Sport

Travers and Mageean headline seaside special in Buncrana

Eventual winner John Travers leads the Main Street Mile in Buncrana from Ruairí Finnegan
Eventual winner John Travers leads the Main Street Mile in Buncrana from Ruairí Finnegan Eventual winner John Travers leads the Main Street Mile in Buncrana from Ruairí Finnegan

EUROPEAN INDOORS 1500m finalist John Travers and former World Junior silver medallist Ciara Mageean were the star attractions at the inaugural Healthwise Main Street Mile in Buncrana.

Huge crowds turned out on the streets of the Donegal seaside resort to cheer Travers to victory in the feature event. The Dubliner easily saw off the home opposition to clock an excellent four minutes and nine seconds on the testing road circuit. Letterkennys Daniel Mooney saw off the challenge of clubmate Ruair Finnegan to take the runner-up spot by a solitary second in 4:21.

Mageean showed no sign of any after effects from a plantar fasciitis injury that had kept her out of competitive action for over three months as she took sixth place overall in 4:48. Mageean now looks back on course to make a late start to a track season that could possibly culminate in a trip to the World Athletics Championships in Beijing.

Derry City Track Club were a class apart in the 4x400m relay, winning by eight seconds from a Cockhill Celtic quartet in 3:41.0. Earlier, the Juvenile Mile had kicked off the evenings action, with Gareth Kerrigan leading home a field of 50 in an excellent 5:07.

Were delighted with the response and interest in this event, said race director Samus McDaid of Inishowen AC.

A lot more people are taking an interest in the mile again and Im hoping we can now make it an annual fixture on the athletics calendar.

THE Kenny McGirr Memorial 10K race takes place on Sunday, June 21 (12pm), starting at Youth Sport, Omagh on the Killyclogher Road.

The race, now in its second year, is held in honour of Kenny McGirr, who was a founder member of Youth Sport in 1995 and was the organisations treasurer until his death in January 2014.

McGirr was a former captain of Omagh Academicals firsts rugby team and was a keen follower of all sports. The McGirr family have nominated the Enda Dolan Foundation as the race charity this year.

The 10K route is extremely fast and flat, with the first mile being slightly downhill and with only two small climbs, said race director Niall McKenna.

This makes it a perfect course for personal bests or for your first 10K. There is also a 4K fun run, so the whole family can get involved and raise money for a great cause in memory of Kenny.

Both the 10K and fun run will be chipped timed and there is a total of 1,400 in prize money, which should attract a good crowd. Entry forms are available in a number of shops in Omagh and Youth Sport, which will host pre-registration nights on Thursday, June 18; Friday, June 19; and Saturday, June 20.

Entries will be accepted on the day up until 11.15am prior to the race start.

IF YOU are in Magherafelt on Saturday, don't be surprised to see a bevy of beauties running through the streets because it will be the annual 'StunnerzNRunnerz' ladies-only five mile race.

The event brings glamour to the county Derry market town, attracting young runners from all across Ulster.

Start time is 12pm from Meadowbank Sports Arena and it promises to be a great occasion, with almost 300 women already having registered online. Once again, a top class field is expected, with the 30:44 course record of Suzanne Higgins very much in the sights of late entry Cathy McCourt.

Sperrin Harrier Pauline McGurren and the improving Ciara Coyle from the Carmen Runners club may also have ambitions of writing their name in the record books. The pair will be helped in their task with organiser Joanne Bell and her team revamping the course to make it faster and flatter.

The organisers chosen charity this year is the Niamh Louise Foundation, which promotes suicide awareness and supports those dealing with mental health issues. A donation of every entry will go to this worthwhile cause. Those taking part can also raise their own funds for the charity by emailing info@niamhlouisefoundation.com for a fundraising sheet.

Sperrin Harriers are delighted to have the support of a number of sponsors, principally the O2 shops in Cookstown, Dungannon and Magherafelt.

There are prizes in all categories, including team prizes and spot prizes. Aside from the running, the event is a great day out, with a DJ dance warm up at 11.30am and, in the main hall of Meadowbank Sports Arena, will be an array of offerings, including refreshments, buffet food, health advice, massages, reflexology, nail care, arts and crafts, and a charity cake raffle.

Online entry is still open at www.sperrinharriers.co.uk/Stunnerz. Entries on the day will also be taken up to 11.30am at Meadowbank Leisure Centre and there is car parking available at the nearby Kilcronagh Primary School and the local council offices.

IRELAND'S Aileen Reid starts favourite this weekend to lift the womens gold medal in the triathlon at the inaugural European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The Derry native is currently ranked sixth on the World Triathlon Series after her fourth place finish in the London fixture two weeks ago and goes into this weekends competition as the top ranked European triathlete.

Reids form has been improving all year, evidenced by consecutive seventh, sixth and fourth-place finishes in her last three races. Nevertheless, she will have to be on her best form in Baku, where she faces stern challenges from Switzerlands Nicola Spirig and Lisa Norden from Sweden. Spirig is current Olympic champion, while Norden took the silver medal behind her in London.

In addition to the gold medal, an added incentive is the fact that the winner gains automatic qualification for next year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Reid has no real concerns about qualification for Rio, but a gold medal would sit nicely on the CV of the 32-year-old. The race will be shown live on Setanta Ireland at 8.30am.

Tickets have sold out for this afternoon's opening ceremony of the Games. Athletics fans will have little to enthuse over in Baku, with only a European League 3 fixture being included on the programme.

However, World champions Raphael Holzdeppe (pole vault) and Bohdan Bondarenko (high jump) will be among 24 athletes featured next week in Bakus famous Fountain Square.

TONIGHT'S Acorns Evening of 3000m races continues an unprecedented season of fixtures.

In a back to the future approach, many clubs have taken the initiative to provide their own competition. Among the major successes in the past few weeks have been the NI Running Miles meeting, the Beechmount Harriers promotion at the Mary Peters, the North Belfast Harriers Afternoon of 5000m Races and the Carmen Runners 4x1 Mile Road Relay.

All these events have provided valuable competition in an innovative and enjoyable format. It is impossible to pass by without contrasting these fixtures with the melancholic provincial track championships at the Mary Peters' Track last weekend.

Acorns supremo Francis Purvis is the driving force behind this evenings promotion, which sees the host club pitted against athletes from North Belfast Harriers, Orangegrove and Derry City Track Club. The first race starts at 7pm.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Friday

6.30pm: Ballymena & Antrim 60th Anniversary Meeting  Antrim Stadium

7pm: Acorns Evening of 3000m Races - Magherafelt

7.30pm: Active Antrim 5M Road Race  Antrim Stadium

7.30pm: St Johnstone 5K  county Donegal

Saturday

9.30am: Parkrun  various venues

12pm: Stunnerz N Runnerz 5 Miles  Magherafelt

2pm: Enniskillen 10K  Lakeland Forum

Sunday

11am: Mark Annett Memorial 10K - Warrenpoint

Tuesday

7.30pm: Convoy 5K  county Donegal

Wednesday

6.30pm: Coca Cola Lisburn Half Marathon/10K& Fun Run  LisburnLeisureplex

Thursday

6pm: Lagan Valley Super 6 Meeting  Mary Peters' Track