Sligo Athletic Club News: Fit4Life & Upcoming Races!

The last Fit4Life race in the current series was held on Tuesday night last, 25th May. The circuit was a demanding one through the wood on Cairns hill ensuring that all participating athletes worked hard for their times. Fastest female on the night was Triona O Donnell in 13mins 3 secs with Aisling Cawley 2nd in 13.07 and Roseanne Mitchell 3rd in 13.19. Fastest male was Hugh Moran 11.52 with Brian Mullen 2nd in 11.53 and overall series winner Liam Maloney 3rd in 11.58. Well done to all who participated in the series (totalling over 165 athletes) & its hoped that all will seek to further improve on their fitness and times when the next series gets underway. Presentation of prizes were in the Southern Hotel at 8.30pm after the last race with finger food at 9pm. A large crowd gathered for the function where the Top 20 athletes in the League received prizes, well done to all.
Top ten athletes in the Fit4Life Series;
1: Liam Maloney 161pts
2: Ciaran Mullen 165pts
3: Linda Higgins 166pts
4: Iain Howard 171pts
5: Sharon Finnegan 174pts
6: Vanessa Foley 190pts
7: Maureen Laffey 190pts
8: Michael Ryan 191pts
9: Ruth Walsh 191pts
10: Anna Gorman 196pts

Upcoming Local Races:
Now that the current Fit4Life series has ended here are a number of local road races where athletes can test their fitness over slightly longer courses.
Donegal 5k: Friday June 4th. run 7.30pm. Race starts at Super Valu and proceeds through the town onto the Mountcharles Road to the first roundabout, onto Ballydevitt and Drimark and back onto the Killybegs/Donegal Rd. to finish opposite Tir Conaill Park. Registration – Abbey Voc Gymnasium from 6.30pm. Refreshment afterwards.
Maugherow 10k: Sunday June 13th. walk 11:30am, run 12 noon. Race takes usual route from Maugherow hall out to Raughly Harbour and back finishing at the church. For anyone not familiar with area it will be sign posted both from Yeats Tavern and from Grange with Maugherow church being the land mark to aim for. There is a childrens race (national school age) of approx 2k which takes place at 11:30am with all children recieving a medal for ther effort. Refreshments will be served afterwards.
Calry 5k: Friday June 18th, walk & run 7.30pm. Race starts at Hazelwood Community pitch, out & back course which proceeds onto hazelwood avenue & turns before gates of hazelwood house. Finishes once again at pitch. parking, changing facilities and refreshments available. All proceeds to Northwest Hospice.
Finn Valley 5k: Friday June 25th, run 7.30pm. Aghyaran Centre, Park Road, Castlederg, Co. Tyrone BT81 7UP For more information please email mark_athletics@inbox.com
Ransboro 10k: Saturday June 26th. walk 6pm, run 6.30pm. Race takes usual route with start and finish at ransboro school. Registration will be in the school from 5.30pm. Refreshments will be served afterwards. For more information please ring Clive Kivlehan on 0872100481

Sligo Athletic Club: Schools Update

200m gold and new Connaught schools record for Stacey Kerr was the highlight of a very successful day for Sligo AC's young athletes. Stacey's performance in the minor girls 200m was breathtaking as she strolled to an impressive 26.9 taking some 200th of a second off the previous record. The club had a number of impressive winners in Tommy Casey running 4.02 for the 1,500m, Rachel Kilgallon maintained her winning streak outkicking her rivals impressively to win the 800m and Anna Reddin who has been pool bound since Febuary scored an easy success in the senior girls 3,000m. Dylan Carty got the day off to a flyer with an excellent display in the 1,200m walk. There was also a victory for new commer Annia Bozaz in the triple jump and she claimed silver in the long jump. We also had a number of runner ups in Rianne McHugh in the senior 400m, getting ran out of it on the line, Sara McGeogh in the minor girls 1,500m and James McGeough in the u-16 mile. James just got outkicked but posted an impressive time of 4.46. Other performances to note are ones from Aisham Patil finishing 3rd in the Junior 1,500m in 4.34(p.b), Clare Conlon just getting sqeezed out in the Junior 800m but recording a new pb of 2.33 and Nicola McGoldrick finished an unlucky 4th in the Junior girls 200m. In the field events, David Lynch finished joint 3rd in the minor boys long jump, Colm Bourke finished 4th in the triple jump and 5th in the long jump but has another pop at intermediate next year. Jason mcGoldrick would have learned a lot form his 4th place finish in the 400m hurdles as will David Burke, David hasn't trained for the year so ran out of steam, he still ran really well to hold onto 2nd place in the senior boys 400m hurdles. Orla mulvihill would have learned a lot from her good run in the 800m as with Clare Stenson, Clare also just finished outside the medals in the long jump. All athletes can now look forward to a hard 2 months of training and an excellent summer of racing ahead. Well done to all!

Connacht Regional Development Squad

The final Connacht Regional Development Squad of the 2009/2010 season will take place in Athlone IT on Sunday 23rd May at 12 noon. All squad athletes and their coaches are invited to attend. Please note, as per motion passed at congress, notification for squads will go direct to clubs / schools only. Athletes will not be notified individually, so could clubs please remind athletes of upcoming squad date.

Sligo AC Athletes
Anna Reddin: Sligo A.C.
Dylan Carty: Sligo A.C.
Jack Roberts: Sligo A.C.
Rachel Kilgallon: Sligo A.C.
Sharon Higgins: Sligo A.C.
Ciara Connolly: Sligo A.C.
David Burke: Sligo A.C.
Ken Lipsett: Sligo A.C.
Killian O'Connor: Sligo A.C.
Nicola McGoldrick: Sligo A.C.
Rianne McHugh: Sligo A.C.

Squad t-shirts and water bottles will be distributed to athletes who did not receive them at last squad.

Fit4Life: last race of the series!

The last race in this series is next Tuesday 25th May, a 2.25 mile hill run. Registration is at the Racecourse in Cleveragh up to 6.25pm, athletes then proceed to start which is 5min jog away. The course starts with 600ms uphill on paved road followed by a figure of eight circuit in woodlands which will be marked with arrows on the ground. This circuit is very testing but enjoyable however be prepared to take it at a slow pace uphill, perhaps even walking in spots. It is ideal training if considering the Warriors run in August. Presentation of prizes will be in the Southern Hotel afterwards on Tuesday at 8.30pm with finger food at 9pm .The top 20 in the League will receive prizes. All are welcome. Also a reminder that two 10k races, Maugherow and Ransboro will take place during the month of June for those athletes who want to test themselves on a longer circuit. Please email sligoac@gmail.com for more information.

Sligo Athletic Club: Fit4Life & upcoming races!

As we move towards the last race next Tuesday, 25th May, first place has passed to Linda Higgins who now leads by 10 points from Sharon Finnegan with Liam Maloney in third and Vanessa Foley in fourth. There is only 38 points between the top ten so all still to play for in this series of Fit4Life races. The final race next week is approx 2miles in lenght located in Cairns Hill, a good testing hilly course. Please meet at racecourse (cleveragh) for registration, it takes approx 5mins to get to the start. The route itself will be marked by arrows on the ground as it can be a bit confusing first time around. Prizes to the top twenty will be awarded at 8.30pm on next Tuesday at a venue to be circulated. Light refreshments will be provided and all are welcome.
Top ten athletes leading into the final Fit4Life race
1st higgins, linda: 120
2nd finnegan, sharon: 130
3rd maloney, liam: 133
4th foley, vanessa: 137
5th gillen, aisling: 142
6th mullen, ciaran: 144
7th laffey, maureen: 148
8th howard, ian: 151
9th ryan, michael: 152
10th ryan, yvonne: 158
Maugherow 10k: Sunday June 13th. walk 11:30am, run 12 noon. Race takes usual route from Maugherow hall out to Rauhgly Harbour and back finishing at the church. For anyone not familiar with area it will be sign posted both from Yeats Tavern and from Grange with Maugherow church being the land mark to aim for. There is a childrens race (national school age) of approx 2k which takes place at 11:30am with all children recieving a medal for ther effort. Refreshments will be served afterwards.
Ransboro 10k: Saturday June 26th. walk 6pm, run 6.30pm. Race takes usual route with start and finish at ransboro school. Registration will be in the school from 5.30pm. Refreshments will be served afterwards. For more information please ring Clive Kivlehan on 0872100481

Sligo Athletic Club: News Update

The inaugural running of the Sligo AC 8K Road race in Rosses Point on Saturday was an unqualified success with over 300 runners and walkers taking on what proved to be a testing course due to the stiff North Easterly winds blowing from the sea over the last kilometre of the event. The winds did nothing to dent the performance of Emmet Dunleavy , who simply ran away from the field as soon as the white flag was raised for off and had put two minutes between himself and his nearest pursuer Brian Phelham of Letterkenny by the end. Emmett is training hard to improve on his previous silver and bronze medals in the National 3k steeplechase to be held in August and these runs over longer distances can only improve his strength in the weeks ahead. Lucy Brennan in the ladies race was an equally convincing winner and showed no ill effects from her trip to Crozon France midweek where she lifted gold in a local 15 k race incorporating Beach, Hills and Trail Running. Helen Corbett of Galway followed Lucy home at a respectable distance some 4 minutes approximately behind with Lorraine Forde in third.
In the mens race there were some fascinating local struggles for bragging rights as Ultan McNasser edged out Alan Kearins and Seamus Somers with Eamon Mc Ellin in sixth and Shane Hayes in seventh showing a good deal of promise. This particular group are new to Athletics with little mileage on the clock and with a structured plan could greatly enhance the club strength of Sligo AC and be a competitive group in Novice and Intermediate Cross Country next season. In the Ladies section Aisling Cawley was just outside the awards in fourth place. The Masters Categories produced local winners in most categories as Eamon Dunbar held off Martin Mc Geough in the over 40s while Steve Finnegan won the over 45s. Terry Mc Gowan just held off Declan Byrne and Eamon Reddin in the over 50s. Vincent Flannery won the over 55s while Mayos Tom Hunt deprived Sligo AC of a clean sweep as he held off Willie Parke in the over 60s.
In the Master Ladies Cindy Mc Carthy returned to her best form to win her section from Philomena Gallagher of Tir Conaill and Sligo AC clubmate Cathy Mc Carthy in third. Rose Tully was just ahead of Martina Sherlock and Pauline Mc Loughlin in her section while Marie Rooney of Tir Conaill was a clear cut winner in her category and Rose Young completed the category winners by taking first in her section. Rachel Flynn was a clear winner in a top class demo of Walking , although there were no awards due to the difficulty of judging such an event to ensure correct procedures.
The Sligo Yacht Club kindly made their facilities available for registration and a veritable feast of drinks, sandwiches, scones and biscuits after the event all generously provided by club members and friends and very much appreciated. Non active members also stewarded the course and thanks to the support of the local Gardai everything went smoothly. Unfortunately one of the main movers behind the race Michael O Connell was absent as he recovers from surgery to his foot but he can be well pleased with the outcome of a good days sport.

Sligo AC 8k a huge success!

Sligo AC's inaugural 8k road race took place on Saturday 15th May in Rosses Point with 277 competitors taking part. Although the weather took a slight turn for the worst, the quality of the course and organisation ensured that all went smoothly. All athletes were well catered for before and after the race in Sligo Yacht Club where changing facilities and a huge spread of food and drink were laid on. Tribute should be paid in particular to Michael O'Connell and Rory Connor for the amount of work that was put into making the event such a success. Sligo AC officials and members such as Terry Hayes, Ann McHugh, Tom Meehan to name but a few also ensured that help was not found wanting. In relation to the race itself Sligo AC's Emmett Dunleavy (pictured) took off in furious fashion straight from the start line. By the 1st kilometre mark the race was as good as over as a contest with Dunleavy powering ahead leaving the rest of the field in his wake. Letterkenny AC's Brian Phelham kept his recent form with solid running also pulling away from pursuing Sligo AC athletes by the 5k mark. By this stage Dunleavy was only running against himself and the clock hoping to make the course record a difficult one to beat in the years ahead. He achieved this goal crossing the finish line in an impressive 24.20 with second place Phelham coming in at 26.29. Sligo AC's Ultan McNasser took 3rd position in 27.05 with clubmates Alan Kearins (4th), Seamus Somers (5th), Shane Hayes (7th), Steve Finnegan (8th) and Eamonn Dunbar (9th) all running solid races. Unattached runner E McEllen from Sligo finished in 6th place. Sligo AC's Lucy Brennan took 10th position overall and was, as per usual, first lady to finish. Post race refreshments were served in the Yacht Club, once again being served by volunteers and Sligo AC atheletes, where Club Secretary Terry Hayes distributed the prizes. With such a positive reaction from all who took part it seems likely that this race will become a firm fixture on the racing calendar. Well done to all who took part and we should have results available by email on monday 18th May. To request, please email sligoac@gmail.com. Please remember that the second last race in the current Fit4Life series is on tuesday (approx 2.25 miles) starting across from Smyths toys, Cleveragh at 6.30pm

All set for Sligo 8k: 15th May @ 6pm!

Entries for next saturdays Sligo AC 8k have topped 150 mark online so a large crowd is expected to toe the line at 6pm. Any interested walkers and runners can still register on the day from 4.30pm in Sligo Yacht Club. The course is sure to produce fast times with virtually no hills included, just a straight out-and-back course starting from Rosses Point Yacht club, turning at the Cregg road and ending back at the promenade. There are numerous prize categories and refreshments for all participants afterwards in Sligo Yacht Club. It promises to be a great day out for all so please support with your involvement to ensure that the inaugural Sligo 8k is one to remember!

Large numbers of Sligo AC turn out for Ballyshannon 5k!

The evening remained bright and slightly breezy as the field of 116 athletes toed the line on the outskirts of Ballyshannon town for race two in the Donegal Athletic Board grand prix. From the off the pace was fast with Letterkenny AC atheletes quickly taking the lead. Hardy veterans, the like's of Neil Faulkner, were quickly dropped as the eventual winner, Ciaran Doherty, kept the furious momentum going. 15 Sligo AC athletes made the trip up to compete & host club Tir Conaill AC made sure that all went home content (some with pb's) once again organising a quality course, stewarding and mammoth refreshments afterwards! The winner, ciaran doherty (letterkenny AC) finished in a pacey 15:11 with 2nd place going to clubmate ivan toner in 15:46 whilst 3rd went to brian thursby-phelm in 16:06 also of letterkenny AC. Sligo AC athletes finished as follows, 7th: ultan mcnasser - 16:31. 8th: alan kearins - 16:41. 12th: michael gilroy - 17:17. 14th: mel casserly - 17:21. 16th: stevie finnegan - 17:23. 19th: christy mcpartland - 17:52. 25th: rory connor - 18:27. 26th: mark burns - 18:27. 39th: declan byrne - 19:25. 43rd: john foy - 19:53. 45th: cindy mcarthy - 19:55. 69th: bernadette gilroy - 22:04. 88th: laura o'shea - 24:49. 93rd: martina sherlock - 25:27. 94th: jill connor - 25:36. Well done to all athletes who took part, this will set them up nicely for the Sligo 8k which takes place on Saturday 15th May at 6pm in Rosses Point. Registration is on http://www.runireland.com/ and all can also register from 4pm on the day at RossesPoint Yacht Club.

Sligo athletes shine on graded debuts in Dublin!

5 Sligo athletes made the trip to Dublin for the 2nd series of Graded meetings held by Dublin County Board. The night started with Kaitlin Edwards putting the 4kg shot out to 6.09m twice to record a nice benchmark for her to work off in future competitions whilst also picking up some valuble tips from more experienced athletes which will stand to her over the summer. The 3 participants in the Mens grade C 1,500m were James McGeough, Shane Kilcawley and Aisham Patil. James (pictured) looked the best of the field throughout the race and just got checked at a crucial time as he was making his move, he still finished well to claim 3rd place in a new pb of 4.31. While this was going on up front, Shane and Aisham were moving through the field, again 2 more pb's with Shane running 4.36 and Aisham running 4.38, both lads previous pb's were 4.45 so all moving in the right direction. Aisham qualifies as a Junior for the schools competition and looks as though he will be very competitive at Nationals in the next 4 weeks. Next up was the triple jump and here we had 2 athletes, Annia Bednor and Kaitlin Edwards. Kaitlin jumped 7.26 in her first ever competition and Annia jumping an amazing 10m 49cm to claim 2nd spot behind National Senior Champion Mary McLoone. Annia just misses out by 3 days to qualify as a junior for the schools AllIreland which is a pity given that it was won in a new record last year of 10m 69cm a mark Annia is well capable of achieving if not betterig if all goes right. All 5 athletes have a bright future ahead, especially this summer on the track when they look to lower those pb's and reel in the silverware.

Sligo Athletic Club: Fit4Life Series

The fourth leg of the fit4life league , a 2mile run in Hazelwood produced a shock result with three debutants , Anthony Kinane, Deirdre Deering and Una Mc Partlan filling the top three positions on the evening. Seamus Somers (pictured) ran the fastest time of the evening, covering the 2 mile loop in 10.41. The next race , a 2 miler starting at Smyths Toys will be the second last in the series and is on Tuesday 18th May at 6.30pm. Training continues each tuesday in Sligo IT at 6.30pm and on Thursdays at the racecourse at 6.30pm. All are welcome.
Overall top ten positions are as follows,
finnegan, sharon 75
higgins, linda 96
foley, vanessa 112
gillen, aisling 115
ryan, yvonne 116l
affey, maureen 120
gorman, anna 120
walsh, ruth 120
ryan, michael 122
maloney, liam 123
The overall table after four races shows Sharon Finnegan leading from Linda Higgins and Vanessa Foley with Aisling Gillen in hot pursuit.With two races remaining there is still all to play for to see who is the winner of the Spring Series.

Sligo Athletic Club: News Update

Congrats to Sligo AC's Lucy Brennan (pictured) on winning the inaugural West Of Ireland Women's mini marathon in Castlebar on Sunday last. Over 3,000 women took part so well done to all the Sligo girls who took part. Also well done to Alan, Rory and the boys in the Duathlon in Boyle Forest Park and a special mention to Trevor Hunter for winning the Vets prize as he changed disciplines from marathons to duathlons just 3 weeks after running in the Rotterdam marathon. A crew from Sligo AC also travelled to Belfast for the Belfast City Marathon in which Karl Boyce became part of the Sub-three hour club clocking 2.59. A hearty congrats also to Eamon 3.01, Enda 3.19, Damien 3.24 and Declan 3.39. Lucy Brennan was at it again 24 hours after winning in Castlebar she won the womens event in the Carer's association 10k in Ballincar. Neil Faulkner (Letterkenny AC) won the overall race with Desi Foley finishing second and Thomas Kelly (North Sligo AC) taking third spot. Seamus Somers continued his rich vein of form with another pb for the 10k distance, well done to all who took part. For full results please email sligoac@gmail.com and we'll endeavour to have them out to you as soon as possible. A reminder to all that Sligo AC's 8k Road Race is on Saturday 15th May at 6pm. We encourage all athletes, fun runners and walkers to take part and support this local event. Race four in the current Fit4Life series takes place this evening in Hazelwood with first runners off at 6.30 sharp over the 2 mile circuit. See you all there!