Rene Borg

20 April, 2010

REPORT BY JANE AND GRAHAM PORTER

This is the second year of the Slaney Olympic Trail Series in County Wexford which aims to entice local runners off the roads as well as to lure Dublin based runners down to hills and forests of the south east.

This year’s event took place the day after the Wicklow Ultra and Trail Race and also five days before the local road race championships. As a result it was a small field of twenty two runners who lined up for the start of the race. M60 Champion, Diarmuid O’Colmain, was the only hardy soul to do two back to back races.

The four mile course runs over undulating forest tracks with a fast downhill last half mile. For those that have time to look there views a plenty over the pastoral county Wexford countryside with glimpses of the mountains of south Wicklow on the back end of the course.

Local Slaney Olympic man, Ger Doyle took the lead from the start and gradually pulled away from the rest of the field finishing in a time of 24.43, a little outside Keith Heary’s 2009 record but a great run none the less. Pat O’Neill of SBR finished second with Stephen Tyrrell of Slaney Olympic third. First lady home was newcomer Martina Conran of the host club who, in her forties, has discovered a talent and a love for running. Paul Murphy was first M40 but the performance of the day goes to Jim Boland who, having forgotten about the clocks going forward that morning, started a good three minutes behind the field only to finish in eleventh position winning the M50 race! The indomitable Diarmuid O’Colmain was first M60.

Then it was back to the nearby village of Ferns and the Courtyard pub and restaurant for prize giving following a 15 minute wait for the legal opening hour of 12.30pm.