Donore Harriers atheltes at the cross country event
Donore Athletes compete in Dublin marathon and cross country events
DONORE Harriers had 52 athletes in the Dublin marathon, some stand out performances and many personal bests were set. Conditions were cool with misty rain and some wind in the latter miles.
John Travers was the first man from the club to cross the finish line on his maiden voyage over the distance. Cramps stymied his pace in the latter miles but he put in a super strong performance securing a 2.23.20 finish.
He was followed in by Kane Collins who got a super pb of 2.23.56.
Wayne Waldron our ultra marathoner was next in with a solid 2.30.17 and Chris Dorney not far behind in another excellent pb of 2.35.42, this closed our lead team which according to provisional results are 4th so far, Gavin Curtin was on pacing duty for the leading women while Bernard Geraghty on a storming run of 2.39 which earned him 5th in the M50 category.
Donore’s women showcased elite times with three sub 3.10’s in the camp, Amy Moriarty 3.08.17, Orinta Donele 3.08.20 and Emily Cunniffe 3.08.46. Ultra mountain star Sorcha Loughnane was happy to run with her sister this time in 3.18.23 and helped her along to a 6 minute pb also! The Fit4Life team took part too with Sarah O’Mahony the first in with a fantastic 3.49.36.
David Campbell led the Donore team of 60 plus volunteers at the drinks station.
In cross country, Adam Nason won individual bronze and the men’s team won gold at the Leinster Novice XC in Gowran Kilkenny with the women’s team finishing 9th
Two weeks before this at the Dublin Novice cross country in the Phoenix park, Adam Nason also won bronze but the men’s team missed out on bronze by one point with the women’s team 8th
The juveniles performed superbly in the Dublin even ages the same day , there was boys team gold in the U16 and U18 races. Adam Noone was outright winner of the U16 and it was 1-2-3 of Liam Morris, Callum Twomey and Rhys Johnson in the U18. The girls team won U18 gold and altogether from u10 up to u18. The club had over 60 boys and girls competing.
Donore Harriers also lost a club stalwart in recent weeks with the passing of Barry Potts.
Barry was a Ballyfermot native born and reared in the area and was an army veteran.
He competed in army races and In his 25 years in Donore Harriers he competed over road and cross country and represented Ireland many times in the British and Irish Masters cross country.
He also coached the Fit4Life group for many years and was much loved by his athletes.
At his funeral in Ballyfermot, his Donore clubmates formed a guard of Honour before the funeral Mass. Rest in peace Barry.
We also saw the evergreen Ann Woodlock back in action at the age of 86 – she won gold in the W85 800m at the European Masters track and field championships in Madeira.
