Mighty McGlynn breaks her own NI record

ANN-MARIE McGlynn broke her own Northern Ireland women’s half marathon record at the weekend during a blistering World Half Marathon Championship race in Gdynia. 

 

The Strabane woman crossed the line in 42nd spot in a super time of 71 minutes and 40 seconds to also set a new Donegal record and a new mark for Irish women over the age of 40. 

 

The World Championship race took place on a physically demanding and technical 5.4km course on the Baltic coast of Poland, which the competitors had to complete four times. 

 

African competitors again dominated the event, with the women’s race being won by Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir in a new women’s only event world record of 65:16 minutes, which left her two seconds ahead of Ethopian-born German Melat Kejeta, whose time was a new European record. 

 

Personal bests and national records fell at regular intervals as athletes crossed the line and 40-year-old McGlynn joined the club when she finished. 

 

The Offaly native was in 27th spot as she reached 10 kilometres in 33:29 minutes but she began to find the going tough as she reached 20km in 68.07. That is when she really dug deep to come home 20 seconds better than ever over the distance as the top British and Irish competitor. 

 

“I’m delighted, really delighted,” beamed an exhausted Ann-Marie. “It went how we thought, where we thought I would be time-wise.

 

“Obviously, I’d have liked to have been 10 or 15 seconds quicker but for the course, it was so technical, the drags were long and the downhills, so what I ran for the course, I’m happy. I know if it had been a flatter course, I would have been 71:20 or 71:30, which I would have been delighted with.” 

 

FULL STORY IN TODAY’S STRABANE CHRONICLE