Ironman 70.3 Valencia/County Throws/Leinster Masters/South Leinster Schools T & F/ Tinryland Half /Great Limerick 6 mile/Stephen Murphy Memorial 5k /County T & FF /Prague Marathon /Taghmon 5k
Ironman 70.3 Valencia
Marion Galvin was in Valencia and while there....she can tell you herself as she was there ....
My first experience tackling an Ironman 70.3 took place in Valencia on April 27, 2025, and it was nothing short of unforgettable. The race began with a 1.9km swim in the bustling harbour alongside over 2,000 other swimmers, an intense yet exhilarating start to the day. My training journey had kicked off on Christmas Day at the Wexford Parkrun, evolving into a demanding weekly routine of three runs, three swims, and two cycles, with Fridays reserved for much-needed rest. My runs varied between sprints and longer weekend sessions of 12km, 14km, and 16km. Some long runs were preceded by a 2km swim to build endurance, while other days combined runs with 90km cycles to simulate the physical demands of race day—but never all three disciplines together. Two weeks before the big day, I completed a Sprint triathlon (750m swim, 40km cycle, 5km run) to fine-tune my transitions, followed by the Wexford half marathon the next day to prepare my legs to be somewhat fatigued, as they would be during the race itself.
Race day brought both triumphs and challenges. While my swim and cycle went smoothly—helped by my coach’s advice to stay in zone 3 to avoid dehydration in the hot weather—the half marathon presented an unexpected hurdle. An old knee injury flared up, likely aggravated by walking around 20km during the two days prior to the race, a mistake I realised too late since my training had prepared me to run, not walk. Despite the pain, the energy from the crowd kept my spirits high. Supporters lined the streets, and although being called "animal" by every spectator might sound offensive in English, in Spanish it came across as enthusiastic encouragement—a funny reminder of how language shapes experience. Reflecting back, it was a tough but incredible journey that tested not just my body, but also my resilience and adaptability.
Mr Oil County Throws Night.
A wonderful night of throwing competition took place on Friday as the clubs throwers turned up at DMP grounds ready to compete.
Our crew of Fiachra Mehigan, Josh Nolan, Alex Lonergan, Lorcan Carroll , Orla Dolan, Meabh McCormack, Samantha Donegan, Liam Carroll and Tracey Nolan all represented the club across discus, shot putt and hammer competition. Great to see Samantha back competing again.
Two members made the podium :
Josh Nolan U17 took gold at discus and bronze in hammer.
Fiachra Mehigan U16 took bronze in hammer.
Well done to all who competed with pride in our colours. Thanks to everyone who volunteered and helped the event run so smoothly.
Leinster Masters Road Race
Gowran in County Kilkenny was the scenic venue for the hosting of this year's Leinster Masters Road Race
Representing us were Catherine O'Connor, Tony Harpur and Martin Kelly.
Catherine claimed the F60 gold in an absolute fantastic time of 15:08, a great run from one of our club coaches.
Tony put in a superb effort which saw him finish in 24:02 for 7th place in m45.
Martin's his huge effort of 26:25 was rewarded with M70 gold.
Huge congratulations to all three, super running.
South Leinster Schools T & F
Fiachra Mehigan and Rory Henderson both wore their school colours this week while competing in Carlow.
Rory wearing Meanscoil colours took on the high jump. A tough event well done Rory.
Fiachra was in CBS colours and finished 4th in a competitive 1500m and also took on the high jump. His 4th qualifies him for Leinster, well done to you Fiachra.
Tinryland Half Marathon
What a debut for this event on the running calender. It's sure to be a sellout every year. Even the weather contributed to a super event. Lots of support as the route passes through the village multiple times.
Eamonn Foley was our sole representative in this one running 1 hour 51 min.
Nice work Eamonn.
Great Limerick 6 mile road race.
The warmest of a Bank Holiday Sunday awaited Janette & Peter Mulvany in Limerick. They had a great day running the 6 Mile distance with Janette running 1hr 8 min and Peter running 1 hrs 3 min.
As Janette said 'We were roasted'
Congratulations guys and enjoy the refreshments afterwards.
Stephen Murphy Memorial 5k
Conor MacAogain was out running in the sun earlier in the Stephen Murphy Memorial 5k run. A nice pace saw him record 24:57 for the event. Good work Conor
Mr Oil Juvenile County T & F
Events got off to a timely start on Sunday for Day 2 of the juvenile County Championships in the Sports Hub, Enniscorthy. Starting out warm in the sun, a cool breeze gathered pace to keep everyone fresh as the morning progressed, with cloud taking precedence for the afternoon as fleeting glimpses of sunny breaks teased those attending with brief moments of heat.
A strong turnout from the club saw twelve athletes in attendance, with last year's introduction of a separate evening for under 8s to under 11s making this an even more impressive showing for Menapians.
Starting with under 12s we had Benny Lonergan and Conor Donovan who both competed strongly in high jump and turbo javelin, while Benny ran the 100m sprint as well.
Under 13 Fionn Murphy gave his all with great performances in the 100m sprint, long jump and shot put.
Our under 14 girls trio of Amy Conde, Abbie Donovan and Estee Lonergan put in solid performances in high jump and javelin with Estee taking a well deserved gold in the javelin.
Rory Henderson and Fiachra Mehigan did the club proud in Under 16s, with Fiachra collecting bronze in long jump and silver in the 1500m middle distance race, and Rory claiming silver in javelin. Both also participated in 100m sprint and shot put while Rory did the long jump too.
In under 17s we had a collection of medals - Josh Nolan claimed bronze in 100m sprint, silver in high jump and gold in javelin, while Maeve McCormack won silver for javelin, gold for high jump and also bronze in 100m. Also in under 17 Orla Dolan competed in high jump, 100m sprint and javelin, and Alex Lonergan ran 100m sprint and 1500m middle distance.
Lucas Paige-Redmond (under 19) brought home three golds in each of his three events - 100m sprint, high jump and javelin.
Well done to all members and hope to see you all back for more competition next Sunday, and the younger athletes on Friday evening.
Thanks to club coaches and officials for helping out on the day - Ellen Cullimore, Tracey Nolan, Louise Henderson, Padraig Kelly, Siobhan Doyle, Catherine O'Connor, Ilze Bedrite & Tadhg Henderson. Thanks as well to the parents for getting the athletes to the start line.
Prague Marathon
Congratulations to Ryan Ellard who ran the Prague Marathon on Sunday morning. He ran a terrific time of 3:40:15 smashing his PB for a marathon. Well done Ryan, enjoy the down time in Prague
Taghmon 5k
The Taghmon Handball club hosted their annual 5k fundraising event on Bank Holiday Monday. Blessed with a bright sunny morning and a deceiving cool breeze. Almost 100 signed up to run or walk the route which used quite back roads for half then onto the main road into the village finishing up the hill towards the handball alley. We had eight members taking part and Niall on the timer at the finish line. Tony had a great run after his Leinster outing on Saturday and finished 4th today.
Tony Harpur 19:27
John Dier 24:31
Paula Gondard 26:55
Darren O'Grady 27:46
Helen Burrell 30:56
Siobhan Doyle 31:25
Sharron Dier 39:34
Bridie McGuire 40:42
parkrun
A beautiful morning saw a lot of members out running early in the day at various parkruns.
Congratulations to Sharron who completed her 250th parkrun on Saturday, a super milestone to hit.
Anthony Dowd, Dave Midwinter, Gareth Lloyd, John Dier, Dermot Foley, Brian Smyth, Fiachra Mehigan, Rob Mehigan, Hazel Doyle, Sarah Bermingham, Darren O'Grady, Ann Thomas, Ollie Stack, Helen Burrell, Mary Cronin, Michael Murphy, Gráinne Hayes, Sinead Ryan, Sharron Dier and Bridie McGuire all completed the Wexford Racecourse Parkrun. Shout to Anthony who was first to complete the event.
Tadhg & Louise Henderson took a spin to JFK for the New Ross parkrun.
Enda O'Sullivan was at the Knockancree Cloughjordan parkrun.
Tory Hill IMRA / Clonard GAA 5k / Manchester Marathon / parkrun
Tory Hill IMRA
The trio of Fran Rea, Sharon Martin & Jennifer Kehoe hit the road for a trip to Kilkenny. The 7.8k IMRA race took place on Sunday and they had great runs in the event.
Fran finished 15th in 42:49 taking 2nd in his age category, Sharon finished 22nd overall winning her age category in 46:10 and Jennifer finished 33rd in 54:02 taking 4th I her age category.
Very determined running from these three, well done .
Clonard GAA 5k
Great to see our members taking part as local clubs raise funds. This morning John Hyland, Dermot Foley, Ollie Stack and Gráinne Hayes all took part as Clonard GAA held a 5k fundraising run. Nice to see Gráinne back running again representing the club.
Manchester Marathon
Brian Smyth was off on his travels again and this time I think he can tell his own story....
On the day Liverpool conquered the Premier League, clubman Brian Smyth headed off to the darkside to conquer the marathon in Manchester. Close to 36,000 runners toed the startline to complete the 26.2 mile tour of the city. There was great support all along the relatively flat course, with the only major climb being at the halfway mark in Altringham. Support worthy of a climb in the Tour de France meant that runners were over it before they knew it. Temperatures rose to 19C making the second half a battle of endurance over the last few miles . Brian completed it in an admiral time of 3:42:37.
Well done & enjoy the rest.
parkrun
A warm morning, blue skies and over 100 like minded individuals on Saturday morning. Fiachra continues to improve his times and was the first to compete the event on Saturday. An unusual double for the club as Ryan was the first to finish the New Ross event. A welcome to Dave Midwinter who joined up recently and ran in Wexford Racecourse and wishing Geoff a speedy recovery.
Fiachra Mehigan, Anthony Dowd, Donal Grant, Martin Kelly, Rob Casey, John Dier, Dave Midwinter, John Hyland, Gareth Lloyd, Rob Mehigan, Sarah Bermingham, Helen Burrell, Linda Leacy, Mary Cronin, Dermot Foley, Darren O'Grady, Michael Murphy, Sharron Dier and Bridie McGuire all completed the Wexford Racecourse Parkrun.
Ryan Ellard completed the New Ross parkrun and enjoyed being the first finisher.
Brian Smyth added the Peel Park run to his collection before his marathon on Sunday.
Enda O'Sullivan completed the Knockancree Cloughjordan Park run.
St Senan’s Open Track & Field / Rosslare 10k/5k / par
St Senan’s Open Track & Field
Busy day of track & field for Lucas Page Redmond and Elijah Page Redmond as they competed in the St Sean's Track & Field Pen competition in Kilmacow.
Lucas competed in 100 m (placing 1st) and long jump (2nd) in under 19.
Elijah ran in 100 m (2nd) and javelin (1st) and also competed in youth long jump placed 4th .
Super results from these 2 dedicated athletes well done.
Rosslare 10k/5k
Well done to all our members who ran in the Wexford Triathlon Club's annual event. They introduced a 5k last year and it seems to gave caught peoples attention adding to their successful 10k race. Good thinking as the 5k is just one loop of the well known route and the 10k runners do 2 loops. Some of our own members were involved in the marshaling as they are also Tri Club members.
20 runners from the club were split with 10 in the 10k race and 10 in the 5k race. Lovely to see so many members out representing the club.
Our new recruit Anthony was 9th in the 10k also claiming the O50 prize , welcome to the club Anthony. Martin was 1st in the O70. Ryan was 2nd in 18-21.
In the 5k Catherine was 1st O60 and John H was 2nd in the O40.
Great to see members getting into these postions.
Congratulations to all who ran, its not easy on a Bank Holiday but at least the weather held up adding to the occasion. It was also nice to see so many of our members supporting at different parts of the route, it does help when running. Finally a huge thanks to Wexford Triathlon Club for hosting another super event.
10k results
Anthony Dowd 39:05
Ryan Ellard 42:28
Brian Smyth 42:30
Eamonn Foley 46:59
Martin Kelly 47:26
John Dier 51:15
Jesse Kielthy 54:06
Geoff Hoffheinz 55:36
Ann Thomas 1:04:14
Bridie McGuire 1:23:22
5k results
John Hyland 21:12
Micheál Kinsella 24:09
Gareth Lloyd 25:09
Catherine O'Connor 25:46
Darren O'Grady 27:33
Nora Boggan 28:45
Sarah Bermingham 29:00
Siobhan Doyle 32:11
Paula Gondard 37:21
Sharron Dier 40:10
Wexford Half Marathon & 10k / Hellevation Backyard Ultramarathon
Wexford Half Marathon & 10k
Sunny April skies greeted the huge number of athletes and supporters on one of the most scenic race start lines as the Slaney estuary was calm and the music blared. With so many opting to wear the event T shirt the Quayfront was awash with purple & gold. At 10.15 the first wave of 4 half marathon athletes took off at speed followed every few minutes by the next 3 waves and then it was the turn of the 10k athletes as their waves were started. It gave supporters on the early section of the course a great chance of seeing their own as the race was spread out. A warm morning and a great atmosphere at the finish line as athletes passed 2 pubs, a gun shop and a creche !
Congratulations to each member who ran, special mention to Hazel and Linda who ran their first 10k and to Ryan & John H who broke their PB times.
Martin won the M70 and John D was 2nd M60, well done gents.
Thanks to the club members who were out supporting on the course, it definitely lifts everyone when they hear their name being shouted.
Half Marathon results:
Ryan Ellard 1:34:45
Dermot Foley 1:34:52
John Hyland 1:42:41
Eamonn Foley 1:41:05
Rob Casey 1:44:02
Tadhg Henderson 1:47:51
Jesse Kielthy 1:59:51
Enda O'Sullivan 2:15:22
Marion Galvin 2:16:43
10k results:
Martin Kelly 47:47
Micheál Kinsella 50:30
John Dier 50:53
Ilze Bedrite 55:23
Geoff Hoffheinz 55:43
Jennifer Kehoe 55:48
Hazel Doyle 56:32
Darren O'Grady 57:07
Louise Henderson 1:00:18
Linda Leacy 1:03:24
Bridie McGuire 1:22:59
Sharron Dier 1:35:26
Hellevation Backyard Ultramarathon
On Saturday club member Donal Grant was busy competing in a fairly unique event. Anyone interested in joining him next time out get in touch.
He wrote an account of his experience to whet the appetite of anymore thinking of it for next year. Have a read below...
Hellevation
Backyard Ultramarathons are a relatively new addition to the roster of ultra endurance events. They take place over a loop of 6.7km or 4.17 miles. You have one hour to complete the distance before you have to go again. Every hour on the hour until you either don’t start a loop or you don’t get back within the hour. Last man (or woman) standing is the winner! The idea behind the loop distance is that you cover 100 miles every 24 hours.
Hellevation is one of the newest backyard ultra events on the Irish calendar. This was the second year it has been stagedin the picturesque, if very remote, Grange village in Tippperary. With almost all of the loop on trail, and with nearly 200m of elevation on each loop, it’s a serious test of mental strength.
Approx 70 athletes took to the starting corral on Saturday to test themselves against the trails. Most people finished in 47-53 minutes, which gives you a few minutes to go to the toilet, eat, rest, check your insta, before you head back to the start corral again! Every hour on the hour!
As the hours passed by and the loops accumulated, people slowly started to drop out, either through tiredness, injury, or else hitting their target, eg 7 loops is over marathon distance and was a popular loop to finish on.
Darkness came during loop 9, and out came the head torches. This don’t slow us too much but it did mean you had to concentrate a lot more on the trail, which takes a lot of extra energy. I had a wobble around loop 8, with some stomach issues, but I was able to run through it and was feeling better by loop 10. It did mean I had stopped eating though, so I was on borrowed time! I had 12 loops as a loose target, but I was convinced to go back out and finish loop 13, alongside about 20 other hardy souls. Just to get to 90km, I started loop 14 and turned back, finishing just after 1:20am with 90km in the bag.
The race was eventually won by Wayne McGuigan, who was also the defending champion, and an absolute machine! He did 25 loops and could probably have run on for days!
It’s a really interesting format, that is ultimately a much bigger test of your mental strength than your legs!
I still haven’t decided if I’ll go back next year, but if I do I’ll try to convince some of my clubmates to do it too!
Quest Glendalough / Blue 5k Run / Thomas Pender 10k / Hope & Dream / Sonia O'Sullivan Cobh 10 mile / Enniscorhthy AC Open T&F / parkrun
Quest Glendalough
The Quest Adventure race series rolled in to Glendalough at the weekend and the weather Gods were very kind. A bright and sunny day awaited the early risers as they made their way to the scenic village of Laragh which acted as Race HQ. A combination of cycling, running and kayaking awaited our trio of Sharon, Jennifer and Fran and along with our member in waiting Conor they buzzed with anticipation about the race ahead of them. Its the only time a kayak is allowed on the iconic upper lake adding to the stunning views around the course.
In the Sport distance Sharon smashed it finishing 3rd female. A superb result.
Well done to you all
Sport Distance:
Sharon Martin 2:41:28
Fran Rea 2:52:52
Challenge Distance:
Conor Casey 1:26:35
Jennifer Kehoe 1:30:43
Blue 5k Run
The annual Blue 5k run took place this morning which is an important fundraiser for the Autism Unit in Sco Mhuire which does fantastic work. A beautiful morning for a run and a fantastic atmosphere created by the organisers.
Well done to club members Oliver Murphy , Libby Murphy, Siobhan Doyle, Nora Boggan & Ger Mulhall who all took part in the run
Thomas Pender 10k
Arklow hosted this event for the first time over a testing testing route.
Congratulations to Eamonn Foley who completed it in 45:44
Hope & Dream
The biggest event in Wexford over the weekend was the Hope & Dream. There was 2 options available to anyone registering to take part :10 mile or 10k.
A huge fundraising event raising funds for 2 very worthy charities , The Hope Centre and Share a Dream Foundation.
On the finest morning of 2025 a huge crowd of athletes of all abilities gathered on the side of the Slaney in Enniscorthy as the music blared and the atmosphere was building towards the starters gun. 983 competed the 10k with another 152 finishing the 10 mile route.
Conor had a great result finishing 1st O60, great job and a mention to Dave Clancy who did the event virtually.
10 mile
Brian Smyth 1:13:03
10k
Conor MacAogain 49:49
Gareth Lloyd 52:36
Jesse Kielthy 53:33
Paul Donovan 53:33
John Dier 52:48
Bridie Mcguire 1:27:22
Sharron Dier 1:39:05
Sonia O'Sullivan Cobh 10 mile
Rob Casey was in Cork on Sunday and along his friends Rob & Fiona ran the Cobh 10 mile. Here us his account of the event :
Lovely day, about 10-12°C, sunny with a little breeze. Perfect running conditions which helped the mens & women's course record to be broken with blistering times of 48 & 54 minutes respectively.
The course was a hilly one as expected with almost 180m of elevation. Most of the climbs were in the 1st 6km with mostly flat sections after that. The finish was a nice downhill run into the town to finish in front of the Commodore hotel. I paced my friend to a time of 1hr 41min which he was pleased with considering some recent injuries.
Enniscorhthy AC Open Track & Field
Enniscorthy Athletics Club held their annual Open Sports Meet on Sunday in glorious Sunshine.
There was a good squad of Menapians in action on the day.
Well done the Catherine, Elijah, Lucas, Josh, Alex, Fiachra, Benny, Fionn, Piper, Megan, Chloe and Anthony who took part in a variety of events including sprints, middle distance, long jump, high jump, javelin and shot putt.
Great efforts from all athletes and it's brilliant to see the senior and underage athletes all competing at the same venue.
Great work from Enniscorthy AC and their crew of volunteers.
parkrun
The sun was out but the breeze was also there on Saturday, this time luckily at runners backs going up the hill.
John Dier & Sharron Dier were in Dublin and ran the Corkagh Park parkrun after welcoming their first grandchildren on Friday evening, congratulations.
Enda O'Sullivan was also in Dublin and he ran the Marley Park parkrun.
In Wexford Racecourse Parkrun over 100 people were joined by Dermot Foley, Ryan Ellard, Brian Smyth, Eamonn Foley, Fiachra Mehigan, Tadhg Henderson, John Hyland, Rob Casey, Hazel Doyle, Darren O'Grady, Rob Mehigan, Sarah Bermingham, Louise Henderson, Helen Burrell, Ollie Stack, Mary Cronin, Michael Murphy, Dave Percival & Bridie McGuire who all completed their 5k.
Well done to everyone and keep up the good work.
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.
