Mick Clohisey, running with Raheny Shamrock AC took the honours in this year’s Irish Runner 5 Mile race in the Phoenix Park with a new course record in a time of 00:23:48. Kevin Maunsell finished the race in second place in a time of 00:24:30, followed closely by Gary Thornton in a time of 00:24:37. Over 3,500 runners, joggers and walkers took part in the event with the all of the participants being welcomed across the finish line by sunny conditions.
Speaking after the race Mick Clohisey said, “I’m delighted with the win today. It was a challenging course in rather humid conditions but the 5 mile is not too bad in comparison to the Half Marathon. I’ve been running fairly regularly over the last while in preparation for the Berlin Marathon in September so today is another great win for me. Next up is the Rock n’ Roll half Marathon for me so fingers crossed everything goes well for it.”
In the women’s race, Sarah Mulligan from Dundrum South Dublin AC finished with a time of00:27:54. She was followed by Siobhan O’Doherty (00:28:05) in second place and Ciara Hickey in third (00:29:54).
Winner of the women’s race, Sarah Mulligan said “The race went really well but I think it was a lot hotter than we had anticipated to be honest. I found the four mile mark quite difficult because of the uphill climb and the dead heat today.” She added, “I’m happy enough with my time for the Irish Runner 5 Mile because it is quite a tough course especially the last two miles. Overall I’m very pleased with today and I look forward now to the European Medal Championships in Madrid next week with the Irish Athletics Team.”
Team Dublin Marathon which consists of five men and five women also took part in the event in preparation for the 26.2 miles later this year. Between now and race day in October each team member will be following their own individualised training programmes and weekly training schedules from two of the best marathon runners in the country, Gary Crossan and Maria McCambridge.
Today’s race in Phoenix Park provided dry conditions for the participants with the humidity being the only obstacle for runners in what was the first of a four part SSE Airtricity Dublin Race Series which is designed to help prepare athletes for the Marathon on October 26th
The next race in the series will be the SSE Airtricity Fingal 10K run which will take place in Swords, North County Dublin on Sunday July 19th, with the closing date for applications being the 10th July. For more information or to register for any of the events, visit the SSE Airtricity Dublin Marathon website at www.
SSE Airtricity Irish Runner 5 Mile race results:
Men’s Top 3
Mick Clohisey 00:23:48 (NEW COURSE RECORD)
Kevin Maunsell 00:24:30
Gary Thornton 00:24:37
Women’s Top 3
Sarah Mulligan 00:27:54
Siobhan O’Doherty 00:28:05
Ciara Hickey 00:29:54