Ladie red d dirty in Lei
SOME seasoned observers remarked that the course for Sunday’s Leinster Senior Cross-Country Championships in Adamstown was the muddiest ever, but the Drogheda & District AC contingent ‘mucked in’ to achieve great results.
Making the long journey south were some of the club’s finest distance runners who were eager to get their hands on some provincial medals.
In the Senior Ladies 5k race the club’s trio of Mary Leech, Erin McHugh and Yasmin Canning got stuck in right from the gun and set to work picking off the runners ahead of them, which is what cross-country running is all about at this level.
These three masters athletes really put it up to some of their senior opposition and going out on the last lap the battle for the county medals was on in earnest.
Leech pushed hard over the last lap to finish a very creditable 15th overall in 21:38, with McHugh 24th in 22:33 and a fast-finishing Canning 28th in 22:43.
With Dunleer runner Karen Costello running a terrific race to finish fifth overall and backed up by Nicola Welsh and Sally Clarke, Louth took the third county team on countback from Kilkenny, proving that every place counts. Also running well was Orla O’Connor who finished 40th in 23:58.
In the Boys U-18 6k race, which was run over four tough laps, Sam O’Neill produced a sparkling run to finish sixth overall in 22:22 which qualifies him for the All-Irelands.
Running in the same race was young Robbie Caffrey who competed well and is gaining valuable experience at this level.
Brothers Matthew and Louis O’Shea both ran in the Boys U-13 race and Matthew picked up a bronze medal as Louth were third in the County category.
Closer to home, the Baltray road was turned into a sea of red for the first running of the Greenhills 5k road race on Sunday.
Club member Brian Guilfoyle, one of the main organisers, put out the call for runners and more than 60 members turned up to take part.
Conditions were near perfect and the race organisation was top-class from start to finish.
Once the gun went the D&D trio of Brian Martin, Pat O’Grady and Shane Larkin made their way into the leading bunch and pushed the pace as this out-and-back course was more than fair to the athletes.
Martin was first home of this trio when finishing fourth in 17:08, with O’Grady fifth in 17:31 which earned him a first-in-category prize. Larkin was sixth in 17:56.
But perhaps the best run of the day belonged to Martin Russell, who’s relatively new to running. Russell quickly settled into a steady tempo and once he turned at the half-way mark the lure of a first sub-20 minute run seemed to inspire him. One last effort up the steep incline to the finish saw Russell cross the line in 19:37, a new PB by a massive 24 seconds.
The club’s first lady finisher was young Kate O’Reilly who was 36th and winner of the Junior ladies race in 22:09, with Abigail Tegart second Junior lady.
Barbara Byrne was D&D’s next