An Cosantóir the official magazine of the Irish Defence Forces and Reserve Defence Forces.
Issue link: https://digital.jmpublishing.ie/i/593178
An Cosantóir November 2015 www.dfmagazine.ie 30 | by TADHG O'DONOGHUE, 49 INF GP, UNIFIL UNIFIL T he An Cosantóir 10K was held in UNP 2-45 on 10th October 2015, were 150 UNIFIL personnel partici- pated, including: French, Estonian, Finnish and Irish competitors who battled the 27°C heat and a challenging course to complete the 10K route. Having registered the previous evening particpants had been issued with their An Cosantóir 2015 T-Shirts and wore them for the event creating an atmospher familiar to Irish peacekeepers that compete in the perennial event in Ireland. The event commenced at 0800hrs, with the piper in ceremonial dress greeting the participants of the team event at the start line. A team comprised of four person- nel. A total of eight teams competed. Peacekeepers from the Estonian Platoon eventually won the race following a thrilling finish where 5 Platoon B Coy offered excellent competition. At 0900hrs the individual event commenced. Person- nel competed in categories of Over 40s, Senior Female and Senior Male. The Irish Piper again developed an optimistic atmo- sphere at the start line as race director, Captain Tadhg O'Donoghue explained the route and wished all com- petitors good luck. The finish line was on the Camp Helipad, high and overlooking the wadis of South Lebanon. First to finish was the winner of the Senior Male category, Estonian Lt Andy Sepple, a high profile runner based in UNP 2-45. He was trailed by Gnr Billy Guerin of B Coy and 1 Arty Regt. First to finish among the females was Cpl Kay Meaney of BSG and 12 Inf Bn. The Over 40s category was a close affair, Sgt Dos McAllister of Bn HQ and DFTC the eventual winner. Gp Comd 49 Inf Gp welcomed personnel of all nationalities to an important event in the calender of the Defence Forces and congratulated in particular the winners of each category. The event was a highlight of the deployment of the 49 Inf Gp who will rotate in November. The An Cosantóir 10K marked for many, the culmination of a successful running event series that the unit engaged with since deployment in May. y Sgt John Kelleher during the An Cosantoir 10km run at UNP 2-45. Pte David Stack gasps for air after finishing the team event.