From Track Racing 2009

Aoifa Brady, a name to watch out for in the not to distant future. 1 of only 2 representative from Sportsworld to race in these prestiege championships. Saturday evening, 4:25pm National 5k on next, Aoife takes her place on that start line,she looks great,like she belongs. Bang, there goes the gun & there goes the girls,12.5 gruelling laps with a stronge enough wind in your face every time that home straight was hit.

Linda Byrne & Rosmary Ryan were gone from the gun,it was clear from the start it was a 2 horse race between them, how-ever the race for bronze was there for who-ever was hungry enough to go for it. Aoife ran a very sensible race, she knew what she had to do. Staying tucked in the middle of the pack until it was time to go. 10.5 laps gone, 2laps left, 3rd place still up for grabs, just like changing gears in your car,Aoife change her gear fron 3rd to 4th,a gap was opened immediately,600mts still to race & off she goes,from 4th to 5th gear,that was it there was no catching her now. The sound of the bell…1 more lap,arms in full swing,legs in full stride,the field was broken.Aoife went on to clain a very fine National bronze medal in an excellent time of 17mins 38 behind 1st place Linda & 2nd place Rosemary.

Sunday afternoon, 4:05pm, not as windy today, but still a wind none the less, time for Aoife to take her place on the track once again,this time accompanied by her sister & club/team-mate Crona. The 2 girls on the line side by side with some top athletes. The’re off for a very fast 3 & 3/4 laps on a sunny & breezy afternoon of day 2. Although battle ensued between the 1st 3 athletes Deidre Byrne,Roisin McGettigan & Kelly Mc Niece, Aoife hung in for a very good 4th place fininsh. Crona ran with great confidence to notch up a season’s best & a peronal best time of 4min 46 on her debut to this national senior event. Now she has a taste of what its like she could be a name & face to watch for next season.

Well done both of you on very fine performances.

Race Report By
Lucy Darcy

Photos By
Gareth Murran

On Saturday 25th July, Paul Mitchell and I made the trip to the Carlow/Wexford border for the IMRA Mount Leinster Hill race.

Having not recced the race and only listening to Paul’s brief of the course it wasn’t a race I was looking forward to. The race brief was: 14km race, 635m ascend, 7km up hill, very poor underfoot conditions on the final 1km to the summit – but it’s all down hill after that!!

We arrived at the start to be met by beautiful blue skies and temperatures in the high teens. Not perfect conditions for racing but at least the peak wasn’t covered in cloud.

We set off at a moderate pace on fire road for about 2 km at a very light gradient. Off the fire road and on to the open mountain we continued on zig-zag trails. Underfoot conditions were slippy with streams flowing over the trail in numerous places. Paul and I worked well together up the mountain and we were to change lead many times before reaching the saddle between Mount Leinster and Black Mountain.

From the saddle it was relatively flat for 300m and then a steep climb to the second last false peak before we would eventually reach the top. At this stage I had opened a gap of 50m on Paul but was well aware he would fly by me on the descent. We continued on to the last false peak before the top and were met with a welcome descent of around 500m – where as I had guessed Paul flew by me. I wasn’t long catching him however as the descent was short, and we started our final ascent, to the top of Mount Leinster, together. It started off on good underfoot conditions for about 400meters and then turned into soft bog. At times you would be stuck in muck up to your knees. These conditions gave me the slightest advantage on Paul and I managed to summit about a minute ahead of him in about 13th position overall,

Glad with my rare achievement of reaching a summit before Paul I started out on the descent as fast as I could possibly go – hoping against hope that I wouldn’t see him again till the finish line – only for him to fly by me about five minutes later. Bar seeing him in the distance it would be the last till I crossed the line. My thoughts were then turned to catching other competitors and I managed to catch one and retain my 13th place over.

Excellent race to sign off my hill running season and look forward to doing it all again come January.

Overall Results
1 Tom Hogan 60:28 (Slaney Olympic)
11 Paul Mitchell 71.48
13 Liam Mc Fadden 73.15
26 John Fitzgerald 87.47

Report By
Liam Mc Fadden

From Track Racing 2009

On Saturday night Sportsworld was represented in the Women’s 800m by Jean Wilson & Crona Brady. Both girls ran very well and came in together 10th & 11th respectively. In fact there was only .24 of a second separating both girls. Crona also got a PB by a number of seconds & both girls are running very well ahead of the National track & field coming up.

Aoife Brady warmed up for the Nationals with a run in the 1500m B race for men. The field left Aoife in the early stages of the race but she maintained her composure & ran steady through out & clawed her way back in. She had fantastic support from the whole of the stadium & it’s great to see a Sportsworld athlete command so much respect from fellow runners who turned up on the night.

Results:
800m women
10 02:18.63 Jean Wilson Sportsworld
11 02:18.87 Crona Brady Sportsworld

1500m Men B
14 04:27.35 Aoife Brady Sportsworld

Thanks to Jakub for the photos and video.

Race Report
Paul Duffy

From Track Racing 2009

Tuesday July 7th Lord Mayor 2m Road Series # 4, Raheny

Packie Enright was the only red & white representative at the 4th round of the Lord Mayor Series and duly came 3rd out of around 50 people in total. Conditions were fresh & breezy but nice & dry. The harmless low key race comprising mainly of veterans, average club runners, triathletes, BHAA members & general fitness enthusiasts was a slow tactical one with many running negative or even splits. The series takes place on the same quiet housing estate as the National Road Relays, except instead of being 2 full laps it finishes back a smidgen from where it started (as the course is 1620m or just 11m longer than a mile).

After a slow 1st mile (5.24) Enright was at the back of a bunch of 10. The pace picked up significantly then by the leaders, & Enright passed lads that went out too hard; moving up to 6th with 600m left & 5th with 400m to go. The clareman outsprinted the next 2 in the last 150m with one of them fighting back in a mighty ding dong, both runners credited with the same time (10.45). Enright left it too late to catch the first 2, won by the ageless ox Mick Traynor in 10.31. It was a mediocre time for Enright’s 1st race in over 10 wks and there was a definite lack of sharpness & simple ability to distance run at 5 min pace.

Then it was back to the clubhouse for tea & biscuits, and the organisers are well known for their hospitality along with knowledge of athletics. The prize on offer was
a beautiful poetry book written by Raheny club member Ciaran O Coigligh comprising of a poem about many club members printed in both English and Irish. It’s available in most reputable book stores for €10 and is well worth a look!

Full Results.

Report by
Packie Enright

Wednesday July 15th Graded meeting No. 7 in Morton stadium, Santry

On Wednesday last July 15th, three of our athletes took part in Graded meeting No. 7 in Morton stadium, Santry

First in action was Conor Murphy in the 100m. Conor ran strongly to take 5th place in his grade in a time of 13.09.

Ronan Kearns, returning from injury, ran a strong race in the 800m to finish in 2.04.98. Well done Ronan.

Next up was the ladies 3000m where we were represented by Crona Brady on her first outing over the distance. Crona put in a fantastic performance, staying in the leading group for the majority of the race to finish 7th in a high quality race in an excellent 10.28. Crona competes in the 800m at the IMC meet on Saturday
July 25th.

Paul Duffy and Conor Murphy competed in the men’s 3000m, with Paul running very close to his pb finishing sixth in 9.34.82. Unfortunately Conor had to pull out at the half way mark due to a hamstring injury picked up in the 100m.

Next race is the Irish Milers Club’s final meeting of the season in Irishtown on Saturday July 24th starting at 6pm. This is the final track race before the National track and field championships to be held in Santry on Saturday and Sunday August 1st and 2nd. So if you are around the bank holiday weekend come out and watch and support!

Full Results.

Report by
Aoife Brady

Tuesday July 21st Lord Mayor 2m Road Series # 5, Raheny

Over 50 runners attended the 5th round of the Lord Mayor 2m road series in a bright and breezy Raheny on Tuesday July 21st, and again Sportsworld came away in the prizes thanks to a brilliant display by our Helen. While she normally competes as an F40, this time she was good enough for 2nd place in the senior category less than 10 seconds behind senior champion Catriona Hooper who won in 11:45. On the day she beat the series F40 victor Mary McDermott by a minute. So well done Helen.

Sportsworld was also represented by Packie Enright who came 7th in 10:53. Enright, who didn’t venture out of bed all of last week because of food poisoning, wasn’t
expecting to beat his 10:45 from 2 weeks ago; but at least he got to collect his racing shoes which he left behind on that occasion! Now who said Dublin was a bad place for crime?

At the sharp end it was a 2 horse race between the legendary veteran Mick Traynor and national senior indoor 3000m champ and outdoor 1500m silver medalist Richie Corcoran. The pair went through the mile in 4:50 with the former being strong enough to run an impressive 9:46. The latter was unable to hang on but to be fair is only 5 wks back running mileage after a stress fracture, which has ended the Villanova
graduate’s genuine ambitions to become this year’s national senior outdoor
metric mile champ.

Full Results.

Report By
Packie Enright

From Irish Mountain Running 2009

A big congratulations from Sportsworld to Helen White who represented Ireland in the European Mountain Running Championships!

On July 12th in Telfes, Austria, Helen and the Irish team took on some long and steep courses up against 300 athletes from 30 nations. The senior women’s race was 9.5km long with a climb of 950m. Helen qualified for the European Championships back on the 13th June and it should be noted this is only her debut season is mountain running! So well done to Helen on such an outstanding achievement!

A race report by one of the Irish team managers, Gerry Brady, is published on the IMRA website here along with photos.

From Irish Mountain Running 2009

On Wednesday a small group of Sportsworld runners went to Wicklow Mountains to take part in Ballinastoe race – the longest and the most difficult hill run in the Leinster League (over 12k with about 500m climb).

The race started with a long ascent to the Wicklow Way then leveled and turned to the narrow forrest path where it was easy to fall down as twigs whipped your face and limited visibility.

Minutes later we were sliding down in the mud up to our ankles and jumping over fallen trees. Afterwards we continued the run on the uncovered slope and grass. Then the course turned back to forrest and we went to another long climb back to Wicklow Way and finally we sprinted last 2-3 kilometres downhill to the finish line.

Colm Kennedy was the fastest of Sportsworld runners and finished in great 12th place followed closely by Paul Mitchell who ran together with Colm for the most of the course. Jakub Splawski after a long chase crossed the finish line seconds before Liam McFadden with John Fitzgerald, Sean O’Byrne and Charile O’Connell also running.

Results
12 Colm Kennedy 58 M 62:33
15 Paul Mitchell 61 M40 63:01
25 Jakub Splawski 36 M 66:12
26 Liam McFadden 57 M 66:23
116 John Fitzgerald 104 M50 85:11
117 Sean O’Byrne 427 M50 85:16
175 Charlie O’Connell 180 M70 130:40

Report by : Jakub Splawski

P.S: If you are interested in getting an introduction to mountain running, the Mountain Rescue Benefit Run on Aug 26th might suit – its a 6km course with 200m accent. Contact Paul Mitchell if you are interesting in running any of the IMRA events.

From Sportsworld Kilmore 10km 2008

As we are getting closer to the Kilmore 10K, places are running out.
We had a very successful trip last year.
The race this year is again on a Saturday at 5.30PM on 29th August.
For those that weren’t there, last years race was just perfect.
Flat course, on country roads, very little traffic and beautiful scenery….on a par with Ballycotton.
See: www.kilmoreathletics.com

This year, we are staying in Wexford town as opposed to Kilmore Quay….Very lively town during the summer, with plenty of good bars, restaurants and nightclubs.
We are trying to get everyone going into either the Talbot or Whites Hotel, both of which offer a gym and pool, but depending on numbers and availability, there are also guesthouses close by as alternatives.
There are also spots with a choice of staying for 1 or 2 nights.

The following are the available rooms…all on a B&B basis:
These are once off prices.

For 2 nights: Talbot Hotel, €100pps, (2 places)

For 1 night: Talbot Hotel, €60pps, (2 places)
For 1 night: Whites Hotel, €65pps, (3places)

Alternatives are Guesthouses close by also, of which prices can be given.
The above rates are on a first come first served basis. These are internet rates and are no longer available. The rates on offer by the hotel are 90 Euro+ PPS/night.

Please contact Dermot Bates/Rachel Morgan if you want to book a room.

Dermot Bates

From Track Racing 2009

Wednesday 1st July had the Dublin Graded No.6 track meeting in Irishtown on a perfect summers evening. Poor Lorraine Manning of Raheny had a tough time as she faced Aoife Brady on stunning form in the 3000m race. Unfortunately there was not much competition for Aoife to help push the pace but she still managed by herself to do a brilliant time of 9.35 betting her PB. Lorraine then had to face an ever improving Crona in the mile, with Crona pushing Lorraine for the first couple of laps and finished up in an excellent 3rd in 5.12. Lucky for Lorraine Paul Duffy is the only triplet in the club.

We had new club member Conor Murphy who is really relishing the track season taking part in all the events (400m, 3000m and mile) and still managing a sprint finish in each one. Paul Duffy who after winning the C grade a couple of weeks ago could of taken the easy option of running grade C again but took the tough decision to move up a grade to B and did a great run in a tough field of 4.50 for the mile .

I managed to avoid track races up to now but Packie did a brilliant report on what is involved in the graded track races a few weeks ago so I had to give it a try. I went for grade C in the mile and just told myself its just a lap and a bit of the top lap in Bushy park we do for warm up but without the dogs, dog owners with 20meter nearly invisible leashes, walkers, tree roots and the distraction of the girls doing aerobics. Racing on the track is tough but no tougher then the Tuesday training session and there is something about the track when your body and brain tells you can’t keep the pace the group drags you along.

Having watched all the races yesterday there are a load of people in the club who are doing brilliant training sessions on Tuesdays and would out class a lot of the club runners in the Graded races. There are 2 more chances to do Graded track races this year(check Packie’s report in the Graded section) or we also have training sessions on Saturday mornings if people want to see what it’s like running on the track and what their times are like. Considering some of the marathons, half marathons, cross country races, meet and train races in the rain and mountain runs people have done track racing in the sunshine is a breeze.

Big thanks to Eoin, Dave and Myles who came out to Irishtown and gave great support during the races.

Conor Murphy 400m 57.36
Conor Murphy 3000m 11.16
Conor Murphy mile 5.38

Paul Duffy 1 mile 4.50

Aoife Brady 3000m 9.35

Crona Brady 1 mile 5.12

Michael Cunningham 1 mile 4.46

Full results and photos.

Report By
Michael Cunningham