Thanks to Warren for this bird’s eye report

Dunboyne AC continued their dominance of Meath Cross country last weekend at the Senior Championships on the banks of the river Boyne in Trim. This was another challenging course with some short steep climbs and a 200m section of rolling bumps which served to break your stride for their entire length.

The Ladies team kept up their show of excellence with team gold and a 1,2,3 finish for DAC. Laura Buckley and Jane Bandila separated themselves from the main field early in the  4000m 2 lap race, battling hard for one and a half laps. Laura finally broke away from Jane after their last run over the rolling terrain and steep climb, opening the gap slightly over the next 1000m to retain her Senior XC title with Jane finishing a clear 2nd.

Fiona Reid continued her fantastic come back with an unchallenged 3rd place which she held throughout the race. Carol Howard didn’t have it so easy with three other competitors for company for the entire race, only 12 seconds between them at the end. It looked like it might be a 4th place finish for her in the 2nd lap but the group she was in was strong and managed to put her back in a still excellent 7th place.

5th in for Dunboyne and not far behind was Clodagh Dunphy in a very strong 12th place. While not scoring for the team, Clodagh finished ahead of three of the four runners from Trim AC, 2nd place team, opening up the gap even more. Such is the importance of the non-scoring runners. They can frequently hold the balance of the team’s success by finishing ahead of other clubs athletes. In the end it was a show of total force, Dunboyne achieving a total of 13 points, 40 points clear of second place Trim AC.

Very much aware that they’d seen a masterclass of how to achieve victory, the men lined up for their 4 lap 8000m race. It looked tentative for a time but the men also managed to achieve a team gold, 22 points to Boheermeen AC’s  30. Boheermeen athletes managed to finish in 2nd and 3rd place which didn’t make it easy.

Rory Kavanagh was first in for Dunboyne in 4th place having battled the familiar face of Boheermeen’s Ronan Wogan, of My Run Results.  Just behind him with a very strong performance was Morgan McDonagh, much returned to form this week, and in 5th place.  Derek Finnegan and Owen Fletcher cemented their rivalry finishing in 6th and 7th place. Owen had overtaken Derek mid race hoping to maintain this spot but Derek showed he keeps plenty in the tank taking the lead back in the final lap. While this on the surface contributed nothing to the team effort, these intra club rivalries serve to push each runner to 100% effort. This duo is sure to provide more entertaining bouts in the future.

With Gerry O’Reilly missing from this race, Ger Solan took his place as he and Warren McIntyre fought over 5th and 6th man in for Dunboyne. Gambling on pushing hard early on, it was lap three before Warren was able to truly shake off Ger only to be told after this hard push by supporter’s shouts that they had to catch the two Boheermeen runners ahead of them to add to the opposition’s points. This battle was interrupted by a herd of 100 or more  startled sheep crossing the course just as 2 each of Boheermeen, Trim and Dunboyne athletes approached. There was a quick truce made between Warren and two Trim runners as they decided there was safety in numbers and crossed through in one tight formation to avoid being trampled. Warren pushed ahead again to close the 100m gap but after finally catching the opposition, the effort showed and he was lost again with a sprint finish in the last 300m. Ger on the same mission managed to close the gap considerably, with only 3 seconds between them in the end as they finished in 12th and 13th place. Paul Gorey gained more valuable racing experience over this tough course before the Leinster Masters in the New Year. Together with Ger Solan and Phelim Glynn, they are hoping to make a big impression in the O50 category.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the grand opening of the Dunboyne AC club tent and the woman who made it all possible, Emilia Dan. Also, the support of fellow club mates, some running and some just there to cheer us on, was fantastic and much appreciated!

Ladies’ Senior:

Laura Buckley 1st

Jane Bandila 2nd

Fiona Reid 3rd

Carol Howard 7th

Clodagh Dunphy 12th

 

Men’s Senior:

Rory Kavanagh 4th

Morgan McDonagh 5th

Derek Finnegan 6th

Owen Fletcher 7th

Warren McIntyre 12th

Ger Solan 13th

Paul Gorey 36th