Donegan double act shines in London as Harriers athletes represent schools

Athletics: Tullamore Harriers news

Brother and sister, Jack and Danielle Donegan headed to London recently to take part in "Friday night under the lights 5k", an event which is held in Battersea Park, in South West London.

Danielle competed in the Elite Ladies and was always very close to the front of the pack. Eventually, Taryn Rawlings of the USA made her move and went on to win, with Danielle just finishing off the podium in a fantastic 4th place in a time of 16: 11.

Jack was soon to follow, running a great race in a time of 15: 36 to take first place in his under-20 age group.

Leinster Schools Cross Country

Athletes from Tullamore Harriers travelled to Dublin to compete in the Leinster Schools Cross County competition recently.

With dry weather and a flat course, Luke Duffy was among those who performed impressively. Luke competed in the Senior boys' race for his school, Coláiste Choilm, finishing in 11th place and qualifying for the All-Ireland competition that will take place in Tymon Park, Tallaght in early March.

In the Intermediate girls' race, Niamh Garvey of Killina was near the front from the start and finished in a creditable sixth place, not far off the leading pack. Eva Rose Kelly and Lucy O’Rourke also ran well for Killina coming home in 50th and 55th.

In the Senior Girls race the Sacred Heart School just missed out on victory by four points as Andrea Ryan (6th), Rachel Donegan (19th), Eabhadh Multaney Kelly (20th) and Meabh Rouse (39th) combined to finish second.

All-Ireland Juvenile B Cross Country Championships

A dozen Tullamore Harriers athletes travelled northwards recently to compete in the Juvenile B Cross Country Championships at the DKIT venue in County Louth.

First up were Cara Cummins and Annabel Donegan who were really competitive over the 1000m they raced. Out of 129 finishers in the race, Cara finished 16th, while Annabel raced well to finish 31st. The Under-11 Boys race was also 1000m and James Hynes had a tremendous run to medal, finishing 12th, while Max Ivasenko, racing out of his age, had a fine run to finish in 26th place.

The U15 girls raced 2500m, with the three Tullamore Harriers athletes putting on impressive displays. Adelyn Walsh finished 5th, with Mia Gallagher in 9th and Elise Cusack in 17th.

Fixtures

Sunday, March 3: McNamara 5 mile.

Sunday, March 10: Tullamore Harriers 5K.

Training

Senior training on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6.40pm to 8.30pm.