A great turnout made the 20th anniversary of the Fields of Athenry 10k a huge success on St Stephen's Day.
Organised by Athenry AC, more than thousand athletes completed the flat and fast 10k loop once again deliver a festive cracker.
Raheny Shamrocks athlete Mick Clohisey made it an incredible eighth victory as he stormed home to victory in a time of 30.45, fending off a spirited challenge from Craughwell AC’s Jamie Fallon in second. The top two were together till halfway until the experienced Clohisey strode away to the title in the second half of the race.
Fallon finished a strong second in 31.13, with clubmate William Fitzgerald having a great run to place third in 31.25.
The women's race produced the performance of the day with a dominant display of distance running by the talented Aoife Kilgallon of Sligo AC. Kilgallon smashed the the existing women's race record by more than a minute with a winning time of 33:48.
Kate Kelly (Athlone IT Running Club ) and Catherine Thornton (Crusaders AC ) took second and third spots in 36.58 and 37.22 respectively.
Resolution Run
The Resolution Run 5K road race takes place New Year’s Day at 10.30am in Galway city centre.
The course starts from the Claddagh, passing Wolfe Tone Bridge, Merchants Road and the docks, and routing back out to Grattan Road and the Prom before a fast finish along South Park into the finish at Nimmo’s Pier.
The route is flat and fast and is expected to once again attract a top-class field of local and national athletes.
Race HQ for this AAI certified event is outside the Claddagh Hall at South Park, Galway and race start is on Grattan Road beside the park.
The race starts promptly at 10.30am at South Park. Race number pick-up is at the Claddagh Hall located by the start line between 9 and 10am on the morning of the race.
Limited entry is still available on MyRunResults.com, and some entries will be taken on the day, but there is a limit of 300 entries.
All entrants will receive a souvenir race hat, refreshments after and an official chip time.
Goal Mile
Despite the inclement weather, two Galway city Goal Mile events proved a great success on Christmas morning.
Tribal Running organised the Doughiska event, with Ian Egan first home, while GCH welcomed some 200 runners and walkers to Dangan track at the RSC. Conor Byrne of GCH was the fastest of the day in 4.59, and Michelle Maher was the fastest woman.
Funds were raised at both events for the Goal charity which continues its work in developing countries.
