BHAA Trinity Track 2018

Report by Martina Nolan-Jones

Photos thanks to Anna Delaney, Sandra Kelly and Grainne Lynch

So my turn has come… I thought I would be a lot further into my Sportsworld running career before I would be asked to write a race report! I am not sure whether Michael was smiling so much due to the look of surprise on my face when he asked me if I had written a race report before.. or whether he smiles like that everytime he asks people to write a report.. either way it was hard to say no!

Race reporter Martina in white

As a TCD graduate I couldn’t resist the BHAA TCD race night.  I kept smiling to myself that day because I never dreamt in a million years that I would ever be part of a running club or would run around the cricket pitch in TCD while I was in college!

I parked up in Drury St at 5:30pm and made my way to TCD.  I met Grainne in Front Square and we walked down to the Moyne Institute to register and figure out what our grade would be since we had never run an 800m or 1 mile race before!  There was a great turn out from the club and Myles smiled telling us all that he expected an equally good turn out at the next graded run in Tallaght!

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The first race (Women’s 800m Std 14-30) kicked off at 7pm.  Katie took off like a rocket leaving us all behind. Patricia, Breda and Grainne were in front of me, and I gasped as I tried to keep up! I stayed on Grainne’s heels but couldn’t pass her out. There was great support from the club all around the track and Patricia won the race for Sportsworld!

Next up was the Women’s 800m Std 1-13,  Margaret represented the club in this race, followed by all the Men’s 800m races.  There was great representation from the club in all the men’s races too, including Bambi (who promised to remember my name from now on!). 

The 1 mile races started ahead of schedule at 7:50. I felt good and strong as I set off at a fast pace.. however, I was totally out of my comfort zone as I led the ladies in the first 200m.  As we approached the Sportsworld crew outside the Pav, all I could hear was Myles and Emily’s voices in my head telling me that I was going too fast! Katie and 2 other runners passed me, but thankfully from that point on I held my position and finished in 4^th place.  Much to my delight, I received the 3^rd place prize later because one of the runners ahead of me was eliminated from the prizes!

Again, all the subsequent 1 mile races were very well represented by Sportsworld. The men put in a great performance especially Will, Karl, and Karol who won their races.  With everyone in high spirits after Karol’s exciting finish to win the last race, we all walked up the steps to the Pav for well deserved refreshments.

Overall it was a great night of running, camaraderie, and fun! My love of running and Sportsworld grows with each of these events!  Hopefully, I’ll be back next year to win one of the 1^st prize TCD umbrellas which you may spot several of the club members using in Bushy Park in the coming months!!

Unfortunately, the race results were not online in time for this week’s update so apologies for not including all the other great performances and wins on the night!