Stamullen, Co. Meath was the venue on Tuesday evening for the Michelle McKiernan 5k Road Race hosted by local club Star of the Sea AC.
For the past two years the race had been run virtually by the club in memory of former member Michelle McKiernan who died in January of 2019 after battling lung cancer. A portion of the proceeds from the race go to the Balbriggan Cancer Support Group who support people with cancer in the Dublin and Meath areas.
The committee were delighted that the race could go ahead in person in 2022 and received an endorsement from RTÉ Sports Broadcaster Darragh Maloney who encouraged people to get involved.
A large field of over 300 walked, jogged, and ran with the competition for prizes and the Michelle McKiernan Cup for first Women’s team also being fierce.
The Men’s race was won by a regular on the domestic road racing circuit Peter Somba of Dunboyne AC. Somba recently finished second at the Irish Runner 5k Road Race in the Phoenix Park and is always competitive in every race he runs. He took a comfortable victory on Tuesday running 15.22, some thirty seconds ahead of his nearest challenger.
The home crowd were no doubt delighted when one of their own crossed the line in second place. Eoin Callaghan ran a sub-16-minute time, finishing in 15.56.
Drogheda and District’s Brian Martin came home in third in 16.22 and led his club to second overall in the team standings.
Another athlete from the Royal county was victorious on the Women’s side. Karen Costello (Dunleer AC) ran a time of 18.00 and looked strong throughout.
Aine Cotter of North East Runners in Dundalk was the second female athlete across the line in 18.28, while Junior athlete Eve Lawlor of Cilles AC was third in 19.29.
There was to be further celebrations for the host club when it was confirmed that they had won the team title. Eoin Callaghan was joined by Craig Doolan and Rian Lavelle.
Drogheda and District AC were the top women’s team on the night. The scoring members of the team were Ciara O’Reilly, Carmel Keenan, and Yasmin Canning. The trio were presented with the Michelle McKiernan Cup.
