GER WYLEY/NIKE SUMMER SERIES
RECORD ENTRY IN 14TH ANNUAL DUNFORDS LOUNGE BAR TOURANEENA 5K
Should anyone question the reason behind the popularity of the Touranneena 5k held every June bank holiday, then one look at the commitment, dedication and support provided by the organising committee will provide the answer. The race this year was kindly sponsored by Michael McGrath and Elaine Murphy of Dunford’s Lounge Bar and as usual was a classic event. Year in, year out, it has always proven to be a top notch race and without question, no stone is left unturned to ensure the smooth running of this event. Upon arrival into the village it is obvious that all involved have invested considerable time and effort into the race and it’s what keeps us all coming back every year. The race itself is 14 years in existence and in that length of time it has come to be one of the most popular races in the area, a just reward for the committee and the locals as so many were involved both on race night and in the build up. As usual, the weather was glorious which provided great conditions for running and walking. There are many features of this race that makes it stand out from other events, a walk and the delicious strawberries and ice-cream as well as donations to a local charity. The walk itself got underway at 6.30 p.m. and the course was well marshalled with plenty of stewards to direct and support the competitors. It was great to see so many locals participate in the run and the walk, which helped create yet another record entry. I’m sure that Pat Keane and Pat Dalton and the racquetball committee are well pleased with their efforts and so they should be.
SANDIS SECURES THE TOP SPOT
30 minutes after the walk began a high class field of runners assembled at the usual start line for the 5k race which was started by Gavin McGrath. Although the standard was high, it was relatively easy to predict the race winners and Sandis Bralitis and Corinna Walsh duly delivered with convincing victories from both athletes. As is a hallmark of Sandis Bralitis, he went from the gun, letting all athletes and spectators know that he was going to be the one in control throughout. Having won this race on numerous occasions in the past, Sandis lost out last year to local David McCarthy who set a course record in the process. Sandis led throughout and although a number of athletes were in hot pursuit, they were never going to be any major threat to him. A very fast 3.02 for the first kilometre meant that it was going to take a titanic effort to even catch him, let alone beat him. At 2k, he was just over 6 minutes and at 3k he was well under 10 minutes and well clear at this stage. Sandis will be pleased to learn that he was 8 seconds faster this year than last year which is a great achievement given the warm conditions. Thurles Crokes were very much the dominant club on the night with a number of athletes competing. Christy O’ Brien from Thurles Crokes was the second finisher on the night, clocking 15.59, 11 seconds ahead of his club-mate Shane Mullaney who recorded 16.10. West Waterford’s Rory Moloney finished in 4th place with a time of 16.32, an improvement on his 7th placing from last year, well done Rory. In the master’s categories, Eric Meade of East Cork claimed the honours for first 0/40 in a time of 17.07. Another East Cork athlete, Denis McCarthy won the 0/50 category and Tim Twomey made it a hat-trick for East Cork when he finished first 0/55. For the third year in a row, Larry Lacey collected the prize for first 0/50 after battling very hard up the final hill. Congratulations to Johnny McGrath who was the first local male on the night, Johnny ran a very well paced race and was just over 21 minutes for the run. Well done to all.
EASY VICTORY FOR CORINNA
Corinna has always excelled in the shorter distances and she really took the race in her stride last Monday to claim her first victory in the 2009 summer series. As always, Corinna was cautious and didn’t push the pace too much at the start but once she settled into a rhythm, she made the race her own and looked ever so stylish and at ease making her way up the hill to finish a convincing winner on the night. Corinna’s pace was well under 6 minutes per mile and indicates that she is still in contention for the summer series. Having lost the race by a mere second last year, Corinna more than made up for it this year with such a win. Next up was Diane Behan in a time of 19.18, two seconds ahead of Conor Murray. The next lady to finish was another WAC member, Joan Mahony who clocked 19.37 for the distance. Mary Molloy who is a regular supporter of all our races was fourth in 20.33. WAC was to the fore again in the category prizes with Suzanne Dullaghan winning first 0/35. For the fourth year running, Ann Whelan claimed first 0/40; a great performance by Ann meant she was well clear on the night. Josie Ui Chuirrin was delighted to win first 0/45, Hilary Collins made it a repeat performance from last year as she left the village with the first 0/50 prize as she did last year. Trish Connors was the first local female runner on the night and was well under 30 minutes for the distance, well done to all.
MIKE KEARNS WINS ANN POWER MEMORIAL TROPHY
The walk provides plenty of entertainment as it is held under the “Predict your time” formula and so the walker that completed the course closet to his/her predicted time was the winner and so last Monday night, top marks for accuracy went to Mike Kearns who claimed the top spot. The winner of this walk each year receives the Ann Power Memorial Trophy and so Mike holds the cup for a year and will have to do his best to defend his title in 2010. He was presented with his prize by Dylan Phelan on behalf of the Power family. Shane Organ was in second place and Ronan Gleeson finished third, well done to all concerned. The lads will now join the list of previous winners of the walk, Valerie Power, Yvonne Sheehan, Bernie Gleeson, Conor Tobin and Ailbhe Foley. As part of the fundraising initiative held on the night, tickets were sold as to the different finishing combinations of the local finishers in the 5k run. Whoever had the ticket with the winning combination was the lucky winner of 1.000 euros and luck was on the side of Aaron and Trish Power as Aaron sold his aunt Trish the winning ticket and so it was all smiles going home for these two.
THANKS TO ALL
2009 was every bit as successful as previous years; the racquetball committee and the locals seem to have the race off to a fine art and are to be commended on a terrific job as usual. Thanks to Pat Keane and Pat Dalton who worked tirelessly behind the scenes, to the Sliabh gCua community hall for the use of their fine facilities, both before and after the race. Thanks to all the locals that took part. Conor Skehan spoke after the race on behalf of the club and he thanked everyone for their involvement, sentiments appreciated by all present. Thanks also to Elaine Murphy who was on hand to present the winners with their prizes. Thanks to Michael Power who sponsored the civil defence and to Lar McCarthy who organised the stewards for the night, all of whom did a fantastic job. To Eleanor Hickey and Linda Skehan and all involved in the catering side of things, all athletes were well fed and well looked after on the night, the strawberries and ice-cream proving as popular as ever. It was a great community effort by one and all and we’ll all be back next year. Thanks once again to the race sponsors, Dunford’s Lounge Bar, it was much appreciated by one and all. Finally, thanks to our crew that looked after the entries, finishing line, the clock and the course: another job well done.
MINNIE’S FIT4LIFE RUNNING LEAGUE
LEAGUE TABLES NOW STARTING TO TAKE SHAPE
Another bright sunny evening greeted the 120 participants who took to St Augustine’s College last Tuesday evening for week 5 of the Minnie’s Fit4Life running league. Conditions were perfect if a little windy but that did not bother the runners of this enjoyable league as their fitness is improving every week which is demonstrated by the decrease in their times each week. There were some more newcomers on the night who of course are more than welcome and indeed newcomers are welcome right up to the last night as its never too late to start your fitness programme. The league continues Tuesday 2nd, 9th and 16th June so why not come along and give it a go for yourself. Bring a friend if you can, as the company is brilliant to help make the run easier, so see you all out at the Friary next Tuesday evening.
ONE LAP
ANDREW FIRST HOME BUT PASCAL LOOKS IN CONTROL
First past the post in week 5 was Andrew Burke who up until this had been running in the 2-lap league but this week decided to give the one lap a go. It gave Andrew no problems and his time of 8.25 was the fastest time for the 1 lap to date. Pascal Proctor took 2nd place this week in a time of 8.47. Michael Mc Carthy (9.14), newcomer Meier Clivia (9.55) and Jane O Sullivan (10.03) filled the next 3 positions with a total of 31 completing the 1.2-mile circuit on the night.
Now for the first time we will take a look at the league tables. Pascal Proctor who has 6 points from his 4 nights completed to date leads the 1 lap league at the moment. In second place is Andrea Gaffney with 8 points from 3 nights but Andrea needs to run the last 3 remaining nights to figure on the league tables as you need to complete 6 nights over the same distance to feature on the final tables. Michael Mc Carthy who has run every night so far has 11 points to his name. Maura Hickey with 18 points is in the same position as Andrea as she has 3 nights ran also. Fifth position in the first division is held by Micheál Phelan, a man new to running but who has ran 4 out of the 5 nights and has 24 points.
Ita Mason is heading up division 2 with 31 points from her 3 nights ran to date with Caroline Lenihan just 2 points behind having run 4 nights. Division 3 sees Sheila Budds in pole position again having run 3 nights and has 46 points to date. She has 12 points to spare from Emma Murphy who has 4 nights completed. Kylie Tobin heads up division 4 with 63 points with Siobháin Ui Riagáin a further 11 points behind with 74. Breda Veale heads division 5 with 97 points while Emma Barrett is 13 points behind but has ran every night to date. In division 6 all three ladies have ran every night and it is very close between Mary Rose Drummy (138 points), Bernie Kirwan (140 points) and Pamela Gould (143 points)
2 LAPS
SHANE MAKES IT 4 FROM 5
The 2 lap course of 2.4 miles once again proved to be the most popular distance in week 5 with 35 runners completing the course and great improvements all round from all the runners on the night. Consistency is the key and it’s clear to see that the people who can make it each week are rewarded for their dedication with an improvement in their times. First through the tunnel this week as he has been on 4 out of the 5 nights was Shane Power in a time of 13.55. Shane was followed just 24 seconds later by Ciarán Lane while newcomer Trevor Hennessy took 3rd position in an impressive 14.48. Liam Kavanagh (15.49) and Peter Fitzgerald (17.35) were next to complete the 2.4 miles of the Friary College venue.
In the 2 lap distance the first division is led by Shane Power with 6 points even though he has ran all 5 nights to date he still leads second place Ciarán Lane by 2 points while Joe Gough is next with 9 points while 4th spot is held at the moment by Liam Kavanagh on 17 and Hugh O Connor a further 6 points behind fills the 5th position.
All 5 runners in division 2 have ran 3 nights to date and the leader here is Áine Lynch with 23 points from former Waterford Ladies Footballer Marion Troy who has 29 points. Athlete of the Year for 2008, Brigid Coffey is at the head of division 3 with 46 points from 4 nights from Margaret Power who has 49 points also from 4 nights. In division 4 Eleanor Howard has 68 points and just 2 points adrift is Ann Massey on 70. Division 5 sees the two Mc Carthy’s, Christine who has ran every night to date has 81 points while Deirdre has 83 points from 3 nights ran. Paul Gray leads division 6 with 100 points from Siobháin Mc Grath who has 109 from her 3 nights ran. Sarah Power has 135 points for herself and she leads division 7 by just 4 points from Jacinta Sheil who has ran all 5 nights to date. Division 8 sees the first division with athletes level on points with Michael Burke and Michelle Fitzgerald both on 163 points.
Remember all this will change again next week so if keep up the effort and it’s your lowest 6 scores that will be counted even if you run all 8 nights.
3 LAPS
YEV IN CONTROL ONCE AGAIN
Gary Cantwell has been first home on 3 out of the 5 nights for the 3.6 mile distance while last Tuesday Yevgenniy Chizhikov took top spot for the second time in 22.22 which was Yev’s fastest time to date for this league. In second position on the night was James Casey in a time of 26.38; an improvement of 50 seconds on his previous best time while the ever-improving Geraldine Heffernan was in 3rd place in her best time also of 27.04. George Tutty was next to finish in 28.18 while Linda Bradfield is continuing her good form when this week she improved her time to 28.20 from 29.46 in week 4.
There are 3 divisions in the 3-lap league and at the moment the man in control is Gary Cantwell with 3 points from 3 nights ran. Yev has 8 points from 5 nights while Geraldine Heffernan has 11 points from 3 nights to date. George Tutty has also ran 5 nights and his score to date is 21 points which gives him a 9 point advantage over Noel Mc Kenna who holds 5th spot with 30 points. Division 2 is headed up by Linda Bradfield who has 30 points from her 5 nights, 7 points ahead of Michael “Dixie” Deegan. Division 3 is probably going to be the hardest division of the whole league to call as 6 out of the 7 runners here have run all 5 nights to date. John Murray holds the advantage at the moment with 57 points just 1 point ahead of Pearse Moloney but as we said this one will be a cracker.
4 LAPS
SEAN RECORDS HIS FASTEST TIME TO DATE
For the 5th week in a row Sean Stilwell was first home but what will please Sean more is that he ran his fastest time this year of 27.09 for the 4.8 miles of the Friary grounds. This week John Behan moved to second place from his fourth place finish in week 4 and his time of 28.10 was also very impressive. Des Feeney will also be thrilled to have broken the 29-minute barrier for the first time this year with 5 seconds to spare. Another with a p.b. This week was Michael Dunford when he also broke the 30-minute mark when he ran 29.35 while Thomas Deane was in 5th spot also under 30 minutes for the first time.
With just 5 points from 5 nights ran Sean Stilwell looks unbeatable in the 4 lap league provided he completes the obligatory 6 nights while Kevin Kenneally holds second spot with 9 points from his 4 nights ran. Michael Dunford has 14 points from his 3 nights ran while Des Feeney is in a very strong position with 5 nights ran and just 17 points. Alan Lyons fills the fifth spot in division 1 with 22 points from his 3 nights to date.
Division 2 of the 4-lap league sees Kilrossanty man Patrick Riordan on 24 points, 12 ahead of Tom Leahy on 36 points from his 3 nights ran.
There’s very little to spare between the top 2 in division 3 with Sean Dwyer holding top spot with 42 points from his 4 nights while Corinna Walsh who has run all 5 nights is just 1 point behind on 43. Ann Dunford is ahead in division 4 with 66 points but again has only ran 4 nights while Tom Moroney in second spot has completed all 5 nights and has 71 points. There’s another great battle between 2 men who have ran all 5 nights to date in division 5 between Gerry O Connor on 84 points from Mark Cliffe who has 85. Division 6 is also interesting as Josie Ui Chuirrin is in control from the man from Tallow J.J. Henley with Josie on 98 points and J.J. on 103.
So the league tables are really heating up and it’s going to be very interesting in the weeks to come.
ANOTHER IMPRESSIVE DISPLAY GIVES DAVID MC CARTHY THE FASTEST 1.500 METERS TIME FOR UNDER 23’S IN EUROPE THIS YEAR.
David McCarthy (West Waterford AC & Providence College), was in action last Saturday at the East Regional championships in Greensborough, North Carolina and it was to say the least an extraordinary top notch performance once again from the second year scholarship student, From the qualifiers the previous day David set the fastest qualifying time in the 1,500m,Going into the final Mc Carthy’s’ race tactics were to bring him victory in a new personal best time of 3.41.37,Taking up the running with the field tightly bunched at the 380 meters to go mark David had lead out the field but a field of this calibre of athlete isn’t easily disposed of and at the line only the camera could separated the first five athletes all recording time’s of 3.41 with just the hundred’s of seconds deciding the final placing’s where David got the nod, Just over six tenths of a second separated the first five in that blanket finish. This was a new P.B. for David, replacing the 3:42.34 he ran at the start of May and more importantly he has now recorded the fastest 1.500 meters in Europe for an under 23 athlete this year. David will next run in the national finals over this distance in Arkansas on 12th June where we wish him well in his endeavours. He will make a welcome return home then in mid June for a summer break where its hoped we will see him in action at the Cork City Sports on Saturday July 4th.
1,500m Final
1 David McCarthy Providence 3:41.372
Matthew Gibney Villanova 3:41.71
3 Liam Boylan-Pett Georgetown 3:41.76
4 Andrew Jesien Virginia 3:41.89
5 Jim Wyner Cornell 3:41.99
6 E.C. Gibbs Georgia Tech 3:42.01
GER WYLEY SPORTS / NIKE SUMMER SERIES.8th ANNUAL OLD STILL BAR CLASHMORE 5 FRIDAY JUNE 12TH.
Race number 5 in the 2009 Ger Wyley Sports/Nike summer series will be held on Friday evening June 12th at 8 PM.The race this year see the welcome return of the Old Still bar Clashmore as our sponsors, The race course will remain unchanged with changing and showers available by kind permission at the Clashmore G.A.A.club grounds, The presentation of prizes will take place in The Old Still Bar after the race.
PRIZE CATEGORIES IN CLASHMORE.
Thanks to our sponsors, The Old Still Bar a very attractive array of prizes will be on offer for this year’s race.1st 5 Senior Men, 1st Masters over 40,45,50,55,and 1st Junior Male. And the ladies prizes are 1st 3 Senior, plus Masters over 35,40,45,50 and 1st junior lady. Team prizes will also be awarded to the first Men’s club team outside the individual winners and the same for the ladies with three to score. There will be plenty of spots for down the field finishers.
WEST WATERFORD SUCCESS AT CORK MARATHON.
On a day which wasn’t ideal for Marathon running last Monday with temperatures well up in the 20’s the Cork City marathon saw a record crowd take part .The full results are not yet available for the event as we go to press, however one result we are sure of is that the West Waterford team of Phillip Harty,Brian Byrne,Michael Dunford,Alan Hickey and Shane Power took an impressive 3rd place in the relay team section,with a time roughly of 2.36.One of our Ladies team of Norma Wall and Ann Dunford finished highly in the Ladies section also and the Moore family from Ballinamuck all ran superbly in the searing heat to complete the course in good fashion. Other teams to impress was the team of Angeline Drennan and Clare Walsh who were also high up in the finishing order, From those who completed the full marathon distance we must salute them for their efforts on such a day, Two that come to mind are Paddy and Bríd O’Dea both put in tremendous performances sticking to the task admirably. Well done to you both and indeed to all who took part from the club, We will have the full results in next weeks notes. The top finishers in Cork were.1 Michael Herlihy North Cork AC 2:30:362 Colin Merritt Carrig Na Bhfear AC 2:34:343 Wieslaw Sosnowski Eagle AC 2:35:364 Roy Fahy East Cork AC 2:36:475 Cathal O’Connell St Finbarr’s AC 2:37:121 Lucy Brennan Sligo AC 2:51:252 Angela McCann Clonmel AC 3:03:073 Nollaigh Hunter Leevale AC 3:07:55FETHARD 6K.The Fethard 6k was held last Thursday evening and 94 runners went to post. West Waterford had two taking part and both husband and wife team of Declan and Phyllis Flynn finished 2nd respectively in their age categories. Declan was 18th overall in a time of 24.09 and Phyllis finished 34th in time of 25.34, Well done to you both, two races in 5 days and both prize winners in the two, see ye in August.
MONTHLY MEETING.
The Senior clubs monthly committee meeting will be held next Tuesday night June 9th in Minnie’s Bar at 9PM.
RUNNING QUOTE.
There’s nothing quite like the feeling you get knowing that your in good physical condition, You wake up alert and singing in the morning, ready to go.
SYMPATHY.
West Waterford Athletic Club extends sincere sympathy to the families of Catherine Moore 52 An Grianan, Ballinroad. Noel Treacy Rivercreast, The Quay, Carrick On Suir. Michael Curran 19 Western Bay Dungarvan, who passed to their eternal rewards recently. May they rest in peace.
WEB SITE BACK TO NORMAL.
Our club web site is back in full operation again and our new luck photo section is now fully up to date, we hope you like our new photos section as it is now easier to view each individual race etc. log onto www.westwaterfordathletics.org
BALLYANDREEN 5 GETS BALLYCOTTON SERIES UNDER WAY.
As is now traditional a good representation of West Waterford runners were in Ballyandreen for round one of the Ballycotton summer series of road races last Thursday evening. A huge record entry of 411 runners completed the course which was a massive increase in numbers for the event from previous years, On the night which was perfect for road racing, it was a case of home is the hero as local Man, indeed he lives just at the finish line of the race, Sean McGrath came in a winner in a time of 26.08 to become the first local winner since the great days of one Liam O’Brien the undisputed king of the Ballycotton 5’s who won more 5 milers here than some had hot dinners. It’s interesting to note too that only 21 runners from the field of 411 managed to break the 30 minute barrier, Not too many years ago you would have something like 100 plus managing this mark, However our first finisher did manage to break the 30 when Joe Kelly had the honour of being the first West Waterford runner across the finish line, he was 18th in a time of 29.41.Joe was 2nd over 40 on the night, Gerry Cantwell was also 2nd in his category the over 50 with a time of 31.22.Triona Wall was our first Lady finisher with a time of 36.57,Well done to all finishers.
Finishers in the West Waterford AC team.
0:29:41 Kelly, Joe West Waterford AC M40
0:31:14 Dwyer, Michael West Waterford AC M40
0:31:22 Cantwell, Gerry West Waterford AC M50
0:32:15 Hayes, Martin West Waterford AC M45
0:33:00 Navin, Earl West Waterford AC M
0:33:25 Kelly, Richard West Waterford AC M45
0:33:47 O’Mahony, Tony West Waterford AC M40
0:35:48 Flavin, Eamonn West Waterford AC M
0:36:57 Wall, Triona West Waterford AC F
0:37:52 Coffey, Bridget West Waterford AC F35
0:38:16 Veale, Martin West Waterford AC M40
0:38:34 Tutty, George West Waterford AC M55
0:38:44 Morrissey, Patrick West Waterford AC M
0:38:57 UI Chuirrin, Josie West Waterford AC F45
0:39:06 Drennan, Angeline West Waterford AC F
0:39:22 Curran, Raymond West Waterford AC M40
0:41:44 Walsh, Clare West Waterford AC F
0:43:46 Mc Carthy, Michael West Waterford AC M50
0:44:12 Power, Onra West Waterford AC F40
EUROPEAN GOLD AND SILVER MEDALS FOR JOE GOUGH
West Waterford’s Joe Gough was on international duty last weekend when he was part of the Irish team that competed in the 11th European Athletics Championships in Aarhus, Denmark. Having been selected a few months ago, Joe trained as diligently and as professionally as always and it was a most worthwhile trip for Joe and his comrades. Joe is no stranger to competing at this standard and has represented the club and his country on numerous occasions at track events worldwide but last weekend Joe decided to try his might at cross-country and won for himself a European gold medal, another to add to his ever increasing collection of national and international medals. The race itself was a cross-country relay race, 12km in distance with three athletes per team running 4km each. Joe ran in the second stage and completed the 4km in a time of 14.28, great running as ever from Joe. A very fast 13.58 for the last 4km by Patrick O’ Shea ensured that the gold medals were coming home to Ireland. The jubilant team of Timmons, Gough and O’ Shea were absolutely thrilled with the result and were well clear of the German team who finished second on 43.07, 18 seconds behind the Irish and the Czech Republic finished in third place. There was no time to celebrate for the successful trio as the following day, Sunday 31st; the athletes were in action once again for the half marathon race. Although, Joe normally competes in the shorter track events, he has proven himself over and over again to be every bit as talented in each of the disciplines and when asked to run in the half marathon, Joe was only too happy to oblige. Conditions on the Sunday were much warmer than the previous day and temperatures reached 28 degrees but this had no effect on the Irish athletes who gave their all and were justly rewarded with a European silver medal. Joe was the second scoring member of the team and ran a very credible 1.26.15. Joe was thrilled to leave Denmark with a European gold cross-country medal and European silver for the half marathon, a very successful weekend indeed for Joe and it looks as if the sky’s the limit. It’s not too many that can claim to have won European medals in a variety of athletic events, well-done Joe.
WEST WATERFORD AMONG THE PRIZE WINNERS IN INAUGURAL TOM JORDAN 5.
West Waterford athletes were among the category winners in the inaugural Tom Jordan 5 miler in Portlaw last Friday evening. A field of 149 completed the course with Grahan Power coming home the winner in a time of 26.47 P.J.Guinan was our first man home in a creditable 5th place with a time of 28.17 taking the over 40 section for his efforts. Garry McCormack was next home from the club in 15th place 30.23 this gave him 2nd place over 45,Corinna Walsh was our first Lady finisher in 17th place with a time of 30.25 Corinna was 2nd Lady behind the winner Madeline Loughnane Thurles Crokes who recorded a time of 29.03.Tom Moroney was next in 39th place,33.27 Tom was first Man over 50.Brigid Coffey was next home in 66th place with a good time of 36.20 and 2nd Lady over 35.In 71st place was Bernie Prendergast 37.02 and 2nd over 45,Michael Wade was 76th in 37.17 and Josie Uí Chuirrin was next in 83rd position with a time of 37.25,David Connors was 94th in 38.14,Micheal O’Cuirrin was 116th with a time of 41.01,Mick McCarthy was next in 121st place in 41.26,and Onra Power recorded a time of 45.39 to finish in 136 spot. Well done to all.
