Doran Runs A muck in Horan Cup

Liam Hennessy Reports: Saturday, November 25th,  Saw the final race in the 2017 Grand Prix Series – The Horan Cup – 6 Mile Cross Country Race – At Santry Demesne – 12 noon.

The weather smiled on us today. We were treated to perfect Cross Country weather, Dry / Sunny / Cool 3 degrees (Real Feel -2) / Moderate Westerly breeze / Good underfoot conditions – A bit of slipping and sliding, but thats what you come to expect from Cross Country !!! – The decision had to be made – Long sleeves or Singlet and the long sleeves seem to have won out !!!. Some runners chose to wear trainers instead of spikes, so they slipped and slid a lot !!! Anyhow down to business – The Horan Cup, our oldest Cross Country race has been competed for since 1908. The race is a demanding 6 Miler and today proved to be a super race with 39 starters and 34 finishers. Going in to the last race of the series, Sean Doran held the “Green Jersey” (points competition). Sean was announced as winner of the jersey for 2017, and he won it by a country mile, so congrats to Sean. Emma Dunne went in to the last race leading the overall Series closely followed by Declan Grant and Mick Bermingham, so there was an air of excitement when the bugle sounded and the race got underway.

The 1, 2, 3 in the handicap for The Horan Cup will be announced on 7th December – Awards Night – At the Clubhouse – More about that below !!

Full Results:
1. Sean Doran – 37.50
2. Philip O’Doherty – 39.43
3. Shane Casey – 40.03
4. Mick Bermingham – 41.07
5. Paul O’Loughlin – 41.08
6. Alan Worrall – 42.08
7. Kevin Dowling – 42.41
8. Emma Dunne – 42.50
9. Declan Grant – 43.08
10. Stephen Tracey – 43.09
11. Niall Markey – 43.10
12. Aimee Ahern – 43.29
13. David O’Sullivan – 43.44
14. Siobhan Devaney – 43.47
15. Richard Barr – 44.02
16. Liam Hennessy – 44.16
17. Mark Dowling – 44.37
18 Colm Mc Donnell – 44.38
19. Emma Cooper – 44.38.2
20. Declan Murray – 44.39
21. Sean Grimes – 44.50
22. Ollie Power – 45.55
23. Philip Matthews – 47.34
24. Clodagh Moriarty – 47.38
25. Trevor Wisdom – 47.45
26. Deirdre Fitzsimons – 48.40
27. Pat Devitt – 48.46
28. Orla Deighan – 48.50
29. Orla Devaney – 49.00
30. Shay Byrne – 49.24
31. Brid Beausang – 50.09
32. Anna Kavanagh – 50.50
33. Terry Mee – 51.29
34. Melissa Curran – 52.40

Apologies if i misspelt any name above.

Special thanks to everyone who volunteered their time to make this race such a success and special thanks to our Ladies and Mens Captains; Pamela and Joe Cooper for their presence.Sean Doran was the first runner home, continuing to display his fine form. There were many fine performances, most notably by Emma Dunne  Declan Grant and Mick Bermingham (the top three in the series going in to this race). The big question now is “who will take the top prize” ? will it be Emma or Declan or will it be Mick ? Well you will have to wait until the Awards Night – Thursday, December 7th at 8pm at the Clubhouse when all be revealed !!!

A date for your diaries: Grand Prix Series 2017 – Awards Night – Morton Stadium – 7th December, 2017 – 8pm. Presentations will be made to the winners of the Ahern Cup, Irwin Cup and Horan Cup Races in addition to the overall 2017 Grand Prix Series prize winners and the presentation of the Behan & Associates sponsored Grand Prix Series Cup to the overall winner.

Listen up !!! – As usual we have a 3000Metres race to sign off the Grand Prix Series each year. The race will take place at 8pm on the track (prior to the Awards Presentation night) and everyone, who has taken part in the series this year is most welcome to run. It may be winter, but when do you get a chance to run a track race in December !!! You might even run a PB !!! – So lets see a big turnout  (no prizes, just PB’S !!!) and you can head to the bar afterwards !!! – Please come and support us on the night even if you miss the track race – The Awards night has proven to be one of the best club nights of the year and this one will be no exception. Hot food will be served and we expect to have plenty of spot prizes on the night. So, no excuses now – you have plenty of time to make arrangements – come join us for what will be a fab night to sign off Grand Prix 2017 !!! – See you there !!!.   (Liam Hennessy)