Notes August 30-09

The Amber Petroleum Fit4Life Running League took place at the Friary College for a total of 8 weeks from the 30th of June to the 18th August.  Over the course of the 8 weeks, the league was enjoyed by all who took part and 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.  Every week the winner was the person who could run as close to the time they predicted for the distance that they chose.  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 of 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 prize-winner.  In this way we were guaranteed 24 prize-winners over the course of the league.  A Champions League Table was also put in place where 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 19 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.

 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TABLE

From the first night Norma Wall served notice that she was going to be back in contention in 2009 for the overall title.  Norma finished 4th overall in 2008 and went straight to the top of the league in 2009 with victory in week 1.  Norma was to hold this position right up to week 7 until she was overtaken by just 2 points by Eamonn Flavin.  Eamonn’s victories in weeks 2 and 6 meant he was in a strong position going into the final night.  Norma needed to take 3 points more than Eamonn to take back control of the Champions League Table but it was not to be as on the final night neither Norma of Eamonn managed to garner any points and out of the pack came another contender: Michael Mc Carthy.  Going into the last night Michael had 124 points and looked to be out of contention but by finishing just 4 positions before the winner on the night, Claire Murray, Michael managed to take 17 points and shot straight to the top to join Eamonn Flavin on 141 points.  As they could not be separated they were deemed to be joint winners for the Amber Petroleum Fit4Life League for 2009.  Eamonn was a previous winner also in 2006 and proved once again that he is an expert at pacing while Michael who takes part in everything that the club organises showed that he too has what it takes when it comes to predicting his time.Niamh Budds had a fantastic league taking second place on the last night and also finished 5th on 3 out of the 8 nights.  Niamh definitely became somewhat of an expert on pacing over the course of this league and moved from 9th spot to 3rd overall on the final night.  Norma Wall held out to take 4th place similar to her 2008 position.  5th place overall went to Onra Power who had been in 3rd place going into week 8 but dropped down to 5th because of the excellent finishes by Niamh and Michael.  Onra, a previous winner of this league in 2007 will be delighted to once again finish in the top 5.Each year we wondered if the final points total for the winner would overtake the previous years winner and this year Eamon and Michael finished on 141 points the exact same points that Onra Power finished on in 2007.  However they did not overtake last year’s winner Yevgenniy Chizhikov who finished on 148.  Here is a look at the top 5 for 2009 and also previous winners and their point’s totals.

2009

Eamon Flavin 141

Michael Mc Carthy 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 on board Pat and Marion Keane who have taken over the Amber Garage on the Youghal Road and were interested in sponsoring this league.  Their support is much appreciated and indeed both Pat and Marion were present at the prize giving on Friday night last in the Welcome Inn, Cappagh Indeed most of the prize-winners were in attendance and this is much appreciated by the organisers of the league and the sponsors.  Thanks also to Joe Duggan and his staff for their hospitality on the night and for making us most welcome.  Finally thanks once again to the Friary College for the use of their grounds over the course of the league.

LEAGUE ORGANISORS

Our Cross Country Co-Ordinator and Club Chairman, Tony Ryan deserves great credit for the organisation of this and all our Friary leagues.  Tony is always on hand with the club van and makes sure everything runs smoothly.  Tony is ably assisted each week by Michael Tutty who sets out the course and by Shirley Flynn who gives up her free time in all weathers to help out with taking names at the finish line each night.  Thanks also to Liam Crowe who looks after the clock and the timing and who also stepped into the breach when our P.R.O. was in Berlin and took the photos at the Welcome Inn.  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!

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 8th and it’s the Elite Paintball One Lap Challenge and the second league, Garvey’s Supervalue Autumn League starts next Thursday night, September 10th. 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. 

 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 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th and October 6th. 

The second of our Autumn Leagues is the Garvey’s Supervalue Autumn League, a league which 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 10th, 17th, 24th, October 1st and 8th. See you out there.

 The annual Ballycotton summer league came to an end last Thursday night when the fourth and final race of the league took place in the village of Ballycotton. The first race of the league was the Ballyandreen 5, the second was the Shanagarry 5, the third was the Churchtown South 5 and the final was the Ballycotton 5. These races have always been popular but this year the entries exceeded all expectations with entries for each race reaching close to 500 and last Thursday it exceeded 500. Running is certainly experiencing yet again another boom. The club had a number of representatives on the night, 14 to be exact. Some had run the previous three races and others were running the race for the very first time and all were pleased with their time. Michael Dwyer led the field home in a very fast time of 30.36 with Joe Kelly and Sean Dwyer next home from the club, both recording 31.38. Richie Kelly had a few seconds to spare in his bid to break 33 minutes. The ever improving Luke Cunningham also had a great run and was followed home by Martin Mullarkey. Tony O’ Mahony and Eamon Flavin also finished close to each other with Anthony Dwyer finishing just outside of 37 minutes. Only a second separated Brigid and Josie, both of whom were just outside of 38 minutes. John Fennell and Paschal Proctor finished within three seconds of each other and Onra Power finished well inside of 43 minutes, well done to all. 

 

West Waterford results of Ballycotton 5

 

Michael Dwyer             30.36

Joe Kelly                      31.38

Sean Dwyer                 31.38

Richie Kelly                  32.54

Luke Cunningham         33.24

Martin Mullarkey          33.34

Tony O’ Mahony          34.42

Eamon Flavin                34.42

Anthony Dwyer            37.08

Brigid Coffey                38.06

Josie Uí Chuirrín           38.07

Micheal O Cuirrín         40.12

John Fennell                 40.21

Paschal Proctor            40.24

Onra Power                 42.55

 

For those athletes that ran all 4 races the following are the results of the overall league tables:

Joe Kelly                      21st 

Richie Kelly                  50th 

Tony O’ Mahony          61st  

Eamon Flavin                82nd 

Micheal O Cuirrín         138th 

Josie Ui Chuirrín           14th 

Brigid Coffey                15th  

Onra Power                 40th 

 

 Best wishes to club members Raivis Zakis and Gerry Cantwell, both of whom will be making the long journey to Ballybofey in Donegal to compete in the National Half Marathon Championships this Sunday, September 6th.  Both athletes are running very well at the moment and should do well in their respective categories.

 

 As we all know the Dublin City Marathon will take place on Bank Holiday Monday, October 26th and a large number of club members will be taking part. It’s fair to say that marathon fever has hit these parts judging by the number of athletes out training in all weathers. With it being the 30th anniversary of the marathon this year, the organisers will be putting on a fantastic show and it will be a great day for all. This marathon will incorporate the National Marathon Championship of Ireland and the club athletes will need to be entered for this. Your entry for the marathon covers you just for the marathon and the club will enter you for the championship. All you need to do is contact either Ann Dunford (0860619711) or Norma Wall (0879385965) and let them know that you will be participating. If you happen to know your marathon number, please let us know that as well, thanks.

 

They say that time flies when you’re having fun and it goes even faster if you’re a runner as it is Winter League time again, hard to believe I know but seven weeks from today will be the registration night for the winter league. With this in mind the committee will hold a special winter league meeting to discuss the league. If anyone out there has any ideas about the winter league or would be able to help out in any way we would love to see you at the meeting. The meeting will be held in Minnie’s Bar on Tuesday night, September 8th at 9 pm. 

The above meeting will be held in the Friary College on Monday night, September 14th at 8 pm. 

 There will be days you don’t think you can run a marathon. There will be a lifetime of knowing you have.

 West Waterford’s Jamie Costin will Chair the Olympic Council of Ireland Athlete’s Commission and is now a member ex officio of the Olympic Council of Ireland Executive Committee. The Athlete Commission for the 2009-12 Olympiad met last weekend at Olympic House, and is a consultative body of the OCI ensuring that athlete’s views on Olympic matters are represented on the Executive Committee. Jamie said " He was delighted to be given this opportunity and believe that the Commission has an important contribution to make on planning for London 2012"This is indeed an deserved honour for an athlete who has served his club and country so well and all at West Waterford Athletic Club wish him well with his new post.  

The Commission comprises of 5 athletes who have competed at the most recent Olympic summer or Winter Games.

Athletes elected as follows;

Chair: Jamie Costin ( Athletics)

Vice Chair: Ciara Peelo ( Sailing)

Derek Burnett ( Shooting)

Rory Morrish (Snowsports)

Richard Archibald ( Rowing)