Finn Valley T&F

Last evening a small group of Sligo AC juvenile athletes travelled to Finn Valley in Stranorlar to test them against Donegal’s finest in track and field. Starting from our youngest competitor Aoife Morrison who competed in the 80 meters and the 600metres. Aoife finished 2nd in her heat and qualified for the final where she finished 5th in a highly competitive field. Later in the 600metres Aoife went better still claiming the silver medal with a well paced run working her way through the field and sprinting home over the final 200m metres top claim he just rewards. Aoife completed the 600metres in 2 minutes flat, which is a fantastic time as a strong wind was in the runners face for most of the race. Stacy Kerr showed he class yet again winning her U16 100metres heat in a personal best of 12.36 and the final in 12.56 easing up in the final stages saving herself for her first time over 300 metres in preparation for the Connaught schools next Wednesday. Stacy ran in the over 16s 300metres and finished second to Sligo AC’s other competitor in the race Emily Burns. Emily ran 40seconds with Stacy running a 44seconds 300. So well done to both girls, who again had to run head on into a strong wind for 150 metres. The boys Graham Kerr and Graham Bourke both ran the U16 100metres, with Graham Kerr (running 2 years above his age group) recording a personal best time of 12.66 and Graham Bourke close behind in 13.40. Graham Bourke is a recent addition to Sligo AC and the experience he is picking up form the national indoors and these outdoor events have helped him improve as an athlete and we will see more from him in the coming seasons. The tow Grahams jumped into the over 16’s 300 meters for “the crack” and both ran well again first time over the distance. This race however was a head to head form the gun between Sligo AC’s Zak Irwin and North Sligo’s Kieran Elliott. Zak took an early lead but Kieran experience of the longer distance told in the final 50meters as he clawed back the lead to finish narrowly ahead of Zak in a time of 36 seconds. Caolaoin McGonagall took silver in the U16 800 metres running a fine race, mixed in with the over 16 boys. In the walks Orla Delahunt and Robbie Kelly both had good walks over 1500 taking top prizes. Finally James Mc Geough ran the 3,000 finishing 4th in a super time of 9minutes 56seconds.The 7 lap race was again run into a strong headwind for 200metres of every lap so this was fantastic running for James who has put in great winters training and I am sure he will reap the rewards over the coming months. So well done to all our athletes and North Sligo’s too who represented their clubs last evening Well done to all in Finn Valley who ran a well organised event.

McAndrew Excels in Irish Dualathlon 2012

Congratulations to Sligo Triathlon and Sligo Ac club member Eamonn "Mouse Mc Andrew" who finished a brilliant third overall in the national duathlon championship last weekend in Donegal. From an athletics perspective Eamon has, had what can only be described as a meteoric rise in the last 2 years, smashing 10km PB's and competing against the best runners around. On Sunday he ran 31min 11secs for the 10km (no doubt after a rigorous warm up on the turbo trainer)to put this in perspective the Irish national road race champion (Olympic qualifier) Mark Kennelly ran the Bupa 10km in 29.23 and next Irish man was T Fitzpatrick 30:03.So from a running low weekly mileage this is a phenomenal time over 10km. Eamonn has dedicated himself to this event over the winter and puts in serious hours training under the watchful eye of Colm Casey in the Triathlon Club So from all In Sligo AC well done Mouse..... Taken from http://www.triathlonireland.com/index.php?id=107&nid=732 The National Duathlon Championships 2012, hosted by the Northwest Triathlon club, was yet again a huge success. Substantial prize money for the standard race attracted the crowds, with athletes travelling up the country to Burnfoot, Donegal and a number returning from England in an attempt to claim a National Duathlon Championship medal. 96 competitors lined up to take on the 10km run, 40km bike, 5km run course. The line up saw top quality athletes and defending champions battling it out in an extremely exciting and competitive race. The men’s race was full of surprises. Impressive times were seen in the first run with Paul Carroll and Eamon McAndrew in transition after 31mins 11secs, Alex Donald, Mark Moran and Stephen Black were also in the leading pack. Black had a disappointing end to his race, in third position on the bike leg he punctured and was out of contention. The battle was now between Moran and Carroll for pole position; Moran, lying fourth after the run, made up good time on the bike entering transition first after 58mins of cycling. Paul Carroll completed the bike section in 59mins 13secs starting the final 5km run 53seconds behind Moran. A sizable gap had appeared between the two competitors but there was no better man to take on the challenge; Carroll closed the gap with every stride to cross the line ahead of Moran. Carroll finished the course in a time of 1hr 48mins 48secs, 53secs ahead of Moran in a time of 1hr 49mins 29secs. Third to cross the line for a very strong performance was Eamon McAndrew in 1hr 51mins 10secs.

Enda Dineen - London 2012

While most of us were probably having a nice Sunday sleep in... Sligo AC’s Enda Dineen (53008) was toeing the line with 37,680 other runners getting ready to complete the 26.2 miles around the Streets of London. Not only did Enda plan his marathon training meticulously and carry it out to perfection he also dedicated a lot of time and effort to help raise funds for “Bone Cancer Research Trust” by completing the marathon. Enda ran London in the memory of a very special girl “Blaithnaid Foley” who he knew and his daughters were friends with growing up. From the moment Enda received and entry for London to run on the charities behalf he dedicated himself to a very tough training regime completing many a long mile on his own, made numerous personal sacrifices, which need to be made if you dedicate yourself to the marathon and got his just rewards shortly after 12pm Sunday morning. Although the marathon is done and dusted and the physical challenge is complete Sunday’s marathon will have a longer lasting legacy, as Endas efforts will not only have raised much needed funds to assist with Bone Marrow research but also raised awareness of the charity which can hopefully help others. From all in Sligo AC and from all Sligo runners we say a huge well done to Enda Dineen on adding another 26.2 miles to his running journey and I am sure after a well deserved rest Enda will be back on the roads planning for Dublin......

Helen Lavin - 100KM European Championships

A lesser known Sligo Athlete was also running Sunday in foreign lands. Helen Lavin from Castlebaldwin Co.Sligo is an ultra runner running in the US and has numerous victories in the grueling 100 milers and other ultra distances. On Sunday Helen was representing Ireland womens in the 100km (5 20km loops) in the IAU 100K World and European Championships in Milan.We will get more info on Helen soon and post on blog, but her are some comemnts Helen had on the race itself "Folks - thanks for all the support and kind words!!! It really did help me out there today when the going got tough. And it did get tough! Unlike in a hilly trail race when I could find endless reasons to just walk, I couldn't allow myself to walk during a flat road race with people expecting me at the aid stations every 5k... but man I wanted to! I probably started out too fast on the first 2 loops after falling in behind two of the German ladies... and hit the wall at around 50k. Readjusted my goal from 8:30 to sub-9, got my stomach sorted with coke (of course!) and salt crackers, and came back to life on lap 4. Picked it up the final 3k and had a blast crossing the finish line with the Irish flag. A huge thank you to my mother Eileen, sister Marie (aka Facebook updater), friend Dee and better half Chris (aka Women's Team Manager) for being there throughout the day. And to everyone who supported me from afar. Also, congrats to the Irish lads who raced hard and had some amazing finish times! And to the US men & women who kicked ass and their crew who cheered for me all day!" Well done Helen

Tommy Casey - 1500 PB

A big shout out to Sligo AC's Tommy casey who achieved a personal best by 2 seconds when finishing 4th in a highly competitive field in the John McDonnell Invitational in FAYETTEVILLE, Arkover in the U.S at the weekend. Tommy ran a time of 3mins 50secs which is the fastest 1500 in the "casey household" so i am sure he will be targetting Michaels 5km & 10km in the future So well done Tommy from all in Sligo AC

Seamie & Rory - Manor 10km

On a slightly shorter of Sunday road races Sligo AC’s athletes Seamus Somers and Rory Connor were representing the club in Manorhamilton 10km. Seamies fantastic form continued in 10kms finishing a close second to Neil Faulkner. Seamie has run 2 personal best’s times in his last two 10Km races, both under the magical 35 minutes mark and is getting stronger with every race. Next after Seamie was the ever popular Rory Connor who is reaping his rewards for tough cross country running in the winter and no doubt the biking isn’t doing any harm either. This could be the beginning of a good spring summer for Rory whose dedication to training deserves rewards like this Well done lads.

Seamie Stormer...

SOMER BREEZE....... Sligo AC's very own Seamie Somers produced the best run of his life to date last Sunday in the Phoenix Park, Dublin in the Great Ireland Run which doubled up as the National 10K. Seamie ran a PB for the 10K in a superb time of 34:40 and where Seamie is concerned this is only the start of things to come for this talented athlete. Seamie or "Oisin" as he is known to his 7:57 club mates due to the fact he seem's to come from the land of Tír na nÓg, (Never ages) is one of the worlds true Gentlemen so it is fitting that this lad gets all the just rewards that comes his way. Congratulations Seamie on your fantastic performance from all your colleagues in Sligo AC.

Tried and Loved it....

Try 3...

Trying....

Try and Try...

Try 2

Try In Pics.

Our own club Triers........

Well done to Sligo Ac's Eimear O'Brien who had a fine win over 3,000metres in the Leevale Open Sports in Cork this weekend.


Congratulations to all Sligo AC members who participated in today's Try A Tri, There were fantastic performances by all
and a huge congratulations to Sligo Tri club on the staging of a very successful event. Over 150 compeditors signed up for
this introduction to triathlon and by the look's of it the majority will be returning. Some of the Sligo AC members who competed are, Vanessa Foley, Mary Durcan, Sharon Dineen, Linda Higgins, Ciara Donnellan, Aisling Gillen, Jill Connor, Maeve Hayes,
Eamon Reddin, to name but a few, also well known local Ocean FM Radio personality Francie Boylan completed the very difficult and challenging triathlon and was a very happy man to have completed the three disciplined sporting challenge.
Full list of results can be found by clicking on the link attached,
http://racesplitter.com/results/173F032E8.
(Pictures of some of our members are on additional posts)

A Big Sligo AC congratulations to our very own Seamie Somers who ran a superb Personal Best of 34:40 in today's Great Ireland run in Dublins Phoenix Park, Seamie is
going from strength to strength and this look's like being another very successful year for Seamie.

Great Run.

Best of luck to all Sligo AC members competing in the Great Ireland Run tomorrow in Dulin's Phoenix park which is also the National 10K, So Go out hard, hang on and if possible enjoy. Have a "Great" run from all you colleagues.

Sligo AC Tri..ers

Best of luck to all Sligo AC members who are competing in Sligo Tri Club's Try A Tri tomorrow morning. They will start with a 250mtr swim then on to their bikes for a 10K cycle and finish with a 4K run. Base station is the Sligo Regional Sports complex and the event kicks off at 10am Sunday 15th April. All Members are asked to come out and support their colleagues. Happy Swimming - Cycling and Running. Good luck to all.

Carney Flyers.

A very well done to all Sligo AC members who took part in the Eater Bank Holiday Carney 10K Road Race. The day started with a very bad shower of rain just as the athletes were waiting on the starting pistol to be fired but conditions improved early in the race and were ideal for the remainder of the run. Once again there was a fantastic turn out for this now well established calender event, and a massive well done has to go to Mel Casserly, Colin Noone and the organising committee who along with plenty of local volunteers who year after year make this a memorable day for all, so well done to each and every one. There were Personal Bests galore with a very fast paced race at the front with Sligo AC's Emmett Dunleavy winning in a time of 31:58 followed by Sligo AC's Eamon McAndrew in 32:21, Richard Gorman again Sligo AC in third in 34:16, Well known Sligo AC "youngster" Seamie Somers ran a superb PB of 34:43 and sets him up nicely for the road racing season ahead. Aisling Van Rensburg from North Sligo AC lead the Ladies home in a time of 39:54 followed by her club mate Una McCool in a time of 41:07, Sarah Healy finished third in a super time of 42:00. There were also a large number of walkers this year who also completed the scenic but challenging course and a massive well done to all. Another huge success to this years event was the various pace setters all established Sligo AC road runners who ensured everyone achieved their very own personal Bests and again well done to all. A full list of the finishing results can be found at http://www.precisiontiming.net.
Happy running to all from your colleagues in Sligo AC.

Fantastic Event, Thanks Ray.

On behalf of the Sligo AC committee I would like to thank all those who participated in the Run With Ray 5K today, I would also like to congratulate all those who ran their first 5K, I hope you all enjoyed the experience and we look forward to seeing you all at the next event which will be the Carney 10K on Easter Monday. I would also like to thank our very special Guests Ray Darcy, Mairead Farrell and of course Will all from Today FM, we were also honoured to have Mr. Gerry Duffy well known endurance athlete and fantastic motivational speaker who also graced the roads and paths of Sligo today. A fantastic event which is thanks to all who participated so well done one and all from all you friends in Sligo AC. For more pictures just check out Facebook.com. Happy Running.

Anna Fly's the flag for Sligo AC.

A massive well done to Sligo AC athlete Anna Reddin who is now setting Kentucky alight running a huge PB for 5,000m yesterday of 18.13 leading
from gun to tape to win, so plenty more there to come from Anna. Well done from all her friends in Sligo AC.