Four Tallaght athletes took the short trip
along the motorway to Enfield in County Meath to take part in the Bob
Heffernan 5k Road Race. It was a blustery evening when 180 athletes in
total took to the line. Peter Mathews of DSD had the race to himself
virtually from the gun and ran impressively over the undulating course
to take the tape in 14min 54seconds. It proved to be a competitive field
as the first 24 athletes to finish all broke 17minutes. First home for
Tallaght was James Crowley with a new 5k p.b. of 16min 40sec in 19th
position. Next in was Dessie Shorten with 17min 17sec in 29th position
followed by Derek Quinn with 17min 40sec in 36th spot. Billy Murphy
crossed the line in 40th position with a grand 17 min 57sec.
The event was excellently organised by NA FIANNA Athletic Club and the
chip timing facility proved a hit with everyone as it aided the quick
release of results after.
Davy Byrne lined up for Tallaght in the inaugural Adamstown 8k the
weekend, where he ran really well again in blustery conditions to come
home in 7th position overall and hence took the first Masters prize.
Some of our juveniles were also in good form last weekend in Athlone,
where they represented Dublin in the National Community Games Cross
Country competitions. The semi-finals were run on the Saturday in
atrociously wet conditions and the finals in much more pleasant
conditions on Sunday.
Both Nicole Fullam and Nadine Johnston Hickey represented the Capital on
the U12 mixed distance relay team, and despite the team running well,
they unfortunately failed to make the final. The boys U12 team had a
cracking run in their semi-final with our own Evan Flynn leading the
field from start to finish over the first 600m leg. Handing the baton to
Joseph Lyons (clondalkin) to run 400m and he in turn handed to Sean
Townsend (Lucan) who after 600m handed the baton to our own Eoin
Doherty, who after a great battle over the final 400m leg crossed the
line in 1st. The four combined very well the following day, with Eoin
just piped on the line for the bronze medals. However, their efforts
were rewarded with 4th placed team medals.
Dublin U12 mixed distance
cross country medalists, Sean Townsend (Lucan), Joseph Lyons (Clondalkin),
Evan Flynn (Oldbawn & Tallaght A.C.) and Eoin Doherty (Kilnamanagh &
Tallaght A.C.), with Dennis Sherry and Shirley Murray (Dublin County
Athletics managers)
John Daly also ran two cracking races, crossing the line in first in the
semi-final after completing the 800m leg in the U14 mixed distance relay
and third in the final on the Sunday where the combined team finished in
5th overall. In the girls equivalent our own Jade Johnston ran the
second 800m leg in the semi-final, but the team, despite an excellent
run from the 1st runner Sarah Fitzpatrick who also ran 800m,
unfortunately failed to make the final.
In the U13 mixed (boys and girls) club members Conor Murray, Jamie
Griffin and Cherish Cannon combined with three other girls and two boys
from a number of other areas of the city in the 1200m cross country
race. Their combined finishing positions in the semi-final was enough to
qualify for the final where Conor Murray ran what was described by some
supporters as, “his best cross country run to date”, crossing the line,
as the first Dublin finisher in 5th position overall.
The weekend competitions were preceded by some excellent runs by a
number of our junior and senior athletes in the Crusaders invitational
GV Ryan & Louis Vanderies Trophy meet at Irishtown, where Sean Connolly
won the Irish Milers Club 3,000m contest in a very good 8.10. This was
undoubtedly an excellent run, as it was his first track race in over two
years. At the same venue, Anthony Lieghio (junior) ran a personal best
when finishing 3rd in 1.52.6 in the Irish Milers Club 800m contest and
Ciaran Mackey (junior) finished 5th in his first 400m contest at this
level.
The weeks events were capped after Sean
Connolly received the ECHO/Sports Partnership Sports Star of the Month
award for April, in recognition of his achievements in the National 10k
Road Race Championships which he won, National Road Relays where he
helped Tallaght secure the team silver and Ballycotton where he finished
2nd.
Congratulations Sean, on your most deserving
award and well done to all our athletes who did so well in recent
competitions.
