Tipperary athlete bidding for podium place at national half marathon championships

The national half marathon championships take place alongside the sold-out Charleville Half Marathon this Sunday.

The race, which is hosted by North Cork AC, starts at 10am and will take participants from the start in Charleville out to Kilmallock and back again.

It promises to be an ultra-competitive race, with over 900 championship entries set to go head-to-head over one of the flattest and straightest courses on the half marathon circuit, as they battle it out for team and individual honours across the various age groups.

The race for individual honours should be a compelling watch, with a host of names sure to be in contention for the podium places.

The leading contenders are expected to include Shona Heaslip (An Riocht AC), Grace Lynch (Dundrum South Dublin), Kate Purcell (Raheny Shamrock), Ryan Creech (Leevale AC) and Hugh Armstrong (Ballina AC).

Other interesting entries include Emmet Jennings (Dundrum South Dublin) and John Travers (Donore Harriers) who undoubtedly have the class to stay in contention, while the tactically astute quartet of David Mansfied (Clonmel AC), Sergiu Ciobanu (Clonliffe Harriers), Jake O’Regan (St John’s AC) and Jamie Fallon (Craughwell AC) will be looking to stay right on the heels of the leaders.