MARY MARTIN CROSSED the finish line at the Letterkenny Community Centre for a category win in her 20th North-West 10k.
Martin, from Gortness in Cloghan, came home in a time of 53 minutes and seven seconds.
Picture caption: Mary Martin at the end of the 2016 North-West 10k. Picture by Kieran Carlin
She was the winner of the W60 category and proudly held a glass vase she’d been presented with at the finish.
Martin, the wife of local athletics administrator and coach Neil Martin, has now completed the full set of North-West 10ks since 1997.
“I’ve the 20 done now and I’ve enjoyed them all – except for the hills,” she told Donegal Sport Hub.
“It’s a great event and the crowd seems to be getting bigger at it. It’s a really well run race and it’s very important for the charities.
“The great credit goes to the people who organise it. It’s very easy to come and run it, but people have spent so long in getting it up and going and keeping it running.
“I’ve watched it grow from the first one. Now there’s around 2,000 people here and it’s fabulous. It’s all about getting the people out.”
The North-West 10k is a follow-on from the Rockhill 10k, the first of which was staged in 1985.
Since then, 32 10ks have been held and Martin reckons she’s been in them all.
She said: “I love coming here to do this. I always look at my times. The time has gone down over the years. I did my first one in 41 minutes and 30 seconds so it’s a bit slower now.
“It’s a great event for runners, joggers and walkers. It has become so popular over the years and has really grown.”
From the humble beginning of around 40 entrants in ’85 to an event that has taken on its own identity with touching on 2,000 going under starter’s orders yesterday.
It’s all about the love of running, something that runs through her veins.
She said: “We have a great wee group, a Fit For Life group for women and men, run by Brendan Patton at Finn Valley. We have about 13 or 14 in that and we all enjoy it.”
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