Race Reports by Margaret Crowley and Karl Chatterton
Photos by Anna Delaney, Joe Byrne, Conor Kenny, Denis McCaul & Eoin O’Brien. For a full album: Click here
Full Sportsworld results below.
Womens Race by Margaret Crowley
Race Reporter Margaret
It was a fantastic day for a cross country race. The glorious sunshine was almost too good to be true but such rare weather conditions should only be welcomed and enjoyed and I was prepared to do both.
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The ladies team was never so well prepared for a race. We had a good team, received details of what we were to bring (an essential list for anyone’s debut to cross country) along with where and when we were meeting so all we had to do was show up, there is no turning back once you show up!
After arriving at the Phoenix park, I was pleasantly informed that everyone had set up camp to behind The Last Stand Café, was I at the right place? I certainly was with the café being the mobile tea and coffee van! After all the ladies gathered together behind the “café” off we went for a very entertaining warm up, full of laughter and giggles which definitely somewhat neutralized the pre races nerves.
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After a good jog around the bigger lap of the race, we went back to camp, blissfully unaware of the full blown stride session we had ahead of us lead by Emily at one end and Aileen at the other end (don’t underestimate Aileen by her friendly smile, no rest was allowed at her end, she just about permitted a 10 sec breather).
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At the end of it all, I was not the only who thought I was ready to go home, whatever about a race! Off we were called to the start line, I had previously named this the firing line but as it was the start of a new season, I was willing to let go of any grudges.
The race itself was a bit of a blur. The top four runners were not long breaking away from the rest of the pack. Helen and Noreen came home in second and third place and earned themselves well deserved medals.
Kate also managed to stay nicely settled within the top ladies. Patricia ran a very strong race and was also nicely working her way around the course, as were Catherine and Gemma. Maria and Angela took part in their first cross country race with the club and ran naturally through the fields like they had done it plenty of times before and have great potential for the rest of the season.
The results of the ladies are listed below. Sportsworld ladies team won the gold medal for the team event. That’s Emily’s and Myles’s Christmas present sorted for this year. This race reports has me off race report duties for another six months at least!
The one thing that I do remember was the outstanding support from the club. People came with their families, children, pets and some even appeared after spending the morning working. It was all greatly appreciated and helped us all run that extra bit faster and harder.
Mens Race by Karl Chatterton
Race Reporter Karl
Last Sunday Sportsworld’s mens and womens senior teams toed the line at the first cross country race of the new season, the Dublin Novice Cross Country. This was my first time running this race but having done some other cross country races last year, I knew not to be fooled by the word Novice! This is far from Novice with some of the best club runners in Dublin lining up on the start line.
I headed down to the Phoenix Park just after lunch in time to get a good warm-up and watch the Sportsworld ladies team race for gold! More on that from Margaret above.
I met some of the other lads on the team and we had a light jog around the course as a warm-up. The sun was beating down and the ground was pretty firm which was far from the cross country races I was used to.
We had a strong team of nine runners lining up for the 6k novice race, with Stephen O’Donnell, and Paul O’Bierne both making their cross country debuts. The race was to be four 1.5k laps around what is known as the Munich Hills. So named because this is the route that Eamonn Coughlan regularly trained on prior to the Munich Olympics.
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The race itself was as tough as expected. The early pace was fast and furious and the leaders were quickly pulling away at the front of the race. I started to pay for that quick early pace around the mid-way point the race and from there it was a case of trying to hold position as we went into the last lap. Justin came past me just before the end of the 3rd lap looking very strong. The support from the women’s team and other Sportsworld runners who had come out to spectate all around the course was amazing and it certainly helped to drive us on around the last two laps.
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All of the Sportsworld runners on the day finished strongly with our team finishing 7th overall against some very strong competition.
Sportsworld Results:
Womens 4k Teams
1 Sportsworld A.C. 53
2 Raheny Shamrock A.C. 61
3 Clonliffe Harriers 69
Womens 4k Individuals
2nd Helen Brouder 14.45
3rd Noreen Brouder 14.5
20 Kate Kelly 16.39
28 Margaret Crowley 16.5
38 Patricia Fitzmaurice 17.12
41 Angela Keane 17.21
42 Catherine Mulleady 17.22
49 Maria Jones 17.44
64 Gemma Whyte 18.28
70 Angela Keane 19.11
Mens 6k Teams
1 Rathfarnham WSAF 35
2 Raheny Shamrock A.C. 46
3 Crusaders A.C. 51
4 Donore Harriers 58
5 Clonliffe Harriers 85
6 Balbriggan & Dist 108
7 Sportsworld A.C. 145
Mens 6k Individuals
21 Conor McCarthy 21.32
29 Justin McKeever 21.49
41 Karl Chatterton 22.20
54 Paul O’Beirne 22.52
56 Stephen O’Donnell 22.54
65 Derek Saville 23.18
70 Conor Keating 24.04
76 Denis McCaul 24.36
79 Anthony Gillen 24.54
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