Over 1,500 athletes from all over Leinster travelled to Ferbane on Saturday to compete in the Leinster Cross Country Championships. Sportsworld had both a male and female team competing in this well attended event, which saw senior males run a 10K race and senior ladies run a 5K race.
We were all geared up! 11.30am was our call time to meet at Bushy Park, where two cars drove to the hallowed grounds of landowner/farmer Joe Wynne’s grounds in rural Ferbane! It was clear a lot of organisation and planning had gone into preparing the grounds. And we believe, it is these three gentlemen who we are to thank for planning such a professional and well organised race event!
Emily drove Lisa, Maria and Lorna to Ferbane, with Maura making her way from Mayo after volunteering her help at a local race! Myles drove the men’s team. The weather was very temper-mental with sporadic heavy downpours in between bright, fresh and crisp conditions. We made good time, which allowed us stop by the nearby Spar for a coffee and a light snack. All refreshed, we made our way to the course where the ladies team did a quick recce of what lay ahead! Two laps of a 2.5K course which consisted of hills and lots of twists and turns to keep things very interesting indeed! We also had a little sidestep into the aforementioned Farmer Wynne’s farm.
The ladies were off first for Sportsworld at 3.05pm. The field consisted of fifty-eight runners from clubs across Leinster.
It was an extremely high standard but Sportsworld runners held their own with strong, determined and consistent running throughout. Lisa and Maria led the team with Maura and Lorna not far behind.
There were cheers throughout the course from Emily, Myles, Naoise, Noreen, Maria’s wonderful mum and sister(!) and of course all the men’s team who generously gave us their support while warming up for their own race. We were all thrilled with our individual races and also our team-effort, finishing fifth overall as a team. Well done girls – Brilliant running by all!
Individual race times:
Lisa Madden – 20.06
Maria Jones – 20.42
Maura Ginty – 21.22
Lorna Quinn – 21.38
Next up were the men! A difficult 10K course of four 2.5K laps was in store.
Karol, Michael, Conor and Brian took to this course with great grit and cross-country spirit. All four men looked fresh, fit and very comfortable throughout the race. I can’t imagine what it must have been like! But they certainly made it look very do-able as they ran with a consistent and steady pace throughout, making up ground as they went along.
Congratulations to Karol who won a gold medal with the Dublin team. All men finished with impressive times. Congratulations yet again, on another successful cross-country race day out!
Individual race times:
Karol Cronin – 35.29
Michael Cunningham – 40.20
Conor Keating – 40.50
Brian Conway – 43.27
Our Lucy in action!
myrunresults always have race times and results out within minutes of a race finishing – Super efficient and super professional and super appreciated by all runners and clubs!
Cross country season has well and truly begun. We have many races ahead, with the Intermediate, Novice and Masters races looming, as well as the wonderful Meet & Train races. Best of luck to everyone with their training in the weeks ahead!
Upcoming Races:
National Senior – November 24th
Dublin
Intermediate – December 1st
National Novice – December 15th
Dublin Masters – January 5th
Meet & Train
Dunboyne – November 17th
Trim – December 8th
Brothers Pearse – January 19th
Abbotstown – February 9th
Thanks to Max Feehan Photography for the photos!
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