There has been plenty of rumblings and banter generated in Colemanstown and its nearby environs following the recent Dublin City Marathon so much so that its only fitting to acknowledge the performance of those athletes on our doorstep in some small way.
Local lass Dee Grady, Colemanstown put in a performance of a lifetime that’s difficult to capture in words if you’re not particularly into running. She has been making great strides in long distance races over the last year or so and peaked in Dublin for the October Bank Holiday marathon weekend when she was 4th Irish lady home in a whopping time of 2:50 in a field of almost 20,000 participants.
There are so many variables that can derail one when training for and running a marathon but Dee stayed focused to cross the line in such an unbelievable time. I’m sure its nice to live for that feeling of 4th Irish lady home. I feel we’ll be hearing more about this modest athlete after her top class display. She has proved that she can scale the heights and we can only stand back and admire her. Sincere congrats to Dee.
Huge congrats to 2 other local runners, Catherine Burke, Colemanstown and Anne Marie Walsh, Gurteen who also put in the hard slog that goes with training for a marathon. Not alone did they chase their dream of running their first marathon but they also raised a whopping €3,000 for Cystic Fibrosis as well. Should anyone still wish to contribute financially to this great cause, please contact Catherine or Anne Marie.
Well done also to Barnaderg road runners: Carol Screene, Colemanstown who completed her 11th marathon, Mark Mills, Brierfield who obviously didn’t seize up for too long as he was spotted running the Corofin AC 8k road race on Sunday last and to Colleen Gallagher. Also well done to Pat Roberts, Cappalusk, Gurteen who completed his 2nd marathon and then sat in his car and drove home straight afterwards & to Kieran Guiry, Clough, Gurteen who all received the specially engraved commemorative 1916 finishers medal, a nice one to display for years to come. One thing all runners had in common was the experience of the absolutely overwhelming support along the route as many dreams became a reality. To finish, we congratulate Tracey Laheen -McDonagh, Castleblakney who completed the New York marathon in style over the weekend. If she was there long enough, she might even have given Trump a vote! Well done runners…. Keep it going….