In very hot conditions in Raphoe on Tuesday evening, Ivan Toner got back to winning ways. Ivan was the winner of the Raphoe 5K to occupy the position that has been his customary domain on many occasions in Donegal Grand Prix races throughout this decade. Ivan’s time of 17.06 gave him a 19 second winning margin.
There was also a Letterkenny AC win in the women’s race, with Margaret Shiels first across the line in a time of 24.13. Margaret’s husband, Stephen, had a fine run and was 13th overall in 21.41.
Ciaran Doherty was a convincing winner of Wednesday evening’s Methodist Church 5K in Ardara. Ciaran’s time of 15.58 saw him finish almost 2 minutes clear of his closest challenger.
Martin Gormley was 6th overall, and the leading M50 runner, in Thursday evening’s Finn Harps FC 5K. Martin’s time was 19.18. The race winner was Finn Valley AC’s Gerard Gallagher in 18.22.
Ivan Toner remained on the winning trail on Friday evening, when he took 59 seconds off his Raphoe time to win the JG Memorial 5K in Cranford in a time of 16.07. Liam Doherty, running in familiar terrain, was the next M40 runner and was 3rd overall in 17.13. The finish line of the race was almost on Liam’s doorstep.
Barry Mackey continued the huge improvement he has made this summer. He took another 17 seconds, which represents more than 1.5%, off his recently acquired PB. Barry was the leading M50 runner in 18.10 and, with Barry’s dedicated training paying huge dividends, he is on the verge of notching up the sub 18 minute 5K that he could only have dreamed about at the beginning of the season.
Paul Toner clocked 18.35 and Paul Lee 19.55. Richard Raymond had a fine run and crossed the line in 22.00, which gave him 2nd place in the M60 category, a category in which he has enjoyed much success in recent years.
Darren McBrearty continued his recent excellent track form at the weekend. He won the 800m in the British Milers’ Club meet at Sutcliffe Park, Eltham in South East London. Darren completed the 2 laps in a superb time of 1.52.44.
Sean McFadden showed his strength in endurance events again at the weekend. He was the winner of the Sligo Triathlon Club’s Triathlon, which was held in the beautiful and serene surroundings of Hazelwood Park. Sean ran 38.30 for the 10K run, which was preceded by a 1500m swim and a 39.4K cycle.
For the second consecutive week, Martin Gormley was 2nd in the Letterkenny parkrun. Martin crossed the line in 20.01, which was 1 second faster than 7 days earlier. Martin was again the leading M50 runner. Liam Ferry was 3rd overall in 20.15. Cathal Roarty’s time of 23.33 gave him a top 10 finish and 2nd place in the M50 category. James McBride was the leading M65 runner in 24.51. Young Ronan Burke had the fastest of his 6 Letterkenny parkruns to date when he finished in 29.51.
