Tallaght runners deliver on marathon goals

THE Dublin Marathon, incorporating the Dublin, Leinster and National Marathon Championships, saw Tallaght Athletic Club field 41 runners.

First home for the club on his marathon debut was Luke Coleman in 2:43and he was closely followed by Trevor Connolly as both finished within the top 100.

In total the club had six men break the three-hour marathon barrier including Liam Cullen and Billy Loughman who also carded personal bests.

Other male athletes who recorded PBs on the day included David Callaghan, Dermot Delany, Gerry Schley, David O’Brien, Barry Cullen, Karl Gill, Andrew Lennon, Eddie Donnegan and Sandro Giglione.

Paul Murphy, who only took up running last year, recorded a fine finishing time of 3:43.

First home for the ladies was Mayo native Pauline Madden in 3:33 minutes, more than 20 minutes inside her previous personal best.

She was followed home by Jacqui Boyle, ladies captain Claire O’Brien, vice captain Sarah Jane Kinsella and Liz Pepper.

In the Dublin Champion-ship races the men scooped M35 bronze (Trevor Connolly, Shane Carton and Liam Cullen) and M50 silver (Gerard Dore, Derek Quinn and Garry Clarke).

Connolly was second in M35 while Jacqui Boyle followed suit in the F45 division in what was impressive performances by the two runners.

Club stalwart Garry Clarke, who has ran the Dublin Marathon on more than 30 occasions, picked up Dublin and Leinster gold in the M65 category while Eddie Coyle who has was running his 102nd marathon on Sunday, made it Dublin and Leinster gold in the M70 class.

Anyone interested in running the marathon or indeed any other race distance and who would like advice on training can contact the club at tallaghtacemail@yahoo. ie or visit our new webpage http://tallaghtac.ie