Dublin Club Results, 10 - 11 January 2026
FAB FAY FINISHES 16TH IN WORLD CROSS
Brian Fay of Raheny Shamrock AC ran the race of his life to finish 16th and fourth European in the men’s 10km race at the World Athletics Cross-Country Championships, Tallahassee, USA on Saturday (January 10). Fay, who had run the course while on an athletics scholarship in the USA, used that knowledge to plan for running the perfect race. From the start, he worked his way steadily through the pack from 37th at 4km, then 32nd at halfway and into the top twenty with 4km to go, picking up few more places on the final two laps. Fay, who set an Irish 5000m record of 13:01.40 two years ago, then used his speed in the chase for the line where he was just pipped for 15th place by France’s Jimmy Gressier, with the pair given times of 29 mins 36 secs and 29:37 for 15th and 16th places. Gressier is the reigning world 10,000m champion. It was the best result for an Irish athlete at the World Cross-Country Championships since Fionnuala McCormack finished 14th in 2013. Conditions in Florida last Saturday bore absolutely no resemblance to those experienced by Fay in chilly Derry last November, where splattered with mud, he won his first Irish national cross-country title. By contrast, in Florida there was not much mud to be found on the the artificially created course which featured a fake ramp, an equally fake ‘swamp’, artificial ‘hurdles’, a sandy ‘beach’ and even a few stretches of parched grass. Fay, aged twenty-seven and one of quadruplets, began running while a student at Belvedere College and later joined the Raheny Shamrock club. He continued running while at DCU, where Feidhlim Kelly was his coach, and made his Irish track debut in the 5000m at the 2022 European Championships. He would spend two years at the University of Washington in Seattle before returning to Dublin in 2023, competing at the World Championships that year and then at both the European Championships and the Paris Olympic Games in 2024.
GIDEY IMPROVES HIS IRISH RECORD
In Spain, Efrem Gidey (Clonliffe Harriers) took five seconds off his own Irish 10km record when clocking 27 mins 38 secs for 12th place at the Valencia 10km on Sunday (January 11). The top 35 men all broke the 28-minute barrier, with Sweden’s Andreas Almgren breaking his own European record when winning in 26:45. Gidey, like Fay, was part of the Irish silver medal winning team at the European Cross-Country Championships in Portugal last December, but opted not to run in Florida.
CROSS-COUNTRY RETURNS TO TYMON PARK!
After cancellations of more than a few some cross-country races at the end of 2025, it was a relief to have the annual Bank Ireland cross-country taking place in Tymon Park on Sunday — although steady rain during the night that did nothing to calm the organisers nerves. To their relief, the day dawned clear and bright, with good underfoot conditions. Taking the lead from the start of the combined 6km race was Kenneth Nugent from AIB who went on to win the race by over a minute in 22 mins 17 secs. Second was veteran athlete Sean McCreery, a Rathfarnham WSAC athlete, while third was Robert Gilligan. Finishing twelfth and first woman was Lorna Sheehan in 25:56. Sinead Tighe was second and Siobhan Nugent third. In the team competition the Accountants won men’s grade A, with Dublin Teachers winning men’s grade B as well as the women’s competition. More pics at https://www.flickr.com/photos/lindie/albums/72177720331391817
New companies and individuals are always welcome to sign up for the BHAA races, with Tymon Park again the venue for the postponed Eircom 4-mile on Saturday January 31. Assuming no last minute withdrawal of approval of course! See www.bhaa.ie for a full list of dates.
WORLD HALF MARATHON WEEKEND
David Murphy (Clonliffe Harriers, M40 ) was first home in the opening marathon of the World Half Marathon Festival taking place at Donadea Forest in Co Kildare on Saturday morning. Murphy finished in 3 hrs 8 min 49 secs and was part of a large contingent of Clonliffe Harriers lining out in Donadea although most of them settled for the half marathon, with a mighty total twenty-one completing the first of three half marathons held over the weekend. Also running in that race were nine members of Blackrock AC, plus members of D15 RC, Sportsworld RC, Civil Service AC, Waterstown Warriors and Cherry Orchard RC. In the second half marathon of the day Robert Kehoe (Balbriggan and District AC) was seventh and first M55 in 95:39. A day later, Eamon Keegan (Clonliffe Harriers, M40) was second in the marathon in 2:52.29, and Sallie Ennis (DSD AC, W45) second woman in 4:00.52. Mick Hallows (North Clondalkin AC) was third in the half marathon in 88:40.
