The 2026 Athletics Ireland Race Series came to a dramatic conclusion this morning (July 19th) as Stephen McAuley (Letterkenny A.C.) and Heather Murphy (St. Michael\u2019s A.C.) claimed senior honours at the National 10 Mile Championships, held in conjunction with the Irish Runner 10 Mile in the Phoenix Park.<\/p>\n
Senior Men: McAuley claims maiden senior title in dramatic finish<\/p>\n
The men\u2019s race delivered a thrilling finish with Stephen McAuley (Letterkenny A.C.) producing a gutsy display to hold off all challengers to claim his first senior national title in 50:01.<\/p>\n
Having finished third in the race last year, McAuley knocked over a minute off his 2025 time to edge out Kane Collins (Donore Harriers) by just two seconds after a thrilling battle down Chesterfield Avenue. The Letterkenny athlete led from before 5 mile mark and managed to hold off several attacks from a chasing pack that also included Gerry Forde (Kilkenny City Harriers) and Jake O\u2019Regan (St Johns A.C.).<\/p>\n
Collins crossed the line in 50:03 to take the silver medal in anther superb championship performance, while Forde secured another national podium finish in 50:09 after remaining in contention throughout.<\/p>\n
The senior men\u2019s team title went to Ennis Track A.C., whose consistent trio of Liam Naughton (50:50), Padraig Nugent (52:31) and Dylan Casey (53:23) combined to secure gold and back up last month\u2019s win in the National 5 Mile last month. RoadRunners A.C. claimed silver, narrowly edging Donore Harriers A.C., who completed the team podium after Kane Collins\u2019 outstanding individual silver medal performance.<\/p>\n
Speaking after the race, and overjoyed McAuley said: \u201cIt feels amazing, I\u2019ve never won a national gold before, so it means a lot to me. I came third here last year and lost in the sprint finish, so to come back here this year and come first means the world to me. Today\u2019s race was just about coming down and competing, and trying to go for the podium, I didn\u2019t care about time. I just wanted to work hard and try and go for the win and thankfully I got it in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking of his plans for the coming months, McAuley said: \u201cI\u2019m doing Dublin Marathon later in the year and this is building up a bit of speed in the legs over the shorter distance and I feel that\u2019s put me in good stead to train a bit harder over the next few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Senior Women: Murphy completes remarkable championship hat-trick<\/p>\n
Heather Murphy (St. Michael\u2019s A.C.) continued her outstanding 2026 road racing campaign by securing the National 10 Mile title in 56:59 to complete a superb clean sweep of the major Athletics Ireland road championships.<\/p>\n
Already crowned National Half Marathon and National 5 Mile champion earlier this season, Murphy once again demonstrated her class with another commanding championship performance to add a third national senior title to an exceptional year.<\/p>\n
Behind Murphy, Niamh O\u2019Mahony (An R\u00edocht A.C.) produced an impressive run to take the silver medal in 58:30, while former National 5 Mile champion Ciara Wilson (D.M.P. A.C.) claimed bronze in 58:38 after another strong championship display.<\/p>\n
In the senior women\u2019s team championship, Dundrum South Dublin A.C. produced a commanding display of strength in depth to take national gold. Jessica Quinn (1:01:18), Ruth Wilson (1:01:31) and Jennifer Montgomery (1:01:31) combined for a winning total of 3:04:20, comfortably ahead of Raheny Shamrock A.C., with Clonmel A.C. securing the bronze medals.<\/p>\n
Heather Murphy said:It was great, it was a nice course for me and there wasn\u2019t many hills so I was delighted with how the race panned out. I went out controlled and tried not to burn myself out early and see how I settled into it. I\u2019ll be going back to college in America soon, so it\u2019ll just be about training on and trying to build on this road season which I\u2019m excited for\u201d.<\/p>\n