Between 19/07/2026 and 02/08/2026, werecorded six results from six athletes across in an unusually quiet period featuring two 10 mile races.
IRISH RUNNER 10 MILE CHALLENGE
Jimmy Cullen was our only finisher among 1640 other runners in the Phoenix Park.
Result: Irish Runner 10 mile challenge
Position
Runner
Club
Time
Notes
1
Stephen McAuley
Letterkenny AC
50:01
Race winner
Glendalough AC athletes
379
Jimmy Cullen
Glendalough AC
1:12:33
BLANEY ROCKETS 10 MILE
Aaron Cullen finished 2nd overall with four Glendalough AC athletes racing in a field of three hundred and fifty-four including ‘local woman’ Donna Quinn and Louis Byrne and Colm Kenna.
Result: Blaney Rockets 10 mile
Position
Runner
Club
Time
Notes
1
Sean Lally
56:45
Race winner
Glendalough AC athletes
2
Aaron Cullen
Glendalough AC
57:12
WW RC
33
Louis Byrne
Glendalough AC
1:06:10
78
Donna Quinn
Glendalough AC
1:13:29
118
Colm Kenna
Glendalough AC
1:18:50
NEPHIN
Paul Duffy was on holidays in the West and thus became our lonely representative in a hardy field of twenty-nine where he promptly finished 4th and 1st M45 in this race up the highest stand-alone mountain in the country which didn’t bother him as he reported: “Actually really enjoyed it and the views were phenomenal!”
A truly jam-packed report sees us start with yesterday’s major event at the Wicklow Athletics Road Championship, this year held in Avondale. We then pivot back to May for ten more results, including a race win on the roads and Keith Mulvey’s epic adventure at Everest.
Results from our own fund-raiser Lap of the Gap and the Glen to Glen Half-marathon were omitted from this report due to forgetfulness on part of the organiser! They will be included in the next report.
WICKLOW ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP 2026
The club has competed in the Wicklow Road Championship every year since its inception in 2015. Across 11 editions, Glendalough AC has now posted 108 results, averaging almost 10 runners per event, with a high of 14 runners in 2023.
Aaron Cullen produced the standout performance of the night, lowering his own PB and the overall club record from 16:44 to 16:16. Gavin Kennedy also improved his previous mark, knocking five seconds off his standing 18:23 PB. Paul Duffy, our second man home on the night, took a PB by the slimmest of margins, shaving one second off his 2025 championship time to finish in 17:56.
Aaron looks to the time – and yes it really is 3:16 min/km pace!
There were individual medals for Donna Quinn, who took Silver F45, Paul Duffy, who won Silver M45, and Christina Byrne, who claimed Bronze F70. The M50 team also took Bronze through the efforts of Graham Bushe, Angus Tyner and Jimmy Cullen.
The strategy to focus on the masters category, rather than having our fastest masters support Aaron Cullen in the senior men’s team, unfortunately backfired. With our top four runners, we would have won Bronze in the senior men’s category. Instead, the masters men finished 5th, while our masters women’s team finished 4th.
KEADEEN
On the same evening in West Wicklow, Alan Kennedy and Eoin Phelan continued to be nearly ever-present racers on this year’s IMRA calendar, taking on the 10.1 km race at Keadeen.
Result: Keadeen
Position
Runner
Club
Time
Notes
1
Ruben Bartelnik
DSD AC
0:50:00
Race winner
24
Alan Kennedy
Glendalough AC
1:04:16
WW RC
41
Eoin Phelan
Glendalough AC
1:10:25
WW RC
EARLIER IN MAY
TORY HILL
A missing result from earlier reports: Eoin Phelan travelled west for the hill race at Tory Hill on the 9th of May.
Result: Tory Hill
Position
Runner
Club
Time
Notes
1
Tim Ivers
Parnell AC
0:44:33
Race winner
18
Eoin Phelan
Glendalough AC
1:01:15
WW RC
SLIEVE DONARD
A week later, Eoin continued his relentless quest to become the club’s most prolific racer ever. He was our sole competitor in the North for the Irish Championship race at Slieve Donard.
Result: Slieve Donard
Position
Runner
Club
Time
Notes
1
Niall McCartan
BARF
1:00:47
Race winner
52
Eoin Phelan
Glendalough AC
2:11:33
WW RC
ARDGILLAN
We move back to the 20th of May for the Ardgillan race, where Aaron Cullen finished a superb 2nd behind former Irish international Barry Minnock. Eoin Phelan, of course, raced as well.
Eoin Phelan received his 100 races tshirt with IMRA as the fastest ever to achieve it during the month of May
Result: Ardgillan
Position
Runner
Club
Time
Notes
1
Barry Minnock
Rathfarnham WSAF
0:37:42
Race winner
2
Aaron Cullen
Glendalough AC
0:39:01
1st MS, WW RC
24
Eoin Phelan
Glendalough AC
0:48:38
WW RC
COOLEY HALF-MARATHON
Three days later, further north, we had a surprisingly big contingent racing at the Cooley Half-Marathon. It was a welcome outing for Johnny Conway, who lives local to the race. Johnny was our third club man home after the in-form Ian Bromley and Stephen Kennedy, with Anne Bromley our first and only female competitor home.
Result: Cooley Half-Marathon
Position
Runner
Club
Time
Notes
1
Edward O’Connor
1:36:28
Race winner
7
Ian Bromley
Glendalough AC
1:57:32
2nd M45, WW RC
10
Stephen Kennedy
Glendalough AC
2:01:58
2nd M40, WW RC
12
John Conway
Glendalough AC
2:03:43
3rd M40
41
Anne Bromley
Glendalough AC
2:19:51
2nd F40, WW RC
44
Alan Kennedy
Glendalough AC
2:20:28
WW RC
70
Eoin Phelan
Glendalough AC
2:39:21
WW RC
SUGAR BOWL
The Sugar Bowl Leinster League race was next, and Graham Bushe had offered up yet another challenging route for the Wednesday enthusiasts to feast on, with plenty of ups and downs. Alan Kennedy was first home for the club and 2nd M55, while, as so often, Loraine Creane was only seconds behind, winning the F45 category on the night.
Result: Sugar Bowl 2026
Position
Runner
Club
Time
Notes
1
Brian Mellia
0:51:03
Race winner
46
Alan Kennedy
Glendalough AC
1:10:22
2nd M55, WW RC
47
Loraine Creane
Glendalough AC
1:10:42
1st F45
49
Richard Allan
Glendalough AC
1:11:31
WW RC
95
Eoin Phelan
Glendalough AC
1:21:03
WW RC
126
Brendan Lawlor
Glendalough AC
1:29:13
EVEREST MARATHON
The month of May came to a close with a truly epic adventure, as long-term member Keith Mulvey completed the iconic Everest Marathon from Base Camp at over 5,000 metres, running — sometimes! — downhill to 3,300 metres. Keith finished in just over 10.5 hours in the thin air of Nepal, in what was surely the adventure of a lifetime. Until the next one, knowing Keith.
Result: Everest Marathon
Position
Runner
Club
Time
Notes
1
Ramesh Limbu
3:35:59
Race winner
166
Keith Mulvey
Glendalough AC
10:32:32
BEARA WAY CHALLENGE
During the same weekend as the relay, Eoin Phelan once again showed he is geographically flexible, travelling to the Beara Peninsula for the 24.5 km Challenge event, which ran alongside the Beara Way Ultra and Lite events.
Result: Beara Way Challenge
Position
Runner
Club
Time
Notes
1
Philip Hinchcliffe
2:20:00
Race winner
49
Eoin Phelan
Glendalough AC
3:40:21
WW RC
WEXFORD RUNNING FESTIVAL 10K
Back on the roads a few days later, Louis Byrne took a rare road race win for our men’s section when he stepped onto the top of the rostrum with a 40:09 performance at the Wexford Festival of Running in Enniscorthy.
Our third club championship counter was on another local hill: Scarr. The race used a slight variation on previous courses but still took in the formidable murder kilometre along the wall.
Paul Duffy showed great form to lead us home, taking 2nd M45, with Graham Bushe not far behind in 3rd M55. We had a great attendance overall, with nine runners taking part in this Club Championship counter.
Coach René ran, as is now his usual, with son Cillian on the 5.1 km short course, which still inflicted the murder kilometre on legs young and old.
Result: Scarr 2026 Long Course
Position
Runner
Club
Time
Notes
1
Robin Mooney
Inbhear Dee AC
0:46:08
Race winner
11
Paul Duffy
Glendalough AC
0:52:54
2nd M45
12
Graham Bushe
Glendalough AC
0:53:21
3rd M55
23
Christopher Shannon
Glendalough AC
0:55:43
WW RC
44
Kevin Doherty
Glendalough AC
0:59:14
56
Alan Kennedy
Glendalough AC
1:02:59
WW RC
79
James Fitzgerald
Glendalough AC
1:07:43
WW RC
84
Eoin Phelan
Glendalough AC
1:08:41
WW RC
91
Andy Walker
Glendalough AC
1:10:03
WW RC
109
Brendan Lawlor
Glendalough AC
1:15:28
Result: Scarr 2026 Short Course
Position
Runner
Club
Time
Notes
1
Sean Brennan
0:33:26
Race winner
12
René Borg
Glendalough AC
0:46:45
1st M45
GROCER’S 4 MILE
Eoin Phelan was first out of the blocks for racing in June when he joined over 660 other runners at Leopardstown Racecourse for the Grocer’s 4 Mile.
Another busy few weeks behind us with lots of racing and the first Saturday morning ‘Coffee Run’ organised for Wickow Wolf RC (pictured).
🛣️ Road Races
Another busy spell on the roads with a mixture of PBs, records and a few unusual adventures thrown in.
Aaron Cullen continues to completely rewrite parts of the club record book while Monica Timmins managed the unusual feat of racing ultras and half-marathons almost simultaneously. Meanwhile Eoin Phelan’s race count continues to rise at a rate that is becoming increasingly difficult to track accurately.
DUBLIN CITY HALF-MARATHON
A massive day for Aaron Cullen who continues what is rapidly becoming one of the strongest road seasons by a Glendalough runner in recent years.
Aaron’s 75:16 didn’t just break Torben Dahl’s long-standing club record of 78:33 but demolished it. It also removes Amidou Dembele’s senior men’s record of 83:22 and even surpasses Torben’s all-time best of 77:30 from his Crusaders days.
That now leaves Aaron sitting on 6 overall club records and 7 age-category records at the top of our records table.
Monica Timmins meanwhile backed up her ultra exploits in Wales with a half-marathon PB in the same race.
Place
Runner
Time
Notes
1
Sean Tobin (Clonmel AC)
1:03:11
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
42
Aaron Cullen
1:15:16
PB, Club Record
4274
Monica Timmins
1:52:16
PB
TERENURE 5 MILE
A very strong run from Gavin Kennedy here, taking over a minute and a half off his PB in a competitive field and finishing as 8th M45.
Jimmy Cullen wasn’t far outside his own best while Donna Quinn continued her return to form by taking more than 90 seconds off last year’s run. In doing so she also removes Aoife Joyce’s 2024 club record of 35:28: a mark she missed by just a second last year.
Place
Runner
Time
Notes
1
Edward O’Connor (Brother’s Pearse AC)
0:25:14
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
51
Gavin Kennedy
0:31:05
PB
95
Jimmy Cullen
0:32:54
132
Donna Quinn
0:33:55
PB, Club Record
TCSLM & FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS 5K
One of the races accidentally omitted from our previous accounting of Eoin Phelan’s increasingly difficult-to-track season tally.
Place
Runner
Time
Notes
1
Velayos Hernando Olmo
0:16:06
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
150
Eoin Phelan
0:22:22
WINGS OF LIFE AND WARANDE PARKRUN
Tivon Tyner headed to the Netherlands for one of the more unusual race weekends on the calendar.
First came the windmill-shaped Warande ParkRun before the main event — the Wings for Life race where runners attempt to stay ahead of the “catcher car” for as long as possible. Tivon lasted 24.9 km and just over two hours before finally being reeled in.
For context, the worldwide winner managed a scarcely believable 78.9 km before being caught!
WARANDE PARKRUN
Place
Runner
Time
Notes
1
Christoph Walsh
0:19:10
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
6
Tivon Tyner
0:23:19
1st MS20-24
WINGS FOR LIFE
Place
Runner
Result
Notes
1
Jo Fukudo
78.9 km
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
11778
Tivon Tyner
24.9 km in 2:05:17
⛰️ Trail & Mountain Races
A heavy lean towards ultras and longer mountain races this time around with Wales proving particularly popular.
The trail side continues to show strong depth with multiple category podiums and large representation across races. Trooperstown in particular practically turned into a club outing with 11 runners in action.
CHILTERN RIDGE
Fiona Smyth took on her first 50k over in Wales and handled it in fine style.
Place
Runner
Time
Notes
1
Christian Loader
3:37:55
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
210
Fiona Smyth
6:40:50
First 50k
SHEULTRA WALES
Not the smoothest race experience by all accounts.
Bad weather and organisational issues made for a long day out, but Monica Timmins and Kara Fleischmann still got the job done in a field of nearly 3000 starters.
Place
Runner
Time
Notes
1
Sanne Vinks
4:18:11
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
63
Monica Timmins
5:53:40
1065
Kara Fleischmann
9:41:28
TIBRADDEN
A new course this year and strong representation from the club with six runners in action.
Graham Bushe continues his remarkably consistent season at the front end of races taking 2nd M55, while Brendan Lawlor and Richard Kieran gave us two more category podiums in the M60s.
Place
Runner
Time
Notes
1
Edward O’Connor
0:42:52
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
12
Graham Bushe
0:48:51
2nd M55
50
Richard Allan
0:54:54
81
Alan Kennedy
1:00:52
97
Andy Walker
1:03:53
104
Brendan Lawlor
1:13:55
2nd M60
152
Richard Kieran
1:17:09
3rd M60
180
James Heggie
1:26:03
TROOPERSTOWN AND CLARA VALE
This relatively new race is rapidly becoming one of the club favourites and we had no fewer than 11 runners out.
Huw Thomas led the charge with an excellent top-10 finish and 1st M35. Stephen Kennedy followed not far behind in 12th taking 2nd M40, while Christopher Shannon and Graham Bushe made it four Glendalough runners inside the top 20. Graham meanwhile added another M55 win to his collection.
Further back Anne Bromley and Alan Kennedy crossed only five seconds apart while Aoife Joyce beat David Gray by a single second in another neat club pairing.
Place
Runner
Time
Notes
1
Enda Cloake (Slaney Olympic)
1:33:07
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
9
Huw Thomas
2:02:19
1st M35
12
Stephen Kennedy
2:03:52
2nd M40
18
Christopher Shannon
2:07:27
20
Graham Bushe
2:07:43
1st M55
21
Ian Bromley
2:08:01
42
Anne Bromley
2:18:31
43
Alan Kennedy
2:18:36
51
Aoife Joyce
2:22:34
52
David Gray
2:22:35
67
Rebecca Whineray
2:28:57
76
Andy Walker
2:34:39
Also, a correction from the previous report: after missing several races in our tally including Friday Night Lights, Art O’Neill Pursuit, Dundalk Half-Marathon, Union Woods and Clonmel Trail Half-Marathon, Eoin Phelan’s total now rises to 18 races for the season — helped further by being part of the winning team at the Killiney Hill Relay.
A very busy month behind us with a score of trail races including an overall win for one of our women and no less than three new club records on the roads!
Road Races
A good spread of road racing over the last while, mostly centred around half marathons and shorter races, with a few stepping up to the marathon.
What stands out isn’t any one result but how a few of them line up: particularly Catherine Devitt hitting a PB and then backing it up shortly after with a marathon club record and Aaron Cullen decimating the men’s 10k record.
Bohermeen Half Marathon
Bohermeen as usual: quick course, but only if you get it right early. The Tyners, father and son, ran it sensibly together.
A stronger field than most and a good place to test yourself. Catherine secured a PB by about 30 seconds in her final preparations for Rotterdam lowering her own half-marathon club record too. Only five of the club’s male members hold faster PBs on this distance now than Catherine.
RESULT
Felix Masai Kibet (Kenya) 0:59:52
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————- 755. Catherine Devitt 1:23:15 (PB, Club Record, Club o45 record)
Limassol Half Marathon
Very different conditions to Ireland this spring as Bruce did one of his regular Spring warm weather half-marathons: this time in Limassol.
RESULT
Lamaris Christos () 1:12:43
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————- 1272. Bruce Phillips 2:21:31
Wicklow Half Marathon
We had a good contingent out in the Wicklow Half and 10k once again and Eoin Phelan got to lead the team home this time around with only Sam Fleming taking on the 10k. Watch Eoin’s video on the race below.
RESULT
John Christian Deighan (Frogner Runners) 1:13:31
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————- 246. Eoin Phelan 1:40:52 378. Jack Moore 1:45:10 885. Steve Gregan 1:58:34 1325. James Heggie 2:19:50 1359. Morgan O’Halloran 2:16:34
Wicklow 10 km
RESULT
Erik Sebastian Ranberg (Frogner Runners) 0:35:56
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————- 479. Sam Fleming 0:59:37
Streets of Kilkenny 5k
Gavin led home a trio consisting of himself, Colm and Donna in Streets of Kilkenny with a good flat 19 showing that recent injury issues hasn’t taken too much of him.
RESULT
Sean Tobin (Clonmel AC) 0:13:57
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————- 210. Gavin Kennedy 0:19:00 328. Donna Quinn 0:20:34 403. Colm Kenna 0:22:09
Tallaght 5k
If there’s a race somewhere Eoin will find it. As of the writing of this report he has 14 races for the year and is closing in rapidly on Colm Kenna as the second most prolific racer for the club (Colm has 151 races, Angus still leads with 213.
RESULT
Colm Rooney (Clonliffe Harriers) 0:15:07
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————- 248. Eoin Phelan 0:21:19
Inis Oirr 10k
Shane Keogh into the top 15 and a PB to go with it on a bumpy course out on Inis Oirr.
RESULT
Evan O’Rourke () 0:33:10
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————- 15. Shane Keogh 0:42:11 (PB)
Rome Marathon
Kevin has struggled a bit with injury leading into Rome but managed to get himself through in a solid sub-4 .
RESULT
Rutto Asbel (Kenya) 2:06:32
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————- 13551. Kevin Ferguson 3:59:34
Rotterdam Marathon
In one of the road results of the year: Catherine backed up her CPC run with a PB but a club record even while falling agonisingly short of the 3 hour barrier in the final stages of the race.
RESULT
Guye Idemo Adola (Ethiopia) 2:03:54
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————- 1174. Catherine Devitt 3:00:56 (PB, Club Record, O45 Club Record)
DUNBOYNE 10K
Catherine’s records would have been the stand-out performances of this month, and perhaps year, but Aaron Cullen threw the gauntlet down taking a chunk out of the men’s 10 km record, bringing it down from 36:30 to 34:20.
RESULT
Colm Rooney (Clonliffe Harriers) 0:29:34
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————- 61. Aaron Cullen 0:34:20 (PB, Club Record)
Trail & Mountain Races
Plenty happening off-road and noticeably more at the longer end of things over 10 trail races. Grace Curham got her first win whilst Ross Thompson drew headlines for the Marathon des Sables!
GAELFORCE BRAY 10K
A big field of 585 runners here and one of those races that’s rarely as straightforward as the distance suggests. Kieran Grant getting another solid run on the board.
RESULT
Michael (Cannon) 0:46:29
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————- 164. Kieran Grant 1:05:32
Glen of Aherlow 50k
James Heggie took on another ultra and completed without issue making it two 50kers in quick succession as he was also in action at Maurice Mullins.
RESULT
Eoin O’Connor () 4:19:20
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————- 79. James Heggie 8:58:38
Maurice Mullins 51k
Chad Biddle
Big turnout here and one of the tougher days out on the calendar although this year without Maulin and Djouce summits in the mix.
Grace Curham’s 2nd senior finish looked like a breakthrough at the time and it turned out to be just that. Our first finishers, however, where Ian followed by wife Anne twenty places later and Stephen Kennedy in one of his first outings for our club. The Tyners once again paced the race together before Eoin Phelan, Julia Palma, James Heggie and new member Chad Biddle rounded out the field (in his first ultra).
RESULT
RESULT
Luke Weldon () 4:00:23 ——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
Ian Bromley 5:40:52 – WW RC
Anne Bromley 5:57:17 – WW RC
Stephen Kennedy 5:58:14 – WW RC
Grace Curham 6:03:28 (2nd FS) – WW RC
Angus Tyner 6:40:11
Tivon Tyner 6:40:11
Eoin Phelan 7:43:37 – WW RC
Julia Palma 7:49:12 – WW RC
James Heggie 8:35:43 – WW RC
Chad Biddle 8:39:52 – WW RC
Wicklow Way Half
Another favourite with our members and a close battle between Ian and Graham (a regular occurrence of late) with three age category podiums to celebrate.
RESULT
Alan Dunne () 1:40:34
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————- 24. Ian Bromley 2:04:45 31. Graham Bushe 2:06:30 (1st M55) 49. John Conway 2:15:27 64. Kate Flynn 2:19:57 71. Anne Bromley 2:22:10 (3rd F40) 120. David Gray 2:35:41 140. Andy Walker 2:40:31 160. Niall MacCarthy 2:49:10 164. Eoin Phelan 2:50:28 236. Kara Fleischmann 3:33:26 (1st F50)
Bray Head
Grace went one better than Maurice Mullins and took the overall win in the women’s category in the first summer league race of the season. Loraine Creane notched another of many wins in the F45 category.
RESULT
Barry Minnock (Rathfarnham WSAF) 0:36:41
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————- 30. Grace Curham 0:44:47 (1st Woman) 32. Richard Allan 0:45:02 52. Loraine Creane 0:49:28 (1st F45) 61. Alan Kennedy 0:50:28 94. John Campbell 0:55:08 112. Richard Kieran 0:58:50 140. James Heggie 1:05:17
Powerscourt Uphill
Not too much interest from our club in the uphill race on Djouce but Joe Lalor wasn’t shy and got 1st M70 in return for his trouble.
RESULT
Zak Hanna (Newcastle AC) 0:33:23
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————- 26. Joe Lalor 1:08:00 (1st M70)
Forth Mountain
Another solid run from Andy Walker in what’s been a consistent block.
RESULT
Emmet McNamara () 1:07:40
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————- 42. Andy Walker 1:32:36
Powerscourt Spring
Powerscourt Ridge made it’s first spring appearance and the duel of the day here was between Wicklow Way Relay team mates Huw and Ian who finished 9 minutes between them. Behind them Loraine nipped just under a minute ahead of Anne Bromley.
RESULT
Peter McDaid (Newcastle AC) 1:09:23
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————- 23. Huw Thomas 1:28:36 24. Ian Bromley 1:28:45 (2nd M45) 53. Loraine Creane 1:43:50 56. Anne Bromley 1:44:43 107. Brendan Lawlor 2:09:23 111. Richard Kieran 2:12:30
A sharper outing here from Graham Bushe, finishing well up the field.
RESULT
Donatas Jocius (Crusaders AC) 0:39:52
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————- 6. Graham Bushe 0:43:16 58. Eoin Phelan 0:58:33 69. Keith Mulvey 1:02:39 81. Brendan Lawlor 1:04:56
ENDURANCE LIFE GIANT’S CAUSEWAY 32K
One of the most scenic coastal routes on the island saw Wayne Earls getting through this one in solid fashion about midway through the field. The Causeway trail run was about 32.5 k with over 1000m climb.
RESULT
Jack Duncan () 2:38:44
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————- 188. Wayne Earls – WW RC 4:10:38
MARATHON DES SABLES
And last but certainly not least, Ross Thompson took on the Marathon des Sables: a 250 km multi-day, self-sufficient stage race and about as far removed from a Sunday morning 10k as you can get. Finishing 891 out of over 1500 competitors in 59 hours – very impressive!
It has been another busy few weeks for Glendalough AC runners with members competing across road, trail and hill races both locally and internationally. Highlights included a trip to the Tokyo Marathon, podium finishes in Wicklow and several personal bests and club records at the Moneystown 4 Mile.
With the club championship now underway and the hill running season gathering pace, it has been an encouraging start to the racing year for the club.
Also a correction: in the last report we missed that Alan Kennedy had also competed in the Carrick Winter race finishing 3rd M55 – well done Alan!
ROAD RACES
Tokyo Marathon
Three Glendalough AC runners travelled to Japan to take part in the Tokyo Marathon, one of the prestigious World Marathon Majors.
Mark Lindsay led the club home in 3:27:21, with Graham Kearns and David Murphy also finishing strongly in the huge international field.
The race itself was won by Ethiopia’s Tadesse Takele in 2:03:37.
RESULT
1. Tadesse Takele (Ethiopia) 2:03:37
----------------------------------
GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS
----------------------------------
4651. Mark Lindsay 3:27:21 - WW RC
8334. Graham Kearns 3:37:54 - WW RC
9499. David Murphy 3:48:50 - WW RC
Wicklow Hospice 10km & Half Marathon
Graeme Warren led the Glendalough AC performances at the Wicklow Hospice Half Marathon, finishing 7th overall and 2nd in the M50 category.
John Conway and Ben Lewis also ran well in the competitive field while Jacques Becker represented the club in the 10km race.
The event continues to be one of the most popular charity races in the Wicklow road running calendar.
Half Marathon
RESULT
1. Robert Guerin () 1:17:17
----------------------------------
GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS
----------------------------------
7. Graeme Warren 1:23:33 (2nd M50)
59. John Conway 1:37:39
68. Ben Lewis 1:38:54 - WW RC
10km
RESULT
1. Derek Lawlor (Crusaders AC) 0:35:36
----------------------------------
GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS
----------------------------------
94. Jacques Becker 0:53:20 - WW RC
Gorey Night Run 5K
Donna Quinn and Colm Kenna represented the club at the Gorey Night Run 5K, another popular event on the road racing calendar.
Donna led the club home in 20:03, placing comfortably inside the top 100 in a competitive field.
The race was won by Brendan Dunne of Sliabh Bhuide Rovers AC.
Jimmy Cullen continued his solid early-season racing form with a strong performance at the Shannon AC 5 Mile.
He finished 28th overall in 34:14 in another competitive road race field.
The race was won by Barry Meade.
RESULT
1. Barry Meade () 0:28:41
----------------------------------
GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS
----------------------------------
28. Jimmy Cullen 0:34:14
Moneystown 4 Mile – Club Championship
Aaron Cullen delivered the standout performance of the day, finishing 6th overall in a new club record and personal best of 21:45.
There were further excellent age-category results with Graham Bushe winning the M55 category and Loraine Creane finishing 2nd F45, both setting new category club records.
The race also served as the second round of the club championship, with Graham Bushe and Loraine Creane now leading the standings.
RESULT
1. Colm Turner (Brother's Pearse AC) 0:20:04
----------------------------------
GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS
----------------------------------
6. Aaron Cullen 0:21:45 - WW RC (Club Record, PB)
26. Graham Bushe 0:25:05 (1st M55, PB, M55 Club Record)
33. Loraine Creane 0:26:12 (2nd F45, PB, F45 club record)
35. Donna Quinn 0:26:34 (3rd F45)
38. Jimmy Cullen 0:26:55 (2nd M55, PB)
43. Ben Lewis 0:27:34 (3rd M45, PB) - WW RC
47. Colm Kenna 0:28:13 (PB)
60. Aoife Joyce 0:29:00
74. Rebecca Whineray 0:30:13 - WW RC
77. James Grant 0:30:38 (PB) - WW RC
81. Fiona Smyth 0:31:07 (PB)
100. Monica Timmins 0:32:43 (PB)
117. Cari Burke 0:34:45 (PB)
Avondale ParkRun
Jacques Becker followed up his Wicklow Hospice run with another outing at Avondale ParkRun, recording a personal best of 24:39.
It was another solid weekend of racing for the club runner.
The event was won by Elliot Gethings.
RESULT
1. Elliot Gethings () 0:19:42
----------------------------------
GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS
----------------------------------
13. Jacques Becker 0:24:39 (PB PB) - WW RC
Bohermeen Half Marathon
Four Glendalough AC runners lined up at the Bohermeen Half Marathon, one of the fastest and most competitive half marathons on the Irish road racing calendar.
Angus Tyner led the club home with a strong run of 1:32:06, closely followed by Tivon Tyner just seconds behind.
Karen Croal and Aileen Duffy also completed the race for the club in what was another well-supported outing for Glendalough runners.
Ian Bromley secured Glendalough AC’s best ever finish at the Brockagh Burst, placing 3rd overall and winning the M45 category on the new longer course.
The race also produced five age-category podium finishes for the club including wins for Graham Bushe (M55) and strong performances from Huw Thomas, Loraine Creane and Anne Bromley.
Nine Glendalough runners completed the long course while club coach René Borg also ran the short course alongside his son Cillian.
Long Course
RESULT – LONG
1. Mark Carmody (An Bru AC) 0:34:52
----------------------------------
GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS
----------------------------------
3. Ian Bromley 0:35:11 (1st M45) - WW RC
8. Graham Bushe 0:35:42 (1st M55)
17. Huw Thomas 0:37:07 (3rd M35) - WW RC
36. Loraine Creane 0:39:55 (2nd F45)
37. Alan Kennedy 0:39:58 - WW RC
42. Anne Bromley 0:40:56 (3rd F40) - WW RC
111. Brendan Lawlor 0:51:24
124. Kara Fleischmann 0:54:41
144. James Heggie 1:01:31 - WW RC
Short Course
RESULT – SHORT COURSE
1. David Ayton (Parnell AC) 0:27:24
----------------------------------
GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS
----------------------------------
16. René Borg 0:42:05 (2nd M45)
Annaloughan Trail Race
Wayne Earls represented the club at the new Annaloughan Trail Race in Louth, finishing strongly in the challenging trail event.
It was the club’s sole representation at the race.
The event was won by Damien McCaffrey.
RESULT
1. Damien McCaffrey () 0:42:06
----------------------------------
GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS
----------------------------------
57. Wayne Earls 0:56:29 - WW RC
Askanagap Hill Race
While many club members raced at Moneystown, another group travelled to Askanagap Hill Race in south-west Wicklow.
The club secured several podium finishes including Ian Bromley winning the M45 category and Becky Quinn winning the F50 category.
Further strong performances came from Huw Thomas, Anne Bromley and Alan Kennedy.
Glendalough AC members were out in force across multiple distances and locations this past weekend, from Sligo to Texas. Highlights included debut 50k performances from Angus and Tivon Tyner at the National Championships in Donadea, with Angus setting new club records in both the overall and M55 categories. PBs were achieved by Louis Byrne and Christina Byrne at Rathcoffey, while Claire Thompson marked her return to 10k racing after a two-year absence with a strong run in Enniscorthy. The weekend’s racing ranged from the technical challenge of the IMRA Winter League at Carrick to the marathon distance in Austin, Texas, showcasing the club’s diverse racing ambitions.
LOUGH TALT
We start in Sligo where Eoin Phelan had travelled across to bank his fourth race of the season and finished 35th in a field of 64.
RESULT
1. Ricki Wynne () 0:35:04
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
35. Eoin Phelan 0:47:59 – WW RC
RATHCOFFEY 5K AND 10K
The same day, Louis Byrne took around 9 seconds off his 10K PB from last year while mother Christina set a new PB in the 5 km distance. Nearly 800 runners competed across the two distances.
RESULT – 5K
1. Kevin Kelly (St. Cocas’ AC) 0:15:34
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
202. Christina Byrne 0:30:23 (PB)
RESULT – 10K
1. Brian Conroy (Clane AC) 0:31:39
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
34. Louis Byrne 0:38:22 (PB)
ENNISCORTHY 10K
Staying with 10ks it was great to see Claire out racing doing only her second 10 km race since 2021 and first in 2 years, knocking 4 minutes off her time from the Wicklow Gaol-Break 10k in 2024. Eoin Phelan was our first runner home despite having run at Carrick Winter the day before (more on that next).
RESULT
1. Evan Fitzgerald (West Waterford AC) 0:31:14
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
61. Eoin Phelan 0:43:31 – WW RC
75. Claire Thompson 0:45:12
CARRICK WINTER
The tough course at Carrick staged the second IMRA Winter League race of the season and we had only three participants with Ian Bromley first again and the near ever-present Graham Bush and Eoin Phelan next.
RESULT
1. Jude Wejchert () 0:48:21
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
17. Ian Bromley 0:56:36 – WW RC
22. Graham Bushe 0:57:21
65. David Gray 1:08:02 – WW RC
DONADEA 50K
At the National 50k championship in Donadea Forest, Angus and Tivon Tyner both made their debuts on the 50 km distance. Angus was first home in 4:10:11 (a new club overall and m55 record) with Tivon joining him at the finish just under 37 minutes later (in a new club Male Senior record for 50k)
RESULT
1. Henry Hart (Belgrave Harriers AC) 2:58:48
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
68. Angus Tyner 4:10:11 (PB)
219. Tivon Tyner 4:46:58 (PB)
AUSTIN MARATHON
We finish in Texas where under clear blue skies Ross Thompson in the middle of a big field of over 7000 runners with his son Dylan a bit ahead of him on the day.
This race report covers the racing between 16th January and 2nd February and we start on the roads where we had runners competing in the Clonakilty and Raheny 5 milers the weekend of the 25th and at Naas ParkRun and the Dundalk Half-marathon on the last weekend of January.
We finished January with 28 race results – 8 down on 2025’s tally.
CLONAKILTY 5 MILE
While most eyes are on Raheny the penultimate weekend of January there was another 5 mile in Clonakilty with several thousand runners and Fiona Smyth had a solid run of 41:35 there.
RESULT
1. Gavin Sweeney () 0:25:41
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
307. Fiona Smyth 0:41:35
RAHENY 5 MILE
Aaron Cullen – not so quietly rewriting the club record books
Wicklow man Jonas Stafford won a hyper-competitive field of over 4000 runners in Raheny. Not to be totally outshone Aaron Cullen lowered Louis Byrne’s recent 5 mile club record by nearly 4 minutes and also erased the long-standing ‘all-time best’ of club coach Rene Borg (29:27) from 2012 from the books.
Mark Lindsay set his first club record for our club, lowering Rene’s 2017 M35 record by nearly two minutes.
RESULT
1. Jonas Stafford (UCD AC) 0:23:08
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
84. Aaron Cullen 0:27:34 (PB, Club Record MS / Overall) – WW RC
469. Mark Lindsay 0:31:36 – WW RC
513. Kevin Doherty 0:32:16
816. Graham Kearns 0:34:55 – WW RC
NAAS PARKRUN
Donna, Colm and Aoife travelled on a sociable trip to the flat and fast Naas ParkRun where they all got a solid training run in.
RESULT
1. Sean McAullife () 0:17:37
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
18. Donna Quinn 0:20:34
50. Aoife Joyce 0:23:50
94. Colm Kenna 0:26:51
DUNDALK HALF-MARATHON
Graham Kearns polished off his Tokyo Marathon preparations with a marathon pace run in the Dundalk Half-marathon finishing in the top-500.91 spots and 5 mintes ahead Eoin Phelan completed his fourth race of the year taking the lead in the ‘Most Prolific’ with 11 months to go!
RESULT
1. Alex Jones () 1:03:02
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
404. Eoin Phelan 1:41:52 – WW RC
495. Graham Kearns 1:46:47 – WW RC
In the mountains, the IMRA season has kicked off in earnest with the first two IMRA Winter League races: a new course at Sugarloaf and Howth Winter.
SUGARLOAF WINTER 26
Ian Bromley continued his great 2025 form with a fantastic 6th place finish on a wet and technical course at Sugarloaf (designed by club man Graham Bushe). Huw Thomas continues to work his way back to full fitness after long injury and was our second man home followed closely by fellow Wicklow Wolfer Niall MacCarthy. Eoin Phelan and Brendan Lawlor continue to be near-ever present in these races.
RESULT
1. Jude Wejchert () 0:40:40
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
6. Ian Bromley 0:45:07 (1st M45) – WW RC
80. Huw Thomas 0:58:15 – WW RC
82. Niall MacCarthy 0:58:28 – WW RC
115. Eoin Phelan 1:04:36 – WW RC
137. Brendan Lawlor 1:08:12
HOWTH WINTER
Huw Thomas
Huw and Eoin are clearly determined to get in all their Winter League counters and were our only members to travel across town for the second Winter League in Howth where Huw finished 40 spots further up than Sugarloaf and Eoin 58 spots further up.
The opening weeks of the season saw Glendalough AC members ease back into racing with a varied mix of hill, road, trail, and marathon events, combining steady returns, family-friendly outings, and some standout performances. From solid placings at the Pier Gates Remembrance Race and the MJ Bolton Memorial, to winter IMRA action at Ballyhoura, the early calendar also delivered notable milestones: Louis Byrne and Christina Byrne setting new club age-category records at Ferrycarrig, Aaron Cullen breaking a long-standing 5 km club record at the Coca Cola 5 km, and Monica Timmins opening her marathon account for the year with a Donadea PB.
PIER GATES REMEMBRANCE RACE
Last year’s racing season concluded for our members with the Pier Gates Remembrance hill race which was run on a course about 1 km shorter than the 2025 edition. Ian Bromley was our first man home with Kate Flynn next (and second FS) with Alan Kennedy next as the 3rd M55. It was also great to Huw Thomas back after long-term injury as he partook in the short race.
LONG
RESULT
1. Enda Cloake (Slaney Olympic) 0:33:30
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
25. Ian Bromley 0:44:08 – WW RC
31. Kate Flynn 0:45:58 (2nd FS) – WW RC
47. Alan Kennedy 0:49:18 (3rd M55) – WW RC
87. Andy Walker 0:56:14 – WW RC
93. Eoin Phelan 0:57:22 – WW RC
111. Brendan Lawlor 1:01:11
136. Joe Lalor 1:06:29 (2nd M70)
157. James Heggie 1:13:18 – WW RC
SHORT
RESULT
1. Finn McGurren (Clonliffe Harriers) 0:29:04
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
25. Huw Thomas 0:40:59 – WW RC
MJ BOLTON MEMORIAL RACE
The memorial 5 km for MJ Bolton has become the starting point for the racing calendar these last few years, and this year’s edition had a new (allegedly tougher) course with an uphill finish. Usually, taking more as a blow-out than a full on race, there was still a big field and fast times around the field although most of our participants took it easy with Aoife Joyce and Catherine Devitt running along with respective sons Cillian and Rowan.
RESULT
1. Dean Power () 0:26:01
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
135. Ciara Flynn 0:30:56
144. Aoife Joyce 0:32:09
153. Catherine Devitt 0:34:29
BALLYHOURA WINTER
Eoin Phelan was our most prolific runner both in 2024 and 2025 and he shows no sign of losing his desire to race with another outing at one of the first IMRA races of the year – the Ballyhoura Winter Moonlight Challenge on 3rd January.
RESULT
1. Matthew McConnell () 0:29:16
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
142. Eoin Phelan 3:51:03 – WW RC
FERRYCARRIG 5 MILE
On the 4th of January, Aoife Joyce returned to her home area to race the Ferrycarrig 5 mile (also on a new, allegedly tougher, course than previous edition), accompanied by the family trio of Louis Byrne, Christina Byrne and Ann Cunningham. Louis set a new 5 mile club and M40 record while Christina set the mark for the F70 category.
RESULT
1. Evan Fitzgerald (West Waterford AC) 0:26:01
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
34. Louis Byrne 0:31:02 (Club Record, PB)
98. Aoife Joyce 0:36:25
258. Ann Cunningham 0:47:11
285. Christina Byrne 0:49:56 (2nd F70, Club F70 record)
COCA COLA 5 KM
Today, Amidou Dembele’s 9 year old 5 km club record of 16:45 was finally beaten when Aaron Cullen took 8th place while recording a time of 16:44 in the Coca Cola 5 km race. This is both the new senior and overall record and, we have a feeling, not the last record Aaron will break this year.
RESULT
1. Danny Nugent (Ace AC) 0:29:16
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
8. Aaron Cullen 0:16:44 (PB, Club Record PB) – WW RC
DONADEA MARATHON
Monica Timmins ran the first marathon of the year for our club, setting a new PB despite the trail surface of Donadea Forest.
Race results from the period 29th November to the 7th December.
BALLYHOURA AGM RACE
This weekend’s roundup starts in Ballyhoura on 29th November where Becky Quinn was our lone competitor in the pre-AGM run over 16.7 km. Becky was 3rd woman and 1st F50 (she has now won the F50 category in 33 of her 34 races this year).
RESULT
1. Enda Cloake (Slaney Olympic) 1:18:12
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
16. Becky Quinn 1:44:56 (1st F50, 3rd woman)
WATERFORD HALF-MARATHON
On the same day, a bit East, Eoin Phelan lined up next to nearly 600 other runners for the Waterford Half-marathon – his 52nd race of the season so far – where he ran a solid 1:42.
RESULT
1. Ryan Creech (Leevale AC) 1:05:58
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
598. Eoin Phelan 1:42:26
CLARA VALE VALE 3K , 5K AND 10K
Some hardy souls braved the torrential conditions and wet trails to support the fundraiser in Clara Vale: 20 people turned out for the 3k, 15 for the 5k and 46 for the 10k and we had a few good results including Yvonne Brennan winning the women’s 5k and Colm finishing 5th in the 10k while club coach Rene Borg ran with his son Cillian to finish 5th in the 3k. In total 8 of our runners turned out on the day.
RESULT 3k
1. Aidan Tchakana () 0:17:04
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
5. René Borg 0:21:25
19. Gary Neill 0:45:12
RESULT – 5k
1. Elliot Gethings () 0:24:22
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
4. Yvonne Brennan 0:29:20 (1st F45)
RESULT – 10k
1. Thomas O’Byrne () 0:42:51
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
5. Colm Kenna 0:46:38
9. Andy Walker 0:47:34 – WW RC
19. Fiona Smyth 0:53:41
26. Cindy Doyle 0:59:42
27. Joe Lalor 1:00:18
JINGLE BELLS 5k
Despite nearly 2000 runners being out for the Jingle Bells 5k, we only had Nora Butler in the race and she ran a good 21:24 to finish 779th.
RESULT
1. Kevin McGrath (Bohermeen AC) 0:14:14
——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
779. Nora Butler 0:21:24
SHANGANAGH PARKRUN
Tivon Tyner set his 7th PB of the year – most having been lowering his 5k time sequentially – and this time he went under 20 minutes for the first time at the Shanganagh ParkRun.
We begin this report by wrapping up the Dublin Marathon action. Apart from the results reported last week, we now have confirmation of how the club fared in the Wicklow Marathon Championship which yielded 8 individual medals and a team gold medal for the women’s F35 team where Donna Quinn, Anne Bromley and Nora Butler combined to distance Kilcoole’s team by 27 minutes. The senior men’s team won Silver with just over two minutes ahead of Lakeshore Striders and 36 minutes behind Kilcoole. The scorers were Niall MacCague, Aaron Cullen and Eoin Morton.
Our two M35+ teams did not medal but finished 4th with the first team seeing Louis Byrne, Angus Tyner and Jimmy Cullen combining. The second team finished 7th with Ian Bromley, Ben Lewis and Steve Cregan the scorers. Our club was the third most well represented in the race behind Bray and Kilcoole.
Powerscourt Ridge
Powerscourt Ridge briefing (photo: John Shiels)
In the first race since the Dublin Marathon, we have ten runners in action at the IMRA race at Powerscourt Ridge which yielded two age category podiums.
RESULT
Matthew McConnell () 1:13:08 ——GLENDALOUGH AC RUNNERS————-
Glendalough AC 