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.