A number of Ireland’s leading male middle-distance runners will attempt to run the first sub four-minute mile on the road in Donegal when they toe the line in the elite invitational mile event in Letterkenny on Monday, March 17th.
Some of the fastest female middle-distance athletes will be aiming to break the 4:30 barrier for the mile in what is set to be the first event of its kind staged in Donegal.
Featured photo: Gary Murray, who will start the elite mile on March 17th in Letterkenny
The elite invitational mile, being held in association with Michael Murphy Sports, will be preceded by the second annual 3K road race which attracted 150 last year. Once again, proceeds from the race will go to St Bernadette’s Special School in Letterkenny.
Looking ahead to the events, organiser, Sean McFadden said: “We had the 3K race in Letterkenny for the first time for many years in 2024. We were really happy with how it went and decided to make it an annual event.
“We also identified an opening for a fast one-mile race and when we put the word out, we got a great level of interest from some of the big names. The one-miler is an invitation only event and we are delighted with the names we have secured.”
Cathal O’Reilly of DCU is expected to lead the way in the men’s race. The Kilkenny native has clocked 3:59 for the mile on the track, has personal bests of 1:51 for 800 metres and 8:11 for 3K and was part of the Irish under-23 team that competed in the European cross country championships in Turkey last month.
Also confirmed for the St. Patrick’s Day showpiece is John Travers. The 33-year-old Dubliner clocked 3:55 for the mile and has run 7:50 for 3K and 13:28 for 5K. He finished fifth in the 1,500 metres at the 2015 European Indoor Championships in Prague.
Also confirmed for the mile event is local athlete, Sean McGinley. The Finn Valley man, who won the 3K last year in 8:34, was crowned national novice cross country champion in December. He also took victory in the St. Stephen’s Day 5K in 14:39.
Favourite in the women’s race is Iseult O’Donnell from Raheny Shamrocks who is a 1,500 metre specialist with a personal best of 4:23.
The one-mile race will get underway at 11 am at the new Dunnes Stores roundabout on the Neil T Blaney Road.
“Gary Murray was the first Donegal man to run a sub-four minute mile back in 2005 on the track in London when posting a time of 3:59, and Gary has kindly agreed to start the invitational mile in Letterkenny for us on St Patrick’s Day,” Sean commented.
“The first sub four minute mile on the track was set by in 2014 at the Danny McDaid Track. It would be great if we could see someone dip under the four minutes for the mile on the road in Letterkenny on March 17th,” he added.
The 3K will start at 10 am close to the Letterkenny Public Services Centre and there’s going to be plenty of quality in that field, too. The Letterkenny AC pair of Donal Farren and Danny Mooney are expected to lead the way in the men’s race. Amy Green from Finn Valley won the national 5,000 metre title in 2024 in a 16:43 and will start as favourite to take in women’s section. Nakita Burke of Letterkenny AC will also be in the mix, while Holly Archer, who won the 3K last year in 9:41, will be back to defend her title.
“We’re eight weeks out from race day and preparations are going extremely well. Those racing the 3K should note that it’s entry on the morning of the race at Diver’s Hyundai Garage at Canal Road. Hopefully the weather will be kind to us and people from the county will come out in large numbers to support the athletes and hopefully witness history being made in the mile race,” the race organiser added.
Entry fee for the 3K is €10, with refreshments after the mile race being served at Diver’s Hyundai Garage.
