Sligo Athletic Club: News Update

Sligo Athletic Club younger athletes braved artic conditions on Monday last, 29th March, to participate in the club U9, U10 and U11 competition. This competition was a pre run for the County Team competition to be held on Wednesday 7th April. It was unfortunate that due to the weather conditions some events had to be abandoned but many thanks to athletes and parents who came along and those who helped out on the night. Anyone who missed the meet due to the weather can come along early on the 7th April to faciliate in getting teams organised. Hopefully the weather will be kinder to us! First place results as follows, full results can be accessed by sending an email to sligoac@gmail.com
U9 GIRLS 60m & LONG JUMP: 1st Nadine Deering 1st Sarah Melvin
U9 BOYS 60M, 300m, LONG JUMP & BALL THROW: 1st Sean Kerrigan 1st 4th 1st.
U10 GIRLS 60M, 500M, LONG JUMP & BALL THROW: 1st Tara Donohue 4th 1st 1st.
U10 BOYS 60M, 500M, LONG JUMP & BALL THROW: 1st Aaron Perry 5th 3rd.
U11 GIRLS 60M, 600m, LONG JUMP & BALL THROW: 1st Tara Carty 2nd 1st.
U11 BOYS 60M, 600M, LONG JUMP & BALL THROW: 1st Leo Doherty 1st 1st 4th.
Finally congratulations to Rianne McHugh on her excellent 5th place finish at the weekend in National indoor u-19 girls 400m. Rianne's dedicated training regime over the last few months has paid off with this excellent result. Well done from all at the club.

Sligo AC's Caelinn claims silver!

Sligo AC star Caelinn McGonigle made the trip South to Nenagh in Co Tipperary for the National indoor Championships. Going into her race as a leading fancy, she didn't disappoint. In her heat on Saturday afternoon she cruised through in 2nd place, holding back with her final to follow and less than a day to recover. Drawn in the middle lane you wouldnt think it would make much of a difference over 600m but getting a poor start Caelinn was pushed to the back of the 8 finallists early on, she spent the whole first lap looking for gaps and working her way through the field. Heading out on her final lap she had now worked her way into second place and was in hot pursuit of the leader, unfortunately she couldnt make up the lost ground but should be very happy with herself in claiming second place once again. To find out how good this 11 year old girl is, go down to the I.T track and time yourself over 1 and 1/2 laps, her time was 1minute 48seconds. Two other Sligo AC athletes in action were Graham and Stacey Kerr. They both claimed 5th place in their heats respectively. Stacey was a mere 100th of a second from making the final and can be very proud of what she achieved over her weekend's work. She ran a time of 8.51 for 60m and moved up from joint 3rd in the Connaughts to clear 2nd best. Graham too can be proud of his achievments from the weekend. All 3 athletes can really look forward to their outdoor season now and use the experience gained from their weekend in Neenagh. Well done to all three athletes from all at the club. Well done to the following in who participated in the Omagh Half Marathon on Saturday.Lucy Brennan 1.22.45 Enda Dineen 1.27.13 Declan Foley 1.34 (PB) Brian Mullen 1.35 (PB) Enda Whelan 1.45 John Elliott 1.47(Calry AC)! Brendan Mullen 1.50 (PB) Also congrats to the neighbours in Leitrim who were led home by Trevor Mc Daid in 1.33.50 followed by David Downes and Paul Capriani. Apologies for any omissions. Well done to all. A reminder to all that the annual Carney 10k takes place next Monday 5th April at 12 noon. Athletes are advised to register through the "runireland" website to avoid delays on the morning of the event.

Fit4Life league & Sligo AC quarterly meeting

The first Fit4Life race, 2 miles at Sligo Racecourse, got underway yesterday evening with a sizable amount of athletes taking part. Top ten results are listed below, but as ever, the table will no doubt chnage countless times over the series. Well done to all.
mc hugh, aoife 1 16.16
finnegan,sharon 2 19.28
lonergan, eamon 3 17.35
mulvihill, orla 4 14.44
ryan, michael 5 14.53
hunter, ruth 6 21.04
whyte, emer 7 15.07
hirrell, marie 8 17.45
quinn, lisa 9 17.19
maloney, liam 10 13.40

Sligo AC hold it's quarterly meeting on Monday 12th April in the Sligo Southern Hotel at 8.30pm. AGENDA is as follows;
Minutes of last meeting.
Treasurers report.
Club membership (update).
Club training.
A.A.I. National League.
Fit 4 Life
Club Road Race (May 15th)
A.A.I. Congress
A.O.B.

Juvenile Indoor success for Sligo AC!

Pictured are the Sligo AC teams who won bronze at Connaught Juvenile Indoor Relays in Nenagh on Saturday (20th March 2010).Girls U-16: 4x200m and Boys U-14: 4x200m. Well done to both teams from all at the club.

This weekend a small but very talented bunch of juvenile athletes will make the trip to Nenagh to represent Sligo AC in the National Juvenile Championships. Graham Kerr who strolled to Connaught success in the U-13 60m will start the weekend off and if running his true race could sneak a medal in a race that allows very little room for error. His sister Stacey will be in the race straight after, as she takes prt in the U-14 girls 60m. If Stacey gets a good start she is well capable of matching the other girls in this race and who knows what she may do. The final Sligo representative is Caelinn McGonigle in the U-13 girls 600m. Last year’s silver medallist will look to go one better this year and after her very impressive Connaught performance which saw her run the fastest time in Ireland this year to date by a U-13 girl, you wouldn’t bet against her claiming gold. Finally an update on James McGeough and Anna Reddin, who were struck down with chest infections, are on the road to recovery but are out of this weekends Nationals and will now look to the outdoors. Best of luck to all taking part this weekend.

Senior Connacht Cross Country 2010

Sligo Racecourse was in perfect condition for the Connacht Cross Country event that was held there on Sunday 21st March. A hazy day with little or no wind made the weather ideal also for all the athletes that showed up on the day to partake. At 12.30 the event was underway and altough the overall turnout was poor, a few of the athletes made the race interesting with a closely fought battle over the three lap course. Ballina AC's Roger Barrett ran a strong controlled race to pull away from his nearest threats North Leitrims Liam Feely (2nd) and North Sligo's Thomas Kelly (3rd). Sligo AC's Alan Kearins also ran a measured race overtaking two athletes in the final half lap to take 4th position. Neal Higgins (Sligo AC) was 5th with club athletes David Kearins and Seamus Somers also showing fine displays of strong steady running which will no doubt stand to them as the road race season starts in earnest. Ultan McNasser, Rory Connor and Philip Morrison made up the remainder of the team which lead to Sligo AC gaining the team prize.
Well done to North Sligo's Tommy Carroll and Sligo AC's Martin Conroy who ran recently in the St. Patricks Day 5k in Dublin. Both athletes featured prominently in the race coming 5th and 8th respectively with times just over 15 minutes. A reminder that the Fit4Life race series gets underway this Tuesday in Sligo Racecourse @ 6pm starting with a 2 miler. Good luck to all participating athletes!

Tubbercurry 10k: M O'Connell reports...

A sizable crowd of 136 athletes toed the line for the 37th annual Tubbercurry 10k held each year on St. Patricks day. The race got under way at 12.30 after a minutes silence in memory of some local figures who had died in the previous week. From the off Emmet Dunleavy (Sligo AC) and John Byrne (Mayo AC) pushed ahead & by the kilometre mark had a small group of 5 athletes up front jostling for first position. In the end Dunleavy won it comfortably in 32.58 with Byrne coming home strongly in second spot. The leading lady was once again Lucy Brennan in 38.15 who was well clear of Mari Johnson in 2nd place. Desi Foley came home in 36.04 with Ultan Mc Nasser hot on his heels in 36.10 followed by Neal Higgins in 37.16. Well done to Steve Finnegan who edged out his sligo team mate Karl Boyce to win the 0/45 in 37.37. Mayo won the mens team prize. Finally,congrats to Roseanne Mitchell who won the F/40 in 45.19 and was part of the winning Sligo ladies team which included Lucy,Cathy Mc Carthy and Sonia O Connell. Many athletic observers did comment on the number of easter eggs won by Sligo runners on the day!! Next up is the Connacht Senior Cross Country on Sunday where all eligible runners should take part.

Sligo Athletic News Update

Craughwell 10mile Road Race: Well done to Trevor Hunter, Sharon & Enda Dineen and Declan & Vanessa Foley who all ran PB'S in glorious conditions .They were helped en route by having Sligo AC's vice chairman, motivator and photographer with them!!
Good luck to all who are taking part in the annual Tubbercurry 10k road race starting at 12 noon tomorrow. Registration is in Killorans Public House beforehand.
Next local races up are: Fit4Life Race 1 (Tues Mar 23rd Sligo Racecourse - 2miles on grass). Carney 10k Road Race. (Mon 5th April) Carney Village, 12 noon (walkers & junior races from 11am). Sligo AC 8k, (Sat 15th May) Sligo Yacht Club, Rosses Point, 6pm. Registration from 4pm.

Schools Cross Country Update.

This weekend Sligo Athletic club athletes head to Cork to represent their schools in various categories. In the Junior girls the Ursuline convent field a very strong team and are serious medal conteders, the team will be lead by North Sligo's Soracha Fallon and backed by Claire Stenson (Sligo AC), Orla Muvihill (Sligo AC), Clionagh McGowan (North Sligo) and Elann McCarthy (North Sligo). Also in the same race Sligo AC's Clare Conlon will be running solo but will gain support from her 2 other Sligo AC training buddies. In the intermediate boys, James McGeough (Sligo Grammer - pictured) will battle it out in the race of the day with Irelands brightest up and coming stars. A top 30 finish here for James would lay the sort of foundation for him for next years race to become a serious contender and also for this summers track and field. In both Senior races Sligo AC are very well represented with Anna Reddin (Sligo Grammer) & Rachel Kilgallon (Sligo Grammer) leading a strong Grammer Schools team to hopefully sneak a medal. A bit of a knee injury and a headcold has slightly interupted Anna's preparations but no doubt she will toe the line all guns blazing. And in the Senior boys race, after an excellent showing over 800m at our National senior Championships, Tommy Casey moves up to 6,500m to represent the Grammer. Tommy being the competitor that he is will be up there pushing the pace right from the outset.The Best of luck to all athletes taking part.

Sligo Athletic Club: News Update

The Dominic O'Hara 9 miler took place on Saturday last in glorious weather, however the course remained as demanding as ever! Over 50 hardy athletes toed the line together, as the race was not run on a handicap basis, and after a couple of miles in Liam Feely (North Leitrim AC) took control of events with Sligo AC's Richard Gorman in hot pursuit. Nothing would deter the leitrim youngster however as he cruised the course to win in just over 48 minutes. Gorman came home second with Neal Higgins (Sligo AC) taking third. In the womens section veteran Lucy Brennan took first place with other Sligo AC athletes Roseanne Mitchell, Cindy McCarthy and Aishling Cawley also featuring prominently.
Sligo AC's long awaited spring Fit4Life league has now been announced. Details are as follows;
Race 1 Tues Mar 23rd Sligo Racecourse 2miles on grass.
Race 2 Tues April 6th Sligo Racecourse 1 mile on grass
(two races starting at 6.30 and 6.45 faster runners first).
Race 3 Tues April 20th Sligo Racecourse 2miles on grass.
Race 4 Tues May 4th Hazelwood 2mile on forest path.
Race 5 Tues May 18th Riverside 3 miles road and along riverside.(Start at Smyths Toys).
Race 6 Tues May 25th Cairns Hill 2miles of hilly terrain (good practise for Warriors Run) Meet at Racecourse at 6pm.

Sligo AC Fixture List

Sat 6th March Dominic O'Hara 9 mile Road Race. Calry Community Pitch, 11am.
Wed 17th March Tubbercurry 10k Road Race. Tubbercurry Town Centre, time tbc.
27th/28th March National Juvenile Indoors. Nenagh, Tipperary 10 am.
Mon 29th March Sligo AC Team Event U9, U10, U11. Sligo IT 6pm.
Mon 5th April Carney 10k Road Race. Carney Village, 12 noon (walkers & junior races from 11am).
Wed 7th April Co Sligo Team Event U9, U10, U11. Sligo IT 6.30 sharp start.
10/11th April National Juvenile Indoors. Nenagh, Co,Tipperary 10 am.
Wed 14th April Co Sligo T & F U12 - U19. Sligo IT 6.30 sharp start.
Thurs 29th April Mayo/Sligo Schools Track & Field.
Sat 15th May. Sligo AC 8k, Sligo Yacht Club, Rosses Point, 6pm. Registration from 4pm.
12th June Connaught Team Event & U12 Champs.. Dangan, Galway.
19th June Connaught T & F U13 – U19. Dangan, Galway.
3rd/4th July National Juvenile U12 – U19. Tullamore, Offaly.
24th/25th July National Juvenile U12 – U19. Tullamore, Offaly.

Sligo Athletic Club News: Running Shoes

It was day 5 on our training camp in Johannesburg at 1800 Mt's above sea level. The temperature was 32 degrees. Robert Heffernan 8th in the Olympic games 20 klm race walk in Beijing was doing a 40 klms training session. This was the longest distance Rob had ever walked. He is preparing to make his debut over 50 klms in a race in Dudence in Slovakia at the end of March. I gave him his drinks at every 2 klms point along the route.His finishing time for the 40 klms was 3hrs 12Min's. 40 klms is just 2 klms short of the marathon distance so his time would equate to a 3hrs 22Min's marathon. This statistic will give the readers of this column some idea of the speed that our elite race-walkers travel at. Bearing in mind that this training session took place at altitude and in such hot conditions is testimony to the ability of Rob when he does tackle the 50 klms event. That very evening of the 40 klms Rob was out again doing an 8 klms recovery session from his morning exertions. Colin Griffin from Ballinamore is also training for 50 klms and he will be racing that distance in the world race-walking cup in Mexico in mid may.One morning after a 5 klms warm up Colin done a 7 x 2 klms in 8 Min's 50 secs per rep. However, the key to this session was his recovery between each rep where he covered 1 km in 4 Min's 45 secs. A lot of athletes make the fatal mistake of allowing too much recovery time between each rep. Remember there is no recovery time in a race. Jamie Costin another one of our athletes here done a similar session to that but he done it much quicker as he is training for 20 klms. I know many athletes in Sligo are now training for a spring marathon. While its essential that they have one long run weekly, they should include sessions such as I have just outlined. Training for race-walking at 20 and 50 klms is very similar to training for a marathon. Great emphases on the training here is the amount of time the athletes put in off the track and road. Gym work core work, flex ability, stretching and receiving physio are all part of the days work. Of course the other big thing is recovery. The 2 hour afternoon sleep is an essential part of every day as is the 8 hours sleep every night. Finally on behalf of all athletes, officials and supporters of Sligo Athletics congratulations to Mary Cullen on winning the Sligo Weekender overall award at the Annual Weekender awards night in the Clarion Hotel last Friday night. I have to say that since last weeks Running Shoes column I had a few text messages berating me for only describing her as Sligos best ever sports women. They all reckon she is the best sports person ever to come out of Sligo and I have no problem with that!

Connacht Squad Day at I.T Racetrack

A very successful squad day was held in Sligo IT on Sunday 28th February headed by RDO’s Paul McNamara and Eamonn Harvey. A large crowd participated with over 70 atheletes from connaught clubs and schools with local clubs taking advantage of the home venue. Coaches from Connaught headed up the events sprints (pictured), hurdles, long jump, high jump and throws. Paddy McGratten who was Director of Athletics for Athletics Ireland headed the throws with a medicine ball session. Dermot McDermott assisted by Peter Hynes Swinford took the middle distance athletes through their paces. The event was rounded off with Eamonn Harney giving a talk on competition preparation. All athletes thoroughly enjoyed the experience of learning new skills and knowledge from the various figures involved.