Moran best in successful inaugural Ratoath road race

With a final injection of speed inside the last 100 metres or so young Thomas Moran (pictured) drew away from his nearest rival to win the inaugural Ratoath 5km Road Race on Sunday morning. At just 18 the UCD engineering student and Dunshaughlin AC runner carved out a little niche for himself in the history of local athletics by becoming the first to win the race. The organisers of the event - Ratoath AC - hope that it will become an annual date on the athletics calendar. They had expected a participation of about 300 and only for the Dublin half-marathon the previous day the numbers would surely have been considerably greater. Ratoath chairman Tommy Boshell was happy enough at the end - and relieved that everything had run smoothly. From early morning he had been out and about sorting out the final details, ensuring everything was in place for the off. This is the club's 40th anniversary, he pointed out, and they wanted to do something to mark the birthday. A road race was suggested, a committee was formed and suddenly the idea had grown legs. Boshell said that Ratoath AC was grateful for the support from local business outlets as well as the Gardai, volunteers and others who helped out. It costs about €2,000 to organise such an event and the backing of the local community was crucial, he said. Boshell was assisted all morning by a little army of marshals who directed, with great efficiency, the flow of people and traffic in and around the Ratoath GAA club where the race started and finished. Among the marshals was Gerry Finnegan who ran for Ireland in World Championships with the likes of John Treacy and Dick Hooper in the 1970s. He moved to Ratoath some years ago and is now closely involved with the club. Locals not in the know must have been bemused at around 11.0 on Sunday to find what is normally a quiet stretch of road close to the GAA ground become a river of humanity and colour. People of all shapes, sizes and ages turned up for the start and six minutes after 11.0 the signal went up. The race was underway. Even the weather seemed to want to help out. The rain that had belted down shortly before the start cleared and a stretch of blue sky could be detected. The river of people that started to flow towards Ratoath was led all the way by a Garda car with the blue light flashing. For the front-runners the light was a beacon of hope as they as they chased glory. Dunboyne AC's Luke Forde and Moran were among the early front-runners. They were still there at the end with Moran doing enough to win in 15 minutes 21 seconds, with an easy stride that suggests he has a bright future in the sport. Forde was close behind in second place with his team-mate Rory Kavanagh third. This was Moran's third successive victory having won road races in Tara and Castlepollard in recent months. Running, it seems, is in his DNA and that's hardly surprising as his father Domo Moran won the Meath Cross-Country Championship three times. The first Meath woman home was Mary Hanley from Na Fianna who has 10 Meath senior cross-country titles on her CV. She finished fourth on Sunday, a very respectable showing as she is on her way back from injury. Club colleague Imelda Clarke was close behind in fifth place. Hanley is looking to compete in the Dublin marathon next month and take it from there. For most people Sunday's race was not about winning it was participation. Among the starters was a woman, all decked out in her athletes gear, pushing a buggy with a baby on board. Among those who took part was the mother and daughter combination of Maire Kelly and Emma Carroll from Ratoath. For many on Sunday a victory of sorts was achieved by simply finishing. "You did it mammy," one youngster of about six or seven shouted as his mother crossed the finishing line with an expression of great effort still etched on her sweat-covered face. She too was a champion.