By AnnMarie Clyne

A sunny morning last Sunday saw over 7 running clubs represented at Sportsworld HQ for the inaugural prize-giving of the meet and train women only league.  We had been asked to host the event before we knew we were ultimate winners of the Diamond league so it was fitting it was happening on our own home ground. The event coincided with International Women’s Day but as one renowned sports journalist in attendance told me that morning – every day is women’s day!I  Now you know lads!! 

We started the morning with a fun run around Bushy Park on the old fartlek lap.  As we are an all-inclusive club our chairman Michael led the group out.  This was a social run so we had great chats along the way with many of our visitors delighted to have a run about in a new park.   As the route is out of bounds to us on our summer sessions it was interesting to hear some club members talk about discovering new areas in Bushy Park.   It was great to see all clubs wear their club vests but we did get funny looks from the park ranger who I’m sure thought we were doing a race without a permit!  

After 30 minutes we were back in the clubhouse for a range of home baked treats that was up there with the standard of our annual cake sale.  The spread was amazing!   I have had a number of emails since thanking us for hosting the event and I’ve no doubt that it will form part of the prize-giving ceremony going forward.  Thanks to everyone who helped out on the morning, Emily, Aileen & Michael, Val & Ann on teas/ coffees, to all the bakers and suppliers of treats and to DJ Anthony Gillen who provided the sounds on the decks /microphone.  Thanks also to all Sportsworld runners who helped out our visitors on the day, stopping with them when they struggled and helping others to navigate the route.   No doubt I have forgotten to thank someone so please don’t be offended……Peter Knaggs has me on a writer’s deadline and I’m knee deep in Coronavirus crisis management in work!!

In wrapping up, congratulations are due to every single participant but especially Team A and Team E coming first and second in their respective categories.   Congratulations also to Lorna Quinn who was awarded second overall lady.   We had six teams entered in the league, the largest club representation overall.   A shout out should be extended to our new club members who gave meet and train a try out with the promise that it would be great fun ….I was told the same when I signed up but we all know fun is not exactly what we would call it!!   For some reason though we get sucked in every year and I know they will too.   There is something about special about this event, it could be down to the new friendships formed, perhaps its the team spirit as it is not about one individual or the fastest runner or maybe it is the big spread afterwards but one thing is for sure, we’ll be back again in November!

By Grainne Lynch

Some pictures by Peter Mooney

Second time lucky I thought when I signed up for the Bohermeen Spring Half Marathon. I had to skip it last year due to injury. My training this year was going great until the beginning of February when yet again my hip let me down accompanied this time by a bit of plantar. 10 days off running and then lowering my mileage considerably meant training was not ideal but I was just delighted to make the start line!

I travelled down with Martin and Karl, Martin kindly driving us down.  The lads chatted about race times and strategies but I was more concerned about my impending trip to India being cancelled by an outbreak of the Corona Virus so I produced a massive bottle of hand sanitiser that I forced the lads to use as well – I did consider masks but figured that might be pushing it! Parking facilities consisted of a massive, mucky, swampy field. Martin grumbled that his car was built for a race track not a mucky field. There were a few cars wheel spinning trying to get parked and as the field proceeded to get muckier there is good chance they are still there trying to get out. That is exactly where my car would be had I driven so I appreciated the lift!

Once in the hall familiar Sportsworld faces began to appear. In a panic I managed to get one photo (Peter Knaggs messaged me the day before telling me not to bother coming back without a photo and a race report). I did a quick warm up with Jess, David and James on the track where we met Laura Kenny anxiously looking around. She told us her aim was not to be last in the entire race (needless to say she was nowhere near last)! 11.05 and we were off. Emmet sailed by me within the first minutes. I shouted after him to keep me some soup and sandwiches after to which he replied “I can’t promise anything”. True to his word he kept me nothing! I settled in with a little group and we kept a steady pace until the14th KM where my lack of long runs showed and I started to struggle despite their words of encouragement to keep with them. I fell behind a bit but managed to keep them in my sights. I stumbled across the finish line in a time of 1:44:45 delighted with life to break the 1:45. Not a PB but less than a minute off it.

The course itself consists of 2 loops, one big and a slightly smaller one on winding country roads with some rolling hills. We were treated to a hail shower in the middle which whipped up a wind. Poor Karl was on the hill with the wind in his face for this. Luckily for me I was a lot slower and on a nice flat part with the wind behind me.

There was a great spread of soup, sandwiches and cakes afterwards and of coarse the goodie bag consisting of a potato and a packet of Tayto (only in Ireland would you get a spud in a goodie bag).

Karl Chatterton led home for Sportsworld in an impressive time of 1:19:36 – nabbing himself a 10sec P.B

Jess Kennedy was the first Sportsworld girl home with a super time of 1:37:49. Great running from Jess considering she was hoping to break 1:45!

Well done to everyone who ran!

Karl Chatterton                    1:19:36 (a PB!)

Martin Doyle                        1:23:15

Brendan Keogh                    1:23:50

James Dawson                     1:30:54

David Kennedy                     1:33:13

Jess Kennedy                       1:37:49

Emmet Wardell                    1:38:28

Crona Clohisey                     1:40:18

Grainne Lynch                      1:44:45

Laura Kenny                         2:08:26

By Karol Cronin

While the rest of the country was bracing itself for Storm Jorge, Dublin was treated to a cold but bright, sunny day. There were concerns that the race would be postponed (again) but common sense prevailed as the 6k race got off promptly from Ticknock Car Park with around 150 runners.

The race started up a steady stone road and levelled off passing a set of mountain bikers cheering us on. The course turned up a trail to it’s first small climb where we followed the yellow and red tape markers attached to branches that showed you which way to run. I pushed out in front early with two other runners following behind, trying politely to overtake walkers and dogs on narrow gaps through the trail.

The first technical part came early where we turned off left from the trail and climbed up a steep gap through the forest. In heavy rain this would be like a overflow for water coming down the mountain. The ground was rough and mucky with pools of water all around.

Out of the forest, the course followed the Wicklow Way for a brief spell and then took a sharp left skirting along the outside of the forest and running on a trail of shiny quartz rock and pools of water. All the time you are focused on finding best place to plant your foot on and keeping a good rhythm. 

When we reached the first phone mast the course began a descent and the ground became muckier as the race went downhill through a pine forest. At this stage I had made a bit of a gap from the other runners. Leaving the forest, there was a sharp left which brought you on to some welcome flat and muddy ground. To your right there were great views of Dun Laoghaire as you skirted along the other side of the mountain. 

The course then went briefly on to a paved road which I thought was going to bring us to the finish line. But we ended up back on a trail that brought us around Three Rock and the other phone masts. There were a few testing ups and downs as I could feel my legs begin to get tired trying to dig into the soft mud and avoiding more pools of water.

Finally, the trail took a final descent to the finish area where you could empty the tank as the the ground was quite hard. I finished in 24min 40sec in first place with a bit of breathing space. It is a really great course to do as it is relatively short and has a good variety of ground you run on and technical parts to test you. Plus the weather was super which makes any race better.

Well done to the organizers who made a great course and marked it out very well and to all the runners who competed. There is also such a nice atmosphere at these races Thanks to Peter Knaggs for volunteering and all his shouts of support. There was tea and sandwiches back in Taylors Three Rock for all the runners before Storm Jorge arrived to Dublin.

Report by Andrew Brett

As the old proverb says “March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb”. So it seems anyway.

After the arrivals of Brendan, Ciara & Dennis in February it was the turn of Jorge try his hand with the running Gods as we entered March. Perfectly timed to strike just in time for the inaugural Naas 10 mile race which took place on March 1^st.

The last few weeks I have stepped up training a bit in advance of the Rotterdam Marathon which is due to take place in a month’s time. Between the 3 aforementioned storms of February and the ongoing will it / won’t it debate over whether the event will actually take place due to the Coronavirus concerns, I have wondered aloud many a time as to whether I’m mad in persisting with the training. As most people who are in the running community know we’re all a little bit mad so bearing that in mind I put my name down for the Naas 10 mile in an effort to see where I was at fitness wise and to see if all the character building long runs in the storms were working or not!

The race itself sold out with 800 entries. Knowing this in advance I set off early so that I could ensure a decent parking spot. Naas is actually really close to Dublin and from Rathfarnham to the start line was barely 25 minutes. It was nice to see a friendly face down there in the form of Sadanand, who is currently putting himself through the paces for the Zurich Marathon at the end of April, so we did a quick warm up and readied ourselves for the start.

There was a really relaxed atmosphere at the start line with everyone chatting away and in good spirits. It looked like we had dodged the worst of the weather as the sun was shining as the gun went off and it appeared that wind would be the only element that we would have to deal with. That was nice of Jorge to lull us into a false sense of security. He’s good like that.

The route itself is fairly unremarkable. It starts off with an out and back section on a footpath / cycle lane for the first 4 miles or so and this is followed by a 3 mile loop that you complete twice. The out and back section was very exposed so the first 2 miles were straight into a headwind before we got reprieve at the turn. The looped section was more enjoyable with a stretch down by the canal which was quite nice. There was a water station here too which we ran by twice. The 2^nd loop was quite congested as you were passing plenty of runners who were still on their first lap and it was quite narrow in places. Jorge made an appearance after about 7 miles with a huge downpour of hailstones & sleet which lasted until the finish. In like a lion and all that. All in all though it was well organised and to the credit of the team who were in charge they were very quick to look for feedback off the runners after the race so that they could make improvements to future editions. There was a good spread of cakes after and no shortage of coffee to help warm us back up.

The race itself was won by a local runner Sean Doyle in an excellent time of 52.09 especially given the conditions. Brian Leahy of Raheny came 2^nd in a time of 55.29 and yours truly was 3^rd in 56.23. Well done as well to Sadanand who finished 6^th in a PB time of 58.26. The women’s race was won by Edel Gaffney in 1.03.25 with Sinead Tighe from Brothers Pearse coming home 2^nd in 1.09.35 & Dunleer’s Siobhan Hanratty finishing 3^rd in 1.10.24.

All in all the trip to Naas was worthwhile and was a much needed blowout on the roads. Whether Rotterdam goes ahead or not is out of our control and whilst it’s seeming more and more likely that it will get cancelled the plan now is to just train as normal and see what happens. Worst case scenario the fitness will be banked and can be put towards another race later in the year when hopefully the threat of the coronavirus will have subsided. Here’s to the rest of March, hopefully out like a lamb!

Report by Conor Keating, photos by Peter Knaggs

With all the storms we are having at the moment I reckon that The Great Outdoors’ sales are doing well but I think a lot of people are thinking the opposite in general – treadmill (aka deadmill) runs have become more frequent on Strava even amongst hardcore runners.

For me and a few other Sportsworld runners, we found the great indoors in the fabulous National Indoor arena in Abbotstown competing in the National Indoor Arena (NIA) Live meetings, during the last few months, and the Leinster Indoor Championships last Saturday.

NIA Live, is a 6 meet series, running from November to February and encompasses all indoor distances from 60 to 3000m. The races are also a good opportunity to do speed work, in spikes, for the last few XC races of the season – saying that when I did the 3000m at NIA live in January 2018 probably did help me that much for that XC ‘race that people still talk about’ in Clarinbridge 2 weeks later.

Back to 2020 I competed in 3000m in NIA Live, on 27th January, and I was happy with my time of 10mins 10 secs – 27 seconds faster than my time in January 2018 and 11 seconds faster than my outdoor 3000m PB. You’re never 100% sure what the standard of the race will be in NIA Live but I was fortunate that there were a few people just ahead of me that night which pushed me onto a good time.

With that confidence boaster, and on the premise that the best athletes in the country will be saving themselves for the National Championships the week after, I decided to enter the Leinster Indoor Championship 3000m.

A quick look at the entry list debunked my aforementioned assumption as of the 7 senior athletes entered, 2 were also down to do the National Indoor 3000m the following weekend. There were 34 entries into the 3000m (between junior/senior/masters) and not many had their PB next to their name but of the ones that did most were a bit intimating ‘ A junior with a PB of 8.22…must be a typo…quick Google search..no that is correct. The timetable said that all men, competing in the 3000m, were going to be in the same race but I thought that that would be unlikely as 30 plus on a 200m track seemd a bit too much – so I wasn’t sure, up to race day, if the senior race was going to be grouped with the juniors or the masters. Marting, Nevan, Elaine and Peter were also entered in the Championships. I considered asking Martin for a lift but his first race (1500m) was scheduled for 11:30pm while my race was 3:30 so it was a bit early for me. Martin ran a great race to pick up a silver medal, being his first medal of the day… Peter was also in the same race and ran a fantastic 5.10 to pick up the bronze medal. Peter told me that he only started doing Indoor races this year and he shown great progress over the races – running 5.49 for the mile in NIA Live on 11th February, 5.41 for the mile in NIA Live on 18th February and then another improvement in the Leinster Indoors – well done to Peter and a fully deserved medal!

Also earlier in the day Nevan ran a great PB of 9.07 for the 60m.

Having got the bus I arrived just before 2pm and literally one of the first things I saw was Elaine lining up on the blocks for the 200m sprints where she ran an impressive 29.03. Elaine now holds both the outdoor and indoor club record for the 200m.

Just past 4pm it was Martin’s second race/medal of the day, and he went one better picking up a Gold Medal in the 800m! Also doubling up was Nevan who ran a solid 30 secs for the 200m. 

Shortly after it was my turn and the 6 senior athletes were grouped in the same race as the 10 young whipper snappers. I was just looking to run my own race and try to improve on my time of a few weeks ago. The pace was fast, and I tried not to get sucked into it too much and just try to run a consistent pace based on my ability. I reached 1200m in 3.55 (It was 4 mins exactly when I set my PB a few weeks before) so I knew if I kept it together I could set a new PB. Thankfully there was a few people around me, and on the same lap, who I could work with and I just about held it together to finish in 10.06 – 5th out of 6 in the senior category and 13th out of 16 in the race overall. I did get lapped 3 times, by the 3 standout people in the race, but was happy to hold my own otherwise and pass a few people in the last few laps which indicated I paced it fairly well.

The final Sportsworld competitor of the day was Elaine in the 400m, roughly about 3 hrs after her 200m. Arguably the best was saved till last as Elaine flew 2 laps of the track to take gold in 64 secs.

A great day out with my clubmates and well done to Martin, Peter and Elaine on taking home some bling.

Thanks to Martin, as well, for staying around to give me and Elaine a lift home.

The next day I was in Phoenix Park for the Sunday Long Run, and everyone who was there will concur that it was a case of slipping/sliding and trying your best not to fall over.

Hopefully the weather will improve as spring comes and I am looking forward to the outdoor graded season starting at the end of April. The races are every second Wednesday night and I hope to improve on my times from previous years. The races are really well organised and there is an A,B,C and D grade races. With club track training starting at the end of next month it’s also a chance to translate that training into a race (and get some sneaky practice in for the club track championship). Not to long till spring/summer now I promise. 

Better late than never. After some gentle reminders and a two-week delay to get my story straight here is the race report for the John Treacy Dungarvan 10 Mile.

This race is held in honour of one of Ireland’s greatest athletes and more lately CEO of the Irish Sports Council, Waterford native John Treacy. His greatest achievement is a silver medal in the marathon at the 1984 Olympics. He still holds the Irish marathon record with a 2:11.23 in Tokyo in 1990. (He did run 2:09.15 in Boston, but Boston doesn’t count for official records due to its point to point course)

After reading the race report from last year were a number of Sportsworlders travelled down I decided to give it a go even though it was only a week after the Raheny 5 Mile. The race is always a sell-out and this year was no different with the 3200 entries being snapped up in record time.

After a 2-hour drive, a quick warm-up with Diarmuid and a catch up with the other Sportsworlders and Damien Geraghty formerly of this parish, we all made our way to the start area where there was a great atmosphere. The weather was fine temperature-wise but as has been the norm lately there was a strong breeze.

Before we knew it we were off. The course starts with a small loop in the village and then you are off into the countryside. The course is a big loop on country roads with only one really sharp turn at about halfway. After a flat start of about 2km, there is a steady climb for about 2km followed by a sharp downhill. This I felt was the pattern of the course with gradual climbs followed by steep downhills. After about 10km there is a flat section of about 3km before the last climb before the welcome descent back into the village for the finish.

As for my race, I felt great for the first half and was on pace for my target but in the second half, I felt the previous weeks race and dropped a little off the pace but was still very happy with my finish time.

There were some great performances from Sportsworlders led home by Martin Doyle for the men and a brilliant performance by Andrea to place 10th lady. The race itself was won by Mick Clohisey in a course record of 48.15 and the first lady was Aoife Cook in 54.22.

After the race, there is a brilliant spread in the sports hall where I stuffed my face with sandwiches and crisps. Also a special mention to the race t-shirt which is sponsored by Nike. I’d recommend this race to everyone even with the long drive.

Ladies Report by Jessica Kennedy

Sportsworld athletes drove into Avondale House, silently preparing their defence for a race commandeered by vicious Storm Ciara. It didn’t take long, however, for the news to travel between the runners that there may be an unpleasant surprise awaiting them on the course. ‘Kill Hill’ some were heard calling it, or ‘The Mountain’ others were heard lamenting. The athletes began calculating the number of hill sessions they had completed throughout the season, praying they had done enough. It was safe to say no one was worried about any storm.

Although some of us had to climb the hill a few more times than we’d have liked, the consensus was that the course wasn’t too bad. Having just come back from a little break I was quite pleased with my run. The Intermediate girls pulled it off again to win a team silver and a Dublin gold. Leading us home with a brilliant fourth place finish was Lisa Madden and Ciara Brady following with a superb eleventh position. Making the silver medal possible were Nicola Lenehan and Louise Jackman. I’d love to say we all looked great as we fought for our positions but Peter Knaggs was standing at the top of the hill taking candid photos of everyone as we tackled the incline.

Bounding up the hill without any bother to him was Karol Cronin who finished fifth overall in the men’s Masters. Why did he have to make it look so easy? We won’t forget Jean Wilson who lead her team in the women’s Masters and Conor McCarthy leading home the Intermediate men’s team.

Coffee, sandwiches and enthusiastic chatter for next year’s x-country were postponed as the runners packed into their cars and joined a convoy out to the M11. Apart from including more hill sessions into their future training, all anyone could think of was a cup of tea and a hot shower.

Well done to everyone!

Men’s Report by Brian Conway

Few cross country races are as challenging or as tough as Avondale. The hill whose length is matched by its steepness. The downslopes that are deep and hard to gain a foothold. The uphill section to the finish.

For all that, the course was a very pleasant one to run. The twists and turns seemed to make it shorter than it was. The flat sections allowed you to recover from the hillier ones. The relative narrowness of the course made it more spectator friendly.

As we were lining up for the start, I heard someone say “this is the national cross country”. Even so, it didn’t really feel much different to the start of any other cross-country race except that it was difficult early on to find enough space to run freely among all the other runners. Rarely have I seen as many Masters competitors in a single race.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a national event without being longer than the usual 6k distance. The 7k course involved one short lap and three longer ones. I think everybody felt it was a very testing one, even though the conditions were very favourable overall. While it was windy, there was no rain and it was not too cold.

The Sportsworld teams A and B put in excellent performances. The full results are available here: https://www.athleticsireland.ie/downloads/results/Masters_Mens_results.pdf Congratulations to all who finished out another cross-country season of races and visits to several interesting places around the country. Thanks to Emly and Myles for their time and effort travelling with the teams during the season and organising entries/numbers for all the races.

Report by Anne-Maria Scanlon

The BHAA, or Business Houses Athletics Association if you want the full mouthful, has been going for over 40 years. It’s a voluntary “workplace athletic organisation whose aim is to facilitate colleagues to run together” (www.bhaa.ie). Basically if you tell them where you work when you sign up, they’ll add you to a team of similar professionals – the big teams seem to the Teachers, Eir, Banks, ESB, HSE, Government Services…

Anyway, back to Saturday’s race.

It was a cold morning, almost baltic when the wind picked up (which of course it did). The hardest part of the event was battling the cold before and after the running!

I arrived in good time to the Garda Rowing Club for number pick-up, and then jogged up to the start near the Magazine Fort in Phoenix Park. There I met the lovely Carmel and Val (& Coco) for the obligatory self-doubt and pep talk to get us right up to the start line.

Then it was 3-2-1 and we were off.

Two miles, two laps (4 miles for the gents) starting on the flat, then into the rough grass, a delightful short downhill section with a sharp turn at the end to test out the spikes! Test passed and there was the first hill – a fairly steep one too, but I managed to dig in and get up with a bit of effort. At this point I wasn’t sure how the second attempt at this hill would go, but there was no point thinking about it now! The last hill on the first lap was a good short test of power. And then we’re off again into lap 2.

As predicted that first hill almost got the better of me on the second attempt. Thankfully there was Val on the side-lines shouting at me to push on, which instilled just the right amount of fear in me to do as I was told and push on up that hill. Which left just enough for a sprint to the finish line (as if my life depended on it for some reason… I mean Myles wasn’t even there!)

Once we ladies crossed the finish line, it was almost time for the Men’s Race, and a chance to give them a bit of support on their way round. I have to admit, after the men’s first lap, the biting cold and the promise of a hot cup of tea and a bun pulled me from towards the refreshments back at the Garda Rowing Club. Sorry gents!

Well done to Anthony, Peter, Brian and Conor for great running in the Men’s race (you all looked great in the first lap!)

This cross-country was quite similar to the Meet & Train races, so if any of you gentlemen are moaning at the lack of opportunity to try out some cross country then this is the race for you. Next BHAA XC is February 15^th in ALSAA Sports Complex Dublin Airport.

Ladies need to remember that the final Meet & Train is the following morning, so use ALSAA as an opportunity to hone your cheerleading skills!

Results:

Women 2 Mile

• 34 Anne-Maria Scanlon 17.08
• 45 Carmel Breen 17.57

Men 4 Mile

• 56 Anthony Gillen 27.26
• 59 Brian Conway 27.29
• 85 Peter Knaggs 28.55
• 139 Conor Kenny 34.09