LOUGHREA was once again the venue for a spectacular display of road racing prowess on Sunday the 27th of September last, writes The Extra Miler. The East Galway town has been steeped in road running lore for the last four decades and the race which the local club promotes each autumn attracts some of the very best domestic and international talent around. In the past we’ve seen the likes of Seb Coe, Paula Radcliffe and Sonia O’Sullivan strut their stuff up Dunkellin Street and down Barrack Street.

This year it was the turn of Ireland’s Mark Kenneally and Scotland’s Freya Murray to grace the streets of Loughrea with their exceptional talent and they won their respective races in some style.

Local athletics fans will also have noted a return to form for the gifted Galway City Harrier, Gary Thornton, who finished in third place amongst the men in good time for the impending cross-country season.  The Loughrea Club deserve great credit for putting on an exceptional weekend of activities for Irish fans of distance running which included the hosting of a seminar entitled ‘Train Hard, Race Easy’ which was chaired by Ian O’Riordan of the Irish times.