South Leinster T&F / Enniscorthy AC Open / County Throws / Leinster Masters Novice / Juvenile Co. Championships / Taghmon 5K / parkrun
South Leinster Track & Field
The South Leinster T&F continued in SETU Carlow with some of our athletes competing for their schools.
Josh Nolan in CBS Wexford colours won a fantastic bronze in Javelin which qualifies him for the Leinsters , well done.
Orla Dolan Presentation Wexford came 5th in her hurdles race threw her Javelin 12 metres and was part of the relay team who reached the final.
Lucas Page Redmond St Peters qualified for 200m final and finished 3rd overall. He also ran 100m and qualified for final but saved himself for relay.
Elijah Page Redmond St Peters threw well for 5th place in Javelin.
The relay team was Lucas, Elijah, Rowyn and Cameron who all ran a brilliant race and qualified for final. ( Finishing 4 th) Unfortunately they were disqualified on technical fault.
.Alex Lonergan representing St Peters jumping well for 7th place in the long jump.
Well done to everyone and good luck Josh in the Leinsters
Enniscorthy AC Open
At the recent Enniscorthy Athletic Club T&F event held at the Sports Hub our of our senior coaches Catherine O’Connor stepped on to the tartan track competing in the 1500m
Well done Catherine.
Mr Oil County Throws Championship
Menapians AC were well represented at the Mr Oil County Championship Throws night on Friday 3rd May ki dly hosted by DMP Athletic Club.
Samantha Donegan won bronze in the women’s discus competition with a pb of 13.99m.
Tracey Nolan came 4th with a throw of 13.15m.
Orla Redmond came 5th with a throw of 10.27m.
In the hammer competition Tracey came 4th with a throw of 13.13m and Samantha came 5th with a throw of 8.86m.
Well done ladies!
We had 2 juveniles competing in the under 16 hammer throw and both succeeded in bringing home medals.
Alex Lonergan won gold with a throw of 19.89m
Lorcan Carroll won silver with a throw of 14.99.
Alex also competed in the discus and came 1st with a throw of 14.50m.
Congratulations to both boys. Congratulations also to the coaches of both our juvenile and lady competitors.
Thanks also to the 3 club members who acted as officials on the night. Helen Sinnott and Tadhg Henderson were responsible for the registrations and Siobhan Doyle was the Children’s officer.
Leinster Masters Novice Road Race
A short drive into Kilkenny saw Catherine O’Connor arrive in Gowran which was the venue for the Leinster Masters Novice Road Race. Catherine had a superb run finishing 51st overall in a field of 157 athletes and she was 6th in her age category.
Huge congratulations Catherine.
Mr Oil County Juvenile Championships
Another sunny if cool gathering for day 2 of the Mr. Oil County Championships at the Sports Hub in Enniscorthy.
With a change to the program this year meaning the younger athletes competing next Friday evening, the club was represented by a solid turnout of 12 competitors in the Under 12’s category and older.
Our sole representative in under 12's, Fionn Murphy, came with a great attitude and enjoyed participating in 100m sprint where he made the final, turbo javelin, 600m middle distance and finally high jump where he just missed out on the medals finishing fourth.
In under 13’s, Leon Spudic tried the javelin, while Amy Conde and Ciara Walsh did long jump, 100m sprint, javelin and shot put.
Rory Henderson competed in under 15’s in shot put, 100m sprint, long jump and he gave the middle distance 1,500m a go. Rory finished the day with a great bronze result in javelin.
Under 16's had the biggest turnout from our club with a total of six athletes. Meabh McCormack and Orla Dolan took on the same set of events competing brilliantly in Long Jump with Silver for Meabh and Bronze for Orla. Both also put in solid performances in 100m sprint, javelin and shot put. Meanwhile Lorcan Caroll ran 100m sprint, and in the field took on long jump, shot put and javelin. Alex Lonergan made the final in the 100m and put in a super performance in the 1,500m middle distance to take silver. Alex also did long jump, shot put and javelin. Josh Nolan jumped really well in long jump taking bronze, he also did 100m sprint making the final, shot put and some super throwing snagged him silver in javelin. Elijah Page Redmond excelled at shot put taking gold, also made the final in the 100m sprint and did long jump before taking gold in the javelin to finish.
The multi talented Lucas Page Redmond dominated his events taking three Gold medals in 100m sprint, javelin and shot put.
A great day and with the younger athletes not being present all were happy with a shorter day to leave plenty of time to enjoy the afternoon sunshine elsewhere.
Thanks to all our volunteer coaches and officials Louise, Helen, Catherine,Tadhg, Liam , Padraig, Tracey & Siobhan for their time on a Bank Holiday Sunday.
Taghmon Handball Club 5k
A local 5k took place in Taghmon as a fundraiser for the local handball club. A successful first event last year so they kept it on the calender. Nice weather for running saw good times at the finish line.
7 of our members were taking part with Tony having a great run finishing in 3rd place and Paula having a great run finishing 3rd lady, congratulations Tony & Paula.
3rd Tony Harpur 19:04
8th Dermot Foley 20:21
17th Paula Gondard 23:53
22nd John Dier 25:18
29th Helen Burrell 29:56
52nd Bride McGuire 40:43
55th Sharron Dier 41:30
parkrun
At Wexford Racecourse Parkrun Dermot Foley, Fran Power, Brian Smyth, Ali Ashgar Khoyee John Dier, Gareth Lloyd, Sarah Bermingham, Ann Thomas, Helen Burrell, Mary Cronin, Michael Murphy, Bridie McGuire, Darren O'Grady & Martin Kelly completed their Saturday 5k.
Rob Casey was at the Ennis Parkrun and Enda O'Sullivan was at the Cloughjordan parkrun completing their 5k runs.
South Leinster Track & Field / parkrun
South Leinster Track & Field
The South Leinster Track & Field was held in Carlow on Thursday and three of our athletes were representing their schools.
Fiachra Mehigan, was part of the Wexford CBS Minor relay team who qualified for the final but missed out on qualifying for the Leinster final. He was also competing in long jump 6th with a pb jump, 500m 5th and 100m. place.
Rory Henderson representing Meanscoil in the 500m and the long jump.
Elijah Page Redmond got 3rd overall for 200m under 16 Intermediate representing St Peters College.
Well done to all three athletes.
parkrun
Up at Wexford Racecourse parkrun this week Brian Smyth, Eamonn Foley, John Dier, Gareth Lloyd, Marion Galvin, Enda O'Sullivan, Rob Casey,Michael Murphy, Bridie McGuire, Gráinne Hayes, Ollie Stack, Martin Kelly & Dermot Foley all completed their 5k.
Enniscorthy Open Track & Field / Maynooth 5 & 10k / Pettitts Wexford Half Marathon & 10k / parkrun
Enniscorthy AC Open
Athletes from across the county gathered in the glorious sunshine on Saturday at the Sports Hub for local club Enniscorthy Athletic Club 's inaugural Open Track & Field competition.
Menapians was well represented in the morning session for the juvenile competitors.
Under 9 training pals Phoebe Lawlor and Piper Farrell put their learnings from training in to practice when they participated in Turbo Javelin, and then both took on the long 300m race. Well done to the girls in their first event.
New to the club with only one training session under his belt, under 9 Danny Fortune ran admirably in his 60m sprint heat to make the final! Well done Danny, who also gave the long jump a try.
Under 12 Fionn Murphy also made the final for his sprint, and gave the 700m middle distance a go but unfortunately hurt his ankle during the race. We wish Fionn a speedy recovery.
Sonnie Lowney U13 did sprint and 700m competing well.
The quartet of Under 13 training friends Ciara Walsh, Abbie Donovan, Corah Malone and Amy Conde took on the sprint and shot put, while Amy, Corah and Ciara also gave the 700m a go.
Under 15’s were represented by Fiachra Mehigan and Rory Henderson. Both competed first in Long Jump, then 100m Sprint and 800m middle distance. Fiachra took silver in the 800m and bronze in long jump, with Rory just missing out on the medals twice finishing fourth in the same events.
All that effort left just enough time for a quick ice-cream in the sun before hitting the road home for lunch.
Congratulations to Enniscorthy AC for hosting this event which serves as good track experience before the Mr Oil County Championships.
Maynooth 5k/10k
4 members took a spin up to Maynooth this morning to take part in the Maynooth 5k/10k event. John took on the 10k dipping under 50 mins for his best run in a year while Sharon ,Bridie & Niall all took on the 5k. A warm morning but 4 happy athletes.
John Dier 49:53
Sharron Dier 37:21
Bridie McGuire 40:36
Niall Tyrrell 40:40
Pettitts Wexford Half Marathon & 10k
A very popular event amongst our members since it began as just the Half and a few years later the 10k was added. Right on our doorstep so not too early a start, no long drive and no search for parking as we know the streets a lot of others don't.
Beginning on the scenic quayfront athletes gathered on the finest morning of 2024 before heading out the Rosslare Road and back to finish in front of Billy Kelly's pub where a few athletes pop in for a refreshment and a chat about their race.
Lovely support out on the course as athletes were feeding off the encouragement offered in the warm sunshine.
The Half began at 10.15 am with the 10k just 15 minutes later with the leaders of the 10k soon catching up with the rear of the Half, forcing them to navigate through a crowded route for a period of time up the Coolballow road.
There was super runs from all our athletes and all ran with a smile enjoying the event to its fullest. For some it was their first Half Marathon so well done. Donal had a super run finishing a very respectable 15th after getting a 'power up' from his kids at Kerlogue.
Photos Vera Meyler Tony Crosbie Photography
10k results:
Donal Grant 41:42
Tadhg Henderson 49:41
Micheál Kinsella 50:13
Gareth Lloyd 53:30
Jesse Kielthy 55:56
Ilze Bedrite 56:41
Sarah Bermingham 57:23
Samantha Donegan 1:02:47
Helen Burrell 1:03:45
Mary Cronin 1:04:01
*
Half Marathon results:
Dermot Foley 1:35:43
Rob Casey 1:39:33
Paul Harper 1:48:37
Eamonn Foley 1:49:10
Ali Ashgar Khoyee 1:57:24
Ciara Dolan 2:08:01
Enda O'Sullivan 2:14:20
Marion Galvin 2:25:53)
Marie Casey Breen 2:50:22
parkrun
A good crew out Saturday morning considering the Wexford Half Marathon & 10k was taking place on Sunday morning. Dermot stepped in as Run Director this weekend for the first time.
At Wexford Racecourse Parkrun Brian Smyth, Alex Parris, Fran Power Eamonn Foley, Ann Thomas, Sarah Bermingham, Enda O'Sullivan, Michael Murphy, Liam Carroll, Sharron Dier, Bridie McGuire, Gráinne Hayes, Ollie Stack and Helen Burrell all completed their 5k runs.
Quest Glendalough / Liverpool Tunnel 10k / Great Ireland Run / Manchester Marathon / Intermediate Road Race / Blue 5k
Blue 5k
The busy weekend continues as we had three members run at the Blue 5k. An event organised to help fundraise for a very worthy cause, the Autism unit which does fantastic work.
Bridie McGuire, Ollie Stack and Gráinne Hayes all entered and ran the 5k, Ollie & Gráinne loved the course so much they turned around and went back out and ran it a second time !
Gráinne was the 3rd female finisher so congratulations, finishing in good company as Jackie Carty was first.
Mr Oil Intermediate Road Race
A wonderful sight on a bright and sunny day as the clubs from around the County gathered to tackle the Intermediate road race. Lovely to see all the club colours on display as athletes warmed up prior to the races beginning.
This year St Killians stepped up to host the race and they used the well known route of the Ballymurn 5k for the event, just adjusting the starts of both races to finish outside the school. The ladies faced a 4 k loop beginning just past the start of the Ballymurn 5k start and the men started 2k from the finish line meaning they had to run up the famous hill twice. We had 12 ladies and 3 men competing on the day.
Our ladies had the largest entry in our history in the Intermediate race so a big well done to you all. Great to see our athletes performing their best and seeing their training show in their results.
Well done to St Killians AC , Wexford Athletics county Board & Civil Defense for a great event, thanks to our support crew around the course encouraging our athletes and to Tadhg and Helen for the effortless registration for the races.
Club results :
Ladies
Helen Wallace 18:05
Paula Gondard 18:49
Catherine O’Connor 19:33
Mary Gaynor 20:12
Ilze Bedrite 20:21
Helen Sinnott 21:31
Marion Galvin 22:02
Sarah Bermingham 22:04
Nora Boggan 22:38
Carol Dowling 23:29
Sam Donegan 24:00
Marie Casey Breen 28:34
Mens
Tony Harpur 31:29
Tadhg Henderson 39:43
Ali Ashgar Khoyee 40:52
Photo Sportsphoto Ireland
Manchester Marathon
Brian Smyth was in Manchester for the city marathon which took place earlier today, he very kindly sent this report :
On Sunday, while some of our members were running in Liverpool, we had one more just up the road in Manchester.
The Manchester Marathon saw Brian Smyth toeing the line as one of the 32,000 entrants for the race. He had a great run to finish in a respectable time of 3:31:40.
Menapians are taking over England one race at a time.
Great Ireland Run
Super stuff from Eamonn Foley who travelled to his home city to run the Great Ireland Run 10k. He ran well to finish in 46 minutes and 22 seconds.
Congratulations Eamonn.
Liverpool Tunnel 10k
Three of our club members took the ferry to Liverpool to join approx 2000 others in the Tunnel 10k race around the streets of the city passing a plaque to John's grandfather which was a nice touch for him. A nice warm morning for the event saw John finish in 52:15, Helen Burrell 1:03:18 and Sharron 1:25:57
Well done to the three of you.
Quest Glendalough
Quest adventure races. If you never entered and wonder what it involves 2 of our members Tony & Tadhg give an honest account below of their experience of the event. Well done gents and thanks for sharing.
*****Tadhg Henderson.*****
A day out in Glendalough.
Wide awake, at 4.55am I turned off my 5am alarm, got up, grabbed a handful of cornflakes, made some coffee for the travel mug and out the door. What was I doing! A Saturday morning in early April - lashing rain, wind blowing a gale and it only going to get worse, I got into the car and pointed for Laragh, Co. Wicklow, starting point for the Quest Glendalough adventure race consisting of hill cycling, trail running and lake kayaking which I had signed up for a couple of months previously in the hopes of clear skies, warm temperatures and a great day out.
Arriving for registration a little before 7am, I was heartened to see a calm dry day starting out in Wicklow. This mightn’t be so bad! Registered, I drove up the road to the start point at Laragh GAA. Driving through the saturated field for parking as directed, I could feel the rear-wheel drive (very heavy!) electric car slipping and sliding and dared not stop before I got to my spot. Proving the point, the EV driver behind me was not so smart and ended up stuck before the race even began… at least I dodged that one!
Getting out I set up my bike, prepared my bag, checked all my gear and then sat waiting in the car to be called to start. Two minutes before going to assemble in the starting pen the heavens opened. Rain coming from all directions I headed over to the starting area with my bike.
The PA counted down the start from 10 minutes out with in between the race brief and safety talk where we found out that the “calm” Laragh was very different to what was in store on the open mountains – gale force winds from the front, back and side, pelting rain, possible hail showers. Nervous anticipation fed the energy stores and suddenly we were away.
For some reason I had signed up for the hardest course in the event – the Expert course. It had been shortened from 8 to 6 stages due to the weather – the kayak part was cancelled and instead we had one longer run at the end. So basically we alternated between bike and run with three stages of each.
First stage was 6km cycling entirely up hill, followed by a 4k circuit of a mountainous area. This was then followed by the toughest cycle I think I’ve ever done, some really steep climbs made 10 times worse by cycling into a gale, with driving rain burning the eyes out of your face (it was too dark to wear my sunglasses!) The fun was enhanced every so often when I would round a corner (finally no longer into the wind) only to pass a gate or gap in the hedgerow and nearly get blown across the road with a sidewind! That bike leg was 15km.
The next run leg was 6km up, up and up through a wooded section then out into open mountain on a stone trail. Near the top I was delighted to turn left (found out later they had closed off the part of the course at the top due to the wind) only to find that I now had to run across a boggy stretch where your legs sank right down into the ground randomly!
Back on the bike we were now headed on the 18km leg back to Laragh which thankfully had quite a lot of downhill and wind to the rear.
Bike racked at Laragh and feeling rested from the relaxing spin down, I took off on the final run – 10km up towards the Spinc then back down to the lake where the kayak leg should have been (the water was flat calm!) and completing the loop back to the finish area.
Done. 20km running, 39km bike. Finally finished, totally wrecked, destroyed with dirt and muck, but finished, and delighted with myself, I took to the task of finding a few strong lads to push me in the car out of the mud to get straight back out on the road home! Another race and a new discipline for me done. Will have to give this another crack on a better day some time!
*****Tony Harpur.*****
This was a new thing for me, it had been on my radar for a long time but weekend trips to the west for a quirky race were never really on the cards. Finally Quest Glendalough lined up with my schedule so why not? The distances looked harmless enough, but just in case I would bite off more than I could chew, I settled on the Sport race. With the Kayak cancelled because of course there was a named storm at the weekend, it was just 6k cycle, 6k run, 20k cycle and 10k run. No big deal right? Ohh and being rediculously busy and time starved in the build up to the race, I'd barely managed a glance at the race brief and was blissfully ignorant of what lay ahead. I expected a bit of a rolling bike course on crappy road surfaces, and a run around a few fire roads on surfaces much the same. Longstory short, on race morning I just made the start of my wave. I wasnt feeling particularly motivated. I hate early morning starts. So I headed off at the back of 662 competitors. The road started gently climbing straight away, but inside the first kilometre we turned right onto a big steep climb, and I actuality started smiling from ear to ear and thought finally someone has made a race for me.(I always feel hard done by when swimmers get their head start in triathlon) I then got to work on the climb passing one rider after another and I was actually sorry when it was over. At the top you rack your bike and head off running. As expected the nice fire road lay ahead. I'd decided against trail runners, I bought a pair last week and found them rediculously slow, but was I in for a wake up call. The fire road ended and next thing we're still going down but its knee deep mud and a river of run off water to deal with instead of hard packed stone. Then we turned and started climbing and clambering through 1 person wide tracks, bushes and rocks. It was insane I couldnt believe it, this had nothing to do with running. At the top there was a vehicle width trail through gorse, so there was no leaving it, and I was literally wading through mud up to my knees. Madness, like xc on steroids. Run survived it was back on the bike, zooming down the otherside of the big hill we'd just climbed. Until the fun police got involved and you had to dismount and run with your bike as they were afraid someone wouldn't make the final bend. I'd have happily taken my chances to be honest. Back on the bike on rolling roads, and having no idea of what was ahead I went hard but held back just a little as there could be something crazy thrown in. The bike was over far to soon. I was really enjoying passing people, of course I'd no idea if we were in the same race, there were people of all shapes and sizes on all sorts of bikes, there was no way to know who was doing what. Its a bit like the end of ironman when everyone is on the circuit running the marathon but you've no idea who's on what lap. Absolute chaos. Anyway the bike ended back where we started which was handy as I wondered where I'd be picking my bike up from. Then it was off on the final 10k run. It was muddy twisty and turny to begin with, and tbh I expected just a quick lap of the lake. Ahh no. Up a great big hill again. At this stage my quads were screaming for mercy, but I was still passing people and wanted to give a good account of myself so no mercy was given (to them or my quads). Once we crested the hill the surface improved and it was time to empty the tank, now leg speed and actual running more than brute force came into play, so I went hunting for victims. I got into a bit of a battle with a few guys, but with the line in sight and my love of 400m racing there was no doubt in my mind who was winning that one. So I finished more in relief than enjoyment. What an absolutely mental day. The finish area could have been great for swapping war stories, given the weather conditions it wasn't bad, but outdoor socialising in Ireland during a storm is not so great. Tgat was a great pity. It was probably the biggest drawback of the day. They were giving free Erdinger out, when to be honest a free cup of tea would have been much more welcome. Also you'd no idea where you finished. Like i said earlier there were people going in all directions. That was bad on the course, but at the finish it was mayhem. I couldnt access the online results onto that evening. Finally the biggest challenge of day came. I'd been dreading this all morning (its still only 11:30), how the hell am I going to get my car out of this mudfest? Basically it came down to some good advice from a marshall, there was a runway to get up to speed so you could slide through the deep mud onto the tarmac. Adventure still not over. You weren't allowed to drive back the way you came, and my phone is in a pocket in my dryrobe (was using it to keep warm and dry after getting changed and getting some money for a cuppa) in the back of the car somewhere, so it turned into a long drive home. I had to just use the force and head for somewhere I recognised the name of. What an absolutely mad day. Well worth a go. Its Monday morning writing this and I can only just manage walking down stairs, so thetes got to be a big fitness boost coming from it. The medal and hoodie are top class too.
Kilmacow Open / Intervarsities / Hope & Dream 10 / parkrun
Kilmacow Open Track & Field
Lucas and Elijah Page Remond had a great day on Easter Monday at Kilmacow Open Track & Field.
Elijah placed 1st in 100m and Lucas placed 2nd in his 100m.
Elijah went on to shotput with a great throw of 10.7m to put him second.
He then moved onto javelin where he had a great throw of 39.70m on his second throw to place him 1st.
Lucas continued to long jump and jumped a great 2nd jump of 4.82m to place him first.
A great day of competition for the 2 lads, congratulations to you both.
Intervarsities
Mary Peters track in Belfast was Eimear Halpin's destination as she travelled to compete for SETU over the weekend. With her usual multi event attitude she competed across multiple events in her college colours putting in some fine displays along the way.
She was on the 4x100m team which made the final finishing 8th and was also on the mixed 4x400m team who also finished 8th.
In the 200m she ran an SETU record of 28.25 seconds with a 6th place in her semi final.
In weight for distance a throw of 5.86m and in discus threw 28.97m making the final 8 in both events.
A busy weekend with some brilliant displays from Eimear, congratulations.
Hope & Dream 10
A superb event dreamt up by some wonderfull minds a few years back mobilising a massive amount of people to complete a distance while raising money for charity. An event which reaches far and wide resulting in approx 1200 people entering 2 distances - 10 mile or 10k.
As the start time approached runners weren't sure whether to wear runners or Wellington boots as very heavy showers fell during the warm up. However it failed to dampen the spirits (see what I did there) of everyone as the organisers created a great buzz at the start line. Congratulations to our 10 members on great runs on a tough route in windy and wet conditions.
In the 10 mile event we had 2 athletes
Brian Smyth 1:12:44
Eamonn Foley 1:19:10
In the 10k event we had 8 athletes
Gareth Lloyd 54:50
John Dier 54:51
Sarah Bermingham 1:01:34
Marion Galvin 1:05:11
Helen Burrell 1:06:12
Samantha Donegan 1:06:24
Bridie McGuire 1:27:12
Sharron Dier 1:33:51
parkrun
Shout out to the weekends parkrunners. Storm Kathleen was still blowing strongly as runners struggled to hear the run briefing on Saturday morning. A very strong crosswind made some sections ok and some very difficult but everyone dealt with the conditions in their own way. Shout out to our newest member Ann on her first outing as a club member.
At Wexford Racecourse Parkrun Dermot Foley, Rob Casey, Brian Smyth, Alex Parris, Geoff Hoffheinz, Sarah Bermingham, Ann Thomas, Darren O'Grady, Fran Power, Michael Murphy, Bridie McGuire, Ollie Stack, Gráinne Hayes (who took an unusual detour), Gareth Lloyd, Martin Kelly and Helen Burrell completed the challenging 5k.
Rosslare 5K & 10K / parkrun
Rosslare 5K / 10K
Easter Monday means only one thing to runners, Rosslare. It's by now a well known event drawing super numbers and this year they introduced a 5k which went down really well looking at the entries.
The weather Gods behaved as runners were treated to ideal conditions for a race over the well known 5k loop.
At 10am the 10k set off followed at 10:10am by the 5k runners. We had 9 on the 10k and 8 in the 5k showing the races popularity amongst our members. Great to see everyone's training paying off with great finish times. Congratulations to Wexford Triathlon Club on organising another great event which has become a staple on many race calenders.
10k results:
Dermot Foley 42:18
Eamonn Foley 47:39
John Dier 52:39
Geoff Hoffheinz 55:26
Jesse Kielthy 57:37
David Clancy 59:51
Helen Burrell 1:02:21
Samantha Donegan 1:04:31
Jamie Jordan 1:08:33
5k results:
Micheál Kinsella 23:45
Paula Gondard 24:00
Gareth Lloyd 25:57
Helen Sinnott 28:02
Sarah Bermingham 28:35
Bridie McGuire 40:48
Niall Tyrell 40:49
Sharron Dier 42:12
parkrun
Easter weekend, clear sky and the sun turned up on Saturday. For many it's the last run before the clocks change giving brighter evenings.
In Carrick on Suir Brian Smyth & Enda O'Sullivan ran their 5k.
At Wexford Racecourse Parkrun Fiachra Mehigan, Eamonn Foley, Fran Power, Paula Gondard, Micheál Kinsella, Gareth Lloyd, Geoff Hoffheinz, Rob Mehigan ,Sarah Bermingham, Mary Cronin, Rob Casey, Michael Murphy, Dave Percival, Gráinne Hayes, Sharron Dier, Ollie Stack, Dermot Foley, Bridie McGuire, Sinead Ryan & Martin Kelly all completed their 5k.
Enniscorthy Sports Hub Fun Night / Forth Mountain Trail Run / parkrun
Enniscorthy Sports Hub
A number of young Menapians travelled to Enniscorthy Sportshub for a Run Jump Throw Challenge with Enniscorthy Athletic Club , and Bree Athletic-Club on Friday. Rosie, Ruby, Kayla, Ciara, Oliver, Benny, Alex, Rory, David, Amy, Lorcan, Chloe, Este, Fiachra, Darragh, Sonnie, Meabh and Orla all did themselves proud in the different events - Sprint, Turbo Javelin, High Jump, Long Jump, Shot put and relay gaining great experience on the track in an enjoyable environment. A big thank you to our Coaches Tadhg, Ellen, Padraig, Catherine and Liam. Also big thanks also to Enniscorthy Ac for hosting the event.
Looking forward to more events like these.
Forth Mountain Trail Run
The 3 wise men of Donal, Enda & Gareth headed to Barntown for the Forth Mountain 13k trail run in aid of Barntown National School. Starting behind the local church the route headed towards the Battlefield car park where a 'gentle' incline saw runners question their reasons for entering. On up past the Carrigfoyle Lake , then the scenic views of Drooping Rock, Furlongs Homestead and the furtherst point of Skeeter Rock. For most that would be enough but the fun part of returning to the church to finish on the out and back course requires stamina and mental strength which the guys had plenty of.
Donal had the added pressure of his kids expecting results and he delivered by claiming first parent home in a superb 11th place to be allowed home for dinner.
Well done gents and congrats to the organisers on a job well done.
Donal Grant 57:30
Enda O'Sullivan 1:21:48
Gareth Lloyd 1:27:36
parkrun
The sun came out but so did the cool breeze to welcome the parkrun crew on Saturday morning with lots of club members taking part. Special mention to Dermot on his 150th parkrun.
At Wexford Racecourse Parkrun Dermot Foley, Eamonn Foley, Fiachra Mehigan, Brian Smyth, Fran Power, Helen Wallace, Paula Gondard, John Dier, Tadhg Henderson, Rob Mehigan, Sarah Bermingham, Helen Burrell, Mary Cronin, Carol Dowling, Michael Murphy, Rob Casey, Bridie McGuire & Sharron Dier all completing their 5k runs.
County Awards / Liverpool Half Marathon / Davy Fortune 5K / parkrun
County Awards Night
The County Awards night was held on Friday night in the fabulous venue of Wexford Golf Club. The medals for road, cross country and track & field were presented and a large group of members attended to collect their hard earned medals.
Also on the night Brian Smyth & Martin Kelly were awarded certificates for representing at the European Masters in Italy.
The club highlight on the night was the awarding of the Harry Keyes Cup to Lucas Page Redmond for his exploits as the best male U17 at the County Track & Field event 2023. A huge congratulations to Lucas on his hard work and dedication
Liverpool Half Marathon
Our travelling runner Brian Smyth was at it again as he popped over to the home of the finest soccer club in England, Liverpool to run the City Half Marathon as the rest of us enjoyed St Patrick's Day.
Luckily he had good weather for his run as he debuted his new club vest on the 13 mile route. An impressive 35th place in his age category with a time of 1:29:31 was his reward as he is building towards his next marathon.
Congratulations Brian and best of luck in the upcoming marathon.
Davy Fortune 5k
Shamrock Rovers GAA hosted a 5k run on the morning of St Patrick's Day.
Well done to John Dier 24:49, Bridie McGuire 41:00 & Sharron Dier 46:19.
It was a great start to the day for all 3, well done.
parkrun
A grey and damp start to the day and the St Patrick's weekend celebrations as the early risers headed for Parkrun.
Brian Smyth popped over to run Princes Park Parkrun in Liverpool.
At Wexford Racecourse Parkrun Dermot Foley, Eamonn Foley, Rob Casey,Fran Power Gareth Lloyd, Sarah Bermingham, Mary Cronin, Michael Murphy, Bridie McGuire & Martin Kelly all completed their 5k runs.
Leinster Indoors Senior&Masters / Great Gorey Run / Kildare 10k / parkrun
Leinster Senior/Masters
Another weekend, another report of our athletes performing well in competition. The Leinster Senior and Masters was this weekends competition with Tony Harpur and Eimear Halpin representing the club.
Tony was competing at Masters despite his youthful looks combining 400m and 800m M45 events with his usual 'all or nothing' style.
Over 400m Tony ran superbly in 1:04.07 which saw him grab his first track leinster medal, a silver.
He also ran the 2 lap 800m lung buster finishing in 8th in 2:26.88
Congratulations to Tony, a hard working athlete who continously trains to compete at his best whenever possible.
In the senior 200m Eimear Halpin took to the start giving everything in her heat with a great time of 27.85 for a 4th place finish.
On to shot putt and Eimear threw consistently with a best of 7.90m for 6th place with the 4kg weight.
Eimear is another athlete who gives everything in her event while training across a number of events.
Well done to you Eimear.
Great Gorey Run
Marion Galvin who is a new recruit for 2024 took on the 10 mile route in Gorey earlier today. She had an excellent run of 1:53:41.
Well done Marion, keep up the good work.
Kildare 10k
In Kildare Town they like to do things slightly differently. They host a unique event on Mother's Day. There is a choice of a 5k or a 10k distance with a bottle of wine awaiting everyone at the finish line !
Jamie Jordan took on the 10k option and did herself and the club proud by taking a huge 11 minutes off her pb time crossing the line in 1:07:24.
Jamie is another new recruit in 2024 and continues to improve week by week.
Congratulations Jamie and keep up the good work.
parkrun
Shout out to the weekends parkrunners.
Enda O'Sullivan was running his 5k at Knockanecree Woods parkrun.
Helen Wallace, Paula Gondard, Micheál Kinsella Alex Parris, John Dier, Ali Ashgar Khoyee, Geoff Hoffheinz, Dave Clancy, Brian Smyth Dermot Foley, Ollie Stack, Sarah Bermingham, Helen Burrell, Michael Murphy & Bridie McGuire were all up in Wexford Racecourse Parkrun for their 5k runs
Glynn 5k / Leinster Indoors / Wexford Racecourse parkrun 9th Birthday
Glynn 5k
On March 3rd the Glynn 5k took place with 8 of our members enjoying the cool sunny run. For Helen and Niall it was their first event since joining the club well done to you both.
Club results:
Gavin Hayes 22:46
John Dier 25:13
Gareth Lloyd 25:54
Sarah Bermingham 28:14
Helen Burrell 30:06
Marion Galvin 31:00
Bridie McGuire 40:56
Niall Tyrell 40:57
Leinster Indoor Championships
A number of the clubs young athletes were in action at the Leinster Indoor Championships in Athlone over the weekend.
Elijah Page Redmond qualified for the boys u16 final and finished 5th, a good result as he was a bit under the weather.
His brother Lucas also competed in the 60m, qualifying for the final where he finished 7th. He also ran well in the 200m qualifying for the final but could not take part due to a little niggle.
Alex Lonergan took part in the long jump, setting a new personal best.
Orla Dolan and Meabh McCormack were busy competing in the 200m, long jump and sprint hurdles.
Orla and Meabh received a Leinster silver and bronze medals for their performances at the national indoor combined events back in January, an event which incorporated a Leinster Championships.
Thanks to Padraig Kelly & Catherine O’Connor who officiated at the event.
Great to see this group of young athletes improving every time they compete gaining valuable experience.
Wexford Racecourse parkrun - 9th Birthday
Wexford Racecourse Parkrun celebrated its 9th birthday on Saturday and nice to see a large group of club members taking part to support club captain John Dier and his team who do a great job up there every week.
Special mention to Sarah who hit the 100 parkruns milestone with a big smile on her face.
Brian Smyth, Paula Gondard, Alex Parris, Geoff Hoffheinz, Fran Power, Ilze Bedrite, Helen Sinnott, Sarah Bermingham,Enda O'Sullivan, Tadhg Henderson, Carol Dowling, Rob Casey, Ollie Stack, Michael Murphy, Gráinne Hayes, Gareth Lloyd, Bridie McGuire & Martin Kelly all completed the 9th birthday event at Wexford Racecourse.
Dermot Foley was in Lanzorote looking for a parkrun but the closest he could find was a 5k run held each Saturday morning hosted by ex Crystal Palace soccer player Stacey Lee.