The sun was shining today for the Lusk 4 Mile Road race and with very little wind, the conditions led to some very fast running with both the Men’s and Ladies course records being smashed.
Before the 4 mile race the juvenile races started the day off at 2pm with the brilliant sunshine helping to create a real ‘feelgood factor’. There was great running and excitement around the village green as first the under 8s 400 metres race was followed by the under 12s 800 metres race and finally, the under 16s 1-mile race. The juvenile races were a great spectacle and provided great family fun and entertainment.
At 3pm almost 600 runners lined up for the eagerly awaited 4-mile race which had attracted all types of runners, walkers and joggers from North County Dublin and beyond. Both the men’s and women’s races were stacked with some top-class runners. Right from the gun Efrem Gidey from Clonliffe Harriers took the race by the scruff of the neck. By the 1–mile marker, Efrem was already 100 metres ahead of the chasing pack and at halfway it was clear that he was on his way to a course record.
As Efrem pushed his advantage even further through the second half of the race there was a great battle for 2nd and 3rd places between Rory O’Connor of North Cork AC and Sean Doran of Clonliffe Harriers. Efrem romped home and smashed the current course record in a fantastic time of 18:27. Rory finally managed to get ahead of Sean and took 2nd place with Sean finishing in 3rd place.
The Ladies race was also dominated by one athlete and that was Fiona McKenna of UCD AC. Fiona ran a very impressive time of 21:43 which was also a new course record time. As in the Men’s race there was a great battle for 2nd and 3rd places between two fine and well-known athletes Edel Gaffney of Trim AC and Michelle Cox of Newbridge AC. Edel who has been running very well and consistently of late managed to take 2nd place with Michelle coming home in 3rd place.
In the mixed team event Lusk Athletic Club just about managed to hold off Clonliffe Harriers to claim the team prize. Congratulations to Darren Ryan, Daniel O’Brien, Dwain More and Alex Bell on a fantastic effort. Lusk AC athletes also took 1st place in the Junior categories with Cara McNally, the 1st Female Junior and Daniel O’Brien the 1st Male Junior finisher.
All participants seemed to really enjoy the day and the good weather and were appreciative of the great support from spectators on the route. I think everybody went home happy with their Lusk 4-mile t-shirt, medal and a great goodie bag.
Thanks to our brilliant race director, Annette Foy and all her dedicated team who organised the race and tried to ensure that all participant’s needs were catered for. Many Thanks also to our race pacers, Sheila Bourke, Colm De Bhal and Conor Clune, Thanks to all our Sponsors, to An Garda Siochana, Fingal County Council, all our race Marshals, Volunteers, Cake and sandwich makers and to the local community without who this race could not have been such a tremendous success. THANK YOU.
A special word of thanks to Ronan Wogan and his team from My Run Results for helping Lusk AC to put on a very successful and highly enjoyable event. All race results plus photos and a finish line video can be seen on the My Run Results website.
