A crowd of almost 200 runners took to the start line for the RNLI Roundstone Bay 8K in Connemara on Saturday. The rain held off for the duration of the race and a small breeze along the course ensured none of the participants overheated as they wove along the scenic coastal roads that are a feature of the event.
 
This was the 4th running of what is becoming an increasingly popular race on the Galway Athletics circuit, and a festive atmosphere was on-hand with live DJ and plenty of costumed runners who took part in the retro-theme section. The race is also proving attractive to people from beyond Ireland as evidenced by a growing entry from overseas with entrants coming from USA, France, Germany, Norway, UK and Japan.
 
The men’s race was won by Matthias Nowack from Germany in a new record time of 28.08, shaving 2 seconds off the old record held by Mayo’s Timmy Glavey. 2nd place was taken by Sean Nee from Ballyconneely, while 3rd went to Peter Leonard. In the women’s race, first past the post was Lorraine O’Connell, while the runners up places went to Kathleen Horgan and local lady Martha Linnane.
 
Overall Results:
 
1st Male:                     Matthias Nowack       28.08
2nd Male:                     Sean Nee                  30.37
3rd Male:                     Peter Leonard           30.44
 
1st Male Over 40:      Seamus Nee               31.05
1st Male Over 50:      Noel Duffy                   35.06 
1st Male Over 60:      Kjell Birger Hansen     33.33
 
1st Female:                 Lorraine O’Connell    34.44
2nd Female:                 Kathleen Horgan       35.03             
3rd Female:                 Martha Linnane          35.10
 
1st Female Over 40:  Laurence Ingelbach     39.47
1st Female Over 50:  Wynn Burke                 38.23
1st Female Over 60:  Peggy Higgins             44.04
 
For more info please visit: www.facebook.com/roundstonebay8k