A large contingent of Letterkenny AC runners made the long journey to Belfast on Saturday morning in typically late November inhospitable weather conditions. The 300 KM journey from Letterkenny to Ormeau Park to take part in the 36th running of the 10K Seeley Cup was well worthwhile, with a large number of exceptional performances by LAC runners.
Danny Mooney put in an excellent performance and finished 4th in a star studded field. His time of 31.11 was just 5 seconds outside a top 3 finish and resulted in a 10K PB for the highly versatile runner who is more renowned as one of the country’s top 1500m athletes. The race was won by Derry Track Club’s Gideon Kipsang in 30.40. Eoghain McGinley had a superlative run to gain a top 10 finish and a new PB of 31.28. Pauric Breslin had a strong run and crossed the line in 33.57. Raymond Birch also carved out a PB, with his conscientious training resulting in an excellent time of 34.05. This was a PB by Raymond of 1m21s, an improvement of almost 4%. Fionnuala Diver’s excellent form continued and she was 2nd in the F35 category in a very good time of 37.28.
Aidan McKenna had a fine run and clocked 40.47. John Hughes finished in a time of 42.02. Peter Hamilton’s time was 42.07. Monica McGranaghan finished in 42.55, Paul Lee in 43.20, Peter Gallagher in 43.32, Niamh McDaid in 48.45 and Pat McKenna in 50.10.
Nakita Burke’s fine form continued on Wednesday night in the Winter Woolie Warmer 5K, which followed the same route as the upcoming ‘Turkey Trot.’ Nakita was the second runner home, in a time of 17.49. Sean McFadden finished beside her, in 17.50. Paul Toner’s time of 18.47 saw him take first place in the M40 category. Barry Mackey clocked 19.46 and was 2nd in the M50 age group. Billy Black came home in 19.49. Stephen Shiels’ time was 21.10. Deirdre Diver’s time of 22.09 gave her 2nd place in the women’s race. Shauna McGeehan was the 3rd woman in 22.54 and was followed by Irene McFadden in 23.13. Antain Boyle clocked 23.23, Phil Boyle 24.24, Jamie Callaghan 25.23, Catherine McKinley 28.08 and Rory Callaghan 28.53.
Several of LAC’s very young runners performed well in Saturday morning’s Letterkenny parkrun. Alex Plumb was 5th overall and 1st in the JM 10 category in 22.12. Stephen Shiels was 7th and 1st in the M45 category in a time of 23.16. Another JM 10 runner, Ryan Bradley, finished in 25.08.
LAC’s ‘Annual Turkey Trot’ will be held at 10.30am on Sunday December 3rd. The race, over the well known and fast, flat course, has a novel aspect to it. Unlike most races, the winners are not necessarily the fastest runners. The winners are the runners who can most accurately match their pre race prediction and their actual time. 10 turkeys are available. The entry fee is €8. The club is grateful to ‘Voodoo Venue’ for their continued, generous sponsorship.
Letterkenny Athletic Club wishes to express deep sympathy to the family of Finn Valley AC runner, Jimmy Shiels, who died last Friday. Jimmy, a fine competitor, was well known, well liked and well respected by the entire running fraternity in Donegal.
Jimmy Shiels R.I.P.
Hugh Gallagher.
LAC PRO.
