The dublin novice race on sunday kicks of the season (the sooner it starts, the sooner it ends – is one approach to managing these races), so best of luck to all our runners (remember your spikes and singlets).

For our non-novice lady runners, a sunday trip to carlow is on the cards, where the only extra piece of equipment required is the big handbag, so the expected array of prizes can be carried safely home.

Looking forward to seeing all the loot from the weekend next tuesday.

A fairly warm morning for todays half marathon in the pheonix park. Here are some photo’s and we’ll get the results up as soon as we have them.

Kilmore Quay looks lost! Hiding on the very south eastern tip of Wexford this quaint little village is more like a hybrid of Cornwall and Connemara. Tudor thatching sits easily beside rugged shorelines and the ocean dominates every part of its character.
The Village is a contradiction, beautiful but with a history of tragedy dominated by maritime losses and a struggling fishing industry. An unlikely place then for a band of runners to race 10k, but inspiringly handsome all the same.

There was something almost ‘wild western’ about the posse of Dublin cars sweeping into the village. The locals looked perplexed. That initial excitement and urge to explore was quickly muted. A sunny September Saturday quietly refreshed the early risers. A stroll down to the harbour to watch the boats come in. Even the 2 sea lions looked lazy, sleepy and unhurried.

On to the sea shore and a beautiful memorial garden to all those lost at sea. When you read the names and their age it becomes more real. A calm day out to the horizon hid the deadly power of this moody ocean.

The peaceful mood led to a relaxed drive to the race start. Sportsworld represented about half the field. The red and white cut a powerful symbolism.
Registration was fun. The man in front of me refused to give his age. The middle aged, no nonsense matronly woman was having none of it …”I said how old are you?” He mumbled, muttered, and stuttered. She grew more agitated and in a loud voice said again …”How old are you?” He finally confessed to being 70. She said “70 exactly or older?” His dream of being mistaken for something younger was truly perished.

The warm up strides were dominated by a young local girl sprinting at the speed of light. Mr. Bolt would have been proud. We did wonder if she would survive the first 100 metres let alone 10k. Apparently she did!

The race start was just as relaxed. A man who had been club secretary for 105 years started the race. He had a chest full of pride and this was ‘his day’. We all smiled.

Off and a fast pace it was a twisty peaceful country road. It went up a little, down a little, but always pretty. Big propeller wind turbines competed for our attention. They might be ‘friendly’ but they sure do blot out the view. The locals encouraged us and even their dogs too. Marshals attended every corner even though we saw no cars to hinder our rapid journey. Soon, back into Kilmore and a fitting finish right by a graveyard that was set out to look like a grandstand!
The crowd at the finish were warm and hearty; it made the slog all the more worthwhile.

That night we dined in Keoghs. There was good food, great cheerful service and wonderful music. We ate together, sang together and went back to our hotel together. It’s what a club is all about. Nobody talked about ‘their’ race but everyone wanted to know how you did.

The walk home was cheerful and fun under the bright full moon. Then we went dancing. It was fun and it was straight out of JB Keane. It was Ireland of the 50s. Two local girls competed for the title of Dance Queen Diva. Their competitive spirit led to increasingly more ‘interesting’ moves. We remained unshaken!

Hardy souls were up early to take in the sea, the dunes and the air. Soon, we were saying our goodbyes. A plan and a trip was now a memory.
You see, a club is about much more than running, it is about people and people create the precious memories.
So, to my club, yet again, thank you for another super little adventure. But, to those who made it happen, Kilmore AC, Dermot and Rachael, we may not often say it but ‘thank you for the memory’ [Conor Kenny]

The full results from saturday’s Kilmore 10km Road Race are now available. Both the men’s and women’s team won the team competition, and there were good individual results scored all round. I’d like to thank dermot and rachel for doing a great job organising this trip.

Congratulation to Lucy Darcy who came second in the national half marathon, and to the guys who travelled down to waterford last weekend.

78 Merrick Ronan Sportsworld A.C. M 80.58
99 Darcy Lucy Sportsworld A.C. F 83.22
126 Duffy Paul Sportsworld A.C. M 85.40
184 Splauski Jakub Sportsworld A.C. M 92.50

Waterford Halfmarathon

Fairly overcast, windy and cool morning in firhouse saw the first running of the pearl izumi 10km road race. You’ll notice the luminous orange t-shirts with the ‘run like an animal’ logo on the back, that all runners and some scroungers got!

6 121 00:33:53 Paul O’Connell
43 211 00:40:03 Rachael Morgan
57 103 00:41:17 Kathleen O ‘Callaghan
61 209 00:41:25 Mary Finn
99 130 00:45:20 Louise Bruton
128 204 00:48:06 Susan Mc Donnell

I’m fairly sure i missed two people from the list, please let me know if so and i’ll update.

People ‘drafting’ behind mary finn

As if to motivate runners for the Longford marathon and half marathon Tony Mangan was breaking the world record in the registration hall for the longest run on a threadmill in 48 hours. He covered 251 miles and then went on to run in the marathon.

Runners where to need of this motivation as the half marathon course was changed from last year and although it can’t be described as hilly it certainly wasn’t flat with the men’s winning time 3 minutes slower then last year. We where treated to a nice cooling shower (or downpour) for the first couple of miles and then the sun came out for most of the race but there where plenty of water stations and locals giving out water along the route.

Although it was a challenging course Lucy D’Arcy came home in first place with a 20 second lead to claim her first Longford half marathon win, Mary Finn also claimed the 6th place prize with Orla Jordan a top ten finisher.

19 – 2641 – 01:21:08 – Michael Cunningham
1 – 2326 – 01:23:14 – Lucy D’Arcy
6 – 2580 – 01:30:23 – Mary Finn
10 – 2214 – 01:35:29 – Orla Jordan
144 – 2353 – 01:39:30 – Eoin O’Brien
30 – 2380 – 01:43:52 – Anne Jordan
186 – 2553 – 01:44:56 – Ray Carpenter
37 – 2198 – 01:45:00 – Louise Bruton

Thanks to Michael for the report. If people have any photo’s please forward them on.

We have approx 40 travelling to Kilmore for the 10K road race on Sat 13th Sept. Please see below for info on the weekend.

Race:
The race begins at 17:30 on Saturday 13th Sept in Kilmore Village, which is located 3 miles from our Accommadation in Kilmore Quay. It is a 10K race around country roads on a flat course. Similar to Ballycotton without the hills, for those that have done Ballycotton. Registration is 10Euro on the day – No pre entry.
It is is the 75th Anniversary of the race…see www.kilmoreathletics.com

Accommadation:
We have block booked a small hotel and guesthouse alongside each other in Kilmore Quay.
Names: Saltees Hotel and Quay House Guesthouse.
Cost is 55 Euro PPS for hotel and 40 Euro PPS for Guesthouse on a B&B basis.

PLEASE NOTE:
As we have block booked, the bookings have had to be guaranteed by Credit Card with deposit paid. The guesthouse has been covered on Rachel’s Credit Card and the hotel is covered on Dermot’s for ALL rooms. In this respect, thank you to those that have paid to confirm their places, but can other’s please pass on payment so that we can fully confirm numbers prior to Friday 30th August.
Thank you in advance for cooperation…

Anyone else interested???
For anyone else interested in traveling, there is a small amount of accom available.
But if full, we will always attempt to arrange accom in B&B or other closeby.
EVERYONE is welcome.

Directions:
Best way is to get on the M50 Southbound and follow Wexford/Rosslare Road.
Road is dual carriageway/motorway until past Gorey.
Follow onwards to Enniscorthy and again to Wexford.
When arriving at Wexford, you do not have to go into the town.
Follow signs for Rosslare going straight thru 2 roundabouts (Marked New Ross/Cork and Duncannon) and take last exit at 3rd roundabout onto Rosslare Road.
After approx 2K, take the right hand turn signposted Kilmore Quay (R739)
Pass thru Kilmore village after approx 12K and follow road onto Kilmore Quay about 3KM further on.
Hotel is on right and guesthouse on left as entering the village.
Depending on traffic, Wexford is about 1 hour 20 minutes and Kilmore Quay a further 20 minutes.

Travel on the day.
We are going to try and car pool as much as possible. So far, to make the most of the day, there are 3 cars leaving from Rathfarnham Shopping Centre at 9.15. Meeting in the Swiss Deli in the upstairs of the shopping centre at 9AM for coffee!. If people are interested in travelling at this time as either a passenger or if you can drive, please contact Dermot.

Kilmore Quay – Food & drinks after the race.
As well as being the only pub in the village (other than hotel), Kehoe’s does very good food. We have booked a small room that they have upstairs that holds approx 17 people. Closer to the time we can look at staggering people heading in here for whoever wants food rather than beer!. Food is also served downstairs but the pub may be busy as it is the Saturday night. Alternatively there is a resteraunt in the hotel and also a good place called the Silver Fox in the village. We can arrange closer to the time depending on what people want to do. There was a local “DISCO” in the hotel, but we’ll need to find out if it’s still open for those that want to get the extra bit of exercise on the dance floor.

During the day, the Stella Maris (just down from the church) is the local community centre. While it may not look much from the outside, it does very good food and very nice home made deserts which are all very reasonably priced when compared to Dublin prices.

Sunday Run.
For those wishing to go on a Sunday run, just waiting for word back from local club members in Kilmore as to a good route. As the tide will be out on the morning, the run will hopefully incorporate a few miles on the local beaches….what more could you ask for??

Sunday
Depending on interest and weather on the day, boat trip(s) can be organised to see the bird sanctuary on the Saltee Islands. It is a spectacular sight with different types of birds and sea life…expecially a big colony of seals and with a bit of luck some Dolphins. Trip is approx 1.25 hours and will probably cost around 15 euro… If anyone interested, please let Dermot know to get an idea of numbers before enquiring. Boat(s) take 12 people max.

That’s about it for now…further update will be sent out closer to the time.
Any queries, please contact Dermot/Rachel at club on Tuesday/Thursday or by email.

This info will be posted on the Sportsworld blog page, but please feel free to pass it on to anyone that hasn’t received it.

Thanks.

Following is revised running order of the races so hopefully won’t be too much hanging around for people on the night !!

Date                         :        Wednesday 27th August 2008
Venue                        :        Irishtown Stadium, Ringsend
Registration                :        From 5.30pm to 7.15pm only
Entry Fee                :        €5 for current BHAA Members, €10 for Non-Members.
Race Times                :        First Race 7.30pm Sharp
Distance                :        2 Miles on the track – 8 laps plus about 18 Metres.
Refreshments/Prizes        :        After track races.

The format: There will be 5 Races as shown on the list below although this may change on the night depending on numbers as races may have to be split or combined . The race in which you should run will be based on your current BHAA standard, which all members have.  A handicap system similar to that used in the recent Irish Life & Permanent Races will apply to Races 1, 2, 3 & 4 with prizes for first past the post and for 1st, 2nd and 3rd after handicap adjustment (although slightly longer than the 3,000 metre races, the handicap adjustment will remain at 4 seconds x 3 Kilometres per unit of BHAA Standard). For example if your standard is 13 (4 x 3 x 13 = 156 Seconds) and you run the 2 miles in 11.50 your handicap adjusted time will be 9.14, 11.50 less 156 seconds.  

Race 1                Mens Standards 14 – 17

Race 2                Mens Standards 11 – 13 and Ladies Standards 2 – 16.

Race 3                Mens Standards 2 – 10.

Race 4                Mens Standards 18 – 30 and Ladies Standards 17 – 30.

Race 5                Open Race – mixed – no handicaps in this race which is for all non-current 2008 BHAA Members

Kevin English and his colleagues from the specialist running shop Runways will be in attendance in the registration area and on track to give advice on all running related matters and in particular running spikes.          

Overflow parking will be available in Clanna Gael Fontenoy GAA Club.
     

Stephen Willoughby
PH.        +353 1 6091225
Fax        +353 1 6688709
E Mail  stephen.willoughby1@zurich.com

Congratualations to all Sportsworld runners who competed in todays race. Lucky the rain held off until the end of the event. The ladies won the team race and are now 2008 dublin 10 mile champions. The men’s team finished in 4th, but i’m still waiting for the complete results since i think it was very close for 3rd.

19 Paul O’Connell (No. 1273) MS 16 00:56:25 00:56:30
27 Edward Mcentee (No. 156) M40 3 00:56:59 00:57:03
47 Michael Cunningham (No. 3004) MS 26 00:59:04 00:59:09
77 Paul Duffy (No. 2435) MS 39 01:01:49 01:01:53
165 Jakub Splawski (No. 682) MS 84 01:05:26 01:05:39
291 Edel Madigan (No. 3386) FS 16 01:09:59 01:10:21
341 Orla Jordan (No. 127) FS 22 01:11:10 01:11:46
360 Sean Sweeney (No. 2189) M45 23 01:11:57 01:12:10
362 Colin Mccarthy (No. 2612) MS 173 01:12:01 01:12:14
363 Eoin O’Brien (No. 3223) MS 174 01:12:01 01:12:14
384 Keith Fortune (No. 415) MS 184 01:11:56 01:12:34
389 Stephen Willoughby (No. 943) M40 46 01:12:27 01:12:40
505 Catherine O’ Neill (No. 1182) FS 41 01:14:28 01:14:45
829 Ray Carpenter (No. 1615) M50 21 01:19:46 01:20:00
877 Louise Bruton (No. 58) F35 21 01:20:10 01:20:46
1048 Aileen Melody (No. 2874) F45 12 01:22:45 01:23:21
2079 Laurence Delair (No. 2191) M35 322 01:38:07 01:39:24

Let me know if I missed any names from the list above. The full results are here.