Reports by Adélie Reinaudo and Enda Kerin
Photos by Sandra Gowran and Neil Purdy
Report by Adélie Reinaudo
Last Sunday was the cross country in Dunboyne.
Not an easy race: muddy in a farmer field with many holes which made it even more difficult. Moreover, the cold weather and wind were present to make it more challenging !
4 races for our incredible runners and they did amazing:
- Gold medal for the women master Team- 4k (2 laps)
- Bronze one for the men master team- 6k (3laps)
- Silver for the women intermediate team- 4k (2 laps)
- And bronze for intermediate men!- 8k (4 laps)
Many people from the club were present with an amazing support for all the races.
Next step? One more cross country to go: the national championship the 11th of February in Galway county.
Report by Enda Kerin
The Pre-Race
Sunday 14th January – Leinster Intermediate and Masters Championships had been etched on the clubhouse whiteboard since late November and after the success in Raheny last week, I knew there would be no room for the “too many mince pies” excuse a fortnight into the new year. After a light Saturday morning session at which Myles distributed the bib numbers to those present, for fear of a repeat of the Raheny rush, it was time for my favourite part of any race weekend, unwarranted carb-loading.
Half a loaf of multigrain bread (choosing the healthier option being January and all) the heavier, I awoke on Sunday to a glorious sun-filled morning – I must have overslept, I haven’t woken up to sunlight since the clocks went back in October. After a thorough stretch and foam roll, followed by more carbohydrates, I rocked up to the club at 11:30. Michael approached me with the now infamous lead-in, “you haven’t done a race report yet, have you?” He sweetened the deal by offering me a lift to the Royal County, assuring me that with the numbers we had running, I would have plenty of material to write about – and he wasn’t wrong!
Step 1: Set up the Gazebo
Arguably the only thing more successful than Sportsworld’s Masters teams in Raheny last weekend was the appearance of the tent and club flag. Travelling with Michael meant that I, Karl and Paul were fortunate enough to be the select few chosen to avail of the offer to receive free training on how to put the gazebo up. Unfortunately, such training was not provided and the three of us, along with Myles and Karol, illustrated a clear incompetence in basic gazebo-assembling matters. As we attempted to open the gazebo “like an accordion”, I couldn’t help but think of a certain scene featuring Eddie Kaspbrak from It (2017), but as this is a family-friendly report I will not elaborate any further.
By the time the gazebo was up, the majority of runners had arrived and it wasn’t long until the warm-up laps and strides commenced in earnest. “Nice course, muddy in the middle part of the 2km-lap” was the general consensus. “Great”, I thought, “sure there are only three races to go off before the Intermediate men get to do their four laps, it won’t be messy at all after the 158 masters men and co. complete their sacrament of penance”.
Step 2: Race
First off were the Masters Women. As always, Sportsworld fielded a very strong team and took home the Club gold in the O35 category! Next up were the Masters Men, featuring a transatlantic visitor, Gavin, eager to add some cross country miles to that relentless Boston training plan. It turned out to be worth the trip as Sportsworld took home the Club bronze with Karol finishing a strong fourth and also making the Dublin team that took County gold. The Intermediate women followed, Kate running strong as ever and battling illness to finish a fighting fourth and lead the club to a silver medal to add to her Dublin County silver. A special shoutout to Ciara also, who wasted no time in picking up her first medal for the club having only joined a couple of weeks back!
Finally, it was the Intermediate men’s turn to shine. Or rather, Diarmuid’s. As Kevin, Diarmuid and I stood in the unwavering gazebo commenting on how windy and cold it was, Emily’s voice came shouting from afar – the race was starting. Having flirted briefly with the idea of missing the start of the race – it would make great material for my race report – I ran to the line after Kevin. Diarmuid took a more leisurely approach, deciding it was now the opportune time to put on his club singlet before the adoring masses. As Emily audaciously stood in front of the field in an effort to delay the race, Diarmuid decided to join us and just about managed to slot in with the rest of the Sportsworld squad before the gun went and we took off.
I had planned on taking the first lap easy and picking up the pace from there, but then I remembered that I usually don’t make plans because I rarely stick to them. With the adrenaline flowing, Paul shouted at me to hold back and warned that I was up too far. This is undoubtedly one of the best things about Sportsworld; the sharing of wisdom and advice from excellent runners that comes when you need it the most. Pulling back and choosing to sit on the shoulder of others proved the right move as I ran an even-paced race and didn’t instantaneously combust at the end, as has been known to happen. As always, the shouts for Sportsworld runners were the loudest and made the mid-race slog all the more bearable, knowing that the next shout of support was never more than a couple of hundred metres away. Another race, and another Club medal: a further bronze illustrating that Myles’ Men still have a bit to go to catch up to Emily’s Golden Girls!
Step 3: Eat
Gazebo disassembled (I chose to sit this out and strategically went on a cool-down lap with the now fully-clothed Diarmuid), next stop on the Sportsworld agenda was Avoca (note that other cafés, food halls and handweavers are available). Carbs and chats with the rest of the club-members proved a great end to another successful day in Sportsworld land and as I attempted to run (read: hobble) out the door after Michael for fear of missing my lift home, I thought about the apt words of Zátopek – that I definitely didn’t have to google when compiling this report – (again, other search engines are available), “I was unable to walk for a whole week after that, so much did the race take out of me. But it was the most pleasant exhaustion I have ever known.”
Sportsworld Results
Intermediate Women
4th Kate KELLY 00:15:47 (Team Silver medal & Silver medal on Dublin Team)
13th Ciara BRADY 00:16:48 (Team Silver medal)
18th Adelie REINAUDO 00:17:02 (Team Silver medal)
19 Naoise WALDRON 00:17:04 (Team Silver medal)
26 Catherine MULLEADY 00:17:38
33 Deirdre O’CONNELL 00:18:20
36 Katie NUGENT 00:18:52
Intermediate Men
4th Enda KERIN 00:28:11 (Team Bronze medal & Silver medal on Dublin Team)
22nd Mark HOGAN 00:31:06 (Team Bronze medal)
23rd Andrew BRETT 00:31:14 (Team Bronze medal)
24 Kevin CURRAN 00:31:32 (Team Bronze medal)
27 Diarmuid O’SULLEABHAIN 00:32:25
33 Damien GERAGHTY 00:34:12
35 Conor KEATING 00:34:37
Masters Women
8th Catherine BAMBRICK 00:16:02 (Team Gold Medal & Dublin Silver Medal)
9th Ruth KELLY 00:16:08 (Team Gold Medal & Dublin Silver Medal)
11 Aoife O’LEARY 00:16:17 (Team Gold Medal & Bronze medal in age category)
26 Stephanie BERGIN 00:17:16
45 Anna DELANEY 00:18:21
46 Eileen BUTLER 00:18:27
65 Lucy DARCY 00:19:10
77 Eileen ROWLAND 00:19:50 (Gold medal in age category)
79 Irene O’CONNOR 00:19:59
82 Ellen LAVIN 00:20:58 (Bronze medal in age category)
83 Siobhan CLARKE 00:21:07
90 Audrai O’DRISCOLL 00:22:37
91 Aileen MELODY 00:22:44
Masters Men
4th Karol-David CRONIN 00:20:32 (Team Bronze medal and Dublin Team Gold Medal)
13th Gareth MURRAN 00:21:07 (Team Bronze medal)
24 Phil KILGANNON 00:21:42 (Team Bronze medal)
30 Gavin FINLAY 00:22:03 (Team Bronze medal)
44 Michael CUNNINGHAM 00:22:30
57 Paul O’CONNELL 00:23:07
58 Justin MCKEEVER 00:23:08
67 Derek SEVILLE 00:23:25
79 Alan HYNES 00:23:59
83 Martin KEENAN 00:24:17
85 Ronan MASTERSON 00:24:22
97 John DWYER 00:24:34
103 Edward MCENTEE 00:24:48
104 Joe BYRNE 00:24:49
106 Noel TOBIN 00:24:56
112 Martin DOYLE 00:25:11
116 Jose CHAPA 00:25:40
125 Declan BRADY 00:26:03
128 Aidan CURRAN 00:26:16
129 Mark HEFFERNAN 00:26:18
132 Karl SHEVLIN 00:26:23
139 John FLAHERTY 00:27:03
142 Paul HAMILTON 00:27:09
143 Adrian LANIGAN 00:27:16
148 Padraic MORAN 00:28:34
153 Ray CARPENTER 00:29:33 (Bronze medal in age category)
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