Gallopin' Girls
The first race of the day in the U/11 age group saw Rose Kennedy of Gowran take individual gold and lead the Kilkenny girls team to gold also. Both Gemma Aylward and Sarah Molly ran great races with Gemma in 23^rd place scoring on the team and Sarah showing great promise for the future. 
In the U/13 race Bronagh Kearns was our only entry and she made it into the top 12 with a super run, booking her place in the All Ireland. She too was part of a winning Kilkenny team as they again took gold. 
In the U/15 race we had our first team out and it was Rosanne Kennedy who led them home with a fine individual run. Great runs from Chloe Laffan, Sarah Dollard, Fiona Dennehy, Eimear Breathnach and Catherine Molloy saw the team go close to a club medal, while Rosanne  picked up a county silver medal for her efforts. I
n the U/17 race we again had a team in action and Leanne Foskin showed her intentions by following the fast early pace. Back in the pack Laura Fennelly, Claire Walsh and Janet Moore were all battling hard and they were rewarded with silver medal in the club section. Leanne finished in 11^th, a fine run that saw her pick up another silver with the Kilkenny team. T
he final girl’s race was in the U/19 age group and Catherine Fennelly was our sole representative. An All Ireland champion in the walk, she also showed she is no slouch over the country as she worker her way steadily through the field, eventually placing 13^th, a great effort and her best Leinster placing to date, which secured her a silver medal with the county.

Boyzone
First into the fray for the boys was Hugh Morgan in the U/11 age group and what a run he had again, despite giving away a year. From the gun Hugh set off at a cracking pace and in a huge bunch made his way to the front group. From here he battled all the way to the line and finished in 8^th place, a super run. The Kilkenny team were being led home by another local athlete, as county champion Colm Doherty had a brilliant run to take 4^th, while James Deasy of Thomastown was in 6^th. This gave the squad the gold medals and marks this team down as one to watch for the future. 
Next up in the U/13 age group we had Luke Morgan and David Walsh and again we had two super runs as Luke pulled back a big deficit over the final 600m to place 11^th, while David had his best run to date placing 19^th. Again Kilkenny took gold with both boys scoring. 
In the U/15 race Daniel Davis was unable to compete and this left William Walsh and John Vereker to battle on, with both boys running well but finishing outside the medals. 
Finally in the U/19 race we had Colin Butler who has been training hard of late at college in Limerick and is reaping the rewards. Run over 6000m, Colin was with the leading pack for most of the race. It was only on the final lap that a group went clear and he had to fight hard to retain a high placing, eventually finishing in 11^th position. Again a fine run from an athlete that always gives of his best and one that saw him take a silver medal with the Kilkenny squad. Well done to all our athletes, keep up the training and good luck in two weeks time in Mullingar.   

Superb Run by Adele
The ladies novice race over 3000m had a large field and some talented performers but Adele Walsh set out her stall early, as she made her way to the leading group from the start. By the end of the first lap there were three away including Adele and from here on in it looked like the medals were among these. Strong front running saw the Jennings sisters Sinead and Caitriona of Donore Harriers move clear and in the final lap Sinead opened a big gap to take gold. Adele had Caitriona in her sights but was also under pressure from behind and had to work hard in the final 600m to hold on to 3^rd place. A superb run and a bronze medal in one of the most difficult races to take an individual medal. She can now fix her sights on the intermediate race in two weeks time and will be brimming with confidence after Sunday’s run.

Men’s Novice

The men’s novice race over 6000m looked like being a cakewalk for Danny Darcy of St Laurence O’Tooles but at the end of lap one there were still five athletes in contention. On lap two both Darcy and Michael Clohessy of Raheny Shamrocks opened a gap with Eoin Everard not far behind. Further back both James Howley and Damien Walsh were fighting for places on the Kilkenny team. On the final lap, Darcy showed what a huge talent he is as he stormed round the course to take gold, with Clohessy still running strongly in second place and Everard in 5^th. The Kilkenny team had Mark Ginnity, Paul Cody, Denis O’Sullivan, Johanne Dewberry and James Kelly in the scoring positions, with James Howley and Damien Walsh just missing out on a scoring place.  

Masters 6000m

In the Masters race again over 6000m, Lar Leacy of St Josephs was the leading Kilkenny athlete and the St Josephs man went with the early pace set by Tommy Payne of Tinryland. Also running well was Mike Hyland and Ritchie Reynolds of KCH, with Rocky Mernagh and Bill Doherty of St Josephs also well up. The evergreen Payne opened a large gap on Tom O’Connor of Liffey Valley and Paddy Mangan of Dunshaughlin and went on to take another Leinster title. Lar Leacy held on well for a top ten finish and a fine run on the day.

Photos from the day