It was a beautiful afternoon as many Clonliffe athletes took to the beautiful tree lined Griffith Avenue for the Griffith Avenue Mile. This race was first run back in 1983, known then as the ‘Dublin Straight Mile”. 2019 saw a resurgence of the event and a forced hiatus (we all know why!!!) meant today was the third running of the event. A real cross section of members from Clonliffe turned up to give the distance a go on the roads. Some of our younger athletes decided to show us up, running their second race of the day having already run the Cross Country League in Lusk this morning. Well done to Isaac O’Neill and Sophie Kernan showing the rest of us up by running so well over the mile. The race started promptly at 3pm. Elbows were needed to ensure you held your lane and got off safely.
We have all run down Griffith Avenue many times but I for one don’t generally do it at the pace we went off at today. The lactate built and the road seemed to keep on going forever. Despite the relatively short distance there was great support along the way from many of our own. Shout outs were most welcome and definitely encouraged the athletes to dig in and push on that little bit more.
First home was. Barry Clavin in 5.04 missing out on the Junior Prize by just one second. Next in was Ciara Peelo running 5.13 finishing 4th lady overall and 1st in her age category. Ciara was closely followed by Steve Barnes (5.23). Next in was Isaac O’Neill (5.46) and for those of you who don’t know Isaac he is just 9 and runs in Gladys’ group. He certainly kept me in check on the start line and I am not sure how much longer I will be keeping him behind me on the race track. Sophie Kernan was next home (6.04) leaving her mum Laura Kernan chasing in 6.08. Orla Deignan (6.11) was hot on the heels of the Kernan ladies. Not to be outdone by the ladies in the house Jason Kernan (7.01) was 3rd home from their house. Well done also to Trevor Wisdom (6.13) and Ciara O’Regan (6.40). Apologies if I missed anyone. It was a great day for the club and a wonderful atmosphere along the avenue.
Looking forward to seeing you all at the next race and thanks to all the coaches who have worked so hard with the athletes to enable them to run so well today.Nil Desperandum
