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The 8th edition of the Autumn Open International Cross Country Festival in association with Fingal County Council will take place at the Sport Ireland Campus this coming Sunday (October 13th) with a host of star names set to take to competition across the busy schedule.
Senior athletes Íde Nic Dhómhnaill (West Limerick AC) and Keelan Kilrehill (Moy Valley) will look to defend their 2023 titles against strong fields across their respective races at 1.40pm and 2.20pm.
This year’s Autumn Open is part of the World Athletics Cross Country Tour (Silver) and will for the second time incorporate a Mixed Senior Cross Country Relay (11.00am) which will see the top two clubs qualifying to represent Ireland at the European Club Cross Country Championships in Portugal next February.
The National Juvenile Mixed Relays will take centre stage from 11.30am and are sure to offer their customary thrills and spills as the next generation of cross country stars take to championship action.
The senior men’s race is set for a 2.20pm start where Keelan Kilrehill (Moy Valley AC) will bid to retain the title he claimed in impressive fashion last year. The Moy Valley athlete signed off his road season in style back in July, taking the national 10 mile title impressively. Kilrehill returned to competitive action on the grass last month with a convincing win at the Castlegar International Cross Country in Galway, early season cross country form which should see him as the one to beat once again on Sunday.
Kilrehill won’t have it all his own way however, with several seasoned cross country specialists entered. Finley Daly (Sligo AC) came home in third place in last year’s race and is one sure to have sights on moving up the podium places, while the consistent pair of Cathal O’Reilly (Kilkenny City Harriers) and Matthew Lavery (North Belfast Harriers) can’t be discounted. The inclusion of John Travers (Donore Harriers) and Sean Tobin (Clonmel AC) amongst the entries is sure to add plenty of spice to proceedings if both take to the start-line on Sunday.
The senior women’s race (1.40pm) looks set to be an ultra-competitive affair with Íde Nic Dhómhnaill (West Limerick AC) likley to take to the line in defense of last year’s senior title.
Nic Dhómhnaill (West Limerick AC) produced one of the performances of the national track championships last year to claim the 5000m title in Santry, backing up that performance with a runaway win at the Autumn Open ahead of Louise Shanahan.
Many will see the West Limerick AC athlete as one of the leading favourites with conditions over the 6000m course set to suit.
The race boasts a nice international flavour with Kirsty Walker (Great Britain/Scotland) likely to be the fore, while Charlotte Penneman (Belgium) looks set to bypass the junior race she won last year for a tilt at her senior rivals.
National cross country champion, Fiona Everard (Bandon AC), looks set to get her cross season up and running after a 2023 season to remember for the Cork athlete. Everard was seventh in this race last year and could once again use it as a sighter for the upcoming national cross in Enniskillen.
Lauren Tinkler (Dublin City Harriers) comes into the weekend in superb form having taken first place at the Castlegar International Cross, while Nakita Burke (Letterkenny AC) will look to build on last year’s fourth place finish.
The young guns will hold no fear with Hannah Kehoe (Kilkenny City Harriers), Aoife Coffey (Lucan Harriers), Amy Greene (Finn Valley), and Emma McEvoy (Dundrum South Dublin) all sure to give their running.
The masters races hold plenty of intrigue as athletes go in pursuit of the Jim McNamara Cup. The course should suit the stamina of Sorcha Loughnane (Donore Harriers) in the women’s race, while in the men’s race Michael Harty (East Cork AC) and Kenneth Rogers (St John’s AC) look set to battle for the podium once more. An entry from David McCarthy (West Waterford AC) will have many looking over their shoulders, while there will be no surprise if the Conroy’s pop up over the closing stages.
The junior men’s race is stacked with talent and looks hard to call on paper. Darragh Mulrooney (Moy Valley AC) and Sean Cronin (Clonliffe Harriers) should be suited by Sunday’s conditions, while Louie Woodger (MSB), Noah Harris (Parnell AC), Lughaidh Mallon (Lagan Valley), and Cillian Gleeson (Celbridge AC) are but a few who will fancy their chances of making it into the top three.
The junior women’s race looks just as competitive. Avril Millerick (Youghal AC) was the first Irish athlete home in last year’s edition (3rd overall) and is sure to be a lively contender once more.
Millerick is likely to be pushed all the way by Kirsty Maher (Moy Valley AC) who enjoyed a superb cross country season last year to finish 12th in the junior race at the European Cross Country Championships, before going on to achieve a top 40 placing at the World U20 Cross Country Championships in Serbia back in March.
Mahers’s clubmate Clodagh Gill (Moy Valley AC) is another to watch out for on the day; while rising stars Pia Langton (Kilkenny City Harriers) and Emily Bolton (Donore Harriers) are two more of the up-and-coming stars who will no doubt outrun their experience on Sunday.
The Athletics Ireland Cross County Xperience will take place after the Autumn Open Cross Country races at 3.15pm. Participants will have the opportunity to run on the same cross country course that hosted the hugely successful 2021 European Cross Country Championships!
Event start time 3.15pm. Registration information can be found HERE.
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