World over-65 relay record for Nuala Reilly leads string of achievements from Phoenix Park to Armagh, while young stars shine at home and abroad
This stunning record for the Over-65 age group is all the more amazing given that Nuala is more accustomed to the half-marathon distance than a race on the track, but Nuala is not one to shy away from a challenge and she combined beautifully with her teammates on the day.
Personal Bests at National Indoor Arena
It was truly an awesome week for Drogheda & District athletes as the night before there were personal best times from Gerry O’Connor in the 400m (1:01.78), Kerry McHugh and Sophie Kinsella in the 800m (3:15.94 and 2:35.29 respectively), and terrific running from all the other Drogheda & District athletes competing.
The Girls U12 200m and 400m relay teams posted times of 2:18.55 and 2.06.21 respectively, while Danielle Nolan clocked 8.96sec in the 60m and Frank Cruise 9.60sec over that distance.
A number of D&D athletes ran the 400m distance and there were impressive times from Mary Kinsella (1:16.52), Paul Stuart (1.01.20), Cormac Canning (54.27), Andrew Kelly (52.08), Jordan Kelly (53.09)and Louis O’Shea (53.41).
Schools success in Phoenix Park
Meanwhile, Wednesday last was another great day for Drogheda & District AC’s young athletes at the Leinster Schools Cross-Country Championships in Phoenix Park.
Eleanor Mc Mahon, representing Our Lady’s College Greenhills, had a great run when finishing 54th in the Minor Girls 1500m, and Beatrice Cunningham of Sacred Heart also had a super run, finishing 14th in the Junior Girls 2,000m. This qualifies Beatrice for the All-Ireland Schools Cross-Country.
Gold medal success at Ras na hÉireann
Beatrice and Hannah Cunningham, Eleanor McMahon and Bonnie Breach with their medals.
Then on Sunday, Beatrice and her sister Hannah Cunningham combined in the U15 Girls age group to win team gold alongside Eleanor McMahon and Bonnie Breach at the Ras na hÉireann, where there were exciting sprint finishes that had onlookers enthralled.
It was a great day also for Niamh Carroll who placed fifth in the U19 race and Aine Carroll who was third in the U17 event.
Paddy Murphy leads a group at Sunday’s Rás na hÉireann.
Later on there were great performance from the men in the Senior & Masters combined race as Paddy Murphy was first in his category and Shane Larkin third in his age group.
Strong showing at Armagh International
Eimear Marron, Mary-Ann Kinsella, Yasmin Canning and Mary Leech.
Elsewhere, there were stellar performances by Drogheda & District AC at the prestigious Armagh International Road Race on Thursday evening.
Mary Leech and Yasmin Canning led the charge in the Ladies 3K race, while Christopher Keenan also took on some of the finest athletes in the world on the hallowed roads. Leech took second place in her category in a time of 11:11, closely followed by Yasmin Canning who took third in her category in 11:51.
Christopher Keenan finished with a terrific time (8:42) and must have taken heart from having taken 3.78sec off his previous best for the 1500m at the Irish University Indoor Championship the previous Sunday to complete the metric mile in fifth place with a time of 3:55.67.
American success for O’Shea
And in the US, at the Collegiate Track & Field held at Ashland University, Drogheda & District clubman Matthew O’Shea finished third with a fantastic time of 1:56.94. Matthew was also a member of the winning Charlestown University 4 x400m relay team.
Also in the US, O’Shea’s clubmate Tadhg Donnelly was agonisingly close to the magical four-minute mile as he had another incredible run last Friday at the Fastrack National Invitational Indoor meeting, finishing sixth in the with a time of 4:00.71.