So far for Newcastle & District AC’s Kerry O’Flaherty it has been a winter focusing on the development of background aerobic conditioning looking ahead to next summer. She has had some successful outings on the cross-country, including being part of the Irish team winning the bronze medal at the European Championships in France in December. To help monitor progress, O’Flaherty is in the middle of a short indoor and road racing season. On the 7th February she finished 3rd in the Welsh Indoor Championships in Cardiff over 3000m.
Ten days later she took to the line at the Athlone International Grand Prix at the world class facility at the the Institute of Technology. Last year she came home in 2nd to German Gesa Kraus who went on to take bronze in the steeplechase at the World Championships in Beijing in August. O’Flaherty recorded a lifetime indoor best of 4:15.04. This year the field was even stronger with great live coverage on Irish TV and O’Flaherty came home in 9th place in 4:16.3 – her second fastest time ever over 1500m indoors.
The following evening was the now world famous Armagh International Road Races around the 1km boundary of the Mall. With runners from al over Europe, the USA and Britain and Ireland it has developed a very well-deserved reputation for being a brilliant evening’s racing. In the men’s 5km an amazing 67 runners came home inside 15minutes – a time that would win the majority of races in Ireland across the year. Well done to Newcastle AC’s Barry McConville who took part in the men’s 3km for the first time and came home in a very respectable 9:53 – a real baptism of fire for him.
The pace in the women’s race was fierce with England’s Pippa Wolven (Commonwealth Games 2014 steeplechaser) leading out the group from a string of runners who have represented their country at World Championships, European Championships and Commonwealth Games. This included Scotland’s Laura Whittle, Beth Potter, Eilish McColgan and Sarah Inglis; fellow Irish steeplechaser Sara Treacy and Irish cross-country international Anne-Marie McGlynn; Poland’s Urszula Necka; last year’s winner England’s Rachel Bamford with her compatriots Rosie Clarke, Katrina Wootton, Gemma Hillier-Moses, Charlene Thomas, Kate Hulls and Claire Duck. The first kilometre was covered in 3:13 and the second in 3:09 setting up a storming finish in which Ireland’s Sara Treacy took the win in 9:18.2. O’Flaherty finished fast to come home in 8th in 9:24.59 – a personal best for the Armagh course. Half a dozen years ago, the women’s 3k in Armagh would have been won in around 10 minutes – this year an amazing 29 runners broke that same 10-minute barrier. There is no doubting that the Armagh International 3km and 5km Road Races have the greatest strength in depth in road races across the islands as a whole.
O’Flaherty will look to finish this short racing season over 3000m at the National Indoor Championships in Athlone on the 27th February.