DUNPHY VIVAS HEALTH DUNGARVAN 10.

MOLDOVIAN ATHLETE SERGIU TUREA CONQUERS.

As was stated in one local papers headline last week, The Dunphys Vivas Health was shaping up to be a Red-letter day for the club and town. Indeed as they rightly reported it was most defiantly a Red letter day for club and town as a huge influx of 700 runners plus their family and friends descended on the Déise’s capitol for the clubs high profile Dunphy Vivas Health Dungarvan 10 mile road race event.
The weather tried its best to spoil the day and things didn’t look good early morning with very high winds and driving rain. However by 10 AM the man above looked down and saw the effort being made and gave us the break we needed the wind had abated and the rain was soon stopped as the first of the visiting Athletes arrived. By 1 pm all was set with a huge turn out of runners from far and wide toeing the start line as our honouree starter Oliver Tatten CEO of Vivas Health Ireland fired the starters pistol which got the 700 runners on their way.
The race was race number three in the clubs Michael Roche Carpets Spring Series and race number two in the John Buckley Sport’s sponsored Munster 10 mile classic series, which in no small way also added to the occasion.
The number of runners participating despite the inclement weather which we thought would adversely effect those travelling was even greater than we realistically expected, We knew it was going to be a pretty good turn out but we never thought that we would reach the 700 mark. That was for next year’s plan, year two of our three-year plan for this race as our target of 1.000 by that third year is really now a realistic and attainable one. However we were delighted with the response and we know now that we have a gem of a race on our hands and with the goodwill of our sponsor Dunphy Vivas Health we feel the skies the limit with this event.
As we said we had runners from all over Ireland and many non-nationals also, making it truly an international race, as can be seen in the results below. Indeed our winner this year is a Moldovian national, Sergiu Turea who is running with Dublin club Clonliffe Harriers.Sergiu last years National Half Marathon champion made his intentions well know from the off as he raced into a commanding lead going through one mile in 4.54,by two miles he was 200 meters clear of the chasers and was in full control of the race, But he wasn’t happy just to win, It was obvious from the lead car as he ran hard each and every mile alone that on his mind was the course record, But records are not easily broken and although Sergiu won the race with ease finishing a whopping 4 minutes and 2 seconds ahead of his nearest rival he was to be denied the record by just 10 seconds when recording a time of 50.18,Speaking after the race Sergiu was very happy with his run as it was his fastest time ever for 10 miles, The course he said is a superb course and he felt with some company today that the record could well have fallen, He also made his intentions known that he will most defiantly be back for another crack at it next year. So Sandis Bralitis who is the record holder but out of action through injury holds on to his record 50.08 for at least another year. If the winner won easily the minor placings were a different story with just 3 seconds separating the next three athletes, Second place went to another Dublin athlete Raheny Shamrocks Ryan Montgomery 54.22 with Donal O’Callaghan of Riocht AC Kerry third 54.23.West Limericks Gerard Guina was 4th 54.25.Cathal O’Connell St.Finbarrs took the over 40 title in 55.23,West Waterford’s Martin McCarthy had one of his finest runs over the 10 mile distance to take the over 45 title in 58.57 with St.Jospephs Larry Lacey winning the over 50 59.00,West Waterford took the first two men’s team placings with Eagle AC taking the third.

BELFAST ATHLETE TAKES LADIES TITLE.

 The overall Ladies winner was an athlete who made the very long journey from Belfast. Mary Margaret Meade who runs with North Belfast Harriers travelled to the other end of the country to take part in our race and she made it a worthwhile trip south, Mary Margaret was like our Men’s winner here along with Tullamore’s Pauline Curley to have a crack at the course record and the 250 euro bonus prize on offer for breaking the Ladies course record held by Lucy Brennan Sligo 58.24 and both Ladies were just outside that mark with Mary Margaret getting the better of Pauline in the sprint for the line after a titanic battle between the two for every inch of the 10 mile course, Mary Margaret finally taking the honours in a time of 58.59 with Pauline timed at 59.02.Well done to both athletes two of the countries best for giving us such a terrific Ladies race last Sunday, again both were very pleased with the whole event and have promised to make the return trip next year. Third Lady was Thurles Crokes Madeline Dorney 62.35,Fourth was that warrior from St.Finbarrs Mary Sweeney 63.46 great running from the Youghal native who all of 30 years ago this year won the National intermediate cross country championships and she’s still doing the business great stuff indeed. West Waterford AC had a category winner in Diane Behan over 35 with a time of 66.09 and the over 40 Ladies was won by Tracey Guilfoyle Kilnaboy Co. Clare 65.20.Berni Kelly Galway City Harriers was first over 45 in 77.19 and the over 50 section went to Mary Sheehan Grange Fermoy AC 69.57
The Waterford AC Ladies won the team title with the team of Brea Cooke Mary Burke and Sylvia Molone. Well done to them. We especially congratulate all the local runners who completed the 10-mile classic distance many for the first time and to the many who recorded personal best times well done.
Just to mention also and thank all the runners who made the effort to pre enter the race this year, With this said we still had on unprecedented amount who didn’t and this made thing’s difficult for getting entries on Computer and this in turn hindered the speed which results were available, However we will this week sit down and have a look at next years race and the improvements that can be made on last Sunday’s event if any. It was a huge effort by many people and all are to congratulated, The club would love to hear from you if you have any constructive comments to help with the organising of the race as we expect and know that this race will become something really big in the future, even bigger than last Sunday, and together with all the good will out there for the club and through our new sponsor, we can and will rise to that challenge.

OUR THANKS TO ALL.

From an organisational point of view the race itself went off without a hitch.
This was due in no small way to the great amount of pre race work put in
By club road racing co-ordinator Gerry Cantwell and his team and the many others who were involved, quite an amount of those who have no immediate involvement with our club but who gave of their time to help stage the perfect event last Sunday, which included many members of Dungarvan cycling club whom we especially thank, The huge record entry of 700 was in no small way due to the much appreciated sponsorship from Dunphy Vivas Health and special thanks to Mel Shanley for his hands on help with organising the event and also to Jerdi Mackey and Finbar Dunphy of Dunphy’s Insurance Main St.Dungarvan.
A very special thanks to Mr Oliver Tattan CEO of Vivas Health Ireland and Irish Entrepreneur of the year for making the long trip from Dublin to set the runners on their way and not alone that but Oliver really got in the sprit of the even by taking part in the race himself along with two other Vivas Health Ireland staff members Ruth Bailey and Andrea Walsh well done and many thanks to all three for travelling from Dublin, we hope they enjoyed their weekend in the town.
Our thanks to Mel who was on hand to present the winner with the magnificent Mc Riordan commissioned perpetual trophy on behalf of the sponsors and to present all the lucky winners with their prizes.
Our thanks also to the committee and staff of Dungarvan Crystal Sports Centre and Dungarvan United Football club for their help and to all those who made the sandwiches to feed the hungry runners and all who donated to and helped to pack the Goodie Bag’s on Saturday night a big thank you. To Albert who looked after the goody bag items and to Jason and Keane-Power Drinks Company fro their sponsorship of the water. A big thanks to all the help from our Juvenile club both committee members and the many Juvenile members who played a big part in the days activities, This was much appreciated by the Senior club and your help was invaluable. There are many other people to thank for their help on the day especially all the stewards out on the course and Tony Ryan who co-ordinated this most important function on race day. Led by our club Treasurer Denise Regan, our thanks to all who were looking after registration, results and at the finish area, time keepers and recorders. Tony and Michael on P.A. and lead car,Thanks to those who looked after the Water station’s and for the great job they did cleaning up the cups etc.
I must also give special mention to two people for their work with the traffic management and practical help leading up to race day and on the day itself and that’s Conor Norris and Jamie Mills. No more needs to be said here, Parking was a big issue for this race but the plan of action went without a hitch our thanks to the Business owners at Dungarvan industrial estate and to Waterford Crystal for the use of the factory car park. Especially Patsy Walsh for his help with acquiring the factory car park, We must extend our sincere thanks to Dungarvan Garda Station under Superintendent Tom O’Grady for their continued support with this and all our events. The good news is that this race will be bigger and better (if that’s possible) again next year. Get behind the West Waterford wheel folks and let’s drive on.

FINISHERS CUBES.

Those due them can collect all outstanding finishers cubes for the Dunphy Vivas Health Dungarvan 10 at Ger Wyley Sports from today. The organisers wish to apologise to participants who didn’t receive there’s at the race on Sunday but due to a delay in carriage from England some of the cubes didn’t get to us on time.

 
List of overall prizewinners at Dunphy Vivas Health Dungarvan 10.

The following are the first six men in last Sunday’s ten-mile road race.
 
1. Turea Sergiu   Clonliffe Harriers  50.18
2. Ryan, Montgomery  Raheny Shamrocks   54.22
3. Donal O’Callaghan  Riócht     54.23
4. Gerard Guina   West Limerick   54.25
5. Con Marshall      55.14
6. Martin Doody   Limerick A.C.   55.16
 
 
Male O/40
1. Cathal O’ Connell  St. Finbarrs    55.23
2. Pat O’ Sullivan   Carrick-on-Suir   57.54
 
Male O/45
1. Martin McCarthy   West Waterford   58.57
2. Joe O’ Sullivan   Bandon A.C.    60.14
 
Male O/50
1. Larry Lacey   St. Josephs    59.00
2. Gerry Cantwell  West Waterford   61.39
 
Male O/55
1. Pat Twomey   Eagle A.C.    63.04
2. Maurice Tobin   Grange-Fermoy  64.38
 
Male O/60
1. Patrick O’Brien   Charleville    76.26 
 
Male O/65
Pat Doran    Limerick    80.02
 
MENS TEAM

1st West Waterford AC Raivis Zakis 13th.Sean Stilwell 16th Padraig Healy 20th  = 49 pts

2nd West Limerick AC Mark Dempsey 19th  Kevin Johnson 23rd Niall Collins 54th = 96pts

3rd Eagle AC Declan O'Shea 33rd Ciaran Dunne 38th John Desmond 62nd = 133 pts                                         
 
 
 
 
The following are the ladies results in the ten mile road race.
 
1. Mary Margaret Meade   North Belfast Harriers   58.59
2. Pauline Curley    Tullamore Harriers    59.02
3. Madeline Dorney    Thurles Crokes    62.35
4. Mary Sweeney    St. Finbars     63.46
 
 
O/35
1. Diane Behan    West Waterford    66.09
2. Kathleen O’ Callaghan   Sportsworld     66.27
 
O/40
1. Tracey  Guilfoyle    Kilnaboy     65.20
2. Angela McEvoy    St. Finbarrs     69.14
 
O/45
1. Bernie Kelly    Galway City Harriers     77.19
2. Josie Uí Chuirrín    West Waterford     79.02 
 
O/50
1. Mary Sheehan    Grange- Fermoy  68.02
2. Anne Fitzgerald    Waterford A.C.   69.57
 
O/55
1. Margaret Barry    Middleton AC    86.34
 
O/60
Maggie Dunne    Grange/Fermoy AC    85.07
 
The winning ladies team were Waterford A.C. 558 points.
 
The members of this team were Brea Cooke 153, Mary Burke 179. and Sylvia Malone 226.
 
Wheelchair: 1 J Forde (Blarney-Inniscarra) 87:45. 

RUNNING QUOTE.

In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that. Alberts Gang.

ALL ROUNDER SPORTS WINTER LEAGUE.

BENNY BEATS THE BUNCH.

Benny Fitzgerald had a great run for round 12 of the league and for his efforts was awarded the highly coveted minimum one point, a very valuable score so close to the end. Benny recorded a time of 42.39 and will no doubt be looking to get down to sub 42 within the next three weeks. The second person overall to improve their time the most was Michael Walsh who clocked 45.40 and third was the ever improving Ciaran Lane who must be well chuffed with his time of 38.00. Wexford woman Brenda Hunt still has plenty of stamina and strength from her cross-country experiences and even though she has only just recently moved from the 3 mile to the 6 mile route she is already flying and will continue to knock off a few seconds here and there each week. Hugh Walsh is another to have moved to the long route and is doing it very comfortably indeed. Phillip Harty had a great run and is achieving great times each week, a just reward for all his training. Others to catch the eye were Cathal Dwane (41.50), Alice Shanley (44.15), Jason Dee (39.37) and Jim Barry (39.47). Dixie Deegan and Michéal O’ Callaghan clocked the exact same time, 43.03 and were unlucky not to dip below 43.00. A calm night should see them do this no problem. Rory Moloney certainly put his speed and determination to the test last week and came home with flying colours, clocking a very impressive 32.10 for the 6 miles.

HELEN AND ANNA-“THE KILBRIEN CRUISERS”.

Last week, the two that improved the most on their time were the “Kilbrien Cruisers”, also known as Helen Fraher and Anna Landers. Although relatively new to the running scene, they have taken to it really easily and seem to be enjoying it immensely. Having someone to run with certainly makes it a lot easier and we hear that they have their sights set on the Dungarvan 10 next year, no bother to ye girls! Another to improve greatly on their time was Kilgobinet lady Denise Nugent. Denise will be well pleased with her time of 22.05 and even more pleased with her completion of her first ever 10 mile last Sunday. Nan O’ Brien, another Kilgobinet woman, has her time whittled down to 18.11. Well-done Nan, very close to 18 minutes. Emer Scanlon, whose Dad has a great lead in the long route is running really well at the minute and will be delighted to hear that she clocked 19.18. Sean Moore recorded 21.16 and Anne Ledingham and Aine O’ Connell both had the same finishing time of 24.37, well under 25 minutes. Gillian McNamara, currently training with Albert’s group finished with 23.18, a sure sign that her training is paying dividends. The leader of the 3-mile route remains the same with Carolyn Byrne having a 70-point lead over Cyril Flavin. Marian Moloney is leader of division two but only has three points to spare over Collette Bannon. Division three will literally be going to the wire as Peter Barry and Martin Quinlan are on an even pegging, 478 a piece. In division four Anita Lyons holds the top spot ahead of Vincent O’ Flynn but with a gap of 30 points both will have it all to fight for until the end. As already stated, the Colligan cup system could really change things but we will have to wait and see. Best of luck to everyone tonight.

DIVISIONS.

At present, there are 20 divisions in the 6-mile with 5 people in each division. The divisions were put in place during the Christmas break and since then people have been moving up and down in the various divisions. According to your overall score you either went up to a higher division or down to a lower division. From now until the end of the league, which is only three nights, you will remain in the division that you are currently in. If you have a really good run you will go to the top of your division and not up to another division. This will mean that there may be people in a higher division than you with a higher score or people in a division below you with a lower score but the overall winner may come from any division. The overall winner will be the person with the lowest score, regardless of their division. It has happened before that the overall winner was not in division one and with the handicap system we use it’s all to play for in each division. It’s quite possible to gain 40 to 50 points on someone in a night so it’s up to everybody to give it their best shot over the coming weeks.
The same ruling regarding the divisions applies to both the three-mile and the six-mile. At the minute, our current leaders are Tom Scanlon in the 6 mile and Carolyn Byrne in the 3 mile but nobody can afford to rest on their laurels and with another surprise in store for ye tonight it may get much much closer!!

PRACTISE MAKES PERFECT.

We at West Waterford firmly believe in the above motto and so to help you all in an effort to gain accuracy and precision in your running we have decided to hold yet another stage of our now famous “Colligan Cup” system. By the time the league ends, we advocate that not one of you will ever need a watch again!! It will follow the same format as the previous Colligan Cup nights and the results will certainly spice up the divisions to say the least. The clock will begin at 60.00 and will work in reverse. 60.00 for the 6-mile means 30.00 for the 3-mile. Whatever is on the clock, just subtract 30 away from it to get the time for the 3-mile. Tonight’s run is absolutely crucial to you all, you do not under any circumstance want to be on the wrong side of the clock. It’s -50 points for the winner, -40 for the second person, -30 for the third, -20 for the fourth and -10 points for the fifth person to cross the line after the clock reaches 0.00. Those minus or bonus points may be the difference between winning and losing a division so please be careful and put some thought in to your predicted time for tonight. At the official Colligan Cup held in the wood a total of 109 were too fast there’s a lesson to be learned from that-don’t speed up near the end just because everyone else is. Michael Tutty is one that has the mechanics of this off to a fine art, being the 2008 winner and the runner-up for 2007. My spies tell me that all eyes will be on Michael Tutty tonight!! No pressure Sham!

MYSTERY TOUR TIME.

Proceedings are getting underway at the moment for our annual mystery tour. For those of you new to the winter league, the mystery tour is held on the Friday night following the last night of the winter league. It is a function to celebrate the end of the winter league and to present the winners of the various categories with their prizes.  As the name states, the destination is unknown. A bus will collect all those going at a venue in town somewhere and we will be then transported to an unknown venue where a great night of craic and entertainment is guaranteed. At the end of the night, the bus will transport everybody back to Dungarvan. Finbarr Kelly, our mystery tour organiser has left no stone unturned in preparing for the night. In order to get an idea of the numbers going, we will be taking names at the winter league for the next 3 weeks. €5 will secure your place on the bus. Names will be taken by Triona Wall at the sports centre from tonight on. Seats are available to all winter league participants that wish to take part.

ZOE SCANLON HONOURED AT SUPREME YOUNG SPORTS STAR 2007.

Congratulations to all twelve young monthly award recipients of the Prestigious Pat Noctor supreme young sports star of the year award 2007. At the awards presentation night last Friday night at a packed Árd Scoil Na nDeise school hall all twelve were presented to the large gathering and what a role call of credentials all twelve monthly winners carried with them. The judging panel of Mary Ashe, Jim J.Landers, John A. Murphy and Kieran O’ Connor had a most difficult task in picking one overall winner. Our club West Waterford AC and her school Ard Scoil Ná Deise were fortunate enough to have one monthly award recipient making it into the final twelve Zoe Scanlon.Zoe had an outstanding year at County, Regional and National level and was indeed a worthy nominee for her second award in as many years. After each young nominee were presented to all present the all-important envelope was opened by Garda Liaison Officer Eddie Fitzpatrick who announced the very talented youngster formally a student at St.Augustines College now at college in U.C.C.and a member of The Abbeyside/Ballinacoury G.A.A club, Stephen Enright as the supreme sports star for 2007,A deserving winner it has to be said after an unbelievable year for him playing many grades from Minor to Senior in both Football and Hurling.
The Pat Noctor memorial cup was presented by Mrs Judy Noctor and a beautiful piece of crystal was also presented to Stephen. The Dungarvan Garda district social club are to be congratulated and thanked for holding these awards now in their 15th year recognising the achievements and excellence from the young sports people of the area.

BAUSCH AND LOMB KILMACTHOMAS 5.

Race organisers Michael and Nicola Dee and their committee in Kilmacthomas are eagerly looking forward to the upcoming Bausch and Lomb sponsored Kilmacthomas 5 on Sunday February 24th at the new earlier time of 11 AM.This race will be race number three in this years Michael Roche carpets spring series which should guarantee a big turn out of runners on the day. A very attractive prize fund will be awarded to a wide range of categories, For now pencil in Sunday February 24th Bausch and Lomb Kilmacthomas 5 at the new starting time of 11 AM.

TRIP TO BUDAPEST MARATHON 2008.

Albert and Jacinta and crew have decided on Budapest for this year Marathon trip which is on Sunday 5th October, 2008.Also on the day if you don’t fancy the full trip is the 3 or 5 person relay event which should be appealing to some. The flight is leaving Dublin on Friday 3/10/08 at 3.15 p.m.returning on Monday or Tuesday 6(7)/10/08 - 8.15 p.m.3 or 4 nights. Flights are limited so names must be in ASAP. To Court Travel or Jacinta Sheil or Albert McGrath.