Mayo ace Norah Newcombe storms to victory in her native Ballina marathon

THE 12th Western People West of Ireland Women’s Mini Marathon took place ysterday in a new location this year – Ballina. In all previous years it was held in Castlebar, the Mayo county town.

This year’s 10k event was part of celebrations of the town's 300th birthday and followed on from US President Joe Biden’s recent visit there – one of his Irish ancestral locations.

Recent local 10k races at Tubbercurry, Westport, Kilmovee and Foxford gave some runners an opportunity to test their race pace ahead of the Ballina event.

This year's race took place over a newly measured course from a start at Market Square, followed by a technical 2k around the town centre either side of the River Moy, and 8k out of town via the Killala Road with the finish on Tone Street. It was quite a technical course, with numerous twists and turns.

There was the usual air of excitement and anticipation as runners and walkers gathered at the race start area for this unique celebration of women in sport.

Finishers were cheered to the line by an excited crowd of supporters and friends who lined the streets around the finish area in Tone Street. As usual, the post-race atmosphere was full of endorphin-fuelled exhuberance as finishers collected their medals.

Mayo AC women athletes have been dominant in the event since its inception - in 2022 they accounted for seven of the first 20 finishers.

This year’s Ballina edition was no exception, with another excellent turnout of 19 Mayo AC competitors. They all enjoyed the brilliant atmosphere created by hundreds of runners and supporters. There were 12 from the club in the top 50 finishers.

Norah Newcombe Pieterse led Mayo runners home, winning the race by over a minute in an excellent time 36:47. It was an emotional day for Norah and family following the passing recently of her dad, John – her number one supporter, who was usually waiting on her arrival at the finish line. She focused on this hometown race in recent months and it certainly paid off on the day.

Norah has a great record in the event over the years, coming second in 2015 (37:14), third in 2016 (37:51) and third also last year (38:03).

In the early kilometres Norah and Sinéad Whitelaw (Mullingar Harriers AC), who was second last year, vied for the lead well ahead of a group.

However, Norah came away to win, with Sinéad second in 37:49.

Sinéad Tuffy, now running with Dundrum South Dublin AC, finished third in 39:00 – she has consistently performed well in the event.

Michelle Needham, Westport AC, was fourth in 39:38, completing another fine run following a 3:07 finish recently in the Rotterdam Marathon.

There were encouraging cheers for Sarah Byrne as she approached the Tone Street finish line, eyes firmly focused as the clock ticked down, and she duly surged to a sub-40 (39:48) finish – a brilliant time to leave her in fifth place again this year and Mayo AC's second athlete home.

Martina and Angela O’Connor were next in eighth (42:31) and ninth (42:37) respectively. That made it four Mayo AC athletes in the top 10.

Other Mayo AC finishers included: 11 Colette Tuohy (42:57), 15 Donna Gallagher (43:36), 19 Paula Donnellan (44:28), 23 Dee Corcoran (45:27), 25 Ann McDonnell (45:38), 33 Sheelagh McDonnell (46:32), 37 Dee Finnegan (47:19), 43 Mairéad Bristow (47:55), Tara O'Malley (51:30), Marcella McDonnell (51:27), Regina Kiernan (58:27), Maureen Costello (66:57), Colette McTigue (68:07), Catherine McHale (69:30) and Loretta Caulfield (71:26).

Congratulations to Norah Newcombe Pieterse on a brilliant victory and well done to all Mayo AC finishers.

The results show there were 1,613 finishers of a reported 2,000 plus entries. Of these, 278 finished in under an hour.

There's a photo album and more details available here.