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.