Spartans' Mark Mullan delighted to be first Derry man home at Walled City Marathon

CITY OF Derry Spartans' athlete, Mark Mullan took the honour of being the first local finisher of the 2018 Walled City Marathon.
By The Newsroom
Published 3rd Jun 2018, 22:06 BST
Updated 26th Jun 2018, 14:36 BST
City of Derry Spartans' Mark Mullan who finished fourth pictured with Mayor of Derry and Strabane District Council, Maolosa McHugh.City of Derry Spartans' Mark Mullan who finished fourth pictured with Mayor of Derry and Strabane District Council, Maolosa McHugh.
City of Derry Spartans' Mark Mullan who finished fourth pictured with Mayor of Derry and Strabane District Council, Maolosa McHugh.

The Shantallow man narrowly missed out on a podium finish, crossing the line in fourth place in 2:49:11, however, he was delighted to be first Derry man home.

Marty Gallagher of Foyle Valley finished sixth in 2:50:48 while Spartans' teammate, James Crampsey edged into a top 10 spot in 2:52:36.

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And while Mullan admitted he found conditions tough as temperatures soared along the banks of the River Foyle, he will use this as motivation to break the 2:45 mark at the Dublin marathon next October.

"I didn't run the time I wanted to run but to be the first Derry man home I'm delighted with that.

"I felt good for the first half but in around 15 or 16 miles I started to feel a bit of a pain in my quad. That went then but the last few miles I was going backwards in the heat.

"It's a tough enough course but I'm doing Dublin and 2:45 will be the target. That was the target today.

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"It's always hard to run on your own. There was a couple of guys at different times we were working off each other but then things started to split up. It was probably about 10 miles I was on my own and it was tough."

For full results visit https://www.myrunresults.com/events/sse_airtricity_walled_city_marathon/2613/racereport

Related topics:Derry