Mick Clohisey led an Irish charge at the Rotterdam marathon finishing 18th overall in 2:17:43 on his debut for the classic distance and getting under the Olympic qualifying standard of 2:18:00.

Ethiopia’s Abera Kuma was first across the line in 2:06:47 followed by Kenyans Mark Kiptoo in 2:07:21 and Bernard Koech in 2:08:02.

There was plenty of Irish interest with leading Clohisey, Thomas Frazer, Gary Thornton and Sean Hehir the main interest and the Rotterdam marathon app was put to good use in the morning to track there progress. It wasn’t the greatest app ever created as it just went according to the time of day as opposed to giving actual splits. Nevertheless, it pacified the marathon junkies to keep abreast of the situation.

The less than brilliant marathon app

Back to the action and it was Raheny Shamrock’s Mick Clohisey who prevailed amongst the Irish and he described his run as a “positive debut.” The Dick Hooper coached athlete continued: “There’s a lot more to come. I got a feel for the distance. It was windy in the the last few km’s. I am suited to it I think. Only on my cool down the legs just tightened.”

Only two seconds adrift was Thomas Frazer clocking 2:17:44 while Gary Thornton (Galway City Harriers) ran 2:18:22 and Sean Hehir (Rathfarnham) ran 2:19:24.

Clohisey has recently linked up with running store The Run Hub and he has already repaid their kit supply with a fine performance.

Clohisey outside The Run Hub

The Olympic chase is on

It is fair to say the Olympic marathon standards of 2:18:00 and 2:44:00 are fairly modest – especially compared to the track standards. It should see a number of runners get the standard which will lead to a selection headache for Athletics Ireland selectors. Clohisey and Frazer were the first two to post times and with only three slots available it led Paul Pollock, one of the leading contenders, to tweet asking whether it would be good enough.

Excellent running by the Irish in @MarathonRdam. Great to see Mick and Thomas making the Olympic standard…but will it be good enough?!

— Paul Pollock (@ppmarathon) April 12, 2015

There is a host of runners who can potentially get the standard. On the men’s side you have Martin Fagan, Paul Pollock, Sergiu Ciobanu, Kevin Seaward amongst others. On the women’s side you will have Fionnuala Britton leading the way with Maria McCambridge, Lizzie Lee, Sarah Mulligan, Ava Hutchinson and many more eyeing up qualification. The list could be endless on the women’s side in particular.

Falls Creek training camp success for Kato

Japan’s Asami Kato triumphed in the women’s race in 2:26:30 and it looks like her training camp along with her training group organised by Nic Bideau back in January did her no harm. Peru’s Gladys Tejeda was second in 2:28:12 and Krista Duchene of Canada was third in 2:29:38.

Coolsaet Fastest white man

Canada’s Reid Coolsaet continued his impressive marathon career with a 7th place finish in 2:11:24.

Peru’s marathon prowess

Peru put on a fine show of marathon running with Raul Pacheco 6th in 2:11:01, Raul Machacuay 14th in 2:15:31 and Paulino Canchanya 21st in 2:18:30. In the women’s race Gladys Tejeda was second in 2:28:12. Perhaps we should send a recce to Peru and get a few marathon tips.

Top results

1 Abera Kuma Ethiopie ETH 2:06:47
2 Mark Kiptoo Kenia KEN 2:07:21
3 Bernard Koech Kenia KEN 2:08:02
4 Abayneh Ayele Ethiopië ETH 2:09:21
5 Feyisa Lilesa Ethiopië ETH 2:09:55
6 Raul Pacheco Peru PER 6e 2:11:01
7 Reid Coolsaet Canada CAN 7e 2:11:24
8 Asmare Abate Ethiopië ETH 2:12:03
9 Abdi Nageeye Nederland NED 2:12:33
10 Mergersa Bacha Ethiopië ETH 2:12:58
11 Tebalu Zawude Ethiopië ETH 2:13:06
12 Michel Butter Nederland NED 2:14:02
13 Willem van Schuerbeeck België BEL 2:15:19
14 Raul Machacuay Peru PER 2:15:31
15 Carmine Buccilli ITA 2:16:45
16 David Nilsson Kalmar SWE 16e 2:17:19
17 Gert Jan Wassink Nederland 2:17:34
18 Mick Clohisey Dublin IRL 18e 2:17:43
19 Thomas Frazer Indianapolis USA 2:17:45
20 Gary Thornton Galway IRL 2:18:22
23 Sean Hehir Dublin IRL 2:19:24

For full results check here