Leinster clubs faced long journeys for the opening round of the Woodies DIY Irish Track and Field League, with rounds taking place in Castleisland and Sligo.
In Castleisland, Munster clubs Ferrybank and Leevale dominated the women’s premier division, with county teams from Meath and Kildare also picking up valuable points.
For Meath, Rosemary Daniels won the high jump and was third in the triple jump. Ferrybank’s Kelly Proper stayed away from her specialist long jump, winning the 200m in 23.91 an also finishing third in the shot.
In the discus, Kerry’s Claire Fitzgerald is getting closer to the 50m mark all the time, winning with a throw of 47.30m.
Competing for Bandon, Grainne Moynihan qualified for the World Youth Championships when finishing second in the 400m with a personal best time of 55.45. Winner was Togher’s Marian Heffernan, running as a guest, who crossed the line in 54.13.
In the men’s premier division, the Kerry county team topped the table ahead of Leevale. For Dublin club Crusaders, Steven Colvert won the 200m in 21.34 beating Chris Russell of Ferrybank, who had been competing in Holland a day earlier. Those positions were reversed in the 100m, with Russell a narrow winner in 10.2. Leevale’s Robert Heffernan won the 3000m walk, while for Limerick, Tim Crowe won the 400m in a personal best time of 47.53.
In women’s division 1, Crowne Plaza Athlete of the Month Kate Veale of West Waterford was a comfortable winner of the 1500m walk. Wexford and Tipperarey finished top of the points table.
For Dundrum South Dundrum the journey to Sligo proved worthwhile, with the women dominating the premier division. Winners for DSD included Aoife MacNeill 100m, Claire Bergin 200m, Sinead Denny 400m, Claire McGlynn 800m, Hazel Murphy 1500m, Anita Fitzgibbon javelin, as well both relays.
Raheny Shamrock topped the division 1 women’s table.
North Down proved strongest in men’s premier division, with Raheny Shamrock second and a battle for third between Shercock, Clonliffe and DSD. For DSD, Breandan O’Neill not only won the 5000m, but lined out for the 4×400 team minutes after finishing. Truly the spirit of the league is not dead!
Tallaght leads men’s division 1 from Galway City Harriers and Dunleer.
Next round is on July 17, with Santry one of the venues.
On a perfect day in the hills, 29 teams completed the 10th anniversary Wicklow Way Relay – a fun event for runners of all standards that raises funds for the Irish junior mountain running squad.
Among the clubs represented were St Brigid’s Oldcastle, Trim, Sli Cualann, and Athenry as well as orienteering clubs Setanta and Three Rock and crack squads from Rathfarnham WSAF and Crusaders. Of the 29 finishing teams, 20 came home in under 10 hours.
Defending champions Boards.ie entered two teams, as did Donadea Runners and Wicklow Mountain Rescue. Ironically it was one of the Mountain Rescue teams that was incomplete after one of its members sustained a suspected ankle fracture on the way into Glendalough. Fortunately their second team was not far behind and did the necessary “rescue”.
Up front, a team based around Rathfarnham WSAF took advantage of the perfect conditions to set a new record of 7 hours 4 minutes, beating Crusaders and Boards. Here’s to next year!
Andrew Ledwith of Fr Murphy’s beat a class field to win the recent Little South Run in Kilmacow. His time of 18 minutes 57 seconds for the four miles put him nine seconds ahead of Paul Pollock from Kent, with KCH’s Brian Maher thrid followed by Tommy Evans from Gowran and Raheny’s Vinnie Mulvey. Making a welcome return to the roads was Linda Byrne of DSD won was 18th overall and first woman in 22 mis 20 seconds.
Wicklow steeplechasers Fionnuala Britton and Stephanie Reilly not only improved on their personal bests but were inside world championships and Olympic standards at the Diamond League meet in New York. Britton ran 9:37.60 for fifth lace, with Reilly two places back in 9:42.91 – both new PBs.
At the same meet, David Gillick of DSD was fourth in the B 400m in 46.64 and Derry’s Jason Smyth fifth in the B 100m in 10.60.
Need some motivation to get your through the summer? Starting next Tuesday evening is the annual Lord Mayor 2-Mile Series in Raheny which this year continues until the end of August with 11 rounds in all and the best eight to count. Entry is @7 per race or €50 for the series. All standards welcome!
Also taking place in Raheny on Sunday is the annual Tommy Lynam Mid Summer 5km in St Anne’s Park. Entry is just €10, with lots of prizes, a plaque for all finishers and lots of fruit and other healthy goodies for all finishers.
Heritage comes alive at Friday’s Braveheart 5km in Trim, Co Meath, with the course along the river Boyne taking in the fine collection of medieval monuments used as backdrops in the award-winning Mel Gibson film Braveheart. Last year, on a memorable night, runners were sent on their way after an historical re-enactment by Trim Drama Group. Online entry is €12 (€15 on night). In lieu of a race t-shirt, part of each entry fee goes to Trim Special Olympics Swim Club
The British Milers Club meet in Watford attracted a big entry of Irish athletes with plenty of PBs for the visitors. Darren McBrearty (Letterkenny AC) was a good winner of the B 1,500m in a time of 3:42.68, a huge improvement on his previous best of 3:47.15, and also inside the standard for the European U23 championships.
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