parkrun
Grey skies, chill on the breeze, a bit damp. Goodbye to March as the final parkrun of the month took place last Saturday on a morning where it was easier to stay in bed. However a large contingent from the club did get up and completed their 5k with some adding more before and after the run itself. Kudos to Ryan after his recent long distance runs who returned to 5k and hit a new best 5k time. 1 pushed a buggy for extra resistance training and 1 made a detour mid race only to pop up again unexpectedly!
In Wexford Racecourse Parkrun Fiachra Mehigan, Ryan Ellard, Eamonn Foley, John Hyland, Martin Kelly, Tadhg Henderson, Micheál Kinsella, Geoff Hoffheinz, John Dier, Rob Casey, Gareth Lloyd, Hazel Doyle, Rob Mehigan, Enda O'Sullivan, Dave Clancy, Sarah Bermingham, Darren O'Grady, Brian Smyth, Dermot Foley, Helen Burrell, Ann Thomas, Linda Leacy, Mary Cronin, Michael Murphy , Dave Percival & Sharron Dier all finished their Saturday morning 5k.
Well done to everyone.
Forth Mountain Trail Run / Glynn 5k / Enniscorthy Combined Event / National 10K / Wicklow Half Marathon / Liverpool Half & 10mile / parkrun
Forth Mountain Trail
Forth Mountain 13k Trail Run.
Barntown National School have created a brilliant event utilising the forestry roads that carve their way through Forth Mountain. Possibly the most scenic
run around these parts of the country with wonderful views of the South Coast the reward for reaching the halfway point of Skeeter Rock. Mostly run on stony trail paths through the forest athletes have lots of room to stretch their legs as they pace themselves around the 13k route which starts and finishes at the gates of the historic Barntown Church.
Well done to
Ryan Ellard 1:01:44
Fran Rea 1:03:10
Sharon Martin 1:05:19
Paul Harpur 1:08:30
Tadhg Henderson 1:11:15
Gareth Lloyd 1:17:00
Jennifer Kehoe 1:21:29
Glynn 5k
Sunday morning saw club members take the short trip outside town to Glynn for the 5k race. As always entry was a breeze and a warm welcome along with refreshments for everyone afterwards. The well known route feels like you are either running up a hill or down one but it's a fair and challenging route.
Club results :
Micheál Kinsella 24:50
John Dier 25:16
Marion Galvin 28:23
Helen Burrell 31:19
Bridie McGuire 40:56
Sharron Dier 43:50
Enniscorthy Combined Events
Fiachra Mehigan tallied an impressive 2510 points at the Enniscorthy Combined Events challenge at the weekend in Enniscorthy. His performance saw him finish as top U16.
Keep up the good work.
National 10k Dunboyne
Martin Kelly took part on the National 10k which this year took place in Dunboyne Co. Meath. Local club Dunboyne Athletics Club were this years hosts and and provided a well organised event on a testing but fair route.
As anyone who knows Martin will tell you he gives it everything and this time was the same as he completed the race in 48:09 representing the club with pride and finishing in 4th place in the M70 age category, another fantastic result.
Fair play to you Martin, an inspiration to us younger athletes .
Wicklow Half Marathon
Ryan Ellard has developed a taste for Half Marathons lately and at the weekend he doubled up by running the Forth Mountain Trail on Saturday and followed that run by competing in the Wicklow Half Marathon on Sunday. Known as one of the more hilly half marathons on the race calendar he was not sitting back as he clocked a very respectable 1:37
Well done Ryan, a tough weekend of racing completed.
Liverpool Half Marathon & 10 mile
The short propeller plane trip across the Irish Sea brought Brian, Dermot, Enda, Darren, Ollie & Gráinne into John Lennon Airport at the weekend as they looked forward to tackling the event on Sunday morning. With heavy rain overnight the hope was that it would clear before the 9am start and thankfully it did as 12,000 athletes of all ages and abilities congregated around the large plaza in front of the historic Liver Building. There was a carnival atmosphere as music was playing, drummers were drumming and athletes were looking for toilets all in the build up to the starters gun. Bang on time the race started as both events kicked off with everyone running the first 3.5 miles together before the Half runners took a left and the 10 milers turned right. The routes rejoined for the last sections. One big plus was that the entire course of road and parks was lined with supporters who clapped and cheered every runner along. The km's seemed to fly by as you soaked up the enthusiasm of the crowd.
The crowd loved their signs and reading them raised a few smiles to the athletes faces along with music blaring from lots of locations around the route. The Mersey River provided the spectacular views for the final 7 km which was all away from any traffic allowing the athletes to breathe in the fresh air assisting their final push towards the finish line.
The final stretch was the most noise I have heard at a finish as the drummers were still drumming since before 8.30am and showing as much stamina as the athletes and the noisy crowd roared their approval of everyone's efforts. The medal and race tops were collected and then the recovery began. A couple of stadiums were even visited before a well earned dinner was consumed along with a few bottles of pop !
The event comes highly recommended to anyone, seemless race morning, huge support, carnival atmosphere and the usual trimmings after the finish line.
Half results :
Brian Smyth 1:33:42
Dermot Foley 1:34:39
Enda O'Sullivan 2:06:42
Darren O'Grady 2:09:08
10 Mile result:
Ollie Stack 1:40:31
Enda wrote a great account of his experience, just click the link
parkrun
Saturday saw 14 members take part in the Wexford Racecourse Parkrun and one complete his across the Irish Sea in Liverpool.
Enda was over in Liverpool and took in the Prince's Park Parkrun while there for his 23rd different location to complete a parkrun.
In Wexford Racecourse Parkrun Eamonn Foley, Helen Wallace, John Hyland, Rob Casey, Geoff Hoffheinz, Rob Mehigan, Hazel Doyle, Dave Clancy, Helen Burrell, Sarah Bermingham, Michael Murphy, Dave Percival, Bridie McGuire & Sharron Dier all finished their Saturday morning 5k.
Well done to everyone.
Wexford Athletics Awards / Leinster Indoor Juvenile / Davy Fortune 5K
Wexford Athletics Awards Night
A huge thank you to Wexford Athletics County Board for hosting a most enjoyable Annual Awards night in Wexford Golf Club.
Well done to all the prizewinners who were awarded their medals and trophies.
Our club picked up its fair share of individual and team medals that were won across road races, cross country and Track & Field that were collected on the night.
123.ie Leinster Indoor Juvenile
Fiachra Mehigan and Darragh Mehigan were our representatives at the Leinster Indoors in Athlone across two days of competition. The brothers were busy competing in multiple different events over the weekend.
Fiachra was competing in U16 and ran really strong to take 6th in the 1500m. He qualified for the 800m final giving a good account of himself finishing 12th and went on to take 7th in the long jump.
Darragh was competing at U14 starting with a good run over 800m. In the shot putt and long jump events he set new PB's for himself showing great potential.
Well done to both these young men, lots more to come from both.
A special word of thanks to Padraig, if you look up the word volunteer in the dictionary you will find a photo of Padraig Kelly .
Davy Fortune 5k
Three ladies and a man were out running 5k while most of us were watching the St Patrick's Day parade in Wexford this morning.
Siobhan Doyle, Sharron Dier, Bridie McGuire & John Dier were in Enniscorthy.
They all ran in the Davy Fortune 5k event held by Shamrocks GAA.
Well done to all four of you.
Quest Kenmare / Masters National Indoors / Clare Half / Great Gorey Run / Lisbon Half / parkrun
Quest Kenmare
A challenge of a different kind saw 3 of our newer members take on the Quest Kenmare event in Co Kerry at the weekend. Sharon Martin, Fran Rea & Jennifer Kehoe all put their training to good use as the cycled , ran and kayaked around the course.
Jennifer chose to tackle the Challenge distance of 28k finishing 21st in 1:50:58.
Sharon and Fran both tackled the Sport distance of 43k with Sharon finishing 29th (4th lady) in 2:11:16 and Fran finishing in 56th in 2:19:44
Well done to the three of you.
123.ie Masters National indoor Championship
After their success in last weeks Leinster Championships Martin Kelly & Siobhan Doyle took the road to Athlone again this time to compete in the All Irelands.
Fantastic to see them both competing at such a high level.
Martin competes in O70 and chose the 1500m & 3000m races this weekend. He only went and won gold in both. Running 5:55.33 for 1500m and 12:29.81for 3000m saw him add the golds to his Leinster medals for 2025
Siobhan was competing in the O60 category and she was in the competitive 60m finishing 5th in 10.56 seconds and 35.84 for 200m sprints claiming 4th place.
Huge congratulations to both athletes on their achievements showing their dedication to their chosen events.
Clare 1/2 Marathon
Ryan Ellard completed the Clare Half Marathon in a super time of 1:37:47 on Saturday in glorious running weather. He only recently completed a half while in America and went nearly 5 minutes quicker in todays run. An athlete who continues to improve , well done Ryan.
Great Gorey Run
A fantastic morning for a run saw club members head to Gorey for the Great Gorey Run where there was a choice of 10 mile or a 5k race.
In the 5k John was 2nd in his age cat.
John Dier 25:31
Bridie McGuire 40:33
Sharon Dier 46:41
Running in the 10 mile were John and Eamonn who gave good accounts of themselves over the testing course.
John Hyland 1:17:52
Eamonn Foley 1:19:17
Congrats everyone.
Menapians Take on Lisbon Half Marathon in Annual Running Adventure
Following last year’s successful trip to Helsinki, members of the Menapians running club set their sights on the Portuguese capital for their annual half marathon and 10km event.
With local tour guide Tadhg Henderson leading the way, the group explored Lisbon on Saturday, taking in the city’s cultural and historical highlights. A visit to Castelo de São Jorge provided stunning panoramic views, while a stroll through the iconic Praça do Comércio worked up an appetite before lunch at the renowned Time Out Market.
However, the group was met with a touch of familiarity—the grey skies and drizzle of Ireland seemed to have followed them to Lisbon, and everyone had great fun trying to stand between the myriad of raindrops as the blue skies of Lisbon turned a dull grey to greet their guests from the Emerald Isle.
When the strangely shy sun did make an occasional appearance, Lisbon dazzled like a peacock, revealing its vibrant tiled facades, historic architecture and the shimmering Atlantic coastline.
Race Day Challenges
Sunday saw three of the group—Tony, Tadhg, and Enda—take on the half marathon, one of six prestigious ‘Super Halfs’ in Europe. Over 17,000 runners began their journey with a 3km run across the iconic 25 de Abril Bridge, offering breathtaking views of the city. However, after the bridge, the race route proved somewhat monotonous, with long, straight stretches and a few “double backs” offering little variety. The 10km participants, including Eavan, Louise, Peter, Janette, Ilze, Sinéad, Katie, Orla and David, followed a similar course alongside 12,000 fellow competitors.
Afterwards it was wisely decided to avoid the nearby train that would have taken us straight back to the hotel for a 90-minute walk to work out the lactic acid from our tired and stiff legs before finally finding another route home that required six train changes and seventeen stops that eventually delivered us to the Hotel Açores Lisboa where a hot shower and some Super Bock beers warmly greeted the athletes with all the lust of a long-lost lover.
Looking Ahead
As one adventure ends, thoughts are already turning to the next. Riga, Latvia, has emerged as an early frontrunner for the club’s next destination, thanks to a recommendation from Ilze. Whether the Baltic capital will play host to the next Menapians meander remains to be seen—but one thing is certain: the spirit of adventure is alive and well in this group of dedicated runners.
parkrun
The final report of a very busy weekend for our club members. Lots of members got their 5k complete while the weather was good before it changed later on.
Dermot Foley, Brian Smyth, Eamonn Foley, Paula Gondard, Geoff Hoffheinz, John Hyland, Fran Power, Ann Thomas, Linda Leacy, Michael Murphy Dave Percival, Bridie McGuire & Sharron Dier all completed the Wexford Racecourse Parkrun.
Olllie Stack ran the New Ross parkrun in the scenic grounds of J.F.K. Park.
Well done to everyone.
Leinster Indoors / Treasure Coast Half Marathon / Junior parkrun / Annacurra Trail / parkrun
Leinster Indoors Championships
A massive congratulations to Siobhan Doyle and Martin Kelly who both proudly competed in our vest today showing age is no barrier.
Siobhan had a great start claiming bronze in the O60 60m sprint in 10.70 before running the 200m finishing 5th in 37.06
Martin rolled back the years as he claimed a hat trick of golds in the O70 - 800m in 2:55.23/1500m in 5:58.15/3000m in 12:44.63
A brilliant day for both athletes, huge congratulations to you both.
Treasure Coast Half Marathon
Ryan entered a half marathon when he was in U.S.A. and put his training to good use.
Ryan had a great run finishing 2nd in his age category with a time of 1:42:57 which saw him 36th overall.
Well done Ryan
Heritage Park junior parkrun
Fantastic to see our athletes out doing their best.
Piper Farrell was at the Heritage Park junior parkrun on Sunday morning showing us how it's done.
Well done Piper
Annacurra Trail
Helen Wallace enjoyed her previous IMRA race so much she signed up and ran the Annacurra IMRA 9k race.
A determined run which required stamina which Helen has in abundance say her finish in 54:48
Great running Helen, well done.
One of our new recruits Sharon Martin also showed she is made of tough stuff as she ran a fantastic race finishing 12th overall and impressively winning her age category
Congratulations Sharon.
parkrun
Wexford Parkrun was full of celebrations on Saturday as a huge milestone was reached and the weather Gods played their part. Easily the finest day of 2025 allowing the shorts and t-shirts to come out of hibernation. The event is now 10 years old from its beginnings in Johnstown Castle and now at Wexford Racecourse. Our club Captain John Dier is the Event Director and our Treasurer is the recently elected no.2 .
On the day John hit a fairly big milestone himself completing his 250th parkrun while running his quickest 5k this year. Some members hit at 5 k PB, well done to John & Linda ticking off those milestones while Hazel completed her 50th parkrun.
Celebrating the 10 years in Wexford were Brian Smyth, Fiachra Mehigan, John Hyland, Dermot Foley, Jesse Kielthy, Eamonn Foley, Gareth Lloyd, John Dier, Geoff Hoffheinz, Paula Gondard, Ron Mehigan, Sarah Bermingham, Linda Leacy, Dale Clancy, Darren O'Grady, Helen Burrell, Ollie Stack, Michael Murphy, Dave Percival, Bridie McGuire & Hazel Doyle.
I missed one from the previous weekend, Dave Percival ran the Birkenhead parkrun near Liverpool while he was over there for a few days.
Ryan Ellard ran the Clermont parkrun in USA.
Well done to everyone.
Gorey Night Run / parkrun
Gorey Night Run
Thursday night saw some club members head to Gorey for the 10th hosting of the Gorey Night Run. A breezy evening but dry so runners were happy to avoid a rainy night as they joined close 1,000 people on the start line. The course travelled down Gorey Main Street then off to some residential areas before passing the Tesco Supermarket on the way to the finish line. A nice course around the town.
Congratulations to Martin who added another M70 win to his growing collection.
Dermot and Brian had a little battle around the route with only seconds between them.
A superbly organised race which attracted some top athletes to Gorey. Well done to all involved in the organising of it.
Brian Smyth 19:33
Dermot Foley 19:37
Martin Kelly 22:33
Paul Harpur 22:44
John Dier 24:48
Bridie McGuire 40:06
Sharron Dier 46:15
Niall Tyrrell 46:15
parkrun
It is nice to hear from parkrunners interested in more information about the club. We have picked up lots of members through the parkrun over the years. Well done to Hazel who had her first run as a club member.
Enda O'Sullivan ran in Borrisokane &
Brian Smyth ran in Fethard Co Tipperary.
Peter & Janette Mulvany ran the Fairview parkrun in Dublin.
At Wexford Racecourse Parkrun we had 20 members taking part : Eamonn Foley, John Hyland, Gareth Lloyd, Geoff Hoffheinz, Micheál Kinsella, John Dier, Hazel Doyle, Rob Mehigan, Dermot Foley, Dave Clancy,Darren O'Grady, Martin Kelly, Linda Leacy, Mary Cronin, Alex Parris, Michael Murphy, Bridie McGuire, Paul Harpur, Sharron Dier & Helen Burrell.
Well done to everyone.
Leinster Schools Cross Country / Enniscorthy 10k / parkrun
Leinster Schools Cross Country
Go to school or run around Phoenix Park ?
Tough choice but the run won out for Fiachra Mehigan today. He travelled up to Dublin to compete in the Leinster Schools Cross Country event in the Junior Boys category for his school CBS Wexford. Another excellent performance from this young athlete who loves the longer distances. He is a dedicated young man and today in a very tough race he was the 2nd Wexford athlete over the line finishing in 11 min 53 seconds in 47th place.
Well done to you Fiachra
Enniscorthy 10k
The Old Dublin Road was overflowing with the colours of a multitude of club vests as 260 entrants all warmed up awaiting the start gun. The roads were wet but luckily the rain held off for the most part making good running conditions.
As is the norm with any race hosted by the clubs of County Wexford Menapians athletes were present. Today's number was 9 athletes with 8 men and 1 lady lining up on the start line ready to go.
Another successful day for Martin as he claimed the M70 prize. Brian had the honour of first club member home with Tony only seconds behind, with the other club members strung out across the field as athletes came through in quick succession.
Slaney Olympic Athletic Club again showed their ability to host a race seamlessly as parking and number collection was so easy. Well done to all involved in the organising committee. Congratulations to them on another successful event.
Congratulations to everyone who ran. Looks like lots of athletes are I good shape for the upcoming Novice Road Race in March.
Club results:
Brian Smyth 39:49
Tony Harpur 39:55
Dermot Foley 41:10
John Hyland 44:07
Eamonn Foley 44:16
Martin Kelly 47:27
Micheál Kinsella 50:32
John Dier 52:19
Sarah Bermingham 57:51
parkrun Roundup
Lots of members taking easy runs on Saturday on a damp morning as they saved themselves for the 10k on Sunday morning.
Eamonn Foley,Geoff Hoffheinz, Sarah Bermingham, Helen Burrell, Enda O'Sullivan, Linda Leacy, John Hyland, Brian Smyth, Dermot Foley, Mary Cronin, Michael Murphy, Bridie,Sharron Dier & John Dier all completed the Wexford Racecourse Parkrun.
Peter Mulvany was in Tralee and ran the local parkrun while he was there.
Siobhan Doyle explored an old parkrun route in Toulouse France which is no longer in use while spending some time there.
Well done to everyone.
Wexford Credit Union Night Run 5K / Fun on the Track / IMRA Tropperstown / parkrun
Wexford Credit Union Night Run 5K
A nice chill in the dark air around town as the Quay was buzzing with athletes and supporters awaiting the start of the race.
27 of our members signed up to take part with some pushing themselves as others used it as a training run. Great to see so many out supporting a great cause.
Fiachra was the first club member across the line running a super race finishing 2nd junior male and 20th place overall. Helen Wallace had a good night and was our first lady home. Conor was 3rd and John 4th O60 age cat with Martin 1st in the M70.
Well done to all that ran. Kudos to all involved in organising the event, all your work made the event run so smoothly and thanks to Sportsphoto Ireland & Wexford Free Press for photos. Wexford Credit Union Night Run
Members results:
Fiachra Mehigan 18:26
Brian Smyth 19:42
Ryan Ellard 19:54
Eamonn Foley 21:26
Helen Wallace 22:06
Jesse Kielthy 22:02
Martin Kelly 22:30
Fran Power 23:40
Conor MacAogain 23:58
Gareth Lloyd 24:34
Paul O'Meara 24:44
John Dier 24:49
Zac Dee 26:32
Ilze Bedrite 26:51
Jennifer Kehoe 27:10
Enda O'Sullivan 27:16
Dermot Foley 27:26
Rob Mehigan 27:36
Sarah Bermingham 27:51
Nora Boggan 28:35
Linda Leacy 30:58
Helen Burrell 31:31
Siobhan Doyle 32:29
Michael Murphy 34:38
Bridie McGuire 40:38
Sharron Dier 47:11
Niall Tyrrell 47:36
Enniscorthy Track Fun Night
A brilliant fun night on the track in Enniscorthy last night as Eion, Pippa, Benny, Este, Daniel, Danny, Kyle, Chloe, Fionn, Conor & Leon all took part in an introducton to events. This was done in a fun and inclusive environment where the emphasis was on enjoying athletics and having fun.
Thanks to our coaches Ellen, Louise, Tadhg, Padraig & Liam.
Well done to Deirdre and Enniscorthy AC for organising a wonderful evening of fun athletics !
IMRA Trooperstown
9.70km was the marked race route distance as Helen and Tadhg took on a new challenge in the form of an Irish Mountain Running Association race on Trooperstown County Wicklow.
Tactics are different than in a road race and the 2 settled themselves into a steady rhythm as they navigated the course.
Nice running from Helen Wallace (57:02) & Tadhg Henderson (1:11:14) as they happily crossed the finish line quite content with their days work.
parkrun
Special mention to Linda who has shown steady improvement since she joined the club and was rewarded on Saturday by running her fastest 5k time.
Borrisokane Parkrun saw Enda O'Sullivan add another event to his list.
Brain Smyth, John Hyland, Dermot Foley, Fran Power, John Dier, Sarah Bermingham, Ann Thomas, Martin Kelly, Helen Burrell, Oliver Stack, Linda Leacy, Michael Murphy, Bridie McGuire, Dave Percival, Gareth Lloyd & Sharron Dier all completed the Wexford Racecourse Parkrun.
Well done to everyone.
Richmond Half Marathon / John Treacy 10 mile / Corach Ramblers 5K / parkrun
Richmond Half Marathon
Ryan Ellard was in London for a few days and while over there he decided to go for a run. 13 miles later and he had the Richmond Park Half Marathon complete in 1:46:02
Congratulations Ryan.
John Treacy 10 Mile
Dungarvan had much nicer weather than Wexford on Sunday morning as over 3000 athletes converged on the town. Clubs from all over Leinster and Munster made up the majority of entrants in the increasingly popular event. Excellent organisation from West Waterford AC each year as the event runs so smoothly.
3 club members took part this year with Martin, Dermot & John (his first 10 mile race) putting in excellent performances. Benjamin Button himself went and won the M70 age category so huge congratulations to you Martin.
Dermot Foley 1:09:19
John Hyland 1:15:15
Martin Kelly 1:22:44
Corach Ramblers 5k
On Bank Holiday Monday Corach Ramblers FC hosted their 5k for the first time. By all accounts an excellent course with friendly marshals and tea afterwards. Simple as that.
Five club members took part and this year as it was the first hosting they decided not to time the race.
Well done to Gareth Lloyd, Niall Tyrell, Bridie McGuire, Sharron Dier & John Dier who all took part.
parkrun
The home of the Parkrun movement is Bushy Park in London where the first ever run took place. Mary, Helen, Brian and Ryan paid a visit on Saturday as their running mate celebrated 250 parkruns as they joined 1500 people on the start line. Nice event to have on their list.
Enda O'Sullivan attended the Tramore Parkrun.
Mary Cronin, Helen Burrell, Brian Smyth and Ryan Ellard ran the Bushy Park Parkrun.
Fiachra Mehigan, Eamonn Foley, Geoff Hoffheinz, John Dier, Gareth Lloyd, Fran Power, Sarah Bermingham Dave Clancy, Martin Kelly Linda Leacy, Bridie McGuire, Dave Percival, Rob Mehigan & Alex Parris all completed the Wexford Racecourse Parkrun.
Well done everyone.
South Leinster Schools Cross Country
The South Leinster Schools Cross Country took place on Thursday in County Carlow. Most people were busy preparing for the arrival of Storm Éoywn but some of our athletes were busy making sure they they day off school to run.
Running for CBS Wexford Fiachra Mehigan had another super run finishing 8th place and this qualifies him for an entry to the Leinster Schools.
Josh Nolan also CBS Wexford dug deep and finished in 133rd in the Intermediate race .
Alex Lonergan was running in St Peters colours with a 152 finish place.
It's great to see our members stepping up and representing their schools at events like these.
Well done to all our young athletes.