Mayo AC in Dublin City Marathon

Brendan Gill on his way at mile 25

It was a damp and blustery day for the 36th Annual Dublin City Marathon. A day for true grit and digging in. Mayo AC had 30 members on the startline. Some were running their first marathon, quite a few others ran last year, many were having another go at a personal best time, and John Byrne and Christy O’Malley were ticking off another DCM to add to their impressive records. The weather played it’s part, the wind pushing into tiring bodies as the race progressed, with some respite as runners turned for home in the final miles. However, the atmosphere and support all along the 26.2 more than made up for negative factors, as Dublin has come to increasingly embrace the race in line with growth in numbers participating in recent years. Once again, the race incorporated the National Championships with medals to be won in individual and team categories.

Ann Murray heading for a 3:38 finish

John Byrne led home as usual with a strong well paced 2:37 run, after his 2:31 marathon pb in Berlin just four weeks ago. Brendan Gill was next in 2:52 and our third man was David Tiernan who made a good debut at the distance in 2:54. Sean Murphy was rewarded with an excellent 2:57 coming home with a negative split and seven minutes better than last year. Paula Prendergast was our first Senior woman repeated her 3:16 2014 time, a strong run but seemed to find the final miles tough. Quite a few improved on their 2014 Dublin finish times – Michael McNeela by 15 minutes and a negative split,  Áine Gallagher by 9, Marie Collum by a massive 26, Donal Tighe even better with a gain of 35, and Paul Reynolds improved by 17. Pavel Lach ran a fine even paced race with a faster second half. David McGrath, Neil Carroll, Julie Kearney came home with fine times.

Anna Coyne at 25 mile mark

Ann Murray made her marathon debut after a year of almost weekly races and dedicated preparation and finished well up in the W50 category in 3:38. Ann McDonnell got the Dublin marathon she deserved after a tough race last year. And there were more great performances right through the field.

Well done to all out finishers.There will be plenty of stories to be told tonight and shared in the coming days. It was great to see ye all out there.    We’ll know the National Championship results in a couple of days as they get sorted out and we’ll update again then with any corrections or additions Here are the Mayo AC times, gun and chip.

Senior Women

Paula Prendergast 3:16.15, 3:15.49

Aileen Shaw 4:12.48, 4:12.14

Áine Gallagher 3:33.32, 3:32.32

Senior Men

Clive Lavelle 3:37.51, 3:36.42

Thomas Kelly 3:51.35, 3:51.25

Neil Carroll 3:23.14, 3:22.34

David McGrath 3:20.34, 3:19.34

Matthew Gill 3:00.28, 2:58.28

Men +35 A

John Byrne 2:37.04, 2:37.02

Brendan Gill 2:52.31, 2:51.24

Paul Reynolds 3:11.16, 3:10.47

David Tiernan 2:54.45, 2:54.39

Sean Murphy 2:57:46, 2:57.33

Michael McNeela 3:16.03, 3:14.07

Noel Gibbons 3:03.29, 3:03.16

Men +35 B

Tom Charles 3:35.04, 3:33.43

Damien Glackin 3:47.43, 3:47.08

Donal Tighe 3:29.08, 3:27.54

Pawel Lach 4:14.09, 4:13.36

Justin McDonagh 4:25.35, 4:24.41

Frank Cloherty 3:59.33, 3:58.58

Women +35

Julie Kearney 3:34.14, 3:32.31

Ann McDonnell 3:44.56, 3:43.13

Anna Coyne 3:53.31, 3:53.21

Ann Murray 3:38.57, 3:37.51

Karen Davitt 4:40.10, 4:39.56

Ann Marie Lyons 4:30.11, 4:30.04

Reiltin Shaw 3:57.00, 3:55.17

Marie Collum 4:23.25, 4:22.52

Aine Gallagher improved by 9 minutes on 2014

Damien Glackin looking focused in Ballsbridge

8007: his name is Frank, Frank Cloherty