Teenage athletes take the laurels

Darragh Rennicks and Shauna Moore are still only teenagers yet they showed they are more than capable of mixing it with more experienced competitors and coming out on top. The duo proved yet again they have the right stuff when they won the main events at Meath Cross-Country Championships hosted by Bohermeen AC at Ardbraccan on Sunday. Rennicks (19) put in a power-packed display to take the men's senior title holding off the challenge of Dunboyne's Neville Reilly. Moore (18) in the colours of Dunshaughlin AC took an early lead and stayed out in front almost all the way to finish ahead of Na Fianna's Brigid Clarke. For years the championship were held in the lead up to Christmas and usually against the backdrop of Arctic-style weather and in what in the horse racing world would be termed 'heavy going.' The conditions on Sunday were benign with a high percentage of the competitors opting to race barefooted. Rennicks decided to wear studs while Moore was barefooted, but the manner in which they took a stranglehold on their respective races suggests they would have won even if they were attired in army boots. The women's race was run over 3,000 metres with the course taking the athletes around an ancient ring fort and included some hills and hollows that were sure to test the resolve of the most committed of competitors. Injury ruled out last year's winner Fiona Reid and that left the way open for others to step in and take over the mantle. Just two years ago Moore announced herself on the senior stage by taking the women's title when she was just 16. Her pedigree is unquestioned as she is related to Sonia O'Sullivan (grandfathers were brothers). A first-year student on a primary school teacher training course Moore was challenged early on by Sharon Monaghan (Fr Murphy) before Clarke emerged from the pack and indicated that she wanted to take the title. Moore and Clarke matched stride for stride and then as they approached the closing stages it was the Dunshaughlin athlete who found the extra gear. Clarke finished second while Ursula Byrne (Dunshaughlin) and Monaghan took third and fourth respectively. The senior men's event got underway soon after and there was no clear front-runner in this most competitive of races - at least in the early stages. Close on 50 runners took part aged anything from 16 to 60. For a small, elite group there was the realistic prospect of ultimate success. For the majority the aim was to get around the 8,000-metre course and stay in touch with the leading pack. Last year's winner, Andrew Ledwith, was absent as he is in training in the United States. It didn't take long for the serious contenders to make their mark and in the early stages Tommy Maher (Dunshaughlin) was prominent along with Rennicks, Reilly and Dunboyne's Luke Forde. At one stage while attempting to take a sharp turn Reilly slipped. His fall didn't cause a Becher's Brook-style pile up and the Dunboyne man was quickly on his feet and on his way again. The lead changed hands a number of times as the runners with their individual styles took on the undulating nature of the course. Around the half-way stage Rennicks made his move and pushed ahead. Reilly stayed in touch. Forde likewise kept running strongly. And that's how the one, two, three positions were filled as they crossed the line. Fourth was Bohermeen's Derek Croal while Maher was next up. Thomas Moran, son of Domo, was sixth and Kevin Reilly (Bohermeen) finished in seventh place. Paddy Mangan, who has run this race many times in the past, also put in a superb performance to secure eighth place. The men's team event was claimed by Bohermeen while the ladies title was won by Dunshaughlin. Among those to finish further down the field in the men's race was Eddie Reid, the father of Fiona Reid. Eddie started running in the early 1970s when he first came back from England and 35 years ago he was on the Dunboyne team that won Meath Senior Cross-Country Championship. The Dunboyne side repeated the feat 10 years later and Eddie was again involved. Now "around the 60 mark" he was there again on Sunday, once more taking part and enjoying his run. For him the participation was the most important thing. The winning part was left to the younger generation - and Rennicks and Moore showed the ability to step up to the mark when it mattered most.