Our juvenile athletes made the trip to Nenagh at the weekend to compete in the National Juvenile Indoor championships and as usual they did not disappoint with the quality of their performances. In the boys U13 category Niall Flanagan produced a great jump of 4.07 metre which is a personal best. This excellent jump secured Niall 5th place overall in the long jump competition. Niall’s other jumps in the competition also make impressive reading (Rd 1 = 3.84, Rd 2 = 4.02 Rd 3 = 4.07 Rd 4 = 3.94, Rd 5 = 4.06 Rd 6 = 3.99). Sean Townsend competed in the U13 Boys 600 metres competition. Sean also produced a personal best performance of 1.53.98 on the day, which is fantastic running and can count himself very unlucky to just miss the final of this event. In the U14 girls category Sarah competed in the 60 metre sprint competition. Sarah continued her fine form by having another great run of 9.05 secs on the day and just missed out on the qualifying time for the final. In the boys U14 events Adam Doran competed in three events and medalled in two of them!!! Adam came second in the high jump with a personal best of 1.50 metres . Adam then competed in the sprint where he secured a bronze medal having come third in a terrific time of 8.00 seconds . This was 8/100 secs quicker than the excellent time of 8.08 secs that Adam produced in the heats. Adam rounded of his terrific day by coming fifth in the long jump with a jump of 4.57 metres. Adam also produced further impressive jumps of 4.13 m, 4.50m and 4.52 m in this competition. These medals add to the National Indoor Multi-events title that Adam won in January. It was great seeing our young athletes being so comfortable competing at the National level, not to mention the fact that our athletes were able to produce personal bests performances when it mattered most. Well done to all on these great results.

On Sun 28th Mar, Eileen O'Brien ran in the Wilmslow Half Marathon in Manchester. Eileen O’Brien travelled across the Irish sea to compete in a half marathon at the weekend. Eileen showed us that she is on top form once again this year when she secured third place in her category in the Wilmslow Half Marathon near Manchester. Eileen completed the course in 1hr 47mins 33secs. This time was very close to Eileen’s best time of 2009 of 1hr 46 mins which she ran in Dublin in September last. Well done Eileen on yet another tremendous achievement.

On Sun 28th Mar, we had some more top performances at the Dunboyne 4 mile road race. Lorraine Heffernan continued her excellent run of performances with an outstanding 29 mins 04 secs clocking. This followed Lorraine’s personal best run over 5 miles in Trim just a week and a half previously and it looks like Lorraine is in top form as the summer approaches. Bernie Stapleton, too, is on top form at the moment and continued this in the Dunboyne 4 mile road race. Bernie produced a fantastic time of 29 mins 59secs. Bernie can look forward to a productive summer as well, we believe. Bernie Doyle, too is in fine vein of form at the minute and produced another fine performance over the 4 mile distance. Bernie cover the distance in a very good 33mins 12 secs and looks in good shape approaching the summer season. Ann McGee showed little signs of fatigue in her performance on the time in which she clocked a brilliant time of 38 mins . This followed Ann’s outstanding run over ten miles in Ballycotton just 8 days earlier. For the men, Derry McVeigh continued his recent hot streak with another brilliant performance in the Dunboyne 4 miler. Derry clocked an excellent time of 23mins 55secs for the distance which tells us that he has the endurance to match his explosive pace. James Nealon was the second Lucan male to finish in an excellent 25 mins 13 secs. This was a fine performance from James who has also performed very well in the BHAA fixtures recently. Alan Cassells continued his fine 2010 with a noteworthy performance over the 4 mile distance. Alan clocked a time of 25 mins 25 secs on this new 4 mile Dunboyne course. Gerry Martin, too, is in a rich vein of form and continued this with his fine clocking of 26 mins 59 secs. It looks like Gerry has brought his cross country form to the roads following this fine performance as well as his excellent 5km run two weeks ago. It was great to see Brendan Maher back competing after his horrendous run with injuries, especially a nasty Achilles problem that he has had to endure over the last couple of years. Brendan has been looking strong in training and brought this form to the race completing the 4 mile course in a spritely 27 mins 47 secs.

On Sat 27th Mar, Gareth Fereday ran in the Omagh Half Marathon. Gareth Fereday travelled north for a half marathon for the second year running, this year to Omagh, and once again produced a sensational performance. Gareth ran another personal best for the 13.1 miles distance by clocking an outstanding time of 1hr 18 mins 37 secs. This time bettered Gareth's time of 1hr 19mins 25secs from Larne 12 months ago and came as Gareth produced excellent splits of 38 mins 53secs for the first half and 39mins 44secs for the second half of the race. This performance secured Gareth a finishing place of 30th from 1,144 finishers. Congratulations Gareth.

On Sun 21st Mar, seven of our women ran in the Ballycotton 10 mile road race held in unseasonably warm conditions in County Cork. Claire Buckley lead the Harriers home again for the 2nd time in 2 weeks. Claire completed the race in 1hr 19mins and 20secs. Next to finish for Lucan were Ann Murtagh in 1:27:36, Sile McIntyre 1:31:09, Nicola O'Flaherty 1:40:32, Ann McGee 1:42:57, Barbara Whelan 1:47:21 and Winifred Ryan 1:49:12. Well done to all on their results.

On Sat 20th Mar, Lucan athletes ran in the NUI Maynooth and AIB sponsored BHAA cross country races at Maynooth College. Bernie Stapleton continued to represent the club in this seasons XC races. Bernie is very consistent in her timing in these races. She completed the 2.5miles race in 19:18. It was also great to see Eileen O'Brien back competing in this XC race. Eileen had a fantastic performance, finishing 2nd in her category in a terrific time of 20:03. In the men's 4 mile race, Derry McVeigh led the charge for Lucan in 25.46, very closely followed by Shane McCarthy 25.49 and Joe Corcoran 26.06. Next to finish were John O'Leary 26.51, Gerry Byrne Snr 27.24, Stephen Rynne 28.23, Gerard Moloney 30.33 and Breffni Worrall 30.45. Congratulations to Derry McVeigh on being the first Lucan male athlete home and thus becoming the Lucan male cross country champion for 2010. Derry secured this crown after producing a brilliant sprint finish to the race just outpacing Shane McCarthy. Well done to all our athletes.

On Wed 17th Mar, Lorraine Heffernan ran in the Fr. Murphy Open 5 miler in Trim, County Meath. Lorraine completed the course in 36.25. This is a pb for Lorraine who is has reached a new level in running. (Lorraine ran the Raheny 5miler in 37.18 6 weeks ago). Congratulations Lorraine and keep up the good work.

On Sun 14th Mar, a bunch of our senior athletes ran in the Half marathon & 10 km challenge in the Hague, Netherlands. As has become the norm at the club, our athletes once again headed overseas (this year to The Hague) for an annual half marathon & 10 km challenge and the trip proved well worthwhile. In the half marathon race Claire Buckley and Bernie Stapleton were involved in a very close tussle and could only be separated by 7 seconds at the finish! Claire and Bernie ran together for the first 7 - 8 km. Bernie then pushed ahead but Claire kept in touch, never being far behind and had enough in the tank to overtake Bernie at the 21 km mark to post a great time of 1 hour 44 mins 34 secs for the distance. This was a personal best run by Claire over the half marathon distance bettering her time of 1.44.42 that she posted in Bath on the same weekend last year. Bernie continued to run strongly all the way to the line and too was rewarded with a brilliant time of 1 hour 44 mins 41 secs.This was also a personal best performance from Bernie, we believe, as it bettered her excellent 1.44.42 from Longford last August, showing us that she has kept her consistency in the intervening months. Deirdre Counihan was the third Lucan lady across the finishing line a very impressive 1 hour 49 mins 34 secs.This time, too, was very close to Deirdre's best time from last year, posted in Bantry in May. So Deirdre has also held her form well over the last 12 month and has run numerous long distance races in this period, performing very well in all. Emer McCarthy was the fourth Lucan lady home, producing another very strong distance running performance. Emer covered the 13.1 miles in 1 hour 56 mins 54 secs, very close to the 1.54 from Bath a year ago. It looks like the long Saturday morning training runs were well worthwhile as they paid dividends for Emer on the day. Ursula Murphy and Amber Nugent were also involved in a close battle throughout the race with Ursula just coming out on top after posting a terrific time of 2 hours 5 mins 13 secs.This is yet more strong running by one of our most dedicated athletes who is prepared to run over all distances and comes as no surprise. Amber Nugent, too , can be well pleased with her performance on the day, having clocked a brilliant time of 2 hours 6 mins 42 secs. This was a fine run from Amber who had actually trained to run the Dublin marathon in October but was ill on the day and couldn't run. Amber, though hasn't let her hard work go to waste and was able to produce this performance over the half marathon distance. Anne McGrane was the next Lucan lady to finish after clocking an impressive 2 hours 8 mins 50 secs. This was yet another strong performance from Anne to build on her catalogue of fine performances this year in both athletics ( over 5 miles and 10km) and also in the triathlon. In the 10 km event we had Eithne Reid and Sinead Murphy competing. Eithne produced an excellent run of 50 mins. Eithne is another of our athletes that mixes her athletics with the triathlon so she has great strength that she was obviously able to put to great use in this 10 km race to produce this performance. Sinead Murphy also produced a great performance on the day coming home in under an hour, having posted a superb time of 58 mins. Sinead continues to show us that she is a fine distance runner for the club as can be seen from her 10 mile and half marathon times that she has previously posted over the last number of seasons. Full results.

On Sun 14th Mar, Lucan athletes competed in the Metro St Brigid’s 5km road race in Dublin City centre. Run over a flat course in the city centre (around Georgian Dublin) our athletes can be pleased with their performances. Josie Dignam was the sole representative for the ladies and did not disappoint as she continued her return to form with yet another great performance. Josie covered the 5km distance in 33 mins 38 secs to build on her fine performances over 5 miles and 10 kms already this year. For the men Gareth Fereday made a return to action after his outstanding 8th place finish on Wednesday evening last and gave yet another strong display of distance running, clocking a time of 17 mins 39 secs for the 5km to add to his many successful outings so far this year. Derry McVeigh making his debut in 2010 ,showed no signs of rustiness in clocking a great time of 18 mins 35 secs, having being involved in a tight tussle with Gerry Byrne junior for the duration of the race. This was great running from Derry despite suffering a knee injury just a couple of weeks ago. Gerry, too, making a return to action after his fine run over 5 miles in Raheny in January, produced another fine performance in clocking a time of 18 mins 53 secs. We are sure that the endurance work put in by Gerry over the winter will pay dividends on the track over the coming months. Alan Cassells was the next Lucan male home in another superb time of 19 mins 12secs. This builds on Alan's fine performance over 10km just 4 weeks ago as he continues his fine run of form this spring. Ken Robinson followed Alan home in a fantastic time of 19 mins 18 secs. This time was quicker than that posted by Ken just three months ago in the Jingle Bells fixture as Ken continues to go from strength to strength following excellent performances over 5 miles and 9kms already this year. Gerry Martin also produced another excellent performance. Gerry crossed the finish line in a super time of 20 mins 29 secs as he continues his fine vein of form. These performances are well deserved by Gerry as he continues his strong training ethic.

On Wed 10th Mar, Lucan athletes once again produced superb performances in the BHAA NCF Flooodlit 5.5km cross country race at Malahide Rugby Club. This year the weather was quite good for the race held under floodlights. Gareth Fereday led the way for the Lucan men with an brilliant 8th place finish. Gareth covered the 5.5km cross country distance in a very swift time of 20 mins 29 secs and was the first scorer for his Swords Labs team that finished 3rd overall. Gareth has just got better and better as the months have passed and no doubt this is only the beginning of what is to come from him this year. Tommy Buggle as ever produced another strong display of cross country running. Tommy finished just outside the top 10 with his 11th place finish in a terrific time of 20 mins 57secs to be help his Irish Prison Service team to victory by being the 3rd scorer on the team. Shane McCarthy continued his recent fine run of form since his return with another impressive display . Shane covered the 5.5km distance in an noteworthy time of 23 mins 04 secs for a 41st placedd finish in a very strong field of 134 athletes. Shane was also the 2nd scorer on his Irish Prison Service team that finished 7th from the 17 teams on the night. Well done everyone.

On Sun 7th Mar, Gerard Moloney ran in the Barcelona marathon for the second year in succession. Gerard produced a fantastic performance on the day clocking a time of 3 hrs 40 mins 25 secs .This was an improvement of 45 mins (nearly 2 mins per mile) on his time from last year's Barcelona marathon and was well deserved by Gerard for the effort put into his training over the last number of months. Gerard made light of the difficult task of running negative splits reaching the half way mark in 1 hr 57 mins 56 secs and covering the second half in 1hr 42 mins 29 secs. We are sure all the 3 hour plus training runs on Sunday mornings by Gerard now seem well worthwhile as they paid rich dividends on the day. Full results.

On Sun 7th Mar, Joe Lynch had yet another outstanding outing, this time at the Duchy 20 mile road race in Cornwall. Joe produced an exceptional time of 2 hrs 08 mins 46 secs for the hilly 20 mile course. This performance ensured Joe placed in an outstanding 7th place overall and is even more remarkable considering that this time was quicker than the winning time of 2.09.16 from 12 months ago. Joe certainly deserved this result as he trained extremely hard and smartly for this particular race. Joe is obviously in top form once again as he heads into his triathlon season over the next couple of months. Full results.

On Sun 7th Mar, Damien McDonald ran in the Leith Hill Half marathon in Surrey, England. Damien showed us that he is back on top form in his first race since returning from an injury lay-off. To say that this was a testing course would be an understatement as it involved a very tough half marathon trail run to South East England’s highest point, a 1000 foot climb and back down again. This challenge did not deter Damien though as he completed the daunting task in an excellent time of 1hr 58 mins 41 secs. We look forward to seeing Damien embark on more interesting challenges during the year. Great running Damien. Full results.

On Sun 7th Mar, Fergal O'Brien beat Alan McManus 10-4 in the final qualifying round for the World Snooker Championships. Fergal came from 4-2 down, reeling off 8 frames on the spin to qualify for the World Championships proper which runs from April 17th - May 3rd in Sheffield. Congratulations Fergal on another great result.

On Sat 6th Mar, our U14 girls placed 4th in the 4 * 200m relay at the Dublin Juvenile Indoor Championships held in Tallaght. Lucan was represented by our Under 14 girls team in the 4 * 200 metre relay team. Our team did not disappoint finishing in 4th place overall. This performance was even more remarkable as we had a number of athletes on this team competing against girls who were three years older. This augurs well for the future of these athletes and will be good experience for the future. Well done to the team.