Ballinrobe’s, Padraic Marrey came second over the weekend in Donegal’s
toughest event – the Gaelforce North race. Padraic Marrey rode the last
8k on a flat wheel to finish in second place to Aidan McCooreland followed in third place by last year’s winner Gary Cotter. Meanwhile in the spirit course Westport’s own Collette Sweeney won the women’s category after she too rode her bike to the finish line on two flat wheels, it shows the determination and lack of willingness to quit of these two athletes. Noel Gibbons finished in fifth place placing him in the first over 40 category. Other Mayo athletes that completed the event were Andrea Heneghan, Tina O Malley and Moya Gibbons. The 64km course took the competitors from Gartan, through Glenveagh National Park and around Errigal.
Powerade Salmon Run 2012
The 2012 Powerade Salmon Run triathlon will take place on Saturday July 8. The event which is run in conjunction with the Ballina Street and Arts Festival is in its seventh year. Triathlon Ireland has selected the Salmon Run as a qualifying race for the ITU European Championships 2013. The distances are 750m swim, 20k cycle and a 5k run. The race is always well represented by Ballina locals and we would encourage all our local athletes to take part whether as an individual or as a relay team.
The club would also like to highlight the amazing performances of Tomas O’Dowd and Fergal O’Dowd in Ironman Lanzarotte and extend its heartfelt best wishes to Tomas Lynn, Deirdre Lynn, Catherine Lynn, Sharon O’Hara, Simon Rees, Martin Rafter and Brian Flannery who are competing in Ironman Frankfurt on July 9. To highlight how challenging an Ironman is, the distances involved are 3.8k swim followed by a 180k cycle and a 42k run, all to be completed within 15hours.
