What a couple of days for our “distance” people. Distance in events and distance from home. The distance didn’t interfere with performance.
Billy Coogan had a PB in the 3000m steeplechase. Running for Iona college he finished 17th in 8.54.37 at the Penn Relays event in Philadelphia.
Shay McEvoy, Tulsa continued his good season with a PB of 13.40.30 when finishing 11th in the 5000m at the Payton Jordan Invitational in California.
Sunday then saw Peter Lynch toeing the start line of the Dusseldorf marathon. Sticking to his pre-race plan he eased off a little after the first 15km rather than staying with an elite bunch of ten athletes. Then approaching the final 15km he worked back up first to 5th place and finally finished strongly in 3rd in 2.09.36. As well as obtaining bronze he set a new national record for the event and as a further bonus he achieved the B qualifying standard for the marathon in the World Championships in Tokyo.