Yasmin shows Can-do attitude in Bettystown

THE quiet roads of Bettystown were turned into a sea of red when more than 50 Drogheda & District members took to the start line for the Cilles AC Bettystown five-mile road race, held in humid conditions last Tuesday evening.

Yasmin Canning showed most of the field a clean pair of heels when taking the Women’s race in a lively 33:08, with her strong running over the hilly section paving the way for her impressive win.

The club’s second finisher was Roisin Donnelly who raced well to win her category with her run of 35:51, and with Sinead Weldon finishing well up the field in 36:59 this trio made up the D&D Ladies who won team silver.

Also running well were Nuala Reilly, who won her category with a time of 37:37, and Aoife Harmon who was second in her category in 37:17.

Brian Martin put in a great effort to finish third overall in the Men’s race in a solid 27:56, with Ruaidhri Nolan fourth in 28:08. Backed up by the strong-running John Hough, who was second in his category in 30:39, these three combined well to win the Men’s team event.

Cillian Dyas showed a return to form when finishing 18th in 30:55, with Des Feeley 32nd in 32:05.

Orla O’Connor continued her run of good form over 400m when finishing second in her race at the Dublin Athletics Board Graded Meeting in Tallaght on Wednesday.

O’Connor is now reaping the benefits of her hard work in training over the winter months and her time of 62:56 will get faster as the racing season progresses.

Club sprint coach Gerry O’Connor, competing in his favoured 400m, ran a very consistent 61:32 to finish fourth and he’ll be looking to medal in the National Masters.

A large number of the club’s juvenile athletes took part in the Setanta Games last Saturday at the Lourdes Stadium.

Muirne O’Connor raced well to get the bronze medal in the U-16 100m, while young Sophie Kinsella was fourth in her U-13 100m. Dani Nolan was delighted with his thirdplace finish in the U-8 60m. while Charlie Eccles also picked up a bronze medal in the shot putt.

Kate O’Reilly took silver in her U-16 800m and later in the day was part of the winning relay team, while she also came third in the shot putt with a new PB of 7.97.

Young Jamie O’Reilly also ran well when picking up a silver medal in the relay event.

Elsewhere, at the AAI National Juvenile T&F Championships in Tullamore, Moya McCabe ran a time of 57:83 in her heat of the U-17 300m hurdles. Although not fast enough to make the final, nevertheless this was a great performance from McCabe in very warm and difficult conditions and her future in athletics looks bright.