Gary Slevin claimed victory in this morning’s Donegal Half Marathon in Letterkenny in a time of 73 minutes and 14 seconds.
The Foyle Valley was just over a minute ahead of Letterkenny AC’s Ciaran McGonagle (1:15:16) in second, over with Ciaran McGonagle of Letterkenny AC, with Charlie O’Donnell from Rosses AC third (1:16:02).
Letterkenny AC’s Claire McGuigan led the senior women home in 1:20:57, from Fiona Stack of Raheny Shamrocks AC (1:20:50) and Maria Ní Mhaolagáin from Rosses AC (1:23:09).
The wet and windy conditions did nothing to dampen the spirits of the field of almost 500 competitors who were set off by race starter, Cllr. Ciaran Brogan, shortly before 9.30.
Braving the elements on Sunday morning in the Donegal Half Marathon.
Speaking after the race, Gary Slevin, who is targeting the Valentia Marathon on December 1, said he was delighted with his win.
” I’ve just started my marathon training block last week and I used today to get a good run out see to where I am at to be honest. I have 14 weeks to get ready for the marathon so it’s all about progressing from here,” he said.
“Conditions were absolutely awful out there today. The guys went off very, very quick and I let them go early doors – the pace was a bit too fast for what I wanted today.
“But I worked my way back into it, had a bit left at the end, and passed Ciaran about five or six miles from the end. I kept pushing from there and I knew he was coming behind me, so I was running on fear more than anything and had to keep going.”
Karl Doherty heads over the bridge at Oldtown.
Clare McGuigan was equally pleased with what was her first Donegal Half Marathon success.
“It was wet out there, and it’s a tough enough course. In through the town was flat, there were a few rolling hills on the way out the back road. It was tough, too, in the wind, but there was good running on the main road on the way in. I was on my own for a good part of the race and managed to get up in behind a group at around six miles, so it was a matter of hanging on with them and getting a bit of shelter. I felt good and enjoyed the race,” she said.
SEE MONDAY’S EDITION OF THE DONEGAL NEWS FOR FULL RESULTS AND PICTORIAL COVERAGE FROM TODAY’S RACE
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