Senior News

Notes February 05-12

 

DAVID MC CARTHY TO RUN THE FAMOUS WANAMAKER MILE.

West Waterford Ac’s and Providence College senior David McCarthy has been invited to participate in the renowned Wanamaker Mile at the famous Millrose Games. The event will be held on next Saturday, February 11 at The Armory in New York City. The Millrose Games are one of the most respected track and field competitions in the world. Athletes must be invited to the event, which originated in 1908. The centrepiece of the Games is the Wanamaker Mile, perhaps the most prestigious mile-run in the sport of track and field running. It is the latest accomplishment in what has been a remarkable indoor season for David. On January 22, he cruised to victory in the 3000-meters at the GBTC Invitational at Harvard. His time of 7:56.76 was the fastest in the USA at the time. The next week, at Boston University's Terrier Invitational, David broke the New England Collegiate and the Providence College records with a blazing 3:55.75 in the mile run. Again, his clocking was the best in the nation, Indeed it was the second fastest indoor mile in the world this year. David is the first Providence athlete ever to take part in the Millrose Games as a student and dare we say it the first West Waterford athlete to compete at it also. Former Providence great Mark Carroll '95 won the Wanamaker as a professional in 1999.David will be looking to revive that great line of success stories that began with Ronnie Delany in the 1950s, and continued first with Coghlan, then Marcus O’Sullivan, Niall Bruton and later Mark Carroll at this prestigious event. Those five men alone have won the Wanamaker Mile an incredible 19 times between them, can yet another Irish man add his name to this prestigious list, He certainly will give it one hell of a shot. Best of luck David from all at your club.

21ST ANNUAL JOHN TREACY DUNGARVAN 10.

“WERE ON THE UP AND UP”.

 The blogs on the Munster running web site and the Boards. I.e. tell it all. It was one of the most successful events ever organised by the club without question and viewing the two chat rooms mentioned above just about sums up the hugely positive response to the club’s efforts. The e-mails have been flying in to us also and all are very positive it certainly seems to be the case that the organising committee did a tremendous job on the event and all are to be congratulated. It was also of course a great day for the town with a huge number of runners and their families here for the day with many staying for the weekend also, in these current difficult times the event did the town no harm at all and hopefully it will grow form here. The course used for this race is now well established as one of the fastest 10 milers in the country which the visiting athletes have all given the thumbs up to, the proof is in the pudding as they say, as looking at the race stats we can see that 84 runners ran under the magical 60 minute mark a huge increase from the 57 in 2010.3 runners broke the 50 minute mark and that doesn’t happen too frequently these days either. There was 412 runners under the 70 minute mark and that’s some stat in its own right as it’s under 7 minutes per mile for 10 miles.5 Ladies broke the 60 minute barrier also The proof also in the quality of the elite filed assembled  in the fast times recorded as both course records were broken when Sean Hehir of Rathfarnham WSAF A.C. recorded a very fast 49.25 to claim the Men’s record and likewise in the ladies race Maria Mc Cambridge Letterkenny AC clocked a massive time of 55.58 to smash the Ladies mark by 30 seconds, she also finished 24th overall in the race itself. So impressive was this run from Maria that the previous recorded holder Borrosokane’s Siobhan O’Doherty could only manage 5th overall in the race this year. From a West Waterford AC point of view there were many personal bests on the day with 6 athletes breaking the 60 minute barrier and 34 under the 70 minutes but of course for many its not all about times but completing the 10 miles, so a big congrats to all.

3 IN A ROW FOR REBEL CLUBS!

When the 10 Mile is over each year we usually take a look back at the race, who took part what club, if any they were from and what county they represent.  This year is no different as we look back at the 1261 finishers that crossed the finish line in Dungarvan and go through their details and clubs .Last year we had an amazing 459 runners taking part who were not affiliated to any club once again proving that running is not just about the elite club runner but is open to all regardless of ability.  This year the figure rose to 463 non affiliated participants. Once again this year Cork were the leading county with the largest number of finishers 324 with Waterford second on 217.  Next up were the boys and girls from Tipperary with 82 while Kilkenny was well represented with 41.  Wexford, Limerick and Dublin figures all increased this year to 27, 29, and 26 respectively.  In all 18 counties were represented with one runner representing an English club called Heathside.  Below is a full list of 2012 finishers and the number of finishers from each county with a look back at 2011 for comparison.

John Treacy Participants 2011 Figures 2012 Figures

No Club    459 463
Waterford     169 217
Kilkenny     31 41
Kildare      21 14
Dublin     11 26
Wicklow      5 
Armagh     3 1
Down      2 2
Carlow     1 2
Cork     198 324
Tipperary    76 82
Wexford    25 27
Limerick     21        29
Clare     10 9
Kerry     5 15
Meath     2 2
Galway    1 1
Donegal     2
Sligo      1
Westmeath     1
Antrim      1
London Heathside    1
Total     1041 1261

114 CLUBS REPRESENTED AT JOHN TREACY DUNGARVAN 10.

As host club for the race we once again had the largest number of participants with 143 club members taking to the streets of Dungarvan up from 110 last year.  Our friends from the city, Waterford A.C. also brought a large contingent of 62 up from 48 in 2011.  Other clubs with big numbers running were Eagle A.C.with 61 up 21 runners, while their Cork rivals St Finbarrs were also out in force on the day with 31.  Not to be outdone Middleton A.C. had a great entry on the day of 51 runners.98 clubs were represented in 2011 so we had an increase of 16 clubs this year.  Below is a full list of clubs with their numbers

Club No's     Club  No's
Annadale Striders 1  Kilmore A.C. 1
Apple 4    Kilmurry Ibrikane 2
Armagh A.C. 1   Kilnaboy A.C. 3
Athenry A.C. 1   Le Chéile A.C. 1
Ballincollig A.C. 3  Leevale A.C. 13
Ballynonty A.C. 3  Letterkenny A.C. 2
Bandon A.C. 8   Limerick A.C. 2
Belpark Tri Club 1  Limerick Country Club 6
BHAA Cork 5   Limerick Tri Club 1
Bilboa A.C. 4   Liscarrol A.C. 1
Blackwater Tri Club 2  London Heathside A.C. 1
Blarney A.C. 2   Macroom A.C. 1
Borrisokane A.C. 1  Mallow A.C. 29
Bray Runners 1   Midleton A.C. 51
C.I.T. A.C. 1   Millstreet A.C. 2
Cahir A.C. 1   Mount Uniacke 2
Carraig Na Bhfear A.C. 4 Mullingar A.C. 1
Carrick On Suir A.C. 16  Naas A.C. 3
Carraigaline A.C. 2  Navy A.C. 13
Clonakilty  1   Nenagh Tri Club 1
Cloneen 1   Newry Tri Club 2
Clonliffe Harriers 5  Nore Valley A.C. 2
Clonmel A.C. 35   North Cork A.C. 7
Cobh A.C. 5   Olympic Harriers 2
Coolquill A.C. 6   Racing 795 2
Cork Tri Club 5   Rathfarnham 9
Cork Orienteering Club 2 Riverstick & Kinsale 4
Courtown A.C. 1  Sliabh Bhuide Rovers 5
Crokes Athletics 1  Slaney Olympic 14
Cross Fit Mallow 1  Sandyford Harriers 1
Crusaders A.C. 2  Sli Cualann 2
Donadea A.C. 10   Sligo Tri Club 1
Donore Harriers  6  South O Hanlon A.C. 2
Donoughmore A.C. 5  St Catherines A.C. 2
Dooneen A.C. 2   St Finbarr's A.C. 41
D.S.D. 1    St Killian's A.C. 1
Duhallow A.C. 1  St Patrick's College A.C. 4
Dundrum A.C. 1   St Senans A.C. 3
Dunboyne A.C. 1  St Mullins A.C. 2
Eagle A.C. 61   St Mary's A.C. 1
East Cork A.C. 4  Star of the Laune 1
Ennis Track 2   Stoneyford A.C. 2
Farranfore Maine A.C. 2 Tallaght A.C. 1
Ferrybank A.C. 1  Templemore A.C. 5
Kilkenny Fit 4 Life 3  Thurles Crokes 11
Galbally Moore Abbey A.C. 1 Togher A.C. 1
Galtee Runners 6  Tralee Joggers 2
Glencrusers 1   Tramore A.C. 11
Gneeveguila A.C. 8  Trim A.C. 1
Gowran A.C. 3   U.C.C. A.C. 4
Grange Fermoy 10  Waterford A.C. 62
Kilkenny City Harrier 26  Waterford Tri Club 10
Kenmare Tri Club 1  West Limerick A.C. 7
Kilfinane A.C. 5   West Muskerry A.C. 1
Kildinan A.C. 1   Wexford Tri Club 3
Kilkenny Tri Club 1  West Waterford A.C. 143
Kilmacow  1   Youghal A.C. 15

AGE PROFILE OF THE RUNNERS IN THE JOHN TREACY DUNGARVAN 10 MILE RACE

Have you ever wondered about the age profile of the runners in a race of this size?  Are there more senior competitors or are there more men running than women?  Well, looking through the race results we can see that the men came out on top once again this year with a total of 829 men taking part with 432 ladies.  In fact there were more senior men in the race than there were women in total.  The breakdown of the age profile is as follows:

MEN TOTAL  829
Senior Men  451
Men 0/40  158
Men 0/45  120
Men 0/50  47
Men 0/55  31
Men 0/60  16
Men 0/65  6
Junior Men   0

LADIES TOTAL  432
Senior Ladies  139
Ladies 0/35  101
Ladies 0/40  102
Ladies 0/45  53
Ladies 0/50  23
Ladies 0/55  8
Ladies 0/60  4
Junior Lady  2

MICHAEL ROCHE CARPETS SPRING SERIES

The above series has now reached the half- way stage with 2 of the 4 races now completed. The remaining two races are the Bausch and Lomb Kilmacthomas 5 mile and the Dungarvan Business Centre 10K.The series this year had no entry fee all you have to do is just run 3 of the 4 events to be entered into a draw for prizes which will awarded after the final race the Dungarvan Business Centre 10k.
 
10TH ANNUAL BAUSCH AND LOMB KILMACTHOMAS 5

The next big club event will be on Sunday February 19th at11 a.m., the 10th Annual Bausch and Lomb sponsored Kilmacthomas 5 mile road race. This is race number three in this year’s Michael Roche Carpets spring series of road races. The organising committee headed up by Michael and Nicola Dee in Kilmacthomas always but a great amount of work into this event and this year will be no exception, so we request all our members to come along and support their efforts by running on the day. Entries will be taken at the community hall Kilmacthomas at the top of the town with the entry fee being 8 Euro. Shower facilities will also be available in this hall after the event for both men and women. With the help of the very generous sponsorship very kindly given by Bausch and Lomb a very attractive prize fund will be on offer with a total of over €1.000 cash for the top competitors and plenty of spots for down the field finishers also. Presentation of prizes will take place at Kirwans Bar on the Main St. where sandwiches and refreshments will be available to all.

The categories are as follows:
MEN-1st 2nd and 3rd, 1st over 40,45,50,55 and 1st Junior
LADIES- 1st 2nd and 3rd, 1st over 35,40,45,50

30th ANNUAL DUNGARVAN BUISNESS CENTRE 10K

The fourth and final race in the Michael Roche carpets spring series, the 30th Annual Dungarvan Business Centre10K, will take place on Sunday February 26th next at 11 am. Race head quarters will be Dungarvan Sports Centre at Quanns for the entries, changing, showers post race refreshments and presentation of prizes.

ALLROUNDER SPORTS WINTER LEAGUE

TONIGHT IS THE PENULTIMATE ROUND SO IT’S TIME TO PULL OUT ALL THE STOPS

Time really has gone fast and it’s hard to believe that we are now at the penultimate stage of the winter league. As is tradition, the last night is always a mass start which means that everyone will be starting together so everyone needs to pull out all the stops tonight. It’s great to see that the numbers are still flocking to the centre every week and that so any people are now fit and healthy since they joined up at the league. We are still looking for more to come along so if you still fancy joining why not come along tonight around 7 0’ clock to get a number and get on the way to a fitter and healthier life. See you at the centre and bring along a friend or two.

STARTING TIMES FOR TONIGHT

There will be five seconds between the groups in both the long route and the short route. As it will be a mass start next week this is the last night for the handicapped starts and it’s much easier to push yourself with the handicaps so be sure and give it your all tonight. Also be sure to be at the door in plenty of time tonight.

JAMES O’ DONNELL IS BACK ON TOP ONCE AGAIN

There really has been fantastic competition and intensity in the long route. James O’ Donnell had been leading for a number of weeks and then Kevin Hickey took control and once again, James is back in the lead with Jason Dee now in second place and Kevin in third place. Both James and Kevin got close to 35 minutes last week with a mere 9 seconds between them and with James on 550 points, Jason on 565 and Kevin on 569 it remains to be seen as to who the leader will be after tonight’s run, all three will have to pull out all the stops and I have no doubt that this will be done, best of luck to you all.

The following are the results of division 1:

DIVISION 1
James O’ Donnell 550
Jason Dee  565
Kevin Hickey  569
Luke Cunningham 629
Micheal O’ Chuirrín 658
Michael Dunford 699
Paul Brunnock  749
Josie Uí Chuirrín 761
Pat Fitzgerald  763
Trevor Walsh  828
 
The battles in the remaining divisions are proving to be every bit as intense as in division 1 and it’s far too close as yet to call a winner in any division. Catherine Mooney (756) and Yevgeniy Chizhikov in division 2 will be keeping a close eye on each other as with only 17 points between them the title is there for the taking. Vanessa Toliusis (863) and John Leahy (867) in division 3 are the closest of all the divisions with just 4 points between them and in division 4 the 14 points between Paul Casey and Tom Longan is not enough for either of them to feel safe. Running partners Denise Nugent (904) and Helene Hayes (911) in division 5 will need to pull out another personal best again this week to claim victory here. Rita Cronnolly in division 6 with 935 points has 29 points to spare over Mark Radley but again it’s not enough to feel safe.  Division 7 is the only one where a winner can be called as Michelle Fitzgerald has 82 points to spare over Michael Moloney but Michael is still in with a chance. Laura Flavin (1059) in division 8 needs to keep a steady head to keep Emer Scanlon (1097) in second place and there will be some battle in division 9 between Josie Harty (1111) and Pat Dunford (1119) and in the final division Linda Bradfield (1187) will be aiming to maintain or increase the 25 point lead which she has over Ray Bannon (1212).

TONY FERNCOMBE IS STILL AT THE TOP

Last week Tony Ferncombe had a 33 point lead over Martina Power and after last Wednesday’s run he has slightly extended it to a 36 point lead and it’s now Paul McGrath that’s in second place after Martina Power slipped back to third place as she didn’t compete on the night.  As in the long route, it’s possible to move back up to the top after losing control as proven by James O’ Donnell so Martina could very well be back in second place even in first place if she can pull off another good run tonight. Paul McGrath, who moved into second place finished in 17th place overall while Tony finished in 28th place, so the competition will be fierce again tonight, best of luck to you all.

The following are the runners currently in division 1:

Tony Ferncombe 393
Paul McGrath  429
Martina Power  489
John Power   506
Joe Nunan   547
Thomas Hallahan 548
Sinead Moore  557
Lawrence Hanrahan 573
Ann O’ Donnell 596
Brett Lynam  610

In division 2 Michael Hennessy (611) will have to pull out all the stops to stay ahead of Patricia Daly (626). Jackie Tobin (673) in division 3 will have to work as hard as she can to hold off Lisa O’ Sullivan (704) and in division 4 there is just 23 points between Anthony Dunford (749) and Mag Budds (772). In division 5 Claire Cashin (851) stands a good chance of staying at the top ahead of Stephen Hogan (889) as long as she runs as consistently well as she has been doing all along.

THE LONG AWAITED MYSTERY TOUR

Plans are well underway for this year’s Mystery tour which will take place on Friday night, February 17th. We will meet in Minnie’s Bar, Abbeyside first at 7.30 p.m. and after a few drinks there a bus will transport all the runners to the mystery venue where the overall winners and the division winners will be revealed. A great night is in store and all are more than welcome to come along and join in the fun.  Music and refreshments will be provided for all at the venue. We will be taking names for the bus at the winter league tonight and next week.  The cost of the bus is €5 so be sure and get your name on that list.

THANKS

Once again we would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the crew that are involved in the running of the league, your support and contribution is so much appreciated. Thanks also to Pearse and Marion Moloney of the All-Rounder who have sponsored the league once again this year and have always been great supporters of the league, thanks so much.

WEST WATERFORD AC ATHLETE OF THE YEAR-NEW FORMAT
 
The clubs athlete of the year competition will see a new format for the coming year the competition will be open to all fully paid up members of the club only. This year we won't have monthly winners as previous but quarterly winners, with the first winner being announced after the months of January February and March, quarter 2 will be April May and June. Quarter 3 July August and September and quarter 4 October November and December. A Prize will be awarded to the athlete who accumulates the most points in the particular quarter; an athlete can only win one quarter in a given year. To overall winner of athlete of the year will be announced at the end of December this will be the athlete who has accumulated the most points over the entire year of competition, One point will be awarded to an athlete who competes for the club in a race and 2 points will be awarded to an athlete who competes for the club in a championship event .Best of luck to all

CLUB MEMBERSHIP

Just a little reminder to those who haven’t yet paid their club membership, that’s its now due, Just 25 Euro. The club registrar is Paschal Proctor and he is available to take your fee at any club event.

RUNNING QUOTE.

Marathons are fun. You have all those people out there acting like you're a big deal; it's kind of awesome to soak that in for your one day.

THE ODYSSEY ARENA BELFAST HOSTS THIS WEEKENDS WOODIES DIY SENIOR INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS.

The Woodies Senior indoor track and field championships will be held in the odyssey Arena Belfast on this coming Saturday and Sunday 11th and 12th February and the following West Waterford AC athletes have been entered. We wish all 5 the very best for the championships.

Kate Veale 3k walk 
Claire Collins high Jump
Jamie Costin 5K walk
Lisa Houlihan pole Vault
Thomas Houlihan pole vault