Galwegians can take a bow after the superb performance of Irish athletes at the recent European Athletics Championships in Munich, Germany.
The team arrived home with two well deserved medals, silver for Ciara Mageean and bronze for Mark English, as well as a host of top eight finishes across a range of events.
Key to this success were two Galway men, Athletics Ireland high performancedirector Paul McNamara of Athenry, and Matt Lockett, national endurance coordinator an coach for NUIG and GCH in the city.
Both have played their part in the upsurge in Irish athletics' fortunes, and now their focus will turn to the European Cross Country Championships in Turin in December.
Fixtures
The local athletics season is set to kick off in earnest again in early September, with all clubs resuming training over the coming weeks, and new members welcome across the board at juvenile and adult level.
East Galway AC will host a 5km race on Saturday September 3 at 6pm in Skehana from the community centre. Entry is now open on PopUpRaces.ie
Castlegar AC will launch the county cross country season on Saturday September 17 in Galway Racecourse at Ballybrit with both juvenile and some top-class adult races on a packed card. Entry is also on Popupraces.ie
Athletics Ireland and Grant Thornton have teamed up to promote a series of 5km races around the country. The Galway leg will take place on Wednesday September 14 in Salthill, with a two-lap race including South Park and Grattan Road, finishing back in the park. The event kicks off at 7.45pm and entry is available on www.grantthornton.ie/GT5k
Finally the Galway Primary Schools Cross Country will take centre stage again this year over two days on September 20 and 27 in Renmore. All primary schools in the county are invited to send teams and athletes. Galway Athletics will announce entry details by August 31.
