Tipperary club had one of the largest group of runners in the country in Dublin Marathon
William Maunsell's third place finish was a highlight
Clonmel AC had 41 members registered to run the national marathon, which was incorporated as part of the Irish Life Dublin Marathon.
We’re not aware of official statistics as to what club had the most participants but Clonmel AC must be right in the top bracket, and it’s something the club is very proud of.
The highlight of the day for many was Willie Maunsell finishing third Irish man in 2:14:22 - which is also a Tipperary record. He was only beaten on the day by Hiko Tonoso of Dundrum South Dublin and Ryan Creech from Leevale, two brilliant athletes in their own right.
Willie runs under the guidance of club coach Seán Tobin. Seán also hosts the club session every Tuesday and Thursday at the TÚS campus track at the Regional Sports Hub and will have coached many of the athletes who took part in the marathon.
After Willie, Clonmel AC had five well-known faces within the club breaking the infamous three-hour barrier, with Joey Feery (2:45), club chairman Nigel O’Flaherty (2:47), Danny Brosnan (2:54) and club secretary Eelco Beckers (2:58), along with David O’Kelly at (2:59).
The next group had another group of experienced Clonmel AC marathon runners with Mark Kehir (3:01), Jamie Byrne (3:02), Eddy O’Donoghue (3:08), Gary Grant (3:12), Shane Greene (3:14), Vasiliy Neumerzhitskiy (3:16) and Ciaran Doheny (3:18).
Not to be outdone, there was another group of impressive times between 3:20 - 3:40 with David Lorigan (3:20), Ailish Mansfield (3:23), Michael Doocey (3:24), Vinny McHugh (3:25), Elaine Horgan (3:26), Graham O’ Regan (3:31), Niall Brannigan (3:35), Donal Ryan (3:38), Liam Connolly (3:38), Brendan Coffey (3:38), John Griffin (3:39) and Ian Patterson (3:39) - with at least five PBs (Personal Bests) in this group alone that we’re aware of.
The next group between 3:40 and 4:15 included Grzegorz Kecik (3:40), Andrew Shaw (3:43), Shane Conran (3:46), Noel Gillman (3:55), Niall Prendergast (3:56), Stephanie Byrne (4:07), Helen Ó Ceallaigh (4:09), Caroline O’Donoghue (4:11), Noel Ryan (4:09) and Michael Carroll (4:13).
And finally, but by no means any less impressive were Alan Kennedy (4:19), Clare O’Reilly (4:24), Mellissa McCarthy (4:34), Jim O’ Donnell (4:51), Lisa Marie Cleere (4:48), Aoife McGrath (4:50) and Lorraine O’ Regan (4:54).
A lot of the club members involved met in Moynihans for the annual group photo. Running a marathon is a huge achievement, regardless of the finishing time, so very well done to all involved.
Club training sessions are held at the sports hub every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with the senior group coached by Sean on Tuesday and Thursday, and the Fit4Life group coached by Aine on Monday and Wednesday.
If you’re interested in taking up running for the first time or preparing for your next marathon, we have a place for you so feel free to get in touch with the club and we’ll get you started.