 43rd (14:37); Michelle Dawson 51st (15:00); Emer Fogarty 55th (15:09);  Lee Chambers 60th (15:22); Eilish Joyce 63rd (15:28); Linda Curtin 67th (15:34); Deborah Duffy 71st (15:41); Sheila Casey 77th (15:52) and Sue Lynch 102nd (17:56).
Very well done to all!

Paul Robinson and Linda Byrne reign supreme in Jingle Bells

Club News, Results, Senior

It was a perfect day for running our 22nd Annual Jingle Bells 5K race on Saturday Dec 1st in the Phoenix Park. It was a Sunny, cold day as predicted but far from the cold temperatures we experienced two years ago and not a breeze to contend with. Ronnie Delaney got the race underway at 11am and soon after it was a three man race up front with Paul Robinson (St. Coca’s AC), Thomas Fitpatrick (Tallaght AC) and John Coghlan (MSB) leading the field of about 1400 runners.

Coming down the Upper Glen Road Fitzpatrick and Robinson were neck and neck but Robinson, with a 3.37 1500m PB this year, showed his finishing pace and finished clear winner by about 10 metres. It was the third time the race was run over this course since the winter of 2010 and the Kildare man finished with a course record of 14.18 (14.15 chip), Fitzpatrick followed in 14.20 with John Coghlan posting 14.36 for third place.

In the women’s race Linda Byrne (DSD) finished 9 seconds ahead Kerry Harty (Newcastle AC) with 15.51 and 16.00 respectively. Orla Drumm (Crusaders AC) finished 3rd with a time of 16.33.

We had 1188 adults take part and almost 200 children. Thank you to all who took part, made it a great day, and who supported the race, Donore Harriers and Debra Ireland. Thanks to all the help from those that made the day happen, including our own members, the OPW, the Park Rangers, the Gardai, BHAA, the Civil Defence, Glenn at Championchip, friends of Donore from Clonliffe Harriers, MSB and Liffey Valley AC.

Intercounty Cross Country Results from Ratoath

Club News, Results, Senior, , ,

Several days of rain meant sloppy conditions underfoot at the cross country championships at Tattersalls, Ratoath where there were 6 Donore athletes in action.

Oisin Fitzgibbon will be well pleased with his 28th place in the National U-16 race where there were 140 runners in action – we will definitely be seeing more of Oisin over the next while. The Ladies 8k intercounty race had a stellar line-up and in the mix were Barbara Cleary (representing Clare) and Anne Curley and Dervila Holmes (representing Mayo). The heavy conditions saw Barbara quite a distance back in the first lap where she seemed to struggle with the muddy conditions. So Barbara had a lot of work to do and did very well to move up from the 30s into 18th position picking off the girls who had tired from a fast early pace. The last stages of the race saw Barbara in a three way battle with Siobhan O’Doherty and Clare Tarplee who just pipped her and she finished 13th – farther back than expected since she had beaten or equalled most of the runners ahead in previous races, but in her first ever cross country season and with a string of great races behind her, she has lots more to give. In the early stages Anne worked steadily in the tough conditions – gradually Dervila came through and worked her way to an excellent 25th in her first inter-counties. Anne who did the marathon less than a month ago was perhaps feeling the effects of the faster pace here but used her strength to finish in a still fine 35th place.

John Travers took to the line for the men’s 10k representing Dublin and the U23 category. At one stage he was lying 10th but finished in an eventual 23rd out of 140 runners. This was enough for him to get picked for the Irish U23 team in the Budapest Euro-cross in a few weeks time so congratulations to John who has turned around his form of late and we wish him well in Budapest. Darren Hand is back running cross country and ran for his native Cavan here finishing in 104th place.

Elsewhere, there were several Donore runners in action at the BHAA mixed 6k cross country race in Santry Demesne where the men and women ran the same distance. Well done to Fergal Whitty who finished 11th, Feargal Swaine 20th, Fred Kiernan 22nd, Emmet O’Briain 35th, Padraig McGreal 77th, Ian Redican and Terry Mee (1st M65). Of the women, Florence Curley was 7th and 2nd W35, Mary McDermott was 2nd W40 and Ann Woodlock 1st W70

Dublin Intermediate Weekend Round Up

Club News, Results, Senior

Tymon Park was the venue for the Dublin Intermediate X-C on Sunday. Thankfully the weather Gods smiled on the runners as the wind and rain which is synonymous with the foothills of the Dublin Mountains was replaced by pleasant sunshine. The ladies had two laps of a flat course around football pitches while the men had 4 laps on the menu. The course is deceptively flat though where early exuberance can lead to a long race.

A depleted but solid team for the ladies and all the girls gave their best with strong performances all round. First in was Breda Mahoney in 16th who is getting seasoned to the cross country with every race. She got herself into a very good position tucked in behind the main pack on the first lap. Unfortunately she was feeling a little unwell and could not capitalise on this fine first lap but battled on courageously to the finish. Sharon Moore is likewise becoming a more seasoned cross country runner finished next in 18th and like Breda will continue to improve the more experience she gets, next in was Marianne Dunleavy who had a great run in 20th followed by another newbie on the country Kristina Gonzalez in 29th and Michele Murphy in 30th. A great team effort girls well done. It would have been nice to have got a team medal with such a good effort and some key runners missing from the team but it was not to be and they ended up 4th losing out to Liffey Valley, nevertheless this was a very respectable result in the circumstances, we lost another of our runners Audrey Doyle who had to pull up after half a lap when she got a freak knee injury coming around one of the sharp bends, it was a very disappointing end to her race especially as she had been in great running form after the Dublin marathon but hopefully it is only a short term setback.

The mens race over 8km proved to be a very entertaining affair. Upfront Dmitrijis Serjogins of Clonliffe Harriers was victorious after finally breaking away from Paul Stephenson of Rathfarnham and Colm O’Connell of Raheny Shamrocks on the last lap. Jonathan Daly continued his fine run of recent form with a 10th place finish to lead the Donore team home to fifth place in the team category. This was a fruitful experience for him as he went with the pace early on and managed to stay stong throughout the race. Fergal Whitty who only arrived in the Tymon Park car park fifteen minutes before the starting gun was the next Donore man home in 14th place. Again he used the familiar strategy of a relaxed start before coming through the field. Next up was Fergal Swaine and Darren Hand in 33rd and 34th position to round off the scoring team on the day. Fergal and Rob Smullen ran together for much of the race before Rob faded a little on the last lap. It was however a very encouraging run from Rob who should improve a great having only taken up running relatively recently. Darren showed no ill-effects of a heavy racing schedule in recent times and appeared to be running better the longer the race went on which sets him up nicely as he represents Cavan in the Intercounties next weekend. Next home for Donore were Gerry McDonald and St. John Walsh. Gerry as is typical of the man gave his all for the Donore vest and can be very satisfied with his performance. St John also had a very strong performance and is sure to improve over the season as he becomes accustomed to running on the country again.

Other results during the week were the Run In the Dark in aid of the Mark Pollock Trust, We had Anne Curley 37.17, Charlie O’Neill 43.10 and Eilish Joyce 50.02 and in the 5k we had Richard Beades in 19.53. A belated congrats to him also for his recent 3.29 in the Dublin Marathon! We may have other runners in this so apologies for any omissions and let us know if you ran and a big thanks to Julia and Cliodhna who were doing flyer duty for the Jingle Bells 5k at the finish.

John Travers also took part in the recent University road relays in Maynooth representing Athlone IT. John ran a 3 mile leg clocking 14.20.