National Road Relay Title for Sligo AC

Sligo AC produced one its best performances at national level in many years when winning the National Road Relay Championships in Dublin on Sunday.

Over 250 athletes competed in the Woodie’s DIY National Road Relay Championships in Raheny and the senior Sligo AC men's team of James McGeough, Alberto Sanchez, Dermot McDermott and David Harper came out on top for Sligo AC.

The team produced a brilliant performance to win the senior title ahead of Dublin clubs Raheny Shamrock and Clonliffe Harriers AC. Sligo AC's 800m athlete David Harper showed a great burst of speed to put Sligo into an early lead with Raheny, Clonliffe and Finn Valley all in close attendance. Finn Valley AC began to make an impression and were the leaders at the second changeover with Clonliffe and Raheny now back in second and third respectively.

The crucial three mile leg saw Alberto Sanchez of Sligo AC put in a stellar performance to record a time of 14.22. Sanchez demonstrated great strength to hand over in the lead team mate Dermot McDermott in a time of 28:48. At this stage Raheny were only three seconds behind Sligo AC. Clonliffe Harriers AC at this point were 100m back in third place going into the final leg.

The final two mile leg turned into an exciting battle between McDermott of Sligo AC and O’Leary of Raheny Shamrock. McDermott looked the more comfortable of the two as the two athletes headed out on the final mile of the race. McDermott made the decisive break coming up the finishing straight and looked full of running on his way to an impressive victory in a combined time of 38:31. Raheny Shamrock AC finished in second place in a time of 38:34 ahead of third place Clonliffe Harriers in a time of 38:35.

Meanwhile, the club will be represented in the capital again this coming week-end at the SPAR Great Ireland Run. The national 10k event through the Phoenix Park will provide a testing challenge for the club's representatives. The club will also be represented further afield this week-end when a number of members compete in the Rotterdam Marathon. It will have been the culmination of several weeks of training in tough weather conditions for the athletes concerned, some of whom completed their last marathon only last October in Dublin.