Mayo runners go the long distance in every sense
Some of the Mayo AC members who were in Westport for the marathon, half-marathon and 10k events. From left to right: Carol McAlpine, Dee Prendergast, Dee Finnegan, Mairead Bristow, Colette Tuohy, Michelle McAlpine, Rob Moore, Gillian Hanrahan.
Athletics: Mayo AC runners have been competing at home and abroad over recent weeks and in some instances, with great success to boot.
There were 23 club members in action at Westport on Saturday, April 18 where seventeen of them ran in the half marathon. Michael Rocke finished fifth overall and was first home in the over-40s in 1:19.18.
John Gordon was ninth overall and first o50 in 1:21.12 while the club’s other prize-winner in the half-marathon was Colette Tuohy who was the first woman in the over-50s.
Lorcan Murray led the Mayo AC finishers home in ninth place (36:58) in the 10k race, and prize-winners were Ruth Carney, first woman o50, and Jimmy Feeney, second man o70.
24 hours later, Mayo AC’s Darren Flanagan was on the start line for the Manchester Marathon. Darren had ran a personal best time in the Paris Marathon in April 2024 but was injured shortly afterwards. Manchester was his first outing in 22 months and it was a very creditable comeback performance to see him finish in 3:05.56.
On Monday, April 19 a pair of Mayo AC master athletes were among the field for the 130th Boston Marathon. Their entries were based on recent good-for-age performances, as Boston has very challenging entry criteria for participants.
Both Tony O'Malley (M50) and Trevor Dempsey (M45) are seasoned marathoners and have completed some of the seven Abbott World Marathon Majors.
The Boston course is a tough, point to point event. Along the way there are intermittent climbs, the most challenging being Heartbreak Hill, which is a severe half-mile climb at the 20 to 21 mile mark. Trevor Dempsey finished the race in a brilliant personal best time of 2:38.58 – more than 40 seconds faster than his Chicago Marathon time in 2025. He was 25th of over 2000 runners in his M45 category.
Tony O'Malley ran with a steady even pace to get to halfway in 1:30, but from there on was affected by cramp and struggled over the second half to finish in 3:27.
Meanwhile, there’s just over two weeks until the first race of the Shaw Commercials Mayo AC 5k series. The five race series begins in Castlebar on Tuesday, May 12 at 8pm.
There's a special edition series t-shirt for the first 150 entrants to the full series. Entry details and more at www.mayoac.com.
