To start the week Lindie Naughton brings us all the Irish endurance action and news from the weekend just gone (Monday 31st March).
Cillian Mooney (Dundrum South DublinAC) led home almost 12,000 finishers at the inaugural Dublin City Half Marathon held on Sunday (March 30) making it the third biggest road race in the city after the Dublin Marathon and the Women’s Mini Marathon.
The race had sold out in just two hours a few months ago.
Mooney, an Irish mountain running international, was a clear winner of the race in 65 min 40 secs, which was slower than the time of 64:43 he ran at the Naples Half Marathon in Italy last month.
Kevin Kelly (St Coca’s AC) was a distant second in 67:02 and Michael Fox (Armagh AC, M35) third in 67.24.
Fox was the first of a large contingent of Northern Irish athletes who had travelled for the race, with Finn McNally (North Belfast Harriers) fourth, Stephen McAuley (Ballycastle Runners) sixth and Conor Gallagher (CNDR TC) eighth.
In the women’s race, Nichola Sheridan, who had won her home Bohermeen AC Half Marathon last month in 76:30, proved the class of the field finishing in 78:00.Noreen Brouder (Sportsworld AC) was second and first W45 in 81:42 and Edel Gaffney (Trim AC) third an first W35 in 83:31.
Leading them all home in a time of 50 mins 59 secs was Irish Paralympian and multiple Dublin Marathon wheelchair winner Patrick Monahan of St Coca’s AC in Co Kildare. British Paralympian Jade Hall was second and first woman in 57:07 and Callum Hall, another English Paralympian, third in 57:58.
The race, which started on O’Connell Street at 8.30 am and took in much of Dublin’s Northside, was organised by the Dublin Marathon and Race Series team with the support of Dublin City Council.
Elsewhere on the roads
Robbie Hagen was the winner of the Bear Races Dundalk Half Marathon on Sunday in 70 mins 39 secs. Jess Moorhead (North East Runners) was first woman in 88:59. Ronan Wogan (Raheny Shamrock, M40) in 34:15 and Kirsten Higgins in 42.54 were the winners of the 10km. Between the two distances, a total of 1,238 finished.
Kealy Tideswell (Clonmel AC) joined the elite group of women to have won a race outright when beating all the men at the Wine on the Line 10km in Kildare Town on Sunday (March 30). Tideswell had over a minute to spare when finishing in 37 mins 40 seconds. First man in 38:45 was Liam Flanagan. The race was dominated by women — something to do with Mother’s Day maybe? Or the offer of wine for adult finishers?
Winning the 5km in 18:57 was Tony Gibbons. Mia Gallagher was fourth and first woman in 20:34 with the race also dominated by women.
Flying debut for O’Donnell
Paul O’Donnell (Dundrum South Dublin AC) ran a time of 2hrs 10 mins 17 secs in his marathon debut at the McKirdy Micro-The Road to Tokyo race in Rockland Lake State Park, Congers, New York State on Sunday (March 30).
The time is the fifth fastest ever by an Irishman.
O’Donnell finished fourth in the race which was won by Canadian athlete Justin Kent in 2:09.29. The World Championships qualifying mark for the marathon is 2:06.20, with only a hundred athletes set to make it. At the moment, ther 100th fastest time is 2:07.48.
Current Irish record holder Hiko Tonosa, like O’Donnell a member of the Dundrum South Dublin club, will run the Rotterdam Marathon on Sunday April 13 aiming to qualify.
Efrem Gidey in action at the Night of the 10,000m PBs. Photo: James Rhodes
Track and Field heads outdoors
Efrem Gidey (Clonliffe Harriers/Hoka) at last set a new Irish 10,000m record 27 mins 26.95 secs, at the TEN meeting, in San Juan Capistrano, California on Saturday (March 29) .
His time took around 13 seconds off Alistair Cragg’s Irish 10,000m record of 27:39.55 set in 2007 ‘Hard work paying off. More to come’ said Gidey after his run.
Gidey finished 12th in the race, won by Kenyan athlete Israel Kipkurui in 26:50.21. The top five all broke 27 minutes, which is the qualifying mark for the World Championships later this year. .
Gidey, still aged only twenty-four, now holds three Irish records. He ran 60:51 in the Copenhagen half marathon last September, and 27:43 in the Valencia 10km in January.
Before his race in California, Gidey had been training with the Hoka group in Flagstaff Arizona under the supervision of coach Andrew Hobdell.
Looking at his progress since 2023, it’s notable that he has struck to a routine, starting his year by running the Valencia 10km in early January. Last year, he also raced in the 10,000m at the TEN meet in California, finishing sixth with a time 27:53.14. Gidey is also a ‘regular’ at the Night of the 10,000m PBs in London, where he ran 27:40.02 for ninth place last May — just missing out Cragg’s Irish record.
Next up for Gidey is the inaugural European Running Championships in Leuven and Brussels, Belgium on April 12-13, where he will compete in the half marathon.
In a separate 10,000m race at the Californian meet, Cormac Dalton (Mullingar Harriers) finished 13th in 28:33.92.
Raleigh Choppers
Irish athletes were out in force at the Raleigh Relays in North Carolina, where, on Thursday (March 27), Shane Brosnan (An Ríocht AC), aged twenty, ran 28:20.98 in the 10,000m, improving on his time of a year earlier. Brosnan, whose father is from Castleisland, grew up in New Jersey, but returns regularly to Ireland and became eligible to run for Ireland in late 2022.
In the same race, Dean Casey (Ennis TC) finished 11th overall in 28:21.32 and Michael Morgan (Sligo AC) 29th in a different heat in 29:27.96.
Over 5000m, Laura Nicholson (Bandon AC) won her heat in 15:33.04 clocking the second fastest time of the day.
In the men’s 5000m, Cormac Dixon (Tallaght AC) clocked a time of 13:57.99. Wicklow woman Roisin Treacy lined out in the women’s steeplechase where she finished 19th in 10:22.28. Cara Laverty (Finn Valley AC) finished tenth fastest overall in the 1500m in 4:17.56, while over 800m, Maeve O’Neill (Doheny AC) finished fourth in her heat in 2:04.97.
Down Under, just eight days after returning from the World Indoors in China, Sophie O’Sullivan (Ballymore Cobh AC) finished eighth in the 1500m at the Mario Plant meet in Melbourne on Saturday (March 29) with a time of 4:12.91. At the same meet, Brian Fay (Raheny Shamrock AC) was seventh in the 5000m in 13:25.63.
Masters athletics
Michael Kiely (Mallow AC) proved the star of the Irish team at the World Masters Indoors in Gainesville, Florida when he won both the 800m and 1500m, seeing off the opposition with his considerable kick. Not bad for an 80 year old!
Also taking gold was Joe Gough (West Waterford AC) who won the M70 800m and was a close second in the 1500m.
Hills
Enda Cloake (Slaney Olympic) and Esther Dickson (Newry AC) were the winners of the annual Maurice Mullins 50km Ultra in the Wicklow Mountains on Saturday (March 29)
Cloake, who finished in in a time of 4 hrs 21 mins 48 secs, was followed home by.
Mark Smith from Co Cavan in 4:32.20 and Sean Meehan (Cherry Orchard RC) in 4:40.51.
As for Dickson (Newry AC), she finished in 5:13.05, with Aine McCarthy second in 5:27.08 and Sonia McIntyre third in 5:29.18. A total of 241 completed the race
In the Mournes, also on Saturday, Timothy Johnston (Annadale Striders) was the winner at the Pat Dunbar Memorial mountain race, completing the 13km course with 682m of climb in a time of 64 mins 46 secs. Almost two minutes behind in 66:32 was Ashley Crutchley (Newcastle and District) while third in 66:55 was James Millar (Mourne Runners). Fifth and first M40 was Jonny Steede (Glens Runners) in 68:08.
Rebecca Magee (Newcastle and District AC) was first woman in 82 mins 33, secs, with her Newcastle clubmate Tanya Cumming second and first W40 in 83:47. Third and first W50 was Karen Wilton (Jog Lisburn ) in 84:22. The race is a round in the NIMRA Championships.
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Source: fastrunning.com