Athenry runners were very much in evidence at this weekend's Future Streets of Galway road race. A record entry of 64 runners for any single event from our club was an indication of the high esteem in which this fine race is held by Athenry AC runners and indeed all runners in the West of Ireland. It was heartening to see so many club singlets in evidence around the start line and warm-up areas at the Claddagh. The weather cleared up just in time for the big event and given the poor weather conditions experienced elsewhere ijn the country during the weekend the organisers must have been relieved. For many Athenry members this was their first race since the Galway May 5km series and indeed for one or two it was their first ever race. The breath of fresh air that the Fit4Life programme has blown into the athletics scene all over the country could been felt all over Galway on Saturday evening. There has always been a special atmosphere at the starting line of a 'Streets' and this year was just as good, if not better, than any other.

Smiles of Anticipation

A big group of Athenry runners met up the front of Jury's Hotel for a group photo forty-five minutes before the start and there were many new faces in evidence as well as many familiar and battle-hardened vererans of races past.

Frank Greally of Irish Runner magazine had made the trip and could be seen distributing magazines to all and sundry. Crack teams had travelled from Dublin and Ennis to compete for the cash prizes on offer with the best that Galway and Mayo had to offer. There must have been more skinny 'runner-types' in Galway than anywhere else in the country this last weekend.

When the action got underway there was plenty to cheer about for Athenry supporters all through the team. Ann Carter took another step up in class in claiming sixth place overall in the women's race and posting a time of 30:09. This was a run of genuine quality and is just reward for a talented and dedicated athlete of the highest calibre. Maire T. Beatty was close on Ann's heels when she followed up on her recent win in Swinford by claiming first spot in the F45 category in a superb time of 34:33. Maire has been a demon for competition and training over the last twelve months and is proving an inspiration to everyone in the club.

The Athenry women were a fantastic second place in the team competition. Ann Carter (74th), Elaine Walsh (136th) and Maire Treasa Beatty (245th) combined for a total of 455 and just had to give best to Sportsworld from Dublin. That the Athenry AC women can compete with established clubs like Sportsworld is a credit to our club.

Ready For Action

On the men's side there was yet another fine run from Brian O'Connor (27:16) who fought out a close dual with Brian Bruton (27:18). The pair of Brians were followed home closely by Mick Rice (27:26) to make it three Athenry AC men in a row over the line in 23rd, 24th and 25th places respectively. Mick took first place in the V40's. Johnny O'Connor had the race of his life (over 8km anyway) to break the 29:00 mark with a 28:59 timing. The Athenry men placed third overall behind Raheny Shamrocks and Ennis Track.

Aside from the competitive side of affairs it was extremely satisfying to see so many Athenry members from the Fit4Life group quite literally 'at the races'. Our club has thrived in recent year with an influx of new faces, new ideas and great enthusiasm. A large group of runners and walkers retired to Al Muretto's Italian Restaurant afterwards to ease their aches and pains with a slice of pizza and a glass of red wine or a cup of fine coffee. If you couldn't make it, you missed a good night.

Maybe next year.

A bite To Eat Afterwards

Prizewinners

Streets of Galway 2008 - Prizewinners

MALE PRIZEWINNERS

Senior Men

1 Josphat Boit Clonliffe Harriers 23:35

2 Vinny Mulvey Raheny Shamrock AC 23:51

3 Christopher Erichsen 24:36

4 Cillian O'Leary Raheny Shamrock AC 24:45

5 Jason Fahy Olympic Harriers 24:51

6 David Rooney Raheny Shamrock AC 25:07

7 Noel Kelly Mullingar AC 25:12

8 John Cleary Ferrybank AC 25:19

9 Paul Buckley Ferbane AC 25:23

10 Matthew Lockett 25:40

Vet Men O/40

1st Mick Rice Athenry AC 27.26

2nd Edward McEntee Sportsworld 27.41

3rd Derek Coogan North Laois 27.43

Vet Men O/45

1st Martin Corcoran Craughwell 27.03

2nd Dermot Lowe 28.53

3rd Hugh Duffy Mayo 28.57

Vet Men O/50

1st Eugene Moynihan Marian AC 28.42

2nd Sean Doyle Rathfarnham WSAF 28.48

Vet Men O/55

1st Andrew TalboT Clare River Harriers 31.59

Vet Men O/60

1st Noel King 37.15

Vet Men O/65

1st Brian Geraghty Galway City Harriers 31.22

Vet Men O/70

1st Gerry Rohan 41.29

Junior Men

1st Keith Fallon 31.17

2nd Niall Byrne 36.20

Fit4Life Men

1st Don Deacy Galway City Harriers 35.52

2nd Paul Kelly 36.48

Male Teams:

1. Raheny Shamrocks 24pts.

2. Ennis Track 110pts.

FEMALE PRIZEWINNERS

Senior Women

1st Rosemary Ryan Team Pearl Izumi 27.43

2nd Teresa McGloin Finn Valley 28.43

3rd Briege Connolly 28.45

4th Aoife Brady Sportsworld 29.29

5th Regina Casey Galway City Harriers 29.57

6th Ann Carter Athenry AC 30.09

Vet Women O/35

1st Siobhan Lennon Ennis Track 32.08

2nd Kathleen O’Callaghan Sportsworld 32.17

3rd Eileen Walsh Sportsworld 33.17

Vet Women O/40

1st Orla Gormley Raheny Shamrocks 30.42

2nd Anne Murray Mayo AC 33.12

Vet Women O/45

1ST Maire Treasa Beatty Athenry AC 34.33

2nd Maura Falsey Kilmurry Ibrickane 36.50

Vet Women O/50

1st Nuala Reilly Drogheda and District 36.03

Vet Women O/55

1st Judith Roche 40.56

Junior Women

1st Fiona O’Shea Limerick 37.41

Female Fit4Life

1st Edel Carty Sligo AC 35.41

2nd Nicola Deacy Galway City Harriers 36.59

Female Teams:

1. Sportsworld 360pts.

2. Athenry AC 455pts.

Teams Result

Women's

1. Sportworld - 58, 128, 173 = 360

2. Athenry AC - 74, 136, 245 = 455

3. Ennis Track - 125, 217, 219 = 561

4. GCH - 64, 221, 306 = 596

5. Mayo AC - 171, 321, 488 = 980

6. Sligo AC - 183, 317, 674 = 1174

7. Tuam AC - 428, 925, 522 = 1875

8. Mullingar Harriers - 195, 345, 1519 = 2059

9. Limerick AC - 489, 1068, 1071 = 2628

Men's

1. Raheny Shamrocks - 2, 4, 6, 12 = 24

2. Ennis Track - 17, 21, 34, 38 = 110

3. Athenry AC - 23, 24, 25, 47 = 119

4. Mayo AC - 13, 36, 46, 126 = 221

5. GCH - 14, 15, 97, 100 = 223

6. Donore Harriers - 33, 55, 64, 109 = 261

7. Tuam AC - 54, 59, 112, 139 = 364

8. Sportsworld - 16, 27, 172, 197 = 412

9. CRH - 73, 88, 118, 169 = 448

10. Craughwell AC - 20, 32, 60, 322 = 454

11. Waterford AC - 76, 182, 497, 641 = 1396

Top 100 Runners Over The Line

Pos No Name Category PlaceCat Club ChipTime Finish

1 2210 Josphat Boit SM 1 Clonliffe Harriers 23:35 23:35

2 2134 Vinny Mulvey SM 2 Raheny Shamrock AC 23:51 23:51

3 638 Christopher Erichsen SM 3 24:36 24:36

4 2218 Cillian O'Leary SM 4 Raheny Shamrock AC 24:45 24:45

5 2011 Jason Fahy SM 5 Olympic Harriers 24:51 24:51

6 2217 David Rooney JM 1 Raheny Shamrock AC 25:07 25:07

7 2185 Noel Kelly SM 6 Mullingar AC 25:12 25:12

8 849 John Cleary SM 7 Ferrybank AC 25:19 25:19

9 2191 Paul Buckley SM 8 Ferbane AC 25:23 25:23

10 1386 Matthew Lockett SM 9 25:39 25:40

11 1570 David Byrne SM 10 Tallaght AC 25:47 25:47

12 820 Simon Reede SM 11 Raheny Shamrocks 26:09 26:09

13 703 Anthony Devaney SM 12 Mayo AC 26:21 26:21

14 2206 Conor Moloney SM 13 GCH 26:25 26:25

15 1102 Ruaidhri Geraghty SM 14 GCH 26:37 26:37

16 1116 Paul O'Connell SM 15 Sportsworld 26:49 26:49

17 1213 David Quinn SM 16 Ennis Track AC 26:49 26:51

18 988 Brian Murphy SM 17 Marian AC 26:54 26:54

19 1740 Stephen McKeigue SM 18 Ferbane AC 26:57 26:59

20 939 Martin Corcoran M45 1 Craughwell AC 27:02 27:03

21 1183 Brian McGinley SM 19 Ennis Track AC 27:11 27:11

22 1119 Adam Stops SM 20 27:14 27:14

23 1470 Brian O' Connor SM 21 Athenry AC 27:16 27:16

24 1481 Brian Bruton SM 22 Athenry AC 27:16 27:18

25 2254 Mick Rice M40 1 Athenry AC 27:26 27:26

26 719 James Liddane SM 23 Tulla AC 27:29 27:30

27 1194 Edward McEntee M40 2 Sportsworld 27:39 27:41

28 17 Derek Coogan M40 3 North Laois Ac 27:43 27:43

29 2186 Rosemary Ryan SW 1 27:41 27:43

30 739 Darragh O'Brien SM 24 Loughrea AC 27:42 27:44

31 84 Tony Scanlan SM 25 27:44 27:45

32 740 Johnny Lane SM 26 Craughwell AC 27:44 27:47

33 639 Gavin Keogh SM 27 Donore Harriers 27:48 27:50

34 1246 Daniel Folan SM 28 Ennis Track 27:57 27:58

35 92 Sean Dowling SM 29 Liffey Valley 28:06 28:06

36 938 Paddy Murray M40 4 Mayo AC 28:12 28:14

37 851 Kyle Lynch-Klarup SM 30 28:28 28:32

38 1248 Micheail Keane SM 31 Ennis Track club 28:38 28:38

39 1735 Mike Purcell SM 32 28:36 28:39

40 1091 Eugene Moynihan M50 1 Marian AC 28:40 28:42

41 1169 Teresa McGloin SW 2 Finn Valley 28:41 28:43

42 2226 Briege Connolly SW 3 28:44 28:45

43 220 Brian Duffy SM 33 Castlegar AC 28:45 28:47

44 255 Sean Doyle M50 2 Rathfarnham WSAF 28:47 28:48

45 1748 Dermot Lowe M45 2 28:52 28:53

46 1718 Hugh Duffy M45 3 Mayo AC 28:52 28:57

47 721 John O'Connor SM 34 Athenry AC 28:59 29:00

48 608 Alan Kearins SM 35 Sligo A.C 28:54 29:03

49 543 Frank Callaly SM 36 28:56 29:04

50 523 Patrick Tuohy SM 37 29:09 29:10

51 966 Mark Breen M40 5 Athenry AC 29:11 29:13

52 170 Peter Delmer M40 6 Athenry AC 29:19 29:22

53 1401 Shane Scully SM 38 29:23 29:23

54 2176 Tommy Joe Whyte M45 4 Tuam AC 29:23 29:24

55 848 Colin Moore SM 39 Donore Harriers 29:22 29:25

56 1476 Tom Hall SM 40 29:23 29:26

57 391 Paraic Raftery SM 41 29:21 29:28

58 2211 Aoife Brady SW 4 Sportsworld 29:28 29:29

59 932 David Mullins M40 7 Tuam AC 29:31 29:31

60 1197 Justin Niland SM 42 Craughwell AC 29:30 29:34

61 787 Terence Hennessy M40 8 St Cronans A.C. 29:39 29:41

62 572 Steinar Lien M40 9 Oppegaard IL-Norway 29:39 29:43

63 2125 David Kearins SM 43 29:40 29:43

64 850 Fred Kiernan SM 44 Donore Harriers 29:40 29:51

65 1585 John Canning SM 45 Newbridge AC 29:42 29:52

66 712 Paul Duffy SM 46 29:52 29:52

67 456 Denis Carroll M45 5 Eagle AC 29:49 29:53

68 1611 Gerry Carty SM 47 29:52 29:54

69 310 Regina Casey SW 5 GCH 29:55 29:57

70 324 Colin Joyce SM 48 29:59 30:02

71 1576 Darragh Mc Shane SM 49 Athenry AC 30:07 30:07

72 1720 Owen Curran SM 50 Athenry AC 30:01 30:07

73 735 Martin O'Donnell M50 3 CRH 30:06 30:08

74 1184 Ann Carter SW 6 Athenry AC 30:07 30:09

75 1597 Donal Twomey SM 51 West Muskerry AC 30:10 30:14

76 559 Brendan Aspel M40 10 Waterford AC 30:12 30:16

77 1699 Pat Muldoon M50 4 Mullingar Harriers 30:27 30:27

78 159 John King SM 52 30:26 30:28

79 194 Mark Rafferty SM 53 30:30 30:32

80 1764 James Ferry SM 54 30:32 30:34

81 882 Trevor Sweeney SM 55 30:31 30:38

82 918 Orla Gormley F40 1 Raheny AC 30:41 30:42

83 919 Tom Loftus M50 5 Raheny AC 30:43 30:47

84 1024 Aaron Turner SM 56 30:28 30:51

85 2243 Paul Fallon SM 57 30:50 30:53

86 578 Frank McNamara SM 58 30:46 30:57

87 370 John Kelly SM 59 30:48 31:01

88 418 Brian Kenny SM 60 CRH 30:57 31:01

89 2238 David Huane SM 61 31:04 31:07

90 260 Ray Somers SM 62 30:51 31:10

91 2198 Ollie Higgins SM 63 31:11 31:11

92 2239 John Ahern SM 64 31:11 31:15

93 1122 Joe Aherne M50 6 31:14 31:16

94 314 Keith Fallon JM 2 31:12 31:17

95 1567 Adrian Callaghan SM 65 Letterkenny A.C 31:16 31:18

96 1821 Dermot Gibson SM 66 31:17 31:20

97 959 Brian Geraghty M65 1 GCH 31:20 31:22

98 2241 Conor Dolan SM 67 31:18 31:24

99 23 Gary Doherty SM 68 Athenry AC 31:22 31:26

100 288 Kieren Whyte M40 11 GCH 31:24 31:27