GCH club secretary Bernie Kelly ran in Kilconieron Co. Galway on Saturday and Adare Co. Limerick 24 hours later and reports the following club results:

Kilconieron 5M
2 - Ian Egan  27m59s
21 - Thomas Porter 32m14s
31 - Fergal Egan 34m20s
33 - Brian Geraghty 34m25s
42 - John Gillane 36m38s
44 - Bernie Kelly  36m40s
46 - Niall McLoughlin 37m04s

For all those of ye who ran recently in either Maree or Craughwell, it's probably well worth your while jumping across to the Athenry AC web-site and browsing the fine catalogue of photographs from these two races that have recently been uploaded to the photo gallery there, compliments of renowned local race photographer, John O'Connor:

Gary Thornton had a great run in Santry yesterday, finishing 4th in the Woddies AAI Senior Men Cross-Country Championships. The 12k race is the top National Cross-Country competition of the year. The venue, Santry Park, will also be the venue for the European Cross-Country Championships when they come to Ireland in December 2009. So, Gary should be pleased with his run. The race was won by Keith Kelly from Drogheda and District in 38.19, second was Mark Kenneally, Clonliffe in 38.22, third was Vincent Mulvey, Raheny Shamrock in 38.40 ahead of Gary in 38.49. Also running for GCH was Matthew Lockett who finished in 32nd position, in the top-half of the field and ahead of some well known names.

Martin McEvilly has been awarded the Master of the Year for 2008 by the Irish Masters Athletics Association (IMAA). Here, Martin is presented with The Tadgh Lynch Perpetual Trophy by George Maybury, President IMMA at the Masters XC championsips held at Tymon Park yesterday. According the the IMAA website the award is "..in recognition of his performances over the previous twelve months. Martin was a consistent winner at both National and International Champs, including being Irelands sole male Gold medallist at the recent Home Countries CC in Swansea last November." Photo courtesy of Tom Hunt Mayo A.C. Check out the Irish Masters Athletics scene at http://www.enduranceracers.com/.

I made a New Years Resolution. After about 3months of the bare minimum of running, culminating in 4 weeks of no running, I decided in 2009 I would run more. At some point to ‘run more’, also became ‘race more’. Now I am not a familiar face at races, I may do two or three in a year, but that is the maximum. The truth is I get nervous at races. So consumed am I with pre race nerves that I get what I’ve called ‘nervous legs’ and loose the power of speech. Those of you, who know me, will appreciate how profoundly I must be affected at the loss of the later!

Word is filtering through regarding some fantastic running by GCH athletes at the National Intermediate & Masters Cross Country Championships which were held in Tymon Park, Dublin yesterday (15th). This contributed to a 5th-place finish for the Galway team in the Masters competition as the GCH lads were joined on the county squad by some of the leading club athletes from around Galway. More details to follow when official results become available, along with some photographs which were taken at the event and which we hope to publish to the web-site soon.

Gemma Hynes has been selected on the Irish team to compete at the European Indoors. Gemma will join the women's 400m relay squad. Fourteen Irish athletes have been selected thus far to compete at the championships which will be hosted in Turin at the 2006 Winter Olympics venue from 6th-8th March. The West of Ireland will be well represented with Paul Hession Athenry and Mary Cullen North Sligo also selected. Adh mor!

Highlights from the weekend's action at the Irish Indoor Championships in Belfast are scheduled for RTE 2 at 7pm this evening on OB Sport. GCH had three athletes competing in these championships. It was great to see Gemma Hynes back in action again after injury where she ran in the 400m yesterday. Last time she competed in these championships two years ago she won the Irish Indoor title in her specialist event the 200m. Sean Breathnach also took part in what turned into a fantastic Shot Putt event where Kieran Kelly from Fr. Murphy's A.C. set a new Irish Record of 18.84 m. Sean had to settle for silver on this occasion. Rachel Shaw just missed the 800m final by one place with another great run of 2.16.27. Full results on AthleticsIreland http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/?p=5706.

When out running on the roads, there is cold, very cold and extremely cold conditions. Today in Dungarvan, West Waterford, conditions fell quite comfortably into the latter category for the local 10 mile road-race, the second in the 4-race Munster classic series. It was bitter in the extreme, probably the coldest day yet your correspondent has been out running. Not to be put off however, a number of athletes from the west of Ireland made the long road-trip to the "not so sunny on this occasion" south-east. Bernie Kelly and myself represented GCH in the starting line-up, TJ Beatty and Jarlath Fitzgerald flew the flag for Loughrea AC, our training partner David Huane along with Christy O'Malley wore the green and red of Mayo AC, and there were at least two Athenry AC singlets spotted in the field.

As reported elsewhere in a previous race report, one of GCH's global athletes, Pat Burkitt, returned recently from spending some months living, working (and running!) in South America and was soon back into racing action in the northern hemisphere when he took part in the Tuam 8K a few short weeks ago. Pat (who was a category prize-winner in Tuam) provided the following race feedback which just missed the original race-report publishing deadline: