Over 4000 runners take part in Raheny 5-mile last weekend...

One of the big running events in Ireland last weekend was the Raheny 5-mile road race in Dublin on Sunday 28th Jan 2024. I knew it was a big race but I was surprised at the sheer scale of it with a huge 4,287 finishers.

This wasn't a cheap race either to enter with a €30 entry fee. Assume that say 200 or so didn't turn up then we get 4,500 X €30 = €135,000! It may not be exact but it's in the ballpark and it shows what kind of money is involved in a race of this size.

Looking at the results, there seems to be just under 2,100 non-club runners in the results. Add on say 200 no-shows and we get 2,300. They would have all paid the additional €2 Athletics Ireland 'One-Day Licence' fee which gives a rough figure of €4500. That's what Athletics Ireland roughly made from this one race which shows what a money spinner the 'One Day-Licence' is.

The first man home in the race was Cork runner Ryan Creech of Leevale AC in a time of 23m 58s.

1 Ryan CREECH 23:58 3123 M MS Leevale A.C.
2 David SCANLON 24:30 1262 M MS Rathfarnham W.S.A.F. A.C.
3 John Paul WILLIAMSON 24:32 1763 M MS

The first woman home was Shona Heaslip of An Ríocht AC in Kerry in a time of 26m 12s to make it a Munster double.

1 Shona HEASLIP 26:12 10 F FS An Riocht A.C.
2 Nakita BURKE 27:01 2761 F FS Letterkenny A.C.
3 Cheryl NOLAN 27:05 4043 F FS St. Abbans A.C.

Full results HERE

Photos...

1) Lindie Naughton has a gallery HERE

Shona Heaslip wins National Senior Cross Country Title & Leevale AC secure team win

The National Cross Country Championships were held in Abbotstown, Dublin on Sunday the 26th of November.

In the Senior women's race, Shona Heaslip of An Ríocht AC in Kerry broke away from a group of four in the last lap to take the national title.

Great photo from Gearóid Ó Laoi showing Shona Heaslip on her way to winning the 2017 National Senior Cross Country Championship title

In the women's team event, Michelle Finn's 3rd and Lizzie Lee's 4th place finishes helped Leevale AC secure the Gold. Claire McCarthy and Sinead O'Connor were the other scoring members of the team.

28:31 1 Shona  Heaslip An Riocht A.C. An Riocht A.C. (A)
28:38 2 Kerry O'Flaherty  Newcastle & District AC Newcastle & District AC
28:44 3 Michelle Finn Leevale A.C.  Leevale A.C. (A)
28:51 4 Lizzie Lee  Leevale A.C.  Leevale A.C. (A)
29:16 7 Laura  Crowe An Riocht A.C. An Riocht A.C. (A)
29:43 10 Claire McCarthy Leevale A.C. Leevale A.C. (A)
30:25 18 Sinead O'Connor Leevale A.C. Leevale A.C. (A)

Club Team Points Place Club Positions Points
1 Leevale A.C. (A) 3, 4, 10, 18...35 pts
2 Dundrum South Dublin A.C. (A) 9, 11, 12, 14...46 pts
3 An Riocht A.C. (A) 1, 7, 50, 54...112 pts

Photo from Leevale AC of their Gold medal team

The same four Leevale athletes of course also represented Cork in the inter-county competition to take Gold there as well.

Full results of the women's race

In the men's competition, Mark Hanrahan of Leevale AC finished 6th while the East Cork AC team finished in 7th place, just ahead of Leevale AC in 8th.

Full results of the men's race

Photos...
1) Kieran Carlin of Finn Valley AC has 529 photos HERE
2) Athletics Ireland have a small gallery HERE
3) Gearóid Ó Laoi has a few photos of the start of the women's race HERE

Shona Heaslip selected for World University Games in Taiwan

Shona Heaslip of An Riocht AC in Kerry is one of the up and coming stars in Irish athletics. She has just been selected for the 2017 World University Games (or known as the Universiade) will be hosted by the city of Taipei, Taiwan from the 19 – 30 August.

Irish team announced for the European Cross Country Championships

The Irish team was announced yesterday for the European Cross Country Championships in Chia, Italy on December 11th and includes a number of athletes from Cork.

In the Senior men's section, Mark Hanrahan secured selection with his 3rd place finish in the

Senior Men....Name.............Club..............Coach
1 Mark Christie Mullingar Harriers A.C.  Jerry Kiernan
2 Mick Clohisey Raheny Shamrock A.C.  Dick Hooper
3 Mark Hanrahan  Leevale A.C. Martin McCarthy
4 Liam Brady  Tullamore Harriers A.C.    Paul McNamara
5 Paul Pollock Annadale Striders A.C.    Andy Hobdell
6 Kevin Dooney Raheny Shamrock A.C. Jerry Kiernan

Junior Men....Name.............Club..............Coach
3 Darragh McElhinney    Bantry A.C.    Steve Macklin
4 Fearghal Curtain    Youghal A.C.    Noel Curtin
6 Charlie O'Donovan    Leevale A.C.    Ken Nason/Michelle O'Donovan

In the Senior women's section, Michelle Finn from Cork and Shona Heaslip and Laura Crowe from Kerry were selected.

Senior Women....Name.............Club..............Coach
1 Shona Heaslip    An Riocht A.C.  Niamh O'Sullivan
2 Kerry O'Flaherty    Newcastle & District A.C. Richard Rogers
3 Ciara Mageean    U.C.D. A.C. Jerry Kiernan
4 Fionnuala McCormack  Kilcoole A.C.   
5 Laura Crowe    An Riocht A.C. Donie Walsh
6 Michelle Finn    Leevale A.C.  Donie Walsh

L-R...Kerry O'Flaherty, Shona Heaslip, Ciara Mageean, Laura Crowe and Michelle Finn

Results & photos of the National Cross Country Championships...Sun 27th Nov 2016

This years National Cross Country Championships were held in Dublin on Sunday the 27th of Nov 2016 and a lot of the top runners in the country were there. The performance of the day came from Shona Heaslip of An Ríocht AC in Kerry who won the women's title.

28:13 1 Shona Heaslip An Riocht A.C. An Riocht A.C. (A)
423 28:23 2 Kerry O'Flaherty Newcastle & District AC
279 28:24 3 Ciara Mageean U.C.D. A.C.
319 28:30 4 Laura Crowe An Riocht A.C. An Riocht A.C. (A)
251 28:33 5 Michelle Finn Leevale A.C. Leevale A.C. (A)

Place Club Positions Points
1 Dundrum South Dublin A.C. (A) 9, 11, 13, 21 ... 54
2 Leevale A.C. (A) 5, 14, 29, 36 ...84 (5 Michelle Finn, 14 Sinead O'Connor, 29 Carol Finn, 36 Michelle Kenny)
3 An Riocht A.C. (A) 1, 4, 54, 73 ... 132 (1 Shona Heaslip, 4 Laura Crowe, 54 Niamh O'Sullivan, 73 Sharon Cahill)

County Team Points
Place County Positions Points
1 Dublin (A) 3, 11, 13, 25 ... 52
2 Cork (A) 5, 14, 17, 19 ... 55 (5 Michelle Finn Leevale A.C., 14 Sinead O'Connor Leevale A.C., 17 Martina Kiely St. Finbarrs A.C., 19 Emma Murphy St. Finbarrs A.C.)
3 Kerry (A) 1, 4, 20, 45 ... 70 (1 Shona Heaslip An Riocht A.C., 4 Laura Crowe An Riocht A.C., 20 Grace Lynch Iveragh A.C., 45 Maria McCarthy Farranfore Maine Valley A.C.)

In the men's event, Mark Hanrahan of Leevale AC took the Bronze.

220 30:41 1 Mark Christie Mullingar Harriers A.C.
47 30:53 2 Michael Clohisey Raheny Shamrock A.C. Raheny Shamrock A.C. (1) (A)
21 30:57 3 Mark Hanrahan Leevale A.C. Leevale A.C. (A)
83 31:15 4 Liam Brady Tullamore Harriers A.C. Tullamore Harriers A.C. (B)
243 31:18 5 Paul Pollock Annadale Striders

Club Team Points
Place Club Positions
1 Raheny Shamrock A.C. (1) (A) 2, 6, 11, 19 ...
2 Ennis Track A.C. (C) 18, 22, 23, 38 ...
3 Leevale A.C. (A) 3, 17, 32, 52 ... (3 Mark Hanrahan, 17 Ben Thistlewood, 32 Tim Twomey, 52 Barry O'Donovan)

County Team Points
Place County Positions
1 Dublin (A) 2, 6, 11, 15, 19, 28 ...81 pts
2 Clare (A) 14, 18, 21, 22, 23, 38 ...136 pts
3 Cork (A) 3, 12, 17, 20, 32, 52 ...136 pts  (3 Mark Hanrahan Leevale A.C., 12 Sean McGrath East Cork A.C., 17 Ben Thistlewood Leevale A.C., 20 Michael Harty East Cork A.C., 32 Tim Twomey Leevale A.C. 52 Barry O'Donovan Leevale A.C.)

For whatever reason Michael Herlihy who finished in 47th position wasn't counted in the Cork team? This would have moved them into Silver position. (47 Michael Herlihy North Cork A.C.)

The full results of both race can be found here...  http://www.athleticsireland.ie/competition/results/

Photos....
1) West Waterford AC have plenty of photos on their Facebook page. Women's Race ...  Men's Race
2) Keith McClure has a gallery HERE

Fionnuala McCormack finishes 3rd in Antrim IAAF Cross Country...Sat 16th Jan 2016

The annual Antrim IAAF Cross Country was held on Saturday the 16th of January and a number of Irish International athletes were in action.

In the Senior womens race, Fionnuala McCormack made the most of the muddy conditions and finished in an impressive 3rd place...behind two Africans but ahead of top British cross country runner Kate Avery.

Results of the Antrim IAAF Cross Country...Sat 16th Jan 2016
Senior Women Results                          
Pos    Bib    Firstname    Lastname    Club    Nation    Race    Finish      
1    19    Alice    Aprot Nawowuna        KEN    FO    00:18:05      
2    24    Mimi    Belete        BRN    FO    00:18:09      
3    23    Fionnuala    McCormack        IRL    FO    00:18:13      
4    25    Kate    Avery        GBR    FO    00:18:16      
11    1    Kerry    O'Flaherty    Newcastle & District AC    NIR    FO    00:19:46      
13    26    Roseanne    Galligan    Newbridge IRL            00:20:05      
14    643    Shona    Heaslip    Riocht AC            00:20:08      
26    644    Niamh    O'Sullivan    Riocht AC            00:22:46

Other notable performances were.....

Kerry O'Flaherty in 11th place...just one week after her 3rd place in the 4x1km mixed relay time performance in Edinburgh.

Roseanne Galligan who is the Irish 800m record holder in 13th.

21 year old Shona Heaslip of An Ríocht AC in Kerry was just 3 seconds behind Roseanne Galligan and finished in 13th place overall...an excellent performance.

Niamh O'Sullivan from An Ríocht AC finished in 26th overall. Niamh who is currently an Irish Masters athlete is also responsible in no small part for the strong performances of the Kerry womens teams in national events.

Another local athlete on the way up is Tamzin Muldowney of Midleton AC who finished 4th in the U17 race.

Tamzin Muldowney #359 of Midleton AC...4th in the U17 race

Togher AC was also represented by Chris O’Reilly (U15) and Ruairi Casey (U17).

Full results HERE

Reports...
1) Feidhlim Kelly has this report for the IAAF
2) Video clip from BBC Sport

Photos...
1) Sportsfile has a small number of photos HERE
2) Kieran Carlin of Finn Valley AC has a great album HERE (Facebook a/c may be required to view)

Video...
1) East Down AC have a video of the women's race...

Irish athletes excel at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country...Sat 9th Jan 2016

Following on from the European Cross Country Championships in December, there are a number of high profile cross races held in the UK and Europe. One of those is the annual Great Edinburgh Cross Country in Scotland.

There was a large contingent of Irish athletes present for this with some in a Celtic Nations competition, a relay event and top athletes in a competition between Europe, Britain and the USA.

Senior Women.....In the Senior Womens race, Fionnuala McCormack finished in an impressive 2nd place with Lizzie Lee of Leevale AC in Cork moving up through the field to finish in the top 10. The full results can be seen HERE

This slow motion video shows some of those taking part...


Senior Men...The big suprise in the Senior Mens race was the fact Olympic 5000m & 10000m champion Mo Farah was beaten into second place. Results HERE

Relay.......In the 4 x 1km relay, the Irish team of John Travers (Donore Harriers), Laura Crowe (An Riocht), Eoin Everard (Kilkenny Harriers) and Kerry O'Flaherty (Newcastle) finished in 3rd place. Results HERE

Celtic Nations.......In the U23 race earlier in the day, Shona Heaslip from Kerry finished first. Results HERE

The results of the U23 mens race is HERE

Photos
1) Dermot McGranaghan has an album on Facebook HERE

Video...
Coverage of the U23 races from Scottish Athletics...

European Athletics have coverage of the Relay (9-22), Senior Women (30-45) & Senior Men (59-1:27)...