Race reporters : Lorna Quinn (Women)  & Donagh Egan (Men)
At 12pm on Saturday May 4th, those who were available to fill places on the Novice and Masters teams for the Leinster Road Championships in Gowran, turned up in their fiery Sportsworld red and white, with small back-packs containing all the essentials for the day ahead. A nice dry day with a cool breeze. No rain, which is always a plus! A nice stop off at Applegreen before arriving at our destination gave us a hint of what treats we could enjoy post-race when we would once again descend upon this Applegreen. There was talk that Emily had a nice box of chocolates also, that may make an appearance after we all raced – This for me is the best part of the race day – the post-race tea and treat. We arrived in plenty of time to get our numbers, to catch our bearings and to appreciate the fine table of sweet treats Gowran AC had in store for all those gathering for this race day.

First up were the Masters Women running 3K. Lucy Darcy, Anna Delaney and Stephanie Bergin all took to the starting line with aplomb. All runners ran so well and looked in control and fighting fit as they gave it their all for two 1.5K laps of Gowran. This race is so fast and it is over before you know it! The support was fantastic and it was well stewarded throughout also.

Lucy Darcy, athlete extraordinaire, not only managed to work and keep the show on the road with this race, she also came home with a bronze medal in her age category! Congratulations Lucy!

This race was followed by the Master Men 6K race in which Sportsworld had nine athletes running. Karol Cronin and Eoin Fitzpatrick were on the winning Dublin team, Karol and Eoin were both second in their age categories and the Male 35+ Sportsworld team, consisting of Karol Cronin, Eoin Fitzpatrick, Gavin Finlay and Karl Chatterton were awarded bronze medals. Jangling all the way home with big beaming smiles! Liam Lenehan, Anthony Gillen, Paul MacGabhann, Adam Furlong and Karl Shevlin ran out of their skin coming in with very impressive times over a very fast and competitive 6K course. Congratulations.

After a fine display of grit and determination by all Sportsworld men in the Masters 6K race, the Novice Women were next for their 3K race. Taking to the start line were Elaine Kennedy, Katie Nugent, Emma Meade and Lorna Quinn. Judging by our expressions below, I think you’d be forgiven for thinking the pre-race butterflies and questions like ‘Why do I do this to myself?’ were ever present.

But soldier on we did. Buoyed on by our cheery race starter and Lucy’s encouraging supportive words at the start line, all thirty competitors packed tight and set off for the 3K race in style.Elaine and Katie set the pace for Sportsworld and kept a consistent strong pace throughout with both Emma and I not too far behind. All four of us kept one another within our sight. We all ran as hard as we could. 3K is over so quickly! It is a great race to test speed, stamina,endurance and strength. The small bottle of water at the end was most appreciated. Within minutes of the race ending, we learned that we were fourth club and county to cross the line in this race. We’ll take that!

Finally, it was our Novice Men. Donagh Egan, Ian Comerford, Donal Brennan and Stephen O’Donnell all carried the flag for Sportsworld, with all four runners completing 6K in very impressive fast times. Sportsworld Novice Men came fourth in the Club category. Congratulations! It is not an easy run, but it is an enjoyable run. The course is varied and interesting, and the swell of support when you run through the main race hub is very encouraging.

With all races complete, post mortems concluded and cool downs achieved, we made our way to Applegreen………where the promise of post-race treats did not disappoint. A mixture of fruit salads, wraps, teas, coffees, yoghurts and burgers filled the hungry gap, along with Emily’s box of promised chocolates. The top layer went VERY quickly!Home by 7pm. Another great day out for Sportsworld. Thank you Emily and Myles for your
continued support and encouragement always, and to Gowran AC for hosting this event. We’ll be back!

Race reporter: Donagh Egan

Leinster Novice and Masters Road Race Championships
The Leinster Novice and Masters Road Race Championships took place on Saturday afternoon, April 30th, in Gowran, a quaint town 15-minute drive from Kilkenny city. Typically scheduled for the May Bank Holiday Monday, the race was moved to Saturday afternoon this year to free up the bank holiday weekend for participants. As we made our way from Bushy Park at noon, we were grateful for this change, realizing that after exerting ourselves in the race, we could relax and relish the remainder of the bank holiday weekend.
We arrived in Gowran at 1.20pm, 3 hours before the start time, giving us plenty of time to soak in all Gowran has to offer. By 1.30pm, we had achieved this, visiting all three food establishments available. Our pit stop at Molly’s bakery for a toasted ham and cheese special was a highlight—fueling us for the race ahead.
Back at the community hall, the pre-race buzz was in full swing. The most underrated, yet crucial aspect of any race—good toilet facilities—was on point in Gowran. With that sorted, all that was left to do was focus on pacing ourselves around the 4 laps (1500m each) of Gowran town.
The race kicked off with a steep downhill, transitioning into a steady flat stretch, and then a
challenging uphill climb that looped back to the starting point. This varied terrain added interest to the race but also posed a pacing challenge. My advice is to resist the urge to push too hard on the downhill, use the downhill momentum on the flat sections, and conserve energy for the uphill climb.
It’s crucial to pace yourself for the first loop. Feeling exhausted after just one lap can be mentally draining, especially when you realize there are three more to go. Run within your limits at the start to ensure you have the stamina to push at the end.
Overall, I had a great time at this race. The 6km distance, though uncommon, allowed me to push myself at a 5km pace, giving me a good gauge for potential future personal bests at that distance.
The turnout was modest, but there were enough fellow runners to provide a competitive atmosphere. Running in the men’s novice team alongside Ian Comerford, Stephen O’Donnell, and Donal Brennan added an extra layer of motivation, which was instrumental in completing the four laps around Gowran.

Race Reporter: Cróna Clohisey

As I lined up for my second marathon in Limerick on Sunday, I kept telling myself with more training this time around, I’d definitely feel better than I did in Dublin last October.  I was wrong(ish). After the first mile, the familiar feeling of I’m going to be sick plagued me, continuing right up until about halfway.

I met my husband Mick at mile 3 on his bike, and he told me he had forgotten the salt tablets and extra gels and had to head back to the hotel. The panic on his face! “No need” I said, thinking I’m not going to finish.

But the old nagging feeling of all the hard work to get to the start line, and not least leaving my two kiddies back in the wonderful care of their grandparents, who had sacrificed their whole weekend to enable me to be here (and probably hadn’t had a wink of sleep!).

So on I plodded seeing Mick again at 10 miles (after said return to the hotel!) on the banks of the river Shannon having emerged from a tour of the UL campus and over the noisiest foot bridge known to man. To his absolute disbelief, I stopped again to assess the situation – I had dropped down slightly from my target pace to stop the retching and he urged me to keep going and to try to relax. By now the 3hr 15 pacers were gone out of sight ahead of me so when I reached halfway in 1:36:58 – I was rejuvenated.

Seeing my friends and running buddies Aileen and Lisa at 13 and 14.5 miles gave me such a lift and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed every step of the second half. Back in through the city centre, merging with the half marathoners gave the race an unbelievable atmosphere. The crowds of runners and spectators were infectious. Mick seemed to be everywhere on the bike- at times I wondered how he was weaving through the crowds as runners were meeting other runners coming the other way.

Out across the River Shannon again, past the Gaelic Grounds and I knew ‘the hill’ at 24 miles was coming. It didn’t disappoint but knowing the end was near, I just tried to use the inevitable downhill to get going again. At this stage the sun had been beating down on us for a good 3 hours and it was getting hot! Such a change from the wind and rain in training. The recovered salt tablets came in very handy in the end!

The run into the finish on O’Connell St was amazing. I enjoyed every second, crossing the line in a new PB of 3.13.09, slower than I had hoped but much faster than I expected earlier on in the day. I got a good few shouts of encouragement “Go Sportsworld” but given the part of the country we were in and the similar red and white, was confused for Galway City Harriers on more than one occasion!

Well done to all the Sportsworlders who ran.

Christmas seems a long time ago now but I still remember the unexpected gift of a 10 mile entry to Cobh in April. Some research on the race found the foreboding race logo ‘ Its hilly get over it’.

A continuing injury was preventing much training but the weekend trip away to Cork and Cobh was a good incentive to do some Cross Training. The race in picturesque Cobh is championed by one of Irelands Greatest runners Sonia O Sullivan. With Jarlath Regan teaming up with Sonia on his weekly podcasts this race was going to sell out will teams of runners from all over Ireland heading to the small historic town.

There is loads to see and do when arriving in Cork and thankfully storm Kathleen passed by without too much damage. A quick shopping, eating, sight seeing tour of Cork City and Cobh left not much to think about the race ahead. There was no ignoring the hills or the possible wind in the race. Best to concentrate on the course scenery and the chance to see Sonia during the race.

Four Sportsworlders lined up in the morning for the race. The race had several pacers for the race starting at 60minutes. The race starts at a community centre at the top of the town and finishes at the Sonia O Sullivan statue at the bottom of the town. Word of warning, its a tough walk from the finish line back to the start area to get to your car.

Gearoid Crowley set the pace with myself, Lorna and Tom running our own races. There were plenty of crowds out on the course and even an Ashling Murphy tribute band at mile 4.

The race was very well organised with water stops every 3 miles or so. The sun did come out and the water was needed. The race is through quiet country roads around Cobh and your not contending with traffic or busy junctions. Even with a sell out race you have plenty of space to set your own pace.

The course I think would be described as challenging. The downhills are steep so you don’t get much benefit and there are some long up hill drags.

Despite that I would have to recommend the race. If you want a fitness test or a challenging course for an upcoming half marathon then Cobh would be a good choice. The atmosphere is very good and the finisher’s cup harks back to the Ballycotton 10 mile cups. The race sells out a couple of months before the race date so if your looking for a trip away and a good 10 mile to train for then Cobh is a good bet.

Sunday March 10^th saw the latest running of the well-established Bohermeen half marathon in Co Meath.  I had heard a lot about this race over the years and despite plenty of talk, I had never actually run it before.  However, the race comes with a good reputation and so I put my name in the hat and signed up.  This was to be the last in a series of about 6 races over the course of 10 weeks so I was determined to give it a good shot.  The course itself is fast with few hills to worry about and a high-quality field to drag you along.

Both Garry Hobbert and Martin Doyle accompanied me in the car for the 45 min drive down to the venue.  As usual it was a pretty wet and miserable morning and but for the 2 guys in the car with me, there’s every possibility I would have arrived, had tea and left.  Eventually I dragged myself out onto the road for a good warm up in advance of the freezing cold and wet start.  There was a 7 minute delay in the 11am gun time so I used that window to think strategy.  I decided there and then to break the race into 5km chunks – just run 5km and see how you feel.  I was aiming for 4 min per km, so the math’s were simple.  I was pleasantly surprised to run the first 5km to schedule and then hit 10km at 40.01 and 15km at 60.06.  From there I was into the last 5km chunk so I ignored the watch and just focused on finishing strongly.

I was starting to hurt now, so it was just about keeping it moving and trying not to drop any time.  I was very pleased to finish in 1.24.37 (4.01 per km) for a 3 minute PB.  Post race the atmosphere was strange – very quickly runners started to feel the cold conditions and people dispersed.  Garry arrived at the finish area having been undone (pardon the pun) by a shoe lace which he could not properly fasten due to his fingers being frozen stiff – a stark indication of the conditions.

Also in Bohermeen flying the Sportsworld flag were Eileen Rowland and Catherine Gilmore – well done ladies.

Overall the race is one I would recommend and hope to get back there some day.

Full results:  Events-Events (myrunresults.com)

by Deirdre McGing

So, what made me want to run in circles for 50km?

I’m not entirely sure what prompted the idea but I was familiar with the Donadea 50K through my local Parkrun where a number of runners I know take part every year and rave about it. I had seen some videos as well and thought the atmosphere looked great. Ultimately, I decided that if I was ever going to do it then I was going to do it following on from the Dublin Marathon as I would have a lot of training done already and would just need to keep ticking over for another few weeks rather than starting from scratch. 

I completed the Dublin Marathon in October in a time of 3:39:00 and then took a full month off training to recover. I started back with the long runs in December which was hard with Christmas and work/social activities taking over. If I’m honest, I found the increasing mileage a bit of a burden. It didn’t help that the weather wasn’t great in December – dark, cold, wet & windy! However, once I got past New Year’s and the weather improved, I really started to enjoy the process. Donadea 50K famously comes with a 5 hour cut-off and my main focus was on making it to the finish on time. They do allow you to finish beyond 5 hours but they say the results will be wiped afterwards. I didn’t focus on time or pace – the goal was to complete it. Because of this, I focused on only one hard session a week and the rest was just building mileage. While I wasn’t going to be setting the world alight with fast times, it did mean I wasn’t that fatigued during training and I hoped that my recovery post-race would be relatively swift. I never doubted that I would complete the distance or that I wouldn’t make the cut-off but I did worry about the mental side of things. It is a looped course where each lap is normally 5km. Round and round and round… I wasn’t sure how my head was going to cope. Then, while spectating at the Raheny 5 Mile, someone I know told me they heard the course was waterlogged in one section and that it might not be 10 laps, but rather 15 or 16! I didn’t know what to think of that.

Race day rolled around on Feb 10th. The weather Gods were good to us and it was a dry day in Kildare. I rocked up on my own just over an hour before the start time and met the great Irene O’Connor in the line for the numbers. Irene runs marathons the way I run Parkruns – nearly every week, so 50K wasn’t going to worry her.  

After leaving my drinks & gels at the feeding station, I walked/jogged the kilometre or so to the startline. Knowing I was going to do ten parkruns back-to-back, I didn’t feel there was a need to add extra mileage. I wasn’t going to be challenging the leading women so I could afford to warm up during the first lap or two. At 10am we were off! I fell in with the 4:45 pacing group. That was going to mean a 5:42km for 50km. For context, I was running 5:11 for the marathon so I felt that I should be comfortable with the pace for quite some distance. The race consisted of a 1.058 run up towards the finish line and then 13 laps of 3.77km or so. This meant going through the finish area 14 times and remembering this was one of the hardest parts of the day. A guy I know from Parkrun got confused and missed a lap – imagine thinking you had done 50K but really you had only done a measly 46km? The shame! 

I got into a rhythm and relaxed after about 5km and it was nice to be with a group. As always, the group started out quite big and whittled down after a few laps but we maintained a core group right to the end. People have asked me if I found it really boring but honestly, I was so focused that I didn’t mind. A bit of chat here and there with other runners helped as well. 

A number of running clubs set up their tents after the feed stations and so each lap when we’d approach the finish area, we would have a good stretch of clubmates & families cheering everyone on. I wondered if I made a mistake telling my own family not to bother arriving until at least 1pm but I knew a lot of the crew from Blackrock AC through the Parkrun and they cheered me on each lap from the beginning until the end which was really uplifting. Eventually, as I approached the finish area for the 11th time, my support squad arrived.  

The interesting thing about running laps was knowing that I would be lapped several times by leading runners. I think I was lapped three times by the winning male & female and it was honestly quite cool (and slightly annoying) to see them ease by. Special mention has to go to Sorcha Loughnane from Donore Harriers who smashed the Irish National record and also set a world age best with her finish time of 3:18:04. She is a super athlete and a highly impressive individual. I didn’t see her at the end, probably because she was already at home with her feet up before I crossed the line. 

I felt fresh until around 40km and then it doesn’t matter what pace you’re running, you start to feel sore and heavy. I passed the marathon distance and entered the unknown. In training, I went to 36km on my longest run and I’ve done 4 marathons to date so when I went over that distance, it became a mental game to get to the end. I fell slightly off the back of the 4:45 group and the second last lap was really tough. It’s amazing what can happen though when you know you only have one lap left. I went from feeling terrible to inspired. After taking on drinks as I passed the finish area, I focused on reeling back in the pacers. They weren’t far in front of me and it gave me a focus. I caught the group with around 2km to go and following some final words of encouragement from the pacers, our little group pushed on. I knew once the pacers remained behind me that we were on for a sub 4:45 time. As we approached the final bend, a couple of us exchanged well wishes and then we made a final run for home. Approaching the finish line was a great feeling and the buzz around the place was amazing. I had actually picked up the pace so much on the last lap that my own mother didn’t see me coming through as she was busy chatting. My official chip time was 4:43:06. 

I was dutifully given my medal and then the best prize of all – a cold can of Coke! 

After cheering on the final runners, we headed off for coffee nearby and a post-mortem of the event. 

Overall, this was a very well-organised event with a super atmosphere. It is getting bigger and bigger every year as the organisers try to grow the interest in ultra running. I would highly recommend it to anyone mad enough to consider going beyond the marathon distance.

Will I be back? Never say never but for now I’m going back to the 5K.

Sunday February 4^th saw the latest iteration of the John Tracey Dungarvan 10 mile road race.  I had heard good things about this event over the years – a well organised event with a very nice t-shirt from a well known sports brand (no free advertising here).  There is also usually a high quality field which is nice to see.  I’m never sure how to race 10 milers as I find it a bit of a funny distance and there are not too many races at this distance – oddly enough Trim had its own 10 mile race on the same day which I found strange.  Having not mastered the art of being in two places at once I made up my mind and signed up to Dungarvan which is organised by West Waterford Athletic Club.

Poor forward planning meant I was on the road to Waterford on the morning of the race for an 11am start.  I found the drive long and would probably stay over the night before if I were to do it again.  Arriving in Dungarvan in good time, I was disappointed but not surprised to find a gusty but dry morning.  This event is indeed well organised and after a good warm up we were under way at 11am sharp.

Disappointingly, there was only 1 other Sportworld contender and that was Gareth Murran whom I spotted on the start line a few yards ahead of me.  The start of the race winds its way through Dungarvan town before heading out the main N25 and then turning off onto very pleasant boreens.  Racing is hard.  I felt I was working hard from the get-go and the wind certainly wasn’t helping.  I tried to tuck in with a group and let them take the wind for me, but I think everyone had the same idea.

The groups usually disintegrated quickly and you found yourself either dropped or moving ahead of people. Hitting half way I saw I was under 32 mins which put me on course to run my fastest ever 10 mile.  I had to work hard to run 32 mins for the first half so I was kind of dreading the 2^nd half. Will my splits fall off or can I keep this going?  This is where the mental side of the game comes into play.  I starting counting the kms down in my head.  Just 8 km to go Pádraig – keep at it.

Approaching 14km, Gareth appeared out of nowhere on my shoulder and had some welcome words of encouragement which I needed.  Approaching the finish I was doing some sums in my head.  I was confident now I would finish sub 64 min and realised maybe even sub 63 was possible.  Alas it was not to be and I finished with 63.13.  Its my fastest time over that distance – any day you can say that is a good day so I will gladly take it.   Post race I caught up with Gareth and former Sportsworlder Conor Cavanagh who also raced.

Between the three of us we more or less drank and ate everything Dungarvan had to offer that night.  I was sore and sorry the next day but I regret nothing.  Will race Dungarvan again some day God willing.

For the last cross county of the season Sportsworld travelled to Dundalk IT on a fresh, dry February morning. Initial inspection of the course showed a relatively flat twisting course around the playing fields at the back of the IT under the massive wind turbine. Things are not always as they appear. There were no Avondale hills or lashing rain but the course held a number of surprises and challenges for the 6 teams Sportworld fielded for the championships.

First up were the ladies Masters. It has been a successful year for the ladies masters team with a number of Dublin and Leinster Medals won, but this was the big time, the Nationals. There were two teams, O35 and O50 both the same 4km distance. The ground was saturated in a lot of places and it did not take long for long stretches of quick sand muck to develop. Lucy Darcy came away with a gold Dublin team medal and the ladies Sportsworld O/50 came away with National bronze medals.

                            Sandra Gowran, Lucy Darcy, Anna Delaney, Anne Sweeney

Next up was the Men’s Masters. Again the standard at the Nationals is very high with a number of known top runners in the field traveling from all over the country. The Masters men was a 7km marathon. Trevor Sweeney and Bruce Campbell however both came away with Dublin gold medals.

The intermediate ladies team was next with the 5km race. The women’s intermediate team is getting stronger and stronger with new runners joining the team. Stephanie Bergin did however have to join the team at the last minute to get a full team but it paid off with the ladies getting National Intermediate bronze medals. Strong runs by team mates Veronica and Michelle Burke and Emma Meade secured the medals with 101 points.

Emma Meade, Veronica Burke, Michelle Burke, Stephanie Bergin

The final race was the mens intermediate 8km. At this stage the course was so badly cut up that they had to move the course stakes to give the runners a chance of getting fresh ground to run on. There was a lot of pain on a lot of faces and pacing and tactics seemed to count as some runners reduced their pace for the first few kilometers to save something for the last lap. There were no medals in the mens intermediate but it was still a top 10 national finish for the club.

Race reporter Michelle Burke

TEAMS STANDINGS SO FAR:

December 2023 Sportsworld Running Club celebrated 40 years as a running club. We had some of the original members of the club as well as brand members celebrating being part of Sportsworld at the Hilton Hotel in Dublin.

Mick Dowling, Club President, welcomed members to the event and gave an introduction on the early days of the club and the building of the Sportsworld Clubhouse in Bushy Park and Emily Dowlings 40 years of service to the club as head coach. Aileen Melody and Michael Cunningham were the MC for the black tie event. Sean O Byrne gave a great round up of the history of the 40 years of the club from the early days meeting under a tree to the first running of the Mini Marathon by the first Sportsworld members.

Eoin O Brien and Gareth Murran but together a collection of photos playing in the back round from championship race wins to the annual club BBQ. The celebration went into the following day with stories and memories being shared.

A big thank you to the organising committee for putting on a brilliant and memorable event. Only 5 more years to wait for the next anniversary dinner.

If you would like to see more photos from the event follow the below link.

https://tdstudios.pixieset.com/sportsworldrunningclub-anniversarydinner/