Lizzie Lee & Gerry Ryan win at 47th Hollymount
Sarah Jackson (Liverpool Harriers) and Johanna Jackson (Liverpool JMU)
Back in 1967 when the Hollymount road show started, the late great Noel Carroll won the second of his three consecutive European Indoors 800 metre golds in Prague in 1:49.6. At that time too, former Cork hurler Taoiseach Jack Lynch was in Paris facing up to the European goalkeeper, French President Charles De Gaulle talking about entry to the European Community. A toddler called Gerry Ryan was practising short strides around the garden. Gerry certainly knows his way around Hollymount. And he returned on Sunday to show a few more pretenders that he is still king of these roads. On Sunday, he won his fifth Hollymount 10k (32:07) with ease as he cruised for three laps, up the village street, along the long acre from Kilrush to Robeenard, and back up through Gortnashammer. Matt Bidwell (GCH) ran well finishing over a minute behind the Craughwell AC man in 33.23, and deservedly retained his Road League title. John Byrne eased home in third, and must be delighted to finish a race in just over half an hour, after his recent ultra zone events. Lizzie Lee (Leevale AC) is a formidable winner on roads (2012 Women’s Mini Marathon) and on the track – National 5,000 metres. She took time off from a visit in the locality to win the Women’s 3k easily in 10.11. Women’s Road League champion, Mary Gleeson (Mayo AC) was second in 10.35, and Jenny Pybis (Liverpool JMU) third in 10:44. A lot has happened in the 47 years of races at Holly. In these very changed times of an unregulated saturated race calendar and overpriced entry fees – the so called racing boom – there is urgent need for debate. ‘No one shouted stop’ as John Healy said in another context. Check out Ian O’Riordan’s column from last saturday’s Irish Times – http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2012/1110/1224326410543.html – where he contends that “Road racing is suffocating the sport that sparked it in the first place”.
47th Hollymount Road Races, final races Mayo AC C&C Cellular 2012 Road League, results file: Results
Men 10k (72 finishers)
1 Gerry Ryan M45 (Craughwell AC) 32:07
2 Matt Bidwell M40 (GCH) 33:23
3 John Byrne M35 (Mayo AC) 34:58
4 Alan Ashton (Liverpool Harriers) 35:16
5 Gerry Carty M40 (GCH) 36:04
6 Anto Devaney M35 (Mayo AC) 36:59
Tuam AC’s Dan O’Rourke, Tommy Joe Whyte with Gary Park (Liverpool Harriers)
7 Alan Kearns (Sligo AC) 37:08
8 Gary Park (Liverpool Harriers) 37:39
1 M50 Tommy Joe Whyte (Tuam AC) 37:51
1 M60 Enda Whelan (Sligo AC) 44:43
Teams 1 Mayo AC) 2 Liverpool Harriers 3 Tuam AC
Preet Birk (Nijmegan, Radboud Univ.)
Women 3k (28 finishers)
1 Lizzie Lee (Leevale AC) 10:11
2 Mary Gleeson (Mayo AC) 10:35
3 Jenny Pybis (Liverpool JMU) 10:44
4 Caoimhe Daniels (GCH) 10:54
5 Eliz Egan (Liverpool JMU) 10:58
6 Colette Tuohy W40 (Mayo AC) 11:16
7 Johanna Jackson (Liverpool (JMU) 11:24
8 Laura Murphy (Liverpool Harriers) 11:28
9 Angela O’Connor W45 (Mayo AC) 11:30
10 Sarah Jackson (Liverpool Harriers) 11:35
W50 1 Pauline Moran (Mayo AC) 12:42
Teams 1 Liverpool JMU, 2 Mayo AC, 3 Liverpool Harriers
Sean Murphy, Vincent Kavanagh, Seamus Coyne, Barry Murphy