British & Irish Masters International XC 2019 (16th Nov)
Eileen Kenny, Gerard Gavin, Brigid McCabe, Aine O’Reilly
Medal successes for Harriers Masters on International Duty
Best known as the venue for the Grand National horse race, Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool hosted the British and Irish Masters International Cross Country on Saturday morning 16th November and among the large Irish team competing against some of the best master athletes from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland was four from Mullingar Harriers. Running on the infield, not on the horse race track itself, the going was best described as “soft”, which was no surprise given the amount of rain that fell in the area in the days leading up to the event. The ground was a bit rough at the start, very soft after the first bend, very wet at the bottom of the course and coming up the home straight, and it was also very open and windy, making conditions challenging for the athletes.
The first race on the card was the Master Women 6,000m and featured Eileen Kenny and Brigid McCabe. Finishing first for Ireland in her category, followed closely by Brigid as second scorer, Eileen had the honour of leading the Irish women to team bronze medals. The next race was also 6,000m where Aine O’Reilly had a great race and was delighted to finish third score for Ireland and play her part in securing the team silver medals. It was a double celebration for Eileen, as her daughter Michelle Kenny (Leevale AC) finished second score, ahead of Aine, to make it a very memorable day for the Kenny family. The final race on a deteriorating course was the Master Men 8,000m where Gerard Gavin made his International debut and with a fine performance helped Ireland to second place and the team silver medals.
Congratulations to our International quartet. We suspect that Gerard will be unable to watch the Grand National in future without it bringing back the very special memory of making his debut in an Irish vest. Now that he has run for Ireland, we will add his name to the International Roll of Honour in the Clubhouse, the 109th name on the roll so far.
