Drogheda challenge headed by Kelly
WHEN the summer evenings begin to shorten and the chill returns to the air then the cross-country and marathon season can’t be far away.
To strengthen up and step up preparations for this year’s Dublin Marathon, many Drogheda & District members competed in Saturday’s Frank Duffy 10 mile road race in the Phoenix Park, Dublin.
This year’s race was run in pretty much perfect conditions, with little or no wind and a warm feel to the morning air, and once the gun went Stephen Kelly lost no time in making his way into the leading group in this field of more than 5,000 runners.
Kelly quickly settled into a steady tempo and the next 50 minutes saw the leading athletes churn out the miles relentlessly, with no quarter given or taken.
Kelly was rewarded for his ambitious front-running when he crossed the line in 16th pace overall in a fast 56:52, which placed him second in his category.
A mere 11 seconds further back was Brian Martin who had a fine run to finish 17th in 57:03 and he crossed the line with no real distress. D&D’s third man home was Colin Leonard who’s hoping to run in this year’s Dublin Marathon. Leonard finished well to place 118th in 1:03:45, with Stephen Floyd 132nd in an impressive 1:04:10.
Carmel Keenan was the club’s first woman across the line in a useful 1:20:07. Next in was Helga McDonnell who ran 1:23:32, while Linda Cruise ran a solid 1:26:37 for this challenging distance.
Others who ran included David Gough (1:14:18), Stephen Geraghty (1:14:48) and Niamh Matthews (1:25:36).
A little further from home at the Tullamore Harriers Half-Marathon, six of D&D’s finest road racers were in action over the classic 13-mile distance.
John Reilly led the way home for the men when he crossed the line in 66th place in a fine 1:26:50 - no mean running given the warm weather conditions.
Training partner John Cooper wasn’t far behind and his very solid run of 1:28:41 placed him 83rd overall and shows that things are going well for him in training.
Des Feeley, who hasn’t raced with the club for a while, ran a useful 1:31:45 when finishing 110th, while Jackser Reilly ran 1:47:39 to finish 303rd.
Michelle Hughes ran a well judged race, which is so important at the longer distances, to finish 222nd in 1:42:44 and will go even faster as she gains confidence at racing this event. Also running well was Martina O’Connor Dyas who clocked 1:53:52 to place 403rd.
Two D&D members made the short journey to Dundalk for last Tuesday’s Tic Toc 2-mile road race, run in memory of Andy Califf (affectionately known as Tic Toc) who played a huge part in the activities of North East Runners who were hosting this race.
Christy Duffy ran 15:20 for the course to finish 62nd overall, with Declan McMahon further back in 76th in 15:54.
Competing mid-week at the Portmarnock 10k road race were Gerard Fay and Aoife Harmon. Fay ran 49:29 to finish 88th overall, while Harmon - who’s relatively new to racing - finished 114th in 51:25.
Fay also completed the Tara AC 5k road race the previous evening in 23:55 which placed him 84th overall.
Seven D&D members took on the challenge of last Saturday’s Oldbridge Parkrun in near perfect conditions.
The club’s first finisher, in sixth place overall, was Paul Stuart in a solid 21:24, followed by Tony Corcoran (11th in 22:38) and Jos
Haak (32nd in 25:10). Frank Cruise ran a new PB time of 28:15 when finishing 56th.
For the club’s ladies, Mary McDonnell was the first finisher in 33rd place in 25:14, Deirdre McFerran was 57th in 28:22 and Audrey Corcoran ran 33:27 to finish 79th.
Meanwhile, all at Drogheda & District AC wish Barry Donovan the best of luck on his return to Cork (and Leevale AC) after his two-year spell in town.