At the IUAA Track & Field our members were competing as part of the WIT Viking AC. Aaron Smith secured a hard earned silver over 60m hurdles at AIT Athlone. A really strong second half of the race saw him take 2nd place. David McDonald also took a fine silver in the men’s 60m sprint final with a new pb of 6.89 showing some great form. Well done gentlemen.

The destination for the Sunday drive this week was Enniscorthy. Slaney Olympic were hosting their annual 10k today on a new 2 loop course for the first time. Feedback was good despite the biting cold wind which Slaney promise will be fixed next time out !
We had a total of 13 members braving the cold winds : Dermot Foley 41'55, Finbarr Bradley 43'29, Gavin Hayes 44'59, Jesse Kielthy 46'36, Michael Kinsella 47'00, Martin Kelly 47"34, Paula Gondard 48'53, Fran Power 51'24, Mary Gaynor 51'27, Louise Henderson 56'18, Sinead Ryan 1'05'11, Helen Sinnott 1'08'07 & Siobhan Doyle 1'11'56. John Dier, Bridie McGuire & Sharron Dier all started but unfortunately had to retire during the race.
Well done to all our athletes and thank you to Slaney Olympic for a well organised event and thanks for the superb hospitality afterwards.

Ciara Dolan was 16th in the National under 17 development cross country yesterday in the beautiful grounds of Avondale House. Martin Kelly was 11th in the M65 National Masters cross country st the same venue, well done to both athletes.

• Saturday is Parkrun day for a lot of people. For 6 club members today at Wexford Racecourse Parkrun a windy morning awaited however 3 returned PB times. Dermot Foley 20'34, Gavin Hayes 21'32, Fran Power 23'46, Ollie Stack 25'46, Sinead Ryan 31'21 & Sharron Dier was today's tail walker in 52'34 at today's event. Fran, Ollie & Sinead have continued to show improvements since joining the club and today improved their PB over 5k. Great to see training paying off with improvements in times, keep up the good work.

Thursday saw the annual Credit Union 5k Night Run take place starting on the Quays. A great local event organised by local people. Around 700 people of all ages signed up to take on the route, 18 of whom were Menapians. A well laid out course on a superb evening for running. Club members who took part were :

Dermot Foley 19’34

Finbarr Bradley 20’29

Gavin Hayes 21'00

Alex Donohue 21’44

Paula Gondard 23’28

Tadhg Henderson 23’31

John Dier 23’33

Fran Power 23’33

Mylo Perry 26’55

Enda O’Sullivan 28’06

Mathew Perry 29’48

Jesse Murphy 30’31

Sinead Ryan 31’01

Ollie Stack 31’02

Sharron Dier 39’34

Emma Perry 41’35

Jesse Kielthy 43’43

Bridie McGuire 45’47

Congratulations everyone on an evening of great running with a few P.B.'s thrown in for good measure.

• At the Saturday morning Racecourse Parkrun the following club members took part : Dermot Foley 20.44, Finbarr Bradley 21.17, Gavin Hayes 21.50, Martin Kelly 24.19, John Dier 24.30, Fran Power 25.08, Orla Redmond 28.59, Sinead Ryan 32.23, and a welcome return for Samantha Donegan 49.54. Well done to everyone.
• Liam Bohan, Jack Halpin, Ciara Dolan and Roisín O'Reilly took part in the South Leinsters Schools Cross Country on Thursday last. Roisín & Ciara have qualified to progress onto Leinster Schools Cross Country.
• At the Leinsters in Athlone on Saturday we had a number of athletes competing. Ailbhe White took an impressive U16 Silver over 400m. Jack Halpin tackling the 1k walk (a tough technical event) taking home U15 Bronze. Eimear Halpin ran U17 400m and finished strongly in 5th place in the final.. Ciara Dolan put in a strong performance finishing in 8th place in the U18 1500m posting a new PB . Kara Morrissey competed over 60m U13 just missing out on a place in the final but happy to claim a PB. Trinii Jurisoo jumped really well to finished in 5th place with a PB in the U17 Long Jump. April Keeling took a brilliant Silver over 60m in the U19.
• On Sunday at the Leinsters in Athlone we were again well represented. Ailbhe White took on 200m finishing in an excellent 4th place. Eimear Halpin ran U17 200m and was very unlucky not to progress. Kara Morrissey made the final of the U14 Long Jump, jumping superbly to finish in 5th place claiming a PB in the process. Ruby Reynolds stormed her heat over 60m hurdles reaching the final whereas close finish saw her finish an excellent 4th place.
Thanks to our coaches and officials who gave their time.e freely this weekend.
• After all the impressive performances we can announce that April, Ailbhe, Jack & Ruby are through to All Irelands so congratulations to all athletes.

19th January

Saturdays Wexford Racecourse Parkrun was a very very cold start and saw a reduced number of members taking part due to Sundays Cross Country.
Gavin Hayes was well warmed up with a 21.09, another new club member Oliver Stack 27.2on his 1st outing as a club member, Sinead Ryan 31.56 & Bridie McGuire in 44.53 completed the club links to this weeks run. Fair play on such a cold day.
Sunday was Cross Country day as the Masters County Cross Country and Juvenile relays took place in a cold and sunny Adamstown. Our under 12 girls took home well deserved bronze medals with Laragh Walsh, Lucy McCormack Orla Dolan and Meabh McCormack flying through the course with infectious smiles. They were followed by the boys under 12 team of Josh Nolan, Jesse Murphy Rory Henderson and Alex Lonergan who ran an excellent race. Our girls under 14 just missed on bronze coming 4th Ali Wilson taking the first leg, handing to Sadhb Mulcahy to Rosie Jeffares and Ava McCormack cheered on by super sub Millie Stone. Well done to all our juveniles and thanks to parents for making the journey. Thanks also to our coaches Heather, Tracey and Terry and Louise,
Well done our ladies in the Masters finishing 19th 26th and 30th team was Catherine O'Connor, Mary Gaynor (who won her age category), Helen Sinnott and Louise Henderson. Unfortunately the very bumpy ground did not suit Loiuse and she had to withdraw after twisting her ankle. Speedy recovery to Louise. Well done to our men, Dermot Foley, Donal Grant, Martin Kelly and John Dier. Martin Kelly took the over 60 gold. At this time we do not have the mens finish positions. Thanks to our chairman Mick McKeon for his support on the course.
Just a mention to all our juveniles who lined the finish to cheer the adult members home creating a great atmosphere.

*On Thursday the Wexford Schools Cross Country race took place in Adamstown. Morgan Haydon, Ciara Dolan, Eimear Halpin, Ailbhe White, Conor Wycherley, Jack Halpin & Liam Bohan all competed for their Secondary School. The Presentation Intermediate team placed 1st & Loreto Intermediate Girls placed 2nd while St. Peters boys won the overall Donna Foley Memorial Cup. Great results from our athletes, well done.
*Saturday at the Racecourse Parkrun saw 6 members taking part. Gavin Hayes 21.06, Jesse Kielthy 21.51, Oliver Stack 27.39, Orla Redmond 28.33, Bridie McGuire 43.46 & Fran Power 45.29. Keep up the good work.
*Also on Saturday in Athlone the Irish Life Health Junior & U23 National Indoor Championships took place. Roisin O'Reilly stepped up to take on 1500m in a tough race secured a well earned 4th place. David McDonald competed at 200m and qualified 4th fastest going into the final, then claimed a bronze medal. Well done to both of these dedicated athletes.
*Sunday some of our road athletes took a quick trip up the road to Ballymurn to run the 5k in aid of Temple Street. A really well organised race with superb refreshments afterwards which is a credit to Bobby and his hard working team. Well done to Donal Grant 20.23, Gavin Hayes 20.44, Finbarr Bradley 20.57, Alex Donohue 21.28, Michael Kinsella 21.38, Paula Gondard 23.32, Mary Gaynor 24.02, Helen Sinnott 25.01 & Louise Henderson 27.1. Great to see a big turnout supporting a worthy cause.
*We had 6 members tackle the Charlie Curran Memorial Run in Carlow. We had John Dier 39.40, Fran Power 43.44, recent recruit Oliver Stack 43.56, Sinead Ryan 51.57, Sharron Dier 1.01.39 & Bridie McGuire 1.10.28 all taking part representing the club, well done.
*Sunday also saw the conclusion of the National Indoor League 2020. Our athletes spent two days covering all indoor events. Our teams were  Aaron Tierney-Smyth, Conor Wilson, Michael Halpin, Liam Berry, Adam Leahy, Michael Deady, Dale Murphy-Butler, Eimear Halpin, Roisín O'Reilly, April Keeling, Clodagh Dunbar & Triini Jurisoo, well done and also well done to those that guested in events on the day Catherine O'Connor & Ciara Dolan. There were new distances and events undertaken by some and personal bests on each day by others. A fantastic club event undertaken by our young teams.

This is how to show the younger generations how it is done. Martin Kelly ran the Raheny 5 in Dublin with his grandson. What  a special moment for both !

Sunday saw the return of the popular St Killians race the Ferrycarrig 5 mile. A fantastic local race which attracts a high calibre field each year. Many athletes travel to attend and the race has become a staple of most runners race calender. We had a total of 15 competing today : Dermot Foley 32.41, Finbarr Bradley 35.28, Michael Kinsella 36.49, Jesse Kielthy 37.09, Martin Kelly 37.24, John Dier 38.27, Paula Gondard 38.35, Terry Walsh 41.02, Fran Power 43.48, Louise Henderson 45.32, Laura Halpin 47.18, Sinaed Ryan 54.11, Siobhan Doyle 57.39, Sharron Dier 1.03.15 and Bridie McGuire 1.09.31. Well done to everyone who competed today and thenks to St Killians for organising a great event and refreshments afterwards, great to see this event return after it's 1 year break.

The Croghan Chase took place today and a few club members took the spin to the North of the County to take part. In the 8k race we had Fran Power representing. In the 4k we had Alex Donohue, Sinead Ryan and Clodagh Dunbar. Well done to all 4 for getting stuck in over the Christmas break.

Congratulations to Alex who finished in 2nd place and Clodagh who finished in 1st place showing great form coming into 2020.

A special mention to our youngest member Molly who took on the 150m kids race for her debut as a Menapian.

Also well done to John & Sharron Dier who took part in the Slaney Olympic Christmas Cracker recently.

The Christmas holiday saw reduced club activity with some training sessions taking place but not all.

On Christmas Day we had members working up an appetite before dinner at the Racecourse Parkrun. Martin Kelly 23.20, Tadhg Henderson 24.20, Louise Henderson 27.52 & Sinead Ryan 32.18 all ran the 5k before heading off to tackle the Christmas dinner. Well done to John & Sharron Dier who added in an extra parkrun for people to run.

On St Stephen's Day we had a number of members and their families taking part in the annual Goal Mile on Wexford Quayfront.

Saturday 28th was a return to the normal parkrun and 10 members went to stretch their legs. Dermot Foley 20.23, Finbarr Bradley 23.16, Martin Kelly 24.59, John Dier 24.31, Terry Walsh 25.02, Fran Power 26.09, Orla Redmond 28.39, Sinead Ryan 32.35, Luke & Janette Mulvanney 52.47 (in their final act as Menapians, wishing you well in the future).

Saturday 14th December was a very cold and breezy morning but this did not deter club members heading to Wexford Racecourse for the weekly parkrun. Dermot Foley was home 4th in 20.40, Martin Kelly 21st in 25.51, Tadhg Henderson in 26th in 26.47, Sinead Ryan was 44th in 34.18 and Fran Power was 53rd in 47.31. We also had John and Sharron Dier along with Louise Sadhb and Rory Henderson on volunteer duty.

Saturday morning saw club members tackle both the Wexford Racecourse Parkrun and also the Waterford AC Half Marathon. At the Parkrun Finbarr Bradley (21.00), John Dier (23.25), Fran Power (25.58), Sinead Ryan (34.02) and Bridie McGuire (44.08) all took part in the free and timed 5k run. In Waterford 3 members tackled the Half Marathon distance. Tadhg Henderson (1.51), Donal Grant(1.58) & Enda O'Sullivan (2.04) all represented the club and enjoyed the run to earn their woolly hats !

County Team Bronze Medal

In Lingstown the County Intermediate Cross Country took place on a windy and cold day. Ladies were first to tackle the course with 4k to run. Well done to Alex Donohue Helen Sinnott and Louise Henderson who ran well in the tough conditions. Special mention to Alex who was involved in a sprint finish and just missed out on a bronze medal. Next up was the mens race as they set out to complete an 8k race. We had Dermot Foley, Neal O'Grady, Paul Donovan, Martin Kelly and John Dier all running the race and we have a bronze team medal to celebrate. Congratulations to all our runners who braved the wild day and a special word of congratulation to of Mens County Bronze medal winners.

Well done.

See below for full results Ladies 4km intermediate race.

1 - Clodagh Kelly (Croghan) 16-50

2 - Nicola Murphy (United Striders) 18-07

3 - Sonya Byrne (US) 19-31

4 - Alex Donohoe (Menapians) 19-33

5 - Catherine Power Ronan (US) 20-55

6 - Sandra Young (US) 20-58

7 - Helen Sinnott (Menapians) 22-00

8 - Aoife Hanrahan (US) 22-16

9 - Gretta Tyrrell (Slaney Olympic) 22-35

10 - Aine Cullen (US) 23-02

11 - Louise Henderson (Menapians) 24-23

12 - Annis Kehoe (SO) 24-23

Teams:

Gold - United Striders (2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th) - 16pts

Mens 8km intermediate race:

1 - Denis Whelan (Slaney Olympic) 31-37

2 - Paul Flanagan (DMP) 31-54

3 - Alex Williams (Croghan) 32-08

4 - Tomás Kavanagh (SBR) 32-12

5 - Liam Collins (DMP) 32-15

6 - John Foley (SO) 32-32

7 - Dara Cloake (SO) 32-36

8 - Brian Maher (Croghan) 32-58

9 - Billy Reck (SO) 33-12

10 - Pat O' Callaghan (United Striders) 33-20

11 - Will Doyle (SO) 33-31

12 - Dermot Foley (Menapians) 33-36

13 - Eddie Kennedy (DMP) 34-05

14 - Neal O' Grady (Menapians) 34-48

15 - Ger Wallace (US) 35-37

16 - John Kent (US) 36-18

17 - Ger Power (Kilmore) 36-26

18 - Emmett Malone (US) 37-23

19 - Paul Donohoe (Menapians) 38-28

20 - Adrian Reville (Kilmore) 38-48

21 - Martin Kehoe (US) 39-19

22 - Martin Kelly (Menapians) 40-49

23 - John Dier (Menapians) 43-14

Teams:

Gold - Slaney Olympic (1st, 6th, 7th, 9th) - 23pts

Silver - United Striders (10th, 15th, 16th, 18th) - 59pts

Bronze - Menapians (12th, 14th, 19th, 22nd) - 67pts

Our Saturday morning Parkrunners were out again yesterday at Wexford Racecourse. Dermot Foley 19.40 was first Menapian home followed by Martin Kelly 23.57, Tadhg Hendrson 24.32, Fran Power 25.16, Orla Redmond 29.12 , Sinead Ryan 31.57, Siobhan Doyle 34.07, Sharron Dier 40.00 & Bridie McGuire in 47.59. Also John Dier was Run Director o the day. Good to see so many members using the Parkrun regularly.

Roisin O'Reilly finished a hard earned 9th place today in Abbotstown at the Cross Country. Well deserved for such a hard working athlete.