On Sat 29th May, John O'Leary ran in the Donore Harriers Summer 5k road race in the Phoenix Park. John O'Leary put in a fine performance in the inaugural Donore Harriers Summer 5k race. John built on his tremendous performance from the Le Cheile race over the same distance when he clocked a time of 19 mins 04 secs in this race. John is having another fine season once again this year.
Picture (left) shows some of the Lucan athletes who competed at the Bob Heffernan 5k road race in Enfield on 25th May, 2010.
On Wed 26th May, Lucan athletes competed in Round 3 of the Women's Meet and Train road league held over 4 miles in the Phoenix Park. Eithne Richardson was back out competing less than 24 hours after her exertions in Enfield and led our ladies home in 21st place from 106 athletes on the Phoenix Park four mile course in a terrific time of 29 mins 16 secs. This was excellent running from Eithne who must surely have been feeling the effects of her efforts from the previous evening. Anne Murtagh was our second lady home in a very quick 32 mins 24 secs. This was Anne’s second outing in this Meet and Train series following her excellent 15.07 over the 2 mile race in Raheny last month and indeed builds on her terrific duathlon performance a month ago. Our new member Debbie Carroll, produced a fantastic performance in the Lucan colours as she was the third Lucan lady to cross the finishing line in a brilliant time of 34 mins 24 secs. This was another great run from Debbie who produced a 43.39 over 5 miles on her debut for the club in the Sportsworld 5 on May 16th. Patricia Daly has been having a superb series in the Meet & Train and this outing was no exception as Patricia came home in a time of 34 mins 54 secs. This is further evidence that Patricia is in fine form as she was our second finisher in Griffeen Park on Sunday last. Nicola O’Flaherty was hot on Patricia’s heels at the finishing, having clocked a fantastic time of 34 mins 58 secs. Nicola produced a brilliant run of 27.01 over the three mile race on Sunday last and is proving a great addition to the club since she joined us at the end 2009. We are sure to see Nicola go from strength to strength over the coming weeks. Sinead Murphy was our sixth finisher on the evening having covered the four miles in 36 mins 03 secs. Sinead has competed in all three races in this series and has got better and better as the series has gone on. Ann McGee, running her second race in three days, produced another fantastic display as she came home in a time of 37 mins 12 secs. This sub 9 min 30 secs / mile running is impressive at the best of time but even more so after a tough race in very warm conditions on a previous Sunday. Winifred Ryan was our 8th finisher in a brilliant time of 37 mins 37 secs. Winifred, too , has competed in all the races in the series, getting stronger all the time so we expect to see more outstanding running from Winifred over the next few months as the summer progresses. Anita O’Neill continued her fine run of form in this series when she completed the tough 4 mile challenge in an excellent time of 38 mins 01 sec. Anita is quite new to running so she is amazing us with the quality of her performances in this series . We look forward to seeing Anita progress over the coming weeks. Finishing 10th for Lucan on the night we had Nathalie O’Connor, who has proven an excellent stalwart for our club in the series. Nathalie has competed in all three races for us and built on her excellent 28.56 over three miles on Sunday last with a brilliant 38 mins 05 secs clocking on this 4 mile course. Sharon Geraghty was our next finisher in an impressive time of 38 mins 56 secs. Sharon, too, has competed in all races in this series and looking at her times over the 2 or 4 mile courses in the series, Sharon has shown great progression in her performances. Josie Dignam was 12th home for Lucan on the night. Fresh from her excellent time of 32.14 over 3 miles on Sunday, Josie proved that the heat from Sunday had no effect on her as she raced to a fine time of 44 mins 32 secs for the 4 miles as she continues her upward trend in 2010. Eibhlin Ni Chonchuir rounded off a great night’s work by the Lucan ladies as she finished in a very good time of 44 mins 47 secs. This was another excellent run by Eibhlin following her fine run in the Dublin Docklands 8km race just a week earlier. More Photos.
On Tue 25th May, Lucan had a large number of athletes competing at the Na Fianna A.C. Bob Heffernan 5km road race in Enfield. Nicola Kavanagh led our ladies home in a magnificent time of 21 mins 23 secs. This time was over two minutes quicker than Nicola’s time from the Le Cheile A.C. race 2 ½ weeks ago and gave Nicola 13th place in the senior ladies category. We are sure that this is only the start of things to come from Nicola this summer as she is getting stronger all the time. Bernie Stapleton was the second Lucan lady home, having covered the 5kms in 21 mins 49 secs. This ensured that Bernie finished 4th in her class, to add to her superb run over 10kms just three days earlier. Eithne Richardson continued her fantastic vein of form this year, being the third Lucan lady to finish in a time of 22 mins 14 secs for fifth place in her category. Eithne has been to the fore for the Lucan ladies in the Meet and Train series this summer and is carrying this form into all her races. Lorraine Heffernan continued her fine season as she raced to a fine time of 22 mins 21 secs. Lorraine, too had raced on Saturday last, but has developed superb fitness levels in 2010 to enable her to operate at a high level race after race. Myra Nolan was our fifth lady home having produced a great time of 23 mins 12 secs. This is very strong running from an athlete who completed a 10km race on Saturday in 49.19 and gave Myra 7th place in her category. Claire Buckley was our next lady home in a time of 23 mins 15 secs. This was another tremendous run from Claire who showed us she was in top form when she produced a brilliant run over 8kms just a week earlier in the Dublin Docklands run. Eileen O’Brien continued to show her versatility over all distances when she came home second in her category in a fantastic time of 23 mins 46 secs. Eileen also finished second in her race three days earlier and is showing great fitness and energy levels as she competes week after week. Emer O’Sullivan, running her first race since her excellent 1.52.45 over the half marathon distance in the Great Limerick Run earlier this month, had another outstanding outing covering the 5km distance in 24 mins 27 secs. Emer has been showing great potential since her return to the club and we can look forward to more of the same over the coming month’s we believe. Emer McCarthy, as ever, showed great enthusiasm, in completing this enjoyable course in a superb time of 24 mins 36 secs. It looks like all the endurance work that Emer has done is standing her in good stead as she produced two excellent performances over the last 3 days. Ursula Murphy rounded a great night’s work from our ladies with she came home in a time of 26 mins 12 secs. This was Ursula’s first run in recent times, we believe, but she showed little signs of rustiness as she hit the ground running in this race. For the men, new member Brian Farrell had an outstanding debut over the 5km distance when he clocked a time of 17 mins 27 secs. Brian is another triathlete that has just joined us and is showing the benefit of the quality training sessions that he has done over the last number of weeks as he gets stronger and stronger. It looks like Brian is in great form as he prepares to attack a sprint triathlon event in Armagh at the weekend. Another multi sport guru, Stephen Byrne, was our next athlete across the line in an impressive time of 17 mins 58 secs. This was another excellent performance from Stephen to add to his excellent 11th place finish in the Dublin Duathlon earlier in the month. James Nealon continues to go from strength to strength this summer and produced another fantastic display, completing the 5kms in a swift time of 18 mins 32 secs. The scorching heat during the 10km race on the previous Saturday last didn’t appear to knock too much energy from James as he looked extremely strong during this race. Gerry Byrne senior, once again, produced a brilliant finish over the last 400 metres to sprint to a time of 19 mins. This was yet more strong running from Gerry who has been blessed with superb finishing speed and certainly knows how to use this in race situations. Another of our athletes, blessed with tremendous strength is Alan Cassells, who also produced an excellent finishing kick to complete the fast Enfield course in 19 mins 05 secs. This time was 15 secs quicker than Alan’s time from Leixlip just over 2 weeks ago as he continues to hit top form once again. Henry Langton, making a return to the shorter distance, after his fine performance in the Kildare Half marathon, produced another fine display in clocking a time of 19 mins 10 secs. This time was similar to the one posted by Henry in the same race 12 months ago as he has held his form well in the intervening period. Daniel Byrne, still only 14 years of age, finished third in the junior category in an amazing time of 20 mins 03 secs This was over 70 seconds quicker than Daniel’s time from just over 2 weeks ago as he continues to demonstrate his outstanding potential. Liam Landers was our next athlete to finish in a time of 20 mins 08 secs. This was another great performance from Liam , who has certainly had a busy racing schedule over the last 3 weeks, having completed a marathon, a 10km race in the scorching summer heat and three days later producing this time on the impressive Enfield course. Brendan Maher was in close attendance to Liam at the finish having clocked a superb time of 20 mins 12 secs. Brendan is certainly back in great form again having secure 7th place in his category with this performance. It’s great to see Brendan being able to get a clear run of races under his belt after the frustrating couple of injury ravaged seasons he’s had to endure. Stephen Rynne was also back out competing after his exertions on Saturday last and produced a very impressive time of 20 mins 54 secs bettering his 21.04 time from 2 ½ weeks ago. Stephen’s season is just getting better and better. Gerard Moloney, too, showed no signs of fatigue from his efforts in the Intel 10km race on Saturday last as he produced another impressive effort here in clocking a time of 21mins 8 secs. It’s great to see Gerard in such a fine vein of form over the last number of weeks. Fergal O’Brien, making his racing debut over the 5km distance, produced a very strong finish to complete the course in 21 mins 10 secs. This was a fantastic display by an athlete, running what we believe to be his first road race of the year.
On Sun 23rd May, Lucan hosted the second race in the Meet & Train Summer Road Series over 3 miles in Griffeen Park. Our ladies turned out in good numbers to compete in the second round of the Meet & Train in Lucan over 3 miles, which was run in very warm conditions. Eithne Richardson was first across the line for our ladies in a brilliant time of 22 mins 30 secs. This excellent performance gave Eithne 20th place on the day. Eithne was our second finisher in the first round of the series a month ago so is in an excellent vein of form at present. Patricia Daly, too. had an excellent outing the first time out in the series and put in another very strong display here finishing in 52nd place overall in a fantastic 26 mins 06 secs. Sinead Murphy, running her third race in recent weeks put in another fine display over the 3 mile course completing it in 27 minutes. Sinead showed no signs of tiredness following her exertions in Limerick a week ago. Nicola O’Flaherty was the fourth Lucan lady home. Nicola covered the three miles in a superb 27 mins 01 sec for 60th place. Nicola is obviously flying at the moment following this performance and her run over 13.1 miles just three weeks ago. Nathalie O’Connor followed Nicola home in 27 mins 38 secs for 67th place. Nathalie was running just her second race in the Lucan colours and had another fine outing following her debut time of 18 mins 42 secs in the 2 mile race on April 25th. Winifred Ryan, too, has been busy on the competitive front of late but showed little signs of fatigue and she secured 73rd place on the day in 28 mins 28 secs. Winifred has competed over all sorts of distances in recent weeks and is showing great consistency in her performances. Anita O’Neill, like Nathalie, was running in only her second Meet and Train race, we believe, but should be well pleased with her time of 28 mins 56 secs for 75th place overall. As Anita is quite new to our set-up, we believe she will continue to go from strength to strength as the summer progresses. Ann McGee finished right behind Anita in 76th position. Ann crossed the line in 29 mins 02 secs. Ann, too, has been racing over all distances so far in 2010 and like Winifred has been showing great consistency in her performances. Sharon Geraghty was our 9th finisher. This was only Sharon’s second race for Lucan, as far as we are aware, but she made little of the heat on the day to come home in a time of 29 mins 30 secs to secure 79th place overall in the race. Josie Dignam, running in her 3rd race in a week had another fine outing here. Josie finished in 87th place in a great time of 32 mins 14 secs following her excellent performances in Terenure and in the Dublin Docklands race during the week.
On Sat 22nd May, a number of Lucan athletes ran in the Intel-sponsored BHAA 10km road race in Leixlip. Run in glorious summer sunshine, Lucan athletes made little of heat in producing more outstanding performances in the latest BHAA road race over 10km. For our ladies Derval McCarthy made a welcome return to competitive action. Derval has been beset with a catalogue of horrendous injuries over the last 2 years but showed us that she has lost none of her spark as she led our ladies home in a outstanding time of 46 mins 15 secs to finish 3rd in her category. Lorraine Heffernan is having the kind of season that athletes dream about and this was no exception as Lorraine produced another fantastic display of distance running completing this 10kms in 48 mins 07 secs. Bernie Stapleton was hot on Lorraine's heels as she crossed the finishing line in 48 mins 23 secs. This brilliant run from Bernie secured her 4th place in her category and first place on her Accountant Ladies A team as she continues to get in and around the podium places race after race. Myra Nolan, too, made light of the heat and difficult course as she cruised to a time of 49 mins 19 secs. This was yet more great running from Myra, to add to her fine performances over the half marathon and 10km in her recent races. Eileen O'Brien, shows no signs of easing up as she was back out competing , less than a week after her brilliant run in the Sportsworld road race. Eileen's time of 49 mins 49 secs in this race secured her 3rd place in her category as her medal cabinet must be getting pretty full by now. This was another fantastic display from Eileen who we expect to see among the prizes many more times before the season ends. Emer McCarthy was our next lady to finish in another impressive time of 58 mins 40 secs. This was more strong running from Emer on this tough course and in scorching heat. Emer has been putting in excellent performances in the distance road races all year and is holding her form very well. Gareth Fereday led the way for our men when he came home in a fantastic time of 38 mins 14 secs. Gareth has obviously not lost any form since his 4 mile race in Wales a week and half ago despite the fact that he has been suffering from a nasty cold in the meantime. This performance helped Gareth's team - Swords Labs - to second place in the team event as Gareth was the second scorer. Shane McCarthy continued his superb form, especially over 10km in recent week as he clocked a superb time of 40 mins 58 secs in the scorching heat. This superb running builds on Shane's performances over the same distance in the Phoenix Park & in Straffan in recent times. James Nealon was the third Lucan male to make it across the finishing line. James had a brilliant run, completing the course in 41mins 56 secs. This times was very close to James' time from the KClub race recently and is all the more impressive considering the slightly less favourable running conditions on the day - not that we're complaining! Stephen Rynne continued his excellent season with another outstanding run here. Stephen completed the 10kms in 44 mins 10 secs to be the second scorer on his team. Stephen is looking in top form this year as we had into the peak racing season, with the races coming thick and fast now. Gerard Moloney was our next finisher in a very swift 45 mins 07 secs. This time was nearly 3 minutes quicker than Gerard's time from a month ago as he was the 2nd scorer on his Gardai team and made little of the heat to show us that he is going from strength to strength. It looks like the fitness that Gerard gain from training for and competing in the Barcelona marathon continues to stand him in good stead. Liam Landers made a return to action, just two weeks after his Belfast marathon heroics to run another fine race completing the 10km course in 45 mins 26 secs. This is fantastic running by Liam, who must still have some amount of fatigue in his legs from his marathon exertions.
On Wed 19th May, Lucan hosted round 2 of the Women's Meet & Train road league over 3 miles in Griffeen Park, Lucan. Our ladies turned out in good numbers to compete in very warm conditions. Eithne Richardson was first across the line for our ladies in a brilliant time of 22 mins 30 secs. This excellent performance gave Eithne 20th place on the day. Eithne was our second finisher in the first round of the series a month ago so is in an excellent vein of form at present. Patricia Daly, too. had an excellent outing the first time out in the series and put in another very strong display here finishing in 52nd place overall in a fantastic 26 mins 06 secs. Sinead Murphy, running her third race in recent weeks put in another fine display over the 3 mile course completing it in 27 minutes. Sinead showed no signs of tiredness following her exertions in Limerick a week ago. Nicola O’Flaherty was the fourth Lucan lady home. Nicola covered the three miles in a superb 27 mins 01 sec for 60th place. Nicola is obviously flying at the moment following this performance and her run over 13.1 miles just three weeks ago. Nathalie O’Connor followed Nicola home in 27 mins 38 secs for 67th place. Nathalie was running just her second race in the Lucan colours and had another fine outing following her debut time of 18 mins 42 secs in the 2 mile race on April 25th. Winifred Ryan, too, has been busy on the competitive front of late but showed little signs of fatigue and she secured 73rd place on the day in 28 mins 28 secs. Winifred has competed over all sorts of distances in recent weeks and is showing great consistency in her performances. Anita O’Neill, like Nathalie, was running in only her second Meet and Train race, we believe, but should be well pleased with her time of 28 mins 56 secs for 75th place overall. As Anita is quite new to our set-up, we believe she will continue to go from strength to strength as the summer progresses. Ann McGee finished right behind Anita in 76th position. Ann crossed the line in 29 mins 02 secs. Ann, too, has been racing over all distances so far in 2010 and like Winifred has been showing great consistency in her performances. Sharon Geraghty was our 9th finisher. This was only Sharon’s second race for Lucan, as far as we are aware, but she made little of the heat on the day to come home in a time of 29 mins 30 secs to secure 79th place overall in the race. Josie Dignam, running in her 3rd race in a week had another fine outing here. Josie finished in 87th place in a great time of 32 mins 14 secs following her excellent performances in Terenure and in the Dublin Docklands race during the week.
On Tue 18th May, three of our athletes ran in the Dublin Docklands 8km road race along the Grand Canal. Three of the Lucan ladies turned out to compete in this popular race, which was held in damp conditions on Tuesday evening last from Grand Canal. Claire Buckley had another outstanding run in the Dublin Docklands 8km road. Claire crossed the line in a fantastic time of 38 mins 22 secs. Claire is in even better form this year as her time was nearly 90 secs quicker than Claire’s time in the same race last year. Josephine Dignam, was competing in her second race in three days but did not let this affect her. Josephine dipped under the hour with her fine clocking of 59 mins 56 secs. We believe the Josephine is going to have a fine summer this year. Eibhlin Ni Chonchuir, too, represented the ladies and put in another excellent display on the night completing the course in 1 hr 25 mins 09 secs. This was another great run from Eibhlin following her strong run over 2 miles in the first round of the Meet & Train series in April. More.
On Sun 16th May, Lucan athletes put in excellent performances at the Sportsworld 5 mile road race in Terenure. Eileen O'Brien had another exceptional outing covering the 5 miles in a brilliant 38 mins 12 secs. This performance gave Eileen 2nd place in her category as she just gets better as this year goes on, consistently getting among the prizes. At the finish it looked like Eileen had put absolutely everything into the race and it was great to see this effort rewarded. Our new member Debbie Carroll made a sensational debut for the club when she clocked a time of 43 mins 39 secs on this new 5 mile course. This is absolutely fantastic running for a new member and Debbie will only get better and better over the coming weeks and months. Josephine Dignam was back out competing again, following her fine performance in the Le Cheile A.C. road race last weekend. Josephine clocked a great time of 55 mins 58 secs for the 5 miles. This bettered Josephine's time from the Raheny 5 in January by over 2 minutes which is tremendous running and well deserved by Josephine for all the hard work she has put into her training and racing. Damien McDonald represented the Lucan males as he put in another impressive display. Building on his excellent run in the ARC race over 10 km two weeks ago, Damien continued racing over the shorter distances as he clocked a fantastic time of 34 mins 58 secs for the 5 mile distance. This performance was well deserved by Damien as he put his life on the line as he sprinted towards the finish in order to beat his target time of 35 minutes.
On Sun 16th May, Sinead Murphy continued her impressive run of form when she took part in the Kilfinane 2 mile road race in Limerick. Held as part of the Ballyhoura Active Race series, Sinead finished in a brilliant time of 17 mins 41 secs. This is even more impressive running when we consider that the course was an undulating one with the first mile downhill before the athletes faced a very steep climb uphill for the second mile. This great run from Sinead placed her as 10th senior lady.
On Tue 11th May, Gareth Fereday Gareth Fereday made the trip home to Wales and in the process took in the Chepstow Harriers Rose Inn 4 mile road race. It was a worthwhile adventure as Gareth had an outstanding run covering the 4 miles in a brilliant time of 23 mins 14 secs to place 15th overall from nearly 200 competitors. Gareth has mastered the art of cruising around these races at sub 6 minute mile pace and can hold this pace for the half marathon distance as he proved in Omagh just a few weeks ago. More.
On Tue 11th May, Gerry Byrne Sr competed in his third race in four days at the ESB 5km BHAA beach race on Sandymount Strand. Gerry had an outstanding run on this notoriously difficult course when he came home in a brilliant time of 19 mins 26 secs. This bettered Gerry’s fine run from Saturday last. Gerard Moloney, too, produced an excellent time of 21 mins 33 secs on this course. This time bettered Gerard’s time of 22.05 from the Jingle Bells race in December and is even more impressive considering that last night’s race was on a beach.
On Sun 9th May, at the Clonliffe 2 Miles, Lucan was well represented across all categories of the club. For the ladies Eileen O’Brien proved her versatility with a brilliant run over the two mile course. Eileen covered the distance in 14 mins 36 secs to prove that she has the speed over the shorter distances to match the endurance she displays over the half marathon & marathon distances. This performance gave Eileen second place in her category as she got on the podium once again. On the men’s side we had Gerry Martin competing and Gerry produced a fantastic display, covering the 2 miles in a very swift 12 mins 42 secs as his year gets better and better. This performance gave Gerry a deserved second place in his category and builds on Gerry’s excellent run in the K Club two weeks ago. It looks like Gerry is in great shape heading into the summer. Stephen Delaney & Tom McHugh represented our junior athletes and both did the club proud with the quality of their runs over 2 miles. Stephen Delaney completed the 2 mile course in 13 mins 34 secs. This is very strong running indeed and is even more commendable as this was Stephen’s first outing of the season, we believe. Tom McHugh, too, was competing in his first race of the year and made light of this fact with his 13 mins 47 secs clocking. With performances like these from up and coming athletes, the future for the senior section of the club looks promising indeed.
On Sun 9th May, Lucan athletes turned out in good numbers for the first Kildare half marathon. Nicola O’Flaherty made her debut over the half marathon distance we believe and put in an outstanding display, completing the course in 2hrs 05 mins 12 secs. This was a great performance by Nicola to add to her brilliant outing over 10 miles in Ballycotton in March. Nicola, on her debut ran very even splits cover the first half in 60 mins and the second 6+ miles in 65 mins. Winifred Ryan, too, produced an excellent display of distance running, covering the 13.1 miles in 2hrs 27 mins 55 secs. No stranger to the half marathon distance this was yet another fine display by Winifred to add to her excellent performance in the Clontarf half marathon less than 12 months ago. Shane McCarthy was the first Lucan man home in this inaugural half marathon fixture. Shane completed the 13.1 miles in a fantastic time of 1 hr 28mins 31 secs as his road racing season gets better and better. Shane has had 2 superb outings over 10kms in the last month and has carried that form into the half marathon distance finishing 39th from more than 1,200 competitors. Gerry Byrne senior had a very busy weekend running a brilliant time over 5kms on Saturday and then producing another impressive run over the half marathon distance. Gerry clocked a time of 1hr 35 mins 23 secs as he showed little sign of fatigue from his previous day's efforts. Henry Langton was the 3rd Lucan male home in a very good time of 1hr 38mins 57 secs. Henry covered the first 4 miles in sub 1 hr 30 pace before fatigue set in but Henry held his form well to the finish to produce this fine time to add to his earlier great 4 mile performance just 6 weeks ago.
On Sat 8th May, Joe Lynch placed a fantastic 2nd overall in the Sperrin Half Ironman. Belated congratulations to Joe Lynch on his second place finish in the Sperrin Half Ironman just over two weeks ago. Comprising a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile cycle and finishing with a 13.1 mile run for a total distance of 70.3 miles, this event requires lots and lots of endurance. Emerging from the 1.2 mile swim in Lough Fea, Joe was placed third. When it comes to the cycling phase of the multi sport event, Joe has been unstoppable in 2010 and this competition was no exception as Joe took the lead on the bike before being narrowly overtaken again. However Joe, as ever, remained calm and retook the overall lead on the run from 5km to 18km. Being able to run each 5km split in 20 mins and to be just narrowly beaten by the current Irish Ironman record holder, Liam Dolan, at the end of this 4 hour long event speaks volumes for Joe’s current fitness levels and dedication to training. We are sure to see Joe achieve bigger things as this summer progresses. A HREF="http://trilimits.co.uk/sperrins/results/" target="_blank">Results.
On Sat 8th May, Lucan athletes were out in force (at a more reasonable hour) to compete in the Le Cheile 5km road race in Leixlip. Run on a good course around Leixlip with some undulations built in for good measure, our athletes can be pleased with their days’ work. Nicola Kavanagh led the way for our ladies in an outstanding time of 23 mins 28 secs. This gave Nicola 10th place overall in the senior ladies category and is even better as Nicola has recently returned to competitive action. Sinead Murphy was the second Lucan lady home in a brilliant time of 28 mins 44 secs. This time was very close too Sinead's time over 5k last year that she produced in Enfield, which is regarded as a faster course so Sinead is in fine form once again this year. One of our newer members, Orla Flanagan, is proving an excellent find and produced another fine run when covering the 5km distance in 29 mins 59 secs. This builds on Orla's excellent run over 2 miles in Raheny 2 weeks ago. Josephine Dignam also built on her fine Meet & Train performance from a fortnight ago with another excellent run here. Josephine completed the 5km course in 34 mins 20 secs to round off a good day's work from the ladies. Derry McVeigh ran a brilliant season's best time of 18 mins 14 secs for 20th place overall. This was more than 20 secs quicker than Derry's last outing over the distance on St Patrick's weekend in Dublin city. James Nealon continued his excellent run of form when he crossed the line in 18 mins 57 secs as he takes his good cross country form onto roads for the summer. Joe Corcoran produced another superb performance on the day to secure 4th place in his category. Joe produced a brilliant time of 19 mins 15 secs for the 5km distance. Alan Cassells, too, is in a fine run of form at the minute and carried this on with his 19 mins 20 secs clocking. We expect Alan to go from strength to strength as the season progresses. John O'Leary had another fruitful outing over 5kms. John came home in a great time of 19 mins 23 secs to secure 2nd place in his category. Gerry Byrne senior, too, placed very well in his category on the day. Gerry secured 3rd place in his category with his exceptional time of 19 mins 48 secs as he left everything out on the course. Stephen Rynne was rewarded for his excellent form over recent months with a 3rd place finish in his category. Stephen produced another great run in the Lucan colours covering the 5kms in 21 mins 04 secs. Daniel Byrne followed Stephen home in a magnificent time of 21mins 15 secs. This is outstanding running by a 14 year old and shows us that we are going to have a brilliant talent on our hands in the seasons ahead.
On Sat 8th May, Ann McGee and Breffni Worrall travelled to the Phoenix Park in the early hours to run in the Darkness to Light 5km road race. Ann and Breffni ran along with 1,300 other hardy souls to compete in the Darkness into Light 5km road race. While most of us were turning over for our second snooze, Ann and Breffni were doing their warm-ups in advance of supporting this worthwhile cause that commenced at around 5am!!!. Ann McGee showed no signs of tiredness at that hour of the morning as she clocked a superb time of 31 mins 30 secs for the 5kms. The Phoenix Park courses also tends to incorporate one or two tasty hills but Ann made light of these to add to her many successes over all distances so far in 2010. Breffni didn’t let the early start get to him either as he cruised around the 5km Phoenix Park course in 26 mins 06 secs. This was a great run by Breffni who has only recently returned to training following an injury lay-off. Breffni obviously didn’t lose much fitness during his lay-off following this performance. Video link.
On Wed 5th May, Joe Lynch won with Stephen Byrne 11th as Anne Murtagh and Patricia Daly also competed in the Runways Dublin Duathlon in the Phoenix Park. Very, very belated congratulations to Anne Murtagh, Joe Lynch and Stephen Byrne who competed in the first round of this summer’s Dublin Duathlon series. Joe Lynch’s season is just getting better & better as Joe came out on top in the men’s race , winning in a time 37mins 26 secs (taking the transitions into account). Joe completed the first 2.7km run in a lightning quick 8 mins 45 secs before putting the field under pressure with a brilliant 13km cycle in 17 mins 36 secs. Emerging from this Joe was in the lead and held on very convincingly to secure outright victory following his 9 mins 32 secs clocking for the final 2.7km run. Stephen Byrne, too , produced an outstanding display in this multisport event, completing the 18.4 distance in 40 mins 31 secs. This gave Stephen 11th place from more than 261 competitors. Stephen started very strongly on the opening 2.7km run, covering it in a superb 8 mins 51 secs. Onto the bicycle and Stephen showed more great strength in covering the half marathon distance (running wise) in a fantastic time of 19 mins 13 secs. Stephen’s clocking of 10 mins 47 secs for the last 2.7km run ensured he secured his terrific overall placing in the event. Consisting of a 2.7km run, 13km cycle and another 2.7 km run Anne Murtagh showed tremendous versatility in her athletics. Anne completed the opening 2.7km run in a very swift 12 mins 44 secs . Onto the 13km cycle and Anne showed that she has talent in this sport as well as she completed the tough course in 26 mins 01 sec. This was superb cycling by Anne, who continued to show great fitness levels to complete the final 2.7k run in 13 mins 54 secs . This gave Anne an overall time of 54 mins 57 secs (including transitions) to finish in the top half of the classification in the ladies category. Patricia Daly was competing in her first outing in the duathlon but she showed no sign of nerves as she cruised to a brilliant time of 1hr 04 mins 41 secs. Patricia commenced her duathlon career with a brilliant run over 2.7km, covering the distance in 13 mins 48 secs. Onto the bike for a 13km cycle and Patricia produced another excellent display, completing the course in 32 mins 26 secs. After this impressive display it was back onto the roads for a final 2.7km run, that Patricia covered in a fine time of 16 mins 03 secs. Well done to all.
On Mon 3rd May, Liam Landers made the long journey north to compete in the Belfast Marathon. Once again Liam trained extremely diligently for the event and was rewarded when he put in a brilliant performance of marathon running. Liam covered the 26+ miles in a superb time of 4 hrs 12 mins 50 secs despite feeling ill over the last 6 miles of this gruelling event. This was another fine outing by Liam over the marathon distance following his previous excellent runs in Chicago & Paris.
On Mon 3rd May, Damien McDonald ran in Arc Men's 10km road race in the Phoenix Park. Damien had an excellent run on the tough 10km course. Damien went under his target time of 45 minutes with his 44 mins 43 secs clocking. This is fantastic running by Damien over a shorter distance as he has focused on the half marathon and marathon distances in recent times. It looks like the quality training by Damien is paying dividends now.
On Sun 2nd May, Emer O'Sullivan had a great run in the Great Limerick Run Half Marathon. Emer competed in the Limerick half marathon, held as part of the Great Limerick run. Emer produced a sensational time of 1 hr 52 mins 45 secs. This time as a huge improvement on Emer's last outing over the 13.1 mile distance and is just rewards for Emer's hard work over recent months. As Emer has only been with us since shortly before Christmas she has lots of potential to improve even more. Well done Emer on this performance.
On Sun 2nd May, three of our women ran in the BayRun 2010 Half Marathon in West Cork. Three of our ladies headed to West Cork on Sunday to compete in the BayRun 2010 half marathon. Running in beautiful scenery from Glengarrif to Bantry our ladies did not disappoint as they built on their excellent performances and personal bests over 10 km a week ago with more of the same this time out. Lorraine Heffernan just gets better and better this year. Lorraine led the ladies home in a superb time of 1 hr 43 mins 47 secs. We believe that this was yet another personal best run from Lorraine and her time was five minutes quicker than Lorraine's half marathon time from 2009. This goes to show the quality work she's done over the last number of months. Myra Nolan was in very close proximity to Lorraine at the death as she too produced her second personal best performance in eight days. Myra clocked a brilliant time of 1 hr 44 mins 29 secs for the 13.1 miles - over two minutes quicker than her time from Bath last year. It looks like Myra can look forward to fine summer season, judging by her recent excellent form. Deidre Counihan too, is in a fantastic run of form at present. Deirdre also produced her second personal best performance of the week when she clocked a time of 1 hr 45 mins 07 secs for the half marathon distance. This was over 3 minutes quicker than the 1.48.44 posted by Deirdre in the same race 12 months ago and no doubt is only the tip of what we'll see from Deirdre as the year progresses. It was also great to see the teamwork produced by the 3 ladies throughout the race as they kept each other in sight all the way and this no doubt helped in producing the three personal best performances. Well done all on a great day's work.
On Sat 1st May, we had some good runs at the BHAA RTE 5 Mile road race in Donnybrook. Bernie Stapleton had yet another fantastic performance in the BHAA road racing season as she produced a brilliant 36 mins 51 secs on the Donnybrook 5 mile course. This exceptional performance secured Bernie 8th place in her category as her season goes from strength to strength. Eileen O'Brien was also back competing in the BHAA races and produced a super time of 37 mins 51 secs for second position in her category. Once again Eileen is in a magnificent vein of form as she continues to get among the prizes in all races in which she competes. Gareth Fereday led the Lucan male contingent home when he posted another excellent time of 29 mins 53 secs for the 5 mile distance and was the second scorer on his Swords Labs team. This time was quicker that Gareth's 5 mile time from 2009 but comes as no surprise Gareth has been in fine form all year and can look forward to the summer season with great confidence. One of our newer members, Stephen Byrne, showed us that we have unearthed another gem at the club as he produced a superb performance in clocking a time of 30 mins 36 secs for the 5 miles. This 6 min/mile running is impressive and even more so as Stephen has only been with us for a short time. Stephen, too, we believe, is going to have a brilliant year. Gerry Byrne senior, fresh from demonstrating is outstanding organizational skills a week previous, was back doing what he does best....... competing. Gerry and Stephen Rynne had a brilliant tussle throughout the race with their positions changing throughout. Gerry just proved to have the stronger kick on the day to produce a noteworthy time of 33 mins 13 secs. It looks like Gerry is in fine shape once again his year as we head into the peak racing season. Stephen Rynne's efforts ensured that he made Gerry work the whole way as Stephen clocked a fantastic time of 33 mins 15 secs. This is outstanding running by Stephen and his time was nearly minute quicker than his best 5 mile time from 2009 of 34.03 from Dunboyne. Stephen is well and truly on his way to his most productive season yet. Congratulations to all on a fine day's work. Full results.