Looby and Flanagan take Offaly Masters Cross Country titles

On Sunday the 29th of September, at the Faithful Fields in Kilcormac, Day 3 of the Offaly Athletics cross country championships took place, with the master athletes in action. Despite the severe weather warnings and several cancellations elsewhere, the event pressed on with manageable cool and windy conditions. As always, we wish to thank all the officials and to those who helped during the week to improve the underfoot conditions. Thank you to Offaly Civil Defence for being in attendance.

Next week the Offaly Intermediate Championships will take place in the same venue at 10am.

40 ladies and 32 men lined out with medals up for grabs in the O35, O50, O60, O70 and O80 categories with team competitions in over 35 and over 50 groups.

The Masters ladies kicked off the day with a 4K race. From the start, it became a two-person race between Caroline Donnellan and Sarah Flanagan, as both athletes broke away early. Flanagan strategically stayed on Donnellan's shoulder throughout most of the race and made her move in the final few hundred meters, securing the Masters title. Meanwhile, Pauline Curley of Tullamore Harriers, a seasoned veteran who has historically dominated the championships, put in a solid performance to claim third place.

Sarah led the Tullamore Harriers AC O35 team to victory with 16 points. Naomh Mhuire Ac were 2nd on 35 points and Birr AC 3rd on 66 points.

Tullamore Harriers also took the gold team medals in the O50 group with 2nd again.

Full ladies’ results:

Sarah Flanagan Tullamore Harriers AC 16.11 1st O35

Caroline Donnellan Edenderry AC 16.19 2nd O35

Pauline Curley Tullamore Harriers AC 17.06 1st O50

Nita McLoughlin Tullamore Harriers AC 18.07 3rd O35

Lisa Murphy Naomh Mhuire AC 18.14

Carmel Murray Birr AC 18.21 2nd O50

Mairead Scally Naomh Mhuire AC 18.27

Michelle Mullaney Tullamore Harriers AC 18.35

Rita Daly Tullamore Harriers AC 18.39 3rd O50

Edel Waldron Ferbane AC 18.47

Ciara Lee Whittle Naomh Mhuire AC 18.48

Emma Hart Naomh Mhuire AC 19.01

Dympna O'Hara Naomh Mhuire AC 19.13

Joanne Foy Naomh Mhuire AC 19.33

Aine Golden Tullamore Harriers AC 19.44

Hilary Duncan Tullamore Harriers AC 19.55

Aideen O'Brien Birr AC 20.24

Eileen Kenny Tullamore Harriers AC 20.25 1st O70

Catriona Guinan Ferbane AC 20.27

Breda King Birr AC 20.41

Mary Galvin Tullamore Harriers AC 20.53 1st O60

Pauline Colgan Naomh Mhuire AC 21.02

Marie Sweeney Birr AC 21.11

Patricia Doolin Naomh Mhuire AC 21.29

Fiona O'Connor Naomh Mhuire AC 21.32

Helen Chambers Naomh Mhuire AC 21.44

Teresa Moran Ferbane AC 22.28

Imelda Grogan Ferbane AC 22.46

Shirley Reynolds Naomh Mhuire AC 22.55

Elaine Masterson Birr AC 22.56

Martina Conlon Tullamore Harriers AC 23.27 2nd O60

Pamela Darcy Ferbane AC 23.39

Olive Mannion Tullamore Harriers AC 24.01 3rd O60

Sharon Jones Naomh Mhuire AC 24.57

Claire Nugent Ferbane AC 25.09

Olive Farrell Naomh Mhuire AC 25.16

Anne Maria Egan Ferbane AC 25.42

Halgorzata Jasinska Clara AC 25.47

Lucy Devery Ferbane AC 27.33

Kathleen Delaney Birr AC 36.01 2nd O70

O35

1st Tullamore Harriers AC - Sarah Flanagan, Pauline Curley, Nita McLoughlin and Michelle Mullaney

2nd Naomh Mhuire AC - 35 points - Lisa Murphy, Mairead Scally, Ciara Lee Whittle and Emma Hart

3rd Birr AC 66 points - Carmel Murray, Aideen O'Brien, Breda King & Marie Sweeney

O50

1st Tullamore Harriers AC - Rita Daly, Hilary Duncan and Eileen Kenny

2nd Naomh Mhuire AC - Dympna O'Hara, Patricia Doolin & Shirley Reynolds

Mens' race

In the men's 6K race, Kevin Looby took an early lead, showing great strength and determination after finishing as the 2nd runner-up in the Offaly Novice last week. His dominance was clear during the first two laps, but Tullamore Harriers AC's Pauric Berry put in a powerful performance, closing the gap in the latter stages. Berry's strong finish earned him the runner-up spot, while David Staunton from Clara AC secured 3rd place.

Kevin led the Naomh Mhuire O35 team of Brendan Donagher , Jimmy Coughlan and Darren Bermingham to glory taking the win by just one point over Tullamore Harriers AC . 3rd team was Ferbane AC.

Tullamore Harriers AC were 1st O50 team, with Naomh Mhuire AC 2nd and Ferbane AC 3rd.

Full Men’s results:

Kevin Looby Naomh Mhuire AC 22.11 1st O35

Padraic Berry Tullamore Harriers AC 22.27 2nd O35

David Staunton Clara AC 22.32 3rd O35

Paul Buckley Ferbane AC 22.37

Brendan Donagher Naomh Mhuire AC 22.45 1st O50

Jimmy Coughlan Naomh Mhuire AC 22.52

Michael O'Brien Tullamore Harriers AC 23.07

Darren Bermingham Naomh Mhuire AC 23.33 2nd O50

Patrick McCarthy Ballyskenach AC 23.43

Glen Finlay Tullamore Harriers AC 23.46 3rd O50

Gary Whittle Tullamore Harriers AC 24.02

Darren Butler Tullamore Harriers AC 23.35

Ger Cleary Naomh Mhuire AC 24.54

Alan Mitchell Tullamore Harriers AC 25.01

Jason McDermott Tullamore Harriers AC 25.54

Dermot Egan Ferbane AC 26.15

Brendan Abbott Tullamore Harriers AC 26.18 1st O60

Ger Minnock Naomh Mhuire AC 56.37

John Lowry Tullamore Harriers AC 26.38

Patrick Claffey Kilcormac Killoughey AC 24.41

Joe Carroll Ferbane AC 26.45

Nicky Dunne Birr AC 26.49

Kevin Brazil Ferbane AC 27.01 2nd O60

Adrian Delaney Naomh Mhuire AC 27.39

Vinnie Devery Ferbane AC 27.41

John Lee Ferbane AC 28.25

Tim Camon Ferbane AC 28.53 3rd O60

Noel Horan Ferbane AC 29.12

Matt Flanagan Naomh Mhuire AC 29.42

Michael Guinan Ferbane AC 30.37

John Bennett (4K) Ferbane AC 23.59 1st O70

Jim Langan (4K) Tullamore Harriers AC 37.17 1st O80

O35 Teams

1st Naomh Mhuire AC - 20 points , Kevin Looby, Brendan Donagher, Jimmy Coughlan & Darren Bermingham

2nd Tullamore Harriers AC - 21 points, Padraic Berry, Michael O'Brien, Glen Finlay & Gary Whittle

3rd Ferbane AC, 64 points - Paul Buckely, Dermot Egan Joe Carroll & Kevin Brazil.

O50 Teams

Tullamore Harriers AC - Alan Mitchell, Brendan Abbott and John Lowry

Naomh Mhuire AC - Ger Cleary, Ger Minnock and Matt Flanagan

Ferbane AC - Vinney Devery, Tim Camon and Noel Horan