The words of the writer, mathematician
and past pupil of St Mary's Abbey, Rowan Hamilton “These lands
appear ! My eyes await” are inscribed on a bench along the route of
the trhe Braveheart run. As over five hundred runners line up in the
adjoining Porchfields in Trim on for the fifth Braveheart Run they
come to mind.
The weather conditions were perfect for
good running and brought out athletes and fitness runners from all
around the region to this unique event. The five kilometre route is a
run back through time along the banks of the historic River Boyne
through the freshly cut meadows awaiting the Scurlogstown Haymakers.
Twenty years ago this summer these lands were used as locations by
Mel Gibson and his crew in the making of Braveheart.
The race organised by Trim Athletic
Club has become the blockbuster running event in the local athletics
calendar. It was called under orders and started by recent 400 &
800m victor Harry Purcell. Trim Drama Group and the Trim Reenactment
Group roused the runners with words and weaponry as they tackled the
climb to the Yellow Steeple.
In the battle for honours in the mens
category the early pace setters were Rory Kavanagh, Peter Mooney and
local Sean Murphy. They picked up the tempo along the incline from
the Boyne towards Lackanash and had fifty metres to spare when they
hit the mid point among the ruins of Newtown Cathedral. The return
leg along the riverbank saw Kavanagh extend his lead to fifty metres
over the Clonard marathon specialist, Mooney with Murphy doing very
well as a masters athlete safe in the third slot.
Charlotte Kearney, Emilia Dan and
Sinead Roche were the main contenders for the overall womens race
from the early stages and this trio had over a minute to spare over
the rest of their opponents when passing through the Sheep Gate on
the way to the finish.
The junior mens race featured an
exciting race within a race by a quartet of the best young distance
running talents in the county. The honours went to Alan Monahan who
lives and trains near the course. Gavin Maher, Eoin Smith and
Jonathon Nangle put in great times which show a massive rise in under
age distance running standards locally. The junior womans race was
won in impressive style by Ciara Rooney from Navan AC.
The masters categories produced a good
spread of wins among clubs around the region. Athletes from
Dunshaughlin, Na Fianna, Drogheda, Mullingar, Bohermeen and the host
club Trim AC prominent among the prizewinners.
The first Meath registered male and
female runners both received trophies presented in commemoration of
club founding member and former president of Meath Athletics Board,
Larry Daly who was laid to rest on the morning of the 2013 race. His
daughter Louise Cotter who is one of the Trim clubs under age coaches
presented the Larry Daly Memorial Trophies to two Dunboyne athletes
Rory Kavanagh and Emilia Dan.
The Braveheart race has donated
proceeds to the Cystic Fibrosis family unit at the Lourdes Hospital
in recent years and will be adding a number of local Trim
beneficiaries to its list this year. Trim Athletic Club thank all the
runners who supported their event, the generous event sponsors, the
local authority staff, Meath Civil Defence, the Haymaking Festival,
an Garda Siochana, the management of the Diocesan Hall.
