Only a small number of Letterkenny Athletic Club runners were in competitive action at the weekend.
With a large number of important cross country, road and indoor track races due to take place in late winter and early spring, club runners took the opportunity to get in crucial training runs.
The club hope to have strong teams taking part in Saturday’s Northern Ireland and Ulster Intermediate and Masters’ cross country championships in Gransha, Derry. The programme starts at 1.00pm.
Five runners took part in the Letterkenny parkrun and all performed admirably. Paul Lee was in 3rd place in a time of 21.28 and, in the process, was the first M45-49 runner. Fionnuala Larkin ran the fastest time of the 25 parkruns she has done to date. She clocked 21.49, to finish 4th overall and 1st woman.
Richard Raymond, who has participated in a huge number of races in the last 6 months, clocked 22.20 to finish in 7th place overall and in first place in the M60-64 category.. He was closely followed by Cathal Roarty, in 22.52, finishing first in the M50-54 age group.
This was Cathal’s best time of the 10 parkruns he has done in the last 3 months. It was his first sub 23 minute performance and took 25 seconds off his previous best parkrun performance.
Peter McLean, a fervent supporter of the Letterkenny parkrun, ran his 39th parkrun in 26.03 to finish as 2nd in the M55-59 category.
The second race in the Lifford Strabane AC 5K series takes place on Sunday in Strabane. Two LAC runners are in with an excellent chance of picking up prizes in the overall series. Following on from the opening race in Carrigans, Richard Raymond is in first place in the M60+ category, with a maximum 20 points. Barry Mackey is in 3rd place in the M50-59 category, with 16 points.
Young Donal Farren had a tremendous run in Cardiff. He finished 18th overall in a very competitive field, while running for the Ulster and Northern Ireland U-20 team in the Celtic International Cross Country at Blackweir Fields in Bute Park in the centre of Cardiff.
Letterkenny Athletic Club extends sympathies to club members Brian and Kevin Ferry on the death of their father, Brian.
The club also wishes to extend sympathies to Aoibheann and Rian Nibbs on the death of their little brother, Oran.
Sympathies are extended to club athlete Ciaran Doherty, following the death of his uncle, Seamus. May they Rest in Peace.
