Brady claims national cross country U-19 crown in style

Last Sunday saw Tullamore Harriers hosting the National Juvenile and Novice Cross Country Championships in the wonderful setting that is Charleville Estate. The heavy rain of the previous day cleared and gave way to a dry, breezy day with plenty of winter sun. The course itself held up well and was a good test of cross country running. All of the Harriers athletes had put in a lot of heavy training for these championships and the fact that they had been postponed from their original date in December only heightened the anticipation and hopes of a successful day. Liam Brady was justifiably one of the favourites for the Under-19 race over a distance of 7000 metres. Liam had trained extremely hard over the last five months but had picked up a knee injury recently. However, he showed no signs of that on Sunday as he was involved in the leading group from the start. After about 1,500 metres, Liam opened up a small gap and he was soon clear of the field. Roared on by the enthusiastic home support, Liam continued to push on and proceeded to lead the runners behind him a merry dance as he came home the winner, 200 metres clear of Mullingar's Jake Byrne. This was a fantastic win for the young Coolderry man and a day he will never forget as he won the National title on home ground. The women's 3000 metre race was the next race up and here Maire Triona O'Connor was up in the leading bunch in the early stages. As the race progressed, Maire Triona lost ground on the leaders but continued to battle gamely and finished in a commendable 13th place. Michelle Mullaney continued her rapid rate of improvement and ran a super race to come home in 19th place. Evelyn Herlihy ran a steady race throughout to finish 47th while Mary Daly, despite feeling under the weather, gave her all to finish 81st. Tullamore finished in seventh place in the club competition while Offaly were placed fourth in the county standings. The men lined up for the Novice race over 6000 metres with hopes of maybe being in the shake-up for team medals as they had a very balanced look about them, with several runners pushing to score for the team. Declan Fahey led the team home in 25th place followed closely by Catch Grennan in 30th position. Next came Mark Serviss who had a stormer of a race to finish in 39th place, with John Harkin following closely in 43rd place. When the points were added up, Tullamore's total of 137 points gave the team third place behind North Laois AC and Donore Harriers in what was a very competitive race. The Harriers quartet was joined by Ferbane's Stephen McTague who finished in 24th place and Tullamore's David Fox who belied his inexperience at this level to finish in a fine 68th place to make up the Offaly team. Here the Offaly team were placed third behind the winners Cork with Kerry taking second place. And so ended a hugely successful day with Harriers athletes doing the club proud and the club earning many plaudits for the smooth running of the packed programme. None of this could have been possible but for the fantastic help from club members who turned out to lend a hand in huge numbers. The course in Charleville came in for huge praise and Tullamore Harriers would like to thank David Hutton Bury and his family for allowing the club to host these championships on the grounds of the magnificent Charleville Estate. David has been a good friend to the Harriers and athletics over many years and has always put his land at the club's disposal to host various events. “We are so lucky to have such a facility right on the doorstep of the Harriers complex and are deeply indebted to David for his generosity down through the years. Indeed every year as winter turns to spring, thoughts turn to getting back out to Charleville in the bright evenings. For this and more we will be forever grateful,†said Joe Wrafter of Tullamore Harriers. The Harriers would like to thank everyone who helped in any way including the Civil Defence and also Midland Hygiene Products for their assistance on the day. Full Results Under-19 Men: 1 Liam Brady. Novice Women 3000 metres: 13 Maire Triona O'Connor; 19 Michelle Mullaney 12.44; 47 Evelyn Herlihy 13.12; 81 Mary Daly 14.04; 86 Rita Daly 14.11; 105 Georgina Touhey 14.50; 109 Emma Ravenhill 15.11. Novice Men 6000 metres: 25 Declan Fahey 22.26; 30 Catch Grennan 22.34; 39 Mark Serviss 22.44; 43 John Harkin 22.50; 68 David Fox 23.09; 84 Richie Galvin 24.22; 107 Mick Murphy 25.03; 109 Eddie Garry 25.06; 131 Brendan Abbott 25.45; 156 Ger Lynam 27.13. Fixtures January 23rd: National Masters Indoors in Nenagh. January 30th: Leinster Junior, Senior and Masters Indoor track and Field championships in Nenagh. February 6th: National Intermediate and Masters Cross Country Championships in ALSAA, Dublin.