Nearly 600 in Slaney’s race
Clohisey outside record time
LAST SUNDAY saw the twelfth running of the annual Slaney Olympic Enniscorthy 10k.
On a seasonably mild February morning, close to 600 hundred runners lined up for the start of the race in Clonhaston at 12 noon.
The entry list included most of the Wexford clubs but there were strong teams from clubs further afield too, with some of the best athletes in the country returning to better their times and hoping to break the course record. Dublin, Wicklow, Carlow and Kilkenny were there in force.
Favourite to win the race from the outset was Olympian and international cross-country runner, Mick Clohisey of Raheny Shamrocks.
Mick had previously finished third in the race in 2014 and was hoping to break the course record of 29.35 set by Mark Christie in 2011.
The first largely uphill kilometre saw Mick go into the lead, but he was being closely followed by Valdas Dopolskas of Balbriggan and Seán Hehir of Rathfarnham.
As the road flattened out the pace picked up and Clohisey drew ahead by about 30 metres.
After the next uphill section to 4k he had opened up a significant lead and the chasing pack was spread out in his wake. He now looked certain of victory and, as the race moved to the closing stages, the competition for the minor placings became tight.
As Clohisey passed the 8k mark he was some ten seconds outside Mark Christie’s record-breaking time. There was a noticeable headwind over the last two kilometres as he stormed downhill and crossed the finish line in 29.59, 21 seconds faster than his previous time but 26 seconds shy of the course record.
Second man home, Dopolskas, was 36 seconds behind in 30.35. The next three runners - Kevin Maunsell (Clonmel, 30.36), Alan O’Shea (Bantry, 30.38) and Robert Corbally (D.S.D., 30.54) - were all within a minute of the winner.
The first Wexford man across the line was Myles Gibbons of S.B.R..
The women’s race was less hotly-contested. Meghan Ryan of D.S.D. was first in 36.47. Sally Forrestal (St. Joseph’s) was second in 38.28 and Wexford runner Annaleigh Hore of Kilmore finished third in 39.42.
In the team competition, Dundrum South Dublin won the men’s event followed closely by Raheny Shamrocks.
Slí Cualann of Wicklow was the first ladies’ team and host club, Slaney Olympic, was second.
In the age category prizes, first male Under-20 was Paul O’Donnell, and the Under-20 ladies’ winner was Lauren Farrell (Adrenaline).
Women Over-40: Ann Marie Kenny (Slí Cualann); Over-50: Joan Kennedy (Slí Cualann); Over60: Annis Kehoe (Slaney Olympic). Men Over-40: Brian Geraghty (RTE); Over-50: Tommy Payne (Tinryland); Over-60: Richard Kavanagh (Slí Cualann); Over-70: Billy Harpur (S.B.R.).
The biggest cheer of the day was for the amazing Joe O’Regan of Slaney Olympic who won the Over-80 category. He may have been the only competitor in his category but he finished in a hugely impressive 57.33 with 130 runners, all considerably younger, crossing the line after him.