National Senior Cross Country

Phoenix Park last Sunday March 7th held the National Cross Country Championships on a cold but gorgeous dry spring day, who said cross country was about muck and rain and hardship. The senior girls where up first hoping to get Sportsworld an earned Senior Team gold medal. However even with some brilliant performances and a strong team it was not meant to be and the girls have to be content this year with National Bronze medals. Without an unlucky broken toe the girls times and places would of guaranteed them a gold.

On to the Mens race and it seemed strange doing the Munich lap in the sun having spent so many Saturday mornings running the lap in the rain and muck with only the thoughts of the Swiss deli afterwards keeping you going. But this was a slightly easier lap then we trained on but 6 continuous laps was keeping me awake at night and as usual the competition was fierce. This cross country season has seen a number of new guys coming out and doing the weekend training and travelling to the novice and intermediate races (not all making it to the final senior race) and it paid off with a very strong Sportsworld mens team running. Even though we had not trained in getting to the race start line on time the mens team got gold in Category B which now puts us up with the girls in Category A for next year.

A big thanks to all the Sportsworld members who came out on Sunday, the cheers and shouts made a big difference.

Race results http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/?page_id=160

National Intermediate Cross Country 2010

Boyle, Sunday February 21st – The beautiful Lough Key Forest Park was the setting for the National Intermediate & Masters cross country at the weekend. We hired out a club bus and hit for Roscommon at 10 am. As we headed through the midlands, snow covered fields was the theme everywhere but thankfully there was none in the forest park. Weather wise things were perfect – dry and no wind. The course, with one steady uphill followed by its descent at the other side, was medium – heavy, and ploughed up at one corner in particular.

With Emily collecting our numbers in the log cabin, we realised that the master’s women’s race was off in a half an hour, so quick action had to be taken. It was extremely competitive, with 100 girls crossing the finishing line within 5 minutes of each other, so averaging out at a woman every 3 seconds.

Both Lucy (3rd in her age category) and Helen finished in the top 10 overall, and we got a decent display from all of our women. Judith narrowly missed out on an age category medal by less than 10 seconds. The best news was that we came away with team silver with Lucy, Helen, Aideen & Sandra scoring. Helen White helped Dublin to a silver medal.

The team contest was won comfortably by a North Belfast Harriers side that are easily capable of medalling at senior level, indeed they were national senior champions in 2007 albeit with a stronger team on that occasion. They had all team members running in the top twenty five.

While the intermediates was a race for younger (and in some cases faster) girls, it was understandably not as competitive or packed as the masters race that preceded it. Both races were held on the same length of course. The team comprised mainly of October’s Dublin novice winning team, with welcome additions Stephanie and beginner Aoife Lynch. We came away with team bronze medals and were led home by a brilliant Louise. Well done girls.

The master’s men’s field was equally as competitive and condensed as the master’s women’s race was, as the 200 runners completed the course within 9 minutes of each other. It was won by a terrific Peter Matthews who despite being well ahead kept huffing and puffing as he wanted a good workout ahead of the National Inter Clubs XC on Sunday week. There was no joy for us here, but it was great to have a men’s team running in the national master’s; something that we usually don’t get. Well done to Ed, Paul Mitchell, Willers, Seán and Killian for giving up their Sunday and travelling down with us.

The final race of the day was the intermediate men. Their was no joy here either for our men, however it was still a beneficial race that will serve the men’s team well for the Inter Clubs XC on Sunday week. It was won by DSD’s Breandán O Neill. Breandán is on scholarship at DCU, and was bronze medallist in last week’s intervarsities indoors 3000m in 8:34.05. The team title was won by City of Derry, who are also the current National Novice and National Half Marathon champions, and for the record they have Ireland’s current fastest man too in Jason Smyth.

Leinster Senior Cross Country 2010

Leinster Senior Cross Country 2010

Kilmacow, Sunday February 14th – Distance runners are such a romantic race of people that (for some of them anyway) their ideal way of spending Valentine’s day involves a trip to south Kilkenny to run in the Leinster senior cross country, well away from where their partners can nag them. And how worthwhile a trip it was, as it turned out to be one of the most successful days in the club’s history. We passed through a deserted Ballyhale on the way down, as most of the parish would have been in Thurles to see their hurlers beat Newtownshandrum in the club semi finals. Kilmacow is only 4m from Waterford and is home to agriculturally some of the best land I’ve seen in a while. The St Senan’s sports complex is a great example of how when a rural community pulls together they can create something marvellous. There are a soccer club, GAA club, tug of war and athletics club all set up at the clubhouse. They have fantastic GAA and soccer pitches, a long jump straight, an improvised running track and miles of stoned or grassy trails through a forest or along the banks of a tributary of the Suir. All off little if any public funding I would imagine.

We were greeted with gorgeous sunshine and a very firm course that didn’t cut up anywhere despite the amount of kiddies races preceding that of the adults. The course was 95 % flat across pitches and fields and there was one steep hill thrown in and a steep downhill at the opposite side of the course, both of which were no more than 10m long. Both hills were paved with shredded wood bark to prevent any slippages of the large amount of athletes that the organisers were expecting. However most of this expected crowd never showed up possibly due to a number of reasons:

1. People wanted to be fresh for the more important national intermediate & masters XC next week in Roscommon
2. A large amount of club runners showing up at the MySport Enniscorthy 10k
3. Faster athletes ran at the AAA indoor championships in Sheffield

Remember that this event was re-fixed since mid-January due to the ice & snow that crippled Ireland at the time. Athletes usually have schedules planned for up to six months in advance of an event that they’re looking to peak at, and if a race was cancelled along the way they usually would not pencil it in on the re-match. Anyway we could only deal with and dispose of the athletes that did show up. First up were our senior women who had a 90 % strength squad lining out. The race was won by Beijing 08 Olympian Pauline Curley, with Catriona only 14 seconds behind her taking individual bronze. She was followed home by Lucy, Aoife and Crona. With four athletes in the top ten, we were always destined to become Leinster senior champions for 2010; getting the nod over 40 - 50 % strength Raheny and Tullamore sides. Jean also had a magnificent run, finished only 12 seconds off Crona and a minute off the leader; and she was followed closely by Helen. It’s great that there’s so much competition for places on the team.

It is equally difficult to get on the men’s team, although we compete at a lower level than the girls (we are rated in the B category for the national cross country). At the sharp end it was a five horse race for much of the time, with local farmer and Irish international Brian Maher pulling away for victory in the closing stages. Phil had possibly his finest ever half an hour in a Sportsworld singlet, as he finished 6th and a minute behind the leading group. Paul also did magnificently to earn a place in the top ten. Mikey and Garrett completed the Sportsworld scoring. Paul Duffy had to stop to tie his shoelaces in the middle of it, and that took the sting out of his attack. However he’ll be there again next week in Roscommon. Packie also came along for the sunshine following on from his pentathlon the previous day.

Our men’s team ended up battling it out with a large Liffey Valley squad, with ourselves getting the nod by a mere four points (or one place per man). While it’s great to get a team medal, it’s ironic because both clubs would normally be battling it out for 7th or 8th positions in the Dublin senior cross country, yet now we’re the second best Leinster side (in theory anyway). It’s particularly great for Mikey and Garrett, as they never won a medal of any description in their year or two of athletics, so the day belonged to them.

In addition we had Lucy and Aoife scoring on the victorious Meath team, with Catriona and Jean contributing to Dublin’s silver. Phil and Paul scored for the winning Dublin team. Overall it was a fantastic day out in the Kilkenny countryside, and it was great to come away with a haul of medals; especially for people that rarely win them. It was nice to get a relaxed atmosphere at what is normally a very stressful and competitive race; however the national intermediates next week will be a much different kettle of fish. It was also great that we had almost full strength squads out for both races, and hopefully we’ll get more of the same next week. The cross country season will be all over in a two or three weeks. It remains to be seen if this race means anything in a national context, but all we can do for the time being is keep up the hard work.

Leinster Senior Cross Country 2010 Women
 
Place Name Club County
1 Pauline Curley Tullamore Harriers Offaly
3 Catriona Jennings Sportsworld Dublin 
5 Lucy Darcy Sportsworld Meath
6 Aoife Brady Sportsworld Meath
10 Crona Brady Sportsworld Meath
12 Jean Wilson Sportsworld Dublin 
13 Helen White Sportsworld Dublin 
 
Leinster Senior Cross Country 2010 Women – Team Result
 
Place Club Points
1 Sportsworld 24
2 Raheny Shamrocks 59
3 Tullamore Harriers 65
4 St Abban’s 91
 
Leinster Senior Cross Country 2010 Men
 
Place Name Club County
1 Brian Maher KCH Kilkenny
6 Phil Kilgannon Sportsworld Dublin 
10 Paul O Connell Sportsworld Dublin 
15 Mikey Cunningham Sportsworld Dublin 
18 Garrett Murran Sportsworld Dublin
22 Paul Duffy Sportsworld Dublin 
25 Packie Enright Sportsworld Dublin 
 
Leinster Senior Cross Country 2010 Men - Teams
 
Place Club Points
1 Raheny Shamrocks 23
2 Sportsworld 49
3 Liffey Valley  53
4 Tullamore Harriers 100

European Cross Country Championships 2009

Santry, Dublin 13th December 2009

Euro2009

Saturday 13th December 2009 had finally arrived. Irish running enthusiasts had the chance to have the great spectacle of the European Cross Country Championships in our own back yard -the Santry demesne, rather than on TV in our sitting rooms. The course that was graced with Merrick, Cunningham, Duffy et al. at the national inter-clubs only a few months ago, now hosted the cream of Europe's running talent fighting it out for the big prize.

A huge crowd turned out to watch the days events; consisting of Ladies and Mens Junior, U-23 and Senior races. The young Irish teams gave a great account of themselves, representing their country with great distinction. The Senior Ladies was dominated form start to finish by the relentless Liz Yelling. In a feat of great courage and confidence Liz blew the rest of the field away with an awesome display of front running. She powered around the course with mechanical efficiancy, her arms driving her along like pistons while the rest of the field struggled through the heavy mud.

The strongly fancied Portugese athletes fought it out for the remaining places, but claimed the team prize as expected. The Irish challenge did not materialise as hoped. Fionnula Britton was first home with a highly creditable tenth place and return to form after a frustrating couple of years. Mary Cullen had high hopes here but could not find the big performance when she needed it the most. She started off towards the front before falling back after half way and looked to be struggling. Mary dug deep though and showed to work her way back up the field, eventually finish in twelfth place. She will be glad to put 2009 behind her - a year in which she faced great adversity following her brilliant bronze in the European Indoors in March. Class though... is permanent. Deirdre Byrne put in a brave display, looking at one point the strongest of the trio after closing in on her team mates and puttig the team in a strong medal position. It was tragically not to be though as Deirdre fell away on the last lap. It appeared that she hit the wall, but could well have picked up an injury, such was the diminished pace of her final kilometre. Deirdre is a calibre athlete though who will no doubt have a great track season come the summer.

The men's race was expected to be a rerun of the epic duel of last year between the Ukranian legend and nine time winner of this title Sergei Lebed and Mo Farah, Britain's main man in long distance who pushed Lebed all the way last year. The men tore off like the wild horses pulling the chariots of fire around the colesseum. It was quite something to witness these thoroughbreads at such close quarters. It was clear from early on that Lebed was not going to complete a decade of dominance. Farah and the Spaniard Bezabeh (born in Africa) quickly escaped and made a two horse race of it. The two went stride for stride before the Spaniard turned the screw around half way. Farah dropped off but then fought his way admirably back onto the shoulder of the Spaniard. However, as is often the case with such a titanic effort Farah had shot his bolt and could not match his opponent in the finishing straight. Farah collapsed at the end, needing medical attention such was the heart and soul he put into the race.

The Irish men overall flattered to deceive. The performance of the day came form the Dublin-based Mark Kenneally, who overshadowed his more celebrated US-based team mates to finish a fantastic eighth. Mark went out hard and held his own all the way, showing great stamina and strength inachieving a career high. Fagan was next in in 26th, a disappointment given his promising display in the past two years. Cragg was 40th, not appearing to relish the difficult conditions. Many anoraks waxed lyrical about their preparation for the race, flying into Dublin at the last minute to avoid the after effects of 'coming down' from altitude. It would appear the finer details of race preparation can be over analysed and simply having a few days of R&R is the way the way to go. Andrew Ledwith finished along with Cragg. The remaining athletes, both based in Dublin, Sean Connelly and Mick Clohessy both ran good steady races. This will have been a good learning experience for both men who have each had superb years and were very deserving of their places on the team.

Report By
Phil Kilgannon

National Novice Cross Country 2009

Sunday 6th December 2009, Coleraine

It was a cold but at least dry day when Michael, Emily & Packie collected me in Swords for the long drive up north to Coleraine for this year's National Novice XC. The last race of the year promised to be run in more favourable conditions than the Dublin Intermediate the previous week and hopefully Clann Lir would be absent from the course today.

We got up to Coleraine in plenty of time and managed to find a pool table in the Students Union, which kept us occupied for a while. Paul Duffy continued his fine run of form on the pool table and when he got bored beating everyone, Packie took a turn giving us all a pool lesson.

The team assembled, we made our way to the course to catch young Sean Wall (Waller) in action in the Under 19's race. Waller had a great race and worked his way through a very competitive field. It was a tough race for him aswell as the U19's had to run 6k, same as the novice.

Next up was the girls (Stephanie, Lorna, Ruth, Susan and Helen) over 3k. Lorna Quinn (19th) came through very strongly and continued to show her fine running form. Ruth(27th) and Stephanie(28th) were next in, only a hare's fart seperating them. Next up was Susan (45th) with Helen(56th) the final scorer. No medals today with fifth spot team place but Rathfarnam were seventh, so every silver cloud and all that...

Next up was the lads. There had been some controversy surrounding the start of a lot of the junior races and our own start wasn't the most clinical. No chutes and little warning but that's another day's argument. 140 novice men went off like the hammers of hell straight into a bottleneck. If you don't know cross-country, this is what it's all about. Pushing and jostling are part of the game. Ahead of me I could see Liam and Colm in the middle of the melée and further ahead Michael and Paul.

When one lad got pushed off the course and was running outside the barrier, he decided to leap it, straight into Michael Cunningham's path. Michael informed me later he nearly tripped the guy up when his spikes connected with him. It's the quiet ones you watch out for...

The race was a bit crazy for the first lap as you fought for space around the wood at the back and people went through any space they could find. Leading the charge home for the club was Paul Duffy (77th), followed by Michael (81st), myself (93rd), Packie (99th - who fought the whole way, fair dues to ya Pack!), Colm (108th) and Liam (122nd).

The business end of things done there was only one thing on all our minds - refreshments. They actually had showers at this race ( and the water was hot!!) so the drive home wasn't the usual mud-caked ordeal. Although there was an ordeal of other sorts when the hunger pangs hit half way between Coleraine and Newry. I was starting to know what they felt like in that movie Alive, when we found Kinder eggs in Michael's car which he (wisely) decided to share. After a well-earned meal in the Carrickdale, we were on our way. Well done all. Next up Leinster Senior.

For results click here and racepix365 gallery here.

Report by
Ronan Merrick

BHAA NSRT-SMART Cross Country

The Ward, Saturday November 30th – There was a healthy Sportsworld turnout at the NSRT/SMART BHAA XC held on farmland just off the N2 on Dublin’s northside. Beneath tremendously cold conditions and a thick fog lay an enterprising farmer that had built a fine indoor astro park facility on his land that could hold full sized football matches. After registration we jogged around the course, which consisted of land that had maize harvested recently; and the ground was very soft due to both heavy rainfall and the fact that some of the land had been recently ploughed. From mid morning, a crowd of people including volunteers, photographers, journalists and on lookers had assembled at the drama point of the course – an almost waist high stream that had to be briefly waded through en route to completing the course. The river wasn’t as bad as one’s mind could lead it to imagine – what was a bigger test was the short steep hill up the valley straight after it when your momentum had been absorbed by the river. If anything it served as a well needed wash along the way! This clip from last year will give you an idea:


Onto the action, and 24 competitors toed the line for the girls race (4k), won by the brilliant Raheny based Pole Patrycia Wlodarczyk. Our own girls didn’t disappoint either, with Helen battling through the thick mud and fog for a podium finish; and Stephanie finishing a magnificent 4th.

For the men’s race, the sluice gate was opened to allow a greater volume of water to enter the stream (which before that was below knee height). The 6k race of 130 men was won by one of Meath’s finest runners Rory McDonnell. Performance of the day went to Paul O Connell, who had got back from the canaries well after midnight and a few hours before the starting gun. Completing four races in four days (including a half marathon) during his ‘holiday’ in Lanzarote was not enough to deter Paul from a top 6 finish.

Having run the Dublin marathon less than five weeks previously, Eoin ran his first cross country in a little over a year and did very well indeed. Elsewhere in the field, Packie, Billy and Brian put in some decent performances ahead of next week’s national novice.

For all racepix365 photos click here but make sure you view this photo!

Womens 4km
1 Patrycia Wlodarczyk 19:33
3 Helen White 20:36
4 Stephanie Bergin 21:03

Mens 6km
1 Rory McDonnell 23:14
6 Paul O'Connell 24:40
17 Packie Enright 26:05
26 Billy Tyrell 27:01
72 Brian Conway 30:45
77 Eoin O'Brien 31:34

Report By
Packie Enright

Dublin Intermediate Cross Country 2009

Sportsworld Delay Cross Country Start – Again!
Reports of an ark being constructed on the grounds of Aras an Uachtaran, presumably to evacuate the President and selected residents of the zoo, have not been confirmed. However Met Eireann have confirmed that if water levels rise any further Ireland will be transformed into an amusing archipelago of Lugnocoille, Croagh Patrick, Carrauntoohil etc.

Awaking to the, now, all too familiar sound of rain drumming against the window I was relieved not to hear water flowing around my bed. Wrapping the duvet tightly about me I pondered what was in store and secretly hoped that today’s Dublin Intermediate Cross Country Championships would be called off. Alas, it takes more then a flood of biblical proportions to stop a Dublin Athletics Board Cross Country Race.

Arriving with Mike Cunningham at Tymon shortly after 1pm, it didn’t bode well to find the Children of Lir resting on a lake formed at a bend in the course.

Paul Duffy and Ronan Merrick trotted up to tell us that we had 10mins before the mens race so with an air of controlled panic we made a bit of a dash down to the start. The great advantage of being late is you don’t need to bother about warming up and you don’t have to keep going to the toilet. One by one the rest of the mens team, Gareth Murran, Trevor McSweeney and Colm Kennedy arrived - with minutes to spare.

Unfortunately, due to our lateness, we missed the ladies race. I did bump in to Ciara, Helen and Louise, and I know that Ruth had another very strong run – well done to all on what must have been ‘Character Building’! In fact Ciara told me that she felt like she had just completed an Iron Man competition.

And so to the mens race... We are assembled ready to go when, is it a bird, is it plane – no, it’s Mark Dunne doing the 100m dash to the start line. Harry’s anxious to get this one started - there’s no messing about ‘toe behind the line’ this time – everyone just wants to get this over so we can go home. BANG and there off!

The underfoot conditions were the worst I’ve experienced over the two years of Cross Country I have raced. The opportunities to run were limited to a few short sections on the higher section of the course – but for the most part it was trudging through deep muck or standing water – up to 25cm in places.

Paul Duffy tore off with the leaders followed by Mike, Trevor, Ronan, Garret and Mark. Colm and I fought a rear-guard action – objective: Try not to be last. After a week of warm-weather, high altitude training in Lanzarote great things were promised by our elite – on reflection, perhaps a bog snorkelling trip to Yorkshire would have been more beneficial?

After the first lap I lost sight of our elite runners and settled down to run with Colm, exchanging the lead between us as the course rose and fell. We worked well together for the first two laps but then I lost contact with him and ran on my own. Passing through half way I could see Garret dropping back through the field and tried to give chase. By that stage I had developed a pretty bad stitch in the lower abdomen and was also dropping back, and was never within 30m of him.

A steady stream of runners passed me on the 3rd and 4th laps and I had nothing in the tank to stay with them. In the last 500m a Rathfarnham runner went by and I used him to take me home - just about holding off the following pack and sneaking by him on the line as an added bonus. Colm followed a couple of seconds later.

Top of the Sportsworld pile was Mike, who secretly loves running in slop, followed by an impressive Trevor in his Cross-Country debut. For full results check the Dublin Athletics Board Website – in about a month.

Thanks to Sportworld faithful for their supporter – the conditions may have been harder on you then on us. The cheers were certainly appreciated if not acknowledged.

For racepix395 photos click here.

Report By
Paul Mitchell

Intercounties Cross Country

The AAI Intercounties Cross Country National Championships took place in Kilbeggan racecourse on Sunday November 22nd. Muddy underfoot conditions, strong winds and rain left a very testing course for all athletes involved.

First up was the Senior ladies 8km event where Sportsworld had two representatives, Lucy D'arcy and Crona Brady. With both the Junior and Senior races acting as a trial for the forthcoming European cross country championships in Santry, the fields assembled included Ireland's best. Lucy ran a perfectly even paced race to take 22nd position in a time of 31.12. Lucy has clearly recovered from her marathon exploits and her fine run in the Masters International last weekend in Birmingham. Crona, in her debut national senior cross country race, continued her fantastic form this season running strongly throughout finishing just behind Lucy in 27th place (31.27). Along with Sarah Treacy (5th) and Fiona Mahon (12th), both Lucy and Crona won silver team medals with the Meath team that finished behind Dublin. Well done girls.

Also a big thanks to Packie and Myles for their support and encouragement on the day.

Photos from Racepix365 available here.

Report By
Aoife Brady

Meet & Train Round 2 Tymon Park

Meet & Train 09/10 Photos

The second Women’s Meet and Train Cross Country race of the season was held on Sunday, November 22 at Tymon Park. Although, thankfully, the rain held off for the race, the wind certainly didn’t and that combined with the effects of a week of torrential downpour didn’t make for great running conditions – ladies don’t forget to wash your spikes after this one!

Despite the wind and mud there was a great showing and the race was very well organized. Kudos to all the Sportsworld stewards and supporters who cheered and steered everyone through the course – and also to those who provided much appreciated refreshments afterwards!

It was a great day for Sportsworld with 4 finishers in the top 5. Edel Madigan scored another first place leading the field from very early on. Ruth Kelly came in second - an outstanding performance in her first ever cross country race. Louise Nolan followed in third and Mairead O’Callaghan in fifth. Congratulations to all who finished the race and looking forward to the next race of the series in January!

Report By
Mairead O’Callaghan

British & Irish Masters Cross Country

British & Irish Masters Cross Country held in Perry park, Birmingham Saturday 14th November 2009.

Wow, the 2nd international in 6 days!

Saturday morning 9:30am, cold, wet (but not raining at the moment) & not too windy, not a bad 1st impression of the day ahead, oh but were we in for a treat. The coach arrived to bring us off to Perry Park, a short 30mins from the hotel, nobody was in a hurry to get off the bus when we arrived, way too cold, and the races weren't starting until 12pm, sure what’s the rush.

The time whizzed by, a few team photos and a few sloshy warm-up laps later and it was time for the off. Mean-while the wind had rapidly picked up & it got a lot colder, time to get the trackies off, 6 tough kms ahead of us, no going back now. Cold but dry we were on the start line, gun goes off and so do we, head-long into the wind, round 1 corner, round another and up along the trees, if your feet weren't wet before the race they sure were now, along the water-logged tree-lined stretch but in our favour the strong wind was behind us at this point (but that didn’t last long), up a short, sharp, muddy hill to head off around the lake on a carpet of leaves, nice (on the 1st lap anyway), through another bit of muck, up another longer hill, this time into the wind, across the top and a slippy downhill followed by a sharp right hand bend, along some more trees followed by a decent downhill stretch only to be hit with a savage uphill climb into the wind again. This marked the end of the 1st lap, this was also the finish line at the end of our 3rd lap.

The 2nd and 3rd laps were even worse as we had driving rain and worsening underfoot conditions to contend with as well as the wind but we survived to tell the tail. All I can say is that we were lucky to be the 1st race out and not the last.

The club representatives were:
Carol Lynch:-masters 60 who finished with team silver.
Helen White:-masters 40, who finished in a fantastic 34th place and another team silver.
Lucy D'Arcy:-masters 40, who also finished high up the field in17th place and shared team silver with Helen.

Thank you to Paddy Lynch who travelled with Carol and gave us great support, thanks a mill also to every-one for their good luck wishes before the trip and congratulations after, your support is so important and gives all of us a great lift, whether it via text message or at the event, keep it up club-mates, thank you.

Report By
Lucy D’Arcy

International Cross Country

Last weekend was a big day for the club as Aoife Brady stuck on the green jersey, sprinted down the wing, cut in and scored the winning goal for Ireland against France! What?.... oh sorry. …wrong weekend. Actually as it transpires it was something even bigger again, all Aoife’s hard work and commitment was rewarded with her selection to represent Ireland at an International Cross Country meet in Belgium last weekend.

And if there is one thing the Belgians like more then good chocolate, it’s a good beer…..and after that it’s a good cross country race. The Irish aren’t ones to disappoint and so last weekend they got their wish as the international Lotto CrossCup descended on the multiplicity of Mol, near Antwerp in Northern Belgium. It’s a country with a rich history and like our very good selves back in the 9th century Mol had to deal with the Vikings coming to town. Feeling at home with such a close bond a team of 28 junior and senior Irish athletes flew in last Friday to take on the best of them. The area is in Belgium’s lowlands and surrounded by the famous “Molse Meren" (Lakes of Mol), a series of natural sand lakes with white sandy beaches, so Aoife and the team had to master new terrain on the tough sandy course.

So after testing the course, building a few sand castles and burying the sleeping coach, the real business of racing began on Sunday the 8th. Reports have indicated that the field went off hard for the women’s race, something to be expected at this level but not for fainting hearted in a 6400m race. The locals are still to this day all commenting in their supermarket queues on how comfortable Aoife looked on the opening laps. After an uncompromising ding dong duel the race win went to Belgium’s Ethiopian athlete Almensch Belete who just piped Irelands Fionnuala Britton in 22.03. But the remarkable Irish didn’t stop there as about 20 seconds later Deirdre Byrne took 3rd and Linda Byrne settled 5th spot. To the roars and delight of the crowd Aoife finished strongly by easily out sprinting Belgian Vanja Cnops by six seconds to take 31st on the crisp sunny winter’s afternoon. The women’s junior race win was picked up by Irelands Sara Louise Treacy whilst in the men’s senior Michael Clohisey picked up 12th spot and David Flynn 6th in the junior men.

So again a big congratulation’s to Aoife from everyone at the club on a great international performance and year so far!

Report By
Eoin O’Brien

Leinster Intermediate Cross Country 2009

Sunday 8th November saw the Leinster Intermediate Cross Country hosted by Tullamore Harriers in Tullamore, County Offaly.

Sportsworld were represented in the men’s race. Some of us were led to believe that we were running an 8km race, but we were taken back when we reached the field to be informed it was 10km made up of 5 laps. Hoping that underfoot conditions might be ok, we weren’t long finding out that the course was flooded in one corner and the rest was the near resemblance of a field vacated after the national ploughing championships with 3 hills to tackle 5 times thrown in to make it more enjoyable.

The race took off at a steady pace led by eventual winner Tom Hogan of Slaney Olympic. Sportsworld were led out by the excellent Micheal Cunningham, Paul Duffy and Ronan Merrick, followed closely by Mark Dunne, Paul Mitchell and Liam Mc Fadden.

Lap one was the greatest test for all, seeing was it safer to take a 30 metre detour to avoid the small lake in the bottom corner of the course or dive straight in and hope to make it out the other side with spikes still on. Gladly we all took the dive and made it trough. After that it was a case of settling in and trying to make moves on the leader board.

Sportsworld were unlucky not to come away with a team bronze medal for all their hard effort eventually finishing 4th placed team.

Overall Results
1 Tom Hogan 34.20 (Slaney Olympic)
18 Michael Cunningham 38.19
24 Paul Duffy 38.50
27 Ronan Merrick 39.10
30 Paul Mitchell 40.15
32 Mark Dunne 40.33
40 Liam Mc Fadden 42.21

Report by
Liam Mc Fadden recovering from 'trench foot' has supplied this report.

Leinster Novice Cross Country

Adamstown county Wexford was the location for this years Leinster Novice on October 25th. A flat dry course made the job ahead look easy but a strong head wind meant it was slower going than in Dublin two weeks earlier.

Some great individual performances. Paul Duffy coming in 18th getting the first cross country mens medal of the season on the Dublin team. Barbara Coming in with ten minutes to spare to complete the women's team and Helen finishing an incredible 4th after a sprint finish.

Some great support around the course from the Brady's, runners and Emily

With the marathon over and the senior and intermediates coming up in the next few weeks, lets hope we can get some experienced cross country runners back in the fold.

The full results are below

Novice Women (Club 5th)

17 Mairead O Callaghan Sportsworld Dublin 11.59
18 Susan McDonnell Sportsworld Dublin 12.00
20 Louise Nolan Sportsworld Dublin 12.07
60 Barbara McEntyre Sportsworld Dublin 14.51

Novice Men (Club 7th)

18 Paul Duffy Sportsworld Dublin 21.08
26 Michael Cunningham Sportsworld Dublin 21.35
40 Garrett Murran Sportsworld Dublin 22.11
44 Paul Mitchel Sportsworld Dublin 22.23
52 Colm Kennedy Sportsworld Dublin 22.52

Masters Women (Club 1st)

4 Helen White W2 Sportsworld Dublin 11.23
12 Sandra Armstrong W1 Sportsworld Dublin 12.03
20 Breda Brown W3 Sportsworld Dublin 12.43

Report By
Gareth Murran

Dublin Senior & Junior Cross Country

County Cross Country Championships 1/11/09

While most of us were recovering from Trick or Treating our Junior and Senior Men and Women were preparing for the County Championships. To start of the morning most of us woke to the sound of none stop rain and gusts of wind which created a lovely mud bath and tough running conditions in St Annes Park Raheny.

First off we had Junior Men. Sean ran a very steady race to finish in 23rd Place overall in a time of 23.59. Well Done Sean.

Next we had the Senior Women

First of all I would like to welcome a new member to the club Caitriona Jennings and to welcome her on the Senior Women Team. Caitriona led the girls team for most of the race. On the last lap all the girls ran together, showing great team spirit. At 600m to go Aoife made a break to catch our leading girl Caitriona, jean in turn followed. Our girls finished first by Aoife Brady in 8th place time of 24.13, Jean Wilson (showing great fitness after time off) in 10th place time of 24.16, Catriona in 11th place time of 24.21, Lucy Darcy (with a great run after the marathon last week) in 12th place time of 24.22, Crona Brady (still showing huge improvement) 14th place time 24.29 and Stephanie Bergin (in one of her first senior races) 22nd place time 26.32. For the first time in many many years the girls team brought gold medals home for the club in the county championship. Well Done Girls, you done us proud.

To finish of the day the Senior Men

As always this is a very very competitive race and our lads did very well.
First home for the club was Paul O'Connell (who showed great strenght and stamina after last weeks marathon) in 17th place time 34.20, Phil Kilgannon was next (who is coming back very strongly after injury) in 24th Place 35.14, Michael Cunningham (with huge improvement)47th place time 37.01, Paul Duffy in 54th place time 37.34, Ronan Merrick in 60th place time 38.54 and closely behind Garreth Murran in 62nd time 39.10. Well done lads.

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish Aoife Brady the best of luck next weekend in Belgium, she has been picked to run on the Irish Team. We are delighted for Aoife and know she has work so hard for this. She will do us very proud. Good luck x.

Report By
Orla Fleming

Gerry Farnan 2009 Compilation Video

An interesting Gerry Farnan 2009 compilation video featuring an interview with Eamonn Coghlan who gives a little insight into Gerry Farnan and the naming of the "Munich Lap".

Gerry Farnan Cross Country 2009

Gerry Farnan XC 2009

It wasn’t just autumn leaves falling from the Sky as the Gold Medals are raining down on the Sportsworld Ladies. Last weeks Dublin novice success was easily equaled and so within seven day’s that’s seen the autumn well and truly kick in another ladies team picked up a second team gold medal……and we are only two races in to the cross country season. The 2009 edition of the Gerry Farnan kicked off with the womens race at 2.15 on the overcast but more importantly dry October Sunday in the Phoenix Park. It was a demanding course as they set off at a ferocious pace along a straight to the magazine fort before turning and taking in some rolling hills before the athletes where then sent down through the woods before looping back to the long, long, long home straight.

The three mile distance involved three laps and three of our athletes mixed it with the best in the leading group. Mary Cullen of North Sligo dominated start to finish and ran away (no pun intended) with the win in 15:34 impressively unopposed. Aoife Brady coming off great track season, looked so comfortable and composed throughout it was as if she was on a cool down, stayed with the leaders and came home in 8th place in 17.11. Lucy D’Arcy who was warming up for the Dublin Marathon this Monday, decided to stretch the legs and flew across the line in 11th, picking up a Gold Medal for her age group just for the craic. Crona Brady who’s been having an outstanding year showed she plans on carrying that form into the cross country season. She has been so strong all year which I like to think was inspired by her trashing me at the Jingle Bells 5km last December to win a tenner. Anyway she stormed home in 13th in 17.44 and thus sealing a Gold Medal for the club in the team event….again! Helen White, after a summer of competitive mountain running, couldn’t believe how flat the course was, had a great race in 18.24 and was rewarded with 3rd place in her age group as was Carol Lynch in 23.41.

Even with the strange sight of Michael Cunningham dressed in Sunday casuals rather then a racing singlet (the man was taking a well earned rest), Sportsworld still managed to put out a strong men’s team. The race was five miles and so five laps of the course. At 3.00 the gun went and 158 of the countries finest men tore off like a herd of startled Buffalo. It was like something off National Geographic as they reached the magazine fort and turned and charged back towards the supporters. Mark Christie of Mullingar A.C. took a deserved victory in a really competitive fast race in 23.32. Paul O’Connell led the line for Sportsworld and like Lucy was warming up for the Dublin Marathon this Monday where he has one eye on the clubs marathon record I’m sure. No pressure. With that in mind he got to the tape in 35th ahead of Phil Kilgannon in 52nd. Phil’s had a summer of injury woes but ran a strong and solid race and showed good form having a blast up the home straight on the last lap. “Mr Cross Country” Paul Duffy finished close behind Phil in 91st. A great run from a man that hasn’t stopped since last years cross country season and bear in mind he raced last weeks Dublin novice to…..but show that man a muddy field and a race number. Another who was both returning from injury AND preparing for the marathon is Ed McEntee in 104th. Mr reliable took the race in his stride and ran strong consistent laps. There was no more Junior Races for Sean Wall. He tore home just behind Ed after stepping up the grades and running the full 5 miles. A great performance from him.

Also many thanks to everyone who showed up to cheer on the teams to. If no-one is looking pat yourselves on the back. I’m not going to list off everyone but there was a good turn out of red and white jackets and the athletes do appreciate it.

Report By
Eoin O’Brien

Dublin Novice Cross Country 2009

Dublin Novice CC 2009

Lorna the Longford lass shows ‘em how it’s done

Phoenix Park, Sunday October 11th – The magazine fort was the setting for Sunday’s Dublin novice cross country championship. Glorious sunshine and hard under footing at the famous Münich lap meant that each race went off like the proverbial clappers – and stayed that way for 3k/6k for the girls and guys races respectively. While meant for beginners, novice competitions represent a huge step up from Meet and Train or BHAA competitions, and the pace can be shocking for debutants to championship racing. However that didn’t bother our Lorna, who set the pace from the gun to get away from a possibly record turnout of over 70 girls and 12 teams. At 1k (3:15), she remained in a group of 6 hardy competitors who didn’t want to leave without silverware. After one lap (at the bell), she piled on the pressure and the only one able to live with this was Rathfarnham WSAF’s Carole Pauli. A tactical race between the two was looking on the cards when they turned back into the forest with 1k left. Lorna was having none of it though, running with an exuberance and confidence that surprised most of us. Turning the last corner with 350m left and the wind behind her, she finished like an express train to take the biggest victory of her less than 4 year old career.

Lorna also led the red and white to team gold, where we had all 4 girls in the top 10 thanks to brilliant displays from Louise, Mairead and Susan. Also representing the club with honour were Ann, Helen and Barbara; gaining valuable experience from the occasion. From the event, all girls will have discovered what it takes to succeed at championship level, and that you get nothing without hard work and dedication.

Dublin Novice Cross Country 3000m Women’s Individual Result 2009

Position Name Club Time
1 Lorna Quinn Sportsworld 10:03
8 Louise Nolan Sportsworld 10:31
9 Mairead O Callaghan Sportsworld 10:33
10 Susan McDonnell Sportsworld 10:37
42 Ann Sweeney Sportsworld 12:58
56 Helen Dixon Sportsworld 13:22
61 Barbara McIntyre Sportsworld 13:48

Dublin Novice Cross Country 3000m Women’s Team Result 2009

Position Club Points
1 Sportsworld AC 28
2 Donore Harriers 42
3 Clonliffe Harriers 70

The men’s team were represented by more experienced athletes, and were touted by some to be team medal prospects before the start. However illnesses, pre entered athletes not turning up without any prior notice and a competitive field full of well managed people coming up from the junior ranks put pay to this. Nevertheless, we came an impressive 5th out of 15 teams, beating many of the traditional cross country powerhouses. Around 100 athletes went to post, and our brightest prospect Paul Duffy led his team home. Hovering on the periphery of the top 10 for most of the race, the legs went in the final lap; but Paul can be very happy with his place well inside the top 20. Performances of the day for the men’s team were a joint effort between Mikey & Paul Mitchell, as both ran very sensible races to come through in the top 30 and 40 respectively.

The scoring was completed by Gareth who ended just outside the top 40. Colm wasn’t far behind, and while he found that the step up from IMRA races to this level is a huge one, he will find that our cross country practice on Saturday mornings will make things a lot easier. The karate kid Kildare man Colin McCarthy ran a fine race to end up in the top 60, with Donegal man Liam McFadden just behind. Mark Dunne was going well until he felt hamstring pain which forced his race to come to a premature end.

The day ended with a few celebratory pints in Rody Boland’s. Championship wise, next up in the Dublin Intermediates XC which takes place on the last Sunday in November in Tymon Park, which usually is an easier task than the novice for some reason. We may also have Sean in action in the Dublin U18s at the magazine fort next Sunday.

Dublin Novice Cross Country 6000m Men’s Individual Result 2009

Position Name Club Time
1 Dave Fitzmaurice Clonliffe 18:24
16 Paul Duffy Sportsworld 20:14
27 Mikey Cunningham Sportsworld 20:48
38 Paul Mitchell Sportsworld 21:21
41 Garrett Murran Sportsworld 21:26
46 Colm Kennedy Sportsworld 21:54
59 Colin McCarthy Sportsworld 22:20
61 Liam McFadden Sportsworld 22:30
DNF Mark Dunne Sportsworld N/A

Dublin Novice Cross Country 6000m Men’s Team Result 2009

Position Club Points
1 Clonliffe Harriers 20
2 Rathfarnham WSAF 41
3 Donore Harriers 53
4 Dundrum South Dublin 112
5 Sportsworld AC 121

Race report by Packie

BHAA Teachers Cross Country

Sportsworld gang perform superbly at Castleknock

Castleknock, Saturday October 10th – There was a strong Sportsworld turnout at Castleknock for the BHAA Teacher’s cross country race. The race is so titled because one of the BHAA members is a teacher at the school more famed for its rugby than its athletics. Without the help from his pupils (mainly non-exam students from 2nd & 5th years) at registration, stewarding and catering this race would not have taken place. Taking place in ideal conditions – a grand soft morning with not a puff of wind, the simultaneous start saw women competing over 2m and men over 4m. The flatter than a pancake course took place around the perimeters of the 5 rugby pitches within the grounds of this well renowned school, with over 150 finishers.

Performance of the day went to Lucy in the women’s race where she took 2nd place, and admitted afterwards that she could have caught the winner Fiona Reid, but such races are not meant for busting your guts. Lucy was followed closely by a determined Helen. Next up were Stephanie, Tara and Sandra, all running in the 13s, with the latter showing off her beautiful new little daughter after it. Edel completed the Sportsworld contingent in the shorter race. Tara helped her team to win, while Edel also collected a team prize as her company came 3rd. Helen, Lucy and Sandra picked up individual prizes.

Women’s 2m XC

Position Name Category Company Time
1 Fiona Reid Senior Teachers 12:21
2 (1) Lucy D’Arcy F40 12:25
4 (2) Helen White F40 12:29
6 Stephanie Bergin Senior AIB 13:21
10 Tara Whyte Senior Teachers 13:49
14 (2) Sandra Armstrong F35 Dublin Hospitals 13:51
30 (7) Edel O Connell F35 Irish Life & Permanent 17:34

The men’s race was won by recent Irish international and track star Rob Connoly. The DSD man (who hasn’t competed in over a year) admitted to being 10 kg overweight, but it didn’t matter because class is permanent. We had two club men in the top 5 – Paul & Phil, performing magnificently; and 3 in the top 20 (Packie). The latter helped his team (the DIT) to 2nd place. Kathleen’s husband Declan wasn’t far behind. Brian and Killian were the next Sportsworld men in, both running in the 28s.

Men’s 4m XC

Position Name Category Company Time
1 Rob Connoly Senior 20:30
4 Paul O'Connell Senior 21:49
5 Phil Kilganon Senior 21:52
20 Packie Enright Senior DIT 23:47
26 Declan Horgan Senior Intel 24:23
70 Brian Conway Senior NUIM 28:40
73 (10) Killian McMorrow M50 Law Library 28:49

Report by Packie

Cross Country

The Cross Country season is starting again in a couple of weeks time. Unfortunately the above picture is what springs to most peoples mind when they think of cross country. However some of the Tuesday and Thursday sessions are tougher and longer then some of the cross country races, and even though difficult some of the girls got medals last year in their first cross country season. The more people that do races the better the training sessions are during the week and the better the teams score is in the race as it pushes other team runners further back the scoring. Also last year in some of the races we only had the minimum numbers so if anyone got injured or had to pull out the team didn't register. There is cross country training on Saturdays (Ask Emily) but if you can do the Tuesday and Thursday sessions without collapsing you can do the races. Below is the list of the first few races of the season. You could be a natural cross country runner without even knowing it.

Dublin Novice - Phoenix park Sunday 11th October Ladies 1pm Men 1.30pm

Gerry Farnham - Phoenix park Sunday 18th October Ladies 2.15pm Men 3pm
Dublin Senior - St Annes park Raheny Sunday 1st November Ladies 2.15pm Men 3pm
Dublin Intermediate - Tymon park Sunday 29th November Starting 1.30pm European Cross Country Championship Santry Sunday December 13th

Cross Country

By Michael Cunningham

Last Sunday saw the official end to the 2008-2009 cross country season, for some it was pay off for a lot of hard work and for others running up hills in the rain and muck wasn’t the only pain they experienced. Even though a lot of the races involved giving up their Sundays (apparently a day of rest) and travelling to the hilliest, recently cow inhabited back field down the country, every race had a full women and men’s team.

The teams where made up of race veterans some of whom where able to make it on to Dublin or Meath teams and new club members who enjoyed the experience of representing the club at Novice to Senior and Dublin to National level for the first time. Below are some of the success stories of the year but more importantly thanks to new and old club members coming forward the club was represented in the team event in each of the races.

Dublin Novice
28th Sept 2008, Phoenix Park
Sportsworld Ladies Team 3rd Crona Brady, Louise Bruton, Susan McDonnell, Claire O Reilly

Dublin Intermediate
12th Oct 2008, Tymon Park
Sportsworld ladies Team 3rd Adele Madigan, Crona Brady, Ciara Foster, Claire O Reilly
3rd place Adele Madigan

Dublin Senior
2nd Nov 2008, St Annes Park
Sportsworld ladies Team 2nd Aoife Brady, Eimear Martin, Rachel Morgan, Mary Finn
5th Aoife Brady,
7th Eimear Martin

Under 18’s Inter County
23rd Nov 2008, Tramore Waterford
Sean Wall Gold medal Dublin team

Leinster Novice and Masters
26th Oct 2008, Avondale
Sportsworld ladies Master Team 2nd Rachael Morgan, Helen White, Kathleen O’Callagan
5th Crona Brady
11th Ronan Merrick

Leinster Intermediate
9th Nov 2008, Heywood
Sportsworld ladies Team 1st Aoife Brady, Crona Brady, Stephine Bergen, Lisa Dowling
1st Aoife Brady

Leinster Senior
18th Jan 2009, Tymon Park
Sportsworld mens Team 4th Phil Kilgannon, Ed McEntee, Ronan Merrick, Paul Duffy
Phil Kilgannon Gold medal Dublin Team
Sportsworld ladies Team 2nd Aoife Brady, Lucy Darcy, Rachel Morgan, Stephine Bergin
Aoife Brady and Lucy Darcy Silver medals Meath Team

National Intermediate and National Masters
15th Feb 2009, Tymon Park
Sportsworld Ladies Team 1st Aoife Brady, Crona Brady, Mary Finn, Adel Madigan
1st place Aoife Brady
Sportsworld ladies Masters Team 1st Lucy Darcy, Rachel Morgan, Helen White, Kathleen O’Callagan

National Senior
1st Mar 2009, Santry
7th Aoife Brady
Sportsworld mens Team 3rd Phil Kilgannon, Paul O Connell, Ed McEntee, Paul Duffy

All of the above I’m sure would give a big thanks to all of the supporters who came out to the races especially those with hangovers who still somehow managed to shout the runners on.