On Thursday 1st August St Catherines AC held its first road race in the village of Conna. The 5k race kicked off the Conna gathering festival weekend and even though the conditions were wet and windy it did not deter great numbers of runners, walkers and spectators from taking part in and supporting the event on the night. The weather did ease for the race itself and at 8pm the gun went, sending 192 runners up through the village and out the Tallow road.
The first mile was flat and fast and by the Castle a stream of runners could be seen all the way back through the village with East Cork athletes James McCarthy & Sean McGrath followed closely by Frank Hayes pulling clear of the chase pack.
Leaving Conna Village
Shortly after mile 1 the course turned right where the runners entered into a series of challenging hills for the next mile. A few meters back from the right turn onto the Ballynoe/Conna road the hills were no more and and the general pace increased as runners let loose for the gradual downhill decent back into the village. James McCarthy was the first man to cross the line in a time of 15:37 despite the challenging course profile. Aisling Moran from Leevale AC was the first woman home.
James McCarthy on the last 100 meters
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- James McCarthy
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- Aisling Moran
Our club would like to thank Conna Community Council, the prize sponsors, volunteers, participants, spectators and everyone who helped out with the organisation, course measurement and race registration. Thanks to James Daly for the photographs.
