Published in Results on 7th February 2016
- Maree 8k 2016 – Terms and Conditions Applied Howling gale-force winds on the back of storms Dessie, Barney and Henry, driving Galway rain coming in from the west, the east, the north, the south, the south-west and the north-east, not forgetting the sub-zero temperatures akin to the Antarctic in mid- Winter. I just knew when I woke up on Sunday morning that this was going to be the best race EVER! And so it transpired Upon mature recollection, this was my first time running the Maree 8k race. With respect, it certainly ticks all the boxes. Going forward, with respect, top marks must go to all involved from Maree ac who delivered on their commitments whilst faced with dramatic climatic challenges. In real terms, I was very impressed with every aspect of this election, ahem, race, from the moment I picked up the brown envelope with the money, ahem, race number, to the post-race cup of tea and two big country-man cuts of deliciously warm, soft, moist, fruity brack. The think tank was certainly out in force when it came to stewarding, organisation, facilities, parking, challenging course, refreshments etc... At the end of the day, well actually around 1pm, fair play to all of the delegates, both in the kids and adult constituencies, who braved the inclement conditions. A motion of no con*dence was certainly given to the weather but the high voter turnout seemed to have a great February Sunday afternoon, regardless. Well done to front runners Matt Bidwell (the envy of many a backbencher) of the GCH party and Deirdre Brophy of the Athenry ac party on their respective wins. The fact of the matter is this, and I'll say this categorically - the course was quite challenging, particularly the *rst half where we were met with a strong headwind and a longish drag. With respect, going forward, although it felt for a while as though I was going backwards, many candidates seemed to share the same opinion during post-race question time. Hold on, I didn't interrupt you! Let me *nish! The Maree General 8k 2016 certainly gets my vote and if re-elected, ahem, in decent shape, I pledge to return in 2017 with my running mate, all things being equal, with respect ………… going forward. Oh, I almost forgot to mention, I overheard a few whistle-blowers chatting during the warm-up about some upcoming opinion poll or vote or something. Must go and check it out. Athenry athletes times for the day: Kieran Staunton 31:31 Deirdre Brophy 32:38 Derek Conerney 38:21 Brian Burke 38:26 Marguerite Wilkinson 41:16
Race Report: Kieran Staunton
Full Results http://www.redtagtiming.com/results/Maree8km_2016.pdf
Pics from John O'Connor: https://www.flickr.com/photos/edenhill77/albums/72157662095051754
Pics from Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mareeathleticsclub/?fref=photo