Two Kings at Lugnacoille
Martin Bradshaw
The Irish Championship entered its third fixture this weekend at Lugnacoille, Leinster’s lone Munro, but arguably the easiest race of the series but also the final counter in the King/Queen of the Mountains competition setting the stage for an enticing drama…
Leader Brian Furey was away on European duty, meaning only one point separated the next two contenders: Peter O’Farrell trailed Jason Kehoe. O’Farrell started off at a tremendous pace, perhaps bent on burning off his challengers early. With Munster’s Martin Bradshaw in second and Jason Kehoe in third, the King of the Mountains title seemed to be in the Rathfarnham man’s hands and he arrived well clear at the top.
The winners at Lugnacoille
Jason levelled tied the score with a late surge but then had to retire due to a bruised heel. Martin Bradshaw fully capitalised on the battle that had gone before to record the fastest descent on the day to catch Peter O’Farrell who hung on for third. Club-mate Tom Blackburn likewise gave a master-class in ascending to finish third. Tom joined a star-studded list of M40 winners for the course which includes John Lenihan, Robbie Bryson and Francis Cosgrave.
Maeve O’Grady, Defense Forces, won the ladies race ahead of Deirdre Finn and Sarah Hudson. With only seven ladies taking the start, the organisers will be hoping for higher numbers for the final two races (of the 124 runners contesting the Championship so far only twenty have been women).
Maeve O'Grady
King/Queen of the Mountains
So how did it all tally up in the end? With no tie-breaker decided, the IMRA Committee awarded a joint King of the Mountains title to Peter O’Farrell and Jason Kehoe this year. Karen Duggan, although not competing on the day, won the Queen of the Mountains 2010.
In the teams, Bilboa AC won ahead of Rathfarnham and Crusaders AC. With the mighty peaks of Galtymore and Slieve Donard still beckoning Peter O’Farrell now leads the Irish Championships but Brian Furey remains the favourite with his two victories in two attempts.
Full results and photos at IMRA.
