Marathon record, but not where you think – Irish round-up

To start the week Lindie Naughton brings us all the Irish endurance action and news from the weekend just gone (Monday 28th April).Peter Lynch (Kilkenny City Harriers) set a new Irish record of 2 hr 9 mins 36 secs when finishing third in the Dusseldorf Marathon in Germany on Sunday (April 28).

Lynch’s time took six seconds off Hiko Tonosa’s time of 2:09.42 set at the Dublin Marathon last October and is also inside the B standard for September’s  World Championships in Tokyo. He becomes only the fourth Irish athlete to break 2 hours 10 minutes for the marathon distance.

Lynch has been in top form this year, running 61:15 at the Houston half marathon in January  and 27:49.30 for 10,000m in California last month. Just three weeks ago, he ran 44 mins 59 secs for ten miles in Washington DC.

The Kilkenny man is currently based in the USA where he’s part of the Puma Elite team coached by ex-Irish international athlete Alistair Cragg.

Not just Lynch flying in Germany

On a good day for the Irish in Dusseldorf, Fearghal Curtin  (Youghal AC)  finished  two minutes behind Lynch for fourth place in 2:11.35.  It was his marathon debut. Race winner was Alex Meier (USA) in 2:08.33.

Best of the Irish at the Hamburg Marathon, also in Germany on Sunday,  was Patrick O’Neill who finished in 2:31.21. Kate Purcell (Raheny Shamrock) finished 13th woman and first W40 in 2:47.46. Well over a thousand Irish had nabbed a place in the London Marathon.  Finishers included Sean Davin (City of Derry Spartans)  in 2:31.44 and John Eves (Dundrum South Dublin AC) in 2:35.46, as well as John McCarthy in the wheelchair rac, who  clocked a time of 2:37.56.

Result of the day came from Mary Slocum (Ward Park Runners)  who was second W60 in a time of 3:11.35. Just six days earlier, Slocum was also second W60 at the Boston Marathon in 3:10:29

In the Manchester Marathon, also on Sunday, Alexander Wallace of St Coca’s AC was 14th overall and first M45  in 2:26.41.

Locally, Feidhlim McGowan (North Sligo AC) was the winner of the annual Connemarathon in Co Galway with  a time of  2 hrs 30 mins 53 secs. Edward O’Connor (Brothers Pearse AC) was second in 2:45.32 and Daniil Miasoedov third in 2:48.18. First woman was Jennie O’Leary in 3:29.08. Kathryn Schlaffer was second in 3:33.35 and Maura Dineen (Raheny Shamrock, W40) third in 3:41.34.

In the half marathon, the winners were Marc Augustin (St Coca’s AC) in 76:47 and Sarah Flanagan (Tullamore Harriers, W40) in 93:06

Eoin Fletcher led home 167 finishers in the 39.3 mile ultra race, finishing in 4 hrs 57 mins 4 secs. First woman  and also first W50 in 5:52.37 was Simone Durry (TG Neuss)

Ultra Running

J.P McLoughlin was the winner of the 53km ultra marathon at the Royal Canal Run in Longford on Saturday (April 26). His time was 4 hrs 10 mins 50 secs. Julie McNamee was second and first woman in 4:13.16. Brian O’Kelly won the marathon in 2:46.26, with Helen Hartnett first woman in 3:15.29. First home in the half marathon was Wayne Waldron in 74:49 with Michelle Ryan first woman in 87:06.

Emma Stuart, originally from Sligo,  was first woman at the UTVV Slovenie 160km in the Vipava Valley  of Slovenia over the weekend, completing the distance in 20 hours 44 mins. The route included 6,300m of climb, with the race starting on Friday (April 25).

Road relays

The Dundrum South Dublin women and the Ennis Track Club men took the senior titles at a well supported National Road Relays held in Raheny Dublin on Sunday (April 27)

First up were were the women, and after a solid  start by Olympian and team coach Maria McCambridge on the opening one mile leg, Emma McEvoy on the two-mile leg  and Eimear Maher on the final mile brought the defending champions home for  the club’s sixth win since 2009 in a time of   20 mins 50 secs. McEvoy and Maher also clocked the fastest times of the day for their legs.

Dundrum South Dublin – taking a sixth win in the women’s race Emma McEvoy, Eimear Maher and Maria McCambridge. Picture Lindie Naughton

UCD, who had led after the first leg, finished second  in 21:31 with  the host club Raheny Shamrock third 21:44.

In the men’s race over four legs, Ennis Track Club beat Craughwell AC to the title by just four seconds; their respective times were 37:11 and 37:15.  Thanks to strong runs from Jamie Fallon on the opening two-mile leg and Kyle Moorehead on the mile leg, Craughwell were lying a strong second behind defending champions Clonliffe Harriers after the first two legs.

All changed on the third leg where, over the three mile distance, Niall Murphy made up ground  on both  William Fitzgerald of Craughwell AC and Colm Rooney of Clonliffe.  It was left to Mark Hanrahan on the final two mile leg to bring the Ennis team home for its first ever victory in this race.  Clonliffe Harriers  finished third in 37:32. It was also a first win for a non-Dublin club since Sligo AC’s wins in 2013 and 2014  and only an eighth win overall for a non-Dublin year in the fifty-two year history of the event.

Senior men’s race- halfway through first two mile leg . Picture Lindie Naughton

Masters relays too

In the masters races, Longford AC’s trio of Michelle McGee, Fiona Gettings and Ashley Ryan were clear winners of the women’s over 35 title with a time of 22 minutes exactly. Sportsworld were second in 22.57 and Dunboyne AC third  23:19.

Ennis TC took the W50 title in 24:12, with Raheny Shamrock second in 24:39 and Drogheda and District AC third in 24:59.

Letterkenny AC  (Eoghan McGinley, Danny Mooney, Mark Grennan) won the M35 title in 18:53. Raheny Shamrock, the defending champions  were second in 19:13 and  Clonliffe Harriers third in 19:30.

First home in the M50 class was Rathfarnham WSAF AC (Paul Fleming, Shane O’Neill, Sean McCreery)  in 20: 534, with a time of 4 mins 49 secs for the final mile from Paul Fleming, who was celebrating his 50th birthday on the day, proving crucial. City of Derry Spartans were second in 21:08  and Inishowen AC third in 21:42.

Other weekend road races

Vinny Connolly (Mullingar Harriers) in15:28 and Grace Reilly 18:44 were the winners at the  Rhode AC 5km on Sunday (April 27), which was round 4 of the Healthy Offaly 5km Road Races Series ’25.

At the James Griffin Br. Leo 5km,  in Tullow, Co Carlow, a St Laurence O’Toole AC double saw Dylan Byrne first home  in 16:53 and Leah Lawler first woman in 18:27 .

At the Cootehill 10km,  in Co Cavan,  Conan McCaughey (North Belfast Harriers) was the winner in 32 mins 52 secs. Finishing fourth and first woman was Catherina Mullen (Metro St Brigid’s AC) in 37:18.

In Darndale, Dublin, Cian Charlton (Raheny Shamrock AC) led home over seven hundred finishers at the Another Way 5km in 16 mins 36 secs on Saturday (April 26)   Tracey Coleman (Artane/Beaumont Running Club) was first woman in 20:38.

Earlier

Sean Doyle (Cork TC ) was the winner of the Bandon 5km,  in Co Cork on Thursday (April 24). His time of  14 mins 37 secs was a course record. First woman in 16:47 was Hannah Steeds (Leevale AC). Conditions were wet.

In Newtownshandrum, Co Cork, James Doran (Brosna, M40) won the Shandrum AC 4-Mile in 20 mins 36 secs. Carol Finn (Leevale)AC) was first woman in a course record time of 22:56.

At the opening round of the sold-out Galway 5km Series  at  Craughwell on Tuesday (April 22), local athlete Mathys Bocquet was the winner in 15 mins 36 secs.  First woman was Grainne  Ní Uallachain (Galway City Harriers) in  18:26.

Track and field – Stateside

At the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, USA , from April 24-26, Washington State won a thrilling College Men’s 4 x mile with Ronan McMahon-Stagg (Dublin City Harriers)  running  an opening leg of 4:06.10.

A  day earlier, Washington had won the medley relay title, with McMahon-Stagg again on the opening leg, this time of 1200m.  McMahon-Stagg, now aged twenty-two, began his college career with UCLA. He currently tops the Irish 1500m rankings thanks to a  personal best time of 3:38.23 run in Azusa, California on April 18.

Also at the Penn Relays, James Dunne (Tullamore Harriers) was part of the winning Georgetown quartet in the College Men’s 4 x 800m championships running the opening leg in 1:50.41. Georgetown also finished sixth in the medley relay championships, with Dunne running the opening leg.

In the College Women’s 4 x 800m Championships, Sophie O’Sullivan  (Ballymore Cobh AC) anchored University of Washington to third with a split of 2:05.09, while in the women’s medley relay championships on Friday, Maeve O’Neill (Doheny AC) was part of the Providence women’s team that finished second.  O’Neill ran the 800m leg in a time of 2:04.12.

Cara Laverty  (Finn Valley AC) clocked  4:18.48  in the women’s 1500m and and on Saturday  helped Providence College to a clear victory in the College Women’s 4 x 1500m, running the opening leg.

In the individual events, Charlie O’Donovan (Leevale AC) clocked 3:57.33 for the mile.

Elsewhere in the USA,  Roisin Treacy  (DSD AC) won the women’s 1500m at the Elmhurst Invitational in Illinois on Friday (April) 25) in a personal best 4:26.45.

At the Stanford Payton Jordan Invitational, also on Friday,  Shay McEvoy (Kilkenny City Harriers) finished 11th in the 5000m with a PB time of 13:40.30.  In the steeplechase Oisin Spillane (Tralee Harriers)  clocked a time of 9:04.60, also a PB.

Closer to home, Andrew Milligan (North Belfast Harriers) ran a PB 8:11.38 for 3000m at the Trafford Grand Prix in Stretford on Tuesday (April 22)