Some of Galway’s top distance runners will be competing in what is traditionally the blue riband event of the athletics season, the National Cross Country Championships.
Day one in Santry on Sunday features the national junior and senior men’s and women’s races, which act as qualifiers for the European Cross Country event in Dublin in December. Also on the programme is the even age juvenile races for U12s through to U18.
Among those looking for a medal is Thomas McStay of Galway City Harriers. The standout athlete, McStay is seeking to earn an Irish U23 call up should things go his way on Sunday.
He is ably backed up in a strong GCH squad by Aaron Brennan, Dave Carter, Dave Bohan and Conor Byrne. Abbas Edris Adam will race for Castlegar AC, and William Fitzgerald and Jamie Fallon for Craughwell. In the women's event, Caron Ryan of Craughwell and Aine O'Farrell of GCH will compete
Craughwell junior men’s team will challenge for national glory led by Sean Cotter. Oisin Davis, Kyle Moorhead, and Ross McGuinness are among the talented squad assembled by coaches Mark Davis and Lisa Thomas.
At juvenile level, Galway will be well represented at all levels with club teams from Craughwell, Tuam, South Galway and Clare River Harriers all competing, plus athletes on regional teams from GCH, Athenry, Castlegar and Loch Lurgan stepping up to National level
IUAA Road Relays
The universities road relay championships were held on Saturday in Maynooth University, with NUIG fielding five teams.
The lead men’s squad just missed out on a team medal in what were highly competitive fields, while the NUIG women's squad placed 11th, with the B team 25th.
Maebh Brannigan set off with a storming run of 5.16 over the mile, the fastest of the day, handing over to Aoife O Brien, with Emma Jourdan and Anna McGinley completing the finishing quartet.
NUIG men’s squad placed fourth, with the B team ninth and C team 11th. The A squad comprised Roland Surlis, Finley Daly, Donal Devane, Donal Farren and Jack Miskella over the five-leg race, with Miskella clocking the fastest time on the last leg.
International Masters Cross Country
The Masters Cross Country International between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland was held on Saturday in Belfast. Galway was well represented, with Ger Hartnett of Tuam AC and Gerry Carty of GCH competing at V45 and V50 levels respectively, with Carty placing 51st overall and Hartnett 53rd in the combined Masters field for ages 35 to 64.
