| Notes may 17-09 |
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JOHN TREACY CLASSIC 10 MILE ROAD RACE AND 5K FUN RUN/WALK. Little did John Treacy think that 30 years after his “never to be forgotten” win at the IAAF World Cross Country Championship at Limerick Racecourse and 25 years after winning a silver medal at the Los Angeles Olympics, that athletes from all over the country would convene on his home turf to run over the route that he himself ran so often, a route that as part of his dedicated training so justly earned for him the title of one of Ireland’s greatest athletes ever. His impressive achievements in cross-country, track and road which have left an indelible mark in the minds of Irish people ensured that a huge crowd flocked to scenic Villierstown, to literally run in the footsteps of a champion. A four time Olympian, who held the Irish record for 3000m, 5000m, 10000m and the marathon explains the large crowd assembled in the village to honour these remarkable achievements. The icing on the cake was that the same champion, John Treacy, was present and competing on the day, so for many not only did they run in the footsteps of a champion but they had the unique opportunity of running with a champion and fundraising for John’s chosen charity, Concern. It was all systems go from early in the morning until the last athlete departed, many delighted at having met John and spoken to one of Ireland’s greatest sporting icons. John himself performed admirably in the run and was delighted with the whole event. It was a well organised event, courtesy of the efficiency and organisation of the organising team. There was a real buzz in the air and the atmosphere was electric to say the least and at 12.30 both the ten mile and 5K athletes were at their respective starting lines. The organisers will be well pleased with the smooth running of the whole event and like us all were thankful that despite the weather the previous evening and indeed the heavy rain that morning, the skies cleared before the start of the race and there was even sunshine throughout the race. It seems that even the elements were paying a tribute to a local, national, international and world champion, the likes of which may never be seen again. For a full list of results and photos see www.westwatefordathletics.org CLOHESSY CLINCHES VICTORY IN EMPHATIC STYLE Mick Clohessy from Raheny Shamrocks Athletic Club made it a most worthy early morning trip to the Deise as he turned the John Treacy 10 mile into a race of his own and dominated the race from start to finish, despite the huge field assembled and the high calibre of athletes present on the day. Raheny Shamrock athletes are well known around the South East for their dominance at road races and last Sunday’s race was no exception. Looking ever so relaxed and composed at the start line, it quickly became evident soon into the race that he was the athlete that would dictate the pace and intensity and while we were all running in the footsteps of a champion, Mick set out to create a legendary performance of his own and over a tough and demanding course, he sailed home with absolute panache and style to claim victory in the first John Treacy 10 mile classic. Such was his admirable performance that he completed the distance in an impressive time of 51.48.With this being the first year of the John Treacy classic, Mick’s time will be one that many will aspire to achieve and hopefully Mick will make the return journey next year to defend his title. Mick had a couple of minutes after finishing to relax and then it was the turn of his team-mate Brian Leahy to cross the line in an impressive time of 53.43. Brian needed all the encouragement he could get at this stage as right beside him was Ger Clancy of DMP and in the end it was only one tenth of a second that separated these two athletes. Both really gave their all over the last 400 metres and battled ever so bravely but fortunately for Brian he just managed to pip Ger at the line. Kevin Murphy of Slaney Olympics was fourth in 56.48 and Danny Smith of Ballynonty, a great supporter of all the local races, was delighted to finish in 5th place overall. The club’s first athlete home on the day was the ever improving Phillip Harty, who is enjoying considerable success of late. His super run of the day helped the club win the men’s team prize along with Shane Power and Sean Stilwell, both of these in the top twenty, a great day’s running for these lads. The club also featured well in the category prizes with Martin McCarthy claiming second O/45 and Gerry Cantwell claiming second also in the 0/50 category and Joe Gough was victorious in the 0/55 category. Ciaran Lane was the first junior male home as well so all in all a great day for the club. TOP TEN Junior: Ciaran Lane WWAC 65.24 0/40 0/45 0/50 0/55 0/60 0/65 0/70
With each passing race, the quality of female athletes around these parts has been on the up an up and so last Sunday’s race witnessed the formidable and Olympian athlete, Pauline Curley (Tullamore A.C.), a legend in her own right, take to the streets and roads of Dromana. Without question, she was unanimously the pre-race favourite and she certainly delivered on her credentials by finishing in 15th position overall from a field of 399 runners. Pauline has taken part in a number of races in the South-East and has gone home victorious on many an occasion. She will be delighted with this performance, well under an hour for what many would describe as a challenging course. Similar to the men’s race where the first two positions were filled by athletes from the same club, Pauline was delighted to watch fellow club-mate Pauline Lambe arrive home in second spot. Pauline has broken three course records in the first three races of our summer series and if her more recent performance is anything to go by, it won’t be too long before she sets another. Her time of 62.18 saw her well clear of the third athlete, Clonmel’s Angela McCann. Both of these athletes are more than capable of proving themselves over a variety of distances and will be tough to beat as they are improving with every outing. Only 8 seconds separated the next two female athletes, Tracey Roche of Doneen A.C. and our own Corinna Walsh. Tracey got the better of Corinna on the day but Corinna also recorded her fastest ten mile time ever so the tables may well be turned on the next outing. There were a large number of athletes in each of the various categories which shows the healthy state of female running at present and competition was ever so keen on each of these categories. The race organisers will be glad to note the huge number of athletic clubs from all over Munster and beyond that were represented on the day which made the race all the more attractive. Our own club was represented by 27 females and all were more than happy with their performances and we had a number of athletes who were winners in the various categories. The Turkish sun helped Helene Hayes claim the top spot in her category and Terry Gough was also successful. Waterford A.C. won the ladies team prize which consisted of Brea Cooke, Diane Behan and Liz Nolan. Top 5 0/35 0/40 0/45 0/50 0/55 0/60 0/65 MINNIES FIT4LIFE RUNNING LEAGUE MANY BEGINNERS NOW FIT4LIFE The Minnie’s League is well and truly underway and now that we are almost at the halfway stage, it is certainly taking shape with participants reaching new heights every week. We still have newcomers arriving each night and there is plenty of room for more. The league is certainly achieving its goal of getting as many people as possible to take up running as a means of improving health and fitness levels, and truly many who started from a base of little or no exercise are now certainly becoming Fit4life. It really is simple and straightforward, why not come along on Tuesday and find out for yourself just how easy it can be. So, you are welcome on any night of the league, for as many nights as you are able to come and why not bring a friend or two to join in the fun. You can decide yourself on the distance you wish to do, the choice being one, two, three or four laps of the Friary, with each lap being 1.2 miles in distance. In fact, there are some that have noticed a significant change already with many doing the lap without stopping already and some are moving from 1 to 2 laps and even more. The league continues each Tuesday night in the grounds of the Friary College for the next 4 weeks. All participants are asked to park at the back of the college. The entry fee is €2 per night and water is provided at the finish for all. Let the Minnie’s Fit4Life Summer Running League be your goal for this summer. ONE LAP Of the first four finishers in the one lap league last week three were from the Big Smoke with Michael Mc Carthy in the midst of them all. Pascal Proctor led them home on the night in a time of 8.41 which was 8 seconds faster than his previous best. Pascal was followed just 8 seconds later by Andrea Gaffney who improved her time by 7 seconds to 8.49. Next came Michael Mc Carthy in 9.02 and after a week of running 2 laps Hugh O Connor was back to take on the 1 lappers in 9 minutes 10. Maura Hickey is continuing to make good progress and she will be happy to be the second lady home in the one lap league in 10.18. Maura was followed through the finishing tunnel by another athlete who was extremely delighted to be back in running gear after another long lay off through injury but that’s all behind Michael Tutty now as he got round the one lap in a fine time of 10.32. Once again this week there was much improvement in people’s times and it just goes to show that taking regular exercise each week is the way to true fitness. Kylie Tobin and Emma Barrett are two such participants showing great improvements, having run each week they have taken over 2 ½ and 1 ½ minutes off respectively. Bernie Kirwan and Pamela Gould are proof than when you run with a friend you can give each other support and encouragement and they have taken over 2 minutes off their times over the 3 weeks to date. As we say each week well done and keep it up. 2 LAPS The two lap distance is proving the most popular choice in the Minnie’s Fit4Life league for 2009. Last week we had 42 people taking on the 2.4 miles and once again most of the runners were faster than week 2, which is great to see. They were led home on this occasion by Declan Mc Grath in 13.36 with Shane Power second to finish in 13.41. This was a reversal of the positions in week 2 when Shane finished ahead of Declan. This looks like an intriguing battle in the weeks ahead in the 2 lap league. Joe Gough is also going to have a say in this section and he was only 9 seconds behind in 13.50. Andrew Burke is showing great progress and he will be happy with his time of 17.52, an improvement of over a minute and a half from the previous week. The evergreen Michael Roche made a return to the Friary grounds where he would have ran many a mile to finish the 2 laps in a time of 19.13. Our French visitor Corinne Le Gal who runs our leagues during the Summer when her family comes to Dungarvan also ran an improved time in week 3 of 20.34. Seamus O Droma is taking to the league like a duck to water and why not as he is a veteran of many marathons and this week he moved up to the 2 laps and went around in 22.52. The Power sisters Anita and Sarah are making steady progress also, running around together in 24.35 and 24.37 respectively. Cordelia Burke has run all 3 nights so far and is definitely worthy of special mention as her times are quite astounding, in week 1 she ran 32.33 while in week 2 she got round in 28.13 and then in week 3 she took a further 2 minutes off running the 2 laps in 26.15. It really is excellent progress in the space of 3 weeks. Well done to everyone who has run the 2 laps so far. 3 LAPS In week 1 we reported on the excellent run of young Gary Cantwell and his time of 22.27, well he was back in week 3 to reclaim top spot, this time running 22.37. He was followed home in second place by last week’s winner Yevgeniy Chizhikov in a time of 22.45. Third and fourth place finishers in week 2 were once again in the same positions in week 3 but on this occasion George Tutty and Linda Bradfield were 24 and 53 seconds faster respectively. Noel Mc Kenna was next to finish in 29.26 which was a minute and 24 seconds faster than his previous best time. Michael Deegan is progressing nicely and he will be happy with his time of 30.08. John Murray has run each night of this league so far and his times are improving nicely also from 32.13 in week 1, 31.38 in week 2 and 31.10 in week 3. Second lady home in the 3 lap league was Catriona O Brien in a time of 31.35 followed just a second later by Eileen Heffernan with Marion Troy moving up a distance once more, this time to the 3 laps where she ran an excellent 31.48 Great effort from everyone over the 3 laps. 4 LAPS For the third week in a row the 4 lap league was led home by the man from Ardmore with the graceful running style, Sean Stilwell in a time of 28.43. He led home 33 runners on the night where conditions were excellent for running and there were many smiling faces at the Friary grounds especially when they were finished their run! As usual Kevin Kenneally was just a couple of seconds behind Sean in 28.46. The third man under 30 minutes on the night was Des Feeney in 29.16 which was 22 seconds faster than his week 2 time. Patrick Riordan was back in week three and he was also over a minute faster while the Doc broke the 31 minute barrier by 9 seconds. The training for Berlin must be kicking in Doc! Earl Navin also broke the 31 minute barrier in an excellent 30.57 while for the third week in a row Corinna Walsh was first lady home for the four laps clocking 31.13. Newcomers Thomas Deane and Tom Leahy clipped around in 32.10 and 32.48 respectively while Tom Moroney continued his progress taking a further minute from his week 2 time running 33.48 as is Gerry O Connor who also took another minute off in 34.51. Angeline Drennan and Claire Walsh are giving Michael Mc Carthy a run for his money in the Athlete of the Year as they continue to rack up the points running the Minnie’s league in 37.59 and 41.09 respectively. The chief organiser of the John Treacy 10 Mile Classic Rosarie Kealy was also present in week 3 and she was also getting her Berlin training underway clocking 41.25 while Liam Sandford also took up the Fit4Life league challenge running 44.49 on the night. Once again well done to all the runners and keep it up next week THANK YOUS Once again the club would like to put on record our appreciation to the O’ Brien family of Minnie’s Bar and Lounge Abbeyside and also to the Augustinian Order for the use of the Friary grounds. We need to remind ourselves every now and again how lucky we are to have the use of these facilities for our leagues throughout the year. Doing all your training on the road is not recommended and all the experts say that a percentage of your training should be on grass if possible. We are lucky to be able to take this advice and put it into practice in the Friary LEAGUE TABLES From next week on we will have the tables for this league on view on the notice board each night. Remember you must run 6 out of 8 nights to get on the tables and it must be in the same distance. If you run the 1 lap in week 1 and 2 and then switch to the 2 lap for the last 6 nights then you will appear on the 2 lap table. If this is your first time running a league don’t worry about the tables, they are used to give prizes out at the end of the league to the winner of each distance and also to division winners. It’s just another way of keeping the interest in the league and it gives participants an extra incentive to keep turning up each week. NATIONAL TRACK AND FIELD LEAGUE TIME AGAIN The club will be entering a Senior Men’s team in the 2009 National Track and Field Leagues this summer. Last year we missed out on qualification for the Premier finals by just 1 point and hopefully this year we can take that extra step and make it to the finals. The first round of the leagues will take place on Sunday June 14th and the second session will take place on Sunday July 5th. No venues have been announced yet apart from the finals, which will be held in Tullamore on Saturday August 8th. Joe Gough was the club’s sole representative at the BHAA race in Cork last Thursday night. Joe had a great run, clocking 17.57 and finishing 28th overall and first over 55. Well done Joe. BALLYCOTTON SUMMER SERIES The annual Ballycotton summer series gets underway next Thursday, May 28th at 8 p.m. The series consists of four 5 mile road races, all based in areas within a two mile radius of the well known village of Ballycotton. There is one race a month for the months of May, June, July and August. They are always held on the fourth Thursday of every month, though not necessarily the last Thursday. These are always well represented by West Waterford athletes, many managing to run all four year after year. Race 1: Ballyandreen 5 May 28 8p.m.
It’s that time in May when we start thinking about our annual trip to the top of our nearest mountain, Cruchán. For the past six years under the auspices of IMRA (Irish Mountain Running Association) and West Waterford Athletic Club, a race has been conducted to the top of this famous local landmark. The race takes place near the Pike taking in the Cruchan Mountain circuit and the course winds its way along forestry footpaths and mountain trails to the summit of the mountain and back along a different route to the starting point. This year’s race takes place next Sunday May 24th at 1pm. The run up Cruchan, which stands at 484m or 1587 feet above sea level, is a real challenge for the athlete who wants to try something different. The distance is 10K. For more information see the Irish Mountain Running website, www.imra.ie. Our thanks to club member Tim Foley for his help in organising this race. WEST WATERFORD'S DAVID MC CARTHY WINS CROWN PLAZA HOTELS ATHLETE OF THE MONTH FOR APRIL. David McCarthy of West Waterford AC & Providence College was back in the athletics headline news this past week when he was named as the Crown Plaza Athlete of the Month for April.This award is a newly introduced Athletics Ireland national award's scheme which recognises the outstanding performances of Irish athletes throughout the year and the brand new sponsorship deal was only recently announced by Athletics Ireland in association with Crown Plaza Hotels.David who has had a teriffic year to date which included his terrific performance at the Mt. SAC Relays- Mt. San Antonio College in California on the 17th of April last.David running in his first ever 5,000m in the USA showed a clean pair of heels to a top class field when winning in a time of 13:42.11.This performance was of the highest calaber when you consider only a handful of Irish athletes have run anywhere near this time in recent years, and only Alistar Cragg, Mark Carroll and Martin Fagan have run faster over the last three years.David continued his fantastic start to the season when he finished second in the 1,500m at the Big East championships in a time of 3:42.34 on 3rd of May, well inside his previous best of 3:43.94 set in Watford the previous June.At the Penn Relays some weeks later David ran in the 4X1 mile relay, clocking an excellent time of 4:02.1, This was the fastest mile time recorded by any athlete in the finals,Davids efforts helped his college Providence to third overall.Prior to the above mentioned races last February he became the first Waterford man to break the four minute mile barrier when he finished fourth in the final of the NCAA Indoor mile in 3:57.75.To crown a very successful start to 2009 for David he was voted best sports person of the year for his college Providence.This is a very prestigious college award.He also recently took the Park Hotel award for February and now he has been recoenised by the National athletics body in Ireland Athleetics Ireland.More to come. THE DUNFORD’S BAR 14 TH ANNUAL TOURANEENA 5 K ROAD RACE. The Touraneena racquetball club organised 5k road race will be held again this year through the generosity of a brands new sponsor in the guise of Dunford Lounge Bar in the village.Now in its 14th year and one of the most popular in the Ger Wyley/Nike summer series the race was previously spomnsroed form a few years by Hallahan coaches whch the organisers were most greatful for and wish tio thnask them for their contribution for all thoase years in keeping the race going,However this year a new sponsor steppes into the line light with the announcement that Dunford’s lge Bar are sponsoring the event.The race will be held on the traditional June bank holiday Monday which this year falls on the 1st June with a 7.30 PM starting time, The local racquetball club will as usual have all the ground work done for what promises to be another great nights running in tye Ger Wyley Sports/Nike summer series . There is an added interest in the race this year which incorporates a very clever fund raiser for the fledging club and this which we will elaborate more on in next weeks notes what we can say is it will add fun and frolics to the occasion. The race will begin in its usual place at the back entrance to the graveyard at 7:30pm. Entry fee to the race will €8.Cash Prizes will be awarded for the first 3 men and women as well as prizes for first in the following grades: Men Over 40,45,50 and 60.Women Over 35,40 45 and 50.The walk which is very much part and parcel of the event each year will begin at the traditional time of 6:30 pm in order for the walkers to be able to see the finish of the race. Walkers will be asked to predict their time to complete the course and the person who is nearest but not faster to their time will be presented with the Ann Power Memorial Perpetual Trophy. Entry fee to the walk will be €5 per person. The walk will begin outside the Community Centre. EMER CASEY MEMORIAL RUN/WALK On Sunday next May 24th the 3rd Annual Emer Casey Memorial 10km run/walk takes place in Youghal.A big turn out of runners and walkers are expected to take part. The run/walk begins at 1.30pm at Pobalscoil Na Trionoide and features a very fast first two miles before taking in the town centre with the finish back at the strand. RUNNING QUOTE. The runners greatest asset,apart from essential fitness of body,is a cool and calculating brain allied to confidence and courage. RAIVIS ZAKIS 3RD IN LATVIAN CITY MARATHON. One of West Waterford’s top elite athlete’s Raivis Zakis made the long journey to his home land of Latvia last weekend to take part in his countries capital city marathon The Riga Marathon.Raivis had just six week previously ran a personal best 2.24 in the Paris marathon and to take on another so soon was a big ask,never the less he seems as always to have come through unscaled and his time of 2.28 is yet another top performance from the now, Ballinroad resident,Raivis set put on this journey to try and be the first Latvian runner to finish and this he duly did .The overall winner was Norwegian Gur Oleg time of 2.18 followed by Belarussian Ceulemans Rik 2.20 with Raivis third 2.28.A field of 600 completed the full marathon 1.500 the half,with a large field of relay teams also taking part in the full marathon.Well done Raivis from all at the club its rest time now my friend. SYMPATHY. West Waterford Ac extends sincere sympathy to the family of Mrs Hannah Prendergast Fews. Kilmacthomas who passed to her eternal reward last week. May she rest in peace. |
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