Some of our younger members were taking part in their first serious competition but they took it all in their stride and the highlights included Faye Murtagh and Leona Fleming who finished 4th and 5th in the Shot Putt and also did very well in the Long Jump and Oisin O’Rourke who finished 4th in the Shot Putt despite the fact that he only took it up two weeks ago. He also had a great long jump competition.

Damien Finneran also did us proud in the Shot and Long Jump and Kieran Gleeson had a fantastic top ten finish in the Long Jump and Shot Putt.

Hayley Hession also represented Tuam AC again with distinction and was unlucky not to qualify for the All Irelands but she will have her chance again in the summer.

Finally our older lads who are seasoned campaigners took part in the Boys U16 Shot Putt and Abdul Wahab was once again crowned Connacht champion with a throw of over 9metres and he was followed in 3rd place by Rory Monaghan 8.43 and Darragh Finneran was 4th with 8.33.

Darragh then went on to finish 3rd in the Long Jump with a very impressive 4.71 and Abdul was 4th in the same event. All of these lads have now qualified for the All Ireland Finals once again and we would like to congratulate the entire Tuam team on Saturday, not only for their great efforts in their various events but also for their impeccable behaviour throughout the day. They are great ambassadors for Tuam AC and the town and we are rightly very proud of them all.

Roger Rushe was once again Captain of the Tuam team and just as Ireland kicked off in the rugby without their captain Brian O’Driscoll and unfortunately lost, Tuam AC didn’t suffer the same fate as our captain won his category in style and was once again crowned All Ireland Champion. After the race one of the many supporters approached Roger and thanked him for being such an inspiration, it was a well deserved tribute as many of the runners struggled through the mud in running spikes, Roger powered his way around the course in his bare feet.

Roger was not alone representing Tuam AC as Martin Hynes also ran a great race and we were all sure he would win a much coveted All Ireland medal but he had to suffer the agony of finishing in 4th place in his category. Martin was philosophical about his race as he knew that the best of the best would be in Boyle on Sunday and he was very happy with his own performance. Tommy Joe Whyte also ran a great race in his own category and proved he is a real cross country specialist.

After the Masters race was over it was time for the Intermediate race and this was a real hot affair with a very strong field in attendance. 20 year old Jamye Rossiter DCU eventually won the race after a titanic battle with Michael Shannon of Kilnaboy AC but the real star of the race as far as we were concerned was Enda Mannion of Tuam AC who ran an absolute stormer of a race. Enda just kept getting stronger as the race went on and he eventually finished as the second Galway runner home on a very strong Galway County team. It was a great performance in very tough conditions as the Intermediates had to run 10,000 metres and the mud was knee deep in parts.

The ladies intermediate race was won by Laura Shaughnessy of Loughrea AC. Laura has been a great friend and supporter of Tuam AC for many years and we were all delighted to see her win the All Ireland title on Sunday and she has a great future ahead of her in Athletics.

Tuam did very well once again with Enda Mannion leading the way in 27.23 to win the Harold Campbell Cup and we would like to thank Angela Boyle for making the cup available to the club for the race. Enda was followed by last years winner Dan O’Rourke. Tuam AC also had category winners with Tommy Joe Whyte , Martin Hynes and Roger Rushe all making it onto the podium. Other local winners included Una Browne from Kilbannon who ran a great race.

Everybody returned to the Mercy Gym after the race for a well earned cup of tea, the prize giving and the traditional post race analysis which resulted in some very positive feedback on the new course.

Tuam AC would like to thank everybody who helped in anyway to make Sunday such a great success for the club and the town. It would not be possible to thank everybody here but a special mention must go to Sgt Pat Hastings and his colleagues in Tuam Garda Station, The Order of Malta and all the residents of Gilmartin Rd, Tirboy , Cloonthue and Athenry Rd for their very generous support of the runners. It was very much appreciated and we hope to see you all again in 2013.

The race was run by Rathfarnham’s Sean Hehir in a blisteringly fast 24:10. Second place went to Belfast’s Paddy Hamilton of Annadale Striders in 24:14, and third man home was Roger Barrett of Ballina (25:51). Following them was the man who easily won his category, GCH’s Matt Bidwell in 26:18. Enda Mannion has had a great start to the new year, and was the first Tuam Athlete home in a time of 27:23. The men’s team prize went to Galway City Harriers.

Mayo AC’s Mary Gleeson took the ladies prize by finishing in 29:35, and she was closely followed by her clubmate Colette Tuohy in 29:56. Kathy Connolly made it a clean sweep for Mayo by finishing third in a time of 31:27. Not surprisingly, Mayo AC took the ladies team prize.

Tuam AC would like to thank everyone who participated today, we hope you enjoyed the race, and hopefully we’ll see you back again next year. The full results are available here.

All numbers must be collected by 1.30pm.

Car parking at the Mercy Gym and Tuam Cathedral car park and St. Patrick’s Secondary School, Dublin rd.

Major road works on the N17 will result in long delays if you are coming into tuam from the galway direction.

Please allow plenty of travel time.

The race will start at 2.30pm sharp.

Thank you for supporting Tuam AC. We hope you all enjoy the race.

This is a fun run, not a race, of about 1km and since we consider every child who takes part to be a winner, each one will get a medal (subject to availability, but we think we have enough to cover everybody).

Each child will also receive a goody bag as well.

To enter, please come to the Mercy Gym on the Dublin road anytime from 11AM onwards this Sunday. Entry is only 3 Euro. The run will start at 1:30PM sharp.