Pre-Ràs boost for Dunleer
DUNLEER AC athletes celebrated some brilliant results over the past week as the club begins the countdown to next Sunday’s annual Ràs na hEireann Cross-Country spectacular at Oldbridge House, Drogheda.
Perhaps the best of all was that achieved on Sunday in Galway where Karen Costello was crowned National Masters Cross-Country champion in the Over-40 age group.
Costello has been working towards that race all season and she came up trumps on the day in wintry conditions, finishing fourth overall over the 4km distance, with just three Over-35 athletes ahead of her.
Costello’s training partner Nicola Welsh also had a great run over the very mucky course, and losing a shoe only made her even more determined!
Meanwhile, at the Irish Universities Indoor Championships on Friday, Garry Campbell, representing DCU, won the 3,000m race in 8:16.81 to claim a coveted gold medal - a great win for Campbell who continues to show his versatility and success over a range of distances from 800m to four miles.
Then on Saturday at the Leinster Indoor Championships in Athlone, Karlis Kaugars won the U-14 shot putt with a championship best of 13.56m. Karlis went on to take the U-14 high jump gold as well with a best of 1.51m - no doubt to the delight of his coach Santis!
Also competing at the Leinster Indoors for Dunleer was 16-yearold Danny O’Brien who was placed sixth place in the Under-18 1500m final.
Attention now turns to the highlight of the local cross-country calendar, the Ràs na hEireann, at Oldbridge next Sunday from noon.
This event, hosted by Dunleer AC, promotes cross-country races for the Under-9 age group up to 17-year-old boys and girls, as well as ladies and men’s junior, senior and masters races - 4km for the ladies and 6km for the men.
The Ràs was first launched in 1970 and over the years has seen course changes, various sponsors and a host of national and international athletics heroes gaining the honours. Dunleer AC is delighted that the OPW has once again agreed to the hosting of the event at the historic Battle of the Boyne site.
The Rás na hÉireann means so much to the cross-country community who come together each year to compete and to honour the memories of those who worked hard to organise and promote the event, names such as Larry Mc Guill and Louis Duffin, as well as two Dunleer AC athletes who lost their lives in their prime of life, Noel Mc Guill and Sandra Floyd. Cups will be presented in their memories by family members.
Charlie Breagy, Dunleer AC’s first US athletics scholarship athlete, masterminded some topclass international names over the years, with Charles Kamathi (Kenya), Michael Bartozak (Poland), Kim Smith (New Zealand), Catherina Mc Kiernan (Ireland), Mark Carroll (Ireland), Seamus Power (Ireland) James Kariuki (Kenya), Alelech Worku (Ethiopia), Ben Bruce (USA) and Landon Peacock (USA) all competing in the Ràs.
Perhaps next year, with the 50th staging of the Rás na hÉireann and the right sponsors on board, there might be an international flavour to the event, but for 2018 it is the cream of local, regional and national talent who will fight it out for the honour of winning a much-treasured Rás na hÉireann medal.
Online entry for the Rás is open at www.register.primoevents.com and details can be accessed on the Dunleer AC Facebook page.