Da Cooley Thriller 2011

Saturday 20th August 2011  saw the annual ‘Da Cooley Thriller’ XC Mountain Bike Marathon take place in the Cooley mountains in Carlingford. Run by the members of the  host club Dundalk’s Cuchulainn CC and the Carlingford Adventure Racing Club . The Cooley Mountains providing the back drop once again for this year’s race. The weather was picture perfect for the day with the trails in great condition.  A fantastic field of over 240 competitors turned up on the day. attempting either the short course of 21k or the full 52k route which took riders on a complete traverse of the Cooley Mountains, taking in some of the Táin Trail and forest tracks to some roller coaster natural single trails once navigated by the bold Cuchulainn himself . It was a sight to behold watching all those bikes meandering through the village of Carlingford during the neutralised start to the top of Savage’s hill for the official start.

Once again it was the irrepressible Robin Seymour who defended his title in style to take the top spot on the podium in a time of 2:43:10 followed by Roger Aiken 2:47:10 and local hero Ray O’Shaughnessy taking the third spot in 2:51:17

Big thanks to all involved in marking, de-marking (thanks Laura) marshals at feed and pasta stations, local Garda, the Foy Centre, Dundalk & Carlingford Red Cross, Monster Energy, Tommy the Bikes, Coillte, National Parks & Wildlife Service and a special thanks to all the  farmers and land owners in the locality for permission to access their land on the day, for what was a truly fantastic day in the Cooley’s.

 

Long Course 54k

Elite

  1. Robin Seymour  2:43:10
  2. Rodger Aiken  2:47:10
  3. Ray O’Shaughnessy  2:51:17
  4. Richie Fell  2:57:16
  5. Sebastian Roman  2:57:26
  6. Aidan McDonald  2:57:37

 

Elite Woman

1. Ciara McManus  3:30

2. Julie McCorry  4:45

3. Caroline Murphy 4:47

 

Expert

1. Graham Boyed  3:23

2. Mark Potts 3:24

3. Michael Flanagan 3:27

 

Masters 30-40

1. Mark McGauley 3:04

2. Gerard Jackso 3:15

3. Colin McHarvey 3:15

 

Vet 40+

1. Vinnie Fitzsimons 3:05

2. Mick Jordan 3:12

3. Brendan Dorothy 3:12

 

Classic Vet 50+

1. Johnny McCabe 3:10

2. Declan McCabe 3:32

3. John Colt 4:18

 

Vintage Vet 60+

1. Eamonn Lawlor 5:41

 

Sport Male

1. Paul McGee 3:41

2. Johnny Comac 3:47

3. Simon kellaghan 4:07

 

Sport Female

1. Paula Keoghan 4:16

2. Avril Coopland 4:24

3. Jackie Howard 4:37

 

Junior

1. Robert Scanlon 3:13

2. Pierce Griffin 4:00

 

Short Course 21k

Male

1. Graham Hand 1:20:04

2. Jeff Brian 1:21:47

3. Mick Farrell 1:28:01

 

Woman

1. Rachael Wisdom 1:49

2. Kathryn Bell 1:56

3. Julie Murphy 1:58

 

Junior Male

1. Aaron McCann 1:19:27

2. Conor Kavanagh 1:22:40

3. Cian Mulligan 1:32:42

 

Junior Female

1. Marlena Drozdziok 1:24:35