Cross Country Update

from Siobhan O'Leary 

This short update is a little late to the finish line …. 

Frozen fog, sub-zero temperatures and great company made for an exciting day of racing at the Munster Intermediate and Masters Cross-Country Championships held in Clarecastle on Sunday 11th December. 

The Intermediate event was originally scheduled to run on November 27th however due to flooding it was cancelled. Last weekend, the weather conditions were closely monitored due to threat of ice. This is cross country after all – never a dull moment! 

The rescheduled intermediate distance was shorter on Sunday, Dec 11th, as both the intermediate and masters athletes ran together.  The course was relatively flat with some pulls especially noticeable coming over the finish line.  Despite the freezing temperatures, ground conditions were good and the pace was fast. The women’s race course was 4 x 1k laps and the men had 7 x 1k laps.

We had 2 teams entered for both races. The only athlete exempt intermediate race was Sinead having winning this event previously. 

Four made up the women’s team, each had good strong runs and scored for Cork! 

Sinéad O’Driscoll won the Masters event,  first in her age category and led the 035 Cork team to winning Silver! 

Susan Fitgerald scored for the 050 Cork team winning Gold!

Caroline Geary and Siobhán O’Leary scored for Cork on the 035 Masters and Intermediate events – Cork won Silver in both events. 

John Hennessey, Edmond O’Sullivan and Ger O’Regan made up the men’s team. Having ran well, the team was placed 4th in the 050 masters event! 

John Hennessey won bronze in his age category, scored for the Masters 050 Cork team winning Gold and on the Intermediate Cork team winning Bronze!

Finally, a special thank you to Neilus who provided great advice and support as we raced round the course! …. And that’s a wrap for cross-country season 2022!