Notes November 01-09

Last Wednesday night saw the biggest number ever take part in the All Rounder Sports winter league. The number for 2008 was 268 and for the first night of 2009 the sum total of runners in both the short and the long route was 278. It was evident from early in the night that we were on for a record entry given the steady flow of people arriving at the centre from 6.45 onwards. It was great to see such a huge crowd especially all those who are new to running and we are glad to report that all involved enjoyed the run. It was a perfect night for running, no wind or rain so fingers crossed that this will continue. It was a mass start last week which meant that all runners started at the same time. From tonight on all the runners will be going off in groups, with 30 seconds between each group. In order to find out what time you go off at, you need to look this up on the wall inside the main sports hall. On display on the wall will be each runner’s number and name and written beside this will be your starting time. If your time is 00.30 this means that you will be starting 30 seconds after the clock starts.  If 2.30 is written beside your number and name then you will start your run two and a half minutes after the clock has started. Runners will be informed when the clock has started and when your time is approaching please make your way to the front door and when your time is called you start running. After a few weeks it will all seem much easier. Just remember that your starting time will vary from week to week so you must check each week and remember to arrive in the hall in plenty of time. Each runner must register first upstairs, if you have a number already you go to the desk on the right at the top of the stairs. If you don’t have a number then you go to the desk on the left at the stairs and you will be issued with a number that you will then use each night that you run. You may register any night as it’s never too late to join the league. There are 7 more nights of the league before Christmas so please come along to the centre any Wednesday night and join in the fun, you’ll be glad you did. 

TWO ROUTES ON OFFER AT THE WINTER LEAGUE

For those who have yet to join the winter league we have two routes on offer, the short route which is 2.5 miles and the long route which is 5.75 miles. Our advice to newcomers would be to do the short route and then when you feel ready you can always change to the long route as long as you tell us at the desk and we will issue you with a new number. For the record, we had 129 runners in the short route last week and 149 in the long route. Don’t forget that we all have to start somewhere and you’re most welcome to run a bit and walk and then run again. You’ll find that with each passing week you will be able to run a little further. 

STARTING TIMES FOR TONIGHT: CLOCK STARTS AT 7.20 P.M

Last week was a mass start with everybody beginning at the same time, this week is different. From now on, everybody will be starting at different times and each runner must go at the time they are given. With approximately 300 runners taking part it’s important that each runner goes at their allotted time to avoid confusion, your co-operation in this matter would be greatly appreciated. As the league is run on a handicap basis this  means that the slowest go first and the fastest go last and the main goal for everyone is to try and run the route a little bit quicker each week. The starting times for each person will be displayed on the wall in the main hall. The starting times for the short route will be on the wall to the left of the main door and the starting times for the long route will be displayed on the opposite wall. Locate your number and your name and starting time will be written beside it. If your time is 2.30, this means that when the clock reaches two and a half minutes you must start your run. If your time is 6.30 then when the clock reaches six and a half minutes you start running. It is each runner’s responsibility to keep an eye on the clock and please ensure that you are out in the porch close to your time. The clock starts at 7.20 p.m. sharp. Please give yourself plenty of time to register and locate your time. Registration will begin from 6.40 p.m. onwards. 

SO HOW DOES THE WINTER LEAGUE WORK??

Good question, it can sound quite complicated when you’re new to the league but as the weeks go by you will understand a little bit more each week. Basically, the over all winner of the winter league will be the person who knocks the most time off the time that they recorded on the first week. For each of us, the aim is to run a little bit faster each week. As it was a mass start last week, our score from last week was our finishing position. If you finished in 5th place you got 5 points, if you finished in 20th position, then you received 20 points and so on. In the long route last week the first five runners home were Alan Hickey, Shane Power, Phillip Harty, Seamus Kiely and Christopher Murphy. As these were the fastest runners on the night they will be the last to start running tonight and it will be a big task for them to catch all the other runners that will be out on the course well before them. The newcomers will be able to improve by a lot each week and will fare out better in the long run. Each runner’s goal in the league will be to earn as few points as possible and each night the person that improves their time the most will get one point for their run, the person who is the second best improver gets two points and so on down the line. The best improver each night can be anywhere in the field of runners, you may finish last and still be the best improver on that particular night. The same applies in the short route. Last week the first five to finish were Sean Stilwell, Gary Cantwell, Corinna Walsh, Stephen Shasby and Michael Ryan. As these all ran quite fast their scope for improvement is limited in comparison to a newcomer who may have the potential to improve by 5 or 6 minutes and therefore earn fewer points than the other runners which is the goal of the league. For now though, our advice would be not to get bogged down with the rules but to get out every Wednesday night and enjoy the run. 

PLEASE WEAR YOUR BIB AND YOUR NUMBER

The number you received last week is the number that you wear each night of the league. It’s vital that you wear both. For safety reasons, we are not allowed to permit anybody to run without a bib and your finishing position and times can’t be recorded unless you wear your number. 

PLEASE OBEY THE STEWARDS

Stewards are placed along both routes to ensure the runners safety and for this reason they must be obeyed. They give up their time each Wednesday night and without them the league would not be able to go ahead. We are indebted to them for their help and they are to be obeyed at all times. They are there for the runner’s safety and it’s important that we only cross the road when told to do so and likewise when asked to run in single file. To avoid accidents, penalty points will be issued to those that fail to comply with these requests. 

IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO JOIN

Although the league has started it is not too late to join. If you are thinking of doing the winter league this year and as yet have not made it down, just come along any night that you can. On your first night we will issue you with a number like everybody else and we will explain the route to you. Please bring a reflective bib along with you. For safety reasons we are not allowed to permit anybody to run without one. You pay €5 for your number which you will use every night of the league and its €3 for non-members to run or €2 for members. For your first night, it will cost you either €7 or €8 depending if you’re a member or not and after your first night you will only have to pay €2 or €3 every other night. If you intend to start tonight, we ask that you get there in plenty of time so as to get your number and know the route.  

IF TONIGHT IS YOUR FIRST NIGHT AT THE LEAGUE

If tonight is your first night running in the league you will start running when the clock reads 5 minutes. As you didn’t run last week your name will not appear on the list on the wall so its 5 minutes for all newcomers. 

PARKING

Thanks to all the runners for parking correctly last week. We would like to remind all participants not to park in front of anyone’s house or entrance and to obey the stewards. Also, you may leave your keys in the box in the sports centre but it’s at your own risk. 

CHANGING THE ROUTE 

If you are running the long route and you want to change to the short route or vice versa that’s no problem as long as you tell us and we issue you with a new number. If you decide to change and don’t tell us you will mix up the results so it’s mush easier if you tell us as it will only take a minute or two get your new number. 

CLUB MEMBERSHIP

The club membership fee is €25 and for this you become a member of the club and are registered with the Athletics Association of Ireland. You also pay less for each night of the league; the fee is just €2 for members per night. If you wish to join you can pay the fee to our membership officer, Michael Tutty, who will be available at the sports centre. 

LUCKY DIP WINNERS

Each week at the winter league we will have a lucky dip prize to be won by somebody in the long run and the short run. The rules are very simple, whatever the date is, the person who finishes in the same position as the date wins the lucky dip prize. Last Wednesday was the 28th and so the 2 winners for last week were the athletes that finished in 28th position. For the long route this was Tony O’ Mahony and in the short route the winner was Christopher Lawler. Please contact us at the desk next week and we’ll give you your prize, well done to you both. Tonight is the 4th so the athletes that finish in 4th place tonight in both leagues will be tonight’s winners.

The above event will take place this Sunday at Tralee racecourse with proceedings getting underway at 2 pm. Unfortunately we are unable to field a ladies team this year but have a relatively strong men’s team lined up for the day. The club has had considerable success at this venue down through the years and a big effort from the lads on the day should see us add to the medal tally once more before the end of the season. The team that will travel on Sunday is: Rory Moloney, Conor Murray, Sean Stilwell, Kevin Kenneally, Padraig Healy and Johnny O’ Connor. We wish them the very best of luck on the day. 

 

We won’t have too far to travel this year for the Munster Masters Cross Country Championships as the venue for the event is Fethard, Co. Tipperary. The event will take place on Sunday, November 29th and so would all athletes intending to travel please contact our cross country co-ordinator Tony Ryan as soon as possible. 

 

 

Close to 50 athletes made the trip to the capital to compete in the 30th Dublin City Marathon. Way back last autumn many made the decision to take part and as time went by it gained momentum and so we had one of the club’s biggest ever representations at a marathon which had athletes from 50 international countries. Among all our athletes we had numerous marathon debutants who performed admirably on the day, some who were on their second marathon this season and others who were adding to their long tally of marathons. The day itself couldn’t have been more suitable for running and despite the course record remaining intact for another year, many of our own athletes recorded personal bests and for those for whom it was their first venture into marathon running, they all performed well beyond their expectations. Raivis Zakis was the first member home on the day and finished 6th senior man home in the AAI National Championships. This was a fantastic achievement to say the least especially in light of the fact that it was the highest ever standard in the 30 year history of the marathon.  The Paddy Joe Delaney shield goes to Raivis once again in 2009. This shield is awarded to the first member home in the Dublin City Marathon and the Ballycotton 10 mile road race and so not for the first time Raivis is the worthy recipient of this shield. This was not the only award won on the day as we had considerable success in the master’s category. Congratulations to Terry Gough on winning yet again another individual medal, Terry finished 2nd in her age category and so for her efforts brought home another All-Ireland silver medal to add to her ever increasing collection. Silver team medals were also won by West Waterford courtesy of the fine runs of Helene Hayes and Ann Moroney who together with Terry Gough were the second best team over 50. Helene Hayes was first home for the team, recording a personal best time of 4.45.40 in the process and so it was double delight for her to learn that they had also won team silver. Our 0/35 team of Ann Dunford, Brigid Coffey and Josie Ui Chuirrin narrowly missed out on winning bronze medals in their category when they were beaten by a very small margin by St. Finbarr’s, nevertheless all three athletes had a great run and were well pleased with their performances on the day as were all the others. There were 14 who were taking on the challenge for the first time and they certainly reaped the rewards of their consistent training over the summer. Congratulations to you all, you all certainly proved that you were well up for the challenge and fortunately nobody really hit the wall and when the going got tough over the last few miles everyone dug deep and got safely home. At one stage it seemed to be one West Waterford athlete after another with very little between them time-wise. Mary Harney was on a roll to say the least knocking 7 minutes off her previous best which was a phenomenal effort. She was closely followed by Ann Moroney and Seamus Manahan, Leisa Fleming, Amanda Mansfield and Tommy Lenihan, Gillian McNnamara and Paula Nugent who were all under 5 hours. Just on the other side of that were Jacinta Sheil and Paula Earley, Micheal O Chuirrin, Bridget Blackwell, Pat Moore, Denise Nugent, Albert McGrath, Vince O’ Donovan, Mary Rose and Seamus Drummy and Johnny O’ Connor. Hugh Walsh was another competing in his first marathon and his time of 3.37.11 tells me that it certainly won’t be his last and likewise for Margaret Power who ran a blinder on the day.Well done also to all those for whom Dublin was their second marathon outing this year. Gerry Cantwell, Garret Byrne, James Veale and Ann Dunford are masters on the subject at this stage having competed in Berlin a number of weeks ago and showed no ill effects in Dublin running similar times on a tougher course, no problem to them at all. Everyone is now taking a well deserved break for the time-being but I’m sure there’s already talk of another marathon, roll on 2010!

 Sunday November 15this the date set for the 16th annual McGrath’s Newsagents Brickey Run. It will start at the usual time of 11 o’ clock. This race has always attracted big numbers given that it caters for all. There is a 3 mile run as well as a 5 mile run with separate prizes for both races. The 5 mile race will be on the usual route taking in the challenging canal section. An unusual yet amusing feature of the 5 mile race is that instead of awarding prizes according to the customary age categories, the prizes are awarded according to weight. The men are weighed upon entry and prizes are awarded accordingly. Prizes are awarded to the top 5 women in the race. The Martin Curran memorial shield will be awarded to the first male athlete home and the first female athlete home will be awarded with the Jim Lyons memorial shield. Entries will be taken from 10.15 am in the Bushy Park GAA clubhouse and the entry fee to both races is €8. Changing facilities will be provided at the clubhouse. Post race refreshments and the prize-giving will also take place in the centre immediately after the race. It’s always been a great day out and we’d like to encourage as many of our members to support this great race. See you out there. 

 West Waterford Athletic Club extends its sympathy to the family, friends and colleagues of the late Sr. Nora Leonard of Carriglea Convent who passed to her eternal reward recently. May she rest in peace

 Whatever the pace, run softly, run tall.

Well done to local runners who made the trip to Amsterdam recently to take part in the Amsterdam Half Marathon, all three did well with Linda Bradfield and Patricia Mulcahy finishing together in a time of 2.00.49 while Patricia’s sister Michelle Clarke was in just behind them with a time of 2.01.40.great stuff Ladies.

David Mc Carthy despite suffering the effects of a recent virus was the top finisher for his college Providence at last Saturdays Big East cross country championships held in Wisconsin. David worked hard over the undulating course and led his college into 5th place in the championships. 

Men 8k

1 Cory Thorne SR Louisville 24:43

2 Mathew Mildenhall FR Villanova 24:46

3 Andrew Bumbalough GR Georgetown 24:46

4 Pat Dupont SO Syracuse 24:50

5 Mike Krisch GR Georgetown 24:55

6 David McCarthy JR Providence 25:03

 With the huge recent success of Albert’s crew at the Dublin City Marathon last bank holiday Monday, it just goes to prove the person right who said that you get out what you put into running, well and that’s for sure where this group are concerned as after the months of dedicated work behind them each to a fault came through with flying colours and they are to be congratulated on their success, the word in the camp now I believe is what’s our next one. Well Albert knows too well that things have to be taken steadily for a few weeks after completing a marathon and speaking with him last week he wants to inform those interested that the next big target won’t be a marathon at all but our very own 10 miler on January 31st 2010.starting this Friday for those interested he will along with this able bodied first officer Jacinta start back his weekly training groups at 10 o clock on Friday’s and Monday mornings from the Crystal Centre and also on Friday and Monday evenings at 5.30 pm from the crystal. The runs will be short for the next couple of weeks building up the mileage over the coming weeks for the 10 miler in January. This is also an ideal opportunity for anyone who might be interested in having a go at this running lark to come along any Friday or Monday to the Crystal where all the encouragement needed will be available form the crew. Who knows maybe this time next year you could be joining them at the start line in Fitzwilliam Square.O yes you can. 

Congratulations to Brian Byrne who competed in last Sunday’s New York City Marathon. This event is one of the most prestigious running events in the world with entry being sought by thousands of athletes world-wide and so Brian can count himself as one of the lucky ones to have gained entry in to one of the top 5 marathons in the world. While it’s one of the most popular it’s certainly not one of the easiest by any means. Brian covered the 26.2 miles in a time of 3.08.24 which is a fantastic time, even more so when taking the tough course into consideration. Well done to you Brian. The race itself was won by Meb Keflizghi (2.09.15) who set a personal best en route to becoming the first American men’s winner of the ING New York City Marathon since 1982. On the women’s side, one of history’s all-time great distance runners, Derartu Tulu (2.28.52) of Ethiopia won her first New York City marathon.