Three ladies, two races, one result - on a record breaking day
The first three women finishers in both the Claremorris and Ballinrobe legs of the Mayo AC 5k Series were, from left: Eimear Fitzmaurice, Mayo AC (3rd), Hillary Hughes, Westport AC (1st) and Jo Hughes, Mayo AC (2nd).
There was a remarkable coincidence when the towns of Ballinrobe and Claremorris played host to the final two legs of the 2025 EBS Mayo AC 5k Series. A record turnout of 230 runners were at Ballinrobe Racecourse last Tuesday evening, June 10 for the final race of the series, where the top three places in the women’s race were occupied by the same three women who filled the same three positions in Claremorris the week before.
Racing conditions in Ballinrobe were ideal – sunny and warm after an unsettled few days. The racecourse ambulance path provided a three-lap course which was flat and smooth, and added a unique element to the race.
Hillary Hughes of Westport AC claimed her fourth win in the series in 19:09, with the Mayo AC pairing of Jo Hughes and Eimear Fitzmaurice finishing second and third. They both came home with very impressive sub 20 times.
In fact, all three improved on their Claremorris times from the week before, where on what is a tougher course, Hillary Hughes had crossed the line first in 19:19 while Jo Hughes ran 19:50 and clubmate Eimear Fitzmaurice took third in 20:10.
The men’s winners in Ballinrobe and Claremorris respectively were Alan Dunne and Westport AC’s David Hickey.
See full coverage of both events in Tuesday’s Western People.
