Dublin Graded Meeting #8 - Irishtown

From Track Racing 2009

Wednesday 5th August 2009

The final evening of the graded series for 2009 took place at a warm and sunny but breezy Irishtown stadium. First up was the 200m, and there were 2 grade C races. In the 1st Sportsworld’s fastest man Conor Murphy was an impressive gun to tape winner 27.08 and would have bettered this if there was somebody to chase. In the 2nd Packie Enright made his debut at sprint events and finished third in 27.52. It wasn’t a bad result for someone with no track or speed work of any sort done, but it wasn’t a sensible decision to race either with no preparation; one based on impulse.

Next up was the 1500m girls, and Crona was a decent 4th in Grade A behind fellow national senior finalists Lorraine Manning and Azmera Gebrezgi. In a mere 18 months running Crona has climbed to a level that no one would have expected of her, and the national championship of three days beforehand was her peak of the season. As a result she looked a little tired, and maybe should be on a break from running for a few weeks. She wanted to come back this evening to try for a pb but on such a breezy evening no athlete recorded one. Hopefully she’ll be very pleased with what she’s achieved this year, it’s rare that someone of such little experience progresses so quickly, and the Brady’s enthusiasm is something we can all learn from.

Conor was back in action at the 1500m grade D and did very respectably considering that distance running is not his event. With laps of 84, two 89s and a 56 second last 300m, he was driven on by Paul Duffy’s “come on Conor, you’re dropping off” along the way! Our next club member in action was another novice who punches above his weight, Gareth Murran. Going in grade C, he’d a super race with 3 steady 73s and a last 300m in 48 seconds. He was always to the forefront of the closely knit and cautious pack, looking like a contender and was leading with 120m left. Coming round the final bend the strong wind hit him hard and he was beaten into 4th place. However he did look the part and this maybe his event to concentrate on for next year.

The race of the night was undoubtedly the star studded mens 1500m grade A, bringing together the recently crowned national 10,000m champion from Kenya (who was skulling pints three days previously may I add!), the 800m bronze medallist,steeple bronze medallist, 1500m silver medallist, 5000m 4th placer and the 800m 5th placer. In a fast race it came down to a photo finish with the 5000m US based runner getting the nod over Alan O Brien (by only one hundredth of a second), Josphat Boit also running 3:48; with the wind ruining the athletes faster times they’d hoped for.

And so it was onto long distance which is what our club members are best at in most cases, and by now both the wind and sun had died down considerably. Having raced only 15 mins earlier, Gareth was next up in the 3000m grade C which he won at ease, displaying superior fitness for this grade. Grades A & B were combined in the final race of the night. Packie struggled with poor fitness to break 10 mins with kilometres of 3:08, 3:21 and 3:30. Conor, a glutton for punishment decided for yet another race this evening, and didn’t do badly at all. However Paul was the success story of the night with a pb of around 20 seconds. At the front he was in a group of 3 or 4 Liffey Valley lads and finished in 3rd place. Well done Paul. Also well done to the organisers for putting on a great series for everyone all summer. Another year has passed, and with the exception of a few BHAA races, that’s the end of the Irish track season for 2009.

Men’s 200m, Grade C (I)
1 Conor Murphy Sportsworld A.C. 27.08

Men’s 200m, Grade C (II)
1 Eoin Bradshaw Raheny Shamrock A.C. 24.97
3 Packie Enright Sportsworld A.C. 27.52

Men’s 1500m, Grade D
1 John Healy Dundrum South Dublin A.C. 4.44.83
10 Conor Murphy Sportsworld A.C. 5.18.76

Men’s 1500m, Grade C
1 Paul Gleeson Clones A.C. 4.26.28
4 Gareth Murran Sportsworld A.C. 4.28.93

Women’s 1500m, Grade A
1 Martina Mc Carthy Athenry A.C.4.38.33
4 Crona Brady Sportsworld A.C. 4.56.93

Men’s 3000m, Grade C
1 Gareth Murran Sportsworld A.C. 9.39.67

Men’s 3000m, Grades A & B
1 Ian O'Leary Dundrum South Dublin A.C. 9.06.39
3 Paul Duffy Sportsworld A.C. 9.10.57
8 Packie Enright Sportsworld A.C. 9.59.42
9 Conor Murphy Sportsworld A.C. 11.53.12

Race Report By
Packie Enright

Latest Lord Mayor Series and Track News

From Track Racing 2009

Tuesday July 7th Lord Mayor 2m Road Series # 4, Raheny

Packie Enright was the only red & white representative at the 4th round of the Lord Mayor Series and duly came 3rd out of around 50 people in total. Conditions were fresh & breezy but nice & dry. The harmless low key race comprising mainly of veterans, average club runners, triathletes, BHAA members & general fitness enthusiasts was a slow tactical one with many running negative or even splits. The series takes place on the same quiet housing estate as the National Road Relays, except instead of being 2 full laps it finishes back a smidgen from where it started (as the course is 1620m or just 11m longer than a mile).

After a slow 1st mile (5.24) Enright was at the back of a bunch of 10. The pace picked up significantly then by the leaders, & Enright passed lads that went out too hard; moving up to 6th with 600m left & 5th with 400m to go. The clareman outsprinted the next 2 in the last 150m with one of them fighting back in a mighty ding dong, both runners credited with the same time (10.45). Enright left it too late to catch the first 2, won by the ageless ox Mick Traynor in 10.31. It was a mediocre time for Enright’s 1st race in over 10 wks and there was a definite lack of sharpness & simple ability to distance run at 5 min pace.

Then it was back to the clubhouse for tea & biscuits, and the organisers are well known for their hospitality along with knowledge of athletics. The prize on offer was
a beautiful poetry book written by Raheny club member Ciaran O Coigligh comprising of a poem about many club members printed in both English and Irish. It’s available in most reputable book stores for €10 and is well worth a look!

Full Results.

Report by
Packie Enright

Wednesday July 15th Graded meeting No. 7 in Morton stadium, Santry

On Wednesday last July 15th, three of our athletes took part in Graded meeting No. 7 in Morton stadium, Santry

First in action was Conor Murphy in the 100m. Conor ran strongly to take 5th place in his grade in a time of 13.09.

Ronan Kearns, returning from injury, ran a strong race in the 800m to finish in 2.04.98. Well done Ronan.

Next up was the ladies 3000m where we were represented by Crona Brady on her first outing over the distance. Crona put in a fantastic performance, staying in the leading group for the majority of the race to finish 7th in a high quality race in an excellent 10.28. Crona competes in the 800m at the IMC meet on Saturday
July 25th.

Paul Duffy and Conor Murphy competed in the men’s 3000m, with Paul running very close to his pb finishing sixth in 9.34.82. Unfortunately Conor had to pull out at the half way mark due to a hamstring injury picked up in the 100m.

Next race is the Irish Milers Club’s final meeting of the season in Irishtown on Saturday July 24th starting at 6pm. This is the final track race before the National track and field championships to be held in Santry on Saturday and Sunday August 1st and 2nd. So if you are around the bank holiday weekend come out and watch and support!

Full Results.

Report by
Aoife Brady

Tuesday July 21st Lord Mayor 2m Road Series # 5, Raheny

Over 50 runners attended the 5th round of the Lord Mayor 2m road series in a bright and breezy Raheny on Tuesday July 21st, and again Sportsworld came away in the prizes thanks to a brilliant display by our Helen. While she normally competes as an F40, this time she was good enough for 2nd place in the senior category less than 10 seconds behind senior champion Catriona Hooper who won in 11:45. On the day she beat the series F40 victor Mary McDermott by a minute. So well done Helen.

Sportsworld was also represented by Packie Enright who came 7th in 10:53. Enright, who didn’t venture out of bed all of last week because of food poisoning, wasn’t
expecting to beat his 10:45 from 2 weeks ago; but at least he got to collect his racing shoes which he left behind on that occasion! Now who said Dublin was a bad place for crime?

At the sharp end it was a 2 horse race between the legendary veteran Mick Traynor and national senior indoor 3000m champ and outdoor 1500m silver medalist Richie Corcoran. The pair went through the mile in 4:50 with the former being strong enough to run an impressive 9:46. The latter was unable to hang on but to be fair is only 5 wks back running mileage after a stress fracture, which has ended the Villanova
graduate’s genuine ambitions to become this year’s national senior outdoor
metric mile champ.

Full Results.

Report By
Packie Enright

Dublin Graded No.6 Irishtown

From Track Racing 2009

Wednesday 1st July had the Dublin Graded No.6 track meeting in Irishtown on a perfect summers evening. Poor Lorraine Manning of Raheny had a tough time as she faced Aoife Brady on stunning form in the 3000m race. Unfortunately there was not much competition for Aoife to help push the pace but she still managed by herself to do a brilliant time of 9.35 betting her PB. Lorraine then had to face an ever improving Crona in the mile, with Crona pushing Lorraine for the first couple of laps and finished up in an excellent 3rd in 5.12. Lucky for Lorraine Paul Duffy is the only triplet in the club.

We had new club member Conor Murphy who is really relishing the track season taking part in all the events (400m, 3000m and mile) and still managing a sprint finish in each one. Paul Duffy who after winning the C grade a couple of weeks ago could of taken the easy option of running grade C again but took the tough decision to move up a grade to B and did a great run in a tough field of 4.50 for the mile .

I managed to avoid track races up to now but Packie did a brilliant report on what is involved in the graded track races a few weeks ago so I had to give it a try. I went for grade C in the mile and just told myself its just a lap and a bit of the top lap in Bushy park we do for warm up but without the dogs, dog owners with 20meter nearly invisible leashes, walkers, tree roots and the distraction of the girls doing aerobics. Racing on the track is tough but no tougher then the Tuesday training session and there is something about the track when your body and brain tells you can’t keep the pace the group drags you along.

Having watched all the races yesterday there are a load of people in the club who are doing brilliant training sessions on Tuesdays and would out class a lot of the club runners in the Graded races. There are 2 more chances to do Graded track races this year(check Packie’s report in the Graded section) or we also have training sessions on Saturday mornings if people want to see what it’s like running on the track and what their times are like. Considering some of the marathons, half marathons, cross country races, meet and train races in the rain and mountain runs people have done track racing in the sunshine is a breeze.

Big thanks to Eoin, Dave and Myles who came out to Irishtown and gave great support during the races.

Conor Murphy 400m 57.36
Conor Murphy 3000m 11.16
Conor Murphy mile 5.38

Paul Duffy 1 mile 4.50

Aoife Brady 3000m 9.35

Crona Brady 1 mile 5.12

Michael Cunningham 1 mile 4.46

Full results and photos.

Report By
Michael Cunningham

A Summers Evening at the Dublin Graded No. 5 in Santry

Well, twas a bright summers eve, with a fair gust of wind about. Sportsworld had a good contingent out and aquitted themselves well.

The Brady sisters were to the fore in a very competitive ladys 1500. Aoife won comfortably in 4.36. The ever-improving Crona ran strongly in the pack, coming in 9th in 4.55.

The men's 1500 started with the D race. Colm McCarthy took off like the proverbial clappers, opening up a 20 metre lead after the first lap. He maintained this gap until the last lap, when a combination of tiredness and strong finishing from the athlete behind denied him victory. A fine run nonethess (4.42) and Colm should certainly be comfortable in the C grade next time around.

Next up was Paul Duffy in the 1500 C. Paul ran strongly in an unfamiliar event. He battled well and finished in the pack in an impressive 4.32. More to come from the club's fastest improving athlete.

Well if Paul O'Connell was a novice to the 1500, he could have fooled me. Maintaining second for most of the race and seemed to be tiring with a lap to go. Then, from nowhere the trademark burst of speed kicked in on the back straight. Second and third were left for dead in a matter of metres and Paul cruised home in 4.14.

Then it was left to the old horse (yours truly)to reaquaint himself with with the sacred santry track. The 5000m wasn't as packed as usual. It was one in a fine 15.08 by James McFadden. With 2nd and 3rd sewn up, it was left to my old adversary Michael Frehilly and I to decide 4th. It was a good old ding dong as we took turns onwind-shielding duty. With 400 metres to go I went for broke and just held him off, finishing in 15.44.

Full results and Graded Track & Field Info.

Report By
Phil Kilgannon

A Run in the Sun

The summer racing schedule is in full flow now with some outstanding running. No more so then Aoife Brady’s 1st place finish in the 3000m at Irishtown stadium last Wednesday evening (3rd June) and Paul Duffy who won his grade in the men’s 3000m at the fourth Graded Track & Field. On a perfect warm summer’s evening Aoife ran a storming 3km in 9.41.05 winning by a cool 18 seconds clear of second place (also 9sec off her PB!!!) and Paul won his grade with a sprint to the line coming home in 9.31.22. Crona Brady finished 10th in a competitive 800m on the same evening and Sean Wall battled to 7th in his grade also in 800m.

Also on the June Bank Holiday Monday saw an impressive Sportsworld contingent set out in sweltering conditions in the Womens Mini Marathon. An epic sight of a field of 40,000 took on the 10km course. Those of us spectating were melting in the heat so it must have been akin to running in a cauldron for the competitors. Congratulations to everyone who took part and even more so to the club member’s who braved the hot weather, basked in the sun and cheered the club on. Out of the huge field Sportsworld had Lucy D’Arcy, Helen White, Kathleen O'Callaghan, Stephanie Bergin all finishing in the top 50. See the Photos Menu for pictures of the great day.

Up in the hills and far away a steady stream of Sportworld runners have been competing in the Irish Mountain Races in all weather conditions. Recent events have included the Powerscourt 6km uphill race, Corrig Mountain and Prince Williams Seat where Colm Kennedy, Paul Mitchell & Jakub Splawski all had top 30 finishes.

Also Best of luck to the Sportsworld Wicklow Way Relay Team this Saturday, 5th of June. Colm Kennedy (a 7am start!!!), Paul O’Connell, Ciara Foster, Liam McFadden, Helen White, Paul Mitchell, Ed McEntee and Paul Duffy are competing in a staggering 105km relay event across some wild terrain. Race report to follow.

Graded Track and Field

So our track star Packie (the only person with his own name on his singlet) was commissioned to write a short report on the graded track and field events that happen over the summer, and answer any common questions that people might have about them. He may have thought he was getting paid by the word, but the final result is a very complete explaination of these events. The next graded event is this wednesday 6th May in Irishtown, with a 1500m and 10km track races.

Dublin Athletic County Board Graded T&F Meets.

What?

This presents a unique opportunity for club runners young and old with only a passing interest in the sport to test themselves against other club members of their own ability from around Ireland, but predominantly from Dublin clubs.

Who can compete?

Absolutely anyone of any age, race, colour or religion with any interest in athletics can compete.

Is there an entry fee?

The Dublin Athletic County Board has to live on something so yes there is an entry fee. You can pay separately on the night for one night (I think €10) where you get a temporary number. Better still you can register for the series at a reduced rate per evening (I think €60), hereby getting one number which you must bring with you to each subsequent evening.

Are there medals/cash prizes?

With the exception of the Dublin County Championship (Sat June 20th), these are non - competitive events. All you will gain is valuable experience. And a time/distance/height that is universally accepted and comparable to an athlete in Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong or Denmark. You can’t make such assertions with road or cross country events as the distances are approximate and terrains differ.
However there are ‘Development’ races incorporated into some evenings. These are designed to improve the standard of Irish athletics and there are cash prizes for these.

Who will I be pitted against?

You will be against competitors at your level as each event is ‘graded’. Grades range from grade A to grade D. Yes grade A or development races can contain some of Ireland’s greatest current competitors, but the other grades certainly do not. Grade D typically contains Master (over 40) athletes.
Each grade has an approximate standard allocated to it for each event. For example senior mens 3000m – 9:00.00 is the grade A standard (72s all the way around). If you feel that you are this fit, then this is your race. Otherwise you can go into grade B (which maybe 10 mins or whatever), or the next grade down (which could be 11 mins). This prevents any mismatches.
You’ll know from your sessions or road races what shape you’re in. Provided you are in the correct race based on these guidelines, you won’t be out of your dept. It is important that you’re in the correct race. Too high a grade and you’ll get isolated and be racing against the clock (which you could do in training on your own). Too low a grade and you’ll win too easily, gain nothing from the evening; and this is disrespectful to your fellow competitors in that race. If you’re in the correct grade, you will perform to the best of your current ability.

What sort of events have they?

On each evening there are typically 3 track events and 3 field ones. Not all of the 19 T&F events are catered for time reasons, there’s only so much that you can get done in 2 hours. So no decathlon! Hurdles or steeplechase events are rarely laid out either. Remember the organisers are amateur people like you or I who work a day job and are giving up their free time (just like BHAA); and while some may come across as being rude and short tempered they’re grand if you comply with them.
For track there is one sprint, middle distance and long distance event each evening, in that order and with 4 grades in each for both sexes. For field there are generally one or two jump/vaults and one or two throwing events per evening.

Where & when?

There are 8 meets in total, typically every 2 wks. The fixtures are listed below. There is also the Dublin County Championship (held on a separate Saturday evening), so 9 meets really. Each meet is held of a Wednesday evening from 19.00 to 21.00 at 2 different venues alternating between Morton Stadium, Santry; and Irishtown Stadium, Ringsend.

Transport?

Morton Stadium is on the way out to the airport, so the 16A, 33s, 746 or any of the Swords or Rush busses (41s) will do from the city centre or southside. Irishtown is a bit trickier to find as it’s hidden off the main Ringsend – Sandymout Rd, but it’s 800m from Ringsend Dublin Bus terminus where the 77, 50 and 56A end (most busses end there); but the 2 and 3 leave you outside.

Why?

Mainly for 2 reasons – experience and personal pride. You can learn more on one evening than you ever would watching the Olympics. Especially if you enter a few events on the one evening, this is advisable. If you try many events you may get to discover your niche. While we are a distance running club mainly for road and cross country events (so are most of Irelands clubs), this may not be everyone’s forte for a number of reasons. For example, Paul Hession joined Athenry AC as a teenager and often wondered why he languished at the back of the field of over 150 at the Connaught Underage Cross Country Championships. Now he is certainly in the top 8 200m runners in Europe; black, white or whatever race. Upon finding an event that you like, you can see if can you improve on it year after year.
No one can ever take a performance away from you and you’ll always have that to be proud of. Some of the events for the Dublin County Championship are poorly attended, so the chances of winning a medal can be quite high.

How will I get on?

Do not get intimidated about the surface or the atmosphere surrounding a track or field event. While we at Sportsworld don’t have the luxury that other clubs have in owning our own track/stadium, we train just as hard and are as good as any other club when it comes to distance running.

How are the running events timed?

There is no human error involved in the timing of track events. As soon as the gun goes off, this is linked by a cable to the timer (so no need to manually start the clock). As soon as your torso crosses the laser beam at the finish line, this is your finish time. Photo finish facilities are also provided.

Training?

You might ask how can we compete against people who train on the track all the time, when we train in a park or on roads. Well that’ll change for the summer. Because instead of cross country practice at Phoenix on a Saturday morning; for the summer’s Saturday mornings we practice on a track. It’s usually 9 or 9.30am at Irishtown stadium, we warm up in the park beside it. The idea of these sessions is not about hammering or racing your own club mates. It’s more about staying within yourself, control, and familiarising yourself with the atmosphere, layout and markings of a track. We have to start and finish early to allow other clubs to use the facility at 11am.

Fixtures 2009?

Graded Meet # Day, Date, Location Sprint MD LD Development Jumps Throws PV
1 Wed, Apr 22nd, Santry 100m 800m 5000m N/A HJ, TJ HT N/A
2 Wed, May 6th, Irish 200m 1500m 10000m* 1500m LJ SP, DT N/A
3 Wed, May 20th, Santry 400m 1609m 5000m N/A HJ HT PV
4 Wed, June 3rd, Irish 100m 800m 3000m 800m LJ DT, SP N/A
5 Wed, June 17th, Santry 200m 1500m 5000m N/A TJ HT PV
6 Sat, June 20th, Santry 100m, 400m 1500m 3000m N/A HJ HT, SP, JT, N/A
7 Wed, July 1st, Irish 400m 1609m 3000m 3000m LJ JT, DT N/A
8 Wed, July 15th, Santry 100m 800m 3000m 800m LJ, HJ N/A PV
9 Wed, Aug 5th, Irish 200m 1500m 3000m N/A TJ SP, JT N/A

* = This incorporates the Dublin County Championship.
HJ = High Jump
TJ = Triple Jump
LJ = Long Jump
HT = Hammer Throw
DT = Discus Throw
JT = Javelin Throw
SP = Shot Putt
PV = Pole Vault

Event 6 is the Dublin Championship.
The message is to get involved. You are good enough!

Since this is an AAI club event you are expected to wear your club singlet.