The weather for yesterday’s National Senior and Juvenile Even age groups was truly miserable with the wind and rain making racing even tougher over a very wet and muddy course. The rain over the last month turned what may have been a really fast course into a muddy mess in places with spots of good running few and far between.
The club got off to a great start to the day with excellent runs from both Alana Ryan and Conall Coman in their first national cross country champions in the u12 girls and boys races finishing in 24th and 16th places respectively. Conall was a scoring member of the Munster team that won the provincial gold.
Next up were the u14 boys teams where Killian Coman finished a fantastic 10th, followed by Rian Kiely Coman in 35th, Oisín McGuinness in 96th and Tadhg Reen in 133th. The team were 11th overall.
In the u16 boys Darragh Whelan was a class apart winning by over 20secs and leading home the team of John Farrell in 70th, Dáire O’Dwyer in 110th and Enea Pizzolla in 125th. The team was also 11th while Darragh led home the Munster team for provincial gold. Darragh’s victory means he has been selected for his first club international vest representing Ireland at the Celtic International in London on the 7th of February 2026. The race will be held over the famous Parliament Hill course on Hampstead Heath as part of the UK Cross Challenge.
Congratulations to all the athletes, coaches, parents and friends who made the long journey to Derry to support the athletes.
The National competition continues on the 7th of December in Abbotstown with the uneven age Juvenile Championships.
Full results from the weekend are available at Events-Events.
You can also watch back all the days racing at 123.ie National Senior, U20 & Even Age Cross Country Championships – 2025.
