Crusaders Men 4th at Road Relays

Three Crusaders teams competed in the National Road Relay Championships last weekend. The competition was hosted well by Raheny Shamrocks in good conditions around a fast but slightly long 1 mile loop.

Crusaders stacked one mens team in the hope that they would finish in the top three. The rest of the athletes were spread evenly among the other two teams so that a bit of intra-club competition would encourage good performances.

The home club Raheny were well prepared across the board and had won medals in the womens and masters events in advance of the senior mens race, in which it was clear early on that they were equally eager to perform. They pushed the pace relentlessly and for a while it appeared that a first and second place finish was possible.

Rathfarnham's first team kept in very close contact throughout and were in a superb position going into the final lap with a superb performance by Paul Flemming. Crusaders first team had lost ground and were in a savage battle for fourth with Clonliffe closing all the time on the Raheny team in third.

Rathfarnham took first followed by Raheny in second. Clonliffe drifted away but Garrett Coghlan after a tough week's training couldn't make up the ground on the second Raheny team and brought the team home in a credible 4th.

The second and third Crusaders teams finished in 21st and 23rd. Of the runners on these teams Simon Kenny, Barry Minnock and Aidan O'Callaghan deserve mentions for running the fastest 1, 2 & 3 mile legs respectively.