On a perfect morning for running, a record crowd took to the roads of Edenderry in County Offaly for Round 7 of this years Kia Race Series.
The race, over 10 Miles, was the second 10 miler in this years series, and again, both the male and female course records were broken.
Out front, Longford AC’s Paddy Sharkey was first over the line, shaving 4 seconds off the course record with his time of 54:42, with Offalys Derek Nugent in second and Peter Mooney in third. Offaly. Paul Fleming took the M40 prize, and the strength of masters athletics in Offaly was on show with both Brendan Donagher (Naomh Mhuire Daingean) and Johnny Feery (Tullamore Harriers) taking the M50 & M60 prizes. Incidentally, the first 6 over the line were all in the M40 category.
As has been the case for many of this years Kia Race Series events, it was the women’s race that stole the show, with Portlaoise AC’s Mary Mulhare crossing the line just ahead of Borrisokane AC’s Siobhan O Doherty after a titanic battle around the course. Mulhare smashed the course record, previously held by Pauline Curley (F50 winner today) of Tullamore Harriers, winning in a time of 58:13, just 16 seconds ahead of O Doherty. Local girl Aisling O Connor was 3rd home.
Much like the mens race, Offaly based athletes dominated the age category prizes with Caroline Donnellan (Edenderry AC), Pauline Curley (Tullamore AC) and Mary Galvin (Tullamore AC) taking the F40, FF50 and F60 prizes respectively.
All results from the day can be found HERE
The host club had almost double their entry from 2018, and both Edenderry AC and Offaly Athletics should be commended for the great progress they have made in 2019, with all clubs supporting each other superbly throughout their 5k series and 4 race series, both of which have been running since March of this year and will finish up in August.
The next round of the Kia Race Series takes place in Westmeath at the Castlepollard 5km (register HERE). With SInead O Connor currently on her honeymoon, Mary Mulhare stole a march in the “Race for the Stonic” and now tops the table with just 2 races to go. In the mens table, it’s Eric Keoghs (Donore Harriers) to lose, and one finish from the remaining 2 races will see him back in a new Kia for another 12 months. Details HERE
Castlepollard takes place on August 14th, a fast 5k open to walkers and runners of all abilities. See you there!
