Nenagh 4 Mile Road Race
Motorists driving along Gortlandroe last Friday evening around 7 o'clock were greeted with the sight of athletes limbering up for the Nenagh Four Mile Road Race. This event, organised by Nenagh Triathlon Club, attracted eighty seven entrants from Nenagh, Tipperary and beyond. With sunny conditions and a relatively flat course, many competitors were eyeing up fast times.
The start line was at the Revenue Offices, continuing out Gortlandroe to the Portroe Roundabout. Here, the course went left along the by pass to the Limerick Road Roundabout, where runners turned left onto the Limerick Road. Marshalls then directed the athletes onto the Dark Road. At the next junction, the competitors turned right back onto Gortlandroe and finished outside McDonagh Park. The course had been well signposted in advance with markings to let the runners know when they had completed each of the four miles.
The race was won by Martin Bradshaw from Bilboa AC, who finished in a time of 20.52. Next home was Dermot Kearns from West Limerick AC, followed by Kenny Curran from Ballynonty. In fourth was Brian Murray, who was also the first Nenagh person to finish and he received a trophy to mark this achievement. The winner of the female event was Angela McCann from Clonmel in a time of 24.30. Next home in this category were Ann McPhail and Deirdre Finn. Prizes were also given in junior and veteran categories. All prizes were presented in the GAA Complex after the race, where refreshments were also provided.
The subplot to the race was the keenly contested competition among the members of Nenagh Triathlon Club. The first clubman home was Joe Cantwell, with a time of 25.32. Next was Henry Blackwell and JP O' Meara. Special mention must go to Henry who is still a junior and has just begun training for triathlons after competing in many underage swimming events. Others to take part from the club were Colm Glynn, Sean Gleeson, John Meagher, Paul Moore, Maire O'Doherty and Stephen Nagle. Some fast times were an indicator of the many training miles that have been covered this year.
Events like these take a lot of organising and the club would like to thank all members who helped out in the lead up to Friday and on the day. Marshalls are essential in ensuring the safe passage of any race of this nature. Special thanks has to go to Nenagh Eire Og who allowed very generous use of their facilities and could not have been more accomodating. Noel Coonan was particularly helpful throughout the evening.
Finally, Nenagh Triathlon club would like to thank all those who entered the race. It was particularly pleasing to see many local people lining up at the start line. It is our intention to make this an annual event so we hope to see everybody back next year along with many more. Congratulations to all who took part!