Breege Connolly Betters AAI Euro Championships Marathon Standard in Spain
20 November 2017
Northern Ireland and Ireland international, Breege Connolly (City of Derry AC), has bettered the Athletics Ireland European Championships marathon standard with a 2:37:26 finish at Valencia Marathon yesterday (Sunday 19th November 2017).
This was the Olympian's second quickest ever time over the classic 26.2 mile distance, with her current personal best of 2:37:24 (London 2015) being a mere two seconds quicker. It was also enough to see the Spartan athlete take 13th place in the ladies race and 1st place in her age category.
This now means that 3 NI ladies have gone under the required 2:38:00 standard, with Laura Graham and Gladys Ganiel O’Neill running 2:37:05 and 2:37:55 respectively in Berlin.
Elsewhere this weekend…
The Queens University Belfast AC team of Max Travers, Craig McMeechan, Neil Johnston, James Edgar and Luke Dinsmore claimed 2nd place and the associated silver medal at the Irish Universities Athletics Association (IUAA) Road Relay Championships (Saturday 18th November 2017).
Willowfield Harriers’ Neill Weir won the gruelling 4 Deserts ‘Racing the Planet’ Ultra in Argentina. The 6 stage self-supported event takes competitors across a variety of Patagonian landscape, including a volcanic mountain range, ancient forests, high Plateaus and rugged Desert terrain, covering a total of 155 miles and 1500 metres of ascent.