Leinster Novice & Master race – 26th October 2008

The 26th October saw the annual meeting of the Leinster Novice & Master races in Avondale, Rathdrum Co. Wicklow & gave the chance for the up & coming sportsworld stars a chance to shine. The race was held in the scene grounds of Avondale house in weather of all seasons & there were some fantastic performances put in by all of sportsworld runners especially Crona Brady & Ronan Merrick.

First race of interest to sportsworld was the novice Women of Crona Brady, Stephanie, Ciara Foster, Susan McDonnell & Claire O’ Reilly. The girls ran particularly well & were unlucky to miss out on the medals by 3 points. Susan, Ciara & Stephanie were together through out most of the 3K course & worked great as a team to finish 14th, 26th & 28th overall. However Crona stole the show to claim 5th place & based on this performance it will not be long till she will be running along side her sister in future races to come.

Next up the Novice Men were given there chance to shine. The race was 3 laps of a 2km course incorporating in what can only be described as a very steep hill that seem to go on forever. This hill will give me nightmare of years to come & most who saw it were left speechless by its length & steepness. However Ronan Merrick marked his come back to form with an outstanding 11th place. Ronan went to the front of the race early on & held his place with the leaders for one lap before dropping back a few places. Michael Cunningham also ran well & marched on to claim 21st spot overall. Michael is also coming back from injury & was delighted with his placing. Other notable performances were Paul Mitchell & James Shanahan who finished 44th & 45th respectively. Sportsworld claimed 6th overall in the team competition.

The masters women was the last race of interest to sportsworld. The girls ran really well & claimed 2nd spot with 22 points overall. Rachel Morgan ran a steady race to claim 5th place not to far behind Pauline Curley who won the race for Tullamore Harriers. Helen White & Kathleen O’ Callaghan completed the team & finished 7th & 10th overall. Well done to all who ran 🙂

Race report by Paul Duffy.

In the Gerry Farnan cross country race at a windswept Phoenix Park, Sportsworld competitors embraced the very difficult conditions to turn out some heroic performances. As the race serves as a trial for the annual veterans (IMAA) Celtic 4 Nations cross country international (to be held in Wales this year), seniors and juniors really just compete for personal pride. For many veterans it serves as the target race of the cross country season with athletes traveling from all corners of the island.

In 30 mph winds (though a dry course with nice autumn sun), the girls were first to face the music. Won easily by Wicklow’s Olympian the class Fionnuala Britton, Aoife Brady & Eimear Martin were a brilliant 12th & 20th respectively. Both athletes have improved massively this year, with the former’s strong work ethic of 70 mile weeks combined with a full time job giving her immense strength. Both ought to be very proud
However Carol Lynch and Helen White were the biggest success story for the girls as Carols 3rd place in W60 and Helens 4th place in W40 means that they are on the trip to Wales. Well done Carol and Helen.

The men’s race was equally tough but Mullingar’s Mark Christie made easy work of it winning the 5 mile cross country in 25.12. However the day belongs to Ed McEntee who battled all the way to secure a place on the M40 Ireland team. To the best of the author’s knowledge it’s the 1st time a man from our club has earned a green vest in any event. What makes the performance so much better is that like Jakub Splawski, he runs the Dublin Marathon next week. This would have been on the back of Ed’s mind throughout the race. Indeed there were other quality veterans watching the event that didn’t race it because of the marathon next week. Well done again Ed, you’ve done your club proud.
Other senior males that also ran were Packie Enright, Paul Duffy, Jakub Splawski & James Shanahan. All put in decent displays and the event will stand to them for the upcoming Dublin Senior and National Novice cross country races before Christmas.

Race report by
Packie Macionnrachtaigh
Place

Name

Club

Time

Category
1

Mark Christie

Mullingar Harriers

25.12

Senior
1 (18)

Mick Traynor

Raheny Shamrocks

26:57

O/40
2 (39)

Tommy McElwain

SBR

28.15

O/40
3 (55)

Ed McEntee

Sportsworld

29:20

O/40
56

Packie Macionnrachtaigh

Sportsworld

29:26

Senior
79

Paul Duffy

Sportsworld

31:23

Senior
96

Jakub Splawski

Sportsworld

34:28

Senior
104

James Shanahan

Sportsworld

36:53

Senior

Gerry Farnan results 2008
Men 5m

Gerry Farnan results 2008
Women 3m
Place

Name

Club

Time

Category
1

Fionnuala Britton

Sli Cualann

16:56

Senior
12

Aoife Brady

Sportsworld

18:06

Senior
1 (17)

Mary Hanley

Na Fianna

18:24

O/40
20

Eimear Martin

Sportsworld

18:38

Senior
2 (22)

Carmel Crowley

Bandon AC

18:50

O/40
3 (25)

Orla Gormley

Raheny Shamrocks

19:23

O/40
4 (27)

Helen White

Sportsworld

19:33

O/40
1 (51)

Joan Coyle

DSD AC

22:33

O/60
2 (53)

Evelyn McNelis

Naas A.C.

23:04

O/60
3 (55)

Carol Lynch

Sportsworld

24:42

O/60

Dublin Junior/Intermediate Cross Country 2008
Tymon Park
12/10/08

To start off we had the only junior member of Sportsworld racing for us. And boy did he do us proud. Sean Wall ran under 17/18/19 and had a great run. He finished in 3rd place overall.
Well done Sean.

Next we had our ladys Intermediate race 4k. The leading group pulled away very quickly in the early part of the race. Two of our girls Adele and Crona went with them. Adele moved up to second place and fought very hard and finished in 3rd place, Crona was the next home in 7th place followed by Ciara Foster and Claire O’Reilly (who are not long back in training) Our girls had a great run and brought a bronze medal home. Well Done.

To finish off we had Mens Intermediate race 8K. This race was highly highly competive. Our lads did very well. First home was Ronan Merrick, following by Jacob Splawski and Hugh Kearney.

Well Done to all.

Race Report by
Orlagh Fleming

Congratulations to Sportsworld Runners

Aoife Brady 7th / Lucy Darcy 9th in the Senior race.
And Carol Lynch 2nd >in the o/60 category.
In todays Rathfarnham WSAF 5k Road Race.
Race report by
Paddy Lynch

There were strong runs by all our members in sundays Dublin Novice Cross Country race. The sportsworlds ladies team got the bronze medal, with the men’s team finishing 8th, the full results are here

Two sets of photo’s for you all

Dublin Novice Cross Country 2008

Dublin Novice Cross Country 08

And video!!

The girls start. The loudest starting gun ever, “and can people please keep the course clear”.

The men’s start

And the finish (thanks to jakub for providing the pedal power)

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.