Ardagh Challenge 10 Mile & 5k 2019 (28th Dec)

The well established Ardagh Challenge 10 Mile & 5k in Co. Longford on Saturday 28th December drew a good entry for both races on a mild dry morning with little wind. Andrew Nevin was the best by far of the 136 finishers in the 5k race, winning in 16:24, nearly three minutes ahead of second place and was so far clear that he ran most of the race on his own in what was effectively a time trial. Also running was young Luke Greene, finishing in 20:47. The longer 10 mile race was run over a point-to-point course, the first two miles on a route around Ardagh village before heading up and over the mountain, including a brutal Category 5 hill – a long steady climb to sap the energy from the 229 participants – before heading back down and finishing at the village green. Leading the strong Mullingar contingent home in an excellent 25th place overall was Joan Flynn in 1:08:00, the third woman to finish. Following in behind was Amy Mahony in a new best time for the distance of 1:13:50, then Sean Liston (1:15:00), Michelle Bohan (1:15:24), Emer O’Hanlon (1:20:28) first in her master category, Terri Greene (1:21:39) second in her master category, John Bannon (1:24:04) and Michael O’Sullivan (1:27:39) third in his master category. Well done to them all and after such a tough race they definitely earned the post-race refreshments and chance to recover in the Community Hall.