TQS LEAGUE
IT WAS A “KEANE” CONTEST FOR FINAL NIGHT.
On the final night of the TQS League last Tuesday night in the Friary, Susie Keane succeeded in running her predicted time accurately. In fact, in the fourth round of the league in July Susie was in second place and she went one step further last week to claim the top spot. She was just two seconds outside of her predicted and having been a regular runner of the league no doubt helped her along. She was closely followed over the finishing line by Yevgeniy Chizhikov and Caitrìona O’ Brien, who earned themselves second and third place respectively for their efforts. Hard luck to Paul Brunnock who was a mere two seconds too fast. Niamh Budds and Fergal Connolly were also on the wrong side of the clock, but look on the bright side, ye are faster than ye think ye are!! Well done to all that participated in any night of the league and we hope to see you and many more at our next leagues. Thanks to Tony Ryan who organised the league and was on hand ever night of the league and to Norma Wall and Ann Dunford for all their work on the notes and league tables. Also to anyone who helped with timing and course layout any night many thanks.
TOP HONOURS FOR ONRA AT TQS LEAGUE.
It was down to the wire at the last stage of the TQS League and in the end it was Onra Power that was crowned TQS League champion for 2007. Going in to the final stage Onra was in fourth position but on the most important night Onra was on the right side of clock and also ahead of those that were also in contention for the top spot. Onra was fourteen seconds slower than her predicted time and a tactical run earned her the title. A look at the final league tables proves just how close the athletes were. Only two points separated Onra and Brigid Coffey who was in second place on 139 points. Brigid had been in the lead going in to the final night and was unlucky not to hold on. The following were the first five overall in the TQS League.
1. Onra Power 141
2. Brigid Coffey 139
3. Brìd Veale 137
4. Pat Morrissey 136
5. John Foley 134
PRIZE GIVING NIGHT.
A very successful night was held in Tommy Power’s Bar last Friday night for the prize giving of the TQS League, The Green Mile League and the Club’s Road Racing Championship. Many thanks to all that turned up to support the night.
A special word of thanks to the staff of Tommy Power’s Bar who left no stone unturned in ensuring that a great night was had by all.
LEAGUE SPONSORS.
West Waterford Athletic Club would like to thank Tom and Maura Quilty of TQS for their sponsorship of the league once again. The success of the league was in no small way due to the support, co-operation and help given by Tom and Maura. Both were present at the prize-giving night in Tommy Power’s and a huge array of prizes and goodies was provided by TQS for all the prizewinners. In fact such was the volume of goodies provided by TQS, nobody went home empty handed.
Faster than time predicted
Linda Bradfield 3.40
Patrick Lannon 3.22
Robin Scanlon 3.03
Andrea O’ Neill 2.12
Mark Vespa 1.04
Emer Cullinane 1.03
Rosie Ryan 1.02
Sean Dwyer 0.57
Norma Wall 0.56
Michèal Callaghan 0.50
Pat Dunford 0.42
Eamon Phelan 0.41
Liam Budds 0.40
Pat O’ Riordan 0.39
Tommy Lenihan 0.31
Amanda Mansfield 0.19
Rory Moloney 0.11
Michael Roche 0.10
Paddy Power 0.09
Earl Navin 0.08
JJ Henley 0.07
Fergal Connolly 0.05
Niamh Budds 0.04
Paul Brunnock 0.02
Slower than time predicted
Susie Keane 0.01
Yeveniy Chizhikov 0.05
Caitrìona O’ Brien 0.06
Josie Harty 0.07
John Foley 0.09
Ann Wright 0.10
Michael Tutty 0.12
Onra Power 0.14
Margaret Power 0.15
Pearse Moloney 0.16
Liam Sandford 0.17
Joe Gough 0.17
Diana Chizhikov 0.18
Marian Keane 0.19
Pat Morrissey 0.20
Brìd Veale 0.21
Brigid Coffey 0.22
George Tutty 0.23
Martin Veale 0.25
Caitrìona Mulcahy 0.27
Alexander Novakovsky 0.28
Paddy Street 0.30
Mary O’ Riordan 0.40
Ann Whelan 1.07
Vincent Tutty 1.08
Johnny O’ Connor 1.20
UPCOMING CLUB LEAGUES.
ELITE PAINTBALL ONE LAP CHALLENGE.
AND
ENRIGHTS EUROSPAR AUTUMN LEAGUE.
Now that the TQS League has come to an end, it’s time to think about the Elite Paintball One Lap Challenge which will be held on Tuesday nights beginning on September 11 at 7 p.m. and the Eurospar Autumn League which will be held on Thursday nights beginning on September 13th at 6.30 p.m. The Elite Paintball One Lap Challenge is ideally suited to absolute beginners and those who may be thinking of doing the Autumn league or the Winter League. All you have to do is run/walk/jog one lap of the Friary grounds. You are most welcome to walk some and jog some and then week by week increase the distance that you run. You will find that after a couple of weeks that this is quite achievable and you will be setting your goals on running two laps before you know it. The Eurospar Autumn League which will begin in the same week is another running league but this time there is the option of running one, two, three or four laps. If you are new to the running scene, this league provides you with a second chance in the week to get out and run and improve your fitness. However, if one night is all you want to do then that’s just fine too. All are welcome to both leagues and the entry fee each night for the leagues is just €2. Water will be provided at the finish for all participants.
BALLYCOTTON 5.
The final race in this years Ballycotton series the Ballycotton 5 itself was held last Thursday week and the club had nine athletes take part. The overall series presentation was also made and here two of our athletes made it inside the top 50 to collect the coveted top 50 T-Shirt. Well done to Joe Kelly 12th overall and Liam Budds 13th overall. There’s to complete the entire four race series were John Fennell and Ray Curran who finished 76th and 77th overall. The 2007 Ballycotton summer series was the biggest ever. The number of finishers in the Ballycottton 5 of 286 was the highest in any of the 116 races held over the 30 years of the series which started in 1977.well done to all concerned in Ballycotton running promotions.
Ballycotton 5 results.
19th Joe Kelly 29.37
20th Liam Budds 29.38
84th Martin Mullarkey 33.33
127th Seán Dwyer 35.45
171st John Fennell 37.51
194th Ray Curran 38.41
207th Michael McCarthy 39.11
242nd Paul O’Gorman 42.11
246th Marie O’Gorman 42.23
RUNNING QUOTE
To me, running means freedom, but you need the discipline to gain the freedom. Find nice places, find people to run with. Use your runs as ‘devotions,’ a time to be thankful for life’s beauty." Martina Ryan.
VICTORY MEAL AND MEDAL PRESENTATION.
The clubs winning Men’s National Track and Field league team will be rightly honoured at a function in Lawlors Hotel on Friday evening September 14th next. The team will also be presented with their gold medals on the night. It is hoped that as many members as possible will attend and celebrate with the team on their magnificent achievement, Tickets are available from committee members and are priced at 20 Euro which includes a meal and entertainment on the night.
CORK TO COBH ENTRIES.
Our annual pilgrimage Lee side for the Annual Cork to Cobh 15 miler is drawing ever so nearer and of course when we start to talk about this race we know that Autumn marathon time is also looming as traditionally all those doing an Autumn marathon always participate in this race. Sunday 30th September is this years date for the B.H.A.A.organised event with Goodie bags and T-Shirt to all finishers. The race gets under way at 9.30 am Entries forms are now available from Ger Wyley Sports so don’t let it until the last minute; get your entry in early. Entry fee is 15 euro and 20 if you wait till race day.
MUNSTER HALF MARATHION CHAMPIONSHIPS THIS SUNDAY.
The St.Finbarrs AC organised Cork Half Marathon will be held again this year in Blarney this Sunday and will as it has in previous years host the Munster Half Marathon championships as part of the race on the day. Race day is this Sunday September 9th at 11 AM and Mizuno are the main sponsor for the event. The club will be submitting entries for the championship side of the race but its up to each individual to enter the race proper him or herself, Entry forms can be collected at Ger Wyley Sports or on line at St Finbarrs AC web site.
11TH ANNUAL MUNSTER EXPRESS/WLR FM FUN RUN TO BE HELD THIS SUNDAY.
The Munster Express/WLR fm 10 kilometres Fun Run, an event that attracted 1,000 entrants last year, will be held in Waterford city on this coming Sunday, September 09th. The course which runners and walkers have become familiar with in recent years has been retained for this year’s run, starting and finishing at the Waterford Regional Sports Centre. The wheelchair competition will get underway at 11.50 am while runners and walkers will be up and running/walking once the starter’s gun fires at noon. Entry is now completely closed and no entries will be accepted on the day. Those entered will each receive a Fun Run pack which will include a race number, safety pins to affix the number onto your running vest as well as a copy of our rules Local charities will benefit from monies raised through entries as well as the individual tallies raised by runners and walkers supporting charities and good causes of their own choice. Best of luck to all competitors.
COMMITTEE MEETING.
All committee members please note our monthly meeting is on tomorrow night Thursday September 6th at 8.30 pm in Minnie’s Bar.Abbeyside.
SUPERB 2ND FOR RAIVIS IN LONGFORD.
West Waterford’s Raivis Zaksi recorded a splendid 2nd place overall in the recent Longford half marathon and clocked himself a personal best time of 70.36 for the distance. Winner on the day was Michael O’Connor of Galway with a time of 68 minutes and Declan Fahy was third 72 minutes. Recent winner of the final race in the Ger Wyley/Nike summer series the An Tobar Ardmore 5 Sligo’s Lucy Brennan won the Ladies section of the Longford Marathon on the same day with a time of 2.52.
STILWELL AND HARTY SECOND AND THIRD IN LISCARROLL.
Seán Stilwell and Philip Harty showed promising form recently when competing in the Tom Fitzpatrick Liscarroll 8k.The race was won by Ger Guina of West Limerick with a time of 27.28.he was closely followed by Sean who clocked a very decent 27.34 he was followed by training partner Philip Harty third in 28.10.well done to both.
ANN AND TERRI TAKE SILVER AND BRONZE IN NATIONAL HALF MARATHON.
Ann Moroney and Terri Gough were the clubs only two athletes in the field of 142 finishers to make the long trip to Ballybofey Co. Donegal to take part in the National half marathon championship of Ireland last Sunday but they made it a worth while trip when both brought home National medals for their efforts. Tergia Sergio from Clonliffe Harriers was the mens individual winner by three seconds from local runner Gary Crossan of Letterkenny AC, with Crossans clubmate Pauric McKinney third.Gladys Daniel from DSD won the women’s title from Josephine Killeen of Kilmurray Ibrickane, with Kay Byrne of Finn Valley third.Ann finished 3rd over 50 in time of 2 hours and 4 minutes to claim the bronze medal and Terri added to her growing national medal collection when taking silver over 60 with a time of 2 hour’s and 11 minutes. Congratulation’s to Terri and Ann from all at the club.
CROSS COUNTRY SEASON AROUND THE CORNER.
The new cross country season will start with the St.Senans Kilmacow fixture on Sunday September 23rd .Our Men’s and Ladies teams will be in action here and any club members who would like to run cross country this year will be very welcome to join the group. We are all looking forward to a very enjoyable couple of months of fixtures, fun and muck.
RYAN BROTHERS SHIELD.
The Kilmacow race will be the first leg in the Ryan Brothers shield, the second leg being our own Cross country run on Sunday October 14th,This year any runner from St.Senan’s or West Waterford who runs both legs of the shield will be entered for a raffle for a pair of running spikes.
CROSS COUNTRY FIXTURES.
Sunday September 23rd St.Senans Open Cross Country fixture Kilmacow.2 PM.
Sunday October 14th Garveys SuperValue Open Cross Country.St Augustine’s College 2.30 PM.
Sunday October 21st Munster Novice and under 23 Cross Country Championships Limerick.
Sunday November 11th Munster Intermediate Cross Country championships Cork.
Sunday November 25th All Ireland Inter County venue to be announced.
Sunday December 2nd Munster Masters Cross Country Championships. Kerry
Sunday December 16th All Ireland Novice Cross Country Championships, venue to be decided.
GREAT DISAPOINTMENT FOR JAMIE COSTIN IN OSAKA.
After what can only be described as a mammoth come back to international competition after his car accident ahead of the 2004 Olympics in Athens which almost ended his race walking career, West Waterford’s Jamie Costin and indeed Ireland’s participation came to an unwelcome end at the world Track and Field championships in Osaka last Saturday morning, The 50k walk was held in conditions akin to a sauna with temperatures in the mid 30’s and humidity at 80% despite condition training prior to Osaka both Jamie and Irelands other participant Colin Griffin of Limerick found the conditions very difficult to handle. Colin Griffin was unfortunate to be disqualified after 17k when after receiving two warnings he was red carded, West Waterford athlete Jamie Costin pulled out through cramp with seven kilometres to go. Jamie was coming through the field nicely after starting conservatively because of the conditions and was in the mid 20’s when cramp started to effect him, He came to the stage that he was having to stop every couple of hundred yards and to keep going would have done more damage than good so he took the wise decision and called it a day. Jamie will now take a short break to recuperate he has hopeful if selected a year to prepare for competition in Beijing at the Olympic games next year. There will be plenty of International race walking competitions over the next couple of months and we hope to see Jamie put this experience behind him and look to the year head.
SYMPATHY.
West Waterford AC extends sincere sympathy to the family and friends of the late Frank Leahy Belvedere Drive, Waterford who’s passing occurred last weekend. Frank was a loyal and life long supporter of Waterford Athletic Club and was a coach at the club for many years, He will also be fondly remembered as a race starter at County, Munster and National level, indeed he had the honour some years ago of being the official starter for the World Cross Country championships when they were last held in Ireland on Lepardstown Race course. May he rest in peace.
MARATHON CORNER.
IN THE LONG RUN.
The days and weeks are quickly passing bye and that great day is getting ever so closer. Yes folks its Marathon time of year as if you haven’t noticed the large groups of runners pounding the streets of Dungarvan these past few months as members of our club prepare for the upcoming marathons in various parts of the world. Some are travelling to Berlin, some to Chicago and New York many to Amsterdam and the remainder to Dublin The next couple of weeks will see the long runs increase in length, as was the case last Sunday morning when over 20 leaf the Friary on a 22 miler, how important are the long run’s, do we really have to do them and how fast should we run them, how many should we do, and at what pace, all these questions and more are frequently asked this time of year. This week we will take a look at the importance of the long run and we will try and answer some of the above questions. Read on. Whatever your goal, the long run will help you more than any component of your running program. By going slowly, you can burn more fat and push back your endurance barriers.
WHAT IS THE LONG RUN
The long run starts with the longest distance your covering each week, as the weeks pass we increase the distance of the long run by roughly two miles every other week, usually we peak with our long run at 18-20 or 22 miles. In some cases we would run maybe two or three long runs of 18 or 20 miles or over before we begin to taper down two to three weeks before the race date.
THE MENTAL BENEFITS.
While there are significant and continuing physical benefits from running long runs regularly, the mental ones are just as great. Yes long runs produces mental momentum, self-confidence and a positive attitude. Even by slowing the pace and in some cases taking walk breaks, you can also experience a series of victories over fatigue with almost no risk of injury.
AS YOU PUSH YOUR LIMITS.
As you push a mile or two further on each long one, you push back your endurance limit. It’s important to go slowly on each of these (at least one minute or even two minutes per mile slower than you could run that distance on that day) to make it easy for your muscles to extend their current endurance limit. When it’s really hot and humid, for example, you’ll need to run one or two minutes per mile slower. The most direct way to prepare for a marathon as you extend the long run to 18- 20 or 22 miles, you build the exact endurance necessary to complete the marathon (14 to 15 for the half marathon, 8 to 10 for the 10K). Those who have marathon time goals can extend their capacity by running as far as 23 miles three to four weeks before the marathon. You’re actually pushing back your “endurance wall” with each long run.
LONG RUN FACTS.
· Forget about speed on long runs. Focus only on the component of endurance.
· You can’t run too slowly on the long runs. Run at least one to two minutes per mile slower than you could run that distance on that day, accounting for heat, humidity, etc.
· You won’t usually feel bad when you’re running too fast at the beginning of the run so you must force yourself to slow down.
· Be comfortable enough to be able to talk to your training partners on the run.
· The day before the long run should be a no-exercise day.
· Adjust for heat, humidity, hills, etc.
Signs you went too fast on a long one:
· You must hit the couch or bed and rest for an hour or more
· Muscle soreness or leg fatigue which lasts more than two days, making it uncomfortable to run
· Aches and/or pains that last for more than four days after a long one
· Huffing and puffing so much during the last two to three miles that you can’t carry on a conversation
· Struggling during the last two to three miles to maintain pace or slowing down
The cornerstone of marathon training is the long run.
This refers to runs of 16 to 22 miles. Running these longer training runs teaches your body to store glycogen (carbohydrate) in your muscles thereby utilizing fat more efficiently. Since fats are a higher calorie fuel than glycogen (nine calories per gram compared to four calories per gram for carbos), this will allow you to use more fat in your fuel mixture so the glycogen that feeds your muscles will last longer to stave off exhaustion. If you’ve been wondering why some people "hit the wall" the answer can be found in the over-anxious runner who started the race too quickly and burned out all their carbohydrate before the halfway point. By slowing your pace during these long training runs you’ll be able to take in more oxygen, too, by tapping into your fat storage, first.
PACE.
The pace of your long run will be determined by your current training paces at shorter distances and your marathon goal time. If you are a beginning runner and or first time marathoner, your primary goal should be to cross the finish line without a time goal. Plan on running your 20 mile training run at approximately one minute per mile slower than you normally run your four to six mile daily run.
If you are a more experienced runner who has already run a marathon you may want to consider a time goal. Choose a goal that is within your reach, but challenging. During your 20 mile run, run the first 16 miles at 45 seconds per mile slower than anticipated marathon pace, then run the last four miles at marathon pace. This will teach your body to run at goal pace on tired legs, which is exactly what you’ll need to do during the marathon.
THE FINAL LOOP.
The purpose of the long run is to endure and to enable your body to go the distance, not to make the run as hard as possible. If you already run many hills in your daily training, try not to do so during your long run. Plan out your run ahead of time and know the locations of water stops, bathroom stops and traffic patterns. What seems familiar to you during a 5 miler may be quite different to you as you stretch those miles upward and your pain tolerance gets the best of you. Most of all take comfort in knowing that hundreds of thousands of runners have endured this before, and they all got to the starting line and crossed the finish line. You will too. Best of luck to all in you’re final couple of weeks preparation. Waddle on friends!
