Challenging weather conditions and pausing to tie his shoe lace didn’t stop Josphat Boit from claiming victory in today’s Lifestyle Sports-adidas Frank Duffy 10 mile race. The Clonliffe Harriers runner, who was the winner of last month’s 5 mile race, raised the Frank Duffy Memorial Trophy for the second consecutive year, coming in at a time of 51:40.Boit’s shoe lace came undone when the Kenyan athlete was 10 minutes into the race, causing him to slip back to 4th place, with fellow Clonliffe Harrier’s running mate, Serguie Cibanu, taking the lead. It wasn’t until the final stretch of the race that Boit charged ahead with apparent ease.
“I had to stop to tie my shoe lace in the first mile but I was not too concerned, I knew I had nine miles left to go so I took my time and I soon caught up” said Boit
Cibanu came in a close second with just eight seconds separating the pair. Kilkenny’s Brian Maher came in third place, replicating his performance and placing in the 5 mile in July.
Gladys Ganiel O’Neill was the surprise winner in the women’s category. She pipped favourite Maria McCambridge to the post by just a few seconds. McCambridge, whose trouble with an injury forced her to withdraw from the World Track and Field Championships recently, was disappointed with her performance.
“My goal was to come out here today and win and also to break an hour but unfortunately I didn’t make either but Gladys ran fantastically well. It was a good hard race that I’m hoping brought me on a bit in terms of my preparations for Berlin in a few weeks time” said the Letterkenny based athlete.
Gladys praised her running opponent, saying;
“I knew that Maria was carrying an injury so that obviously had an impact on her performance but she has a great track speed and kept me under pressure throughout.”
“I’m delighted with the win. The conditions were challenging, especially around the 7 and 8 mile mark with the wind and rain coming against you but I finished good and strong in the end”.
The race limit of 6,000 was reached for today’s race forcing organisers to cancel arrangements for late registration. Online entry is still available for next month’s Lifestyle Sports-adidas Dublin Half Marathon, also in Phoenix Park.
Race Director Jim Aughney spoke about the encouraging turn out and his hopes for the Half Marathon.
“There was a really encouraging crowd here today and hopefully we will see many of them at the Half Marathon next month and indeed the Marathon in October. Congratulations to all of today’s participants and thank you for your continued support”
The final series challenge, the Lifestyle Sports-adidas Dublin Half Marathon takes place on Saturday September 26th.
Men’s Top 3
Josphat Boit, Clonliffe Harriers, 51:40
Serguie Cibanu, Clonliffe Harriers, 51:48
Brian Maher, Kilkenny, 52:15
Women’s Top 3
Gladys Ganiel O’Neill, Antrim, 1:00:04
Maria McCambridge, Dundrum South Dublin, 1:00:10
Caitriona Jennings, Rathfarnham, 1:01:35
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