Irish and Leinster Championships still up for grabs
Peter O'Farrel
All eyes were on Lugnacoille on Sunday for round 3 of Ireland’s Mountain Running Championship. With races up Croagh Patrick in the West and Carrauntoohil in the South already run, the East’s Lugnacoille was to throw down the gauntlet…
…for the ultimate battle on the hills!
Warm, dry and sunny conditions coaxed out a record crowd (or was it IMRA’s offer of free sandwiches after the race?) for the Sunday afternoon race. Peter O’Farrell, fresh from his selection for Ireland’s European Championship team, made it first the summit, followed closely by former Mountain World Trophy Champion, John Lenihan. O’Farrell was to hold on to his lead down the steep rocky and bone-dry bog descent, to finish in a time of 53:48.
This win together with a first on Croagh Patrick and fifth on Carrauntoohil draws O’Farrell level with Bernard Fortune in the race to be Irish Champ. But with John Lenihan on three points after only two races, there is still much to race for at next week’s Galtees. The question now is whether O’Farrell will risk running the Galtees, on a course that he would favour, or save himself for the European Championships which is now less than two weeks away.
Behind the scenes, there were also valuable points to be gained on Leinster’s highest peak for the Leinster Championships and King of the Mountains. With his Lugnacoille win, O’Farrell was crowned the new Leinster Champion on Sunday with three wins from three races.
Helen White
In the woman’s race, newly capped Helen White led from start to finish with a strong climb and elegant descent. Struggle as I might, there was no way of catching her, and I was happy instead to settle for second spot.
Who will win the women’s Irish Championship is still anyone’s guess and largely depends on who turns up at the next two races. Same too with the ladies’ Leinster Champs, with much racing still to be done at the next meet in two weeks’ time at the Circuit of Glenmacnass.
