Annette Kealy and Tom Lupton are your quickest parkrunners in Ireland this weekend (July 6th).

It was a week featuring a high quality top 10 of women’s times including two well known names in Irish athletics. PB’s were also seen throughout the fastest men’s times on another week of full sub 17 and sub 20 times.

Masters athletes top the list

It is said class is permanent and this week two masters who both feature in Ireland’s all time top 60 for both 5,000m and the marathon fill the top two spots. Annette Kealy ran 18:02 at Malahide to top the rankings. Kealy, whose marathon best of 2:43:04 puts her 41st on Ireland’s all time list, is a regular face at Malahide and this was her ninth outing of 2019.

Second fastest this week is Ireland’s national record holder at the marathon, half marathon and 15km, Catherina McKiernan. On her first outing on the Bushy parkrun course McKiernan ran 18:11 to finish second overall by one second. The distance running legend sits 87th on the world all time list for the marathon with her 2:22:23 clocking at Amsterdam Marathon in 1998.

Regular visitor to the parkrun top 10 Sarah Grant rounded off the top three running 18:18 at Derry City on a week of generally very fast women’s times. Grant is in good form having achieved a 1500m PB of 4:38.11 last week and was only four seconds outside her parkrun best of 18:14.

Lupton leads the way

Tom Lupton was head and shoulders clear of the competition this week running a big parkrun PB of 15:57 at Vicarstown. The winner of the Laois Athletics Senior Road Race in April Lupton finished more than three minutes clear of his nearest challenger on the entirely grass course.

Samuel Allen was this week’s second fastest runner, also setting a new PB. Allen’s run of 16:19 at Naas was a 59 second improvement on his previous best. Winner of last weeks Ards Half Marathon Neill Weir was third this week with 16:36 at Belfast Victoria. The Willowfield Harrier, who has a 5km best of 15:32 was closely challenged by David Conliffe who finished two seconds back.

Under 17 Gavin McCaffrey has had a good week having run 15:43 at the North Down AC Senior 5,000m on Tuesday. The Ballymena & Antrim AC runner was this week’s fifth fastest with 16:40 at Antrim.

Men’s top 10
1) parkrun: Vicarstown
Tom Lupton, 15:57, Portlaoise AC
2) parkrun: Naas
Samuel Allen, 16:19
3) parkrun: Belfast Victoria
Neill Weir, 16:36, Willowfield Harriers
4) parkrun: Belfast Victoria
David Conliffe, 16:38, Pace Running Club
5) parkrun: Antrim
Gavin McCaffrey, 16:40, Ballymena & Antrim AC
6) parkrun: Waterworks
Joe McAlister, 16:45, St Malachys AC
=7) parkrun: Mungret
John Courell, 16:50, Ballina A.C.
=7) parkrun: Ormeau
Nick Emsley, 16:50, Arran Runners
9) parkrun: Orangefield
William D Simpson, 16:56
10) parkrun: Poolbeg
Stephen Hurley, 16:58, Crusaders A C Dublin

Women’s top 10
1) parkrun: Malahide
Annette Kealy, 18:02, Raheny Shamrock AC
2) parkrun: Bushy, Dublin
Catherina McKiernan, 18:11
3) parkrun: Derry City
Sarah Grant, 18:18, North Down AC
4) parkrun: St Anee’s
Aoife Brady, 18:47, Sportsworld
5) parkrun: Poolbeg
Sorcha Loughnan, 18:59
6) parkrun: Mungret
Susan Murnane, 19:12, Limerick A.C.
7) parkrun: Ballingcollig
Carol Finn, 19:13
8) parkrun: Brickfields
Niamh Clifford, 19:15, Star of the Laune AC
9) parkrun: Malahide
Barbara Murray, 19:26, Donore Harriers
10) parkrun: Oldbridge
Maebh Eakin, 19:39, Dunleer AC

If you would like to run faster at parkrun, top tips to help runners of all abilities can be found here.

RELATED: 7 ways to run faster at parkrun

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