The Mayo AC ladies team have been rewarded for their good performances this year by being selected to take part in the 24th European road race inter club championships in Torres Vedras, Portugal. The event, which will take place on Sunday October 17 over a 15km course, will have top athletic clubs from all over the continent taking part. The Mayo AC team which will compete in the event will be finalised over the coming weeks.
Malseed part of Irish bronze medal winning team
Mayo AC’s Robert Malseed recently finished ninth at the World Masters Mountain Running Championship in Poland, bringing his team into bronze medal position. His team mates were Peter O’Farrell, a well known and experienced athlete (Gaelforce winner 2009, runner-up 2010 ), and Richie McCauley
Another Mayo AC athlete to do his country proud was John Byrne. He was the first Irish man home in the World Trophy final 50k event in Galway, he finished the event, which was invitation only in a time of 3.19.04.
Locals do well in Ballyhaunis 8K
The recent Ballyhaunis 8k event which is part of the Mayo AC road race league saw a number of Mayo athletes do well. In the men’s event, Ballina AC members Roger Barrett and Daniel Murray were the first Mayo athletes home in second and third place respectively. Craughwell AC man Gerry Ryan was the winner in a time of 25 minutes. In the women’s section it was a Mayo AC one, two, three with Mary Gleeson the winner, followed home by Colette Tuohy and Kathy Connolly.
In the over age events Ballina AC kept up their good showing in the men’s over 40 competition with Sean Gallagher and Tommy Neville coming home in first and second place. The over 50 race was won by Sligo AC man Tom Meehan with Billy Gallagher of Mayo AC second, while Michael Courell of Ballina AC was the top Mayo runner in the over 60 competition. Anne Egan of Ballina AC finished in first place in the women’s over 40 section, with club mate Michelle Reynolds in second place. The women’s over 45 section was won by Angela O’Connor of Mayo AC, while in the local competition David McConn was the first Ballyhaunis man home and Breege Cribben was the first Ballyhaunis woman over the line.
Strong showings in Longford half and full marathon
Just a week after competing in Gaelforce, Mayo AC member Anne Fahy took part in the Longford marathon finishing in a personal best time of 3.59.57, while club mate Christy O’Malley finished in a time of 3.49.43. In the half marathon Andrew Lynskey of Mayo AC came home in ninth place in a time of 1.19.06, with fellow Mayo AC members PJ Hall and John Timothy finishing in 1.45.36 and 1.58.23 respectively. Ballina AC runner Sandra Finnerty finished the event in fifth place in a time of 1.39.58, other Ballina AC members to take part were Niall Cawley, Gerry Gallagher, and Philip Finnerty.
Claremorris 5k in aid of Kenya fund
A major 5k fun run and walk has been organised for September 26 in Claremorris with the proceeds going to the Kitui development centre in Kenya. The event is being organised by Janet Hinchion, a local woman who works with the Kitui project and Claremorris AC. The event will start at 11am and the race HQ will be at the Claremorris AC track.
Gateway Blacksod point challenge coming up
More than 250 athletes will take part in the Gateway Blacksod Point Challenge on September 18 which will take place on the Erris peninsula. The event involves a 1500m endurance swim in Blacksod bay, a 43km cycle to Belmullet town and a 10k run across the sand dunes of Falmore. The event has been organised by Kilmore triathlon club.
The triathlon takes place on Saturday September 18 and anyone interested in the event can contact the Kilmore Triathlon Club at www.kilmoretriathlonclub.com or [email protected]
Ballina AC 10k this Sunday
The Ballina AC 10k road race will take place this Sunday September 12. The race will start at Ballina Sports and Leisure Centre, with registration from 1.30pm and the race getting under way at 3pm.
Achill Roar this weekend
Tomorrow will see adventure racers from all over Ireland descend on county Mayo to take part in the Achill Roar. The event has been divided into sport and expert sections. The sport section starts with a short run to either swim 400m or kayak 1300m, then an 8k run and a 22k bike ride before a short dash to the finish line. The expert section which can done as an individual or as a part of a relay team has a 800m swim or 2,600m kayak, a 16km run and a 44km dash. The race headquarters will be located at the Achill Head Hotel with check in beginning this evening, Friday September 10, from 5pm to 11pm, and some limited check ins between 8am and 10am tomorrow.
