Second win on the trot for James Flanagan

James Flanagan of Letterkenny AC chalked up his second win in the space of three days in the Donegal Athletics Board Grand Prix Road Series when taking victory in the Rathmullan 5K on Friday night. The 28 year old, who ran a personal best time of 15:22 in Burtonport on Tuesday night, was just one second down in the Rathmullan race which attracted a record field of 89 competitors.

The Ballyshannon native now leads the overall standings in the senior men’s section of the grand prix - while his club mate, Pauric McKinney has also five wins to his credit, James has also been runner-up on his other three outings. Second overall was Paul Blaney in 15:42, with City of Derry’s Gregory Roberts third in 15:43.

Finn Valley’s Clodagh McCool made it three wins on the bounce in the space of a week and earned a personal best for her endeavours on Friday night. Having secured victories in Burtonport and Churchill, clocked an impressive time of 17:12 which placed her 18th overall. Second was Letterkenny’s Helena Crossan in 17:50, with her club mate, Margaret Synott, third in 18:18 - a season’s best.

The large field and good conditions made for a fast race, with the top five all dipping under 16 minutes. The top three veteran runners - the Finn Valley duo of Pat Hegarty and Dominic Bonner and City of Derry’s Declan McCarthy - all finished in the top ten, while Letterkenny’s Anthony Dorrian, better known for his exploits on the track over the shorter distances, was the top junior in a time of 16:39 which placed him 11th overall.

The next race on the local circuit takes place on Tuesday night and competitors should note that it has the earlier start of 7 pm.

The full list of finishers and times is as follows:

1. James Flanagan, 15:23; 2. Paul Blaney, 15:42; 3. Gregory Roberts, 15:43; 4. James McIntyre, 15:48; 5. Ivan Toner, 15:53; 6. Kieran Gallagher, 16:07; 7. Martin Kelly, 16:13; 8. Pat Hegarty, 16:15; 9. Dominic Bonner, 16:21; 10. Declan McCarthy, 16:27; 11. Anthony Dorrian, 16:39; 12. Sammy McAnaney, 16:48; 13. Hugh Duffy, 16:53; 14. Neil Gibbons, 16:54; 15. Martin Gormley, 16:56; 16. Hugh Gallagher, 17:03; 17. Gavin Crawford, 17:08; 18. Clodagh McCool, 17:12; 19. John Gregg, 17:13; 20. Ciaran O’Donnell, 17:15; 21. Paddy O’Brien, 17:18; 22. Joe English, 17:20; 23. Brendan Mortague, 17:21; 24. Dara Furey, 17:24; 25. Oran McBride, 17:33; 26. Martin O’Halloran, 17:36; 27. Dan Mooney, 17:41; 28. PJ Boyce, 17:46; 29. Thomas Peoples, 17:46; 30. Helena Crossan, 17:50; 31. Kieran Crawford, 17:52; 32. Kevin Gavaghan, 18:04; 33. Adrian Callaghan, 18:11; 34. Mark Bolton, 18:12; 35. Finbarr Gallagher, 18:12; 36. Noel Thomas, 18:13; 37. Margaret Synott, 18:20; 38. Karen Crossan, 18:19; 39. Norman Spratt, 19:20; 40. Seamus Gallagher, 15:21; 41. Gregory Campbell, 18:25; 42. Vinny Duffy, 18:30; 43. Ciaran Gallen, 18:37; 44. Philip Buchanan, 18:42; 45. Michael Duffy, 18:44; 46. Stephen Barker, 17:48; 47. Richard Raymond, 18:50; 48. ? 18:52; 49. Louise Finnegan, 18:53; 50. Frances Judge,19:02; 51. Eoin Sheridan, 19:27; 52. Patrick Sheridan, 19:31; 53. Fionnuala Diver, 19:42; 54. Anthony Breslin, 19:46; 55. Laura Crampsie, 19:54; 56. Pat McCrudden, 19:56; 57. Dara Boyce, 20:16; 58. Jimmy Gildea, 20:20; 59. Conor Murray, 21:07; 60. Tommy McNaught, 21:28; 61. Sean Barrett, 21:42; 62. Arthur Lynch, 21:42; 63. Jim Hynes, 21:48; 64. Elaine Morrow, 21:50; 65. Eamon Gillespie, 22:00; 66. Paddy Hannigan, 22:25; 67. ?, 22:27; 68. Ciaran Kelly, 22:28; 69. ?, 22:35; 70. Henry Downey, 22;40; 71. Claire McGlynn, 22:41; 72. Des Black, 22:45; 73. Paul Skinnadeer, 22:47; 74. Stephen Barrett, 22:54; 75. Kevin Barker, 22:58; 76. Brian Murray, 22:59; 77. Desmond Bromley, 23:36; 78. ?.23:53; 79. Anne Malone, 24:12; 80. Patrick Martin, 25:20; 81. Stephen Martin, 25:20; 82. Michael McFadden, 25:30; 83. Bernadette Durkin, 27:15; 84. Dorothy Martin, 27:16; 85. Conor O’Reilly, 27:30; 86. Gavin Comerford, 27:31; 87. Diane Durkin, 27:43; 88. Jenni Russell, 27:52; 89. Ciaran Gallen, 27:55;

Newsletters by Bernie Alcorn, Club P.R.O.