In wet and windy Leenane on Sunday, Brendan Gill (Mayo AC ) was the winner of a tough five mile race. The local terrain was hard enough, but gales and rain made it doubly difficult. Gill finished in 31.28, a great time in the circumstances. The Westport man is having a brilliant first season with Mayo AC, winning silver medals in both the National half and full marathons as part of their successful o-35 team. Other brave Mayo AC souls among the finishers in Leenane were Jimmy Feeney, PJ Hall and that man again, Christy O'Malley now heading towards completing 70 races before the end of 2009. The race was organised by the Leenane/Maam Branch of the Red Cross to raise funds for upkeep of an ambulance.
Byrne out after training run injury
During a training run last week, John Byrne had a lucky escape when he had to take evasive action to avoid being struck by an oncoming vehicle. This involved diving into a ditch and instinctively grabbing a tree branch to help break his fall. However, the Mayo AC star sustained a painful dislocated shoulder and will be out of action for a few weeks. All his sporting friends wish him a 'speedy' recovery and hopefully he will be fit to run in the final race of the C&C Cellular Mayo AC Road League in Westport on Sunday December 27.
