Sligo AC News Update: Fit4Life League

Four highly competitive races gone and two to go in this years Autumn Fit4Life League and Corina Clarke continues to hold a commanding lead from Hubert Beatty who is just ahead of Janyst Pawel and Tony Parkinson. From previous years we all know that the final shakeup can change totally even over a single race! The final two races are over two miles in Hazelwood Forest, Calry, on Saturday 4th and 11th December starting at 12 noon.
On December 11th at 7pm the presentation of prizes to the top fifteen in the League will take place in the Southern Hotel at 7pm with some finger food and an opportunity for all club members to have a Christmas drink. Top ten athletes so far as follows;
clarke, corina 10pts
beatty, hubert 64pts
janyst, pawel 66pts
parkinson, tony 70pts
teape, bernadine 87pts
sweeney, trevor 96pts
whelan, john 102pts
hosey, lorraine 105pts
sullivan, james 109pts
martin, louise 133pts

Sligo AC News: Athletics update

Sligo AC Mini League
Sligo AC 9 to 12 got under way on Monday night at Sligo IT. Four teams in this category were the Rovers, Ozzies, Flyers and Gladiators. The first competition was the hurdle shuttle run with a tie at top place between the Rovers and the Ozzies with the Gladiators coming a close second.
Rovers 10 pts
Ozzies 10 pts
Gladiators 8pts
Flyers 6 pts
Next week sees the league take on speed bounce and standing long jump and this could see the tables change.
Fit4Life News
Race number 4 of this Autumns Fit4Life Series is a 2.5k race next tuesday 16th November at the same venue as last week (Cleveragh). All participating athletes have been sent an email with position and instructions by Club Secretary Terry Hayes. The time is the gap you start behind the first runner eg 5.40 means you start 5mins and 40 secs behind the first runner / walker.
The group letter is to indicate when you start. A followed by B,C etc and makes it easy to get people off at the correct time. All you need to remember is your number and group. On the right is an alphabetical list of your name , number and group to make it easy to find. At registration next tuesday just call out your number and group and pay 2 euro. please ensure that you doublecheck your number as we had to change a couple from last week due to duplications
Inter County Cross Country Championships 2010
The cross country season is now in full swing and on Sunday Nov. 28th we have the National Inter County senior championship in Derry. Few will forget that in 2009 the Sligo County team won bronze medals in the senior men's race for the first time ever. The following team has been selected for the 2010 renewal.
SEAMUS SOMERS
EMMETT DUNLEAVEY
TOMMIE KELLY
ULTAN MC NASSER
TOMMIE CARROLL
TRISTEN DRUIT
JOHN HENNIGAN
THOMAS MC BRIDE
DERMOT MC DERMOTT

Sligo AC News Update: Hollymount 10k & Fit4Life

The Hollymount International Road Races took place today, November 7th, in the village of Hollymount, Co. Mayo. Hollymount is situated west of Claremorris and these races have been running continously since 1967. Its always been highly recommended for both the serious and fun runner in the West of Ireland and beyond. Due to the untimely death of a respected athletics figure in the area, Mayo AC Secretary Padraic Cullina, the 8k Fit4Life was postponed but the other three events took place as planned. Sligo AC once again had a sizable contingent present & would untertake to retain the senior team trophy narrowly won from Mayo AC and GCH in 2009. The 3k Junior Boys'/Girls' Race took place at 1pm with the 3k Senior Ladies Race following soon after at 1.30pm. At 2pm the 10k Senior Men's International Race kicked off with Sligo athletes such as Emmett Dunleavy (pictured), Danny Hannon, Seamus Somers, Michael Clancy, Vincent Flannery, Paul Deering, Enda Whelan, Declan Byrne and Fintan Whelan toeing the line. Some high calibre athletes worked hard at the top with Sean Connolly finishing in 30.36 closely followed by Brian maher (30.39), with evergreen Gerry Ryan coming home third in 31.40. 4th place went to Sligoman, Emmett Dunleavy, who on his return to competition after a long injury layoff finished in a time of 32.50. A special mention goes to Fintan Whelan who recorded a personal best of 41.49 whilst Sligo AC Team A came 2nd overall with the club's Team B coming 8th out of 15 teams. Well done to all who competed. Full results to follow...

Meanwhile the 3rd race in this seasons Autumn Fit4Life took place on Tuesday 2nd November. Over 130 athletes showed up in blustery conditions to participate in the 2.5k course along Sligo's riverside. Some impressive times were recorded on this undulating course especially considering the wintery conditions. The next Fit4Life race will be vital for the competitors at the top end of the table as they try to stretch their lead from their nearest rivals. Top ten athletes in the 3rd race are as follows;

1st: hardiman, james 9.55

2nd: clarke, corina 11.58

3rd: gallagher, philip 9.03

4th: teape, bernadine 12.42

5th: mcglone, kevin 9.07

6th: hayes, aideen 14.17

7th: whelan, john 9.01

8th: curran, barbara 13.18

9th: kelly, greg 10.02

10th: pintha, cathenide 13.19

Sligo AC News update: Cross Country & Fit4Life

The 3rd race (2k) in the autumn Fit4Life series takes place this evening, Tuesday 2nd November. Athletes are to meet at the green area (playground) across from Smyths Toys. Start is scheduled for 6.30pm but please register at 6pm to avoid delays. As it is a short race we will run letters A to Z as one race and then from letters AA when the first group finishes.
The second race should start at 6.45 approx so plenty of time for a good warm up. The course will start at the beginning of the walking / cycling track at Doorly Park and head in the direction of the Sports Complex for 1k, staying on the cycling path. The turn around point is 100ms past the boat house ,(where club members usually start our hill sessions/runs) and turn and come back to the start. Good luck to all who take part tonight!
The conditions last weekend in Ballina for the Connacht Cross Country under 12 to under 18, Masters and Intermediate were ideal but a stiff hill and an increase in distances meant that there was a premium on stamina for the hardy participants. As with many Sligo AC teams , the absence of some key runners deprived teams of medal chances but all who did compete qualified for the Nationals in Derry at the end of November.
Girls under 12 were first up and Ellen Mc Geough with a top 12 finish led the team to a close fourth. Leo Doherty at under 12 lifted a bronze medal and here the team exceeded all expectations to finish fourth as they were badly weakened by absentees. Caeloinn Mc Gonigle in 8th place led the under 14 girls home while Philip Hunter and Keenan Deering won team gold for the County. The under 16 girls led by Sara Mc Geough who was just edged out of bronze medal position won team gold while Gavin Foye and Thomas Delahunt at under 16 and Shane Kilcawley under 18 were the clubs top finishers. The Intermediate for women was won by Eimear O Brien while John and Fintan Whelan were well up in the mens race. The Ladies Masters led by Roseanne Mitchell and supported by Cindy Mc Carthy, Aisling Cawley and Deirdre Deering took silver medals. Rory Connor led Trevor Hunter ,Eamon Reddan, Declan Byrne, Paul Deering , Enda Whelan and Terry Hayes to a close fourth in the Masters Men. Well done to all who competed from all at the club.

Dublin Marathon 2010

A record number of athletes, over 13,000, turned out for the 2010 Dublin City Marathon on Monday last. With such a huge number taking part it was only reasonable to assume that a large amount of athletes from County Sligo would also be undertaking the challenge. For some it was simply their maiden voyage in the hope that they would get around the challenging distance, for other more experienced athletes the challenge was to better their previous attempts. In order to check on your own times or simply to see how a colleague or friend fared out please click here to be directed to the official marathon website. The club would like to congratulate all participants who undertook this challenge and hope that all gained the reward that they hoped and deserved with all the training that was undertaken. A specific mention goes to Sligo AC athlete Martin Conroy (pictured), who attempted his 1st marathon and finished in a very respectable time of 2:35:48. This finishing time helped the Sligo AC team move up the pecking order in the National Marathon Championships which was run in conjunction with the Dublin Marathon. Conroy was hoping to achieve a time of 2:30 minutes but suffered cramp in the latter stages of the race. Regardless he placed 43rd overall out of over 13,000 competitors thus it can be regarded as a very successful achievement.

Sligo AC News; Running Shoes

We know that we are about to embark on long winter nights when we realise it’s Dublin City Marathon time again. Yes, many Sligo, Leitrim and Mayo athletes will make the annual pilgrimage to the capital city next weekend for this annual race which incorporates the A.A.I. national marathon. While a lot of people making the journey will be very experienced athletes with very little to learn, a certain percentage will be first time marathon runners. I always say that running the actual marathon is the easy bit. It’s the training for the marathon that’s the difficult part. The last six days leading into the race, however, can be very crucial. While carbo loading and hydration are very important, it is also important to keep running every day and while the volume of running would be much less than the previous weeks it’s not to stop altogether. This was brought home to me during the European Championships in Barcelona during the summer. Rob Heffernan raced the 20kms very hard and was unlucky not to win a medal; eventually finishing 4th. Three days later he was due to race the 50kms which is some five miles longer than a marathon. He trained in the days between the races. Less than 24 hours before the 50kms he went to the track and did 5 x 200 metres fast. I would advise intending marathon runners to do something similar on Sunday next. A session such as this will stimulate muscles and wake the body up for the gruelling race that lies ahead. It also gets the mind ready because running a marathon is almost as much about the state of your mind as the well being of your body. As I mentioned, this is the A.A.I national marathon and individual and team prizes are on offer. Sligo Athletic Club will have a senior team lining up at the start. Martin Conroy, who is better known as a track runner, will attempt his first marathon. Having run a 72 minute half marathon a couple of weeks ago, he will be well prepared. Seamus Somers likewise makes his marathon debut. Those two along with experienced marathon runners like Mel Casserly and Trevor Hunter will spearhead a strong team. Good luck to them and all North West athletes who take part.
The Gerry Farnon cross country races in the Phoenix Park, Dublin usually tick off the cross country season on the national stage. It was heartening then to see three young Sligo runners on the starting line last Sunday afternoon. North Sligo athlete Thomas McBride is working his way back to top class competitive action and can be happy with this outing. Tommy Casey paid the price for an ultra fast first mile but this race will bring him on a lot for the tough tests that lie ahead in the coming months. The revelation of the race was the other Sligo A.C. athlete Alberto Gomez who finished 7th overall.
Congratulations to Sligo A.C. athlete Eimear O’Brien who led home 140 women in the Sligo 5k women’s only race. This was another very successful Sligo Athletic Club promotion which was held in conjunction with Sligo Sports partnership. Finally this week, well done to all the Sligo juvenile athletes who turned out on last Saturday morning for the Sligo County A.A.I cross country championships.