Dublin Masters XC Championships

Look back to Dublin Masters cross country in St. Anne’s Park Raheny which saw record numbers competing and a large Donore contingent in action.

202 women ran the women’s 3k race over 2 laps of the fast flat course, no wind and no extreme cold either. Raheny Shamrock track runner Siobhan Eviston set the pace and was the eventual winner in a fast and furious race. Making a great comeback to this race after missing it for 2 years was Anne Curley who finished in 21st place and won bronze W45. Finishing within seconds of each other were Audrey Gahan in 30th who had her best race in a long time with Florence Curley a second behind in 31st, Ariana Ball 33rd in 3 seconds later, Claire Mulligan in 34th in 2 more seconds. Great comeback too for Bronagh Elliott after a long injury last year in 36th. Next in was Fiona Barrins in 71st and Julia Hackett 4 seconds later in 75th. Angela Eustace was 93rd and great to see Mary McDermott back competing in this race as a W50 finishing in 137th. The team finished outside the medals in 4th but with 18 teams this was an excellent team performance.

Next up was the men’s race 6k for the men (3k for M65+) with a record 292 runners. From the start men’s captain Rossa Hurley was right in the mix and looked to be almost holding back in the first lap, sure enough by the end of the second lap he had pulled ahead of the Raheny and Rathfarnham runners and he powered on in the last lap to a great victory, first over the line and 1st M35.

In 23rd place and a fast finish was Gavin Keogh making a good comeback, Alan Farrell in a fine 34th with Donal Iremonger 59th, 89th was Craig Scott and Peter Nugent 147th. The team was missing some members on the day so finished out of the medals in 6th but great to have the overall winner.

The men’s M50 Team finishers were spearheaded by Des Gill 154th and Tom Fagan 155th who finished within a second of each other, Tony Griffin 214th , ken Cronin 227th and frank McNally 234th to finish in 10th place

Barry Potts had a great win in the M65 race winning gold by 13 seconds.

The support out there was brilliant, thanks all who came from far and wide to cheer, hold T-shirts, collect numbers and provide general encouragement!

Leinster Masters Championships

Newly-crowned Dublin Masters champion Rossa Hurley won another title earlier this month, the Leinster Masters Championship in Gowran Kilkenny. There was no M35 team but Gavin Keogh competed well and was 19th. The M50 team of Tom Fagan, Des Gill, Tony Griffin and Barry Potts was 10th – Tony Griffin won Bronze m60 and Barry Potts, Gold M65.

BHAA XC

The 2019 BHAA Cross Country season is now underway and there have been some impressive results for Donore athletes running for their workplaces. Sinead Lambe had a great win at the Eir BHAA XC in Cherryfield Park, in the ladies 2 mile she finished nearly 30 seconds ahead of the second placed runner. Mary McDermott, great to see Mary back racing regularly came 29th. With a quick turnaround, Sinead then took the start line for the 5 mile men’s race! This also featured women seeking a longer distance and she finished a highly impressive 35th in that. Well done to Shane McAuley who was 23rd home and to Ian Redican and Rhona McHugh, full details below,

2 Mile Women’s race 45 finishers

1st Sinead Lambe 11.54
29th Mary McDermott 15.11

5 Mile Race – 141 finishers
23rd Shane McAuley 29.44
35th Sinead Lambe 30.49
78th Ian Redican 34.56
83rd Rhona McHugh 35.20

The week before was the 6k combined cross country race in Tymon Park on a blustery day but with good ground over 2 laps of 3k. Alasdair Brown was 12th man in a fine run. Florence Curley worked her way through the field to finish 3rd woman and 59th overall. Rhona McHugh 6th woman and 73rd overall. Ian Redican was 86th.

Separately, in the IMRA hellfire mountain race, Audrey Gahan was 9th woman.

Return of the Women’s Meet and Train League

The long awaited return of the women’s meet and train league is finally over – last weekend 166 women competed in race 1 of the cross country league in Tymon Park with 14 Donore women toeing the line. Stricter insurance demands had stymied the league in the past few years but thanks to a committed group of people from across the athletic club community, this difficulty has been resolved. Hats off to Mary Butler, some members of Crusaders AC on the insurance, and our own Mary Murphy and Caren Crowley on the Committee and of course Sue Lynch – who for so many years ran this league on a wing and a prayer!
Tallaght AC put on a terrific event. A 2 mile course with one small lap, 2 big laps and plenty of challenges thrown in for the runners, hills, bumpy ground in parts, rainfall in the middle, real cross country! But the M&T unique mix of competition and camaraderie ensures that nobody feels intimidated and everyone gets encouragement.

Mary Murphy worked really hard at getting 2 Donore teams out and was a brilliant organizer and fulcrum for the team on the day. There was also a poignant minute’s silence for our dear departed teammate Karen Behan before the race – she made her mark in this league. We also remembered crusaders AC Stalwart John Fitzsimons.

Off they went at 11am and Cliodhna Carthy was very impressive showing her old flair at cross country to finish 7th. Sisters Ruth and Lee chambers finished practically together and Caren Crowley making a race return just behind. Mary McDermott did her second race of the weekend and Treasa Boylan competed on a Donore team for the first time. Catherine McKeon had a great finish as did Dana Mackey and Sarah Ni Ruairc. Mary Murphy was delighted with her fine finish and Michele Murphy too. Sue Lynch always has so much organizing to do pre the race, she often has to jump in with seconds to the start we but always powers to the finish line. Great to see Michelle Dawson come back from injury to compete and of course the 80 year old Ann Woodlock (who first competed in this league in 1983) was our final team finisher, and even had to beat off the challenge of a younger runner with seconds to the line! This league is a big part of the evolution of Donore’s women runners, practically every female Donore runner of note competed in it at some stage, it is a great team event and of course will be forever associated with Jim McNamara, a trophy in his honour was created for the league in 2016 so it will be great to present that again. Thanks all the supporters out there on the day too, Full results below and roll on the next one.

7th Cliodhna Carthy 14.02
35th Ruth Chambers 15.07
36th Lee Chambers 15.07
37th Caren Crowley 15.11
71st Mary McDermott 15.58
78th Treasa Boylan 16.08
82ns Catherine McKeon 16.14
98th Dana Mackey 16.57
101st Sarah Ni Ruairc 17.05
114th Mary Murphy 17.32
126th Michele Murphy 17.58
139 Sue Lynch 18.47
141st Michelle Dawson 18.53
155th Ann Woodlock 20.14