A full race report on all the action to follow but below an overview of how our club members fared in this weekend’s Wicklow Athletics Off-road championship.
Like in previous years the event was hosted under the umbrella of our joint fund-raiser with Laragh GFC: the Run the Ridge 20k and the Derrybawn Woods 10k. The event nearly didn’t happen as adverse weather knocked a tree down on the cousre but quick action by course director Keith Mulvey, NPWS and ESB ensured the race could go ahead only 30 minutes delayed.
A record 30 competitors from our club competed in the 2nd Athletics Wicklow Off-Road Championship yesterday. It could have been more with 3 drop-outs in the week leading in.
In the end we had 20 runners in the 10k and 10 runners in the 20 km. The tactic was to try and be competitive in as many individual and team categories as possible as the club with the most medals (Gold counting most) would walk away with the overall Club Trophy.
It was a fast and competitive race despite conditions with seven Wicklow clubs in action and with new course records in the 20k and the women’s 10k.
DERRYBAWN WOODLAND 10K
The 10 km distance saw the biggest field and included the team competition where the best cumulative time of the first three scorers across the line counted.
We got off to a strong start with two out of the three men’s teams securing gold (the M35+ and the M50+). Richard Costelloe ran particularly strongly finishing 3rd in the championship, 4th in the combined, winning his category (M45) and setting a Club Record for the cousre (43:57). When Graham Bush and Angus Tyner arrived far up the field it was evident that the M50 team would dominate their category and so they did – anchored by Anthony Breen.
We had women’s teams in two categories: FS and F35+. Parnell dominated the FS led home by women’s winner Sile O’Byrne with Bronze for a team of Sarah Foster, Claire Thompson and Siobhan Brennan (all of whom picked up category medals. Catherine Devitt led home a strong quartet including Rachel, Donna and Yvonne to Team Gold while she finished 2nd overall and 1st in the F40 category.
By the time all 10 km medals were tallied Parnell had a slender lead of one gold medal.
Placings below show the combined place (Open race plus Championship race)
| RESULT |
| 1. Derek Crammond (Parnell AC) 0:40:57 |
| ——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————- |
| 4. Richard Costelloe 0:43:57 (1st M45, 3rd man, m35+ Team Gold) |
| 11. Graham Bushe 0:46:52 (1st M50, m50+ Team Gold) |
| 14. Angus Tyner 0:47:16 (2nd M55, m50+ Team Gold) |
| 17. Marcus Murphy 0:47:35 (3rd M40) |
| 18. Aran Lynham 0:47:56 |
| 19. Paul Duffy 0:48:15 (M35+ Team gold) |
| 21. Catherine Devitt 0:48:51 (1st F40, 2nd woman, F35+ Team Gold) |
| 29. Rachel Wisdom 0:51:19 (2nd F40, F35+ Team Gold) |
| 30. Gavin Kennedy 0:51:22 (3rd M45, M35+ Team Gold) |
| 32. Anthony Breen 0:51:28 (3rd M50, M50+ Team Gold) |
| 33. Donna Quinn 0:51:40 (3rd F40, F35+ Team Gold) |
| 43. Yvonne Brennan 0:54:41 (2nd F45, f35+ Team Gold) |
| 45. Eoin Kennedy 0:55:27 |
| 52. Colm Kenna 0:58:07 |
| 57. Claire Thompson 0:58:51 (FS Team Bronze) |
| 59. Sarah Foster 0:59:17 (3rd FS, FS Team Bronze) |
| 64. Siobhan Brennan 1:00:01 (1st F50, FS Team Bronze) |
| 72. Mark Willoughby 1:02:02 |
| 75. Annie Lowney 1:03:20 |
| 91. Eleanor Carty 1:06:51 |
RUN THE RIDGE 20KM
In the 20km race a top-3 of open racers including Irish international Edward O’Connor along with David Power and Italian skyrunner Emmanuelle Sacchi broke away early leaving the championship contenders in the chasing pack. This included our own Johnny Conway who led our team home in an impressive 1:43:19 – the second fastest time by a club athlete since Torben Dahl’s runaway time of 1:32:07 from 2018. He was beaten only by Parnell’s MIchael Dowling and Inbhear Dee’s Ben Mooney but rather than Bronze here he was awarded Silver in the M40 category.
Next was René Borg who broke away from a tightly packed group on the ridge to take 3rd M40 and the 3rd fastest time run by a club runner on the course. In the next 49 seconds Philip O’Brien, Graeme Warren and Torben Dahl arrived (with Lee Borland of WW RC dead-heating with Philip) and all took Gold in their categories.
Jack Moore arrived shortly before the first female GMACer to ever complete the 20k race: Loraine Creane who won the F40. Alan Kennedy, Ben Lewis and Rebecca Whinery came next all taking category medals in the process.
| RESULT |
| 1. Barry McEvoy (Brother’s Pearse AC) 1:29:01 |
| ——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————- |
| 8. John Conway 1:43:19 (2nd M40) |
| 13. René Borg 1:48:49 (3rd M40) |
| 15. Philip O’Brien 1:49:01 (1st MS) |
| 16. Graeme Warren 1:49:18 (1st M50) |
| 17. Torben Dahl 1:49:38 (1st M45) |
| 26. Jack Moore 1:55:30 |
| 27. Loraine Creane 1:56:15 (1st F40) |
| 40. Alan Kennedy 2:02:15 (1st M55) |
| 43. Ben Lewis 2:03:48 (3rd M45) |
| 66. Rebecca Whineray 2:22:00 (2nd F45) |
WICKLOW ATHLETICS OFF-ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP
Overall all efforts added up to taking the overall Club Trophy narrowly ahead of defending champions Parnell AC winning out 12 Gold medals to 10. No doubt competition will only intensify and we expect a barnstormer of an event for 2024! for now club captain Rachel Wisdom get’s to keep the trophy in her house until August 2024.
FRANK DUFFY 10 MILER
Not to be forgotten was a very fine PB from Eoin Phelan running in the Frank Duffy 10 miler that same morning where he also finished well within the top-10% of the 2807 strong field.
| RESULT |
| 1. David Glynn (Waterford AC) 0:52:38 |
| ——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————- |
| 266. Eoin Phelan 1:15:33 (PB) |
Glendalough AC 