Rosses AC enjoyed another superb Dublin Marathon, with club athletes battling strong headwinds across the capital to produce national medals, PBs and a string of impressive performances.
Helen McCready led the Rosses ladies home in a superb 2:56:25, finishing fifth in the F40 category. Birthday girl Bernie Boyle made a spectacular marathon debut, clocking 3:02:13 to claim National Silver in the F50 category, while Teresa Gallagher was rewarded for a huge training block with an excellent PB of 3:08:05.
Just four weeks after the Berlin Marathon, Martina Mulhern improved by seven minutes to record a new PB of 3:14:45. Ashleigh Sweeney finished strongly in 3:46:59, with Selina O’Donnell breaking the four-hour barrier in 3:58:11.
There was further success as McCready, Boyle and Gallagher combined to win National Bronze in the F35 team competition, behind City of Derry and Road Runners. Club captain Charlie O’Donnell led the Rosses men home with a brilliant PB of 2:44:27, while Patrick Trimble clocked 2:46:12 to again finish inside the top 10 of the competitive M50 category.
Remarkably, Ryan Wilson ran 2:49:33, just one week after recording a superb 2:47:58 PB at the Amsterdam Marathon. Fergal Rafferty achieved his big goal of breaking three hours with an excellent 2:53:58, while Gavin Ward followed in 2:58:55 for another Rosses sub-three.
Colin Mooney recorded 3:06:50, with Paul McKelvey and James McGeehan battling through injury difficulties to finish in 3:12 and 3:18 respectively. Noel O’Donnell finished in 3:24:22, while Denis Boner completed an impressive 11th consecutive Dublin Marathon in 3:46:36.
A special congratulations also goes to Justin McCreevy, who capped a great year by completing his first marathon in 5:20:46.
Attention now turns to the Rosses juveniles, who travel to Belfast on Sunday for the Even Age Ulster Cross Country Championships. Best of luck to everyone representing the club.