Curley takes second consecutive treble in adidas Race Series

A record 3,400 runners, joggers and walkers braved the rain to take part in the adidas Dublin Half-Marathon in the Phoenix Park on Saturday.

Tullamore woman Pauline Curley secured her second clean sweep of the adidas race series, taking the women’s title in a time of 77:50, a mere minute over her 2005 winning time. The men’s race went to Latvian Sandis Bralitas, a member of West Waterford running club, in a time of 68:46.

“I’m delighted to have won the three races again for the second year” said Curley “It was a much harder course out there today than last year, we have four very tough hills to contend with, so I was delighted with my time”

Today FM’s Ray Darcy officially started the race, before quickly joining the crew, and he was also very happy with his finishing time of 97:00 “I’m very happy with my time, obviously next one is the big one now” he said at the finish line.

Also taking part today was Keith Duffy, who had a crew running in aid of Autism Awareness.

The adidas race series has seen a huge jump in attendance over the past number of years, with a huge increase in female racers in particular “This race would have had a field of about 300 five years ago” said Race Director Jim Aughney “The crowds here today were amazing, a field of over 3,000, with entries coming not just from Ireland, but from twelve other countries – it shows both the big success of the adidas race series, and the growth of road races in Ireland over the past few years”

Men’s Winners
Sandis Bralitis West Waterford 68:46
Noel Kelly Mullingar Harriers 69:44
Gary Crossan Letterkenny AFC 70:19

Women’s Winners
Pauline Curley Tullamore Harriers 77:50
Barbara Sanchez Raheny Shamrocks 82:26
Tracy Guillfoyle Clare 85:25