A group of Galbally Runners headed over to Co. Monaghan on New Year’s Day morning for the annual Run at Emyvale over a 10K and 6K circuit. It was great to see some of the youth out at it with Dara Gillespie and Eva Murphy out stretching the legs over the route. John Gillespie ran the 10K route in 38:53 with Richard Bradley running it in 38:24. Oliver Murphy and Aisling Gillespie were also out on the day running these routes and supporting what turned out to be a great event at Emyvale.
What a way to start the new year with a racing event. Over at the Rock Village their community centre has been holding this event now for a number of years. This year’s chosen charity was Air Ambulance. Fergal O’Donnell took on the hilly five mile route and pushed hard throughout starting the year with a new 5 mile personal best and a time of 30 minutes and 28 seconds. In the 5K Lucy Woods took first female with a time of 24:53 quickly followed by Brendan Woods in a time of 24:54. Sarah Duggan got back out to start the year off with a run and finished in a time of 26:45.
It was the usually massive crowds in Loughmacrory on New Years Eve for their annual Lough 5 run. The run has been made famous for Joes Hill, a steel lengthy include around the halfway point, as well as the hospitality provided for those attending on the day. Jonathon Loughran was first Galbally Runners over the line with a new 5 mile personal best with a time of 29:26. Richard Bradley wasn’t too far behind with his second run in as many days clocking in a time of 29:50. Galbally Runner Conor Smyth taking on the 5 mile event for the first time ran a superb race and came home in a time of 31:16. Denise McCann also had a personal best on the day with a time of 33:07 and came home with a first prize in her age category. Brendan Woods too will be pleased with his run coming home in a time of 34:56. Peter Conlon was right with Brendan the whole way and just finished three second behind in a time of 34:59. Aimee Mullin ran alongside Brendan and Peter and came home in a time of 35:16.
It was personal best day on the McVeigh household with Francis McVeigh recording a new 5 mile PB in a time of 37:11. This was Francis’s second personal best in less that a week. Éadaoin came home in a time of 40:01, just seconds out from breaking through the 40 minute 5 mile time. This too was a new personal best for Éadaoin.
The Castlewellan Christmas Cracker is turning out to be an annual favourite for Richard Bradley as he took part again this year in what is a tough 9.3mile event at Castlewellan organised by Newcastle AC. Richard loves these events as it is across multi-terrain of fields, roads, trails and hills. Richard finished the event in a time of 1 hour 11 minutes and went straight for a pizza on the way home.
In what is proven to be one of the biggest events in the racing calendar, The annual Oliver McCullough Greencastle 5 Mile road race took place on the 26 Dec this year. The event was renamed this year in memory of race founder Oliver McCullough from the Greencastle area. Conditions were blizzard like for the event but it didn’t stop three Galbally Runners, along with several hundred other athletes who made their way to Greencastle to participate in this event. Peter Cush, who is familiar with the event finished way up the field with a time of 30:49. Laura McGarrity had a great race and was sitting in a podium position until they hit the town to fall back to fifth female overall in what was an great run in a field of quality athletes such as European Cross Country Champion Grace Carson. Laura came home in a time of 33:54 with Fergal O’Donnell close behind in a time of 33:56.
The annual Brocagh Bay Run took place at 10am on Boxing Day on what was a cold, wintery morning. However, like other years, Galbally Runners still turned out in great numbers to support the event. Galbally Runner Aileen Hurson was running in familiar ground and took the first female in the 10K with an amazing time of 43:30. Peter Conlon was close behind Aileen with a time of 43:54 with Richard Bradley running 42:35 over the 10K route.
In the 5K it was Galbally Runner Lucy Woods who took her first podium with first place in her age category (16:21) with a time of 23:15. Francis McVeigh will be delighted with his time as he had a personal best over the 5K route with a time of 22:20. Éadaoin McVeigh too will be pleased with her run coming home with a time of 23:59 and well up the field. It was great to see Niall McGinty put the runners on and get out again. Niall will be pleased with his time of 26:14.
Another favourite on the Galbally Runners running calendar is the fantastic Rudolph Run. This 10K and 5K event organised by Knockmany Running Club goes over some hilly routes around the county
Tyrone village of Eskras. Last Saturday was a cold and icy morning with many event postponed however Knockmany Running Club pulled it out of the bag and had the roads salted and cleared well
in advance of the event. In the 10K team event the Galbally Runners men took second place and were delighted with their position. This was an incredible result to come runners up to a very strong
Omagh Harriers steam and other strong local teams in the event. The results of the 10K were as
follows :
Peter Cush – 37:15
John Gillespie – 37:48 – Personal Best
Fergal O’Donnell - 37:51
Eamon Canavan – 39:34
Peter Conlon – 42:40
Peter McAtasney – 43:25 – Personal Best
Aisling Gillespie : 45:21
Francis O’Neill – 46:09
Damien McGeary – 50:05
In the 5K Race Denise McCann took second place with a superb 19:18 over the tough course.
On Saturday afternoon the anticipated Seeley Cup took place at Ormeau Park. This is one of the biggest running events of the year that informally ends the major road racing season. In it’s 40 th year
organised by Willowfield Harriers AC nine Galbally Runners made their way to the start line in what was a fast and pulsating 10K race. It was Jonathan Loughran’s third time at the Seeley Cup and
Johnny set out at a 5:40 minutes per mile pace for the first three mile to drop only slightly for the second half of this 10K around Ormeau Park to finish in a time of 35:28. Jonny averaged 5:41 minutes per mile over the 6.2 mile and was delighted at the finish with a massive 10K personal best. Peter Cush has only ran a handful of 10K’s in his running career to date but had a magnificent run to finish with a time of 36.22 and a personal best. Stuart Bell, in his first year of running, came home with a personal best time of 37:22. It was also Conor Smyth’s first year of running and he too ran a 10K personal best with a superb time of 38:26. It was a race to the line between Conor and Fergal O’Donnell but it was Conor who just pipped Fergal on the chip time where Fergal finished one second behind with a time of 38:27. Denise McCann equalled her personal best that she achieved earlier this year but was equally delighted with her time to finish under 40 minutes with a time of 39:45. Closely behind Denise was Laura McGarrity. Laura finished the 10K with a personal best time of 39:54. Laura too was equally delighted with her run and to finish under 40 minutes for the first time.
In the veteran category Galbally Runner Stalwarts Brendan Woods and Francis O’Neill finished well up the field with Brendan finishing in a time of 42:25 and Francis in a time of 45:16. This was a great afternoon out for the Galbally Runners that seen five of the runners achieve personal bests.
Dena Jones took park in the Born to Run trail running series at Gosford Park on Sunday. Dena headed up to Gosford on her own to take on the 10K multi-terrain course set entirely within Gosford Forest Park, Co. Armagh. Dena was delighted with her efforts and morning out as she finished way up the field of 358 runners with a new 10K personal best time of 56:44.
On Sunday afternoon Brendan Woods and Denise McCann headed up to Queen’s Playing Fields in
Belfast for another go at the cross-country events. This time the event was the Malcom Cup hosted by Annadale Striders. The course was relatively flat and conditions underfoot were wet and heavy in places. It was both Denise and Brendan’s second run of the week, following their Parkrun the previous day. Denise used the run as part of her disciplined training run and supported other runners along the route to finish the 3-mile cross country route in a time of 23:19. Brendan gave the event a good push to finish the 4-mile race in a time of 29:12.
Fergal O’Donnell, Peter Cush and Brendan Woods made their way to Comber Cup Cross Country
Event on Sunday, hosted by the Ballydrain Harriers Club. The course was a tough, hilly and wet course, typical of cross country running. There is a great running coach that wrote a book called “Do Hard Things” and for sure cross country is hard but makes for a stronger athlete. Peter Cush, running his first cross country event and his second run over the weekend had a superb debut at cross country and ran the 5 mile route with a time of 31.49. This was Fergal O’Donnell’s second time out at the Comber Cup following his cross country debut this time last year. Fergal finished the 5 mile route with a time of 35:18. Fergal probably had his mind on other challenges this week as he
is pushing hard to win the November Plank challenge. Fergal however is a long way behind the leader but hasn’t given up yet. Brendan Woods also into his second year of cross country had an enjoyable run with a time of 37:55.
It was a great morning down in the Louth village of Annagassan where Galbally Runner and Louth native Éadaoin McVeigh and husband Francis McVeigh took on this magnificent 10K event along with over 700 other runners. The Annagassan Viking 10KM is dedicated to the memory of Noel Carroll one of Irelands finest athletes and one of the founders of the Dublin City Marathon who was a native of Annagassan. The race takes place in the beautiful fishing village of Annagassan, Co. Louth
where the flat route takes the runners along the sea front the stunning backdrop of the Mourne and Cooley Mountains. What stunning performance too for both Éadaoin and Francis when both runners had personal best runs in the 10K. Éadaoin recorded a time of 49:42 whist Francis recorded a time of 46:36. Both runners finished high up the field of the 717 participants and will be delighted with their performance which comes as no surprise as both runners are putting in great efforts at the Galbally Runners training sessions.
Keep Er Lit hosted a local friendly Cross Country event at Brackaville on Sunday, attended by a range of local clubs. Galbally Runners were well represented at the event where the weather conditions were brilliant which made the double hill at the back a little more manageable. In the female 4K event Denise McCann led the way for most of the and held onto the lead right up the last 100 meters only to be pipped at the end by KEL’s Alanna-Rose Farley. Denise came home with a time of 16:00. Liza Murray, running in her first cross country event finished strong with a time of 17:33. In the male 5K event Martin Early had a very strong finishing in eight position with a time of 18:33.
This was Martin’s first cross country event and enjoyed it so much he is excited to participate in the Comber Cup next weekend. Galbally Runner Eamon Canavan ran a very comfortable 19:31. This too
was Eamon’s first cross country event. Brendan Woods too was out and ran a time of 20:20. Brendan was a bit more familiar to the cross country scene and is also looking forward to participating in the Comber Cup. The club would like to thank Keep Er Lit for hosting the event.
Richard Bradley took on the Tullymore Ultra marathon ran by 26Extreme over the weekend. Richard finished in fourth place overall with a time of 5 hours 37 mins for this 37 mile route through the Mourne Mountains. Richard finished up with a well-deserved 10 minute personal best.
Peter Conlon, Dorinda McLaughlin and Galbally Runner newbie Stephen McKenna made the journey
to Westport this weekend for the Sea 2 Summit event. The race includes a mix of road running, cycling, and a mountain hike through Croagh Patrick, Clew Bay, the Sheaffry Mountains and the new Greenway around County Mayo. It was a real tough challenge for all our athletes but they made it look easy and no doubt celebrated well.
Peter Cush participated in the first event in the Sperrin Harriers winter league in Davagh Forest on Saturday. Davagh is a very demanding course and there was plenty of head wind that morning making it all the more difficult. Peter completed the difficult 10K route in a time of 41:17.
It was a father and son effort at Drumragh on Saturday morning when Francis O’Neill took on the 10K and son Odhran took on the 5K run at the annual Drumragh race. Both lads enjoyed their run where Francis came home in a time of 47:34 on the day.
Peter Cush made the decision to run the Spooktacular 5K on Friday evening and came home with a time of 18:05.
Dublin City Marathon, the biggest run in Ireland, occurred on Sunday past and was attended by a number of the Galbally Runners crew. The famous event had over 20,000 runners participating and 300,000 spectators in attendance. The morning itself had perfect conditions for running.
Martin Early had been training very well all year and was very focused on this event. Martin had been careful with the training to avoid injury and had a great run to maintain a 6:45 pace until mile
24 only to suffer cramp in the last two mile. Martin finished with a time of marathon in 3:04:45. This
was a magnificent achievement for Martin on only his second official marathon and huge personal
best. Not far behind Martin was Eugene Hackett. Eugene too had been training well all year and had a very strong run to complete the marathon in 3:08:58.. Eugene was delighted with his run finishing off the season with a massive personal best. Fergal O’Donnell made a surprise appearance, his tenth
Dublin Marathon and had a real fight to hold the pace to finish the marathon with a time of 3:16:29.
What made the run more difficult for Fergal, as he explained later, was that he faced a 50MPH wind
for the duration of the run. Richard Bradley too made a last minute decision to run the marathon and finished up running a time of 3:17.
Aileen Hurson too will be delighted with her run making a return to the marathon since late 2020. Aileen showed her usual form starting off easy and increasing the pace to finish strong with a time of
3:25. Finishing closely being Aileen was Liza Murray. Liza, who joined Galbally Runners earlier in the year was so pleased at the end of her run. Liza had targeted a sub 3:30 marathon this year and trained hard and consistent to finish the 26.2 miles in a time of 3:29:55 and a massive personal best.
Brendan Woods had a good run and was going strong until hit the famous wall at heart break hill at mile 21. Brendan finished the Marathon in a time of 3:37. Peter McAtasney running marathon
number 3 had a solid run to complete the event in a time of 3:39:16 and a massive personal best of over 16 minutes. Peter was delighted with his run as he too had been plagued with injury earlier in
the year that hampered his training. Frankie Conlon, also making a return to the marathon after been out a couple of years due to injury will also be pleased to finish Dublin City Marathon with a
time of 3:48. Dermot Moxon had a massive personal best on the day and ran under the 4 hours for the first time
in a marathon with a time of 3:53:28. Dermot will be celebrating well and will be delighted his hard work paid off. Jolene Mallaghan made a last minute decision to run the event and decided to run the marathon with a friend to help pace them all the way. Jolene finished Dublin City Marathon in a time of 4:16:55 and will now focus her training on Manchester in April. Liam McCauley and Barry Murphy had the time of their lives out there on the course being supported all the way. Barry too
had been hampered with injury since the Annaghmore 18 mile event over a month back but both runners will be pleased with Barry running a 3:55:44 over the distance and Liam running a 4:44. All
the Galbally Runners had the most amazing experience as their 2022 marathon season finishes.
Saturday seen another fantastic event with a friendly 5K track meet hosted by Tafelta and Purvis Running and attended by Galbally Runners, Keep Er Lit, Tafelta, Mallusk Harriers and Victoria Park
and Connswater AC. Galbally Runners had three runners in a very competitive second race with the wind and rain making it rather tricky conditions. All three runners had great runs with FrankieConlon running a 20:15, Peter McAtasney came home in a time of 21:44 and Brendan Woods ran a
19:46. This was Frankie Conlon’s first race in over a year due to injury and it was great to see him back in the Galbally Runners colours again.
Several of the Galbally Runners crew headed over to Palma Mallorca for a well deserved break and also to complete in the Palma Mallorca Marathon, Half Marathon and 10K events. This is an
absolutely stunning event that some of the Galbally Runners crew try and attend annually taking in some breath-taking scenery around the city of Palma de Mallorca. Those that travelled all had the
time of their lives and enjoyed the event and the weekend. Well done to Brenda O’Donnell, Fergal O’Donnell and Aidan McCann who took part in the 10K event and also to Fearghal McGarrity, Laura
McGarrity, Denise McCann, Nuala Corr, Edel Corr and Donal Salmon to took part in the half marathon event in the most beautiful of conditions.
The Armagh 10 mile event hosted by Armagh AC took place on Sunday morning. Richard Bradley was
attempting this race for the fourth time with the aim to complete it in under the hour. Richard fell just short with a time of 1:00:15 on the clock but was a personal best for Richard and he was
delighted with his performance. So too were Peter Cush and John Gillespie who also had personal bests over the distance. Peter ran a 1:02:59 for the 10 mile event whilst John Gillespie ran a 1:02:26.
Galbally Runners, Niamh McKenna and Sinead O’Neill also had superb performances on the day with
Niamh finishing fourth in the female open category with a time of 1:14:17 and Sinead 1:17:19. This was a great mornings running from these Galbally Runners who just missed out on a podium for the team event finishing in fourth place behind Annadale Striders, Armagh A.C. and Blaney Rockets.
Dermot Moxon is showing some excellent form these days. On Sunday he participated in the Donegal East ¾ marathon in Ballybofey and completed the 20 mile event in a great time of 2:47 and puts Dermot in a great position going into Dublin Marathon at the end of October. Over at the Maze,
off the back of last Sunday’s Ultra Marathon at Causeway, Richard Bradley completed the Mary Peters Marathon in a time of 3:15:11.
Over 42000 participants took part in the London Marathon on Sunday past. The London Marathon is one of the six major marathons around the world, with Berlin, Tokyo, New York, Chicago and Boston
being the others. Cheered on by hundreds of thousands of supporters, Galbally Runners Jonathon Loughran and Brendan Woods took on this amazing event. Jonathan Loughran came through the half at 1:22 with a finish of 3:34 with Brendan Woods came through at 3:56. Congratulations to
Jonathan Loughran who also participated in the marathon world championship event at London.
Both runners had the most amazing experience and would recommend this event to all runners.
The event that praises itself for being the fastest marathon in the world didn’t disappoint when the Greatest Runner of All Time Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge proved himself yet again by breaking the
world record in Berlin by smashing the 26.2 mile in a time of 2:01:09. Running is a sport where all runners run in the same event. It was a very special day for the Galbally Runners crew who put in
months and months of training to go for their dream goal at this event which starts and finishes at the famous Brandenburg gate and has over one million spectators across the course.
What impressive runs the Galbally Runners crew had and proved they had hearts of lions to run the event, all 26.2 miles, at an incredible pace. Stuart Bell was the first Galbally Runner over the line. Stuart started running earlier this year and attempted a sub three hour marathon in Belfast but fell short and struggled from 20 miles. It was a different story for Stuart in Berlin however as he put in a huge block of serious marathon training and was well prepared for the end. Stuart ran through the half way on track with a time of 1:29 and ran a negative split finishing with an amazing time and personal best of 2:57:57. Stuart’s average splits were an amazing 6:44 minute miles throughout the
26.2 miles. Stuart will be more than delighted with his time completing a sub three hour marathon at his second attempt and will set new goals in running for 2023.
Second home was Fergal O’Donnell. Fergal had been carrying a few niggles going into the event and preparation wasn’t the best. Fergal will be delighted to complete the run in a time of 3:04:26,
averaging 6:58 minute miles throughout the distance. Fergal was a great wing man during the event supporting the other Galbally Runners in the lead up to and throughout the run.
Denise McCann had been training incredibly hard in the lead up to the event, knocking in high milage
and tough long runs at fast paces. Denise declared before the race that her goal was to run sub 3 hours. Denise took off bravely at that 6:45-minute mile pace and ran a very steady race going
through the half way at 1:31 with the 5K’s steading around 21:55. Denise maintained a solid run to come through the Brandenburg Gates with a massive personal best time of 3:04:53 averaging 6:59 minute miles. This was a very brave run for Denise and was an amazing time. She will be proud of the massive progress she has made over the last year and coming home with another personal best and can relax and focus on the 5K events.
Laura McGarrity was taking on her third marathon and only her second competitive 26.2 event.
Laura went out hard and ran the first half of the marathon in 1:30:42 and came home in a time of 3:10:19. 2022 was a big year for Laura in her first year of running, fighting injury, getting married,
moving house and to run a 3:10 marathon with all this going on is a massive achievement. When
Laura reflects on her achievements in 2022 she will be so proud, lots of super times and lots of learning. There will be no doubt, with the competitive nature of Laura, we will see run some
amazing times and lots of podiums in the future.
Galbally Runner Eamon Canavan is familiar with the 26.2 mile event having already ran a sub three hour marathon back in 2019. Eamon too was hampered with injury in the run up the event but will
be pleased with his time of 3:11:18. As to will Sinead O’Neill competing in her second only ever marathon and fought with injury in the run up to the event which hampered her training. Sinead ran
a 3:32:50, a very similar time to her run earlier in the year in Manchester. Sinead will be one to watch out for in the future also when she gets the opportunity to complete some consistent training
blocks and focus on shorter distances. Rumoured has it that Sinead has already beaten Elite Kenyan,
Peter Somba over 100 meters this year. Sinead O’Neill will be one to watch in the future of athletics.
As the dust settles after the event and the Galbally Runners get time to reflect on the Berlin Marathon they will look at this as one of life’s great achievements. Leaving aside the superb times
all round, the feeling of running events with the greatest runner of all time runner along with the atmosphere of over one million spectators cheering you on as you run through the streets of Berlin,
it is true that no other sport provides for such enjoyment for the competitor. These Galbally Runners will always remember the events at the Berlin Marathon and go on to inspire athletes in the local area achieve their dreams.
Locally, the annual Annaghmore running festival took place on Saturday morning. There were four different events, starting with the 5K through to an 18 miles distance giving runners the opportunity to get a long run in before the Dublin Marathon in late October. An absolutely amazing run by Galbally Runner Sarah Duggan who took her first podium in the 5K event coming in with a third place finish in a time of 26:02. Over at the 18 mile event Brendan Woods ran it in a time of 2 hour 22 min in preparation for two upcoming marathons in both London and Dublin. Barry Murphy ran a 2:34 with Liam McAuley running a 3:09 over the difficult hilly 18 mile course. The organisers of the Annaghmore running festival put on a wonderful event that was very well organised and supported by a lot of local running groups.
The Causeway Coast Marathon events took place over the weekend at the north coast. It is the second ever mass participation off road marathon in Ireland. The coastal path provides one of the most epic and stunningly beautiful courses in the world. Runners even get to run through the world- famous Giants Causeway and climb the infamous Shepherd’s steps on the outward routes. Gerard Jones took on the trail half marathon route and finished in a time of 1:55:40. Over at the Ultra event, Richard Bradley doing what he loves doing best ran the 40 mile trail event in a time of 6 hours and 31 minutes giving Richard a 30 minute person best.
On Sunday morning the Belfast half took place with twelve Galbally Runners in attendance. The famous event is a favourite for many of the Galbally Runners and they all had super performances on the day. It was super running by the Galbally ladies with Éadaoin McVeigh running a very steady
1:58. It was massive personal bests for Lucy Woods (1:48.17), Emer Hand (1:51.29) and Stephanie
McKenna. Aileen Hurson is back in form running a 1:35:56, whilst Aisling Gillespie, who picked up an injury along the way ran a 1:52:19. Ammie Mullin, new to the Galbally Runners club ran a
1:14:48 half. For the men it was Richard Bradley who was the first Galbally Runner over the line running a 1:19.28 half marathon. Eugene Hackett was next over the line with a massive personal
best of 1:24.53. Eugene was paced all the way to the line by his Galbally Runner team mate John Gillespie who also ran a 1:24.54. A short time behind Eugene and John was Peter Cush. Peter too ran a personal best of 1:25.39. Iron Man Peter Conlon ran a pacy 1:36.39. Gerard Jones ran a personal best of 1:38:29 whilst his running mate Brendan Woods came home in a time of 1:48.17. Also running was new Galbally Runner Conor Smyth who ran a 1:43:47.
Over the Fintona on Saturday morning Peter Cush ran a 19:13 to just miss out on a podium and take fourth place.
On Saturday morning Edel Corr and Pauline McKeever made their way to Dingle for the Dingle Half Marathon. The route takes place around the spectacular Dingle Peninsula and is one of Ireland’s
must beautiful locations on Slea Head with the course designed for runners to enjoy its breath taking scenery and beautiful rugged coastline. That is exactly the experience Edel and Pauline wanted as
the started along the route. Edel started off in a steady 7:40 pace early on before picking up the
pace to 7:20s during the event. Edel finished eleventh female overall with chip time of 1:38:54. It wasn’t a personal best for Edel but she will be delighted that she had a steady run and showing some form. Pauline McKeever too will be delighted and knocked in a great time over the route finishing in a time of 2:11 and way up the large field of 1200 runners.
On Saturday morning Edel Corr and Pauline McKeever made their way to Dingle for the Dingle Half Marathon. The route takes place around the spectacular Dingle Peninsula and is one of Ireland’s
must beautiful locations on Slea Head with the course designed for runners to enjoy its breath taking scenery and beautiful rugged coastline. That is exactly the experience Edel and Pauline wanted as
the started along the route. Edel started off in a steady 7:40 pace early on before picking up the
pace to 7:20s during the event. Edel finished eleventh female overall with chip time of 1:38:54. It wasn’t a personal best for Edel but she will be delighted that she had a steady run and showing some form. Pauline McKeever too will be delighted and knocked in a great time over the route finishing in a time of 2:11 and way up the large field of 1200 runners.
Larne was the venue on Sunday morning for the famous Antrim Coast Half Marathon. Starting at Larne, the route starts along the promenade, weaves around the town and then it’s a flat route to Ballygally before heading back along the scenic coastal road to finish again at the promenade in Larne town. The event itself was broadcast on the BBC IPlayer and had a field of international
athletes. Jonathon Loughran was the first Galbally Runner home. This was Jonathon’s first half marathon distance in a long time and will be glad to get to have raced the distance. Jonathon
finished high up the field in a time of 1:21:34. Stuart Bell will be delighted with his run. This was Stuart’s second time running the distance and got another personal best with a time of 1:22:35.
Brendan Woods too will be pleased with his run and had been making good progress throughout the year. Brendan completed the run in 1:34:00. Peter McAtasney has been in and out of training and running over the summer months will be glad to get the event on the legs. Peter ran the event in
1:43:12. Sarah Duggan also running her third half of recent months recorded a time of 1:58:47. Two Galbally Runners made a return to running on Sunday. Barry Murphy ran a time of 1:43:48 and Líam Óg Mcauley recorded a time of 2:06, a 3 minute personal best.
Down at Youghal, Co Cork on Saturday morning Galbally Runner Peter Conlon was trying out a new challenge in his life, raising the bar yet again for his incredible strength and ability. On this occasion Peter took on the 70.3 Ironman. This involved a 1.9KM swim in the Celtic Irish Sea. This part of the event was worrying for Peter as his swimming would be the weaker of the three activities and this would be the first time that Peter would be swimming in the sea. Peter completed the swim in 39:41. From there it was a seven minute swift transition onto the bike. The single-lap 90km bike course heads deep into the rolling Irish countryside, offering a combination of flat and undulating roads with magnificent Emerald Isle views. Peter completed the 90K cycle in 2 hours 59 minutes and jumped up over 150 places in the race with the bike. After a nine minute transition Peter got into Cruise mode for his best activity of the three, the half marathon. The two-lap 21.1 km run course is the highlight of this event. Athletes run through the centre of the historical town of Youghal, taking in the Harbour and famous Clock Gate Tower. Peter was now in cruise mode just taking in the crowds and enjoying his “victory lap” to complete the half marathon in 2 hours and 2 minutes. Peter completed the Ironman 70.3 event in an overall time of 5 hours and 59 minutes. This is an incredible achievement from a man who puts a huge effort into his training. Congratulations Peter, you truly are an Ironman.
IIt was very warm conditions over at Craigavon South Lakes on Sunday morning as several of the Galbally Runners crew headed over to take on the annual St. Peter’s event, Rock the Lakes. The half
marathon featured Kenyan runners Peter Somba of Dunboyne AC and Gideon Kimosop of 1Zero1 AC who battled it out throughout the race for first and second place. It was Peter Somba, winner of the
Galbally 5 mile, who took the lead late on and win with a time of 1:08:36, 11 seconds ahead of Gideon. In the half Marathon it was Richard Bradley who was the first Galbally Runner over the line with a time of 1:25:17. Fergal O’Donnell, attending his first event in several weeks through a footballing injury recorded a time of 1:33:35. Aileen Hurson had a super run finishing in fourth place, getting pipped by her sister Joanne Taggart for that third placed podium. Aileen had a time of
1:39:20 and will be pleased with her time.
In the 10K event John Gillespie ran a lifetime personal best time of 38:24. John will be delighted with a personal best in that heat as too will Galbally Runner Aisling Gillespie who was just pipped into fourth place, just missing out on that podium and recorded a time of 49:02. Both Aileen and Aisling won their age category.
In a very warm Sunday morning over in Monaghan the popular 10 miler event was taking place. The race started in Monaghan town centre and looped over some rolling hills and through a few
beautiful small villages on the outskirts of the town before finishing back in the town centre. Peter Cush, running his third event of the weekend and feeling in great form, ran a 10 mile personal best
of 63 minutes. For the second half of the race Peter ran along side his Galbally Runner team mateJohn Gillespie. John will be delighted with his time running a 63 minute 10 mile race and finishing
way up the field of very talented runners. Denis Cush too had a great run. This was Denis’s second event over the weekend and ran a very comfortable 66 minute 10 mile. Brendan Woods, feeling the
heat over the first couple of mile, pulled back on the pace and came home in 72 minutes. Run of the day goes to Demot Moxon. Dermot Moxon set out his goals before the race and made them well
known to everyone. Feeling in great form Dermot ran a sub 80 minute 10 mile event with a personal best time of 79:17. That’s an average pace of 7:52 minute miles over the 10 mile course. Aisling
Gillespie too like Brendan pulled back on her pace on the morning and used the event as an easy run to come home in a time of 83 minutes.
Well done to Galbally Runners ultra-runner Richard Bradley who took part in the Mournes Seven Sevens Fell race on Saturday. Starting from the seaside town of Newcastle in County Down, Richard ran the 7 highest peaks in the Mountains of Mourne in 5 hours and 46 minutes. In this time Richard ran 18 miles and covered 2,500m of vertical ascent.
On Saturday several Galbally Runners headed over to Loughery College to take part in the StanleyReid Five Mile organised by Sperrin Harriers. Francis O’Neill ran his second quickest ever time over the five mile distance when he ran a 36:59. Emer Hand worked hard throughout the five mile run to
record a personal best time of 42:22. Emer has been putting in a huge effort in training over the last several weeks and is now getting her deserved rewards. Brendan Woods and Peter Cush also ran
42:22 over the hilly five mile event. Another personal best was recorded by Galbally Runner Sarah Duggan who came in just behind Emer with a time of 42:49. Denise McCann came in with Sarah and also ran 42:49 at the event.
In the one mile distance for the juniors athletes, Galbally Runner Méabh O’Neill running in her first
event, completed the mile distance and finished it very strong getting a well deserved medal for her
efforts. Maybe some day we will see Méabh participate in the commonwealth games or the Olympics like we have seen on our TV’s over the last number of weeks.
A busy weekend for the Galbally Runners crew started on Friday evening when Peter and Denis Cush
headed to Carlingford for the fast Carlingford 5K event. This was a seriously quick race with the
winning time of 14:23 being recorded by Ben Branagh of St. Malachy’s AC. Peter and Denis Cush had
excellent runs with Peter just getting pipped by his dad running a time of 17:44 and Denis running a
17:42. This was an excellent run from Peter who had taken a number of weeks off running and isnow well and truly back.
Dunboyne AC Runner and Kenyan, Peter Somba, along with Newcastle and District AC and Olympian runner Kerry O’Flaherty smashed the male and female course records in what was the most amazingevent in Galbally on Sunday morning. Peter Somba, who trains in Ireland for half the year, smashed
Eoin Mullan’s record of 26.17 with an amazing time of 24:51. Kerry O’Flaherty took the long standing record from North Belfast’s Louise Smith (31:05) with a super time of 28:58. Both Kerry
and Peter loved the event and Galbally Runners hope to see them back at future events.
In the male event local runner Colin Harkin from Omagh Harriers took second place with a time of 28.21 and Paul Conway of Keep Er Lit in third place with a time of 28:44.
In the female five mile event, Bridget Murphy of Dungannon’s Little Runners was second with a time
of 32:39. Bridget has been running incredibly well lately and was well deserving of this podium.
Third female was Maggie O’Hara of Finn Valley AC with a time 7of 33:08.
In the 5K event David Graham of Mallusk Harries took first male on the podium with a time of 18:25 with first female going to Annadale Striders Dearbhla Cox who completed the tough route in a time
of 20:28.
The 5 Mile Team Event was won by the Keep Er Lit runners of Paul Conway, Colm McGrath and Marc
Devlin who scored 13 points and where 25 points clear of rivals Acorns AC. The female event in the
5 mile was won by Sperrin Harriers with a score of 49. The Sperrin ladies who picked up the award
were Paula Glasgow, Joanne Fingleton and Karen McGuigan.
Whilst a lot of Galbally Runners helped with organising the event twenty seven of the Galbally
Runner team participated in the event. The results are as follows :
Richard Bradley 31:24,
Paul Cassidy 45:11
Peter Conlon 36:04
Nuala Corr 41:34
Denis Donaghy 37:35
Paddy Donnelly 32:02
Ciara Herron 58:32
Ciarian Herron 58:33
Peter McAtasney 37:32
Claire McGlinchey 47:28
Alicia McGuigan 47:26
James McKane 38:17
Lisa Murray 36:03
5 K
Peter Cush 19:26
Aisling Gillespie 26:41
Dara Gillespie 26:17
Ella Gillespie 34:31
Jacqueline Gillespie 34:30
Seanin Gillespie 31:24
Tomas McCann 27:01
Maeve McGlinchey 25:59
Ellen Rose McKeever 30:38
Michael Mullan 31:48
Dara O’Donnell 38:13
Linda Quinn 50:27
Patsy Rafferty 50:27
Lucy Woods 24:34
Those that run the Galbally 5 mile know it is much more than running over those tough hills. There
is teamwork and camaraderie, hospitality, and great music on the day to make this the popular
event that it is. Over 400 who participated in the events will no doubt testify to this.
On Sunday morning six Galbally Runners attended the The Great Rossa run in Ardboe.
There were three event, spread across the 3 distances,5K, 10K and half marathon all allhave the same difficult uphill finish for everyone.
Peter Cush opted for the 5K and came home in eight place overall with a time of 18:02 in an extremely fast and tough race. Eimear Donaghy chose the 10k and just fell short
in her attempt to break the one hour 10K. Martin Early, Liza Murray, Brendan Woods and Denise McCann all took on the half marathon route around the lough shore.. This was Martin Early’s first official half and had an amazing run with a time of 1:24:51 and
ninth overall. Brendan and Denise used today as a training run and did their Sunday.’session’ in the build up to Berlin and Dublin. Denise managed to take third place at thehalf with a time of 1:33:07 whilst Brendan finished in a time of 1:37:10. Liza Murray smashed her personal best with a time of 1:39:44.
On Saturday morning Francis O’Neill and John McElroy headed to Tattyreagh for the annual Tattyreagh 5 Mile event. John finished in 13 place overall and was third in the over 40s category with a time of 35:09.. Francis also had a great run with a second place in the M50 category in a time of 36:57. It is great to see Galbally Runners supporting all these events for great causes.
Events through the summer months come think and fast. One of the biggest events in the racing calendar was held in Coalisland on Friday evening, the Newell 5K and 10K events organised by local
running group Keep Er Lit. The event is very well supported from a range of running groups as well
as getting a huge local support out to cheer on the runners as they compete in the various events. Galbally Runners had 27 runners participate across the two events. In the 5K event, Jonathan Loughran was the first Galbally Runner home in a time of 17:05. This was a last minute decision for Jonny who switched between the 10k back to the 5k to focus on the faster pace and is more use to
running in the 5Ks currently. This was a great run by Jonny who finished way up the fast-paced field
in the male category that was won by Steven McAlary of City of Derry AC, Spartans, in a time of
14:56 and female by Lyndsey Tyro in a time of 19:49. Fergal O’Donnell and Eamon Canavan had two steady runs both coming in with times of 18:06 and 18:13 respectively. Both Fergal and Eamon are in cruising in training and will be quite content with
these times. Gerard Jones was attempting to break the 20 minute 5K for the first time and went out with the KEL 5K pacers, who paced the run perfect for him. Gerard sat behind the pacers for the first mile, giving him some sheltered protection from the strong breeze in the first mile. Gerard held a strong 6:20 minute mile pace and was able to kick with 800 meters to go. Gerard could see the clock ticking in the 19:50s when he made that dash for the line to come home with a personal best time of 19:54 and was well pleased for breaking 20 minutes for the first time. So too will Brendan Woods, who is
starting to come back into some steady form. Brendan ran the race with Gerard and came home just
behind him in a time of 19:56.
James McKane has been putting in some huge efforts at training over the last number of months and
was running one of his first events. James went out pretty fast but was unable to hold that fast pace
for the full 5K however smashed him personal best to come in with a time of 21:50. Lucy Woods ran a comfortable 22:43 on the night and was well pleased with her run which was a little short of a personal best for Lucy. The same for Declan Girvan and Emer Hand who both ran a 23:18 and 26:12 respectively and will be content with their runs. Dena Jones was delighted with her run, and was also short of a personal best but a fine run with a time of 26:24. It was also great to see Dorinda McLaughlin back at running. Dorinda made a last minute decision to attend the event and ran a comfortable 29:17 and will be delighted getting the runners back on and back out at events. It’s also great to see the youth out and young Odhran O’Neill also showed up on this Friday
evening to run a great 5K.
The final event of the evening was the 10K. This race too was full of exceptional talent with three Ethopian Runners taking the first three places in the male category. The winner of the male event was Yared Derese in a time of 30:02 and beat the course record that was previously held by Irish
Olympian Stephen Scullion. The course record in the female 10K event was also smashed by Armagh
AC runner Fionnuala Ross in a time of 34:27. The exceptional talent in the field did not phase the Galbally Runners who all had exceptional runs. The first three Galbally Runners home where Martin
Early, Stuart Bell and Eugene Hackett. All three runners ran massive personal bests and finished high
up with field with Early recording a 37:38, Bell a 37:48 and Hackett a 38:41.
The first lady home for Galbally was Sinead O’Neill who ran a super run 42:54. This was another
personal best for Sinead who has certainly been putting in more running training of late. Peter McAtasney also ran a personal best of 44:39. Peter hasn’t been training as much as he had been since before the Marathon will be content with this run but has a lot more to offer. Francis Oneill loves the events and ran a comfortable 46:16. New Galbally Runner, Liza Murray, who has been showing consistent training over the last few months will be well pleased with her time and personal best of 47:33. It was a steady run again from John McElroy who cruised around the 10K route with a time of 50:23. Michelle McRory was absolutely delighted with her run, knocking in a massive personal best of 51:03 over the 10K route. Sarah Duggan also ran a personal best with a time of 51:08 and is really pushing herself across the Gym, GAA and now the running. Éadaoin McVeigh ran a very comfortable 51:17 on the night. New Galbally Runner, and to the running scene, Brian Corrigan, who flew in from Philadelphia, just for the event ran a 56:55 with Oliver Murphy back running after being out for months with a nasty injury ran a 57:36. New Galbally Runner Stephanie McKenna, running her first event under Galbally Runners ran a steady 59:45 whilst Galbally stalwart Eimear Donaghy ran a deserved personal best with a time of 1:00:34. Eimear has been back showing consistency in training and it paid off for her on the night.
Over at Comber on Friday night, three of the Galbally Runners ladies headed up to either compete in their first 10K event or go for that elusive sub 40 10K. It was Denise McCann’s second attempt at breaking the 40 minute 10K in a couple of weeks, and second race in twenty four hours. Denise ran the perfect race on this occasion with splits averaging 6 min 20 second miles to break the 40 minute 10K and massive personal best with a time of 39:40. Sinead O’Neill, running only her second 10K came home with a personal best time of 43:31 with Edel Corr running her first 10K race came home with a time of 45:19. A Galbally Spokesperson said, “ We are delighted the ladies took on the daunting challenge to head to Comber on a Friday night for this event organised by Ballydrain Harriers. The club sends a massive congratulates to Denise on breaking the 40 minute 10K and to Sinead and Edel for achieving personal bests.”
Friday night seen the last in the Paul Murray 5K Series. On form, Peter Cush, was the first Galbally
Runner home in seventh place overall with a superb time of 17:15. John Gillespie was on a mission
to break the 18 minute 5K for the first time and he did so in style when he smashed his personal best
to come home in a time of 17:43. John also took first place in the over 40s category for his efforts. Martin Early and Fergal O’Donnell followed quickly behind with times of 17:55 for Early and 18:09 O’Donnell. Another Galbally Runner out to break a personal best on Friday night was Paddy Donnelly. Paddy too set out to break the 19 minute 5K and he also smashed his personal best with a personal best time of 18:50. Francis O’Neill, who completed all four events, came home in a time of 21:26, his quickest of the four. Dermot Moxon too is showing a bit of form again and came home in a time of 22:37, his quickest of his two events. Celine Carberry back at the running again knocked in an impressive 26:48 followed by Pauline McKeever who knocked almost 40 seconds off her time from last week with a 28:28.
Galbally Runners had a super night on the Thursday when they headed over to run the Lismore Comprehensive 5K event at Craigavon. It was a great showing of Galbally Runners on the night to support the event and to race a 5K. The Galbally Runners times are as follows :
Jonathan Loughran 17:38
Fergal O’Donnell 18:30
Denise McCann 19:25
Brendan Woods 20:59
Peter McAtasney 22:29
Declan Girvan 24:31
Niall McGinty 24:31
Emer Hand 26:36
Dena Jones 26:40
Kevin Morris 31:06
Ann Marie Morris 31:06
When it comes to racing, the 10K event can be a different animal. This was the first time some of the Galbally Runners participated at this distance in this great event. Peter Cush was running his first ever 10K and came home with an amazing time of 37:37. Denise McCann has some experience in running 10Ks and ran a magnificent 40:46 time, a massive personal best for Denise who will close down on that sub 40 minute 10K. Denise will be delighted with her run, which had some difficult hills on a windy morning. Denise will also be delighted as she took a third place podium on the day. Laura Maguire, running her first 10K, came home with a super time of 41:54. It was Sinead O’Neill’s first 10K also and ran a great time of 45:34. A surprise appearance on the day was Galbally Runner Celine Carberry who had been out of action for some time. Celine came home in a time of just over the
hour.
Friday evening say race 3 of the Paul Murray 5K Race series organised by the great running group, Knockmany Runners. This was the toughest of the courses over the four weeks with some long inclines. It was great to see Jonathon Loughran back at the racing again with only one previous 5K
outing this year. Jonathon ran a 17:44 to leave him in tenth place overall with the winning time again for the third week running being local runner Gavin Corey of Strive Running with a time of
15:31. Fergal O’Donnell, a great supporter of the Paul Murray Series, ran a time of 18:21. Another great support of the series is Francis O’Neill who participated so far in all events. Francis ran a 22:06 over the 5K. Run of the night goes to Dermot Moxon. Dermot ran a great time of 23:16 and was
delighted with his run on the night. Dermot was supported on the night by two Galbally Runners, who helped set the pace for Dermot. They were Denise McCann and Peter Cush. It was also great to see Pauline McKeever back at the events again. This was Pauline’s first event since The Great Torrent Run in September 2018 but has been working solid at training and had a solid run on the night.
In 2021 the Dublin VHI Women’s Mini Marathon like many other running events- took place virtually. Two GR’s- Emer Hand and Éadaoin McVeigh took part on the hills of Tyrone. This weekend they joined thousands of women in Dublin to celebrate the 40th Women’s Mini Marathon. Éadaoin completed her 10th Dublin Mini Marathon on Sunday in a time of 49.48 (just under 3minute PB) and Emer Hand crossed her second WMM finish line in a PB time of 52.35 (just over 1 minute PB).
Over at the Washingbay on Saturday morning was the popular Green Bay Run. There were three events that runners could participate in. In the Half Marathon, Aileen Hurson ran a great race to
come home with a time of 1:39:53 and was second female on the day. This was a “McKee Sister’s” 1,2 in the ladies race with Aileen’s sister and Sperrin Harrier Joanne Taggart taking first place and
both sisters taking podiums on the day. Eamonn Canavan ran close to a personal best in the male race with a 1:25:10 for the half marathon and was in sixth place overall on the day. John McElroy,
running his first half in a long time, ran a super 1:43:25 and Francis O’Neill running his second event in less than 24 hours came home with a time of 1:51:13.
Martin Early was the only Galbally Runner to participate in the Washingbay 10K and, despite not training so much in recent weeks ran a time of 38:38 and was placed in eight. In the Washingbay 5K
Gerard Jones and Peter McAtasney ran their second event in a few days with Gerard running a 20:18 and Peter running a 21.06.
Over at Eskra on Friday evening seen Race 2 of the brilliantly organised Paul Murray 4K race series by Knockmany Runners. This was one of the more challenging of routes which sees a steep climb in mile 2, followed by a fast decent to the finish. John Gillespie had an excellent run and came home
with a personal best time of 18:00. Paddy Donnelly too had a great run with a time of 19:11. Peter Cush pulled back his pace on the night following several races in a row to come in just under 20
minutes with a time of 19:58 with Francis O’Neill, who is planning on running all four of the PaulMurray Series, running a comfortable 22:11.
On Wednesday 01 Jun 2022 some of the Galbally Runner crew participated in a night of 5Ks at the Meadowbank Sports Arena at Magherafelt. The event is organised by Francis Purvis of Tafelta
and Purvis Running. In race one Oliver Brannigan ran a personal best 22:30 to take first place.
Oliver has been working extremely hard at training, both on the track and the Gym and this is certainly paying off with this seen as the best run of the night.
In race two, Peter McAtasney, who has not returned yet to full fitness following a recent injury, went out fast and showed great character to hold a good pace to finish with the time of 20:39 and first
place. Race 3 seen Gerard Jones run a steady 20.26. This was Gerard’s best time on the track and he too has been working hard and showing constant signs of improving at each outing. Brendan Woods
too will be happy with his time of 20:36 in only his second race of 2022.
Peter Cush has been showing some great form in recent months and went out hard in the last race
of the evening along with Stewart Wilson of Victoria and Connswater and Kevin Donnelly of Mallusk
Harriers. With 1000 meters left in the race Stewart Wilson was able to kick and hold a faster pace to finish with a time of 17:31 with Peter coming a close behind with a time of 17.50. Newbie runnerStuart Bell ran an 18:28 personal best. This was Stuart’s first time on the track and has only ever ran a handful of events but with his strength from the gym has great potential at athletics. His running
mate Eugene Hackett was close behind with a great time of 18:39. The only Galbally Runners female runner of the night and in race 4 was Denise McCann. Denise ran a 19:24 and held her own in a field full of competitive fast male runners.
Sunday past seen several Galbally Runners participate in the Newry City Half Marathon event. This was a popular run with over 1100 runners taking part over a mainly flat route. It was a warm morning, but conditions were almost perfect for those trying to achieve personal bests. Stuart Bell,
running only his second event in a Galbally Runners vest, ran out at 6:35 minute mile pace and was able to hold that pace for the entire run. Stuart came home with massive personal best of 1:26:14. Denise McCann was aiming to break the 1:30 half marathon for the first time in her career. Denise too went out at 6:35 pace and was for most of the race sitting in third place. At mile 9, with a long drag heading back towards Newry, Denise’s pace dipped to 6:50s which see Denise come home witha time of 1:28:48 and fourth female overall, with the winning female being Irish Olympian Kerry O’Flaherty.
Sarah Duggan was tackling her second half marathon on Sunday and was seeing if she could better her time that she got in Omagh half which was 1:52. Sarah had entered the event with little training due to her football commitments and went out at 7:55 pace to try and achieve a 1:45. The reach to 1:45 on this occasion was too much for Sarah as she dropped the pace to an average 8:25 to come
home with a personal best time of 1:51. Right behind Sarah was and Éadaoin McVeigh who came home with 2 minute personal best time of 1:55:14. Éadaoin held a consistent pace of 8:44 minute miles for the 13.1 mile. Éadaoin’s running partner, Emer Hand, just missed out on a sub 2 hour with a time of 2 hours and 15 minutes. Fergal O’Donnell and Brendan Woods had last minute entries for the event with Fergal running a 1:27:09 and Brendan Woods running a 1:50:59.
Friday night also seen several Galbally Runners take on race 1 of the very popular
Paul Murray 5K series which is ran over 4 Friday nights. Galbally Runners times were as follow :
Peter Cush : 17:42
Fergal O’Donnell 18:33
Paddy Donnelly 19:42
Francis O’Neill 22:22
Denise McCann 22:52
Brendan Woods 22:54
Lucy Woods 22:54
Galbally Runner Richard Bradley, who specialising in ultra marathons and extreme running events, participated in the Seven Sisters Skyline 2022 event on Saturday. The Seven Sisters Skyline is an epic 55km mountain running event in the Derryveagh mountains in Donegal which takes in seven peeks including Mount Errigal with a total elevation of 4200 vertical meters. This event has become
Ireland's premier mountain running event, and is part of the UK-Ireland National Skyrunning series. Richard completed the event in 10 hours 12 minutes and 21 seconds leaving Richard with an 18
minute personal best.
The Strabane-Lifford Half marathon took place on Sunday morning in very warm conditions that had an impact on all runners on the course. Galbally Runners Laura Maguire, Edel Corr and Denise
McCann made their way up to the west of the country to participate in the event. Laura Maguire was first Galbally Runner home with a time of 1:30:33. Laura was fifth female out of 289 female runners at the event. Whilst disappointing in not sneaking under the 1 hour 30 minute for the half marathon, Laura was delighted with her 9 minute personal best for the half marathon. Denise McCann had been conscious about a minor injury going into the event, felt some niggles at the half
way point and sensibly slowed the pace down to prevent worsening the injury. Denise came home along with Edel Corr in a time of 1:44:13. A Galbally Runners spokesperson said “lots of lessons for
our runners today in the warm conditions but we know these girls work hard in training and will have some good performances through the year”.
Galbally Runners youth headed to Magherafelt to take part in a track meet organised by Keep Er Lit Running at Medowbank Sports Arena. All of the youth were in the Under 11 category and tackled the 1000m distance. The focus was put on enjoyment by parents, by coaches and by the Keep Er Lit organisers themselves. This
was a really friendly event and the youth enjoying themselves immensely and cannot wait until the next event.
Each child received a medal and a goodie bag FULL of treats as a reward.
A Galbally Runners spokesperson said, “We can’t thank Keep Er Lit enough for
organising such an event and we look forward to the next one. Well done to Tomás
McCann, Cara McGinty, Susie Salmon, Cara McCann, Lilyanne Rafferty, Maggie
McLaughlin and Emma Jayne Donaghy for taking part. Get in touch with Galbally
Runners if you’d like your child to start taking part in some athletics with us”.
Peter Cush was over in Portugal with running coach Delfim Pimentel and took part in the
Lisbon Half Marathon. This was Peter’s debut at the half distance had an excellent run in
very warm conditions coming home in a time 1:28.
Belfast City Marathon has always been a highlight for Galbally Runners over recent years, with the post-race entertainment always being a popular draw. The 40 th Anniversary of the Belfast City Marathon attracted 16 runners taking on the full 26.2 mile distance, with a host of other runners
clocking up miles as part of relay teams.
The marathon is always a daunting challenge even for experienced runners, but for debutants there is always the ‘unknown’ of what they will face. This was Paddy Donnelly’s and Stuart Bell’s first time and nerves were high, but both men produced a fabulous run on the day. ‘Big Paddy’ as he is known to all his teammates, has put in a great block of run training recently on the back of many years concentrating on gym work. Paddy went off steady and held his sub 8 minute pace until 18 mile, then like so many others slowed in the remaining few mile, but still finished in an absolutely amazing
debut time of 3hr 30m. Paddy can thank his running mates Eamon Canavan and John Gillespie who joined him at the 10 mile mark and kept his spirits up and his temperature down in the latter stages
of the race. A really selfless act by Eamon and John, both showing great sportsmanship and support to a fellow runner on his debut. Stuart Bell is the new Personal Trainer operating out of Galbally Community Centre and only decided
to commit to the Marathon 5 weeks ago. Stuart obviously has an incredible base fitness, but he had to work hard over recent weeks and did some incredible training runs. He was not phased by the
challenge and went out in sub 3-hour pace, clocking up personal bests for 10K and Half Marathon on his way around the course. As often happens, it gets harder to hold that pace and Stuart had to dig
deep in the second half. He showed incredible resolve to finish with a fabulous marathon debut time of 3hr 12m. We are all excited to see what he could produce with some training!
Eugene Hackett has been a great training partner for Stuart and accompanied him for the first half, breaking away slightly in the second half but then also finding the going tough as he reached the 18
mile mark. Eugene is an incredible athlete and showed strength and courage to finish in a personal best of 3hr 09m. The ever popular Eugene will go from strength to strength and we are all excited
by his potential. Fergal O’Donnell has had an indifferent year with injuries and various other woes, but he was
unphased by it all and went for the illusive sub 3 in Belfast, only a few short weeks after putting in a surprisingly strong run at Manchester Marathon. Accompanied by Eugene, Stuart and pacer Johnathan Loughran for a large part of the race, O’Donnell found an extra gear at 17 mile and
negotiated the next 3 miles which are probably the most difficult in Belfast. It was a strong and
steady finish over the final 10K which seen Fergal finally breaking the 3hr barrier in a personal best
time of 2hr 58. Fergal, Eugene and Stuart owe a huge debt of gratitude to the exceptional talent
that is Jonathan Loughran who paced them for the most part of the event and cruised home in 3hr
02m.
Richard Bradley has been plagued by a recurring issue and despite an incredibly strong start,
struggled from 18 mile and came home in a time of 3hr 07m. We hope Richard gets to the bottom
of his injury and wish him well in his recovery.
A quartet of Denise Mc Cann, Edel Corr, Laura Maguire and Niamh Mc Kenna all started together
following their exploits in Manchester and planned for a more ‘relaxed’ run around Belfast. The 4
cruised around Belfast, linking in with some partners on the way who joined them for some miles.
Laura picked up the last few miles along with Fiancé Fergal Mc Garrity to finish in 3hr 35, with
Denise, Niamh and Edel crossing the line together in 3hr 40.
Peter Mc Atasney was having a wonderful lead in to Belfast Marathon when injury struck, forcing
him to withdraw from running for the last number of weeks. Peter was determined to make it to the
start line, for what would only be his second marathon. Peter is a very resilient character and had to
battle through a difficult second half to come home in 3hr 55m. We wish Peter well as he continues
to recover from this latest injury and hope he can enjoy a summer of racing in 2022.
Eadaoin Mc Veigh, Emer Louise Hand and Carmel Mc Elvogue also had a rush of blood to the head
after Manchester Marathon and booked Belfast within a matter of days. All ladies have had a
fabulous month which has seen 2 marathons completed and can now take a well deserved rest –
well until they book the next one that is. Eadaoin finished with a time of 4hr 15, Emer Lousie in 4hr
30 and Carmel in 4hr 19m. It was fantastic to see Eimear Donaghy back out on Marathon duty again
and she navigated Belfast in a time of 5hr 01m – congratulations Eimear.
Aidan Quinn covered 20 odd mile on the day as he recovers from a nasty injury recently, and he
sensibly made his way quickly to the Hatfield post race to apply ice to his aching calf muscle.
Another runner who did some miles on the day included Martin Donnelly who is also battling
through a recurring injury. It was lovely to see Kellie Mc Kenna back out again after recent injury
and the ever positive Martina Duggan and Roisin Mc Elvogue who all covered a few miles on the day.
Rebecca Mc Cann and Sarah Duggan are training hard at the moment and both done a few mile in
Belfast. Others who joined on the day to soak up the atmosphere was Aidan Mc Cann, Brian McCallan and John Mulgrew, all long-suffering partners of three of our runners.
The Beragh 5 Mile Road Race took place on Saturday morning and several Galbally runners made theshort Journey over to participate in this event. Martin Early had a top 10 finish coming home with a
time of 30:32 and personal best. John Gillespie finished closely behind Martin with a time of 31:14 , just missing out on a new personal best. Eamon Canavan also ran a super run over the five mile with
a time of 31:56. Denis Donaghy has been working consistently hard in training over the past number of months and this paid off with a personal best time of 37:35. Aisling Gillespie had a top 10 finish in
the ladies category with a time of 35:35. Paul Cassidy too will be pleased with his steady run completing the file miles in 40:13.
Nineteen year old Peter Cush ran a life time personal best of 16:56 at the Queen’s 5K at Belfast on Wednesday 06 April 2022. Since the start of the year Peter has been working hard both at training and attending race events getting himself into the shape of his life. Peter’s current goal was to break 17 minutes for the 5K road race, and he has been close to that in recent events but will be delighted with this run. Ran in windy conditions at the Annadale Embankment, Belfast, Peter went out running the first mile in 5 minutes 27 seconds and was able to maintain that incredible pace for the rest of the race. The race was eventually won by local superstar Nick Griggs from Mid Ulster AC and Peter finished well up the field in a race filled with incredibly fast athletes. A Galbally spokesperson said “At 19 years of age it is just incredible what Peter is currently doing. His training is incredible and dedicated. Early Saturday’s Peter up early and will be working on the track and on Sunday’s he will be up early again with the Galbally Runners for a road run. We look forward to supporting Peter as he sets new goals for 2022 and put in some more amazing runs.”
Labelled the fourth largest marathon in Europe, the Manchester Marathon is popular for its flat and fast course. Fourteen Galbally Runners made the journey, by boat or plane to take on this event in the most beautiful of conditions. Twelve tough weeks of training preparation went into this event through the winter months and the rewards paid off.
Fergal O’Donnell was the first Galbally Runner over the line. Fergal had been struggling with injury all year and is just getting back into training. Fergal finished the marathon in a time of 3:05, which is incredible considering the lack of proper training going into it. Fergal was quickly followed by Laura Maguire who ran an incredible time of 3:07. This was Laura’s first marathon and loved the event so much that she was quoted afterwards in saying that “she will be back to run more”. Laura had only joined Galbally Runners in October and put in a magnificent training block and truly deserved that time. Denise McCann wasn’t too far behind Laura. Denise was seeking redemption from a disastrous Manchester Marathon in 2021 and ran a massive personal best time of 3:09 and was absolutely delighted after the event.
Edel Corr will be absolutely delighted with her time also. This was Edel Corr’s second marathon and was also hindered with injury heading into it but ran a massive personal best of 3:23. Edel Corr’s running partner Niamh Mc Kenna also smashed her personal best with a sub 3:30 coming in with a time of 3:28. Sinead O’Neill, in her first proper marathon, joined the marathon programme late but had a excellent first proper marathon run and smashed her previous time with a 3:31 marathon.
Richard Bradley took off like a rocket and by the half way point Richard was on target for a 2:45 Marathon however, things took a turn for Richard in the last few miles and it became a struggle with Richard suffering an injury leaving Richard finishing in a time of 3:26.
Declan Girvan had the run of his life. This was Marathon number 2 for Declan, the first being Dublin Virtual. Declan had been working very hard in training and was delighted to cross the line with a time of 3:49 and new personal best for Declan. This run was a full 50 minutes faster than Declan's time in Dublin Virtual. Anna Deery running in her fourth marathon. crossed the line with a great time of 3:54. Jolene Mallaghan had a solid run throughout and finished with a personal best of 4:07. Jolene was quickly followed by Éadaoin McVeigh who was running her second proper marathon and had a great run with a time of 4:08. Lucy Woods, the child of the group, came home with a time of 4:11. This was Marathon number two for Lucy and it was a 20 minute personal best over her last marathon at Belfast. Emer Hand was delighted with her time as she had super Personal Best marathon with also with a time of 4:11. This was a massive personal best for Emer with almost 25 mins quicker than Belfast Marathon last October. Carmel McElvogue also came home with Emer with an excellent time and personal best of 4:11.
Over at Omagh on Sunday morning several of the Galbally Runner crew headed up to Omagh for the very popular Omagh Half Marathon. Eamonn Canavan and John Gillespie ran this together and both finished strong with times of 1:26:47. Francis O’Neill loves his events and ran a solid 1:39:28 and was delighted with his time. So too was Gerard Jones who came home with a personal best of 1:39:55. Caroline Murphy ran a 1:55:56. This is a new personal best for Caroline for the half marathon who was been putting in a huge effort at training. Dermot Moxon was delighted with his run, finishing Omagh half in 1:53:38. Four Galbally Runners ran the half marathon distance for the first time and what incredible runs they all had. Rebecca McCann ran a 1:50:08 with training partner Sarah Duggan finishing with a time of 1:52:45. Nuala Corr was totally delighted with her time of 1:52:07 with Linda Quinn finishing with a time of 2:19 over the half marathon. Donal Salmon, Dubliner and Galbally runner made it a family affair when he ran the Omagh Half with Nuala Corr and came home with a time of 1:52:07. Peter Conlon, training for an Iron Man, cycled up to Omagh and ran the event in 1:39:24. A Galbally Spokeperson said “We are delighted with the performance our runners put in at both Manchester Marathon and Omagh Half. We had 24 runners out this weekend and had 12 Personal Bests, 5 runners running the distance for the first time and a parkrun first place. Week in, week out our runners are on the track, on the roads and in the Gym improving their own abilities and doing what they never thought possible. Each and every one of them do inspire others to jump in and do things people never thought possible. We are proud of all our runners, and we look forward now to a season of road events before the autumn marathons again.”
Galbally Runner Laura Maguire had a super run and took third place female at last weekend’s Clogher Valley 5K with a time of 19:03. This was another new personal best for Laura Maguire over the 5K distance. Laura has been relatively new to the running but has been smashing it recently in training and events and was well pleased to receive her first event podium finish. Denise McCann followed closely behind Laura with a great time of 19:09 and was fourth female overall. The calibre of the opposition these ladies faced on this perfect morning at Clogher was high as the event was won by Irish athlete Denise Toner of Clones AC who smashed the course record with a time of 17:43
Peter Cush and Martin Early ran side by side for the entire 5K race with Peter finishing just in front of Martin with a time of 17:50 and Martin Early again smashing a personal best with a time of 17:51. This was a 35 second personal best for Martin Early who has loads more to come in 2022. Both Galbally Runners finished well up the field in the top 10. Fergal O’Donnell is coming back to form and glad to get some events in ran a steady 19:02 on the day.
Saturday morning also seen the famous Derry 10 miler. Four Galbally Runners headed off for this event on what was a nice morning for running. It was great to see Galbally Runner Aileen Hurson back out at the events after struggling with injury over the past year. Aileen ran a super personal best of 1:14:45. Hopefully we will see Aileen out at more events in the coming year. Francis O’Neill, running his third 10 mile event in three weeks ran a superb 1:18 and is delighted with his form. Michelle McCrory also had the most amazing of runs at the Derry 10 Miler running alongside her brother Martin Early, she recorded a personal best of 1:33:34. We don’t often see Michelle out at too many events but hopefully we will see Michelle out at lots more. A massive well done to you from all at Galbally Runners.
On Sunday morning over in Co. Monaghan some of our runners took on the Glaslough Harriers AC annual 5K event. The event is a hugely popular event supported by lots of running groups across Ireland with lots of prizes on offer. Denise McCann, deep into her Marathon training, decided to take the weekend with a difference and up the pace a bit to see how she would get on at the 5K event. That was a great decision for Denise, who was doubting herself slightly over the shorter, quicker runs. Ran in atrocious windy conditions Denise ran a 5K personal best time of 19:07 and took home the prize money and trophy for being first female. It’s only a matter of weeks before Denise smashes through the 19 minute barrier and hits those 5Ks in the 18s. Denise’s running buddy Niamh McKenna also took on the 5K event and had a super-fast run, finishing the 5K with a personal best and time of 21:26 averaging 6:54 minutes per mile. Peter Cush has been putting himself out there every week at these events and again had a great run completing the event in 17:43 with Fergal O’Donnell just back after a lengthy injury and running a 19:06.
Last Wednesday Galbally Runners participated in another 5K Track Meet at Meadowbank Arena, Magherafelt. The brilliantly organised event is hosted by running coach Francis Purvis of Purvis running and participation was from runners from Galbally Runners, North Belfast Harriers, Tafelta Runners, Purvis Running and Keep Er Lit running. The purpose of the evening is to get runners use to participating at 5K Track events and making them more comfortable with attending such events. There were five races in total. In race one Rebecca McCann took the lead from Sarah Duggan at about the halfway point and maintained it to win with a personal best time of 23:13. Sarah Duggan and Oliver Brannigan had a great sprint tussle to the finish with both runners coming home joint second with a time of 23:55 and personal bests for both runners. Caroline McElduff too was involved in the sprint finished and came home in fourth with a personal best time of 24:00. Galbally Runner Clare McElduff also ran a personal best of 28:14. In race two the group went out very sharp and hit the first 200 meters in 34 seconds, the quickest start of the night, before settling into a rhythm. Galbally Runner Sinead O’Neill took the lead early on before losing it to a few Keep Er Lit Runners but with 800 meters to go Sinead kicked to go back into the lead and pipped Dermott Coy of North Belfast Harriers to take first place with a personal best time of 20:31. Gerard Jones came home in a time of 21:05 with Calum McCullough slightly behind running a personal best of 21:15. Niamh McKenna was right behind Calum with a personal best time of 21:18 followed by Lucy Woods who also had a personal best run on the night with a time of 21:21. Declan Gervin chased Lucy to the line and also had a personal best of 21:44., Race three saw Peter McAtasney being the only Galbally Runner in the race and for most of the race stayed in amongst a group of Tafelta and Keep Er Lit Runners. Peter, who was targeting his second sub 20 of the week, kicked with 400 meters to go to win the race and record a new personal best time of 19:41. This last 400 meters of Peter’s run was also the second quickest 400-meter segment of the evening with a 1:11. Race four had the biggest field of the night with several Galbally Runners up against a great contingent from Tafelta, Keep Her Lit and North Belfast Harriers. Ruairi Johnston from Tafelta kicked early on with four laps to go to open up about a 70-meter lead. With two laps to go the field started to close him down with Cahir McGuiness of Keep Er Lit and Martin Early chasing him down. It was Cahir McGuiness of Keep Er Lit who was able to catch Ruari Johnston to take first place with Martin Early just missing out by one second to take third place with a 17 second personal best time of 18:26. Eugene Hackett, who is working hard both at the gym and track, had a super run and came home with a personal best time of 18:32. Fergal O’Donnell will be delighted with his time running a 18:35. Fergal is just back out training after receiving a nasty injury earlier in the year. The only two females in the race where Galbally Runners Denise McCann and Laura Maguire. Both runners ran side by side supporting each other for most of the race. Denise kicked with 800 meters to go looking for that sub 19 and came home in a time of 19:02 and personal best. There were only 8 seconds between both ladies as Laura chased Denise down to run a massive personal best of 19:10. Laura was trying to break the 20-minute 5K and she smashed it on the night. The last race of the night, and the quickest, had seen Peter Cush and Eamon Canavan up against a field of highly talented runners across all clubs. Two groups forms early on with three runners breaking away from the main group. Peter Cush, who had been showing some great form recently and sat comfortably behind the second group and had a great kick with 200 meters to go win that group and take fourth place overall. Peter’s time of 17:37 was the fastest Galbally Runner time of the night. Eamon Canavan, participating in this event for the first time, also had a great run and came home in a time of 18:43. A Galbally Runner’s spokesperson said “The learning experience for our runners here is incredible. Some of our runners felt they had more in the tank and should have went a bit earlier, some went a bit too sharp at the start and paid for it later on, but the main thing is that we all learned from the event. At the event we had 16 of our runners who recorded personal bests. We at Galbally Runners think that is just incredible and well done to those runners. We also enjoyed the event immensely and Galbally Runners would like to thank Francis Purvis of Purvis running for hosting the event and to all the participating running groups who made the event such an enjoyable evening.”
What a weekend Galbally Runners had last Saturday as they all put several weeks of tough training to the test as they headed to both the Carlingford Half and Bundororan 10 Mile events. Both these events are very popular with hundreds of runners across Ireland participating. Ran in the most perfect at conditions 15 of our runners completed in the Bundoran 10 Miler. Richard Bradley was the first Galbally Runner home finishing the 10 mile with a time of one hour exactly. Richard was soon followed home by John Gillespie who ran a 1:04:08 over the ten mile. John ran most of the race with Peter Cush who came home slightly behind with a time of 1:04:57. This was Peter’s second big run over the weekend as he PBed his 5K on the Friday with a time of 17:07. Peter is showing some great form of late and is, as we would say, flying. Denise McCann had the run of her life coming home with a massive personal best and time of 1:05:56 maintaining a 6:35 minute mile for the 10 mile. Denise had been doing some incredible training of late and the hard work, big mileage and gym all paid off as Denise came as forth female overall. This was some achievement in a massive event, where only a few years back for a Galbally runner would have been unheard of. A big congratulation to Denise from all of Galbally Runners. 33 seconds behind Denise came Laura Maguire. This too was an amazing result as Laura PBed with a time of 1:06:35 and was sixth female home. Laura had been training hard with Denise and this was only her third ever event, second as a Galbally Runners. Laura was delighted with her time as she starts her running journey. Hot on the heels of Laura was Sinead O’Neill, another new runner and she absolutely smashed her time with a massive personal best of 1:13:42. This is a super result for Sinead who also has only started her running journey. Sinead ran most of the run with Niamh McKenna. One of the younger members of the team, Niamh has been working extremely hard at training and knocking in the big miles and was very well deserved of her new personal best and time of 1:13:56. Galbally stalwart Francis O’Neill had a super run and was delighted with his performance of 1:16. Francis was soon followed home by Aisling Gillespie who ran a 1:16:29. This was the most amazing of runs from Aisling who is not long back out training after having baby Luke only a few months ago. What an amazing achievement from Aisling and a massive credit to her. Popular man and local GAA referee Dermot Moxon ran a 1:25:21. This wasn’t a personal best by any means from Dermot but was delighted with his time as he had been easing back on training lately. Caroline McElduff came home with a massive personal best of 1:28:26. Caroline too has been putting the work in at training and will be delighted with this result. Paul Cassidy running one of his favourite events ran a great run coming home with a time of 1:28:41. The two McGlinchey sisters have been complementing the football recently with a bit of cardio at the running with both girls loving the training and Parkruns. This is the first big event for both girls with Maeve running a 1:29:02 and Claire 1:37:30. New to the group is both Jacqueline Gillespie and Linda Quinn. Both ladies had only joined Galbally Runners recently and decided to give this event a go running the distance for the first time and what great runs they both had with Jacqueline running a 1:40:47 and Linda running a 1:47:34. Well done ladies and to all who had one of the best days at sunny Bundororan.
Over at Carlingford half marathon four of our runners headed over in search of personal bests after weeks and weeks of training. Peter McAtasney running his first half and aiming for a sub 1:40 absolutely smashed it in Carlingford with a time of 1:35 holding an average pace of 7:15. Declan Girvan too has been working extremely hard in training and was hoping to hold a pace in the 7’s did so and smashed his half marathon personal best with a time of 1:44. Éadaoin McVeigh running on home turf also ran a personal best of 1:57:26. Éadaoin was quickly followed home by Emer Hand who knocked a full 20 minutes off her time since her last half marathon in Carlingford and ran a 1:57:53. We know Ned will be proud when he picks up the paper during the week. That was a clean sweep of personal bests over at Carlingford and all runners were delighted with their deserved performance. A massive well done to you all at Carlingford from all at Galbally Runners.
Saturday seen the final race in the Sperrin Harriers Winter League Series. This was the longest of the four events with the first being way back in early December with the Lough Fea 5K. This one was a 10 miler, a trail run around Parkanaur. Richard Bradley was the highest placed Galbally Runner who finished in 5th place overall. The terrane obviously suits Richard has he carries out much of his training in trail or mountain type conditions. Richard’s time over the 10 mile was 1 hour 6 minutes. Richard was followed by Peter Cush who ran a 1.19.57. Francis O’Neill, running all the Sperrin Harriers events, came home with a time of 1:21:56. Another runner who never missed these events is Gerard Jones. Gerard came home just behind Francis in a time of 1.22.57. Well done to all our runners who participated in this popular event and thank you to the Sperrin Harriers for organising. Over at MUSA John McElroy made it Parkrun 22 with a consistent time of 22:21.
Where else would you find Galbally Runners any New Years Eve morning but at Loughmacrory for the popular Lough 5. This 5 mile event that had over 700 participants including recent Olympian and Irish middle distance runner, Ciara Mageean. Seventeen Galbally Runners took on the event, which includes the challenging ‘Joe’s Hill’ and nice finish around the lake at Loughmacory and all did the blue and white proud. The results are as follows:
Richard Bradley 29:46
Fergal O’Donnell 30:57
John Gillespie 31:09
Denise McCann 34:06, Personal Best and took the prize for first in her age category.
Peter Conlon 35:57
Stephen Ballantine 36:02
Francis O’Neill 36:02
Denis Donaghy 38:21
Francis McVeigh 40:02 and Personal Best
Eamon Canavan 41:01
Éadaoin McVeigh 42:41
Niall Mc Ginty- 42:46
Dermot Moxon 43:31
Paul Cassidy 43:35
Emer Hand 43:59
Caroline Murphy 46:13
Linda Quinn 54:35
In the 5K- Brocagh event Denise McCann took first female with a time of 20:00. Jonathan Loughran just missed out on a podium in the male race when he come home in fourth place with a time of 17:19. Francis McVeigh had a great run with a time of 23:57. Caroline Murphy ran another nice 5K run with a time of 27:08.The Girvan family were all out in force at the run with Callum running a time of 23:57, Jamie running a 24:58 alongside dad Declan at 25:00 and Caodhla running a 34:13 This was a great run from Caodhla who had a two minute personal best on the day. Mum Mairead also had a great run with the family and hopefully we will see more of them all through 2022. Aileen Hurson ran the event with her daughter Lilly Maye. It was great to see Lilly Maye out running with her mum who has been coaching a youth group in Galbally of late along side Oliver Brannigan and Oliver Murphy. Well done Lilly Maye and good things to come in 2022.
In the 10K event, the Galbally runners were out in force with Richard Bradly just 7 seconds short of picking up a podium place. Richard came home in fourth place with a time of 38:03. Richard was closely followed home by Fergal O’Donnell in fifth place with a time of 38:29. John Gillespie was pushing close behind Fergal and came home in 7th overall with a time of 38.51. A great run by Eamon Canavan recording a time of 40:17. This was a great performance by the leading Galbally Runner crew with the four of them finishing in the top 11 in a great field of runners. Brendan Woods was the next male home and ran a 43:23.
Anna Deery landed herself a podium by running a super time of 48:29. Well done Anna on being third female home. Éadaoin McVeigh soon followed and got herself a massive 10K PB with a time of 52:38. Emer Hand returned home in a time of 54:43 and Julie Deery running a steady 58:34 over a tough course.
At the famous Greencastle 5 Mile run Peter Cush was the first Galbally Runner home. Peter has been running some great times lately and ran a 32:23 over the challenging 5 mile route. Francis O’Neill recorded a nice time of 37:22 and John McElroy coming home with a time of 38:18. Paul Cassidy took on this run on Boxing Day and ran a 46:11. All great times over a challenging course, especially the huge climb at mile 4. Well done to all our runners out on Boxing Day.
In race one Jolene O’Hara came home in third place overall, first female home, with a time of 24:13. This was Jolene’s first time on the track and has been working hard on her training and it showed on the night. Closely behind as second female was Maeve McGlinchey with a time of 24:40. Maeve has swapped her football boots over the winter months for the runners, and it showed on the night her great level of fitness and cruised around the track for the first time getting a superb time. Caroline McElduff, doing this event for the second time ran very comfortably and controlled for all 12.5 laps to get a time of 27:40. Caroline was closely followed home by Cait Cunningham who recorded a time of 28.08. Cait in recent months has been mixing her love for cross fit with a bit of running and knocked in a great performance on the night.
In race two, new Galbally Runner, Peter McAtasney led the field from early on to record his first win with a time of 20:27. This was an excellent result for Peter who has been working hard at training and a huge personal best on the night. Peter now eyes that sub 20 5K as we come into a few events over the Christmas period. Stephen Ballantine, who took on this event for the first time, knocked in a nice time of 21:22. Lucy Woods, who has been knocking in lots of personal bests over the previous two months, done it again on Wednesday night with a massive Personal Best of 22:07. Consistency in training is paying off for Lucy who will look to hit sub 22 in the Broacagh 5K on Boxing Day. Niamh McKenna, who also has been working hard all year and doesn’t get to many events, came home in a time of 22:40. A massive learning experience for Niamh who will have a fantastic 2022 on the roads. Éadaoin McVeigh, our most consistent runner at training, came home with a time of 24:36. That was a full minute off Éadaoin’s personal best but everyone who knows Éadaoin will know she will come back in 2022 and smash her 5K Personal Best.
In race three, Denise McCann took joint second and was first female with a time of 19:55. Denise ran consistent splits throughout and had plenty more in the tank at the end. Denise was followed by Brendan Woods, who ran a 19:56. New Galbally Runner, Laura Maguire, had a super run and came home as second female with a personal best time of 20:00. Laura had the most incredibly comfortable run and also had “more in the tank” at the end. Laura too has been mixing cross fit with her new love for running and we have no doubt will see lots of Laura competing at events in 2022. Peter Conlan worked hard throughout and ran a 20:33 on the night. Peter, who has been in and out of training, will be happy with his performance on the night. So too will Donal Salmon who had a massive Personal Best with a time of 20:34. Donal is a very strong runner and is showing some great consistency in training. No doubt Donal is now eyeing up a sub 20 5K in 2022.
Race 4 went out at a blistering pace with a group of Keep Er Lit runners and a Purvis runner breaking away from the rest of the group from lap one. In the second group, Fergal O’Donnell sat comfortably with two Keep Er Lit runners until the last 200 meters and had a great kick to come home in front of that second group with a great time of 18:00. Fergal was followed home soon after by John Gillespie (18:27), Peter Cush (18:27) and Denis Cush (18:36).
On Saturday morning two great local events had clashed, meaning our runners were split between supporting both local running groups. Sperrin Harriers had the first of their annual winter league series at Lough Fea. Peter Cush, one of our youngest members ran a comfortable 19.14 and was third place in the 18-29 age category. Peter has been back training consistently for the past couple of months and is starting to show some great results. Francis O’Neill, a popular attendee at these Sperrin Harrier events, also ran a comfortable 22.18. In the coming weeks other Galbally Runners will support Sperrin Harriers at their popular winter league series.
At the other end of Cookstown at around the same time some our runners had been attending the annual Irwin Spears Memorial Cross Country event. Ran in very wet conditions all our runners performed well on the day and are loving their first year at cross country. Denise McCann finished in ninth place overall out of a field of 74 experienced cross country runners with a time of 23.17. There is no doubt Denise will be looking to get a team of ladies to complete in these team competitions next year. In the mens event, Fergal O’Donnell and John Gillespie worked together throughout the tough conditions and finished together in a time of 29.35. Oliver Murphy, getting his first taste of cross country this season finished in a time of 38.57 with Brendan Woods finishing in a decent time (but he doesn’t know as he didn’t put on his bib).
This year Jonathon Loughran was our only runner to take on the Seeley Cup event held at Ormeau Park on Saturday past. This famous 10K is the final big racing event of the year and has all the top runners from all over Ireland Participating. Jonny had a tough run but still recorded a personal best time of 36:54. That is great running over 10K.
On Saturday morning six of our runners ventured to Eskra to take on the popular Rudolph Run, a 10K event organised by Knockmanny Runners. It was a cold, wet and very windy morning for our runners as they ran the hilly event with 146 other runners from a range of clubs. Top marks go to the men as they picked up the honours being the first overall male team home. The male team were Fergal O’Donnell who completed the 10K course in a time of 38:10, Peter Cush 42:21, Brendan Woods 42:22, Peter McAtasney who had a personal best time over this course of 45:16 and Francis O’Neill who came home in 45:18. A superb performance by the squad on that tough route and they were all chuffed to hear that they had taken first place. Well done also to Denise McCann who ran a 43.23 over those conditions. The club sends its thanks to Knockmanny runners for its great hospitality and organisation of the event.
For the first time in the club’s short history it had entered runners into a cross country event held at Comber. First up were the ladies for the John McKeag cup. Denise McCann laced up those spikes for the first time to take on the 5.5K route across the fields. Denise was a bit nervous not knowing what lay ahead but had an amazing run finishing in a time of 24.30. Next up, John Gillespie, Fergal O’Donnell and Brendan Woods took on the 8K Comber Cup route. The route, similar to the ladies, involved lots of big climbs and difficult footing in wet ground. The 3 lads held their own at their first cross country event for the club with Fergal O’Donnell coming home in a time of 34:11 and John Gillespie in hot pursuit and came home in a time of 34:42. Brendan Woods came home in a good time of 37:50. It was the most enjoyable afternoon by our runners and lots of lessons learned on the day.
On Sunday morning over 400 runners from all over Ireland took part in the annual Armagh 10 mile road race organised by Armagh Athletics Club. The weather conditions were perfect as six Galbally Runners took to the start line for this event on a course that has a lot of tough climbs out around the country side of County Armagh. Some great times were recorded by our runners on the day. Richard Bradley, who already had competed two marathons in October ran the event in an amazing time of 1 hour and 57 seconds knocking a full minute off his time from last year. Brendan Woods recorded a time of 1:09:53. Frankie Conlan, not long back at the running, recorded a nice time of 1:13:33. Laura Maguire, a new recruit to Galbally Runners and new to running recorded an amazing time of 1:14:40. Francis O’Neill came home in a time of 1:17:48 and Edel Corr finished the tough route in a time of 1:18:40. Well done to all to take on that challenging route.
On Sunday morning past four of the Galbally Runners headed off to Shane’s Castle to complete in the ChampionChip Ireland Marathon event around the grounds of the castle. Denise McCann, who had been working hard all year for a marathon Personal Best went to get that PB at the Manchester Marathon. Things didn’t go Denise’s way that day and Denise pulled up at the half way point. Denise was determined to PB over the 26.2 miles and that very day of the Manchester event entered the next available local marathon, which was on the grounds of Shane’s Castle. Denise ran the perfect run that day and came home with a personal best of 3:17 and was first lady overall on the day. After every event it is time to reflect. The good runs and the bad runs. What went well, what worked and what did not.
What a day the Galbally Runners team had out at Belfast City Marathon on Sunday past. The culmination of months of hard training seen 15 Galbally runners take to the start line to take on the 26.2 mile course from Stormont, around Belfast and to finish back at Ormeau Park. This hard training involved a lot of commitment from these folks especially on a Sunday morning with the “long run”. Each runner had their reasons. That might have been to break a certain time, it might have been to finish this endurance run for the first time, or it might have been in remembrance for a close relative who had passed. Some also run for fun, and Galbally Runners on Sunday had runners on the course with all abilities and all with their own “why”.
Jonathon Loughran 2:48
Richard Bradley 2.57.
Fergal O’Donnell 3:03.
Eugene Hackett 3:16
Brendan Woods 3:16
Martin Donnelly 3:31
Edel Corr 3:31
Niamh Mc Kenna 3:44
Donal Salmon, 3:54
Éadaoin McVeigh 4:06
Lucy Woods 4:28
Dena Jones4:33
Emer Hand4:35
Roisin McElvogue 5:
Well done to Denise McCann and Richard Bradley who picked up third place podiums a piece at the Donegal East Half Marathon on Sunday 26 September 2021. Ten of our runners took on the course as preparation runs for their upcoming marathons at Belfast and Manchester and their runs will give them all every bit of confidence as they take on the 26.2 miles in the coming weeks. Their times are as follows:
Richard Bradley 1:22 and third male
Denise McCann 1:34 and third female
Aileen Hurson 1:3.
Edel Corr 1:41
Niamh McKenna 1:48 and personal best
Éadaoin McVeigh 2:05
Emer Hand 2:05
Dena Jones 2:06
Niall McGinty 2:06
Kellie McKenna 2:12 and personal best
28 Galbally Runners headed down to the Meadowbank Sports Area in Magherafelt to join Tafelta AC, Mallusk Harriers, Dub Runners of Belfast and the North Belfast Harriers for a 5K friendly track meet. This was the first time Galbally Runners, who are normally at road events, attended a 5K track meet.
Organisers Francis Purvis, Tafelta AC and his team at Team were incredible providing the runners an amazing welcome, a fabulous atmosphere and some much-needed refreshments afterwards. This welcome made all our runners, a lot of whom had a few pre-run nerves, a lot more relaxed and provided for the most enjoyable evening. Every single runner from Galbally Runners who attended did us proud at the event with plenty of personal bests recorded however this night was a friendly event designed to encourage people of all abilities to try a track event that, perhaps before, they wouldn’t have felt ‘good enough’ to attend.
The team had a ball a ball and hope to be back at Track events like this too. Well done to the following for competing:
Roisin McElvogue (30:45), Ann Marie Morris (30:05), Eimear Donaghy (29:56), Erin McDonald (29:22), Caroline McElduff (27:48), Oliver Branagan (26:40), Emer Hand (26:04), Dena Jones (26:03), Brenda O’Donnell (26:02), Ryan McCabe (25:28), Dorinda McLaughlin (25:08), Barry Morris (24:09), Lucy Woods (23:57), Éadaoin McVeigh (23:46), Oliver Murphy (23:26), Declan Gervin (22:28), Francis O’Neill (21:43), Frankie Conlon (21:21), Denis Donaghy (21:11), Brenda Mullan (21:08), Patrick Donnelly (20:57), Peter Conlon (20:37), Edel Corr (20:36), Denise McCann (19:36),
Peter Cush (19:34), Martin Donnelly (19:28), Brendan Woods (19:11), John Gillespie (18.31)
On Sunday 29 August Galbally Runners headed to Larne to take on the famous Antrim Coast Half Marathon. This popular event attracts runners from all over the world and was won last year by Mo Farah. The course and weather conditions were perfect and meant the runner could take a good crack at racing it. There were great performances from all our athletes there with Jonathon Loughran, Richard Bradley, Fergal O'Donnell & Lucy Woods getting themselves personal bests. Well done to all our runners however little time to rest with training continuing for upcoming events such as the Washingbay half and Belfast, London and Manchester Marathons. Results are as follows:
Jonny Loughran 1:16:47 – Personal Best
Richard Bradley 1:18:44 – Personal Best
Fergal O’Donnell 1:20:36 – Personal Best
Brendan Woods 1:32:11
Francis O’Neill 1:40:50
Lucy Woods 1:58:51 – Personal Best
Nine of our runners headed over to the Mid Ulster Sports Arena in Cookstown on Saturday morning
to pace themselves with 124 other runners at the Saturday Morning Parkrun. What a morning they
had with every one of them achieving a personal best over the 5K with Jonathan Loughran achieving
second place overall and Denise McCann finishing as second female. The results from MUSA are as
follows :
Jonathan Loughran 16:58, personal best and second overall
Denise McCann 19:18, personal best and second female
Brendan Woods 18:52 and personal best
Eugene Hackett 18:55 and personal best
Declan Girvan 23:08 and personal best
Emer Hand 25:52 and personal best
Erin McDonald 29:55 and personal best
Elena Williams 29:56 and personal best
Blaithin Rafferty 30:38 and personal best
On Sunday 04 July four of our runners headed over to Craigavon lakes to participate in the Kernan 10K and 5K events. Éadaoin McVeigh and Emer Hand both had great runs in the 5K event and came home with times of 25:37 and 25:54. The 10K event seen Richard Bradley return home in a time of 36:48 and Francis O’Neill having his first outing in over a year also having a great run coming home in under 47 minutes.
The Paul Murray Grand Prix Series, an event organised by Knockmanny runners started on Friday 04 June 2021. The popular event is a 5K race every Friday evening in June across different and challenging routes around the hills of Eskra. Six of our runners turned out for the event which was ran in almost perfect running conditions and all put in a super shift for the evening. The times for our runners were as follows: Fergal O’Donnell 17:34 and second in the Male Over 40 category, Peter Cush 19:13, Eamon Holland 25:04, Stevie McKenna 21:18, Dermot Moxon 23:23 and Brendan Woods 19:24.
Round 2 - Another warm sunny evening in Eskra seen some great performances from all Galbally Runners with personal best from Niall McGinty and Denise McCann who for the first time smashed that 20 minute 5K barrier. All of our runners also improved on their time from the previous week. The times for our runners were as follows: Peter Cush 18:43, Denise McCann 19:46 and a Personal Best, Stevie McKenna 21:02, Niall McGinty 22:48 and a Personal Best, Dermot Moxon 23:23 and Brendan Woods 19:22.
Rouns 3 of the Paul Murray grand Prix series in Eskra seen another great week of running from the Galbally Runners squad. Fergal O’Donnell recorded a personal best of 17:16 and was in ninth position overall and second in his age category. O’Donnell is going from strength to strength this year and is now eyeing that sub 17 minute 5K. Maybe a Parkrun somewhere during the summer will do it. Peter Cush, at just 18 years of age and just back from injury recording a super time of 18:30. Denise McCann knocked in another PB and her second sub 20 minute 5K in two weeks, this time taking over 10 seconds off her last 5K with an amazing time of 19:33. Brendan Woods ran a time of 19:42 and Niall McGinty chose to take this as a threshold run on his training program and ran a great time of 23:46.
The final round of the Paul Murray 5K was last Friday evening in Eskra. This route proved to be the fastest of all routes with Personal Best again for Fergal O’Donnell with a cracking time of 17:16. Peter Cush cruised home with a time of 19:16 whilst Brendan Woods and Niall McGinty came home with improved times of 19:19 and 22:44.
Fergal O’Donnell and Brendan Woods made their way to Down Royal for the 10K ChampionChip Ireland event on Sunday 30 May 2021. Both runners had great runs in blistering conditions, though we shall not complain. Fergal smashed his personal best with a time of 37:45. For the first two miles O’Donnell got boxed in amongst a group of runners and couldn’t get a away and ran splits miles at times of 6:20 and 6:13 however got going after this and felt very strong with the rest of the split times coming in at 6:08, 6:02, 5:53, 5:52 and 5:52. Fergal was delighted with his performance and knows his training is paying off. Woods came home with a time of 41:54 and is happy with his performance and is making great progress with his training.
Well done to Galbally Runner Richard Bradley who smashed his marathon personal best on Sunday at the ChampionChip Ireland Event with an amazing time of 2:51:52 over the 26.2 mile course at Down Royal. Bradley set off strong at the start knocking in a consistent sub 6.30 minute mile pace up to the 16 mile mark but facing a strong wind Bradly fought through the last part of the marathon slowing ever so slightly to still finish off the race at an average pace of 6:32 minute miles and was placed 7th overall out of a field of 59. Richard is an ultra-runner and knocks in plenty of miles over the Mourne mountains as part of his training and will be well pleased with his performance.
This weekend the Galbally Runners participated in the Belfast Half Marathon Virtual event. Some over the runners had chosen to run over the 13.1 miles and some elected to run the 5K virtual. As part of a wider running community we hope this is one of the last virtual events we will run as we get somewhat closer to normality. Some of our runners planned to cover the distance whilst some went in the pursuit of personal best. Like all Galbally Runner events all runners completed the event with smiles on their faces, well for most of the way. As a club we are so incredibly proud of everyone who got out and gave it a go. Special mentions to our first timers over the half marathon Paddy Donnelly, Edel Corr and Michelle Early who all had incredible runs for debut participants and what fantastic performances from them. Matthew Sloan this week completed a marathon on Monday, 2 10ks on Tuesday and Wednesday and an incredible 1:29 half marathon on Saturday. What an amazing week he had. A few other well-earned and deserved personal bests to mention from Jonathon Loughran, Pete Conlon, Irene Mc Elduff ,Emer Louise Hand, Caitlin Donaghy, Éadaoin McVeigh, Declan Girvan Denise McCann, Dermot Moxon, Ciara Herron, Niamh Mc Kenna, Matthew Sloan, Martin Donnelly, Claire McElduff, Richard Bradley and Julie Deery.
Galbally Runners participated in the first (Non Virtual) event since Covid restrictions started to relax. How exciting was it for our runner to get out and participate in a non virtual event. This event series is organised by ChampionChip Ireland at the Downroyal Racecourse. Thanks to Glenn Grant of Championchip Ireland for wasting no time and getting the events up and running so soon. It was organised brilliantly & safely with a lot of the buzz, the banter back that was missed by all. The running too was something else. Well done to all Galbally Runners who attended with a special mention to Richard Bradley, Caitlin Donaghy and Edel Corr on working hard to secure PBS for themselves this week for their 5K. Another special mention to Éadaoin McVeigh who secured a PB over the 10K earlier in the week in the Dundalk Virtual 10K.
Well Done to all our runners who took part in the 10K or a 10 mile virtual challenge . Some runners ran as part of the Cara Bundoran 10 mile challenge and some of us - just for the craic! Well done to you all!. We had plenty of strong runs & PBs... but more importantly - plenty of smiles through those miles!
The Greencastle 5 Mile Road Run went ahead today a few days earlier than planned due to Covid restrictions coming into effect on December 26th.
Huge thanks and congratulations to the event organisers who planned a very successful, enjoyable and extremely safe running event!!
As always, the course was tough! And that hill - we enjoyed it immensely!!
It was great to get one final organised event in 2020. Well done to everyone out powering around Greencastle! Super running by all GRs
After a couple of “Tapering” weeks, Galbally runners took to the local roads last weekend to complete the Dublin Marathon, Half Marathon and 10K events. This was a culmination of a long period of training through the summer months by a lot of our runners and they were delighted to have the opportunity to run this on our local roads following all Covid guidelines and restrictions.
A special mention to our 1st time Marathoners Dena Jones, Kellie McKenna, Éadaoin McVeigh, Emer Hand, Brenda Mullan & Declan Girvan. Some of these runners had started our beginner programme only last year and now have completed an amazing 26.2 mile event. It was also the first time for Roisin McElvogue, Sarah Quinn and Francis McVeigh to complete the half marathon distance and for Maria Quinn to complete her first 10K. It was very a special and emotional event as each runner had their own motivation to do these challenging events but all can be very proud of their achievements. Well done to all our runners who had been out at some point over the weekend participating in these events.
Last Sunday had seen some of our runners took part in their toughest challenge in over a year when they participated in a marathon time Trial in Coalisland. The running conditions were atrocious with constant rain as well as the runners having to deal with a strong headwind for much of the second half of the run. This meant a tough finish to what is one of the gruelling of sporting events.
The Galbally Runners all put in some magnificent performances and was very well deserved everyone after such a hard year. A massive congratulations to Aileen Hurson who was first lady at the event and Denise McCann who was second lady. Both work consistently at their training program and are delighted with their results and made huge progress over the marathon miles. The Galbally Runners times are as follows Jonathan Loughran (3.06.13), Aileen Hurson (3.10.51 & Personal Best), Denise McCann (3.27.58 & Personal Best), Pete Conlon (3.28.46 Personal Best), Frankie Conlon (3.43.50) & Niall McGinty (4.16.18 & Personal Best). Well done also to Ita McVeigh who also completed a 20 mile training running with us today in prep for Dublin Marathon Virtual in 2 weeks time. The club extents its congratulations and thanks to Brian Taggart who came second over all on the day with a time of 2:46:27. Brian guided a lot of the Galbally runners to personal best times at the event. Thank you!
Congratulations for another marathon this weekend for Richard Bradley who knocked in a 3.09.55 running the London Virtual Marathon.
In preparation for some marathon running in October, some of our runners took to Coalisland for a half marathon time trial. This event was to be the biggest test some of our runners have had in several months which seen the run through “The Low Side” of Derrytresk, Derrylaughan, along the Lough Shore and back to Coalisland. The route, mainly flat and right bang in the middle of a tough training schedule, did allow for some good pacing on the day and all our runners came away happy with their performance. The runners and times are as follows :
Ita Mcveigh- 1.40.19, Denise McCann - 1.37.45, Aileen Hurson - 1.31.19 and first female, Jonathan Loughran 1.26.47, Brendan Woods - 1.37.30, Francis O’Neill - 1.40.16
On Saturday morning one of our youth runners, Peter Cush, took part in a 3000 meter time trial at the running track in Magherafelt. This was to be a good test of Peter’s speed over this distance and he came home at a time of 9.37. This was almost a full minute faster than Peter’s time at the Armagh International Road Race back in February.
Some of the Galbally runners team took another trip down to Down Royal on Saturday morning to have another crack at the 5K organised by ChampionChip Ireland. A few of our newer runners had joined us for this event, which can be a daunting experience for many. However, they showed a lot of courage to put those runners on and participate in this event. Their determination paid off with a lot of them knocking out huge personal bests on the day and everyone loving the experience. All of them are now excited for the next Championchip Ireland event and even some of them have signed up since for the Dublin Virtual Marathon in October. The Galbally Runners results/times are as follows :
Dena Jones (26:20), Emer Hand (26.19 – PB), Éadaoin Rennick-McVeigh (25:41 - PB), Denise McCann (20:27), Declan Girvan (24:30 – PB), Francis McVeigh (24:21 - PB), Brendan Woods (19:54), Peter Cush (18:44), Jonathan Loughran (18:12)
Well done to our Ultra Runner Richard Bradley who completed the Strangford lough Ultra marathon last weekend. Richard completed the 53 mile double marathon course in 9 hours and 12 minutes finishing in ninth place overall.
It had been almost 6 months since Galbally Runners participated in a proper race day. Over the course of lockdown we have dabbled in virtual runs & taken part in various challenges but there really is no substitute for race day. Five of our runners headed off to DownRoyal Racecourse for a 5K event organised by ChampionChip Ireland. This event was supported by Athletics NI and managed well by ChampionChip Ireland with all Covid restrictions in place and risks well managed. There was a definite buzz at the start, the nervous excitement in the stomach, pinning the race numbers on and the adrenaline rush as the participants ran the start line!
There were no PBs however the team were glad to get out racing today. The results were as follows :
Denise McCann : 20:37
Peter Cush : 18:48
Jonathan Loughran : 18.28
Fergal O’Donnell : 18:45
Brendan Woods : 19:53
2nd place overall finish for Richard Bradley at the 26 extreme 10K nights event! Such a cool event taking place at night on both road & trail!
Next up was Carlingford 1/2 marathon where Emer Louise & Julie Deery bagged themselves a Pb!! So well done girls!! Chuffed for you both.
Carmen 5K & 10K was fantastic! Testing but enjoyable routes and the most incredible hospitality & spread afterwards!! 2nd place overall for Denise McCann in the 5K & 1st in age category for Ita McVeigh in the 10K! Well done girls!!
Brackaville Running Club held their first 5K event today. An incredible turnout, great route & another incredible spread after! All sorts of sweet treats!! Another very friendly welcome from our friends in this club!! PBS for Dena, Pete Conlon, Lucy woods & Francis McVeigh. 2nd place female Denise McCann & 1st in her age category Ita McVeigh
What an evening we had at the Armagh International Event!
Runners from 15 different countries taking part recording phenomenal times over the 5K & 3K distances.
This was a first for our club. The athletes who take part can only be described as elites. Which, as you can imagine means self doubt and worry set in! Should I be here? Am I good enough? Well - it was fantastic! A great atmosphere & we like to think we did ourselves proud. Well done Jonathon Loughran, Fergal O'Donnell, Peter Cush, Brendan Woods & Denise McCann. Great to see other local athletes out taking on the Mall! Thanks to everyone for the shout outs!
Sperrin Harriers put on another fantastic event in Drum Manor Forest Park. Francis O'Neill, John McElroy and Ita McVeigh worked hard over a very tough course! Wet mucky hilly - trail runners, they’re something else!
Martin Ferguson, Fergal O'Donnell and Richard Bradley headed for Gosford Forest & took part in the Born 2 Run 10K. A tough mixture of trail & roads didn’t slow the boys down! Well done to Richard who had a top 10 finish!
Well done to Stevie Mckenna on taking 1st overall at the Castlewellan 5K night run! Trail Runs in the dark!! Unreal!! Well done Stevie, Jonathon Loughran & Richard Bradley!
Sperrin Harriers organised a brilliant 5 miler around An Creagán yesterday. Very very wet & very very mucky conditions! Fergal O'Donnell Francis O'Neill & John Mc Elroy ploughed on through and had great runs!! Thanks to Sperrin!
Galbally Runners is affiliated with Athletics NI
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