Stephen Scullion and Maria McCambridge were the winners of the 28th Greencastle Five Miles Road Race held in unseasonably mild conditions on Boxing Day.
Both represented Ireland earlier this month at the european Cross Country in Serbia and maybe did not run as well as hoped, finishing out of the Irish scorers in their respective races. However, back in domestic competition, the pair were in a class of their own on the notoriously difficult Greencastle loop.
Scullion was first to show after the field of almost 800 set off on a mostly downhill opening half mile.
As they climbed the first hill, the Clonliffe harrier already had put daylight between himself and Foyle Valley's Keith Shiels.
Recently-crowned Ulster novice champion Conán McCaughey from the Enniskillen Running Club and holidaying City of Derry's John Lenehan were already struggling to stay in contact with the leader.
Scullion moved further away after two miles and did not have to exert himself unduly on the fourth mile which is almost entirely uphill.
From the summit he used his leg speed to put more distance between himself and his pursuers. He eventually broke the tape over a minute clear in 25:09 to defend his title he won in 2012. Shiels won the battle for second, clocking 26:10, five seconds clear of McCaughey.
"no issues! I got a gap on the tight bend after two miles and then I just ran comfortably hard," said Scullion after the race.
McCambridge combined a visit to the in-laws in Letterkenny with a sixth victory in the women's race. The Athens Olympian was well clear by the three-mile mark through the village of Greencastle, with Cathy McCourt and heather Foley already firmly established in second and third place respectively. The reigning national marathon champion kept the pressure on and reached the finish line in ninth place overall. Her time of 28:25 was just seven seconds outside the course record she set in winning 12 months earlier. Cathy McCourt held off fellow north Belfast heather Foley by seven seconds in 30:21. Elsewhere, Joe McAlister was rewarded for the long trip to Donegal as he led home the 42nd Finn Valley 5K in a fast 15:09. The Glengormley man saw off the challenge of the host club's Gerard Gallagher by five seconds after controlling the race from the gun.
Lifford's Anne-Marie McGlynn was even more dominant in the women's race, winning by over a minute in 17:17. Helen Stockdale showed that her recent move to Finn Valley is paying off as she cruised to second place in a personal best 18:35. Inishowen's consistent teresa Doherty filled the minor podium place in19:48.
Annadale Strider Glen phair had arguably his best race of the year when he took the honours in the Cavan 5K in a personal best of 14:52. The race attracted over 500 starters with Raheny Shamrock Simon Ryan (15:13) and Donore's Niall Lynch (15:56) filling second and third respectively.
Another Shamrock Fiona Roche was the winner of a high-class women's race in 17:05, over half-a-minute ahead of local star Leona O'Reilly.
Picture: Jim Dunne