WEST WATERFORD TEAM WIN CORK CITY MARATHON
A three man West Waterford team consisting of James Ledingham, Raivis Zakis and Sandis Bralitis brought a great honour to the club last Monday when despite a hand picked team from Cork and Dublin which comprised of some of the countries best road runners comprising of some house hold names such as Cathal Lombard St Finbarrs, Noel Berkley D.S.D.and Cian McLaughlin Clonliffe Harriers. Who were assembled to try and take the title in this the first Cork marathon event since 1986. James Ledingham took out the West Waterford bid covering his stint of 5.3 miles, he was up against the might of Cathal Lombard who set a hot pace from the gun and James did exceptionally well pulling out all the stops to keep the St.Finbars man lead to a minimum at the change over at the Silversprings hotel, Raivis was next into action and he made up a half minute on the leading team who at this stage had Berkley running, The D.S.D.man had almost 4 minutes on Raivis but the never say die attitude of the three man West Waterford team was evident as he completed his 8.8.and cutting the devised by that half minute, Handing over to Sandis to finish out the 12.1 miles remaining of the marathon distance. Sandis meant business from the start when covering the first mile in 4.38, he pilled on the pressure and soon had Cian McLoughlin in his sites closing him down by mile 22,Sandis threw in another 4.30 mile as he speed past the Dublin athlete before coming down Patrick St to a packed city centre with hundreds lining the streets for a famous and deserving West Waterford victory. The club had many more athletes involved in various teams but at time of going to press the full results are unavailable, that said we do know of a superb performance by the team lead by Jim Fleming which included Michael Dunford, Michael Dwyer, Philip Harty and Trevor Mason they finished a very creditable 5th team overall, a superb performance in its own right. West Waterford had some terrific individual performances also Garry McCormack, How close can you get to breaking the 3,Garrett, Conor and Anthony solid runs. Des, Davy, Pat, Michael, Margaret and what about the performance of Vince the freshest athlete that I witnessed coming into complete the course with a new p.b, Lisa another great run and début Ray a great 4.17.well done to each and everyone of you.
Bantry’s Alan O’Shea won the Individual marathon in a time of 2.27.36 and the Ladies winner was Tracey Guilfoyle of Kilnaboy 3.01.56.
WEST WATERFORD FINISHERS
34th Garry McCormack 3.00.25
81st Garrett Byrne 3.16.18
82nd Conor Murray 3.16.19
160th Des Feeney 3.30.28
171st Anthony Dwyer 3.31.26
209th Davy Wade 3.36.22
328th Pat Frisby 3.48.35
405th Michael Moloney 3.55.38
497th Magaret Foley 4.00.49
621st Kieran Eaton 4.12.38
631st Vincent O’Donovan 4.13.21
642nd Lisa Shortall 4.14.42
661st Ray Curran 4.17.23
(These are provisional results and may not include all West Waterford finishers)
GER WYLEY SPORTS/NIKE SUMMER SERIES HALLAHAN COACHES TOURANEENA 5K
A great entry of 154 runners competed in last Monday’s 12TH Annual Touraneena 5k.organised in superb fashion as per usual by the Touraneena racquetball club and held in weather ideal for the evenings race, Before proceedings got under way a minutes silence was observed in memory of Alan Everett Waterford who passed away recently and like wise before the start of the walk for Larry Cliffe who was a regular on the walk who also went to his eternal reward recently. The walk got under way at 6.30 and here a very good turn out of local and visiting participants took part, As has been the case for many years now the organisers Touraneena Racquet ball club made a donation from the proceeds of the race to a chosen charity and this year’s recipient were The street children of Bucharest charity fund, The race saw West Waterford again dominating proceedings in the Men’s event when fresh from playing his part in winning the Cork Marathon relay which was held earlier in the day Sandis Bralitis retained his title in Touraneena which he won last year.Sandis ran a great time of 15.02 considering he ran over 12 miles of the relay race in Cork some hours earlier in the day. Another member of that relay winning team Raivis Zakis was also in action in Touraneena and he too ran superbly well when recording a personal best time of 15.12 for the 5k distance when taking the runners up spot, last years third finisher Dzintars Klava filled the same placing this year in a time of 15.41. In the Masters categories over 40 went to Noel Curtin Youghal AC with a time of 16.33.The over 45 categories was won by Declan Mc Carthy a local man now running with Sparta AC Declan who just slipped into the v 45 category clocked a time of 16.37, Larry Lacey St.Josephs was the first finisher over 50 with his time of 17.10,Willie O’Gorman was first over 60 in 20.04.First local on the night was another of the McCarthy clan, this time Richard took the honour with a splendid time of 18.17.
FIRST TITLE FOR MARIA
Waterford’s Maria Griffin recorded her first Touraneena win ever when she took the ladies race in a time of 18.11 finishing 32nd overall, West Waterford’s Sineád Crotty had yet another impressive run when finishing a close second with a time of 18.24 while three times winner of this event Jackie Carty Kilmore this time had to settle for third in a time of 18.30,Jackie took the over 35 section which moved up Waterford’s Brenda Lowe into 3rd Senior Lady her time was 19.53.A very close Ladies contest once again as seems to be the case in all our races to date in the series. The over 40 prize was won by Anne Whelan West Waterford 20.58 another fine run from Anne who retain her title from last year, the winner in the over 45 section was St.Finbarrs athlete Mary Murphy with a time of 21.16 and the over 50’s was won by Hillary Collins Coolquill.There were Plenty of spot prizes drawn among all the non prize winners on the night also.
YVONNE SHEEHAN WINS ANN POWER MEMORIAL SHIELD
The walk as we already said attracted a good entry with the Ann Power memorial shield awarded to the winner who each year is determined by participants predicting how long it will take them to complete the 5k course, the winner then will be decided on by the nearest to their predicted time. No watch’s of course, whoever is the nearest but not faster is deemed to be the winner. The shield has been awarded on three previous occasions Ailbhe Foley, Conor Tobin, and last year Bernie Gleeson was the person who predicted nearest her time, This year for the first time the shield went outside of the local area when Yvonne Sheehan of Abbeyside was the lucky winner, She was just 40 seconds outside her predicted time, well done to Yvonne, Pauline Drohan was 2nd in the walk 42 seconds out and Valerie Power (daughter of the late Ann’s) was 3rd 45 seconds out.
Our thanks to Kieran Power who presented the shield on behalf on the Power family to the winner.
As we said already a donation will be made from the proceeds from the race to a worthy cause the street children of Bucharest, our thanks to all who walked or ran the race and in so doing helped this worthy cause.
THANKS TO ALL
Our thanks to the race committee in Touraneena for another superb job in organising this years race, a huge amount of personal were involved with the event. Thanks to Pat Keane and Pat Dalton of Touraneena racquetball club who did great work behind the scenes, to the Sliabh gCua community hall for the use of the hall for changing, entries and presentation. To Eleanor Hickey, Linda Skehan and their big crew for the endless hours preparing the Strawberries and ice cream and the very welcome tea, and sandwiches of course, A huge community effort by many people, thanks to all those who took part in the walk and those who were responsible for organising the walk. Well done once again to our own hard working crew steered by Denise Clancy and Megan Hayes along with Gerry and Breda Cantwell and Bernie Wade for looking after entries and results, timing by Emer Scanlon with Tony and Michael on van duty. A very special thanks to our stewards under Lar Mc Carthy along with his right hand man Liam Cahill who looked after the course and to all stewards who did a wonderful job on the night, no stone was left unturned by them to make sure all runners were safe on the course, Last year for the first time a finishing gantry was erected and this added to the race on that occasion but this year the crew responsible surpassed last year effort, A work of art lads well done to one and all. Finally to our new race sponsor Hallahan Coaches very special thanks for being involved with the race.
MINNIES SUMMER LEAGUE REPORT WEEK 5 TIMES IMPROVING EACH WEEK
The fabulous weather of last week meant a huge increase in numbers for the Friary League. Many newcomers and regulars showed up for a run in the sun and looking at the times, it is certain that they are more than glad that they did. The sun seems to have brought out the best in everybody in the various distances. The ground was in tip-top condition and this coupled with the weather provided the opportunity for an enjoyable run to say the least. As per each week, we are still delighted to be welcoming new faces every week and if you haven’t yet made it out to the Friary but are thinking about it, we would love to see you out there. If you have been out but have missed a few weeks we would love to see you return. There is space for everybody regardless of the distance you wish to do. If you are unsure of what distance you should do, we are always available for help and advice, all that you have to do is ask. Registration begins at 6.30 p.m. each Tuesday evening at the Friary College and the League itself starts at 7 p.m. for all distances. The cost is €2 per night and entries are taken at the West Waterford van. Water is provided for all athletes after the run.
ONE LAP
A total of fifteen took part in round five of the league. Tomàs Coleman led them home in a time of 8.06, a time, which surely indicates how well Tomàs’ training is going at the moment. Diana Chizhikova and Ann Wall were next home. Ann Hennebry is moving closer and closer to ten minutes as each week goes by and with four weeks left we have no doubt that this she will surely do. In fact, everybody is getting faster with each outing and as the weeks go by it gets easier and easier. Justyna Gajewska was very close to eleven minutes last week as was Siobhàin Flynn and Blàthnaid Foley. Sharon Curran ran very well indeed to clock 15.19, as did Tommy Keniry who recorded 16.26 for the one lap distance.
TWO LAPS
There were twenty-seven participants in the two-lap league and impressive times were recorded by each and every one of them. Angeline Drennan had a super run on the night and was very close to breaking eighteen minutes. The hot weather must have suited Ursula Browne as she had a splendid run, clocking 24.02, down from 25.58 from the previous week. Now that’s some improvement!! Well-done Ursula. Tommy Lenihan is also another who really upped his game for round five and knocked 30 seconds off his time from the previous week. Michelle Mullaney must also be well pleased with her run on the night and before the league concludes will be running the two laps under 22 minutes with ease.
THREE LAPS
The thirteen three lappers had more than the sunshine to smile about last week as they all crossed the finishing tunnel in record times. Johnny O’ Connor was first home in a time of 21.45 and was closely followed by Joe Gough in 22.46. Timmy Foley paced the run to perfection and ran 25.31 and hot in his heels were Pat Earley and Brian Collins. Brenda Hunt continues to show great talent and was well under 27 minutes for the run. Eileen Heffernan clocked 32.02, which was a fine time for the three laps.
FOUR LAPS
A total of 50 athletes competed in the four laps of the Friary College. The warm weather did nothing to curb the enthusiasm or perseverance of those involved. In fact many recorded personal bests on the night. Raivis Zakis led the field home in a time of 26.21. Colm Nolan trotted around with ease and recorded a fabulous 29.11 for the four-lap distance. Earl Navin is certainly one of the most improved athletes in the club at present and proved this by running 31.46. A look at the club archives showed that for round five of this same league last year his goal was to break 35 minutes and now to be running such times as he is indicates what immense progress he has made. Alan Browne also had a great run and recorded 37.45. Now is the time that many will commence their training for the Autumn Marathons and the Minnie’s league is the perfect opportunity to get the training off to a good start.
SPONSORS
We would like to take this opportunity to once again thank our very generous sponsors of the league. The O’Brien family of Minnie’s, Abbeyside, have come on board to sponsor this very successful league. It is due to the generosity of our sponsors that leagues like this can be held every year. Many thanks.
GER WYLEY SPORTS / NIKE SUMMER SERIES RACE NO.5 THE OLD STILL BAR 5
One for the diary, race number 5 in this years Ger Wyley Sports/Nike summer series the Old Still Bar Clashmore 5 takes place on Friday week June 15th at 8 pm.
Sponsored very kindly this year once again by The Salmon family of the Old Still Bar the club thank them most sincerely for this ongoing sponsorship of the event, Entries will be taken from 7 pm. with the race getting under way at 8 pm. Entry fee on the night is 7 Euro, Changing and showers will be available by kind permission at the Clashmore G.A.A.club grounds. Full race details in next week’s notes.
SANDIS BRALITIS LATVIAN NATIONAL 10.000 METERS CHAMPION
Between winning races here in his adopted Ireland Sandis Bralitis took a quick trip to his home country of Latvia last weekend to participate in the National 10.000 meters Track and Field championships in Riga and the journey was a fruitful one as Sandis took gold with a time of 30.41 to add yet another national crown to his increasing list of titles.
A.A.I.TRACK AND FIELD LEAGUE
The dates and venues have been agreed for the upcoming A.A.I.Track and Field league, round one is on Sunday July 1ST in Limerick, round two Sunday July 29th Cork I.T. and the finals are on Saturday 11th August in Tullamore.All teams both division 1 and premier-will compete in the full range of events in the early rounds as well as the final. Our club will be sending a full team to these leagues and anyone interested in taking part are requested to contact club secretary Tony 087-7657805
3RD ANNUAL GET UP AND GO CHALLENGE WITH WEST WATERFORD ATHLETIC CLUB IN AID OF THE SESAME PRE SCHOOL “SEE THE SUN RISE ON CRUACHÁIN MOUNTAIN”
The club’s 3rd Annual watch the sun rise challenge for a very worthy local cause takes place on Sunday morning June 24th next. West Waterford athletic club in association with The Sesame Pre School for children with special needs Dungarvan will hold a get up and go challenge to watch the sunrise from the top of Cruacháin mountain with all proceeds going to Sesame pre school. Entry is 20 Euro, which includes a post race breakfast. We will meet at Euro spar car park Abbeyside at 4 AM and travel by car to the mountain base before walking the mile or so to the top of Cruacháin Mountain. Donations from non-participants are also welcome. Spot prizes will be raffled among all participants. Please bring your camera, Bring warm clothes-The higher up you go the colder it gets. And please do bring along a friend or two for a very worthy local cause. Pat and Ann Dunford traditional breakfast run takes place back to Minnie’s Bar Abbeyside after we descend from Cruacháin so bring the gear.
LITTLE SOUTH 4 MILE ROAD RACE
Our friends in St.Senan’s ask us to remind every one of their upcoming Little South 4 mile road race on Sunday June 17th next at 2.30 which includes a fun run and walk all in aid of hospice. The race gets under way at 2.30 pm. From the Sports Complex in Kilmacow, Co.Kilkenny.there are prizes for 1st 6 men-1st 2 over 40,45,50 and 1st over 60 .the Ladies are 1st 3 plus 1st 2 over 35 and 40.1st 3 Juniors, 1st 3 locals.
COMMITTEE MEETING
Next meeting in Minnie’s Bar. Abbeyside on Thursday June 14th at 8.30 PM.
BABY GIRL
Congratulations to Elaine and Vincent Murray on the recent birth of a baby Girl, Rebecca. Health and happiness to all.
RUNNING QUOTE
Sports do not build character. They reveal it. Pat Morrissey.
SPEED TRAINING
Tony’s speed training session continues this week on Friday at the usual times of 5.30 and 6.30. All are welcome.
