180 runners signed up to the 4th successive Colemanstown 10k and what a day it was! Ideal road running conditions, splendid sunny weather, incredible atmosphere and another resounding success! At the start of the race, Mick Rice, Athenry AC paid tribute to the legendary Tommy Madden, RIP, former member of Derrydonnell AC who was a phenomenal athlete in his time and his guidance also assisted in the foundation of Athenry AC. Owen Byrne, GCH led home a record number of finishers in a time of 34:46, Paul Conlon was 2nd in a time of 35:04 while Ray Somers, Athenry AC was 3rd home in 36:25. In the senior ladies Jane Anne Meehan, Athenry AC romped home in a splendid time of 38:53 while Barbara Dunne, GCH came second in 40:04 & Nichola O’Ceallaigh, GCH came 3rd in 42:53. By the half-way point the race was much closer together relative to the last 2 years as the first 3 home were pretty much together entering the last few kilometres. Male & Female O/40 category winners were Jane Walsh, GCH & Mick Rice, Athenry AC. O/50 winners were Danny Carr & Bernie Kelly, GCH. O/60 winners were Martin Keane, Athenry AC & local lady Mary Kelly, Tiaquin. First locals home went to husband & wife combination, Gearoid & Mary Rohan. We know what their pillow talk was about on Saturday night! There was also a marvellous turnout of runners for the children’s fun run in which 81 participants took part adding greatly to the wonderful atmosphere. This race has continued to grow and the perfect and sunny weather saw numerous personal bests achieved across the age categories. Thank you to all who made this run extra special. We are proud to be able to put on a run of this stature but again it would not be a success story without the support of so many people who are committed to maintaining the phenomenal progression of the Colemanstown 10k. Yet again, the entire community was the core of this success. Thanks to Frank & Bernie Burke, Colemanstown who since the foundation of this run have sponsored the overall prize money, to the many marshalls, photographers and stewards, water station personnel who helped out, to Martin Anderson for devising a new database to assist in entering the participants data, the expert commentary from Kevin Rohan and all within the soccer club who helped out with promotion & PR spreading the appeal of the 10k to the masses. Also huge thanks must go to the many bakers who supply such a glorious array of home cooked food, it is said that many participate in the run just for the food alone. The old adage ‘More hands make bigger success’ conspicuously stands out. Finally thank you to all the participants who travelled near and far to support this run and this year we had more locals than ever participating – hats off to Kerrill Lally, Tommy Kelly, Ross Sullivan, Patricia Burke, all club members who never ran before. We appreciate all your support and hope you enjoyed the day. Should you have any comments or remarks, we are only glad to hear from you at the email contact and number listed on this website. All in all, it was a truly memorable day. Happy running to all our readers! Pictures courtesy of Colemanstown amateur photography society to follow in the next few days. Results from Red Tag Timing attached below. To add to the occasion, we had an engagement in the midst of the after celebrations as the word filtered through that Ger Ward and PC were tying the knot. Congrats to them both.
http://www.redtagtiming.com/results/Colemanstown10km_2014.xls