Club Weekly Notes October 2017

On Sunday 8th October the Juvenile Uneven Age, Intermediate and Masters Cross Country  Championships were held in Currow, hosted by An Riocht AC. Weather conditions were ideal and the one kilometer loop was solid underfoot with very little climbing.

In the Juveniles first up was the U9 Girls 750m Jessie Lynch got individual gold, Rachel Boyle finished in the top six with individual medal & Leah McCarthy running in her very first race ran very well and finished strong. They won team silver.

The U9 Boys equally did very well with Isaac Vickers finishing in 2nd place. Next to finish was Kevin O'Shea, Jack Teahan, Ryan Vickers & Evan Spillane. With their combined positions they got team silver. 

In the U11 Girls 1500m Mairead Walsh was 4th & Grainne Costello finished in 6th. 

In the boys U11 we had Tiarnan Lynch and Senan Kennedy, who had a great run.
In the U13 Girls 2500m, Eabhan McCarthy had a great run to finish in 2nd place overall, Doireann O'Shea just finished outside the individual medals. Just behind Doireann was Ellen Kelliher. They won team silver. 

Cormac Costello was our only runner in the U13 Boys race. 

U15 3500m, Shauna McCarthy continued he dominance in cross country running when she added the U15 title to her win in the U14's last weekend. Natasha Myers and Elaine McMahon also competed and did very well. They earned themselves team gold. 

We had four Boys competing in the U15's. Cian Spillane, running under age, was part of the lead group from the start, close behind was Conal O'Mahony. Cian took the lead with two other athletes close behind. With 400m to go the pace increased considerably as each runner attacked to try take the lead. Cian held them all off to cross the finish line in first place. A great finish by all competitors. Conal also got individual medal. With Michael Brosnan and Thomas Clifford they got team gold.

In the Intermediate & Masters 4Km race we had nine ladies competing over a range of age categories. Maria McCarthy got off to a great start and took the lead very early on in the race. Maria, no stranger to cross country held the lead and continued to open the gap over the four laps. Maria won comfortably taking gold in her age category. Second home for our club was Mary Daly taking gold in her age category. Mary added the Intermediate title to her Novice win last week. A great achievement. Just behind Mary was Caitriona Barry, first in her age category. Marie McKenna finished well up with second place in Intermediate and O40. With some great running from Mary O'Shea (3rd O40), Bernie O'Mahony (3rd O40), Grainne Tierney, Mags Moriarty(2nd O60) & Pauline Joseph.
The ladies won Team Gold & Bronze in Intermediate, Team Gold & Silver in Masters O35. It was great to see such a big turnout from our Masters ladies.

In the Master & Intermediate Mens 7Km race we had six athletes competing. Arthur Fitzgerald returned to cross country racing after a four year absence. Artur settled in very quickly and was close to to lead group from the start. Arthur was first home from our club to finish fourth in the Intermediates. Next was George McCarthy, 2nd in O45. Following closely behind was Dermot Dineen, Brendan Lynch, Garvin Cronin and Denis Riordan. With all efforts combined the men won silver in Intermediate and silver in Masters O35. 

Well done to everyone who competed and contributed to the success of the club. Special thanks to Shauna McCarthy who baked the wonderful chocolate brownies & to her sisters Eabha, Rhian & Leah who made the chocolate rice buns. They went down a treat after some hard running.

Next up on Sunday 15th October: Juvenile Even Age Relays and Senior Championships. Venue is Killorglin, just before entrance to Killorglin town from Tralee/Milltown side. Hosted by Star Of The Laune AC. First race, women's Senior at 11am sharp. Juvenile relays start straight afterwards with U10 4x250m, U12 4x250m, U14 4x500m & U16 3x500m. The Men's Senior will be the final race of the day. Please be at the venue for 10:30am.


Club Training:
Juvenile Training is on every Tuesday 6pm and Thursdays 6:30pm in Farranfore GAA grounds. Open to all registered juveniles aged 8yrs (Born 2007) and upwards. This will be in preparation for the Cross Country Championships €2 per session.

Maria's Strength, Endurance & Flexibility Exercise Classes every Tuesday starting @ 7pm at the Sports Hall in Farranfore. €5 per class

Secondary School/Junior / Senior training on every Thursday at 6:30pm in GAA grounds Farranfore. This is endurance training for cross country preparation. €2 club member, €4 non club member.

Athletic's Fixtures
Sunday 15th October: County Juvenile Cross Country Relays, Senior and Junior Cross Country Championships. Killorglin @11am
Sunday 22nd October: Munster Juvenile Even Age, Novice & U/23 Cross Country Championships, in Clarecastle, Co.Clare @ 11:30am .
Sunday 22nd October: : Autumn Open Cross Country Festival, Sport Ireland, National Sports Campus.
Sunday 29th Oct.: AAI National Marathon Championships, Dublin
Sunday 12th November : Munster Juvenile Uneven Age & Senior Cross Country Championships, in Tipperary (venue tbc).
Saturday 18th Nov.: British & Irish Masters Cross Country Championships, Derry
Sunday 19th November: Munster Masters & Juvenile Inter-Club Cross Country Championships, Sunday 19th November in Cork (venue tbc).
Sunday 26th Nov.: AAI Senior, Junior & Juvenile Even Age Cross Country Championships, Abbottstown
Sunday 3rd December: Munster Juvenile "B", Junior & Intermediate Cross Country Championships, in Kerry (venue tbc).

See Kerry & Munster Athletics website for full fixture lists & timetable for events.