WATERFORD COUNTY SENIOR CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS 2024.
AIDAN CONNELL WINS JAMES HUGHES PERPETUAL CUP.
TEAM GOLD AND SILVER FOR WEST WATERFORD MEN.
The Waterford County senior cross-country championships were held last Sunday at St. Augustine’s College (By kind permission). Having been postponed from the previous Sunday due to weather conditions it was great to see good numbers in most juvenile races however the numbers taking part in the senior and junior championships were once again very disappointing with only a handful of athletes in all races. The heavy rain which fell on Saturday made for soft underfoot conditions on parts of the course but overall the morning was idea for the programme of Juvenile and Senior events. Just like the Ladies race the men’s event was very poorly supported by the athletes in the county with one of the smallest field’s ever for a senior men’s country cross country race when only 9 faced the starters whistle. This said West Waterford AC were represented with two men’s team competing. Some years ago Donal Power of Abbeyside donated a beautiful perpetual cup in honour of his grandfather James Hughes, an Irish international cross country runner of note back in the 50s and 60s and this year the cup was presented to the new county cross country champion for 2024 Aidan Connell West Waterford AC, who came from behind on the second last lap of four to pass his club mate Justin Ryan who started out very fast leading from the gun for the first 2 laps, but Aidan always kept in close quarters and on the slight uphill section at the top of the course he upped the tempo opening up a 50 meter gap which he was to hold to the finish line. Justin held that 2nd position well and was clear at the finish line from his club mate Gary Cantwell who took a deserving bronze individual. The Team title this year went to the West Waterford men’s A team of Aidan Justin Gary and in 5th place and the 4th scoring member of the team Gearoid Coffey running his first ever senior crops country championships race, 11 points was the winning score .As mentioned the club had 2 teams competing and our 2nd team home took the silver team medals with the scoring athletes Mossie Keogh 6th ,Patrick Bergin 7th , Ray Hahesy 8th and Yev Chizhikov 9th total30 points. Well done to our own club members who wore the singlet today making sure that once again our club team’s representing the club.
SENIOR MEN
1 Aidan Connell West Waterford AC
2 Justin Ryan West Waterford AC
3 Gary Cantwell West Waterford AC
SENIOR MENS TEAMS
1st West Waterford AC 11 points
2nd West Waterfrod AC 30 points
GOLD FOR KATE VEALE-GOLD FOR LADIES TEAM.
In the Senior ladies race only 4 athletes faced the starters gun it was great to see West Waterford’s Kate Veale who of course is better known for race walking but making sure the club had a team competing donned the club singlet and also took individual gold on the day in doing so.Leading the field from the gun Kate dominated the race from gun to post taking gold individual and leading her club to the Ladies title also with Angela Tobin finish with silver and this after coming off the playing field after a ladies football game which ended a half hour before she lined out for her club changing her Gaelic jersey for her West Waterford club singlet again held the club have a ladies team on the day. Our 3rd finished taking bronze and team gold was Fiona Connell and it was special occasion for the Connell family as husband Aidan had won the men’s senior title and also lead his team to gold and Fiona bringing home a team gold and individual bronze. Our 4th Lady home is also to be commended as was recovering from a recent injury put decided to run so as the club ha the full team Ornaith Keane was 4th home, very well done to these 4 ladies for running the championships as its of utmost importance that the club have teams represented at the country events. Thanks to Padraig Healy and Peter Cunningham who came along on the day to give a hand with the results and well done to all our club athletes who came along and ran in the championship.
SENIOR LADIES
1 Kate Veale West Waterford AC
2 Angela Tobin West Waterford AC
3 Fiona Connell West Waterford AC
4 Ornaith Keane West Waterford AC
SENIOR LADIES TEAMS.
1st West Waterford A.C. 6 points
GOLD AND SILVER FOR GRAINNE AND ANGELINA.
In the Ladies Junior race over 2 lasp opf the Friary grounds the club had 2 athletes competing and they took gold And silver Grainne Moore ran a good steady paced race crossing the line ahead of her team mate Angelina Chichikova bringing home the silver well done to both ladies.
WATERFORD COUNTY CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY 2.
Waterford Cross Country Championships Day 2 13th October 2024 at 11.00am at Tramore. First Race Starts at 11.00 am Sharp. The Novice county championships for men and women will follow the Juvenile races at approx 12 noon. €5 per athlete entry, Padraig Healy will be team manager in Tramore and hopefully we will see full teams competing here.
Distances Girls / Women
U9G 750m
U11G 1,5000m
U13G 2,500m
U15G 3,500m
U17G 4,000m
U19G & Novice 4,000m
Distances Boys / Men
U9B 750m
U11B 1,500m
U13B 2,500m
U15B 3,500m
U17B 4,000m
U19B 4,000m
Novice 6,000m
MICK SUB 4 IN CHESTER MARATHON
What a better way to celebrate your birthday than to run a marathon to mark it,Club member Mick Concannon ran last Sundays Chester Marathon in a time of 3.54. With 5.000 runner taking part the event starts in Chester racecourse the route then goes into the city then out into the Cheshire countryside on closed roads crossing the border into Wales and back to Chester finishing alongside the river Dee. The well organised race advertised as as flat, it’s actually hilly with most of them coming late in the race. Well done Mick.
PATRICJA AND MARTINA RUN TRAMORE VALLEY 5K.
Two WWAC members ran last Sundays Elevate Credit Union 5k held in Tramore Valley Park Cork,very well done to Martina Beechinor who ran a time of 26.05 and Patrycja Daly completed the course in a time of 27.55.
TERRI AND PATRYCJA RUN GALWAY BAY.
The Galway Bay 10k half and full marathons were held Saturday and our club had 2 athletes competing among the large fields in all 3 distances, both our members ran the full marathon so well done to Patrycja Daly 4.29.18 and the ever green Terri Gough 6.47.49.
MICHAEL COMPLETES CARDIFF SUPER HALF.
The 21st edition of the Principality Cardiff Half Marathon took place last Sunday and club member Michael Coakley made the trip to Wales for the event. The Cardiff half is a part of the SuperHalfs which includes races in Lisbon, Prague, Berlin, Copenhagen and Valencia. The weather was very wet for the race but Michael completed the course in a time of 2.33.02.
30TH ANNUAL FORDES DAYBREAK WINTER LEAGUE.
The Fordes Daybreak Winter League will once again take place from the Sports Centre, Quanns Dungarvan for 11 Wednesday nights commencing on Wed 13th November. We will continue for 6 nights before Christmas bringing us up to Wednesday 18th December.After Christmas we will return on THURSDAY the 2nd January ( following week revere back to Wednesday )and continue for 5 nights with our final night on the 29th January. Number pick up will take place at the Sports Centre Dungarvan on Wednesday 6th November at 6.30pm or on first night of the league from 6.15pm.We hope you will join us again for this annual event and if you haven’t been with us before we guarantee you won’t be disappointed. It’s an 11 week challenge that can maintain your fitness over the winter and start 2025 on a high note. As usual there are 2 options to choose from. The first is the “long” route which is 5.2 miles while the second choice is the “short” route and the distance here is approx 2.5 miles. Both routes start and finish at the Sports Centre, Quanns. There are a few very important rules and they are not optional.No High Vis, No Run. We will not allow any runner take part who doesn’t wear a high vis. No exceptions. It has to be a high vis not a luminous t-shirt .No watches allowed or No Headphones. This is a very strict rule of this event. We will publish your time asap after the run. Your aim each week will be to run the time you ran the week before or if possible a little faster. Stewards must be obeyed at all times. Your participation in this event is an indicator of your compliance with this rule. Rules of the road apply. You must run on the footpath at all times when available and only cross the road at designated points where stewards will direct you.
YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE LEAGUE INDICATES THAT YOU AGREE TO ABIDE BY THE ABOVE RULES
Our mission is to introduce as many people as possible to running/jogging. We don’t care how fast or slow you are we just want you to enjoy the league and see the benefits of running for yourself.
ENTRY LINK-
https://eventmaster.ie/event/PQrquJDhLe
ONCE OFF ONLINE REGISTRATION PAYMENT.
The clubs winter league which now enters its 30th year will begin in a few weeks’ time. This year the number pickup night will take place on the Wednesday November 6th.The following week the league will begin officially on November 13th. On this particular night the 6th all those interested and have registered online for the winter league are asked to come along and collect their number. You will be issued with a number for a cost of €5. This number should be used every night that you run. We will have people on hand at the sports centre that will be available to answer any questions you may have and we will also explain the rules and regulations of the league as well as the two courses of the league .The first official night of the league will be the following week November 13th. For all those that won’t be able to make it to the sports centre on the number collection night you may still register online and get your number on the following Wednesday night. In fact, it’s possible to join the winter league at any stage throughout the course of the league. Last year we introduced the ability to pay in full for the league, a once off payment, which will save you money if you intend running the league each night. For club members you can pay 40 euro ( this includes the 5 euro once off number payment) and for non-members you can pay a once off payment of 45 euro which also includes the 5 euro number payment charge. This amount will cover you for the full duration of the league. Keep a close eye on our facebook page for further updates.
