Paul McNamara of Athenry AC (Senior) won the AAI national

short-course cross country championship in Tymon Park, Dublin

this Sunday (12 March). He held off Mick Clohessy of Raheny

Shamrocks by two seconds in a ding-dong battle for the lead

throughout most of the race. Paul now holds national titles

on both the road and in cross-country. He is targeting

himself for a good track season and can hopefully add to his

haul of national titles in the process.

The club enjoyed a very successful Ballycotton 10M road race

last Sunday week (5 March) with 9 locals making the trip down

to the East Cork venue. Leading Athenry AC home, again, was

Mick Rice, finishing in 49th place in an excellent time of

58:28 (Personal Best). Brian O'Connor just missed out on a

top 100 position, coming home 101st in 60:41 (PB). Peter

Delmer in 64:46, James Lundon in 65:40 (PB), Johnny O'Connor

in 66:15 (PB), Alan Burke in 66:45 (PB), Michael Rooney in

69:59 (PB), Dave Dunne 70:55 and Liam Mycroft 75:50 all did

the club proud too. A record 2800 competitors completed the

10 mile course this year.

This Sunday (12 March), Ballybrit Racecourse was the venue for

the AC's latest club run, a mile on the tarmac around outside

of the track. Fourteen athletes competed, with Ian Egan

winning in an excellent 4:40. Windy conditions made good

times difficult, with many competitors being over a dozen

seconds back on recent form over the same course and distance.

All eyes are now on the Connemarathon, to be held on two

Sundays' time out around Maam Cross, Lough Inagh and Leenane.

The club will have many runners in both the Full and Half

marathons. The race itself is organised by well known club

member and marathoner, Ray O'Connor.

As a result of our successful 10KM road race at Christmas, we

are in a position to donate €750 to local charity Cancer Care

West. We thank everyone who made the 4th running of the Field

of Athenry 10KM a huge success and hope to see you all again

this St. Stephen's Day.

For much more detail on the club and its activities, why not

check out our excellent web site, http://www.athenryac.com.