A large group of Drogheda and District athletes travelled to Ratoath last Saturday morning to take part in the annual Half Marathon road race.

First and foremost on their minds was Gerry Carroll, a former member of DDAC, and one of life's true gentlemen, who tragically passed away during this event last year.

Gerry didn't let age stand in his way and he could regularly be seen churning out the miles on his Sunday morning runs along the Boardwalk while in his mid-seventies.

This year's event attracted a quality field and one man who was up for the task was Colin Leonard who, right from the gun, could be seen making his way towards the head of the field, and the next 70 minutes or so was all about who could endure the self-inflicted hurt the most.

Running alongside Kenyan athlete Peter Somba who has proven his worth over the years, and Colin Griffin, an Olympian racewalker who's also a very useful runner, shows just how difficult it is to take the win at these local events.

Leonard stuck to his game plan, covering the early stages of this 13 mile race and by the time this trio turned into the grounds of Fairyhouse racecourse for the final two mile stretch, it was clear that Somba would go on to take the win in an impressive 1:10:05.

Meanwhile, a titanic struggle was taking place with Griffin gradually opening up a small but decisive lead on Leonard to come home runner up in 1:11:28.

A mere 24 seconds later D&D’s Leonard crossed the line to take third place overall in an eye opening 1:11:52, a time that many a seasoned club runner would take in a heartbeat.

For those not acquainted with running times, this type of performance, from someone holding down a regular job and all that goes with that, is a tremendous feat and Leonard's known for his attention to detail during his preparation for the longer events.

Indeed, any aspiring athlete worth their salt would do well to take a leaf out of his training manual, as nothing is left to chance in the build up to a targeted race.

Next in was Martin Russell who crossed the line in a solid 1:28:15, good running on a tough enough course.

Also running well was Alan Foley who is targeting this year's Dublin Marathon. Foley kept to a steady tempo and finished in 1:37:54, with no signs of distress, so all's good there.

Joe Carroll, running this race in his Father's honour, finished in 1:51:45, while Raymond Hoey won his M70 category in 2:14:04, and like fine wine, continues to get better with age.

Meanwhile, the D&D ladies also acquitted themselves well with Andrea McArdle first home with a solid 1:39:21, followed by Eimear Marron in 1:41:43.

Not far behind was club captain Helen Dillon who crossed the line tired but happy in 1:47:20, all three will have slept well after their efforts.

Others who ran well included Niamh Matthews (1:48:05), Emma Martin (1:53:45, Brenda Kirwan (2:02:14) and Annemarie Meehan (2:06:13).