Three is the magic number for magnificent Mary in 10k
MARY Leech made the short journey to St Anne’s Park in Dublin last Saturday well worthwhile when she recorded a fine win for Drogheda & District AC in the BHAA 10K Road Race.
Leech was running her first race since her magnificent silver medal win at the European Masters Championships in Spain and she hasn’t lost that winning feeling.
With some spring-like weather finally arriving on our shores, conditions were good for some fast running and Leech quickly settled into a steady tempo before pushing hard in the latter stages to cross the line a worthy winner in a fast 39:03, much to the delight of her teammates.
As this was Leech’s third time to win this race, she now gets to keep the cup.
Nuala Reilly got back on the winners’ rostrum when taking a first-in-category prize with her run of 46:20 and she’ll take some catching on that form.
D&D’s men’s team of Colm Reilly, Gerry Mullins and Jim Nolan packed well to pick up a first-in-category prize in the men’s team event. Reilly ran a new PB of 37:10 when finishing 11th, while Nolan finished 63rd in 45:03, just four seconds and one place ahead of Mullins.
The Leinster 10-Mile Road Championships took place on Easter Monday as part of the Battle of Clontarf Road Race, with awful conditions on the day as a swirling wind pushed the cold into the runners as they tried to complete their pre-race warm-up.
The course itself, which comprised of two laps of St Anne’s Park, saw the runners having to make numerous twists and turns and even having to run on grassy sections at times.
Nevertheless, Brian Martin, who’s relatively new to running, showed the kind of form he’s in when showing most of the field a clean pair of heels, crossing the line in a noteworthy 13th place overall in an eye-opening 58:01.
This really was a strong display from Martin who’s one of the club’s most consistent runners when it comes to putting in quality sessions in training.
Later in the day, when the results were announced, Martin found himself unlucky not to have taken home a bronze medal in the Provincial Championship as he finished fourth to Kevin English, a top runner from Tallaght AC.
D&D’s next finisher was Knut Nielsen who placed 141st in 1:14:30, with Gerry Mullins not far behind when finishing 166th in 1:16:03.
Helen Dillon coped well with the conditions and was D&D’s first finisher for the Drogheda & District ladies in 1:22:48. Next in was Elaine Fallon - 255th in 1:24:51 - closely followed by Theresa Eccles who was 261st in 1:25:30 and Edel Victory who ran 1:26:21 to finish 264th. Also running were Nicola Wong (1:32:51) and Barney Flannery (1:29:33).
More than 30 D&D members took to the roads of Tullyallen for Sunday’s Glen Emmets 5K road race. Conditions on the day were perfect and the sun even made an appearance for a welcome change.
Stephen Kelly led the race from gun to tape and won it comfortably in 16:33, with Shane Larkin finishing runner up in 17:38. Ruaidhri Nolan was third in 17:52, with Francis Murray next for D&D in ninth place in 19:21.
For the D&D ladies, first across the line in 23rd spot was Laura Roche in 22:41 and close behind was Leva Ofmane who was 27th in 23:15. Suzanne English was the club’s third finisher in 24:12 and also running were Linda Cross - 59th in 26:08 - and club captain Mary Reilly who finished in 33:43.
Last Saturday’s Oldbridge Parkrun tempted six D&D members and their first finisher in fifth place overall was young Matthew O’Shea who ran a new PB time of 21:18.
Next in was Seamus Roe in 28th place with 25:49, with David Thornton 36th in 27:23.
Among the ladies, first across the line in 47th place was Edel Smith with her run of 29:18. Ruth Dunne was next in 60th place in 31:37, followed by Noreen Burke in 61st place in 31:55.
Further afield at the Omagh Half-Marathon, Sean Corcoran had a solid run to record 1:47:34.