Cork's Michael Harty becomes the first Irishman over 40 to break 30 minutes for 10km

EAST Cork athlete Michael Harty became the first Irishman over 40 to break 30 minutes for 10km when finishing in 10th place overall at the Leeds Abbey Dash in the UK.

Harty’s time of 29:42 knocked 23 seconds off of the previous Irish record set by Brian Maher last June – a race in which Harty finished just one second behind the Kilkenny man with his previous fastest of 30:06.

The Leeds Abbey Dash, on an out and back course, is regarded as one of the fastest 10kms in the UK and attracted over 3.700 runners.

Although he wasn’t the first M40 – Graham Rush ran 29:31 for fourth overall – Harty was only 18 seconds behind the overall winner, Andrew Milligan, who recorded 29:24.

Cloyne-native Harty easily won his first Cork senior cross-title three weeks ago and now his thoughts turn to the national championships which take place at Rosapenna Golf Club, Donegal, in a month’s time.

There, places on the Irish team for the SPAR European Championships in Piemonte-La Mandria Park, just outside Turin, on Sunday December 11 will be up for grabs.

Meanwhile, Catherina McKiernan, regarded as one of the world’s best ever cross-country athletes, will be honoured with the Hall of Fame Award at this year’s National Athletics Awards on Wednesday November 23rd at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Santry.

The county Cavan native enjoyed her first major cross-country success in 1988 when she won the Irish schools cross country title. 

From there, her career as a cross country runner blossomed, winning silver at the World Cross Country Championships four years in succession from 1992 to 1995. In 1994, Catherina won gold at the inaugural European Cross-Country Championships in Alnwick, England.

Catherina represented Ireland at the Olympic Games in 1992 and 1996. In 1997, she moved up to the marathon and ran the fastest debut ever by a woman at the time, when she won the Berlin Marathon in a new Irish record of 2.23.44. 

Catherina would go on to win the London marathon in 1998, while also bettering her Irish record at the Amsterdam Marathon in a time of 2.22.23NR which still ranks top of the Irish all-time list.

This year’s awards will celebrate the many successes of Irish athletes during 2022, while also commemorating the exceptional volunteer base who are the bedrock of the sport. 

The Athlete of Year will be selected from the athletes named as winner of the U20, U23, Endurance and Track and Field category.

Superb medal-winning-performances from Ciara Mageean and Mark English at the European Athletics Championships will live long in the memory, while the new generation of Irish athletes also made their mark on the season, with the record-breaking pair of Israel Olatunde and Rhasidat Adeleke announcing their arrival on the major championship stage in style over the summer.

Kate O’Connor joined Ciara Mageean in claiming a superb Commonwealth Games podium, while the the relay teams continued a remarkable string of major championship final appearances at World and European level this season – exploits that are sure to inspire future success in the event.

A truly record-breaking season has seen over seventy-five records fall across all disciplines over the last 10 months, eclipsing the previous record high of sixty-one records from the 2011 season.