Autumn Cross Country
A number of Galway’s top athletes competed at the prestigious Autumn Cross Country International which was held at the permanent National Cross-Country course in Abbotstown in Dublin Sunday last.
New Galway City Harriers signing Brendan McDonnell performed very well, placing 12th overall in the Senior Men’s race, while John Moroney was 41st Senior home. GCH Junior athletes impressed with Eanna Folan the leading finisher placing 8th in the Junior Men’s race, clubmates James Frizzell (10th) and Aaron Brennan (17th) both ran well, while Ben Ryan of Craughwell placed 21st, and Michael Healy of GCH came in 38th.
In the Ladies Junior event Caron Ryan of Craughwell raced home to a fantastic tenth place, Aisling Joyce of NUI Galway was 13th and Sarah Gilhooley of Athenry and Aoife King of GCH finished close together in 26th and 27th spots.
The Masters international trial races for the Home International Cross-Country event were also held, with GCH’s Christine Kennedy once again achieving Irish team selection at the O60 category, as did her clubmate Martin McEvilly, who won selected for the Irish team at O65 level, while both Ian Egan of Tuam AC - sixth home at O50 level, and Kathryn Casserly of GCH - 9th home in the Masters ladies-, ran well, but narrowly missed out on Irish selection.
Dublin Marathon
Hundreds of Galway athletes will take to the streets of Dublin next Sunday, 29th October, for the annual Dublin City Marathon, with many hours of training and miles logged by all participants, over the past few months. The event is a sell out with 20,000 people registered to run in what has become one of Europe’s biggest marathons.
The event also incorporates the National Marathon championships, and a number of Galway’s top distance runners will be aiming for National honours at the end of the grueling 26.2-mile race.
Galway City Harriers Senior Ladies team will be looking to retain their National title, which they won last year for the first time ever. This year’s squad is exceptionally strong and has trained intensively together since early 2017, with a view to holding onto their crown. The team features two of the 2016 squad, Grainne Ni Uallachain and Siobhan Egan both of whom will be looking to crack the magical 3-hour barrier. The hugely talented Elaine Walsh, who already has a sub 3-hour marathon to her name, and Tara Whyte, a recent GCH signing, are both tipped to run strongly, while top cross-country runner Niamh Hennelly, making her debut at the longer distance, will be good support to the squad, with three to score on the day.
Rob Lennon of Castlegar AC is tipped to be first Galway man home on the day, as he seeks to break 2-hours 40minutes , while both Gearoid Hynes of GCH and Jerome Debize also of the city club will look to go below 2 hours 45 minutes. GCH Men’s Masters Squad will also aim to medal, with both Hynes and Debize leading the charge, and other team members Gerry Carty, Culain O'Meara and Sean Hanly all going very well in training. Martin Kearney of GCH and Carmel Brannigan will both be strong National title contenders at Individual level at O60 and O50 age groups respectively.
Meanwhile a number of Athenry AC athletes will travel to the Frankfurt Marathon, also next Sunday, including Jane Ann Meehan and Gearoid Rohan.
Connacht Juvenile and Senior League Cross Country Championships
Leitrim Athletics County Board will host the Connacht Even Age Juvenile Championships for U12s, U 14s, U16s and U18s, and the first day of the Senior League Cross Country Championships for 2017, next Sunday, 29th October, from 12 noon at Calry/St. Josephs GAA Club, Hazelwood Road in Sligo
Connacht Primary Schools and Senior League Cancellation
Last Saturday’s Connacht Primary Schools Finals at St Brigid’s GAA grounds, Kiltoom, Roscommon, had to be cancelled due to weather warnings and on course issues after Storm Ophelia, and will be refixed for Mid-November.
Corrib AC Run with the Wind races
Corrib Athletic Club hosts the fourth edition of their Run Like the Wind 4k and 8k Races, which will take place in the picturesque Galway Wind Park at 11am on Saturday 28th October next.
Registration is open on Run Ireland, and there are prizes for the first three male and female athletes in both races, and a prize for the fastest juvenile runner in the 4k.
