Leevale AC win National Inter-club Cross Country Championships...

The Athletics Ireland Inter-Clubs Cross Country Championships were held in Santry, Dublin on Sunday the 22nd of November. While a lot of cross country races have small fields and a lack of teams, this one was almost the complete opposite with most of the best Irish runners taking part.

In the womens race,  Leevale AC from Cork were very much to the fore with Lizzie Lee finishing in second place overall and leading the team to first place. This is I believe the first time that the Leevale AC womens team have won this particular title.

L-R...Nollaig O'Neill 31st (winner of the 2015 Cork City Marathon), Niamh Roe 43rd, Lizzie Lee 2nd (probably on her way to the Olympics in Rio with a qualifying marathon time, Michelle Finn 6th (also with a Olympic qualifying time but in the 3000m steeplechase, Sinéad O Connor 21st & Claire McCarthy 22nd (finished 2nd in the National marathon in 2013)

InterClub Cross Country Championships
Results Senior Women
Position Name Club Name Club Team
1 Fionnuala McCormack Kilcoole A.C. (B)
2 Lizzie Lee Leevale A.C. (A)
3 Caroline Crowley Crusaders A.C.
4 Kerry O'Flaherty Newcastle & District A.C. (B)
5 Ciara Durkan Skerries A.C.
6 Michelle Finn Leevale A.C. (A)
7 Laura  Crowe An Riocht A.C. (B)
8 Shona Heaslip  (U23) An Riocht A.C. (B)
9 Sara Treacy Dunboyne A.C. (B)

Place Club Positions
1 Leevale A.C. (A) 2, 6, 21, 22 ... 51 pts
2 An Riocht A.C. (B) 7, 8, 39, 54 ... 108 pts
3 Dundrum South Dublin A.C. (A) 14, 17, 28, 53... 112 pts
4 Raheny Shamrock A.C. (A) 15, 34, 38, 59 ... 146 pts
5 North Down A.C. (B) 29, 33, 44, 67 ... 173 pts
6 Liffey Valley A.C. (A) 24, 35, 57, 69 ... 185 pts
7 Dublin City Harriers A.C. (A) ...30, 46, 52, 62 ... 190 pts
8 Tullamore Harriers A.C. (B) ...25, 48, 61, 65 ... 199 pts
9 Kilcoole A.C. (B) ... 1, 77, 78, 80 ... 236 pts

Another team that put in a fine performance was An Ríocht AC from Castleisland in Kerry. While they are a much smaller club compared to some of the others, they still finished in second place with 108 pts.

While much of the attention will focus perhaps on some of the more well known names, one name to watch for the future is that of Shona Heaslip from Kerry.

Shona only started running in the last few years having been more involved in Irish dancing when she was a teenager. She only turned 21 years old last September and in this race, she finished just behind Laura Crowe and ahead of some of the other well known Irish names. She is certainly on an upward curve at the moment and could be a serious contender for some championship medals in the next few years.

In the mens event, Clonliffe Harriers just edged out Leevale AC to take the first spot. East Cork AC finished 6th.

Club Team Points Place Club Positions Points
1 Clonliffe Harriers (1) (A) 7, 8, 14, 18 ... 47
2 Leevale A.C. (A) 4, 13, 15, 16 ...  48
3 Raheny Shamrock A.C. (A) 1, 6, 19, 25 ... 51
4 Dundrum South Dublin A.C. (A) 5, 17, 35, 38 ... 95
5 Donore Harriers (1) (A) 23, 27, 28, 34... 112
6 East Cork A.C. (A) 11, 12, 29, 64... 116

The four scoring members of the Leevale AC team were...
31:55 4 Ryan Creech Leevale A.C. (A)
32:26 13 Ciarán Ó Lionáird Leevale A.C. (A)
32:38 15 Colm Sheahan Leevale A.C. (A)
32:39 16 Bryan Keane Leevale A.C. (A)

Links to the full results can be found on the Athletics Ireland website HERE.

Photos...
1) Seamus McDaid has a gallery HERE
2) David Bradshaw has two galleries... Mens Race ... Womens Race
3) As always, Kieran Carlin of Finn Valley AC has some great photos HERE
4) West Waterford AC have a gallery HERE