Sunday 26th March 2023 saw the 52nd version of our flagship event in the now familiar 10k format. More than 850 athletes had registered in advance for the ‘Nally’s SuperValu Dunboyne 10k’, with 700 finishers on the day from walkers and joggers along with a good depth of club athletes at the front of both the men and women’s races.
The reputation and attention to detail that the club has built up over more than 52 years of hosting road races was on display on what turned out to be a wonderfully mild spring day with a light breeze from the North-East. Great conditions to run or spectate a road race.
Over 200 children ran the juvenile races at the club’s 400m track which preceded the main event and each got a great cheer and a medal as they crossed the finish line.
The route, with a new finish area at the Club 400m track proved very popular and its fast potential shone with the first ten athletes crossing the line in less than 32 minutes (and a further 25 athletes arriving in under 35 minutes).
The men’s race saw Rathfarnham WSAF AC athlete Mitchell Byrne take first place (30:03), followed in second by Stephen Conroy, Celbridge AC (31:10) and third was Aaron Hanlon of Drogheda & District (31:16).
In the women’s race a Sportsworld AC One-Two with Aoife O’Leary in first (36:30) and Noreen Brouder in second place (37:00) and third was Sarah Baryga of Slí Cualann AC (37:08).
The team races were hotly contested with Rathfarnham WSAF AC taking the honours in the men’s with Drogheda & District AC 2nd, Donore Harriers 3rd and Clonliffe Harriers in 4th. Host club Dunboyne AC took the women’s team prize with Clane AC 2nd, Crusaders AC 3rd and Navan AC in 4th.
The Nally’s SuperValu Dunboyne 10k prides itself on the race experience it provides for all runners and whilst the big guns played it out for honours at the front, there were 700 crossing the finish line on the day from top club standard right through to those C25K athletes who in January set their sights on completing their first race over any distance and have since expanded their goals running their first 10k with distinction. Every athlete received loud cheers as they passed through the village at the start and on the club track at the finish. The ever-famous Dunboyne post-race refreshments returned this year and a great spread was laid out and enjoyed by all in attendance.
Dunboyne AC would like to express its heartfelt gratitude to all who ran, supported, sponsored, and volunteered for their hugely successful 52nd Road Race. A special thanks to Stephen and Yvonne at Nally’s SuperValu Dunboyne for their title sponsorship and added support of this great event.
We look forward to the next two races in the Club race series, the Clonee 10k on June 22nd and the Carton Trail race on July 27th.
Full results for the race are available here…
A large range of photos are available in our club Flickr page here… https://www.flickr.com/photos/dunboyneac/albums
