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The national half marathon championships take place alongside the sold-out Charleville Half Marathon this Sunday (Sept 15th).
The race, which is hosted by North Cork AC, starts at 10am and will take participants from the start in Charleville out to Kilmallock and back again.
It promises to be an ultra-competitive race with over 900 championship entries set to go head-to-head over one of the flattest and straightest courses on the half marathon circuit as they battle it out for team and individual honours across the various age groups.
Celbridge AC (Men) and Sli Cualann AC (Women) took the senior team honours in Tullamore last year, but strong looking club entries from Cork and Limerick could very well see them dominate Sunday’s proceedings.
The race for individual honours should be a compelling watch with a host of names sure to be in contention for the podium places.
Shona Heaslip (An Riocht) already boasts a national title on the roads this season having taken the national 10k title in Dunboyne in a course record time of 32:49. The An Riocht athlete went on to represent Ireland in the half marathon at the European Athletics Championships in Rome (June), with a reproduction of something close to that 1:12:19 performance sure to make her hard to pass on Sunday as she builds up to an end of year marathon.
Grace Lynch (Dundrum South Dublin) was hugely impressive in taking the 10 mile title (56:58) back on July 21st and will likely be to the fore as the leaders make their way back into Charleville.
Kate Purcell (Raheny Shamrock) will spearhead the Raheny challenge, with the 2022 champion sure to be staying on at the finish once more. Ciara Wilson (DMP AC) has been building her marathon preparations nicely this season and is another to look out for, while Norah Newcombe Pieterse (Mayo A.C.) was third in the national half last year and is one not to discount.
Ryan Creech (Leevale AC) looks set to take to the start line as he bids to defend last year’s half marathon title in the men’s race. The Leevale athlete was ultra impressive in Tullamore 12 months ago, taking the title in a winning time of 01:05:47.
Creech won’t have it all his own way on Sunday however, with the quality of Hugh Armstrong (Ballina AC) set to ensure it’s an honest place from the gun as marathon preparations reach fever-pitch.
Other interesting entries include Emmet Jennings (Dundrum South Dublin) and John Travers (Donore Harriers) who undoubtedly have the class to stay in contention, while the tactically astute quartet of David Mansfied (Clonmel AC), Sergiu Ciobanu (Clonliffe Harriers), Jake O’Regan (St John’s AC) and Jamie Fallon (Craughwell AC) will be looking to stay right on the heels of the leaders.
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