The 28th Annual John Treacy Dungarvan 10 mile race washeld on Sunday February the 3rd. Nearly 2,500 runners from all over Irelandgathered together to compete on this fast, flat course on the roads around thehistoric town of Dungarvan. Conditions on the day were as good as could be hopefor in early February, especially after the flurries of snow and icy conditionsearlier in the week. The morning started cold, but by the time the race beganat 1.30pm, temperatures had climbed to a positively balmy 10 degrees. The racewas very well organised and featured timers at the mile markers calling out thetimes. There were runners of every level taking part on the day, from beginnersto seasoned athletes. For Blackwater Triathlon Club novice, Michelle Kearney,this was a first attempt at running a 10 mile race. The following is Michelle’saccount of her experiences on the day:

“Weather conditions on Sunday for the Dungarvan 10 Mileroad race were perfect.  I think we had 3 out of the 4 seasons! Sun, wind,rain; we were just missing the snow! 

This was my first ten mile road race and the nerveswere starting to show on the start line. I wasn’t going out to get a PB; I justwanted to complete the race. I started well behind the 100 pacer; the traininghad been done at this stage so I just needed to get into a comfortable strideand stick with it. The course was fantastic; there was always a downhillwhen the legs needed it! The water stops along the route were a godsend! It wasa great opportunity to take on some water and rehydrate! I foundheading into mile 9 the hardest, the legs were heavy and I was counting downthe steps. At mile 9 there was a 300 meter hill climb before you got to thedownhill. My legs felt like they were just shuffling along, but the crowdcheering everyone on at this stage gave me the momentum I needed to keep going. As I got closethe finish line the sound of my friends and family shouting out my name gave mean extra boost and I powered on and crossed the finish line in 1:50! I wasdelighted! It was a massive achievement and I’m over the moon I completed therace!”

Well done to Michelle and everyone else who took parton the day. She was joined in her efforts by a large contingent of BlackwaterTriathlon Club athletes. There were 21 BTC members in total taking part on theday. Dave Murphy was the first of our crew home, finishing in an excellent timeof 1:02:45. He was closely followed by Conor Bartley in 1:04:10, Adrian Collinsin 1:08:24, Eddie O’Brien in 1:09:13 and Peter O’Brien in 1:10:12. Next tocross the finish line was Dave Bartley in a time of 1:11:38, followed by StephenCollins in 1:14:55, David Harte in 1:14:39 and Joe Scanlon 1:15:17. AshleighByrne was the first Blackwater Triathlon Club lady home, crossing the finishline in 1:17:31. Then came Mick Beston in 1:18:26, Shane Fleming in 1:19:49, DeidreMorrison in 1:20:29, Martin Feeney. in1:20:42, Dermot Johnson in 1:21:37 and StephenDalton in 1:26:15. Kenneth Power crossed the line in 1:29:21, and he was soonjoined by Bernard Kiernan in 1:34:12, Vincent McCarthy in 1:33:33, ConorMcCarthy in 1:46:47 and Michelle in 1:50:36.

Congratulations to all our crew and to the organisersfor running an excellent race.