Galway athletes produced some great performances last weekend in the 40th edition of the Dublin Marathon, which incorporated the National Championships.
Almost 18,000 runners completed the 26.2-mile course in perfect conditions for running and fast times, and the GCH Ladies team put in a strong showing, notably the indomitable Grainne Ni Uallachain, who once again clocked a sub three-hour performance, with a time 2 hours 57 minutes. Katie O'Regan made her debut, running 3.14, and the evergreen Christine Kennedy ran 3.26 at O60 level.
Fastest Galway runners of the day were Vinnie McGuinness of Loughrea, now running with Crusaders in Dublin, and Gary Higgins, formerly of GCH and now with North Sligo, who both clocked a superb time of 2 hours 28 minutes, while Cathal O Reilly of Loughrea AC continued his great recent form with a great run coming home in 2.37.
GCH men also performed well, with the talented Gerard Cuddy fastest in 2 hours 45 and Louis Coyne running 2.53. Tuam AC athlete Sean Burke impressed with a superb 2.42 clocking, while Ger Hartnett also of Tuam AC and Shane Begley of Castlegar AC both ran sub 2.50.
At Masters level, Christine Kennedy at O60 and Michael Greene at O70 claimed national medals for GCH.
Frankfurt Marathon
Meanwhile in Germany, the Frankfurt Marathon saw top GCH athlete Neasa De Burca smash the three-hour barrier with a clocking of 2:59:48, and clubmate Sinead Foran having a great run to clock 3.05. Tony O'Connor was first home for the club, with a fast time of 2.53, with Richard Farnan and Culan O'Meara also finishing sub three hours.
Connacht Cross Country
Day one of the 2019 Connacht Cross Country Championships takes place in Calry, Sligo this Sunday November 3 from 12 noon. The event features the juvenile even ages championships (U12/14/16/18 age groups ), and the second leg of the adult Senior League for men and women.
Sunday November 10 will feature the uneven ages juvenile races in Belleek, Ballina, in Mayo and the finale of the Senior League.
Corofin Races
This year Corofin Athletics Club, Co Galway is offering two options for its annual road races, which will be held on Sunday morning (November 3 ), namely the usual 8k race following the same route as recent years, and a new 10 mile route.
The 10 mile race will start at 9am, with the 8k starting at 9.30am. Race entrants for both races are asked to assemble at the local Community Centre (Dr Duggan Hall ) 15 minutes prior to the start of their chosen race.
First, second and third place prizes will be awarded for men and women in each race, plus multiple age category winners.
