The final night of the winter league for 2009 was deemed a success not just in terms of running performances of which there were plenty but also in light of the fact that among all runners present on the night, a grand total of €1,250 was raised for the society of St. Vincent de Paul. This was a most generous gesture on behalf of all the runners and the club was delighted to present the money to Mrs Mary Dunphy          who accepted the proceeds on behalf of St.Vincent de Paul. The club has always had a strong tradition of raising much needed funds for various charities and it was great to see this trend continue. All runners donated their weekly running fee of 2 or 3 Euros and many donated more which helped to increase it to 1250 Euros. Many thanks to all the runners who gave so generously towards this worthy cause. This generous Christmas spirit extended to the Turkey Trot last Sunday with a grand total of €500 raised, see notes on Turkey Trot. Our next charity venture will be the St. Stephen’s Day charity run held in conjunction with Dungarvan GAA and all are asked to support this race with the proceeds going to Crumlin Children’s hospital. 

NO CATCHING DARREN ON FINAL NIGHT

The format for the starting times was changed once again for the final night with the long route runners being split into three groups. The first group was off at 2.30, the second bunch was off at 7.30 and the final group was off at 12.30. This meant that those in the second group had a good chance of catching those in the first group and those in the third group were also likely to catch those in the second group and even some in the first group. The advantage of going off in a group is that there will be some people faster than you in the group but by trying to hang on to them for as long as you can you will get a faster time which happened to be the case for so many last week. Congratulations to Darren O’ Droma who made sure to use the advantage of the group situation and for his efforts was the best improver on the night. Paul Brunnock and Ray Curran were actually first home on the night but since it was their first night running Darren was deemed to be the best improver and what a deserving recipient he was given that he was faster by more than 7 minutes from his previous run in week 6, you don’t do things by half  Darren! Darren clocked 50.06 for the run and so he should start 2010 with a sub 50 minute run. Judging by the improvement wife Grainne is making in the league, she too will be in the sub 50 minute group in the New Year as she is also recording some impressive times since moving to the long route. The second best improver for week 8 was ( myself ) with a time of 37.26 which was well over four minutes faster than my previous time and the title of third best runner on the night went to Conor Phelan who recorded 40.02. I’m sure Conor was looking to break 40 minutes on the night so this will more than make up for it. Others who were close to breaking the magical 40 minute barrier were Denis Coffey (40.22), Pat Frisby (40.33) and Ted O’ Leary (40.45). There were many who were close to 41 minutes and no doubt two or three weeks into the league in 2010 will see these also break 40 minutes. These were Kevin Hickey (41.23), James Murray (41.25), Fergal Connolly (41.26), Mark Cliffe (41.32) and Kevin Walsh (41.38) and Joe Barry (41.59).  Lorcan O Muiri was just on the right side of 40 minutes with 39.55 so he will need to keep up the good work to keep it at that. James O’ Donnell was well under 40 with 39.07 just 6 seconds behind Luke Cunningham who clocked 39.01. The Kilmac ladies, Nicola Dee and Jenny Kirwan will have their sights set on 55 minutes soon as they both were 55.01 last week. It’s disappointing to miss out by a second or two but at the same time it’s what makes you more driven for the next run. Angline Drennan and Michael Deegan were both 45.44 and so will be company and motivation for each other in their quest to break 45 minutes. Liz Nhyan, a recent category winner at the Turkey Trot has had some remarkable runs so far and looks set for a great start to 2010 running wise. Padraig Kennedy has set 37 minutes as his goal for 2010 as a result of his super run last week which saw him finish with a time of 37.44. John Dillon is at the top of the tables at the moment with a tally of 252 points but John has only ran 6 nights, Anne Whelan has 283 points but she missed one night and Micheal O Cuirrin lies in third place but like Ann he has only run 7 nights. The current leader from all those that have run each of the 8 nights so far is still Martin Houlihan on 339, Gillian King is second on 358 and Liam Budds is third on 400. All this may well change in the New Year or it may not, we will just have to wait and see! Roll on 2010!

RAIVIS SETS NEW RECORD IN THE SHORT ROUTE

Fresh from having competed in the European Cross Country Championships the previous Sunday, Raivis Zakis ran the winter league short route for the first time this year last week and in doing so set a new course record of 11.54. The previous record had been set by Sean Stilwell last year when on three consecutive nights he set three new records.  We all thought the record would stand for this year but Raivis had other plans and ran well below the previous time set. However, such is the nature of the league that Raivis will find it extremely difficult to pick up any more points in the league in comparison to the rest of you as he has very little room for improvement while all of you can get out as much as you can over the Christmas break for some extra training and come back in the New Year ready to run a little faster each week which is what the league is all about. Raivis wasn’t the only one running the league for the first time this year as another member of the Lyons family, Scott Lyons, signed up and was the second person home in a fine time of 20.11. As Raivis and Scott had no previous time to improve on, the best improver from all the runners was Caroline Flynn who clocked 21.52 which was her 5th night running in the league. Kate organ who was running on her 4th night clocked 22.47 to be the second best improver and Caroline O’ Donnell was third with 22.01. The next two to finish were Claire and Jean Foley and these two girls deserve a special mention as Claire was running her 7th night and Jean has completed all 8 nights and so to finish so high up on the list having done all nights is surely worthy of a mention. Both girls have been improving at a nice steady rate and something tells me that they will feature nicely in the overall division tables come the end of the league, keep up the good work girls. James Ryan was next on the list with his time of 16.16 and Mary Dunford filled the next spot with 19.42. You are well under 20 minutes now Mary so make sure and get some training in over the break to  keep it that way. Marie Lannen and Annice Ni Chionnaola were very close to breaking 23 minutes and pushed it right to the finishing line which helped place them well up on the list. Luke O’ Brien is now in the sub 20 minute group as is Aoife o’ Flaherty, Seamus Casey, Pearl Veale and those who are almost there are Mary Longan, Eda Costin, Ita Mason, John Power, Pat Fitzgerald and Gillian Flynn. There are some that are hovering close to the 25 minute mark which will be a great achievement when you do so and it won’t be long now for Rosie Power, Anne Dennis, Shauna Kelly, Michelle Dwane and Marie McGrath. As all runners will have experienced at this stage, there’s nothing like trying to stay in with a group of runners, it doesn’t matter how tired you are you will do your utmost to stay with them and it’s this that kept Paula Reddy (22.16), Maeve Ann Moynihan (22.17), Deirdre O’ Donnell (22.18) and Valerie Power (22.23) going right up to the finishing tunnel, well done girls. Esther Whelan (21.36) also had to give it her all as hot on her heels were Nicole Cunniffe (21.57) and Catherine Sutton (21.58). Brian Hourigan now occupies the top spot on the leader board but he must bear in mind that he has only run 7 out of the 8 nights. Ray Power who is in second spot has run all nights so far has 317 points with Gary Cantwell in 3rd place with 341 points. Gary has run all 8 nights as well and so has Pearl Veale who is next on the tables with 354. Kelly Cantwell is next with 366 points followed by Sinead de Faoite on 373 but who has only 7 nights done. It’s becoming very close on the tables between all the runners and it may very well be you that ends up the winner for 2010. 

LEAGUE TABLES BEGINNING TO TAKE SHAPE

For those that are still getting used to the winter league, each runner gets points for each night that they run. The more you improve the fewer points you will receive and the very person with the least points after the 15 nights will be the winter league winner. Even though there are 15 nights of the league, it will be your best 12 nights that count so the more nights you have done the better as we will use your 12 best nights (the 12 lowest scores you got) to decide on your overall score. It will be very difficult to predict the winner in advance this year as it won’t be until the final night is over that we will know what everybody’s best 12 nights were.  The league resumes on January 6th for which promises to be a cracker of a second half. See you then!

THANK YOU

Now that the first half of the league is over, we would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all those involved in the league as without their help and support the league could not go ahead. We are most fortunate to have a dedicated team of stewards, time-keepers, administrators and traffic controllers who help out week after week regardless of the weather or conditions and we are extremely grateful for their invaluable help. We wish everybody a happy and peaceful Christmas and we look forward to seeing you all again in the Sports Centre on Wednesday, January 6th for the second stage of the winter league. 

The second annual Turkey Trot took place last Sunday morning on a crisp and chilly winter’s morning. It was certainly one of the coldest mornings ever experienced for a race but the temperatures didn’t deter the 65 runners who were well up for a run through Old Parish in aid of the South Eastern Radiotherapy Trust and Alzheimers. While the majority of the runners were from West Waterford, it was nice to see athletes from slightly further afield show their support also for the race. The winner on the day was Brian Murphy from Carrick-on-Suir who made his intentions known from the very start when he surged into a commanding lead and was not to be caught throughout the whole race. His first mile was just over 5 minutes, 5.10 to be exact with the second being considerably slower at just under 6 minutes. From there on he picked up the pace again to clock 16.44 for 3 miles and 22.26 for 4 miles and he crossed the line a most deserving winner at 27.48, well inside the course record from last year which was set by Raivis Zakis in 28.24. Kevin Kenneally improved his finishing position in this race from last year by moving up one place to finish second in a time of 29.33, 36 seconds better than 2008. The third athlete home was Padraig Healy in 30.25. This was great running by all involved. The fourth man home was club-mate of the winner, Tommy Falconer in 30.42 who was followed home by Michael O’ Regan in 30.59. John Leahy completed the 5 mile circuit in a time of 31.09 to finish third West Waterford athlete home. In total we had 36 club members from the total of 65 that ran so thanks to all those that made the effort when it could have been so easy to stay in bed on such a cold morning. We also featured strongly in the category prizes. In the men’s section Michael Dunford was first 0/40 in 33.15, Liam Kavanagh won the 0/45 section in 41.33, Michael Wade was the first man 0/50 in 36.23 and Liam Sandford picked up the prize for first 0/55 with his time of 42.07 and the prize for the first junior went to Ian Curran who had a great run to finish with 36.14. Corinna Walsh made it two-in-a-row when she recorded back to back wins at the Turkey Trot. She had a comfortable win over Diane Behan who finished second and Liz Nhyan took it all in her stride to come home third lady in 38.06. Michelle O’ Connell was first 0/35 in 46.14, Andrea Gaffney found herself in the winner’s enclosure when she was first 0/40 in 43.38. Josie Ui Chuirrin picked up yet another 0/45 prize as did Bernie Prendergast who won the 0/50 category. Not to be outdone by her mother, Siohain Heylin also brought home a prize when she was the first junior female home in 39.18, same time as her mum, great running ladies. The organiser of the race, Paddy Joe Curran was delighted with the response to the race and more so with the most generous donation provided by GSK. The funds generated through the race were 340 euros and Micheal Callaghan on behalf of GSK increased the figure to 500 Euros which was superb indeed and we thank them most sincerely for this kind gesture.  Paddy Joe thanked all those involved in the organisation of the race, the stewards, the time-keepers, the local people involved, Ann Dunford for looking after the prizes and to Christy and Helen O’ Neill who time and time again have proven to be exceptional hosts providing refreshments and drinks to all the runners, many thanks. 

 

WEST WATERFORD FINISHERS

Kevin Kenneally           29.33

Padraig Healy               30.25

John Leahy                   31.06

Shane Power                31.55

Yevgeniy Chizhikov      32.24

Luke Cunningham         33.09

Corinna Walsh       33.15

Michael Dunford           33.15

Thomas Mahony           33.32

Tom Leahy                   33.46

Michael Moloney          35.21

Michael Wade  36.23

Trevor Walsh               36.44

David Campbell            36.47

Pat Dunford                  37.27

Dermot Ryan                37.27

Eamon Flavin                37.55

Ted O’Leary                38.01

Martin Curran               38.22

Josie Ui Chuirrin           38.26

Vincent Tutty                38.35

Bernie Prendergast       39.18

Micheal Callaghan        40.04

Eoin Riordan                40.05

Liam Kavanagh            41.33

David Connors             41.33

Paul Brunnock  41.41

Liam Sandford  42.07

Brendan Donnelly         42.22

Paschal F. Proctor        43.28

Andrea Gaffney            43.38

Maria O’ Gorman         45.43

Michele Durand            47.20

Tom Scanlon                48.48

Diana Chizhikova          51.35

Pat Moore                    53.01

 

The Annual Duhallow AC Newmarket to Kanturk 5 mile road race took place last Sunday afternoon with a good sprinkling of snow covering the down hill course. The club had two athlete’s who made the journey to the North Cork venue.131 runners took part and the top three all had personal best performances despite the underfoot conditions, recent winner of the national marathon championships in Dublin Clonliffe’s  Sergiu Ciobanu won the race with a very fast 24.07 with Micheál Herlihy North Cork 2nd 24.28 and Raivis Zakis was 3rd taking 5 seconds off his personal best 5 mile time recording 24.41.The Ladies race was won by M. Murphy-Scott Carraig na bhFear in 28:11.The only other West Waterford representative at the race was Ted O’Leary who finished in 96th place with a time of 37.09.Well done to both Raivis and Ted.

The annual charity fun run on St. Stephen’s Day will be held once again this year in association with Dungarvan G.A.A. Now that the winter league is on a break until the New Year this is another chance to get a run in over the Christmas not to mention work off that Christmas dinner. This event has been growing in popularity over the years with last year being the most successful with record entries on the day. It’s a fun run comprising of two routes, a two mile route and a five mile route and everyone is free to run at whatever pace they feel like. All money donated on the day will go towards this year’s chosen charity, St. Teresa's and St. John's Wards in Crumlin Children's Hospital. Dublin. There is no set fee as in other races, it’s at each person’s discretion but we ask that runners and walkers give generously to this worthy cause. The entries will be taken at the Dungarvan G.A.A. club where soup and sandwiches will be provided after the run. See you at the Dungarvan G.A.A. club house at 11 a.m. St. Stephens Day. 

The speed at which the entries are pouring in has escalated over the past week and the number already entered has reached the 300 mark. The race organising committee made a decision after the large entry at last year race to have this year event pre entry only, Entries will close on January 18th with no entries taken on race day. This will be strictly adhered to with no exceptions .We have been receiving entries from all corners of the country which is very encouraging again this year, so it’s all systems go from here on in until the big day on January 31st. We expect that the week after Christmas we will receive a huge influx of entries, so we would like to encourage all local runners to enter as soon as possible. Ann Dunford will also be available to have entries at the winter league on January 6th and we will be travelling to the mallow 10 where we will also take entries for the Quantum Life Dungarvan 10.

RISE TO THE CHALLENGE

Are you running the Winter league, If so then perhaps your contemplating running the Quantum Life Dungarvan 10 ten mile on January 31st  Maybe you’re not too sure if you are capable of doing so or perhaps you think you may have bitten off more than you can chew? With consistent training, the ten mile is well within your capabilities. Just take a look at what you are currently running in a week. If you are training twice a week, try and increase this to three runs a week and likewise if you are running three times try and increase this to four times a week. Pick one evening a week in which you will increase the distance that you normally run, we call this the long run day. As each week passes, increase the long run gradually and either keep the other runs the same distance or increase these ever so slowly. There’s nobody out there that will say that a ten mile is easy, it’s not but it’s certainly doable if the training is done. Use the Christmas break to get out there and find out for yourself what you are really capable of. Please don’t increase the distance you run too quickly, i.e. if running three miles don’t try and run eight miles, it should be a gradual and slow increase and you will improve all the more by following this simple guideline. We are back in action at the winter league on Wednesday night, January 6th where we will be available for advice and support, Just ask any of the regular runners they will all be more that willing to help. Of course you won’t be running any Dungarvan 10 if you don’t enter the race, The race this year is pre entry only and January 18th is the official closing date for entries, no entries will be accepted after this date and no entries on the day of the race either. So get onto the club web site www.westwaterfordathletic.org and enter the Quantum Life Dungarvan 10 today.

The above championships will be held in Nenagh on Sunday, January 3rd with the first event beginning at 10.30 a.m. The events on the day are as follows:

60mH, 60m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1,500m, 3,000m, 3K Walk, Long Jump, High Jump, Triple Jump, Shot, 56lb + 14lb.Any club athlete that intends taking part must contact Norma Wall at 087 9385965 .please note entries have to be submitted today so call Norma immediately if you need to be entered.

The four races that form the John Buckley Sports Munster Classic are the Mallow 10, the Quantum Life Dungarvan 10, Ballycotton 10 and the Kilnaboy 10. The dates for these races are as follows:

Mallow 10: January 10 2010

This race starts at 12.30 p.m. Due to the huge numbers involved in this race, the last entries will be taken at 11.30 p.m. All runners, please take note that this year you can enter Mallow online at www.mallowac.ie 

Quantum Life Dungarvan 10: January 31st  2010 at 1 p.m.

The race starts at 1 p.m. The race this year is pre entry only with no entries accepted on the day closing date for online and postal entries is Monday, January 18th .

Ballycotton 10: March 21st  2010 at 1.30 p.m. 

No entry on the day for this race, pre –entry only. No access will be allowed into the village itself. Shuttle buses will transport runners from the villages of Garryvoe and Shanagarry so allow plenty of time. 

The Sonny Murphy Kilnaboy 10: April 11th 2010 at 2 p.m. 

Entries will be taken on the day and as is the case with the previous races, please arrive in plenty of time as the numbers participating in this race is increasing every year. 

Your club membership for the coming year is now due. At €25 you will have to agree its great value with a huge array of races over the upcoming 12 month period with something to suit everyone, check out our club web site for fixtures on www.westwaterfordathletics.org Pascal Proctor is our club registrar.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL.

On behalf of the officers and committee of West Waterford Athletic Club we extend season’s greetings to all our members, sponsors and friends. Enjoy the festivities but please don’t forget your bib when out running over the Christmas season.