Striders the Under-16 stars
Marvellous run yields fourth place finish for McCarthy
THE IRISH Life Health National Juvenile even ages, Junior, Under-23 and Senior cross-country championships took place in the stunning surroundings of the national cross-country course on the fantastic National Sports Campus in Abbotstown, Dublin.
The course is so good that it has been selected to host the European cross-country championships next December. However, while pretty to look at, it wasn’t so pretty to run on.
Following a couple of weeks of non-stop rain, conditions underfoot were not good and got progressively worse as the day continued, making it very difficult for athletes. The recipe for success was the 12mm or 15mm spikes, which were very much needed.
The action got under way with the girls’ Under-12 2,000m. Emma McCarthy of St. Killian’s was the sole Wexford athlete in this race.
Emma has had some epic performances in the past twelve months, including a bronze medal at the national indoors over 600m, and a bronze medal in the Leinster cross-country championships. Emma was hoping to replicate that success.
For an athlete so young, Emma has a fantastic racing brain. She never goes off too hard and always has a good kick to finish.
She showed her tactical astuteness again, with a brave run. Emma didn’t over commit at the start and, heading out on the second of the 1,000m loops, was well in contention.
From here, she gradually moved up the field, picking athletes off. As she entered the finishing straight, she had climbed to fourth place; however, a group of five athletes were hot on her heels and appeared to be gaining on her.
With the crowd roaring her on, Emma found another gear and held her position. The determination she displayed to do this was admirable and she thoroughly deserves her national medal for finishing fourth. Emma took time afterwards to sign autographs for her adoring fans from United Striders!
Seán ‘The Rocket’ Lennon of United Striders was the next Wexford athlete in action in the boys’ Under-14 3,000m. This saw the introduction of the 1,500m loops, where the majority of the difficult running was, notwithstanding the hill that has broken many a cross-country runner’s morale since the course was first used.
Seán had a very strong run, all the way around, finishing well inside the top half of the field in 60th place.
Claragh Keane was the next Wexford athlete in action, in the girls’ Under-16 4,000m. The D.M.P. athlete is arguably having her best season yet, having finished second in both the Leinster Under-16 and Under-17 championship races.
Claragh was aiming to finish in the top twelve and make the team for the Celtic International, which will take place in Scotland this year.
Despite the leaders getting away from her in the early stages,
Claragh continued to plug away, making light work of the tougher parts of the course.
As the race progressed, Claragh was running as fast, if not faster, than the leaders and began to close. She maintained her position throughout and finished a very creditable eighth.
Claragh was delighted afterwards as it ensured that she qualified for the Irish team and once again gets the opportunity to pull on the green singlet. Claragh will have another busy month in December.
The boys’ Under-16 race was next up, also 4,000m. There was a strong Wexford entry in this race, with both a Wexford county team and a United Striders club team entered.
It was anticipated that both of these teams would be in the mix for medals. Myles Hewlett was the stand-out performer on both teams, finishing third.
This was after a great battle throughout the race with arch-rival Tadgh Connolly of St. Senan’s. Waterford’s Aidan Burke was in the top three throughout the race until his legs gave in with metres to go, leaving Myles and Tadgh battling for bronze.
Myles just edged him out by the narrowest of margins. Myles roared with delight and celebrated before falling to the floor in what was a great outpouring of emotion. Myles now joins Claragh Keane on the Irish team for the Celtic International.
Behind Myles, the other Wexford athletes were scrapping for positions, knowing that every place would count. Eoin Shannon crossed the line in 35th, with Aidan Shannon following just behind in 36th. William Park also made the top 50, coming 47th.
This ensured that for yet another year, United Striders were crowned national inter-club champions. Ben Wall and Darragh Flannelly of United Striders finished 54th and 56th. Robert, brother of Ben, crossed the line in 75th.
Alex Gregg of D.M.P. finished in 92nd. Owen Lennon of the Striders was 108th, while James Hegarty of D.M.P. was 111th. The Wexford county team just missed out on a medal, finishing fifth.
At this stage, the action was coming thick and fast and conditions were beginning to get even stickier.
Róisín O’Reilly was next up in the girls’ Under-18 and Junior race. The Menapians athlete has had a fantastic 2019, representing Ireland in cross-country and on the track in the steeplechase.
From the outset of the 4,000m race, Róisín was in a prominent position. She was working hard and was holding her own with the best Junior (Under-20) athletes despite being two years younger than some of them.
With a lap to go, Róisín did fade slightly but continued to battle hard. Despite not having her best day, Róisín still managed to finish in ninth place in the Under-18 category and earn herself a medal.
She also came 16th in the Junior race, a very solid showing considering Róisín still has two more years in this category.
Fiona Kehoe, Ciara Wilson and Elizabeth Egan, of Kilmore, D.M.P. and Bree, were all in action in the Senior women’s 8,000m race.
Just the week before, Fiona had finished fourth at the Home Countries Masters international meet in Aintree, Liverpool, and second in her category, meaning she was in good form going into the race. Ciara recently won the
Leinster Senior cross-country title in Ferbane.
There was a strong field in the race, with the stand-out entrant being Fionnuala McCormack (nee Britton) of Kilcoole. McCormack recently ran a 2.26 hours marathon and is the two-time European cross-country champion.
She was the clear winner of the national title, finishing nearly two minutes ahead of the second-placed Mary Mulhare of Portlaoise, and Fionnuala’s younger sister, Una, in third.
In the early stages, Fiona was in 20th position, with Ciara in around 30th. As the race progressed, Wilson began to gradually close the gap on a tiring Kehoe.
The athletes battled with each other for some time, before Wilson made her move in the last lap. Unfortunately for Fiona, she couldn’t close the gap, as her exploits the weekend before showed.
The fresher legs of Wilson prevailed. Ciara finished in 23rd place, while Fiona was 25th. Elizabeth Egan was 72nd.
Ger Forde of Slaney Olympic was the only Wexford man to take on the Senior men’s race. With the distance 10,000m, it was always going to prove a challenge.
It was also quite the mental test, with athletes normally running five of the 2,000m laps having to run one 1,000m loop and six 1,500m loops. Ger ran a strong race to finish in 40th position from a field of nearly 200.
The Irish Life Health national Juvenile uneven ages and Novice cross-country championships take place in Cow Park, Dunboyne, Co. Meath, on Sunday, December 15.
The Mr Oil county Intermediate cross-country championships, hosted by Kilmore A.C., take place next Sunday, December 8.