Sligo Road Race League 2011 gets underway!

The whole purpose of running the Sligo Credit Union Road Race League is to get as many people out as possible for as many races as possible, and to try to give acknowledgement to all the people who take part. The league, even though it will be competitive, should allow every person taking part to maximize their potential, and hopefully, see some improvement in their overall health and fitness as the league goes on. There are 30 prizes, of which each person will be only allowed to win one. If funds allow, more prizes may be added. The scoring system will hopefully make it accessible for as many people as possible, and will also make it competitive at the top, as there will be relatively little difference between coming first or second etc .
1. Tubbercurry - St. Patricks Day
2. Carney Lisadell 10k - Easter Monday
3. Maugherow 10k - Early June
4. Ransboro 10k - Late June
5. Horseshoe 10k - 5th August
6. Dromahaire 4 mile - Early September
7. Sligo AC 8k - 17th September
8. Grange 10k - 2nd October
The Sligo Credit Union Road Race League starts this Thursday in Tubbercurry.
Scoring: Top 50 men and top 50 women will receive points in each race i.e. 50 points for first, 49 for second etc all the way to 1 for 50th. Entry to the league will be included in the entry to each race - once you are in the individual race, you are in the league. When the final league table is calculated the prizes will be awarded as follows:
Men - 1st, 2nd, 3rd,
Women 1st, 2nd, 3rd,
O40 Men 1,2,3,
O40 Women 1,2,3,
O50 Men 1,2,3,
O50 Women 1,2,3
Sligo North Leitrim Runner not already in Prizes Male and Female 1,2,3,4,5,6.
Special Award for any person who completes all 8 races. Dates of birth for categories to be on the day of first race i.e. 17/3. Each competitor is eligible for only one prize in the race league - Prizes in individual races are completely separate from the league.
For details search facebook for SligoRoadRaceLeague or email sligoroadraceleague@gmail.com, or call Mel on 0868169126

Sligo Juveniles excel at Connaught indoor Championships in Nenagh

There was plenty of gold, a few silver, a few bronze and a number of fine performances by Sligo AC’s up and coming stars. First up were the sprints where Sligo AC vests were very prominent across all age groups.
Mary Stenson got the ball rolling with a fine 5th place finish in the girls u-13 60m final that was swiftly followed up with a bronze medal for Graham Kerr in the u-14 boys 60m final. Then came Stacey Kerr with a smashing silver medal in the u-15 girls 60m, immediately followed by an impressive gold medal for Zak Irwin in the boys u-16. After Zak followed another gold medal, this time his training partner Kevin McGlynn won the u-19 boys 60m very convincingly. Ita Connell can also be very proud of her fine 6th place finish in the girls u-16 60m final.
On the outer track the 1,500m races were taking place where Sligo AC scooped more success with Killian O’Connor showing his form ahead of the All Ireland schools this weekend with a gun to tape victory in magnificent style, he later followed this gold medal with a bloodless win in the 3,000m. There was also fine performances in the 1500m by Aishan Patil finishing a close 4th and Orla Mulvihill in 7th place in the u-17’s category.
Sligo also enjoyed great success in field events with Colm Bourke claiming double gold in the boys u-18 triple and long jump, Ania Bednorz scooped gold in the u-18 triple jump and followed that up with a silver in the u-17 long jump. And new senior jump sensation Ciaran White in only his second competition took gold in the long jump nearly breaking 6metres for the first time and that was his second medal of the day adding to his bronze in the senior 60m final. Orla Mulvihill, Leo Doherty, Liam Kerrigan, Philip Hunter, Laura Joyce and Lauren Cadden jumped well in their first ever indoor competition and will have learned a lot from their experience.
Eimear Joyce and Liam Kerrigan did really well in their shot putt competitions and again would have learned so much from their experience. There was better luck on track for the walkers as Sligo dominated the male section claiming gold with Robby Kelly in the u-14 and National Champion Dylan Carty strode to victory in the boys u-16, he later added an impressive bronze medal in the 800m. Orla Delahunt was desperately unlucky not to claim bronze in the u-14 girls walk showing her potential and look forward to great things come the outdoors.
Sligo AC enjoyed even more success in the 800m with the impressive Caelainn McGonigle dominating from gun to tape to stride to an impressive victory and this is a really nice return to form for Caelainn. Sligo nearly added to Caelainn and Dylan’s medal in the 800m with Thomas Delahunt, Aishan Patil, Claire Conlon, Mark Connolly, Philip Hunter and Niall Simon all running excellent races to finish in close prominent positions.
The medal haul didn’t finish there with 2 more medals to come. First Leo Doherty finished a very close 2nd place in the boys u-12 600m, he can look forward to Nationals where he will have a great chance to turn the tables on his conqueror. And second; Zak Irwin winning the u-16 boys 200m in fine style, showing fine speed to blow his rivals away.
A big well done to all Sligo AC athletes who took part over the weekend and good luck to all who made it to Nationals where the first weekend will take place in Magherafelt, co Derry in 2 weeks time.

Sligo AC News: Bundoran 10 miler & National 10k

Bundoran 10 mile Road Race: The first runner home in the excellent time of 50:18 seconds was Derry man Paddy Hamilton, who had over a two-minute advantage over his nearest rival, young sligoman Patrick Brennan (Letterkenny AC) in 52:56. Taking the third rung on the winners’ rostrum was Ferbane’s Paul Buckley in another respectable time of 54:14. 1st woman home across the line on the day to the beautiful coastline of Bundoran was Belfast's Breege Connolly in another excellent time of 59:23, followed home by Tir Chonaill AC’s Fiona Stack in 1:04:26 seconds and Sligo's Roseanne Mitchell in 1:07:40 in third. Well done to all the Sligo AC members members that competed, times are listed below;
Richard Gorman 58.52
Mel Casserly 60.50
John Whelan 65.26
Enda Dineen 66.31
Paul Deering 67.27
Rory Connor 67.29
Roseanne Mitchell 67.50
Fintan Whelan 72.01
Enda Whelan 72.09
Cindy McCarthy 72.54
Willie Parke 74.22
Carina Clarke 80.34
Deirdre Deering 80.39
Bernie Flynn 82.09
Hubert Beatty 82.52
Vanessa Foley 84.12
Dermot Cunningham 85.03
Sheila Lehany 86.35
Aisling Gillen 90.07
Jill Connor 97.24

National 10k Championships

Any club member wishing to run in the National 10k Road Race championships on the 10th April in the Phoenix Park, Dublin (in conjunction with the Great Ireland Run) should please contact Rory on 0872660372 by friday 11th march at the latest stating what category you wish to be entered in. Your club registration must be paid in order to run as a member of Sligo AC. Thanking you in advance for your time with this issue.

Sligo AC National Indoors: Juvenile Update

A number of Sligo AC juvenile athletes made the trip to Belfast as guests in the Northern Ireland Championships. With the impressive Odyssey arena the venue, this was a real special introduction to big competition to Sligo's up and coming stars. On the Saturday morning of competition Graham Kerr set the ball rolling by winning his 60m heat in impressive style, followed immediately by his big sister Stacey, she too was victorious in winning her 60m heat in fine style and a new personal best of 8.35 seconds. While Graham and Stacey prepared for their finals Caelainn McGonigle strode to victory in her 800m time trial but as she was racing against the clock her time was good enough for 4th place overall.
After Caelainn came Dylan Carty in the boys U-16 walk where he was a very impressive winner lapping all but one to win in fine style. Onto the finals of the 60m for girls where Stacey drawn in lane 5 got off to a slow start but quickly made up ground to finish in a very tight 4th place behind National record holder for 60m u13 and Celtic Games champion Grace Lawlor. Stacey can look forward to the Connaught indoors which take place in Nenagh on the 5th of March. After a long delay they eventually got the boys u13 under way which saw Graham Kerr power out of the blocks in his usual fashion to claim a very close 4th place finish.
Onto Sundays competition where we had a sole representitive in Zak Irwin and he didn't disappoint. First he set onto the track in the 200m, where for the first time ever he tasted defeat, this event was a huge learning curve for him as he later showed in the 60m. In heat 1 he strolled to an easy win in a very fast time of 7.48 seconds, later on that day he bettered that time to the final by some way in a time of 7.42 seconds. This really is classy running and he too can look forward to both a fine indoor and outdoor season ahead.
On the topic of juvenile athletes we had 5 competing in Senior competition. Tommy Casey and Ania Bednorz both really do need a special mention as first Tommy on Saturday night obliterated his personal best for 3,000m to qualify for the final. His time of 8min 27seconds is truly top class running and puts him right up there with the best juniors in the Country, he went on the next day to back this performance up with a time of 8min 32 seconds in the final, this shows the stregnth and character that it takes to be a world class runner which Tommy will be some day. And with Ania only 15 years of age competing for her first time in senior competition and still only in her first year of competition, she finsihed a very credible 5th place in the final of the senior womans triple jump on Sunday afternoon. Ciaran White (long jump), Rianne McHugh(800m) and Kevin McGlynn (60m) can all be proud of their performances and look forward to building on them through the indoor season and onto outdoor season. The future looks bright in Sligo athletics with so many young athletes competing at this level of competition. Well done to all Sligo athletes who took part in this excellent competition over the weekend and best of luck in their competitions ahead.

Sligo AC National Indoors Update: Running Shoes

North Sligo golden girl Mary Cullen again stole the headlines after running a stunning performance at last weekend’s Woodie’s D.I.Y. Athletics Ireland Indoor Championships at the Odyssey arena in Belfast . In what was a great weekend for Sligo Athletics Club, Cullen won gold in the 1500m with a blistering last 300 metres to relegate the hot pre-race favourite Ciara Magean to third place. Considering that Mary had ran 3,000m in Birmingham just 24 hours earlier in a season’s best time of 8 minutes 53 seconds, puts into perspective her great performance. While Cullen was the only Sligo podium place, other Sligo athletes left there mark on what was a very exciting Championships. Popular Sligo A.C. athlete and coach Dermot McDermott reached his first ever championship final when he ran a personal best time of 1 minute 54.3 seconds. He went on to finish 6th in a high class final, recording exactly the same time. The Men’s 3,000m attracted such a huge field that it required the running of heats on Saturday evening.
To see two Sligo A.C. finalists on Sunday afternoon was gratifying. In reaching the final, Tommy Casey ran a lifetime best of 8 minutes 27 seconds. Alberto Sanchez also recorded a personal best when he reached the final in 8 minutes 28 seconds. In the final, Sanchez finished 9th with Casey in 10th place. Another Sligo A.C. athlete who left Belfast on Sunday evening happy was triple jumper Annia Bednow who finished 4th in the triple jump. While the Sligo senior athletes did the county proud in the senior championships, a bunch of promising juveniles proved that the production line of athletes is top quality with some great performances in the warm up races before the main event. Wins for Dylan Carty in the 1,000mwalk and Zak Irwin in the 60m sprint insured celebrations in the Sligo A.C. camp. A third place for Graham Kerr and great sprinting by his sister Stacey were also impressive. Cailim McGonagle ran a personal best in the 800m while Rianne McHugh, despite her age, did not look out of place in the senior 800m. While Mary Cullen upset the odds in the 1,500m, Leitrim race walker Laura Reynolds also caused a big surprise with victory in the 3,000m walk. The west is really awake in athletics.
Next weekend in Santry, Dublin , the final senior cross country takes place with the staging of the national inter clubs championships. Sligo A.C. will have a team in the senior men’s race where David Kelly will lead the team. Anna Reddin will lead a junior Sligo A.C. team who will be taking part in these championships for the first time in many years. Good luck to all then.

Connacht Development Squad: Sligo Athlete List.

Connacht Development Squad, Sunday February 20th, Dangan, Galway, 12 noon.
Please note, athletes will not be notified individually of selection to the squad as per vote at congress. Notification will go through club or school only. Could clubs and schools please notify athletes of their selection to Connacht Development Squad and their invitation to attend the above squad days.
Sligo AC Athletes (boys)

Connell Boal,Colm Bourke, David Lynch, Dylan Carty, Jack Roberts, James McGeough, Killian O'Connor, Shane Kilcawley, Tommy Casey
Sligo AC Athletes (girls)
Anna Reddin, Claire Conlon, Ennia Bedzoz, Rianne McHugh, Sara McGeough, Stacey Kerr

North Sligo Athletes (boys)
Ben Roberts, Cian McBride,Feidhlim McGowan, Kevin McGlynn, Leigh Currid, Lorcan Roddy,William Crowe
North Sligo Athletes (girls)
Rachel Oates, Sarah Oates, Sinead Keogh, Sorcha Fallon, Tory McGlynn
Sign in at 12 noon (upstairs meeting room in Dangan pavilion)
Followed by presentation and workshop on hydration from Ruth Kilcawley, dietitian.
Coaching session from 1pm. Wrap up at 2.30pm.