Britton claims title but Steel wins Run
FIONNUALA BRITTON produced her best performance to date on the roads at the Spar Great Ireland Run, which also incorporated the national 10k championships.
Britton, who was using the race to build towards an autumn marathon, battled Gemma Steel for the overall title. In blustery conditions in Dublin’s Phoenix Park, Steel proved too strong as she opened up a decisive gap in the last 2km to take the win in a time of 33.03. Britton stuck to her task to finish an encouraging second place in a new road personal best of 33.07. She also had the added bonus of winning the national 10k title with Lizzie Lee (Leevale AC) second in a time of 34.18 and Kerry O’Flaherty (Newcastle AC) third in a time of 35.27.
The men’s race was dominated by Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes with Japheth Korir defending his title to win in a fast time of 28.15. Leading the Irish charge was Mullingar AC athlete Mark Christie as he won the national title in a time of 30.10 with Clonliffe Harrier duo Sergiu Ciobanu (30.20) and Brandon Hargreaves (30.32) finishing second and third respectively
European Indoor 800m silver medalist Mark English (UCD AC) found the longer distance too much as he dropped out of the elite mile after 1,200m. Jonny Hay of Great Britain stormed to victory in a time of 4.12 with Danny Mooney (Letterkenny AC) leading the Irish athletes’ home.