Nolan makes grade at Lourdes Stadium
JAMES Nolan’s lightning-quick 800m time was the highlight from a Drogheda & District AC point of view as the club staged round four of its Summer Graded Series at a rather wind-swept Lourdes Stadium last Thursday.
With three different track races and a shot putt competition there was a full schedule of events to keep the officials busy, but Nolan’s performance stood out as he produced an incredible run to cross the line in 2:00.27 in the 800m A race.
Nolan took up the running from clubmate Kieran McGrath with 300m remaining and although tiring held his form all the way to the finish, while McGrath’s time of 2:01.68 was also a very good time.
In the B 800m Brian Pentony took almost four seconds off his previous best when finishing third in 2:14.31, with Orla O’Connor fifth in the same race in 2:18.56.
Erin McHugh also ran well to finish sixth in the C 800m in 2:31.8.
In the shortest event of the evening, the 200m, Lee McGuinness continued his comeback when winning the A race in 23.22sec, with Charles Abako second in 24.68 and Ephan Donnelly third in 25.37.
In the B race, Blathnaid Donnelly ran well when finishing third in 29.04, while Ron Knowles ran a useful 28.44 when finishing second in the C race.
The longest event of the evening was the 3,000m where David Walsh had a solid run to finish second in 9min 37sec, with young Tadgh Donnelly fifth in 10min 14sec. Stephen Duggan hung in when the going got tough and placed eighth in 10min 28sec.
Gerry Mullins used the B 3,000m race as a sharpener for the Waterford Marathon when finishing second in 12min 29sec, while Sean Corcoran and Christy Duffy had a great battle and it was the former who got the nod in 13min 8sec, seven seconds clear of Duffy. Suzanne McCabe ran 14min 19sec when finishing 12th, four seconds ahead of Elva Maree.
Further afield, Drogheda & Dis- trict athletes were in action on day two of the Athletics Leinster Juvenile Track & Field Championships in the searing heat of Tullamore.
The unluckiest of their athletes on the day was Charles Abako who clocked 11.88sec in the Under-17 Boys 100m final and missed a bronze medal by one thousandth of a second. However, he does qualify to compete in the upcoming All-Ireland finals.
Lee McGuinness did finish third in the Under-19 100m final in 11.36sec and also heads to the All-Irelands, as does Robert Caffrey who was fourth in the Under-18 800m. Tadgh Donnelly was fifth in the Under-16 1500m.
Again, though, it was Sam O’Neill who produced the best Drogheda & District result as he finished second in the Under-19 800m in a time of 2:05.46, while Pete Aylward ran the lead leg of the Under-15 4x100m relay and helped the Louth team finish in the silver medal position.
In the girls events, Blathnail Donnelly (13.95sec) and Lauren Hussey Smith (14.90sec) were sixth and eighth in the Under-18 100m final and Tara Shortt finished eighth in the Under-17 400m.
Last Saturday’s Irish Runner 5 Mile Road Race took place in Dublin’s Phoenix Park on the hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures in excess of 26 degrees for the 2,000 competitors.
Brian Martin seemed to relish running in the heat as he finished 23rd overall in a fast 27:47, with Shane Larkin 38th in 28:53 and Colin Leonard 73rd in 30:29.
Stephen Floyd had a fabulous run to finish in 30:59 and is probably the most improved athlete in the club this year.
Among the D&D ladies, Nuala Reilly, running her second race in two days, was the club’s first finisher in 37:04. Linda Cruise also ran well when finishing in 39:39 with Eimear Knowles next in 40:01, while Michelle Egan ran a solid race and placed well with her time of 39:55.
Trim Castle was the venue last Friday for Trim AC’s Braveheart 5k, where Nuala Reilly put in a strong run to win her category in 22:54. Gerard Fay ran 24:44, with Kelley Cruise finishing in 31:37.
Jim Nolan made the short trip to Trinity College last Wednesday where he ran in one of Ireland’s oldest track races. Taking part in the seldom-run 2,000m, Nolan placed 10th in 7:56 and a little later ran 2min 41sec when finishing sixth in his 800m race.
Johnny Kelly continued his run of good form by winning last Saturday’s Oldbridge Parkrun in a new PB of 18:02. Kelly’s time was top-class given the seriously warm conditions on race day.
D&D’s next finisher in seventh place was Niall Donnelly who crossed the line in 20:27 - another PB. Also running were Lorraine McGuirk who was 63rd and Dominic Carthy who was 77th.