VIDEO: Leevale’s Mark Hanrahan lights up Ballycotton

Mark Hanrahan of Leevale Athletic Club led home an entry of well over 3,000 yesterday in the annual Ballycotton 10-mile road race in East Cork.

Hanrahan finished strongly in 49:01 ahead of Joe Sweeney of DSD, 49:56, and Michael Harty (East Cork AC), 50:00.

Led by Michael Harty, the local East Cork Athletic Club performed well, with Tim O’Donoghue finishing in fourth in 50:25 and James McCarthy placing fifth in 51:29. Alan O’Shea of Bantry AC, who won the race back in 2007, was sixth in 52:00.

In the women’s race, Aoife Cooke from Youghal AC came home a clear winner — finishing in 59:57 — ahead of Derval Devaney (Rathfarnham/WSAF AC), 62:17 and Siobhan O’Doherty (Borrisokane AC) (62:26), who won the 2014 event.

This was another encouraging performance by Cooke and an improvement on her fourth position in last year’s event. The Youghal runner also won the women’s National Novice Cross-Country Championship last December. Cooke is a niece of Mary Sweeney of St Finbarr’s AC, winner of the women’s race in the inaugural Ballycotton 10 in 1979.

Sweeney still competes for her club and yesterday she posted a time of 66:38 — almost two minutes faster than she ran when winning the women’s race 37 years ago.

This Ballycotton 10 victory is a timely confidence boost for Hanrahan, who is in training for next month’s Rotterdam Marathon, where his sights will be set on achieving Olympic qualifying standard.

In misty and cold conditions, but little wind, a group of six runners shared the lead over the first three miles before Hanrahan surged clear. He continued to dominate to the finish line.

This was Hanrahan’s first time to compete in the Ballycotton 10 and second-place finisher Sweeney was also making his debut in this East Cork road classic. It was second time lucky for Hanrahan in Ballycotton, as in August of last year he had also won the Ballycotton 5 Mile event in 24:10 — the fastest time recorded in that event in 20 years.

Missing from the start line this year in Ballycotton was Sergiu Ciobanu of Clonliffe Harriers, winner every year since 2011. Former winner, Lizzie Lee of Leevale AC, who has also achieved the Olympic Marathon qualifying standard, was another missing, as well as Maria McCambridge of DSD who set a course record there last year.

One man who was remembered with special fondness in Ballycotton at the weekend was Leevale AC stalwart Dick Hodgins, who passed away on Friday after a long illness.

A great athlete and club man, and leading light of Cork City Sports, Hodgins placed second and third in the early Ballycotton 10 events. He would have been very proud to see Hanrahan keep the Leevale AC colours still flying high. Two years ago, Dick’s daughter Jill finished second in the women’s race.