Tom Horkan (Ballina AC) put in a gold medal winning performance in the recent Dublin City Marathon winning the 065 category in the Athletics Association of Ireland national marathon championships in a time of 3:53:08.

A performance like this does not happen by chance and is testament to the hard training Tom has put in over the past few months. He can be seen on the many running trails around Ballina and indeed on the expanses of Enniscrone beach putting in the miles necessary in order to prepare oneself for the marathon event.

Tom, along with marathon runner Dessie Barrett, is also one of the stalwarts of the Fit4life training sessions held weekly on the athletic track in Belleek, Ballina where he will gladly impart tips to anyone who attends the sessions.

This has been a great year for the Ballina Fit4life group which has grown from strength to strength in recent months. Spearheaded by local ladies Michele Reynolds and Liz Murphy, an energising of the local running scene has happened at adult level.

Anyone with an interest in jogging/running as part of their weekly routine can join the group and the group meets every Thursday on the athletic track in Belleek at 7 p.m. The emphasis is not on competition despite the fact that a number of the group compete in various races. In tandem with the increase in numbers of people running, great work has taken place in Belleek with enhanced facilities at the athletic track. The changing rooms have been enhanced, the track re-surfaced, car park surfaced, track lights have been installed and an all-weather long jump and sprinting surface has been laid. This is down to the trojan work of the club committee lead by club chairman PJ Reilly and club secretary Marion Mattimoe.

The town of Ballina can pride itself in being an ideal town for running with a multitude of running trails – especially in the Belleek area of the town. Adjacent to the athletic track is a fantastic cross-country course on Town Council land. This is a circuit with rolling hills, beautiful surface and a steep hill also for tough strength training.

On venturing into Belleek woods, beautifully restored and maintained by a local committee, there are a number of running options through the waymarked trails. It is possible to run on the flat for most of the way and yet add some challenging hills should you require the extra challenge. What an amenity to have on our doorstep!

The Dublin Marathon is Ireland’s biggest mass participation running event and this year was the biggest marathon ever in Dublin with over 12,500 entries. Ballina AC was well represented in the event and this can be attributed to the growing popularity of the training sessions in Belleek. Towards the end of the summer, it was decided that a men’s team would be entered formally for the national championships and they put in a great performance to finish in ninth place in the men’s team event – the first team from Connacht in that category!

The team was lead home by Michael Canty who completed the 26.2 mile course in a fantastic 2:52:54 closely followed by Roger Barrett in 2:53:15 and Seán Gallagher in 2:56:58. It was a great achievement to have three runners under the elusive three hour mark – this is benchmark for many marathon runners to reach in their lifetime.

For Michael and Roger, these times represented huge improvements in their personal best times for the tough marathon event. Four local ladies took part in the Dublin marathon with Sandra Finnerty posting a very impressive time of 3:42:13 closely followed by Fit4life organiser Michele Reynolds in 3:56:58. Hot on her heels was marathon debutant Maria McDermott with an impressive 3:58:30. Local triathlete Deirdre Lynn, completed her first marathon in 4:25:44.

There were many other Ballina runners in the event. Some were competing in the marathon for the first time and others were regular faces on the Dublin Marathon route and well done to them all.

John Blehein 3:07:09.

John O’Brien 3:22:08

Eamonn Kennedy 3:38:53

Brian Bourke 3:47:10

Tommy McManamon 3:55:23

Leo Hegarty 4:04:41

Dessie Barrett 4:08:30

Niall McNamara 4:11:41

Fionnuala O’Mara 4:22:31

Pat Durcan 4:47:39

Pádraig Brady 4:49:32