Photos of the World Cross Country Championships...Sun 24th Mar 2013

As most of you will know, the World Cross Country Championships were held last Sunday in Bydgoszcz, Poland. In the womens competition, Fionnuala Britton was the top European finisher while the Irish team were the top European team.

Joe Murphy of Eagle AC made the long trip to Poland and took some great photos. You can see the slideshow HERE

Irish team finish 5th in the World X-Country Championships in Poland

The Irish Womens team finished an impressive 5th in the World Cross Country Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland (Sun 24th March 2013).

Not only was Fionnuala Britton the leading European runner in 14th place but the Irish team was also the leading European team.

In a competition that was always going to be dominated by African runners, the Kenyan and Ethiopian teams took first and second place respectively. The team 'from' Bahrain took third but to be honest, it's a bit of a joke in that it was completely made up of Kenyan and Ethiopian runners. The USA were fourth but should have by rights, finished third.

POS     TEAM     COUNTRY     MARK
1     Kenya     Kenya     19 (1,5,6,7)
2     Ethiopia     Ethiopia     48 (2,3,15,28)
3     Bahrain     Bahrain     73 (4,8,20,41)
4     United States     United States     90 (13,21,26,30)
5     Ireland     Ireland     115 (14,27,32,42)
6     France     France     122 (16,33,35,38)
7     Great Britain  Great Britain      154 (31,37,40,46)
8     Canada     Canada     167 (24,25,58,60)
9     Spain     Spain     183
10     Uganda     Uganda     188
11     Poland     Poland     256
12     Japan     Japan     278
13     Brazil     Brazil     298
14     South Africa     South Africa     305
15     Australia     Australia     344



There were some great Irish performances in there but the two that stood out for me were Linda Byrne who finished within two seconds of the top British finisher Gemma Steel and Ava Hutchinson who was just 10 seconds behind Linda.

POS    BIB    ATHLETE    COUNTRY    MARK    DETAIL (Some of the 96 finishers with the Irish, British, French and US finishers shown) (Top 4 to score)
     1     Emily CHEBET    KEN     24:24   
     2     Hiwot AYALEW    ETH     24:27   
     3     Belaynesh OLJIRA    ETH     24:33   
     13     Neely SPENCE    USA     25:08   
     14     Fionnuala BRITTON    IRL     25:08   
     16     Sophie DUARTE    FRA     25:17   
     21     Emily INFELD    USA     25:27   
     26     Mattie SUVER    USA     25:41   
     27     Mary CULLEN    IRL     25:42   
     30     Kim CONLEY    USA     25:45   
     31     Gemma STEEL    GBR     25:47   
     32     Linda BYRNE    IRL     25:49   
     33     Laurane PICOCHE    FRA     25:50   
     34     Deena KASTOR    USA     25:52   
     35     Christelle DAUNAY    FRA     25:53   
     37     Louise DAMEN    GBR     25:55   
     38     Christine BARDELLE    FRA     25:56   
     40     Stephanie TWELL    GBR     25:58   
     42     Ava HUTCHINSON    IRL     25:59   
     45     Clémence CALVIN    FRA     26:03   
     46     Eleanor BAKER    GBR     26:04   
     47     Delilah DI CRESCENZO    USA     26:05   
     48     Lauren HOWARTH    GBR     26:05   
     65     Emily WICKS    GBR     26:48   
     70     Elizabeth LEE    IRL     26:55   
     96     Namakando NAMAKANDO    ZAM     31:27

In the post race analysis on RTE, it was said that Fionnuala Britton should have concentrated on Cross Country races only in the build up to this race and to have ignored doing the European Indoor championships. It might be true if this was the main race of the year but was it? Everyone expected the African runners to dominate all of the medals at this event regardless of who else turned up. Should she have spent the last few months concentrating on just Cross Country and getting a top 10 finish or should she have run indoors as she did and won a bronze medal in the 3000m indoors at the European Championships in Sweden? I think most people would pick the second option.

Fionnuala Britton wins BUPA Cross Country race in Edinburgh...

The European Cross Country Champion put in an impressive performance today (Sat 5th Jan 2013) to win the womens 6 km race at the BUPA Cross Country in Edinburgh. Fionnuala led from the early stages and by the 2 km mark, she had split the field with only the European U23 champion Adrienne Coulson for company.

By the 4 km mark, Fionnuala Britton had opened up a 3 second gap on Coulson and was now 12 seconds ahead of the main bunch which included Linda Byrne, a member of the Gold medal Irish team at the recent European Cross Country Championships.

By the 5 km mark, the relentless pressure began to tell on Coulson as Fionnuala now raced ahead. Despite a slight slip in the closing stages, Fionnuala Britton finished over 16 seconds ahead of her nearest rival.

1. Fionnuala Britton...EU...20:40...($8,000)
2. Adrienne Herzog...EU...20:56...($4,000)
3. Mattie Suver...USA...21:00...($3,000)
4. Jess Coulson...GBR...21:05...($2,000)
5. Ana Dulce Felix...EU...21:06...($1,750)
6. Linda Byrne...EU...21:06...($1,500)
7. Ladia Albertson Junkas... ...21:08...($1,000)
8. Julia Bleasdale...GBR...21:10...($800)
9. Lisa Stublic...EU...21:11...($500)

In a post race interview, Fionnuala said this about the race and her 'slip'.......“When I knew the group behind me was breaking down, I thought there is no point letting them get back to me. It's a great result for Europe"......."I fell on my chin in a race before but I fell on my backside this time. Never in a live televised race. Even though I’m known as a cross country specialist, track and field is where it’s really at like and for me it’s not really worked out yet, but it’s everyone in athletics’ aim as well. I really enjoy cross country but the track is where it’s at."


Linda Byrne finished in an impressive 6th place and almost caught Dulce Felix who won silver at the  European Cross Country Championships in December.

Overall, the strong performance by the European womens team helped them to take the overall team victory ahead of Great Britain and the USA.

Both Fionnuala and Linda will be taking part in the IAAF Antrim Cross Country on Saturday the 12th of January where there will be strong competition from some Kenyan and Ethiopian runners.

On the 24th of March, Fionnuala Britton competes in the World Cross Country in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

Will Downing interviews Irish Gold Medal Cross Country team...

Irish sports commentator Will Downing has just uploaded his interview with the Irish team that won Gold at the recent European Cross Country Championships in Hungary.

Interview with the Gold medal Irish team on Dublin City FM

After winning the European Cross Country Championships last Sunday, the Irish team were interviewed by Dublin City FM.

In this podcast, Dave Hooper talks to Fionnuala Britton (0:00-5:00), Linda Byrne (5:00-8:22), Ava Hutchinson and Lizzie Lee (9:00-13:00) and the Irish team manager Teresa McDaid.

European Champions arrive home...

On Monday night, four of the six Gold medal Irish team arrived home in Dublin airport.

L to R...Linda Byrne, Fionnuala Britton, Lizzie Lee and Ava Hutchinson...Photo by Gearoid O'Laoi

After being welcomed be a large crowd, they were interviewed by RTE radio. You can hear it HERE

There is also a 3 minute interview on RTE television. This can be seen on the RTE Player Service HERE......After the adverts, look for the piece from 7:30 to 10:30

For anyone that wants to watch the race again, you can see it HERE

Fionnuala Britton and Irish team take Gold in Euro X-Country Champs...Sun 9th Dec 2012

On a great day for Irish Athletics, Fionnuala Britton won the womens senior race in the European Cross Country Championships in Hungary. Having won the 2011 race in Slovenia, this is the first time that anyone has retained the title. After leading for most of the race, Fionnuala finishing kick was enough to keep her ahead of Dulce Félix of Portugal who put in a strong late challenge.

Rank    Athlete    Nation    Time         
1     BRITTON, Fionnuala     IRL        27:45         
2     FÉLIX, Dulce     POR        27:47         
3     HERZOG, Adriënne     NED        27:48

Not only did Fionnuala Britton take the individual title but she also helped the Irish team win the team prize!

Winning Irish Team...L to R...Lizzie Lee, Fionnuala Britton, Ava Hutchinson, Linda Byrne, Sara Treacy, Sarah McCormack

With the first four finishers to score, the Irish and French teams tied on 52 points!

However as the fourth member of the scoring team, Lizzie Lee from Cork finished in 23rd place and ahead of the fourth French woman Magali Bernard in 28th place. The Irish team won in count back as a result!

Lizzie Lee of Leevale AC proudly displaying her new European Cross Country Gold medal

The other two scoring members of the Irish team were Ava Hutchinson and Linda Byrne who both represented Ireland in the Marathon in the recent London Olympics.

Photos courtesy of James McCarthy of East Cork AC

Irish women finish 66th, 68th and 107th in Olympic Marathon

The Olympic Women's Marathon was held on Sunday, the 5th of August and three Irish women took part. The first Irish woman home was Linda Byrne in a time of 2:37:13 in 66th place. Just behind was Ava Hutchinson in 28th place in a time of 2:37:13. Both were very close to the 'A' standard of 2:37 which was used to qualify for the Olympics. The third Irish woman home was Caitriona Jennings who obviously had a tough time with a foot injury finishing well back in last place in a time of 3:22:11.

The split times for the three Irish women are shown below. Just to put into context how fast they are actually running, look at the 5k, 10k and Half-Marathon splits. The full results can be see HERE

Linda Byrne
Km    Ranking    Time    Time Behind Leader
5    86    18:00    +0:40
10    86    36:18    +1:32
15    85    54:39    +2:29
20    82    1:13:20    +3:54
Half    82    1:17:27    +4:14
25    75    1:32:02    +5:39
30    72    1:50:42    +7:58
35    71    2:09:53    +10:24
40    68    2:29:16    +13:06
Finish    66    2:37:13    +14:06

Ava Hutchinson
Km    Rk    Time    TBL
5    89    18:01    +0:41
10    87    36:18    +1:32
15    86    54:39    +2:29
20    84    1:13:20    +3:54
Half    83    1:17:27    +4:14
25    76    1:32:02    +5:39
30    70    1:50:41    +7:57
35    68    2:09:31    +10:02
40    67    2:28:42    +12:32
Finish    68    2:37:17    +14:10

Caitriona Jennings
Km    Rk    Time    TBL
5    107    18:36    +1:16
10    108    37:27    +2:41
15    110    56:35    +4:25
20    113    1:18:38    +9:12
Half    113    1:23:51    +10:38
25    110    1:43:24    +17:01
30    108    2:09:55    +27:11
35    108    2:39:22    +39:53
40    107    3:09:33    +53:23
Finish    107    3:22:11    +59:04

Dublin Marathon loses sponsor for 2012...

At the recent launch of the 2012 Dublin City Marathon, it was announced that the race would be without a sponsor for the first time since 1992. The organisers said that they were unable to reach agreement on the terms for the 2012 sponsorship with last years’ sponsors the National Lottery.

Race director Jim Aughney said..."We had a great partnership with the National Lottery last year, and they did a huge amount to help us raise the bar yet again in terms of the professionalism of Dublin, and having live TV for the first time in over twenty years was a real boost as well. As organisers, our task now is to deliver the best possible Dublin Marathon for the runners, joggers and walkers and to continue to grow the event, as we have done for the past 32 years”

(Pictured above...Irish Marathon hopefuls Linda Byne, Maria McCambridge and Caitriona Jennings with race director Jim Aughney)

Aughney admitted that the lack of a title sponsor will mean they will have to cut back on certain elements this year, so for starters there will be no live television or highlights package this year, but he is adamant that he and his fellow volunteer organisers will ensure that the core elements that make Dublin such a popular marathon will remain in place.

Aughney expects there will be some changes to the route for the 2012 Marathon. “We are still finalizing the 2012 route with the relevant local authorities and the Gardaí, but there will be some changes to the current route”...he said.

Expected to change is the existing route in the Phoenix Park with runners this year only using only the Back Road, Chesterfield Avenue and Wellington Road. The second change if implemented will see the runners cutting out Roebuck Road and Fosters Avenue just after the 20 miles mark.

The 2011 Dublin City Marathon attracted a record crowd of some 14,000 runners and was worth over €10 million in terms of economic benefit to the city.

Results, photos and video of the 2011 Dublin City Marathon - Mon 31st Oct 2011

Some 14,000 runners took part in the 2011 Dublin City Marathon. The winner of the mens race was Kenyan athlete Geoffrey Ndungu in a time of 2:08:33, a new record for the Dublin Marathon. The previous record was set by Moses Kibet in 2010 (2:08.58).

The womens race was won by Helalia Johannes from Namibia in a time of 2:30:35 which was a new Namibian record and also qualified her for the London Olympics.

Sean Connolly was the first Irish man home in a time of 2:18:52 which was unfortunately outside the 2:15 qualifying time for the Olympics. In a subsequent TV interview, he said that he is likely to try for a sub 2:15 time again sometime in the Spring. The second Irish runner was Sergiu Ciobanu from Clonmel in a time of  2:20.56 while Alan O’Shea of Bantry AC was 3rd in 2:23.22. Well done Alan!!

The first Irish woman home was Linda Byrne of Dundrum South Dublin AC in a time of 2:36:21. Not only did Linda win the National Marathon title but she also qualifed for the 2012 London Olympics as she broke the 2:37 qualification time.

This was also Gerry Fordes 200th Marathon! Well done Gerry.

As a wheelchair athlete, Gerry has more Marathons completed than anyone in the UK and possibly even Europe? There is a previous post on Gerry HERE.

Results........depending on traffic levels...
1) You can try the official website HERE
2) Try this link to the timing service........HERE

Photos......(Updated 4th Nov 23:00)
1) David Bradshaw has 763 photos on HERE
2) PJCY has a small gallery of 12 photos HERE
3) Lindie Nauchton has a gallery of commercial photos HERE
4) Peter Mooney has a large gallery of 257 photos HERE
5) Derval Cunningham has a small gallery on Facebook HERE
6) mebets has a gallery of 651 photos HERE
7) Doug Minihane has a large gallery HERE
8) Stephen Kerr has 382 photos HERE
9) Infomatique has a gallery of 395 photos HERE
10) Fergus McNally has a huge gallery of 1411 photos HERE
11) Eleanor Shire has a small gallery of 35 photos HERE
12) Joe Murphy has a gallery of 128 photos HERE
13) John Dowling has a large gallery of 440 photos HERE
14) Pat Carey has 201 photos HERE
15) Tomás Breen has 95 photos HERE
16) Darren Spring has a large gallery on his own RacePix website
17) Anne Murphy has a nice gallery of 121 photos HERE

Video...(Updated 3rd Nov 5pm)
There are too many video clips to show on this page alone. This one however by Ronán Palliser is really good...

Dublin Marathon 2011 from Ronan Palliser on Vimeo.

I have 17 video clips up on the Running in Ireland website

This website also has personal video clips. Just put in your name or bib number.

RTE also have their coverage of the Marathon up on the RTE Player service........available until the 21st of Nov 2011.