Naas AC 5 Miler – May 24th 2024 – Celebrating 100 Years of Naas AC!

What a brilliant evening. People gathered from our own club and from further afield  on Friday May 24th for a fantastic event to celebrate the centenary of Naas AC. The weather was ideal for running with no wind, no rain and perfect temperatures for running. 

The evening began at 6pm with kids races around the Naas AC racecourse. We had a number of 400m for our younger athletes followed by a full 2km  circuit for the older girls and boys. Everything went off without a hitch and it was great to see so many smiling faces as they crossed the finish line and looked forward to getting their hands on the goodie bags!

Meanwhile, the adult athletes were arriving and picking up their race numbers and commemorative centenary T-shirts. The main event began at 7:30pm, on the Tipper Road close to the entrance to the racecourse. There was a very strong contingent of Naas AC runners, and several other clubs were very well represented such as Lakeshore Striders and Donadea. It was also great to see so many other locals and non-locals taking part, helping us to celebrate the 100 years in style!

The runners then departed the start line and made their way around their first loop of the Tipper Triangle. It wasn’t long before the leaders had made their way around the 4k loop and were back again to be greeted by a large crowd of cheering supporters at the racecourse. The full field of almost 300 runners followed over the next few minutes, all of them being encouraged by the vocal support of the people gathered to watch the race.

Soon we could see the lead Garda car approaching the racecourse for the second time, which we knew meant that the leaders were approaching. First across the line was local Naas AC athlete Matthew Shirran, in a very impressive time of just 26:46. Next to finish was Peter Mooney of na Fianna AC in 26:54, closely followed by Ger Forde of Crusaders AC in 26:57.

The women’s race was won by Niamh O’Connor of Tullamore Harriers AC in an incredible time of just 27:50. In second place was Niamh Brophy of Lakeshore Striders AC in 31:50 with Vikki Browne of Newbridge AC taking third place in 32:58.

The team event was won by Lakeshore Striders AC.

There were many winners on the night though with lots of smiling faces at the finish line, some celebrating a new PB while others were delighted with the achievement of completing the 5 mile course. Afterwards everyone made their way to the Tote Hall at the racecourse where tea, coffee, fruit, sandwiches and treats were enjoyed by everyone. The winners received their prizes and everyone had a chance to chat and plan their next races .. maybe we’ll see you all back in Naas again next year..??!!! 

Thanks to everyone who shared the below photos. If you have any photos that you’d like to add to this page then you can send them to web@naasac.com.

The Pop Up Races photos can be found at this link