Martin McCarthy kicked off the new year with an easy victory at the five mile Donough Coughlan memorial race in Bandon today. McCarthy shared the first three miles with his sixteen year old clubmate James Grufferty, but then, just as he entered the main street, McCarthy stopped to tie a shoe lace, leaving his younger rival unsure what to do next. He was caught by another Leevale runner, Cillian O’Tuama, and shortly after by McCarthy. Grufferty dropped back, no doubt suffering from finishing 4th in the Kanturk 5 mile road race the night before, leaving the other pair to battle it out. McCarthy waited till the last half mile to take the initiative, winning in a time of 25:50, with O’Tuama second in 26:07, Grufferty third in 26:32, Timmy Murphy of Togher fourth in 23:36. They were followed by Eamon McEvoy of St. Finbarrs, James Murphy of Grange Fermoy, Michael Dorgan of Carrignavar, and Noel Marshall of Togher. Carrignavar won the team title. Margaret Mary Meade of UCC had a tremendous win in the womens race. Her winning time of 28:04 saw her finish well clear of Mary Sheehan of Grange Fermoy in 30:17, and Josephine Macken from Mayo in 31:06, Elaine O’Donoghue of Riverstick and Edel Kelleher.