Race Report March 2017
Cambridge Half
The Cambridge Half Marathon was on March 5th and as Cambridge is the adopted home for Kate Nolan it was a local race for her. Kate’s dad Ger traveled over and made a weekend of it and also took part in the race. This is a very popular half, attracting 9,000 competitors to the start line. Kate ran a very strong and consistent race and finished in 1:29. Ger finished in 1:49 had a great experience and took the weekend to visit Cambridge.
Ballycotton 2017
The annual pilgrimage to East Cork for the Ballycotton 10 mile road race is always a big day out for road runners from all over Ireland and further a field. A lucky few from Focus on Fitness got an entry for the race and the opportunity to run the fast 10 mile route.
Stephen Collins crossed the line 1st in 1:07, Neil Griffin finished in 1:19, Julie Monaghan 1:23 followed closely by Nigel O Sullivan was next in 1:24, and Eimear Mc Sweeney finished in 1:28.
The Race 2017
After a long winter of training it was that time again to head back to Donegal for The Race. This was my 2nd time to take part in this event and managed to drag Brian Jacob, David McConnell and David “Dots” Connolly along this year to take part in this special event. This is a long day out taking in one of the most beautiful parts of Ireland, a very tough course and not for the faint hearted! An early start of 5 am starts off with a 15 mile run followed by a 10-12 km Kayak, 90 km bike, climb and descent of Muckish Mountain, 65 km bike and finish with a Marathon through Glenvagh National Park back at Gartan adventure Centre. I finished in a time of 15 hrs:32 followed next by Brian Jacob in 18 hr:35, David McConnell was very close in 18:37 and David Connolly in 20 hrs 55. Race reports will follow on this event.
North Wexford Duathlon
Tom Cousins traveled to Gorey for the North Wexford Duathlon. As with all Duathlons the 1st run started fast and Tom running strong kept control and held a good position heading into transition. Heading out of transition in 2nd place he settled into the bike and work hard over the next 5 km working into the lead early on the bike section. He kept a good bike pace and put in a strong 2nd run and took victory in the race.
National Duathlon Clarinbridge
The Pinnacle of the Duathlon season took place this year in Clarinbridge, Co. Galway.
The national Duathlon championships is always a big event and brings out big talent on the day. Waterford Tri club member Kieran Jackson took the spoils this year with a fantastic race and incredible 2nd run to win by a mere 22 sec from Bryan McCrystal. Focus on Fitness was represented on the day by John Hayden finishing in 1:47, Jason Travers was next in 1:49 and Sandra Rellis was next in 2:27.
Dungarvan 10 k
The Deise College 10 km in Dungarvan took place on the 19th of March. Eoin Lyons ran a great time crossing the line in 4th place running 34.07, Jason Travers was next up in 38:18, Ken Dickenson 44:31 and Ger Nolan finishing in 47:09
Tralee International Marathon, 10 K and 5 k
Brendan Mooney took part in Tralee international Marathon. This is Brendan’s 3rd time to compete in the race. The weather was wet and windy for the start of the race but soon the rain cleared up. It was a spectator friendly course with 2 laps for the full Marathon, one for the half marathon, a 10 km and 5 km race so plenty of activity for spectator’s. Brendan finished in 10th place with a time of 3:13. Siobhan Kennedy took part in the 10 km and finished in 5th place and 3rd female overall in a time of 41:50.
Clonmel Duathlon
Great to see this race back on the calendar again this year and great work put in by Clonmel Tri club putting on the race. The weather was perfect with spring sunshine for some fast racing. Both run sections were 4 km and a 2 loop 11.5 km bike course is what lay ahead for the race. Kieran Jackson, Waterford Tri and newly crowned national duathlon champion set a very fast pace from the gun going on to win the race comfortably. Eoin Lyons started the season with a 2nd place overall. I finished myself in 7th place adjusting to a faster pace after The Race. Siobhan Kennedy finished 2nd female overall continuing on with consistent results this season. Paul Rossiter was next over the line building up race experience. Well done to everyone from Waterford Tri Club, well represented on the day, well done to Clonmel Tri club for a brilliant race.
Athy Duathlon
John Hayden traveled to Athy for race 3 in the series of duathlons. John put in a solid race with a strong bike section to take 3rd place overall. Well done to Emmett Kelly Waterford Tri who took victory on the day.
Well done to all at Focus on Fitness, I hope to post monthly reports.
If you can send photos to [email protected] or Facebook………you will be included 😉
