ELITE PAINTBALL 1 LAP CHALLENGE.
The first round of the Elite Paintball 1 lap Challenge took place in the Friary College grounds last Tuesday night. This League is being held in conjunction with Athletics Ireland Fit4Life programme. This league is called the 1 Lap Challenge because that’s exactly what it is! One lap, 1.2 miles. Maybe your challenge is to run the lap in 6 minutes or maybe it’s just to make it round without stopping or maybe it’s to get to the hammer cage at the far end of the big field, then take a rest and walk for a while and then jog on again. This league is brilliant for anyone thinking of doing the Winter League as by the time the six nights are over you will be ready to take on the Winter League short course. So we will be in the Friary for the next 5 Tuesday nights. The starting time will be 7.00 and registration starts at 6.45 at the club van.”you can’t miss it” You just have to come along with €2, give in your name and off you go. Everyone will be made feel welcome and we can give you advice on all aspects of running. just ask at the man in the van.
SPONSORS
The club would like to take this opportunity to thank out sponsors for this league: Jeff and Marie Allen of Elite Paintball for coming on board to sponsor this event. Many thanks to you both for your support and indeed well done to Marie who took part and had a great run.
FIRST ROUND
Twenty runners took part last Tuesday night and some excellent times were recorded. Sean Stillwell clipped around in 6.26 and was followed in by Kevin Kenneally in 6.43.Corinna and Yev will be hoping to duck under 7 minutes next week as they recorded times of 7.02 and 7.03 respectively. Others to run well included Tony Ryan who was delighted to break the 9 minute barrier. I’m sure Josie was celebrating Kilkenny’s big win but that didn’t stop her running just over 9 minutes, next week Josie will be targeting that 9 minute mark. It’s great to see old regulars like Kathleen Young back and bringing along Jennifer with her. So see you all next week when we can take up the challenge again.bring that friend if your still talking.
GARVEYS SUPERVALUE AUTUMN LEAGUE.
Thursday night last saw the commencement of one our most popular leagues in the West Waterford calendar. The autumn league is an excellent league to get ready for the Winter League as whichever distance you choose 1, 2, 3, or 4 laps can prepare you for the short or long course in the Winter League. So there’s plenty of room for you at the Friary College every Thursday night for the next 5 nights. The starting time for this league is 6.30 with registration starting at the club van at 6.15.For this league you can start with 1 lap and change up to 2, 3, or 4 laps when you feel ready. But remember in order to feature in the league tables you have to run 4 nights at the one distance.
SPONSORS
We would like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors for this league; Garvey’s Supervalue Dungarvan and Coolagh Road. In particular we would like to thank the Manager Liam Power as he is a great supporter of our Leagues. Nice to see you back running Liam.
BIG TURN OUT FOR FIRST ROUND
1 LAP
Well done to the 4 girls who took on the one lap last Thursday night. You have taken the first step on the road to fitness and with each night I promise it will get easier. Michelle Healy led the girls home in a time of 11.11 with the others not far behind. Don’t give up now girls keep it going for round 2 next Thursday night.
CORINNA MAKES HER MARK IN 2 LAP COURSE
Corinna Walsh has made the 2 lap circuit her own over the past year. Once again last Thursday night she had a mighty run and covered the distance in 15.09. This training will prove very beneficial for Corinna in the upcoming Cross Country season. It’s great to see regulars and newcomers turning our for the league. Some of the athletes to impress here were Michael John O Mahoney (17.34), the evergreen Michael Roche (18.17), Diana Chizhikova (23.35) and Jennifer Ui Dhuibhir who kept up her good start from Tuesday night and ran 25.44.
YEV TAKES ON 3 LAPS
Yevgeniy Chizhikov had a splendid run in the three laps to record a great time of 23.49. Next to finish was Tom Byrne in 26.33. Work mates Carol Whelan and Liam Power will be bidding to drop under the 30 minute barrier before this league is over. Others to run well were Christopher O Grady (32.29), Michelle Flynn (33.07) and Onra Power (34.05)
SEAN TAKES 4 LAPS
34 runners took on the 4 laps last Thursday night in perfect conditions for running. Sean Stillwell clipped around in an impressive time of 27.54. He was followed home by Eric Meade in 28.31. Kevin Kenneally will also be happy with his 29.00 minute run and will hope to improve on this next week. Others to impress on the night were Des Feeny(31.16), Denis Mc Carthy(31.28), Patrick Riordon(31.39) and Padraigh Healy(3148). Well done also to Tom Scanlon(39.32), J.J Henley(40.59) Liam Sandford and Pearse Moloney who ran together in just over 42.00 minutes and also to Thomas O Grady on his return on his time of (42.39). Hope to see you all next week and if you haven’t ran yet you are more than welcome to come along.
BLARNEY HALF MARATHON
The 2008 Blarney Half Marathon took place last Sunday with a record entry yet again. The total number of participants this year soared to 505 and no doubt next year will see this record beaten again. This race incorporates the Munster Championship as well which is a big factor in the increasing numbers. The organisation on the day was superb and no stone was left unturned by the race organisers. There were plenty of stewards on the course as well as plenty of water stops and all involved are to be commended on a job well done. From very early in the morning, there was a steady flow of traffic into the village of Blarney and all were hoping for the heavy rain to ease off for the eleven o’ clock start which fortunately for us all it did. Running conditions on the day were perfect for all the athletes. Although it was raining, the runners barely noticed it as they got down to the task of completing the 13.1 miles of the course. As courses go, this particular race would not be the easiest as from 4.5 miles to 6 there is a considerable climb upwards towards the village of Grenagh. Following the descent out of the village the course changed to several small and short pulls along the way to the finishing tunnel. With the absence of any significant wind some great times were recorded and as usual the club was well represented on the day. The race itself was won by the winner of the Dungarvan ten mile race last year, Sergio Turea in a time of 70 minutes even. Colin Merritt of Togher A.C. was second in 71.44 and Riocht A.C. athlete Donal O’ Callaghan was third in a time of 73.18. First home from West Waterford AC was the in-form Des Feeney who had a great performance on the day and finished in a very credible time of 83.28. Six seconds is all that separated Des from Garret Byrne, who is having a fantastic season at the minute and is in great shape for the upcoming marathon in Amsterdam. Judging by his time in Blarney he is well on for a great time in Amsterdam in a few weeks time. It was a real push to the finish for Des and Garret as hot on their heels was Andrew Leary. Andrew’s training is going really well at the moment and his performance on Sunday will stand to him as it was part of his final preparations for the upcoming Berlin marathon on September 28. Andrew finished just twelve seconds behind Garrett in a time of 83.46. Michael Dwyer was the next representative from the club to cross the line, completing the course in well under 86 minutes, averaging at 6.32 per mile. Not a bad day out at all. Pat Dunford, also gearing up for the marathon in Amsterdam is getting back to his usual good form and was well pleased with his run on the day. Pat ran a very tactical race and as the race progressed got stronger and stronger, pulling away from the pack. The undulating course that is Blarney never seems to bother Dermot Ryan. Each year Dermot arrives in Blarney and always seems to pull off a great performance and last Sunday was no exception. Averaging out at a little over 7 minute miles, he came home in a great time of 92.40. Tom Leahy was the next athlete home and will be delighted with his performance and time of 94.52. Next up was Kenneth O’ Donnell and although suffering from a slight injury did very well indeed to cover the distance in 96.36. Ann Dunford who has taken part in the Blarney race for the past number of years ran an absolute blinder on the day. Currently in training for the Amsterdam marathon her goal on the day was to run under 100 minutes. She ran a very steady race and at the half –way stage she upped the pace mile by mile and finished three minutes inside of her target time and into the bargain shaved four minutes off her time from last year. Well done Ann. Ann was also a prize-winner on the day as she won 3rd lady in her category. Right behind Ann was Pat Frisby, another who ran a fine steady race on the day. Pacing is what it’s all about and both Ann and Pat had it off to perfection. Pat was also well inside his goal of 100 minutes as was Budapest bound Eamon Flavin. The long runs in training really stood to Eamon on the day and his performance on Sunday indicates a great run for him in Budapest, which takes place in a few weeks. James McCarthy was another club athlete to be pleased with his run. He really had to give it his all on the home stretch as it was fast and furious at the finishing line with two to three athletes finishing every second. Despite a very early start to the morning, one of our most improved runners from the summer series, Ann Moroney, continued her pattern of improvement and was just 3 seconds over the two hours. This was great running indeed and like every year Ann is in great shape for the marathon season. Caitriona O’ Brien was our next finisher and will be well pleased with her time on the day. Pat Moore ran very well and was well inside 2.10. On the other side of this time were Paula Nugent, Amanda Mansfield and Brigid Blackwell. These are to be congratulated on completing their first half marathon and as they did so well on Sunday it won’t be too long before they will be in training for another. This type of race will certainly pay dividends for the girls in three weeks time as they take on the challenge of the Cork to Cobh 15 mile road race. No bother to ye girls! Another prize-winner on the day was Terri Gough who finished just ahead of Tommy Lenihan, both of whom were well under 2.20. Albert McGrath was in shortly after them, which completed the round up for the West Waterford athletes.
The following are the times recorded for the athletes on the day.
Des Feeney 1.23.28
Garret Byrne 1.23.34
Andrew Leary 1.23.46
Michael Dwyer 1.25.43
Pat Dunford 1.29.02
Dermot Ryan 1.32.40
Tom Leahy 1.34.52
Kenneth O’ Donnell 1.36.36
Norma Wall 1.37.06
Ann Dunford 1.37.08
Pat Frisby 1.38.05
Eamon Flavin 1.39.29
James McCarthy 1.53.18
Ann Moroney 2.00.03
Caitriona O’ Brien 2.04.42
Pat Moore 2.09.06
Paula Nugent 2.10.27
Amanda Mansfield 2.10.32
Brigid Blackwell 2.11.47
Terri Gough 2.18.31
Tommy Lenihan 2.18.43
Albert McGrath 2.22.02
CORK TO COBH
There’s no rest for the wicked and now that the Blarney half marathon is over it’s time to turn our attention to the Cork to Cobh 15 mile road race. This takes place on October 5, the same day that many of the club athletes will be running in the Budapest marathon. This race is always popular with those in preparation for a marathon so no doubt we will have plenty of takers for this race. The entry forms are available from Ger Wyley’s sports shop and the deadline for entry is September 26. The cost for those that pre-enter is €15 and entry on the day is €20. Albert has organised a bus and there are a number of seats available. The bus will leave from the Park Hotel at 7.30 on the Sunday morning and the cost is €20. Anyone interested in going on the bus should contact Albert as soon as possible at 41661. Your deposit secures your seat.
CORINNA WALSH COMERAGH CRYSTAL ATHLETE OF THE MONTH FOR AUGUST.
A deserving winner, accumulating a total of 7 points Corinna Walsh takes the Comeragh Crystal athlete of the month award for August.Corinna who has had arguably her best ever road racing season this year lies 5th overall in the leaders table in the clubs athlete of the year competition,The top position is held by Brigid Coffey as has been the case for the past four months and she will now most likely not be beaten in this year’s club competition, Its really a matter now of how many more points can she accumulate between now and December one things for certain Brigid will set a new and very high standard for this year’s competition reaching levels never before reached and most likely never again attained by anyone, with a total of 92 points after August already achieved. All the top six athlete’s currently leading the league table have all won monthly awards at this stage but remember there’s still four monthly awards to be claimed and the rules are that you can only win one monthly award.Those who could still achieve a monthly prize include Joe Gough,Liam Kavanagh,Josie Uí Chuirrin Sean Stilwell,Norma Wall Patrick O’Riordan just to mention a few. remember the athlete who accumulates the most points in a given month as long as they have not won a previous monthly award will be deemed the winner and a very nice engraved Comeragh Crystal memento awaits each monthly winner so competition is keen and best of luck to all for the remaining four months.
TOP 20 TABLE LISTED BELOW.
January February March April May June July August 0verall
Coffey, Brigid 9 6 4 12 21 12 15 13 92
Zakis, Raivis 6 5 9 8 16 15 15 8 82
Brunnock, Paul 7 5 4 6 6 8 11 8 55
Dunford, Ann 9 4 6 6 10 4 8 5 52
Walsh Corinna 5 5 6 5 4 8 8 7 48
Power, Onra 6 4 3 3 5 10 9 8 48
Gough, Joe 8 6 7 4 6 3 6 4 44
Kavanagh, Liam 7 5 3 6 4 6 8 5 44
Josie uí Chuirrin 5 5 4 5 6 9 4 4 42
Dunford, Pat 7 4 4 4 9 5 3 4 40
Stilwell, Sean 7 4 5 6 8 7 0 1 38
Wall, Norma 6 4 5 6 3 3 7 4 38
O’Riordan, Ptk 5 4 2 3 4 8 6 6 38
Whelan, Anne 4 5 5 4 5 7 5 2 37
Colman Tomas 3 5 2 5 4 8 5 5 37
Deegan, Dixie 7 5 0 2 4 8 4 6 36
Wall, Triona 5 4 6 6 3 4 4 3 35
Dwyer, Anthony 6 5 3 5 5 6 3 1 34
Behan, Diane 7 5 4 1 6 4 3 3 33
Lyons Alan 5 5 2 5 5 7 1 2 32
Cantwell, Gerry 7 5 6 4 2 3 3 2 32
NOTICE TO WEST WATERFORD ATHLETES.
Please note that from immediate effect St.Augustines College is strictly out of bounds for running during school hours.We ask all our members to adhere to this rule.
RUNNING QUOTE.
The World is divided into two kinds of people, runners and non-runners.
CLUB WEDDING.
Congratulations from all at the club to members Martin Mullarkey and Maria Delaney on the occasion of their marriage last week.health and happiness to both.
SYMPATHY.
West Waterford AC extends sincere sympathy to Mary Ashe on the death of her uncle in England.May he rest in peace.
COUNTY CONVENTION.
The Waterford County Convention will take place on Tuesday September 23rd at 8 PM in De La Salle college Waterford ,All clubs are asked to be represented at same.
