Notes August 29-10
AMBER PETROLEUM FIT4LIFE LEAGUE
The Amber Petroleum Fit4Life Running League took place at the Friary
College for a total of 8 enjoyable weeks and concluded on August 17th
for another year and judging by its success and popularity everyone
will be looking forward to the Amber League of 2011. Over the course
of the 8 weeks all who took part enjoyed the league, and each and
every night was a resounding success. This league was open to everyone
and the beauty of the way it is organised is that anyone is capable of
winning each night. The beginner had as much chance as winning as the
regular runner and previous running experience didn’t give anyone an
advantage over anyone else. Every week the winner was the person who
could run as close to the time they predicted for the distance that
they had chosen. The distances that you could run were 1, 2, 3 or 4
laps. Beginners and regulars took part each week and tried to get as
close to their time as possible. Over the course of the 8 weeks we
had prizes on offer for the 1st three over the line after the clock
struck zero. If someone managed to come in the top 3 more than once
then the next in line was promoted to be a prizewinner. In this way
we were guaranteed 24 prizewinners over the course of the league, 3
winners for each of the 8 weeks. A Champions League Table was also put
in place whereby the weekly winner would get 30 points, the second 29
and so on down to 1 point. The runner who crossed the line just
before zero was rewarded with 20 points, the person before that
received 19 points and so on. The points were accumulated each week
and the person with the most points after the 8 weeks was crowned the
overall winner. With separate prizes on offer for the first 5 on the
Champions League Table it was all to play for and it was a battle
right to the very end with all the athletes that took part and this
added to the popularity of the league.
Weekly winners at Amber League
Week 1 Anna Ballott Onra Power Carol Whelan
Week 2 Micheál Callaghan James Veale Richie Power
Week 3 Liam Sandford Tina Kenneally Vincent Tutty
Week 4 Michael Deegan Karen Coleman Paddy Power
Week 5 Declan Hayes Colleen Hayes Michael Foley
Week 6 Josie Harty John Foley Kevin Walsh
Week 7 Jim Fleming Pat Riordan Grace Downey
Week 8 Caroline Lenihan Catriona Kiely Maria Kennedy
ANNA IS CROWNED AMBER LEAGUE CHAMPION
From the very first night of the league, Anna Ballot showed all
present in the friary that she knew a thing or two about pacing as she
was the first winner of the league and earned for herself the maximum
30 points which placed her at the top of the league tables but little
did Anna know that she would be in that exact same position 8 weeks
later finishing with the second highest score ever on the Champion’s
League Table. Victory for week 2 went to Micheal Callaghan but Anna
was just one second slower than predicted as was Onra Power who were
now well placed on the tables. Liamy Sandford won for the third week
and Anna and Onra were so close again but this time they were on the
wrong side of the clock as they were one and two seconds too fast but
this kept them at the top. The fourth week saw Michael Deegan take the
honours and it was also the second week in a row that Anna and Onra
were too fast but only marginally so with both of them being 11
seconds out. Declan Hayes denied victory to the rest of the field with
his win for week 5 and Anna and Onra managed to get back on the right
side of the clock, both ten seconds slower than they thought but it
was Anna that got to the line first. Josie Harty finished just as she
predicted in week 6 and Onra and Anna were only a few seconds out but
they were once again on the wrong side of the clock but the fact that
those who finish too fast get points as well was enough to keep the
girls in the top 5 overall. Jim Fleming showed his pacing skills with
a win in week 7 and he finished behind Onra and Anna who were once
again too fast but only just. When the tables were done up after week
7 both Anna and Onra were on even points and with both crossing the
line together for the final night it was necessary to do a count back
and for the previous 7 weeks, Anna was better placed than Onra and she
also had an overall win in the first week so victory went to Anna on
this occasion but Onra will be well pleased to have her second top 5
overall position for the second year in a row and this with her
overall victory in 2007 certainly proves that she is an expert when it
comes to pacing. In 2008, Yevgeniy Chizhikov won with a score line of
148 which was the highest ever score in this league and Anna’s overall
score of 146 brought her very close to this and she now holds the
second highest ever score with Onra holding the third best score,
surpassing her overall score when she won in 2007. They may have been
in contention from day one but it was almost snatched from them as a
last ditch attempt by Tom Leahy and Caitriona Kiely which brought
their score to 140 showed how easy victory is won and lost over the
course of even one night, a few seconds could have made so much
difference to the tables. Liam Sandford who won week 3 finished up 5th
overall, Liam always does well at this league with his pacing skills
for the marathon helping him along. A total of 105 different people
featured on the league tables and all are to be thanked for coming
along to support the league. Below are the top 5 for 2010 and also the
winners from previous years.
2010
Anna Ballot 146
Onra Power 145
Tom Leahy 140
Caitriona Kiely 140
Liam Sandford 136
2009
Eamon Flavin 141
Michael McCarthy 141
Niamh Budds 140
Norma Wall 139
Onra Power 134
2008
Yevgenniy Chizhikov 148
Corinna Walsh 144
Colm O Brien 128
Norma Wall 110
John Foley 110
2007
Onra Power 141
Brigid Coffey 139
Brid Veale 137
Pat Morrissey 136
John Foley 134
2006
Eamonn Flavin 115
Karen Ryan 115
Liam Budds 114
Deirdre Cunningham 112
Michael Deegan 112
SPONSORS AND PRIZEGIVING
We were delighted this year to welcome back Pat and Marion Keane of
the Amber Garage on the Youghal Road as sponsors of the league. As
ever they proved to be most generous and supportive of the league and
their contribution certainly added to the success of the league.
Their support is much appreciated by all at West Waterford and indeed
all the runners and both Pat and Marion were present at the prize
giving on Friday night last in Ballinameela to present the prizes to
the individual winners. We thanks them for giving of their time on the
night and we ask that our runners support our sponsors whenever
possible. Thanks also to all the prizewinners who were in attendance.
Finally thanks once again to the Friary College for the use of their
grounds over the course of the league.
LEAGUE ORGANISORS
Great credit goes to the organising team that made the Amber League
possible. Thanks to Tony and Michael in the van and for setting out
the course, to Liam on the clock and to Shirley on the finishing line,
all these were present every night to ensure the smooth running of the
league. A sincere thank you must go to Ann Dunford who kept track of
the times each week and calculated the scores for the Champion’s
League Tables, a task done so well as always with Ann and she also
wrote the weekly updates for the league, many thanks. Finally thanks
to everyone else who helped out in any way over the course of the
league and for the upcoming leagues if you are injured and not
running, please come along and just let us know if can help out. We
appreciate any help we get!
GER WYLEY SPORTS/NIKE SUMMER SERIES 2010
THE SERIES IN REVIEW
The recent staging of the Ardmore 5 mile road race drew the curtain
down on the Ger Wyley/Nike sponsored Summer Series for 2010. This road
racing series which is made up of 10 races and with a variety of
different courses all around the county of Waterford is hosted by West
Waterford Athletic Club and is the only running series in the country
involving 10 separate races. Over the course of the summer we have
visited all corners of the county from Clashmore, Cunnigar/Ring,
Ardmore, Ballymacarbry, Cappoquin, Dungarvan, Waterford, Villierstown
and Tramore with fantastic racing, great times recorded and some very
pleasant weather conditions along the way. It’s hard to believe it’s
all over again for this year but before we say goodbye to the series
for 2010 we will look back over the year to see who the winners were
and also at some new records set along the way.
Records were set in terms of participation in 2009 and also in the way
of times posted, none more so than Pauline Lambe who this year
transferred to Waterford A.C. so she was able to participate in almost
all the races this year. 2010 saw a record entry in Waterford to
Tramore (which incidentally is the longest race at 7.5 miles) where
378 runners made their way from the Mall in Waterford to the grounds
of Splashworld, up 24 on the 2009 figure. The entry record was also
broken in Dromana where 208 runners ran the picturesque route from
Villiarstown to Cappoquin. This year Pauline Lambe broke 2 more course
records and these were in Clashmore where she lowered the record to
29.45, an excellent time for such a challenging course. The hills are
obviously no problem for Pauline as Ballymacarbry was also to see a
new record for the books when Pauline broke the record by 2 seconds
running 29.48.
ORGANISATION AND RESULTS
Organising an event that consists of 10 separate races, which run from
April to August, is no mean feat but in the hands of our Road Racing
Co-ordinator Gerry Cantwell this organising is something he has been
doing for many years. Gerry has some great help along the way and he
will be the first to admit that Breda has been a tower of strength to
him in organising entries and helping with results. Breda also has a
super team of officials who turn out at all 10 races and remember
these people turn out to make sure that you the runner get your
correct number, proper finish time and position on the results sheet.
Great credit is due to Breda, Megan, Bernie, Colleen, and Shirley and
of course Liam. To our outdoor staff made up of Tony in the club van,
Michael, Albert and of course Jamie and Conor who are ever present
looking after our safety on the roads. All these people give of their
time in the interest of athletics and do a multitude of jobs
throughout the year. After every race we try to make sure that results
and indeed many photos of each race are posted on our website as soon
as possible. This is all the work of James Veale and Andrea Gaffney
who are constantly updating the website and this work is very time
consuming so once again a sincere thank you. I’m sure you will all
agree that the fantastic array of prizes on offer at each and every
one of the ten races are just great and this is all down to the
efforts of Ann Dunford who sources all the prizes and as always with
Ann, she did a marvellous job. Not only did she look after the prizes
but after each race Ann kept track of everybody’s finishing position
and did up the tables for the series which was a huge task but in
Ann’s capable hands it couldn’t have been done any better. Our own
club championship competition was in the hands of Tom Leahy who was as
efficient as ever, many thanks Tom. We were fortunate once again to
have the co-operation and assistance of the Gardai this year at most
of our races for which we are most grateful. To all of the local
stewards in all the places we visited over the summer we are extremely
grateful also for your assistance.
Finally to all the runners who took part in our races we hope you had
an enjoyable experience and that you ran faster than you hoped and
that you will be back with us again in 2011.
SPONSORSHIP
Every event needs good backing and sponsorship and in Ger Wyley and
Nike we have two of the best sponsors in the business. Indeed Ger has
been sponsoring this series since 1994 and is always present to give a
helping hand and was on hand once again in Ardmore to present the
prizes to all the winners.
In the present financial climate we are extremely grateful to all our
sponsors most of whom have been with us for many years and who
continue to support athletics in the county. Each individual race has
its own sponsor and their support and enthusiasm is much appreciated.
To all the clubs who allowed us to use their facilities over the
summer a special thank you and to all the establishments where we were
made feel most welcome and to our hosts in each of these locations
where we were fed with tea, coffee and sandwiches, once again a
sincere thank you.
SANDIS RETAINS MICHEÁL O HOGAIN CUP FOR 5TH TIME
There were 135 entries in the Summer Series for 2010 and for the 3rd
year in a row we had prizes awarded to the top 10 men and the top 5
ladies. €25 vouchers were awarded to every runner who completed 6
races and if you could do all 10 you would receive a €75 voucher.
Prizes were also awarded to every 10th man and every 5th lady after
the top 10 and 5 respectively.
For the 5th year in a row Sandis Bralitis took victory in the overall
Summer Series with the minimum 6 points from his 6 races ran. This is
the same points total, which Sandis had in 2009 so he is now an expert
in doing exactly what he has to do to win. In joint second place this
year and on the same points total and with exactly the same amount of
first second and third places were Raivis Zakis and Brian Murphy of
Carrick on Suir A.C. Raivis and Brian both had 1 first, 4 seconds and
1 third place finish giving them both a total of 12 points. In fourth
place this year and incidentally on the same number of points which
saw him take second place last year was Rory Moloney on 21 points
while Shane Mullaney of Thurles Crokes took 5th spot on 30 points.
Kevin Kenneally came into the top 10 this year taking 6th place on 35
points while Johnny O Connor moved from 9th place in 2009 to 7th place
this year taking his points total down from 74 to 65 this year.
Martin McCarthy too finished on 65 points but with Johnny having
secured two 10th place finishes he got the nod from Martin in 8th
place. Incidentally 67 points was enough in 2009 for Martin to secure
7th place. Trevor Mason came into the top 10 also in 2010 on 72
points while the final top 10 finisher was Des Feeney, who finished
with 91 points.
MEN TAKING €75 VOUCHERS
22 men went on to run all 10 races this year and in doing so took home
a €75 voucher to spend on Nike products in Ger Wyleys. For the record
the 22 men were:
1. Trevor Walsh
2. Trevor Mason
3. Pearse Moloney
4. Pat Earley
5. Tom Leahy
6. John Leahy
7. Tomás Coleman
8. Mark Cliffe
9. Maurice Boland
10. Ray Burke
11. Pascal F Proctor
12. Michael Deegan
13. Paul Brunnock
14. Adrian Fitzgerald
15. Micheál Callaghan
16. Richard Griffin
17. Paddy Street
18. Donal O Donoghue
19. Liam Budds
20. Martin Hayes
21. John Flynn
22. Vincent Tutty
DIVISIONAL WINNERS
Once again this year after the top ten we had every 10th man taking a
prize and the lucky people who got an extra €25 voucher this year were
in 20th place Brendan Aspel who finished on 147 points. Incidentally
here again Patrick Roche also finished on 147 points but with a higher
finishing position of 17th in the Marine Climb Patrick moved up to
19th place. 30th place this year went to Garret Byrne on 235 points 2
ahead of James Veale while 40th place went to Pat Dunford on 310. Pat
Earley had a full 40 points to spare over his nearest rival and took
50th place with 442 points while Billy Coleman had 9 points to spare
when he clinched 60th place with 567 points. Finally 70th position
for 2010 went to John Foley on a point’s total of 670.
BACK-TO-BACK VICTORIES FOR PAULINE LAMBE IN SUMMER SERIES
For the second year in a row, Pauline Lambe claimed victory in the
summer series with 7 wins from the 7 races that she took part in. The
standard in the ladies has been increasing each year and this year was
no exception with great battles going on between Angela McCann and
Martina O’ Dwyer and indeed further down the field. Despite all this
however, Pauline was never in any danger of conceding a win as she led
out each race with determination and conviction and set more course
records again in 2010. She was at her best in Waterford to Tramore,
Clashmore and Ballymacarbry as she now holds the course records for
these and she was also close to breaking the long-standing record for
the Dromana race, a record she will surely add to her collection in
2011. In second place in the series was Martina O’ Dwyer who earned 12
points for her 6 races and it was without question her best series to
date as she broke the magical 30 minute barrier more than once and no
doubt she will be back for 2011 with more of the same. West Waterford
athletes Norma Wall and Corinna Walsh took third and fourth place
respectively and Waterford athlete Joan Mahony took fifth place with a
score of 40 points in total.
DIVISIONAL WINNERS
Outside of the top 5, prizes were awarded to every 5th position on the
league tables. Ann Dunford filled the 10th spot with 65 points, and
Angeline Drennan was delighted to take 15th place with 88 points from
her best 6. Aside from Hillary Collins of Coolquill who finished in
25th position on 236 points, it was otherwise a clean swoop for West
Waterford with Onra Power taking 20th spot on 170 points, Terry Gough
won 30th place on 281 and Sharon Nugent filled the 35th place on 381.
The number of women in the series was up from last year, which looks
very promising, and so all these got a 25 euro voucher for completing
the series. Another figure that’s up from last year is the number that
completed all ten races and those that did received a 75 euro voucher
so well done to all the participants and the prize-winners in the
summer series of 2010.
LADIES RECIPIENTS OF 75 EURO VOUCHER
Angeline Drennan
Noelle Conway
Bernie Prendergast
Claire Walsh
Caitriona Kiely
Anne Massey
Triona Wall
Martina Walsh
Mary Riordan
Marion Moloney
UPCOMING LEAGUES FOR WEST WATERFORD ATHLETIC CLUB
With the conclusion of the very successful summer leagues, it’s time
to turn our attention to the upcoming Autumn Leagues. These leagues
are designed with the newcomer in mind and we would like to encourage
anyone who wants to take up running to come along and give it a go.
Any newcomer that does come along is always pleasantly surprised at
the rate at which you can improve at running. We all had to start off
running one lap and build it up from there. Please don’t feel that you
would be left behind or would stand out. We have newcomers at all our
leagues and we provide plenty of support and encouragement so please
come along and give them a go. The first league starts next Tuesday
night, September 7th and it’s the Elite Paintball One Lap Challenge
and the second league, the Garvey’s Supervalue Autumn League starts
next Thursday night, September 9th. Our thanks go to the Friary
College for permitting the use of their grounds once again; it’s very
much appreciated by all at the club.
ELITE PAINTBALL ONE LAP CHALLENGE
Sponsored by Jeff Allen of Elite Paintball, the One Lap Challenge is
exactly what the title states: Each person aims to run one lap of the
Friary Grounds. Each lap is 1.2 miles long and as the league runs for
5 consecutive weeks you will all be able to run the lap without
stopping after the 5 weeks, guaranteed! As the saying goes “Rome
wasn’t built in a day” and likewise we don’t expect anybody to run the
lap on their first night without stopping. We encourage all
participants to jog a little and walk a little and when you feel
comfortable again to jog another little bit. It’s a great idea to
bring along a friend if you can, as it will provide further
motivation. You don’t need to have had any previous running experience
whatsoever and you don’t have to be a member of the club to take part,
everyone is welcome at the Friary. The league begins at 7 pm and we
will start taking the names at the club van from 6.45 pm onwards. The
entry fee each night is €2 and we will provide water at the finish for
you all. All you need is a pair of runners and a pair of
shorts/leggings/tracksuit. See you out there. Our thanks go to Jeff
Allen of Elite Paintball for sponsoring this league again this year.
It will be held on the following nights: September 7th, 14th, 21st,
28th and October 5th.
GARVEY’S SUPERVALUE AUTUMN LEAGUE
The second of our Autumn Leagues is the Garvey’s Supervalue Autumn
League, a league that has proved very popular among newcomers and
seasoned runners alike. All those taking part can choose to run 1, 2,
3 or 4 laps of the Friary with each lap being 1.2 miles. Newcomers are
encouraged to run one lap at the start and then if they feel ready
they may move up to two laps. The choice is yours each night. The
entry fee is €2 each night and all are welcome. As with the other
leagues water will be provided at the finish and no previous
experience is necessary. Newcomers may walk or jog the course and as
each week passes you will find that you will be able to run a little
further each week. The league starts at 6.30 pm and we will be taking
entries from 6.15 onwards. Parking is available at the Friary and we
would like to take this opportunity to thank Garvey’s for their
support of local athletics once again this year. The dates for the
league are as follows: September 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th, and October
7th. See you out there.
BALLYCOTTON SUMMER LEAGUE COMES TO A CONCLUSION
The fourth and final race of the Ballycotton series took place last
Thursday evening in the village of Ballycotton and as usual West
Waterford was well represented on the night. The race itself was won
by Alan O’ Shea of Bantry and Lizzie Lee of Leevale was the ladies
winner. Padraig Healy was the first home from the club and Brigid
Coffey was the first lady, well done to all.
West Waterford finishers
Padraig Healy 30.05
Paul Brunnock 34.30
Martin Mullarkey 34.50
Ted O’ Leary 35.38
Brigid Coffey 38.31
Eamon Flavin 38.41
Josie Ui Chuirrin 38.51
John Foley 39.33
Paschal Proctor 40.57
Onra Power 42.46
Mary Harney 48.03
NATIONAL HALF MARATHON CHAMPIONSHIPS IN CARLOW THIS SUNDAY
The AAI National Half Marathon Championships will take place this
Sunday in Crettyard, Monevea, Co. Carlow and the race itself will
start at 1 o’ clock. The pre-entry fee is 15 euros but it’s also
possible to enter on the day at a cost of 25 euros. The entry forms
may be downloaded from the AAI website and all club members are to
enter themselves individually and the club will enter the teams.
Please let either Ann Dunford (086 0619711) or Norma Wall (087
9385965) know if you have entered as soon as possible as the team
entries need to be in the AAI office this Friday.
ALAN EVERETT 5.
The Alan Everett 5 mile road race took place last Sunday. Well done to
Joe Gough 1st over 55 with a time of (30.35), Michael McCarthy
(40.08), Andrea Gaffney (41.39) and Hugh O’ Connor (44.10).
ADIDAS FRANK DUFFY DUBLIN 10.
Raivis Zakis finished 19th recently in the Adidas sponsored Frank
Duffy 10 miler held in the Phoenix Park . Raivis recorded a time of
55.45.
SANDIS 2ND IN LONGFORD HALF.
Sandis Bralitis was the clubs sole representative at last Sundays
Longford half marathon finishing 2nd overall the full results and
times are not available at time of going to press.