Running on Water!

CLOSE to 400 athletes braved Storm Brian’s horrendous conditions on Saturday for the Coney Island Challenge which set off from Sligo Rugby Club.

With the country facing its second storm in less than five days, organisers were not fully sure if the race would even go ahead as Storm Brian landed on Friday with heavy rainfall and strong winds.

However, the run did continue and the crowds were phenomenal considering the testing conditions.

There was a 10 mile race, 10KM run and a 10KM walk to chose from.

Bobby Jones, one of the event organisers, said: “The numbers were similar to that of last year but especially bearing in mind the conditions were excellent.

“We got a lovely window of around two and a half hours where there was only one hail shower across the strand.

“Around the time the race finished up the rain was torrential so we were very very lucky. “The day before we were thinking we might have to cancel due to Storm Brian,” he added.

The overall winner, JP Carty received the Mick Walton Perpetual Cup in memory of the local man who established the race five years ago. Bobby said JP and all the athletes did brilliantly given the conditions runners had to contend with during the race.

He added: “We had some great athletes from across the county and also outside of Sligo too.

“We had a lot of people from all over Ireland.

“JP flew around the place in a brilliant time of 55 minutes.”

Money raised goes toward St Anne’s Church and local charities.

There were prizes for various categories, including Junior, over 40s and over 50s.