Friday, July 29, 2011

Tipperary...Race notice for the Ballynonty 10 Mile - Sun 31st July

As you can see from the photo above, Ballynonty AC have blown the advertising budget this year with a high impact promotion of their 10 mile road race ;o)

While it is probably one of the smallest 10 mile road races in the country, it is every bit as good as some of it's bigger counterparts. There is no chip timing, no flashy prizes, no promises of a flat, fast or scenic course. Just a basic 10 mile road race on the country roads of Tipperary organised by a small club............with enough tea, sandwiches and buns afterwards to feed a small army.

Directions.........it is about a 10 minute drive from the M8 motorway. Take the turn off for the Horse and Jockey. At the T-junction, you will see the Horse and Jockey hotel straight ahead........turn left and head up the old Dublin road......~2 kms later, take the 1st right and then keep going straight and you will end up in Ballynonty.

Once you get to the village, go through the crossroads and race hq is in a house on the left.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Limerick...Results of the Cook Medical 4 mile race - Thurs 21st July 2011

This was the 4th race in the Limerick City Sports Partnership Feet on the Street summer series of races and 181 runners took part.

The mens race was won by James Doran of Riocht AC in 22:09 while Tracey Roche of Dooneen AC won the womens race in 24:34.

The full results can be seen HERE

The 5th race in the series is on Thursday, the 28th of July

Details.....Thursday July 28th; 7pm; Country Club 5M, Old Cratloe Road/Redgate
Directions- from LIT continue out of the city towards Cratloe/Meelick for approx 2 miles.  The Country Club and carpark are located on the right immediately after right turn outside Caherdavin.   5 mile loop includes Woodcockhill and country road on the traditional Country Club 5miles race course.  3 mile option for walkers follows slightly different course.  Parking, toilets and prize-giving after in The Country Club.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Kerry...Race notice for the Kilgobnet 4 mile race - Fri 29th July 2011

This 4 mile road race is coming up next Friday, the 29th of July at 8pm. Kilgobnet is a few kms to the west of Beaufort nr Killarney in Co.Kerry. Signposted from the Killarney - Killorglin road. Details in the race flyer below...

Deirdre Finn from Tipperary wins Belfast 24 hour race...

The first woman finisher home in the Belfast 24 hours race over the weekend (Sat 23rd July) was Deirdre Finn of Killaloe in Tipperary and Bilboa AC. With 47 individual runners taking part in the event, Deirdre ran 112 miles in the 24 hours to finish in 6th position overall. The first man was John O'Regan from Kildare.

From the BBC...."However, performance of the race came arguably from women's winner Finn who added 22 miles to last year's best female time set by Lynne Hanna. Hanna improved her personal best as she also went through the 100-mile barrier while Hungarian Timea Bontovics was third best female with 91 miles. In all, 18 athletes went beyond 100 miles in the day-long event."

The only other Munster based athlete taking part was Mike Cunningham of Bilboa AC in Limerick who finished in 7th place overall with approx 112 miles.


Report from the BBC news website HERE with another report on this online news website

Tipperary...Results of the Nenagh 4 mile race - Sat 23rd July 2011

96 runners turned out for this 4 mile road race in Nenagh, Co.Tipperary. The winner of the mens race was  Pat Byrne of Tinryland AC in a time of 20:15 while Angela McCann of Clonmel AC won the womens race in 23:38.

The full results can be seen HERE

Photos......a slideshow of photos can be seen HERE

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Kate Veale of West Waterford AC sets her first racewalking senior record...

Kate Veale of West Waterford AC set a new senior racewalking record in the 3,000 metres in Tullamore today despite the fact she is still only 17 years old. Kate's winning time of 12:18 took almost a minute off the old senior record.

From Athletics Ireland......"Just days after winning the World Youths walks gold medal, Kate Veale (West Waterford AC) was back in action at the Woodie’s DIY juvenile championships in Tullamore today. The large attendance showed their appreciation of her achievement throughout the race, and resulted in her setting a new U18 record, a new Irish junior record, a new Irish U23 record and a new Irish senior record for the 3,000m walk.

Gillian O’Sullivan’s Irish senior record from 2000 went by the boards as Veale powered her way around the Track for a spectacular win. Her winning time of 12:18.86 takes almost a minute off her own Irish junior record and almost sixteen seconds off Gillian O’Sullivan’s senior record.
Veale looked to be walking with a new spring in her step today, brimming with confidence, and looking forward to competing in the Woodie’s DIY senior championships in two weeks time."

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Limerick...Results of the Raheen 6 km race - Thurs 14th July 2011

This 6km race in Limerick City had a field of over 200 runners, the largest so far in the Feet on the Street series.

The full results can be found HERE

There is a large gallery of photos by Gordon Thomson HERE

The next race in the series is in Castletroy in Limerick City on Thursday the 21st of July at 7pm

Details........
Thursday July 21st; 7pm; Cook Ireland 4M, National Technology Park, Castletroy
Directions- from city centre take Plassey Road towards UL and National Technology Park.  Take second left turn after University of Limerick and left again for Cook buildings.  4 mile loop starts out on Plassey Road- towards Groody Roundabout and turns left up to Kilmurry roundabout with enclosed finishing area behind Cook Irl buildings.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Kerry....Results of the MaxiMarathon 15 mile race - Sun 16th July 2011

On the morning of this particular race, the weather was looking a bit grim from the car park near Muckross House in Killarney with several heavy showers. In complete contrast to the sunshine and blue skies of 2010, it looked as if this was going to be a wet day from the start.

After the runners were transported to the start line up high in the hills by a fleet of buses, the showers had passed as 8am approached and the race started in bright but dry conditions.

Initially, the first mile or so was slightly uphill until...

...we reached Molls Gap and then the descent began. From here, we could see the upper lakes of Killarney in the valley below with the clouds only obscuring the tips of the nearby mountains.

There was one light shower on the way down but nothing serious. If anything, the weather conditions were actually ideal for a race. The wind was behind the runners for most of the race and it was nice and cool.

It was actually strange to be running on this twisting road which would be normally be busy with traffic. Running past the many lakes and open woodland, it made a nice contrast from the usual type of race. It is a really scenic route and it would be a great way for any tourist to see the countryside from a unique viewpoint.

Once the runners reached ~10.7 miles, we turned off left into the park proper with narrow little tracks....not really an issue as the field was well thinned out by this stage. There were some small climbs here, most very short but certainly not as easy as the downhill running of the previous few miles.

From here, we ran through the park until the finish line near Muckross House.

Overall......a well organised event. The initial thought might be that the course is just one downhill long easy run but there are plenty of sections in the 15 miles that make the race a challenge in it's own right. By using buses to transport runners to a remote start location, they have devised a route where runners get a wide variety of views on what is one of the most scenic roads in the country. I'm not sure if it could live up to it's claim to be the 'worlds most beautiful road race' but on a national level, it certainly is a contender.

Results......the overall results can be seen HERE

The category prizewinners can be seen HERE
Photos......there is a gallery of 189 photos mostly near the finish line that can be seen HERE

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Looking ahead to the Dingle Half & Full Marathon...Sat 3rd Sept 2011

This event is coming up on Saturday the 3rd of September and must be one of the most scenic routes in Ireland. Starting in the town of Dingle at 9am..........

........the race travels west passing through the village of Ventry before heading out towards Slea Head...

What really makes this Half and Full Marathon special is the fact the roads are closed. Normally, there is a lot of tourist traffic on this narrow road and it wouldn't be really suitable for running or walking.
The road here is high above the sea and you have an incredible view out over Dingle Bay to the Iveragh Peninsula to the south with the Skelligs in the distance.

Once you pass the grotto around the 10 mile mark, the Blasket Islands come into view...
....and then the twisting coastal road...


Soon, the Half-Marathon finishes in Dunquin and there are a fleet of buses to take the runners back to Dingle. The full Marathon runners continue on towards Ballyferriter with Brandon Mountain now coming into view. From here, the route is on quiet narrow roads as it heads towards Dingle...

An incredible location for a Marathon and probably the most scenic in Ireland.


Entries....The closing date for entries is Wednesday, the 24th of August.

More details on the Dingle Marathon website

This YouTube clip from TG4 in Irish gives a good feel for what it is like...

Clare...Results of the Clarecastle 10k race - Sat 9th July 2011

This 10 km road race to the se of Ennis in Co.Clare had a field of 220 runners.

The full results are now available HERE

Monday, July 11, 2011

Waterford...Results of the Dungarvan 5 mile road race - Fri 8th July 2011

The 2011 Dungarvan 5 mile race attracted a field of 252 runners, down a small bit on the 2010 figure of 261. The mens race was won by Raivis Zakis of West Waterford AC in a time of 25:50. The ladies race was won by Angela McCann of Clonmel AC in 29:53.

The full results can be found HERE

Limerick...Results of the Southill 5k race - Thurs 7th July

This was the 2nd race in the Feet on the Street series in Limerick City and attracted 104 runners. The finish of the mens race was a close affair with the top 3 finishing within 4 seconds of each other. The winner was Dermot Kerins who ran a time of 17:15.

The womens race was won by Loretto Duggan from Co.Clare in a time of 20:44 making it 2 out of 2 so far for the series.

The full results can be seen HERE

The 3rd race in the series is in Raheen Business Park at 7pm on Thurs 14th of July

Thursday July 14th; 7pm; Analog Devices 6k, Raheen Business Park
Directions- on entry to Business Park at Raheen Roundabout (near South Court Hotel) follow one-way system, keep to right lane and take first right turn to Analog.  6k takes in 2 loops of first section by analog and continues out around the business park to finish back by starting area.  Family-friendly event- children and buggies very welcome on this business park route with minimal traffic.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Tipperary...Results of the Coillte 10k road race - Wed 16th July 2011

This 10km road race in Dundrum, Tipperary attracted a field of 215 runners, perhaps a record number? Looking back at recent results, they have grown year on year since 2008 at least.

The winner of the mens race was Kenneth Rogers of St.Johns Clare in a time of 32:06. The ladies winner was Rosemary Ryan of Bilboa AC in a time of 34:54.

The full results can be found in PDF format HERE


Angela McCann 3rd, Rosemary Ryan 1st, Siobhan O'Doherty 2nd

Friday, July 8, 2011

Kate Veale of West Waterford AC wins Youth World Championship

Just out.....8th July 2011.......Kate Veale of West Waterford AC has just won the 5km race walk in the IAAF World Youth Championships in Lille, France.

If I have the stats correct, not only did she beat her nearest rivals by a 15 second margin but she also set a new personal best beating her previous time (22:36) by some 50 seconds.



From the IAAF.......
Girls’ 5000m Race Walk Final - Veale conquers Ireland's first World Youth gold

Lille, France - 17-year-old Kate Veale walked to a new World Youth leading performance of 21:45.59 to claim the IAAF World Youth 5000m race walking title here in Lille.

A disappointing fourth at the inaugural World Youth Olympic Games in Singapore last year, the Irishwoman was determined not to miss out on a podium finish this time around.

With exactly 7 laps to go Veale moved to the front and took the lead from Peru’s Yuli Capcha, the early leader taking the group through the first (4:38.61) and second (8:59.36) kilometres before failing to reach the finish line.

Behind Veale, Italy’s Anna Clemente, the World Youth Olympic champion, and Russia’s Olga Nacharkina looked strong but that was before Veale upped the tempo a further notch. Six laps to go and Veale was still solidly in the lead with Ukraine’s Alina Galchenko and the second Russian in this final Nadezhda Leontyeva making their first appearance at the front.

Veale was timed in 13:12.74 at 3km and with now just 5 laps to go increased her lead dramatically to a good 20 metres on Galchenko and Leontyeva another 10 metres down. Trailing behind the trio of China’s Yanxue Mao, Mexico’s Alejandra Ortega and a not-so-fresh Clemente lagged a further 5 metres behind.

Veale’s rhythm was a class above the rest’s – she led by 40 metres with 4 laps to go, 60 metres with 3 laps to go, 70 metres at the bell… The focus had now fallen on a small group of 5 pursuers who briefly rejoined with 1500 metres to go. Galchenko, Leontyeva, Nacharkina, Ortega and Mao…five women for just two medals…

As Veale cruised seemingly effortlessly to clinch her country’s first gold medal in the history of this competition, the bell rang with Leontyeva and Galchenko neck and neck and Mao, who won the World Youth Olympic silver medal last year in Singapore, just a couple of steps behind.

“It feels really nice to be the World champion,” Veale said after her wonderful performance. “I can’t really realize it. I felt strong during the whole race but until the last lap I wasn’t sure I could be first. I know the Chinese has a good finish and I didn’t know where they were behind me.
“My family was here to support me, they were louder than the Chinese and Russian fans.”




Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Limerck......Results of the Dromcollogher 4 mile road race - Mon 4th July 2011

This was the 3rd race in the Ballyhoura Active series and it attracted a turnout of 144, well up on recent years. Just 2 years ago in 2009, the numbers were down in the low 50's so this is an impressive number in comparison.

Race report by West Limerick AC.....
Dromcollogher Road Race............The Dromcollogher festival committee and the West Limerick Athletic Club members who worked together in organizing this race were delighted with the numbers who turned out last Monday evening. It was run over the four mile course with the finish in the Square where the carnival atmosphere was wonderful. It is very unusual nowadays to have all the amusements right in the heart of a town. 
Tracey Roche, Dooneen AC, was the winner of the women’s race in a great time of 23:30 ahead of Veronica Colleran, Ennis Track, 25:27 and Loretto Duggan, St. Mary’s Clare, 27:24.
In the men’s event we had a ding-dong battle up front between North Cork man, Michael Herlihy, Kilnaboy runner Michael Shannon and Gneeveguilla’s Ed Murphy. Over the last mile it was Herlihy who proved strongest finishing in 20:12 with Shannon second in 20:28 and Murphy in 20:56. Then came Martin Doody, Limerick, 21:21, Tim O’Connor, Ríocht, 21:46 and Aogán Mac Domhnaill, West Limerick, 21:49.
Female category winners were Deirdre Mc Carthy, Christina Organ, Carmel Mac Domhnaill and Jade Ryan(Junior).
Male winners were Mike Mc Auliffe, Mike Cunningham, Donncha Brosnan, Con O’Brien and TJ Buckley. The junior winner was Tim Keane, North Cork, in 25:37.
Gerry Forde was the winner of the wheelchair section.

The full results can be seen HERE

There is a gallery of photos from Ballyhoura Failte HERE

Please note that the next race in the Ballyhoura active series is on Sunday, the 10th of July at 12 noon. It is a new race in Kilworth Camp just to the north of Fermoy in north-east Cork. More details later on the Running in Cork website.

Tipperary...Results of the Ballyneale 5k road race - Fri 1st July 2011

This was the second race in this year's Outfield Sports Three Counties Challenge. The Champion Kiely 5k was held in Ballyneale just outside Carrick-on-Suir. This series of four races is organised by Carrick-on-Suir AC Roadrunners and takes in races in the neighbouring counties of Tipperary, Kilkenny and Waterford.

Conditions were perfect for this race, run in honour of the 1904 Olympic gold medallist, Tom Kiely.The men's race was won in 14:49 by Andrew Ledwith (Fr. Murphy's) ahead of Sergiu Ciobanu (Clonliffe Harriers) in 15:04 and Dzintars Klava (West Waterford) in 15:52.
The ladies' race was won by Siobhan O' Doherty (Borrisokane) in 17:20. Angela McCann (Clonmel) was second in 17:50 and in third was Martina O' Dwyer (Carrick AC) in 18:02.
The series will continue on Friday, July 15th with the running of the MorrisOil Piltown 10k in Piltown, Co. Kilkenny (7:30pm) .

Champion Kiely Winners
Senior Men
1st - Andrew Ledwith (Fr. Murphy's) 14:49.   2nd Sergiu Ciobanu (Clonliffe Harriers) 15:04.   3rd Dzintars Klava (West Waterford) 15:52.   4th Pedro Calvo (Unatt) 16:08.   5th Dwayne Farrell (Tinryland) 16:14.

O-40 Declan Doherty (Thurles Crokes) 16:43. O-45 Pat O'Sullivan (Carrick AC) 16:24, O-50 Tommy Payne (Tinryland) 16:19, O-55 Joe Gough (West Waterford) 17:43, O-60 Joe Grinsell (Clonmel) 22:33, Junior: Gary Cantwell (KCK) 17:04, Team : Carrick AC David Waters 16:34, Tommy Falconer 17:00, Patrick Roche 17:02

Senior Ladies
1st - Siobhan O'Doherty (Borrisokane) 17:20.   2nd Angela McCann (Clonmel AC) 17:50.   3rd Martina O'Dwyer (Carrick AC) 18:02.   4th Aine Roche (Clonmel) 19:18.   5th Catherine Kelly (Dundrum AC) 20:06.

O-35 Karen Ryan (West Waterford) 20:49., O-40 Elaine Barry (Waterford AC) 20:46., O-45 Liz Nolan (Waterford AC) 21:01, O-50 Eileen Hynes (Clonmel) 23:02
    

The full results in PDF format can be seen HERE

Limerick...Results of the Caherdavin 5k race - Thurs 30th June 2011

This was the first race in the new Feet on the Street series in Limerick City. A total of 126 runners took part. The winner of the mens race was Mike Cunningham of Bilboa AC in a time of 16:46. Mike was a recent winner of the 50km race in Portumna Co.Galway. The ladies winner was Loretto Duggan from Co.Clare in a time of 19:56.

The full results can be seen HERE

The next race in the series is on Thursday July 7th at 7pm

Details...........Southill 5k Southill Area Centre, Carew Park & O’Malley Park
5k loop starts and finishes outside the Area Centre and includes mixture of uphill, downhill and flat sections to test your fitness.  Secure parking available at registration area.  Parent & child participants can take 3km route if they wish.  Water stop provided on course, prize-giving in the Area Centre Sportshall post-event.

Kerry...Looking ahead to races coming up in 2011

There is no shortage of races in the Kingdom with the folowing races coming up in Kerry over the next few months...

Summerfest 5k Fun Run...Sat 23rd July
MaxiMarathon 15 mile in Killarney.......Entries now closed......Sat Sat 16th July
Banna 10K...Sun 31st of July
Run Kerry Run 5K.....Sat 20th of August
Dingle Half and Full Marathon.......This is coming up on Saturday, the 3rd of September. The roads are closed for this event and takes in the coast road going around Slea Head and past the Blasket Islands. Entries close on the 24th of August. The event website is http://www.dinglemarathon.ie .

More details later...

Killarney Women's Mini Marathon...10k..Killarney....Sat 10th September
Run Kerry Run 5 Mile...Tralee.......Fri 30th September
Run Kerry Run 10 Mile...Killarney....Sat 15th of October
Feet First Mizuno 5K Winter Series - 22nd of October, 12th and 19th of November and the 3rd of December.

Clare...Results of the Ennis 5k - 4th June 2011

The results of the 5 k road race on Lees Road in Ennis back on the 4th of June are available for download HERE

The 4th race of 5 in the Summer 5k series is coming up in Lisdoonvarna at 11am on Saturday, the 9th of July.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Limerick...Preview of the Dromcollogher 4 mile road race - Mon 4th July 2011

This 4 mile road race starts at 8pm in the town of Dromcollogher in south Co.Limerick. As a race, it may not be as high profile as say those located closer to say Limerick or Cork City but it is an event with a lot of character and a long history.

The race was originally started back in the time of the original running boom in the late 70's and early 80's by Christy Brosnan and Joe Quaid of North Cork AC. The original idea was for it to be part of the Dromcollogher Carnival which has been going since the 1940's and for the race to take place on Monday evening, a tradition that survives to this day.

In it's heyday, the race used to attract some of the top runners from all over Munster even though the prizes were always modest in comparison to other races at the time. On one occasion, Liam O'Brien from Cork won the race the day after winning the National 3000m steeplechase title! The triangle shaped course started and finished in the main square of the town much to the delight of the crowds. This did however mean that the race was in fact 'slightly' longer than the advertised 4 miles ;o)
One of the other unusual features of the race at the time was that the winner received a small porcelain figurine. One of the biggest employers at that time in the town was Irish Dresden, a German company which made high quality collectable porcelain items in the town which employed over 60 people, a huge number in what was and still is a rural area.

Fast forward to 2011 and efforts are being made to give this race a new lease of life. From a figure of just 52 runners in 2009, the numbers were well up last year and it is hoped that the race might attract in excess of 100 runners this year. West Limerick AC are now the club helping out with the organisation of the race and they are putting up a cup in memory of Christy Brosnan who unfortunately has now passed away. This replaces the old cup which was named after Marky O'Shea who used to run in the local races of the late 70's and early 80's barefoot, a long time before minimalist running and Vibram Five Fingers became all the rage.
Another big feature this year is the fact that the race is now part of the Ballyhoura  Active Series. Dromcollogher is the 3rd race of the 8 in the series and anyone who runs 5 will get a high quality technical running top. This race series has been restarted in recent years mainly due to the efforts of Michael Herlihy of Ballyhoura Failte and the local athletic clubs in the region.

Getting there.....

Domcollogher is located to the west of Charleville near the Limerick - Cork border. If you are coming from say Limerick city then the easiest way is probably to head south towards Cork and turn off at Charleville and follow the directions for Newtownshandrum, Milford and Dromcollogher. If you are travelling north from Cork then turn off at Buttevant and go via Liscarroll.

As you enter the town from the east then you should see that the road forks into two where the central square is. Take the right here, drive a few hundred metres on what is a very straight road and you will pass the start line just opposite a service station. The GAA hall where the entries will be taken is just beyond this on the left.
Entries......
€10 in the GAA hall. Prizes for the top 3 runners and the top runner in each category. Refreshments and prizegiving later in the GAA hall.

Course...
The modern course has been measured properly with a Jones Counter so there is no more starting in the town. As for the start line, it's hard to miss it with a big yellow line across the road with 'START' painted on the lampost ;o)

The course is basically in the shape of a triangle and is unusual from most races in that a lot of the route is dead straight. From the start, the road is straight and flat for the 1st mile. On straight to about 1.4 miles and you turn off left...

This road is now narrower but is still largely straight and level. At about 2.6 miles, you hit the next junction and it's left again....

From here, it pretty straight again with only a few bends and some very minor pulls. As you re-enter the town, you pass the church...

...and from here, there is only few hundred metres and the only really hill in the race to finish in the square.
Overall.....A short race in south Co.Limerick with a lot of history. If you want a fast 4 mile course then this is the one.
Note....there will also be plenty of entertainment in the square on the night with all of the festival activity. This might be of interest for after the race or if you want to keep the rest of the family entertained while you are off running.
There is also a walking event and this starts at 7:30pm.

Waterford.......Track events coming up - 7th, 14th & 21st of July 2011

This is coming up on the Regional Sports Centre track in Waterford city on the first 3 Thursdays of the month of July 2011.

Info from Waterford AC..........This years golden mile series will take place on 3 Thursdays in July. The dates are July 7th, 14th and 21st. As well as a mile each night there will be another event such as shot, long jump or short sprint for athletes to try out. Each night will conclude with all doing either a 400m or 800m run and of course stretches!!
Our beginner/improver group had a golden mile a couple of weeks ago and we encourage all these runners back to do these three events too. Groups will be arranged as follow
Race A: 8 minute or more
Race B: 7min 15 sec to 8 minute
Race C: 6min 30 sec to 7min 15 sec
Race D: 5min 45 sec to 6min 30 sec
Race E: Sub 5min 45 sec
Races start at 7pm with registration from 6:30, all at the RSC.