Bronze medal for barefoot man Murphy

CONDITIONS were decidedly mixed for Sunday’s Louth Masters Cross-Country Championships in Togher as Drogheda & District athletes returned home with a decent haul of medals.

Weather-wise it were near perfect, with an almost balmy feel to the air and the thermometer showing a mild 9 degrees as the large number of runners toed the start line. However, this course always hold a surprise or two in store and the soft going underfoot was to make this year’s races a real test of character as well as running prowess.

Paddy Murphy was the first runner to lose both his shoes as the pack made their way out through the first gap in the men’s race. All a helpless Murphy could do was look back in horror as his €100 running spikes were consumed by the sticky mud, leaving him to run the rest of the race barefoot.

Murphy, to his credit, put the head down and stuck to his task and was rewarded with a thirdplace finish in his Over-50 category.

First up on the day, though - and getting the best of the running ground - were the Masters Ladies who were racing over 3k.

Once the gun went, Erin McHugh and Mary Leech lost no time in getting stuck in as Dunleer’s Karen Costello and Nicola Welsh pushed the pace, and at the end of the first lap the Dunleer duo had opened a small gap that they held all the way to the finish line.

McHugh, who’s running very well at the moment, moved into third spot and worked hard to open a small lead on Leech and the pair finished in that order.

Meanwhile, the battle was on in earnest for the team honours, and backed up by the strong-running Michelle Hughes and Nuala Reilly who won her category, D&D’s quartet took home the silver medals, a mere four points behind a strong Dunleer team.

Club captain Jane Glynn ran well to finish third in her Over-35 category and Margaret McAuley and Raquel Cuesta both finished second in their age groups. D&D’s second team of Yvonne McMahon, Raquel Cuesta, Suzanne McCabe and Jane Glynn finished third team in the Over-35 section.

By the time the Men’s race started, whatever good ground there was had been well and truly destroyed and the next four laps weren’t going to be easy for the runners in the 5k event.

Coming into the tough back section of the course, the gaps were beginning to open as the runners made their way up a series of small rises and Mark O’Shea pushed on to secure second place in his Over-45 category, with Shane Larkin holding on for third place in a sprint for the line.

Brian Martin, who’s running consistently well these days, had a great run to finishsh second in his Over-35 category,, with Eric Clinton third.

Paul Smith mith showed that all’s ’s going well in training - by getting the silver medal in his Over-40 category.

Other category - winners were e Pat O’Grady in the Over-55 section and

John Carlo Orlandindi in the Over-60, with Conornor Cooney also winning his Over-65 category.

D&D’s Men’s Over-35 team of O’Shea, Martin, Smith and Clinton won the team event, while taking the team bronze medals were Shane Larkin, Robbie Maher, Stephen Duggan and John Hough.

Elsewhere, the annual Jingle Bells 5k road race promoted by Donore Harriers took place last Saturday morning in Dublin’s Phoenix Park. Run over a lightningcourse, this race always attracts a large entry of quality athletes looking for fast times and conditions on the day were perfect for a PB attempt.

Getting a decent start and establishing a good tempo early on can be so important in these shorter races and some of D&D’s finest really rose to the occasion.

Right from the gun, Mary Leech ran an aggressive race as she pushed the pace over the more difficult first half of the course, and after making the left-hand turn leading onto the downhill section things were looking good with a mile to go.

The strength gained from many miles of hard tempo running was put to good use as Leech maintained her good running form and pushed on for the finish line.

Indeed, she delivered a tremendous sprint finish to cross the line in a very fast 18:06 to win her category and set a new PB time.

Not far behind, Yasmin Canning and Orla O’Connor were running the race of their lives as they powered down the home straight, with Canning crossing the line in 19:22, a new PB by some 10 seconds, with O’Connor close behind in a fabulous 19:31.

Nuala Reilly also won her category, with her run of 22:35 showing many of her younger rivals a clean pair of heels, as did Conor Cooney when running 21:12 as he continues his comeback from injury.

Also running well were Pat O’Grady, the club’s first finisher in 17:12, followed by Ruaidhri Nolan in 17:28.

Thomas Farrelly had one of those days when everything clicked, and after running a steady first mile Farrelly wound up the pace and ran an eye-opening 5:47 for his last mile to cross the line in a noteworthy 18:49.

Two of the club’s most promising Juvenile athletes were in action. Abigail Tegart ran a fine 21:13 and Liam McGreehan O’Grady sped round the course in 21:32. Others who ran well included Ellen O’Connor (22:31), Gillian Farrelly (22:56) and Frank Cruise (25:50).

Barney Flannery ran in Saturday’s Oldbridge Parkrun and clocked 26:49 to finish 36th.