FERMANAGH runner Denise Toner set a new Irish record after she stormed to victory at the final Fab 5 Meet which took place at the Mary Peters Track in Belfast.
Hosted by Lagan Valley AC, Toner returned to action to contest the Women’s Mile having missed the Ulster Seniors due to sickness less than a fortnight ago.
She ran a very controlled race sitting in second behind Armagh teenager Honor Buwalda for the early laps. As the two approached the finish line for the penultimate time, Toner went to the front.
The local runner samped her authority on the race, pulling well clear in the final 400m for a convincing victory and in the process, subject to ratification ,set a new Irish W45 record of 5.06.67.
Toner took almost seven seconds off the old mark set by Maria Mc Cambridge earlier in the season, in another major achievement in her successful career.
Meanwhile Tina Gallagher rounded out her multirEvent season as she was one of five athletes that contested the Senior & Masters Women’s Heptathlon at these championships at the Mary Peters Track in Belfast.
The Oisin McGrath athlete was in good form across the two days and was consistent, but just below her personal bests, in the seven events. In total, she finished up with a points total of 4722 points
Strandhill Warrior Run
On June 14 1985 a road and hill running race, one of the first of its kind in Ireland, took 160 competitors from Strandhill to the top of Knocknarea mountain to finish at Queen Maeve’s Grave.
Maeve, the fiery Queen of Connaught, is reputed in legend to rest on top of Knocknarea. Her battles with the King of Ulster over the brown bull of Cooley are well documented.
The initial race in the new event to her final resting place from the Atlantic seashore was aptly named The Warriors Run.
The initial races finished on top of Knocknarea at the Cairn but to facilitate the request of the runners and improve on the race from a spectator’s point of view, it was extended to return to the beachfront again.
In its 40th year the 2025 race took place in warm conditions with 1201 competitors from all corners of the island and beyond completing the Senior distance of 15km.
Irvinestown’s Edel Monaghan who is selected to represent Ireland at the World Mountain Running Championships in Spain next month was the second female to finish.
Scottish international mountain runner, Emily McNicoll, was a convincing winner of the Strandhill Warrior Run
In the Junior Warrior race, which was just short of 5km, Enniskillen Running Club’s Tiarnan McManus was an equally convincing winner.
McManus pulled away in the second half of the run after the ERC athlete had Sligo triathlete Gearoid Tuohy for company early in the race.