It has been a hectic weekend, with first up been the British & Irish Masters CC Champs , hosted by our good colleagues in Northern Ireland Masters in Belfast on Sat. The whole weekend was superbly organised & a huge thank you to all those who had worked tirelessly behind the scenes. The course itself out in Billy Neill MBE Park was challenging, & scenic. Thankfully the weather had been kind in the weeks leading up, otherwise it would have been much more demanding. It was great to see also so many supporters out there who were very vocal & cheering everyone throughout. Also good to see Paul Elliott out supporting after a recent health scare.
Congrats again to all the Athletes who competed @ British & Irish Masters in Belfast yesterday. Fantastic results all round with the Women dominating by taking 6 of 8 in the age groups, plus F70s 2nd & F60s 3rd. This gave Ireland a 6pt margin over England plus winning title 3rd year in a row. Men won 4 of the 7 age groups, 2nd in M35s, 60s& 70s plus 3rd in M75s. M55s lost out to Scotland on count back for 3rd. Ireland won Men’s title for only the 2nd time ever with a 1pt margin over England, therefore Ireland also captured overall Team victory, again only for the 2nd time since these Champs commenced in 1988. Now to defend all when hosted by England in Leeds 2025. Following discussions at Team Managers meeting on Fri night, rule change will see M35 to M50 drop 1 team place from 6 to 5 with 4 to score, with Woman increasing from 4 to 5 & same scoring. Age groups 55plus will remain same for both Men & Women, 4 to run, 3 to score. Also adding in F75 teams plus F80 inds, same as Men. Let’s all look forward to defending those titles in 2025
Numerous ind medals were also won, right from the very start in Race 1 M & W 65plus. Tommy Payne had the distinction of been the first Irish Athlete home on the day, taking silver M65. Pauline Moran retained her title in the F65s. Joe Gough 2nd M70 with Brigid McCabe 3rd F70. Martin McEvilly 1st M75 & Margaret Glavey 1st F75. In race 2, the Irish ladies were dominant with recent trials winner, Fiona Gettings F40 leading the pack home, followed closely behind by Clare McGuigan F40 silver & 2nd overall, with Kate Purcell 3rd for the perfect score of 6. In the F35s, Sharon Rynne, 1st & Catherine Thornton 2nd, in the F45s, Michelle Kenny 1st & Karen Costello 2nd. Caitriona Devine F50, 2nd. Annette Kealy 1st F55 & Kay Byrne 3rd F60. Race 3 had M55 – 64, with Declan Toal M50 again winning the overall race plus retaining his M50 title plus Seamus Somers 3rd. Des Kennedy captured the M55 title. Tommy Hughes was 4th in the M60s. In the final champ race, M35 – M44, ind medals were won by Eoin Mullan 3rd M40 plus Mark Ryan & Alexander Wallace 2nd & 3rd M45. Full race results below. Anyone still due to pick up medals, then contact Team Managers, Men, Pat O’Grady 087 9969627 or Women, Michael Fennell 087 1351134
Please see first link below, provided by Northern Ireland Masters which allows Athletes to view & purchase if they wish from their official photographer who was in place throughout Sat to capture all races plus awards ceremony. The additional links were furnished by Ciaran Carlin, from whom I believe you can also purchase photos if you wish.
Please find below a link to the webpage of the official event photographer. There will be a lin " NI cross country". Anyone
clicking that link can then access the formal team photos, action shots from the races and awards photos, which are free to download and print free of charge. For those wanting a hard copy of the pictures there will be a small change. Details will be on the webpage.
The additional links were furnished by Ciaran Carlin, from whom I believe you can also purchase photos if you wish.
Super Master, Ann-Marie McGlynn proved also on Sunday that she is getting better with age. Just a few weeks after retaining her AAI National Marathon title in Dublin, she won her first Senior AAI CC title in Irvinestown in very impressive fashion & will now lead the Irish Senior Women in the European CC Champs in Turkey next month. Again you can get full results via Myrunresults
A large group also gathered at the Indoor Arena in Abbottstown on Sunday, hosted by 4 coaches, Mart Barrett, Lucy Moore, Sean Breathnach & Trevor McGlynn. We are getting very impressive feedback from all those who attended & they advise that it was very beneficial. IMAA are grateful to all 4 coaches who gave up their time so freely & imparted some great tips & knowledge. Hopefully we will be in a position to host another one before too long. Will be promoted once we secure coaches & suitable date.
Michael Fennell
IMAA Comm
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