On Friday evening, Lifford was the venue for the eighth race in the Mizuno/Brian McCormick sponsored Donegal Grand
Prix series. With participant numbers up right across the county, Lifford continued
the trend with eighty eight runners taking to the starting line. While there
was rally action elsewhere in the county, the race in Lifford provided plenty of excitement with a number of closely fought
battles right to the last stride at the finishing line.
Young
Omagh teenager Noel Collins emerged victorious in a ding dong battle with Finn Valley’s James Flanagan and course record holder, Letterkenny AC’s Pauric McKinney. Throughout the race, the lead changed on a number of occasions, with neither of the three athletes able
to shake each other off. This continued for three full laps of the town with
an incredibly fast pace throughout. The Omagh Harriers athlete, Collins followed
up his win at the Donegal 5k a fortnight ago by breaking clear in the finishing stages to win in a time of 15.10 followed
closely by Flanagan who finished strongly in a time of 15.12. Last weeks winner
of the Buncrana race and five times winner of the Lifford circuit, Pauric McKinney continues his excellent form finishing
in a time of 15.15, third man home and victorious in the V2 category.
Like
McKinney in the mens race, Kay
Byrne showed that youth is still very much on her side winning the women’s race in a very impressive 18.29 a full twenty
seconds off her finishing time at the same race event last year. The Finn Valley athlete led home her team mate, Cliodhna Dunne who finished in a time of 19.18.
Dunne continues to improve on her times, finishing twenty six seconds better than her time at the Lifford race in 2008,
and twenty three seconds off her time over the distance in Donegal a fortnight ago.
Third woman home was Tir Chonaill AC’s Sharon Meehan who finished in a time of 21.31.
Other
prize winners on the night across the wide range of categories included Letterkenny AC’s Jonathon Patton (15.41) and
Inishowen’s James Brown (16.45) in the Mens Over 35 category. In the Over
40’s category, Finn Valley’s Dominic Boner (16.06) finished runner up to
Pauric McKinney, while in the Over 50’s category, Inishowen’s Paddy Doherty (17.36) received first prize with
Finn Valley’s Bernard McCabe (17.51) finishing runner up. The Junior Men’s race was won by Omagh Harriers’ Adam Armstrong. In the Women’s categories, Sligo’s Pauline Henry (23.10) finished runner up to Cliodhna Dunne and Sharon Meehan in the senior category while
Letterkenny’s Laura Corbett (24.13) emerged victorious in the Over 35’s.
In the Over 40’s, Veronica Curran (27.23) won first prize, while in the Over 45 category Tir Chonaill’s
Vera Haughey (21.14) beat Finn Valley’s Gloria Donaghey (22.15) into second place.
Finally, in the Junior Women’s category, Meabh McElduff (21.08) from Omagh Harriers emerged victorious.
On
behalf of the Lifford AC organising committee, club chairman Brendan O’Donnell thanked all those who helped to organise
and run the event. He paid special thanks to Sergeant Joe McDonagh and to Brendan
McDaid for the provision of the race car. He also paid thanks to the volunteers
that provided stewarding on the course including Maire Gallen, Joe Russell, Gerry Crawford, Martin Gallen, Paul Martin, and
Alan Foley. Finally, he paid thanks to Mary Foley for her attendance every year
to help with refreshments, to those who made sandwiches and refreshments, and to the large numbers of runners that travelled
long distances to attend the event. The chairman acknowledged the traffic difficulties
that continue to pose problems on this arterial route, but that in the main, the event was once again an outstanding success. Next up in the race calendar is the Finn Valley 5k next Friday
night at 7.15pm.
