SPORTSWORLD
PLACES
LUCAN
10 MAY 2009
2 > Stephenie Bergin
4 > Louise Bruton
6 > Ciara Foster
7 > Orlagh Fleming
8 > Susan Mc Donnell
9 > Catherine O’Neill
10 > Orla Jordan
13 > Irene O’Connor
17 > Eileen Dalton
20 > Breda Browne
21 > Ann Sweeney
22 > Louise Courell
34 > Karen O’Connor
35 > Deirdre Shannon
37 > Tara Quirke
40 > Fiona McManus
49 > Aileen Melody
51 > Caroline Warton
56 > Val Lacey
59 > Catherine Gilmore
65 > Cliona O’Riordan
66 > Sinead McGonagle
68 > Teresa Brennan
70 > Jenny Maher
85 > Laurence Delair
88 > Petrina Mulroe
94 > Maria Finnegan
97 > Deirdre Mullen
114 > Yvonne Callis
115 > Maura Maughan
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| BHAA RTE 2009 |
There was a large turn out of club members for the BHAA RTE 5Mile road race in donnybrook today. Tommy Armstrong, Breda, Paul Duffy, Stephanie, Phil, Orla, Stephen, Louise and others all seemed to enjoy the race, you can browse the full BHAA Online Results and scold me for the name i missed.
Well done to club members to took part in todays race in navan. It was a cool afternoon in navan, with 2 circuits of a challenging 5km lap. A strong breeze on sections of course made the going tough, and any broken PB’s represented a very good run. We had a full teams for both team races, with the ladies team taking a silver medal and the mens team finishing in 5th. There was some great support on the day from emily, sean, miles, steven, rachel and many others.
28 110 Idilgannon Phil Sportsworld A.C. 33.23
31 111 O’Connell Paul Sportsworld A.C. 33.38
50 114 McEntee Ed Sportsworld A.C. 34.31
53 116 Sweeney Trevor Sportsworld A.C. 34.51
67 112 Duffy Paul Sportsworld A.C. 35.34
75 117 Murran Garrett Sportsworld A.C. 35.52
86 118 Enright Packie Sportsworld A.C. 36.22
104 220 Brady Aoife Sportsworld A.C. 36.41
131 223 Darcy Lucy Sportsworld A.C. 37.47
154 225 White Helen Sportsworld A.C. 39.00
156 113 Spulski Jacub Sportsworld A.C. 39.14
159 221 Brady Crona Sportsworld A.C. 39.23
164 226 Finn Mary Sportsworld A.C. 39.39
226 227 Bergin Stephanie Sportsworld A.C. 42.48
Just trying to re-enforce which club we’re in by including the club column, in case you don’t know its Sportworld A.C..
The full results are available on the AAI Website. Photo’s from RacePix365.
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| National Road Relays |
Sportsworld Photos from RacePix365
Sunday the 19th April saw the exciting National Road Relays competition held again in Raheny. The weather was a scorching hot day, too hot for a marathon or half marathon but with two course records on the day it didn’t seem to affect the runners and was perfect for the spectators. Raheny may have had their A, B and C senior team but it was great to see Sportsworld with a full ladies and men senior and masters teams.
First up was the ladies masters team with Helen White rounding the last corner in first place giving Lucy Darcy doing the second 2 mile leg the perfect start. Both Rathfarmham and Raheny had a strong Masters team but Aideen Downs brought the team home to take third place comfortably.
Next we had the mens master team with new club member Trevor Sweeny taking the first leg in his first road relays. Trevor did brilliant, running with the lead pack for the entire lap. Then over to Ed McEntee who like Lucy is more used to running in the Senior team. Ed did a great 2 mile leg passing over to Joe Byrne for the final one mile leg. The extra training on Saturdays on the polo grounds paid off for Joe doing a brilliant final leg and deserves to be given a new singlet for his run(only the runners have to be over 35 Joe)
Then we had the Ladies senior race which unfortunately was without Jean but thankfully Eimear Martin was fit and ready to run. Crona Brady took the first leg and showed what an improvement she has made since last year taking a deserved spot on the senior A team. Then Aoife took the second 2 mile leg chasing down the DSD team who have continued on from their brilliant cross country season. Eimear then took the final leg to bring the girls home in 4th. There was only 16 seconds between 3rd place and 9th with DSD getting a course record. However with the improving form of the Sportsworld senior team the DSD girls won’t be as confident of their medals next year.
Then after watching all the other runners warm up, annihilate themselves on the course and then enjoy the nice cool down lap in the sun it was finally the mens senior teams turn. Paul Duffy lead off taking the first 2 mile leg, with most of the teams putting their best runners on the first leg Paul had to contend with some of the best runners in the country on his first road relay. Next was myself who’s claim to fame now is that I beat Lorraine Manning by 1 second(now to beat some of the guys). Phil took the 3 mile leg, this year we had lot of competition for places on the team but there is not many if any in Sportsworld who could of done the gruelling 3 mile leg, Phil did a brilliant run matching his time from last year. The final 2 mile leg fell to Ronan who some how manages to work, go to college, train and learn Polish brought the team home to end a very exciting mens relay which saw Raheny return to form taking first place and doing it in style by getting a course record.
As usual the teams where helped along with great support from club members. There was 3 new relay runners this year who have bench marks to work off for next year, Packie is showing a return to form and hopefully next year will take his usual place on the senior team but there will be competition with new club member Gareth showing great speed. There is even rumours of Eanna out training. So hopefully next year the ladies masters team won’t be the only ones coming home with medals.
Report by Michael Cunningham
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| Black Mountain 2009 |
When the chatter started about Black Mountain, a 787m climb over 15km I didn’t engage in the banter that normally goes with trying to psyche oneself into entering such an event. Paul O’Connell and James Shanahan were the ringleaders – talking the whole thing up – sure how hard could it be? For the record neither of these gentlemen actually made it to the start line. One of them, it’s reported, going so far as to throw himself in front of a bus to get out of it.
We are now, already, three months into the IMRA calendar and the races have thus far been really enjoyable while at the same time getting progressively more ‘challenging’. Even the grass wall that was Crone Woods (3 weeks ago ), where `we clawed our way to the top on hands and knees and paraglided down catching the thermals with our Sportsworld singlets did not completely dampen our enthusiasm. My own abiding memory of that event is of Tullamore Cross Country Ace, Liz Cuskelly, on her first foray into mountain running, standing on what afficiondo’s call a ‘Technical Descent’ (read shear drop), looking completely forlorn, pleading with any one who’d listen (no one) to be careful, as we flung ourselves, lemming style, over the edge. That was a 470m climb over 7.5km. It was murderously difficult so I wasn’t keen to do another almost twice as big.
Despite my reservations I once again allowed myself to be cajoled in to it and so found my self up on the beautiful Cooley Peninsula last Sunday morning in glorious crisp Spring sunshine at the foot of the Black Mountain. My travelling companions, Jakub and Eoin were in good spirits and once they had gone through there elaborate and comprehensive ‘vaselining’ rituals we headed off to the race start. On our way up the road to the start we bumped into club mate Helen White who had turned up for her mountain running debut to what she had thought was going to be a 7km loosener…!?!!
The race starts on a section of the Tain Trail (Queen Maeve, Cuchulainn etc. etc.) and merges later with the route of the Puc Fada (Hurlers will know what I’m talking about). The route is out and back over a number of small peaks culminating on the top of the Black Mountain. At which point you turn around and head back to the start. The first 2km from the start are a gradual ascent on good fire roads. At the end of the fire road there is a stile beyond which extends the open hillside. The route does not follow any particular trail that I could determine but was well marked on the day by IMRA volunteers. The Black Mountain race is considered a good introduction to ‘classic’ Irish mountain running, resembling somewhat the conditions to be faced latter in the year by Irish Championship runners on Lugnacoille, the Galtees and the Big Kahuna Carrauntoohil. This translates to bog, marsh waterholes, bracken, rocks ledges and worse. (Not sure we’re ready for these monsters yet but we might have to try.)
From the gun the serious racers set off at a pace designed to split the field. The rest of us watched in awe as they disappeared up the road. By the time I got to the top of the first major climb, crowned by a an ancient Cairn, I was completely shattered but was able to recover on the down slope, picking-off some of the people who’d passed me on the way up. Across the bog to the Black Mountain I put a bit of distance between us only to be caught again as I made may way up to the summit. Turning around I could see Jakub close behind and shortly afterward I passed Eoin as he began his ascent. We now faced back toward the series of hill tops we had only just traversed. Coming down from the Cairn I lost my way only to be passed in a flash by Jakub and three other runners. Tracking these mountain goats for dear life I recovered as we crossed the bog to the stile. By the time we reached the stile I had just regained the lead over my three companions and vaulted the stile hoping to fool them into believing I was as fresh as a daisy and that they had no chance of catching me. It was now a straight race down the fire road to the finish. Jakub and I did best getting there well ahead of the other two –due in no small part, I’m sure, to our hard winter slog on the roads around Rathfarnham Bank.
All in all an extremely enjoyable day out, in great conditions, to a part of the country I would not have thought to go otherwise.
For the record..
1.Peter O’Farrell Rathfarnham 67:26
7. Paul Mitchell 78:31
8. Jakub Splawski 79:06
16. Helen White (2nd by 14s in Women’s Race) 82:54
29. Eoin O’Brien 93:33
46. John Fitzgerald 103:42
56. Charlie O’Connell 146:02
Good luck to our runners Eoin, Paul and Ed this Sunday at the Wicklow Way Trail Race, Lough Tay to Johnny Fox’s Pub, 771m over 22km.
Report by Paul Mitchell
