Report from Adam Jones
Very poor entries in the National Intercounties Cross Country Championships in Tuam Palace grounds looked until the last race like a waste of a good Sunday and drive of over two hours each way. The Junior Ladies, Junior Men and Senior Ladies passed off with the number of competitors scarcely reaching double figures.
That all changed when Sean Hehir and Brian Furey were spotted warming up for the senior men’s Race. Excitement was promised and we were not disappointed. Sean led from the Gun closely followed by Garry Thornton of Galway City Harriers and Brian McMahon of Clonliffe Harriers. After lap one of a five lap race it became clear that it was going to be a two horse race at the front between Sean and Garry. It was about fifteen meters after the second lap and in lap three Garry seemed to be making ground.
Both athletes were working hard on slippy ground some time having difficulty holding their footing. At half way Sean had a clear lead but Garry was not letting go. However Sean slowly increased the gap and in the last lap there was little doubt about the outcome. This is a super achievement with a finishing margin of 20 seconds.
Sean is our First Champion of 2016, Congratulations Sean. Not to be outdone Captain Brian Furey battled hard through the race to finish in thirteenth position overall and third scorer on the Galway Gold Medal winning team.
Full results not available yet but report on Athletics Ireland.
Other results:
- Enniscorthy 10km: Donna Mahon was 3rd female home in 38:27. Kevin Danagher was 7th in 33:40 with Micheál Murphy 51st in 38:05, Vanessa Sallier 41:53, Aisling O'Connor 43:25. Results on RedTagTiming.