Mullingar athlete Mark Christie wins St. Patricks 5k Festival Road Race

Mullingar athlete Mark Christie has won the Kleinwort Benson Investors St. Patrick’s 5k Festival Road Race for the second year in succession.  Hampered by the windy conditions, the Mullingar Harriers AC runner completed the course in 00:14:17, just 5 seconds adrift of the 00:14:12 course record which he set last year.
 
Second place went to Mark Kirwan from Raheny Shamrock AC who finished in 00:14:52.  He was followed in third and fourth place by John Coghlan of host club MSBAC and Tommy Carroll of North Sligo AC with times of 00:15:11 and 00:15:18 respectively.
 
Winner in the women’s category was Kerry Harty, a member of Newcastle AC, who completed the course in a time of 00:16:21.
 
Second in the women’s category was Aoife Talty from Raheny Shamrock AC with a time of 00:17:01 followed in third place by club mate Annette Kealy in 00:17:19 and Fiona Clinton from DSD AC in fourth place with 00:17:34.
 
Team prizes were won by Rathfarnham WSAF (men) and Sportsworld of Templeogue (women).
 
Organised by Metropolitan Harriers & St. Brigid’s Athletic Club, the race, from which a portion of the entry fee went to the Marie Keating Foundation, attracted a record entry of over 1,750 runners.
 
Officially started by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr. Gerry Breen, the event was a highlight of the annual St. Patrick’s Festival programme and a major element in attracting tourists and visitors to Dublin City. The first of only three city street races being held in Dublin this year, entries were made up from dedicated athletes, families and fun runners alike.

Praising the efforts of all who took part, race director Eamonn Coghlan thanked Dublin City Council and An Garda Sيochلna for the support which they had given to the event.
 
Sponsorship was provided by Kleinwort Benson Investors, the specialist provider of niche investment strategies for pension funds, charities and corporate bodies, who have supported the event for a number of years. Commenting, their chief executive Sean Hawkshaw, himself a well-known tri-athlete, said ‘we are proud to support an event that is an integral part of the St. Patrick’s Festival programme. From the record level of entries, we recognise the important role which the race has in attracting visitors to the city.’