RACE REPORT

This year's Leinster Master & Inter XC was certainly as hardcore as it comes. This was true XC at its best. Host club Parnell A.C. gave us a fantastic venue in Avondale House, Wicklow. This stunning part of the world in the Garden county gave us plenty of challenging hills, big downhills with some lovely long flat straights to get the lungs back into the chest.

To add to the great course we had torrential rain and very gusty winds. Each athlete and supporter deserved a medal just for turning up. The large turnout in storm conditions is a indicator of the passion for XC among athletes and clubs.

The day started off with some exciting juvenile relays. This was definitely the calm before the storm. The first adults race was the Master Womens and Mens 65+ combined. The inform Kate Purcell of Raheny Shamrock A.C. and Laura McDonnell of Rathfarnham WSAF had a great battle for long parts of the race. This battle between these 2 clubs was just the start of what was to come for the day. Kate who finished 2nd in the Dublin XC went one better to finish very strong and win by a comfortable gap in the end. Raheny Shamrock A.C were also the winners of the Womens 35+ team event with Kate, Fiona Roche and Sharon Keilthy.

Mullingar Harriers were the winners of the 50+ team event with Maura Devin, Caroline Mullen and Terri Greene.

The Mens 65+ winner was Tommy Payne of Tinryland A.C. and Martin McDonald of Ballyroan Abbeyleix A.C. in 2nd. Tinryland and Rathfarnham WSAF picked up Gold and silver club medals and county medals.

Next up was the very competitive Master Men's 7k race. Raheny and Rathfarnham were battling it out again just like the Dublin Masters, 2 weeks prior to this event. Paul Stephenson lead and owned the race to put Rathfarnham in a strong team position. However, the teams were reversed this time around. Raheny Shamrock A.C. won by just 1 point over Rathfarnham WSAF, 37 pts to 38pts. Rathfarnham had won the Dublin Masters over Raheny in that previous encounter. A nice competitive rivalry has built up over the year among these 2 clubs. After Paul who won the race we had 2 Offaly men take 2nd and 3rd with Paul Mitchell of Tullamore Harriers and Mick Fogarty of Ferbane A.C.

The mens 35+ team winners were Raheny Shamrock A.C. Raheny had very successful day taking home many of the medals that were up for grabs today. The mens 35+ team were Dave Kirwan, John Dunne, Mark Kirwan and Ronan Wogan. Dublin were also the county team winners. The Mens 50+ team winners were again Raheny Shamrock A.C. with 3 scorers, Ciaran McCarthy, Terry Keogh and Brian Kelly.

The next race was a great spectacle for onlookers and the crowd as Aine Burke of St.Cocas A.C. and Aislinn Moorehouse of DCH gave us a real xc tussle all the way to the finish. Aine came out on top with a gutsy performance. Civil Service Harriers of Dublin packed well and won the team event with Laura Cullen, Aislinn Aherne, Lauren Anderson and Gemma Treacy.

The last race was the mens Inter race. The rain was extremely heavy at this stage. However, we had a great race and just like the inter women's race this went right the way to the finish. Cian McDonald of Ballyroan & District A.C won with a sprint finish over Oran O'Hare of Dublin City Harriers. Cian gave a final kick and gritted his teeth to win by just 1 second. The team winners were DCH with Oran O'Hare, Liam Naughton, Conor Murphy and Mark Gilligan.

Well done to Athletics Leinster, Wicklow Athletics and Parnell A.C for hosting a great event.

RESULTS

RACE STATS

START LINE MASTER WOMEN & M65+

KATE PURCELL WINS MASTERS WOMEN

MASTERS MEN FINISHERS

AINE BURKE WINS INTER WOMEN

INTER MEN START

CIAN MCDONNELL WINS INTER MEN

DUBLIN CHAMPS FOR MEN AND WOMEN

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Edel GAFFNEY