Donore & Leevale Victorious at GloHealth Road Relays
Donore Harriers and Leevale AC Win the Senior Titles at the GloHealth Road Relay Championships of Ireland
*Marcus Lawler and Mathew Behan Achieve European Qualification Standards
*Marathon Round Up
Dublin club Donore Harriers and Cork club Leevale AC won the respective men’s and women’s senior titles at the GloHealth Road Relay Championships of Ireland. The event took place in perfect conditions around the famous mile loop in Raheny on Sunday, 19th of April.
*Full results to be added on Monday, 20th of April
Senior Men
After a 15 year absence from winning the title Donore Harriers romped to an impressive victory in the senior men’s race. 25 club teams toed the line including defending champions Sligo AC, host club Raheny Shamrock and last year’s silver medallists Ennis Track. European Indoor 1500m finalist John Travers was on the all-important three mile leg for Donore as he scorched around the loop in a time of 14.07, the fastest spilt of the day. Anchor leg runner Eric Keogh maintained the lead as he comfortable brought his club home to victory in an overall time of 37.52.
Junior athlete Kevin Mulcaire (Ennis Track) showed his class by moving Ennis into second place over the final leg to cross the line in a time of 38.41 with the host club Raheny Shamrock in third in a time of 39.05.
Senior Women
The senior women’s event turned into a battle between defending champions Leevale AC and Letterkenny AC. The formidable Cork trio of Carol Finn, Lizzie Lee and Michelle Finn were always in command as they stormed to victory in a time of 20.39 with Letterkenny second in a time of 21.08 and Crusaders third in a time of 21.37.
The two mile leg of the race was a close affair with Lee recording a time of 10.35 and Annemarie McGlynn of Letterkenny only a second slower with a time of 10.36. However Leevale athlete Michelle Finn was untouchable on the last leg as she sealed the title for the Cork club.
Master Races
The women’s 35+ race was a tight tussle between Raheny Shamrock and Letterkenny AC with Raheny coming out on top in a time of 23.29 and Letterkenny holding on for second in a time of 23.41. Donore Harriers AC completed the podium positions finishing in third place in a time of 23.54. Clonliffe Harriers won the women’s 50+ national title.
Newbridge AC were the popular winners of the M35+ national title as Paul Archbold, Paul Campbell and David Keenan combined to win in a time of 19.27. Crusaders AC came through over the second half of the race for a well-deserved silver medal with Letterkenny AC finishing in third place. Raheny Shamrock were victorious in the M50+ category winning the national title in a time of 21.01.
European Standards for Lawler and Behan
Away from the action in Raheny both Marcus Lawler (St Laurence O’Toole AC) and Mathew Behan (Crusaders AC) achieved qualification standards for the upcoming European U23 and Junior Championships. Both athletes were competing at the 2015 Leevale Track and Field Meet which took place on Saturday, 18th of April.
Lawler recorded a time of 21.14 in the 200m to go under the U23 standard of 21.20 seconds while Behan ran a time of 13.99 seconds for the 110m hurdles which was inside the European Junior Standard of 14.25. The time was also a new national junior record for Behan breaking the old mark of 14.11 held by rival Sam Healy (Leevale AC).
Marathon Round-Up
Martin Fagan (Mullingar Harriers AC) and Eoin O’Callaghan (Star of the Sea AC) were both in action on the roads over the weekend. Fagan finished 11th in the Zurich marathon in a time of 2.16.09 and O’Callaghan achieved a huge new personal best in the Manchester marathon finishing second in a time of 2.18.45. These performances come a week after Mick Clohisey (Raheny Shamrock AC) and Thomas Frazer ran 2.17.42 and 2.17.44 respectively at the Rotterdam Marathon.