Kilkee Half Marathon / National Juvenile Track & Field / parkrun
Run Kilkee Half Marathon
A half marathon on a Saturday, a road trip to the West and a nice morning for a run combined for Oliver Stack & Enda O'Sullivan as they lined up in the scenic Kilkee Co Clare overlooking the sea.
A very scenic route but not without its challenges they both embraced the event with both men grateful to the groupie cheering them on at the bottom of the hill as they neared the finish line.
Another box ticked, enjoy the celebrations tonight.
Well done to both Oliver and Enda.
Oliver 2:03:55
Enda 2:05:09
National Juvenile Track & Field Day 3
A great achievement making the Natio Championships and this weekend it was Josh Nolan U16 Javelin, Elijah Page Redmond U16 Javelin & Lucas Page Redmond U18 200m.
Rain was a factor for athletes, not what you would expect in July but not a thing you can do about that.
Elijah threw a best of 41.37m which saw him finish just outside the medals I fourth place.
Josh threw 36.32m which saw him finish a very creditable 9th place.
Lucas ran well in a tough lane in 24.08 for his 200m heats.
A proud day for the three competing at this level and valuable experience gained.
Well done gentlemen and thanks to Padraig and Tracey for travelling as official/coaches.
parkrun
Shout out to the weekends parkrunners.
Good man Peter who had his quickest 5k of the year, must be the benefit of signing up as a member recently !
John and Sharron Dier were at Westport Parkrun, the scene of their first ever parkrun before setting up the Wexford Parkrun.
Ann Thomas ran the New Ross Parkrun in JFK Park.
In Wexford Racecourse Parkrun Ryan Ellard, Fiachra Mehigan, Geoff Hoffheinz, Fran Power, Gareth Lloyd, John Hyland, Brian Smyth, Rob Mehigan, Helen Burrell, Mary Cronin, Martin Kelly, Peter Mulvany & Michael Murphy all completed their 5k.
Club Summer League
The club league continues to grow in popularity with a number of members enjoying the handicap format in the warm weather. The coffee afterwards was the reward to ensure everyone completed the fast 4km two lap course on Forth Mountain.
National Juvenile Track & Field / Irish Runner 10 mile / King of Greystones / parkrun
National Juvenile Track & Field Championships
Alex Lonergan travelled to Tullamore on Sunday where he had good weather as he competed at U16 hammer finishing 7th place overall in his first Nationals finals.
Fiachra Mehigan travelled up on Saturday for the National B Championships with his eyes focused on 2 events. On a wet day he performed well in the long jump pit for a 6th place finish then moved onto the track to compete in a very competitive 800m race finishing a very creditable 7th place.
Well done to both athletes.
Biofreeze Irish Runner 10 mile
Sunday morning in Phoenix Park was the destination for Ali & Ryan for the Irish Runner 10 mile. The event was run around the roads of the Phoenix park and it was Ali's first 10 mile race. Good to see Ali back after a few weeks break.
It was by no means an easy run but both men stuck to their training plans and finished well.
Congratulations gents.
Ryan Ellard 1:13:11
Ali Ashgar Khoyee 1:20:57
King of Greystones
Congratulations to John Dier & Sharron Dier who both completed the Gavin Glynn King of Greystones Triathlon last weekend.
parkrun
Shout out to the weekends parkrunners.
Another weekend with a few parkruns spread far and wide. Nice to see John dipping under 21 mins for the first time.
Brendan Broderick ran the Listowel Parkrun.
Tadhg Henderson ran the Osterly Park Parkrun in London.
Brian Smyth, John Hyland, Dermot Foley, Paul Harpur, Paul O'Meara, Mary Cronin, Martin Kelly, Helen Burrell Bridie McGuure Sharron Dier all ran the Wexford Racecourse Parkrun.
Senior & Masters Track & Field Day 2 / Never Give Up 5k & 10k / Noel Walsh memorial 5k / Menapians Summer League / parkrun
Senior & Masters Track & Field Day 2
Again Enniscorthy Sports Hub was the venue on Wednesday evening as the clubs of County Wexford gathered to compete St a variety of events in Track & Field . They were rewarded with one of the more pleasant evenings this Summer has offered. A very enjoyable event as athletes got to sample different events that they normally wouldn't even think of and hopefully has grabbed their attention for the future.
We had a number of podium places, with Helen in 1500m & Javelin, Ilze in the O35 100m, 1500m, 400m & Javelin, Nora in the O50 100m, 1500m, 400m & Javelin, Siobhan in O50 100m, Catherine in O50 1500m, 400m & Javelin and John in O35 Javelin.
Well done to our other competing athletes Ryan, Sharron and Sarah putting in good performances and enjoying every minute.
Thanks to Sharron Dier & Wexford Athletics for photos and also thanks to Louise, Senan , Paula, Helen & Siobhan for volunteering
Club results :
Senior Women 100m
5 Helen Wallace 16.32
6 Sarah Bermingham 20.47
O35 Women 100m
3 Ilze Bedrite 17.34
O50 Women 100m
2 Nora Boggan 17.97
3 Siobhan Doyle 18.43
5 Sharron Dier 25.46
O50 Men 100m
7 John Dier 17.36
Senior Women 1500m
3 Helen Wallace 5.45.40
4 Sarah Bermingham 7.30.86
O35 Women 1500m
1 Ilze Bedrite 6.58.55
O50 Women 1500m
2 Catherine O'Connor 7.03.28
3 Nora Boggan 7.45.17
Senior Men 1500m
4 Ryan Ellard 5.13.66
Senior Women 400m
7 Helen Wallace. 1.18.21
8 Sarah Bermingham 1.45.15
O35 Women 400m 7
2 Ilze Bedrite 1.25.62
O50 Women 400m
1 Catherine O'Connor 1.25.83
2 Nora Boggan 1.30.76
Senior Men 400m
5 Ryan Ellard 1.09.81
O50 Men 400m
5 John Dier 1.22.49
Women 4x100 Relay
4 Menapians A.C. 1.11.92
Senor Women Javelin
7 Helen Wallace 7.16
O35 Women Javelin
2 Ilze Bedrite 14.96m
O50 Women Javelin
2 Nora Boggan 12.97m
3 Catherine O'Connor 11.05m
4 Sharron Dier 5.62m
O35 Men Javelin
3 John Dier 15.81m
Never Give Up 5k/10k
In North County Wexford we had 3 members running in the #nevergiveup event. Perfect running conditions in Inch today
Ger Mulhall ran the 5k in 27:08, Eamonn Foley ran the 10k in 48:05 & Marion Galvin ran the 10k in 1:02:47
Well done to all three of you.
Noel Walsh memorial 5k
John & Sharron took a spin over to Terrarath on Sunday morning for the local 5k run in aid of New Ross Special Olympics and Terrarath Community Centre.
Well done guys.
Menapians Summer League
Event 2 of our inaugural club members’ summer league took place in the Raven forest Curracloe on Sunday morning. With 10 members in total in attendance the league is building momentum and all are enjoying the different format - this is a “handicap” league where all runners start at different times according to their predicted finish time. The theory is that everyone should finish around the same time and can battle it out on an even keel for position, times not recorded. It will be interesting to see how this develops over the course of the summer.
parkrun
With a horse race meeting taking place at Wexford Racecourse members had to put in an earlier start and hit the roads if they wanted their 5k fix on Saturday.
At New Ross Parkrun Dermot Foley, Fran Power, Paul Harpur, Helen Burrell & Martin Kelly ran their 5k.
At Shangannagh Parkrun Louise & Tadhg Henderson both ran their 5k.
At Tymon Park Parkrun Enda O'Sullivan ran his 5k.
At Gorey Parkrun Sharron & John Dier ran their 5k.
An unusual spread of venues visited on Saturday.
Mick Murphy 5K / Clontarf Half Marathon / National Juveniles Day 1 / parkrun
Mick Murphy Ferns 5k
Friday evening races, some hate them but it appears 173 people love them as they lined up in Ferns Square under the historic castle awaiting the starters gun. The expected rain showers held off just long enough thankfully. A superb atmosphere as many club colours were on display warming up in anticipation of what was a very competitive race as 13 athletes went under 17 minutes and 57 athletes dipped under 20 mins.
Our crew of 9 ran excellent with Samantha Donegan has a brilliant run breaking her PB time for 5k.
A big Happy 60th Birthday to Catherine O'connor who celebrated her birthday by running the race.
Well done to SBR AC on a well organised event and thanks to Sportsphoto Ireland for the photos.
Results,
Dermot Foley 19:30
Brian Smyth 19:59
Paula Gondard 23:55
Gareth Lloyd 24:12
Micheál Kinsella 24:23
Catherine O’Connor 24:40
John Dier 25:24
Samantha Donegan 29:24
Darren O'Grady 29:25
Clontarf Half Marathon
Ryan Ellard is a recent addition to our membership who joined up after befriending some of our members at parkrun. Today he took on his 2nd Half Marathon which took part in Clontarf, part of the Bear Races Trilogy which includes Wexford & Wicklow Half Marathons.
The Half has become a popular race distance among many and Ryan is certainly one of those.
Today he ran a great time of 1 hour 39 minuted which sets a new PB for himself. Fantastic stuff from a young man who only took up running 14 months ago.
Congratulations to you Ryan, enjoy the recovery.
123.ie National Juvenile Chammpionships Day 1
A fantastic achievement just to qualify to compete at the National Championships which took place in Tullamore today.
Two of our athletes were competing after qualifying from the Leinster Championships a few weeks ago.
Lucas Page Redmond had a tough day in the U18 long jump pit with a best jump of 5.37m which saw him finish in 12th place.
Elijah Page Redmond was on the throwing cage for U16 discus with a best of 31.85m which saw him finish in 9th place.
A special thank you to the boys grandmother who stepped in to drive the boys to Tullamore today.
Thanks to Catherine O'Connor for traveling as our club coach on the day.
parkrun
After the buzz of Friday evenings event in Ferns a big gang were up early on Saturday for their Parkrun fix.
At Wexford Racecourse Parkrun John Hyland, Brian Smyth, Fiachra Mehigan, Eamonn Foley Dermot Foley, Geoff Hoffheinz, Sarah Bermingham, Rob Mehigan, David Clancy, Mary Cronin, Linda Leacey, Helen Burrell, Martin Kelly, Michael Murphy, Sharron Dier, Bridie McGuire & Gareth Lloyd all completed their 5k runs.
Enda O'Sullivan ran his 5k up in Knockancree Cloughjordan Parkrun.
Slaney Olympic Summer League/ Pink Rock 10K / parkrun
Slaney Olympic Summer League
Congratulations to Tony Harpur and Paul Harpur who had great runs on Friday at the Slaney Olympic Athletic Club Summer League.
An impressive run by Tony saw him finish in 2nd place overall.
Pink Rock 10k
Not too far to travel on a Sunday morning this week as 6 of our gang headed to New Ross for the Pink Rock 10k.
A well organised race on a quiet course which runners of all abilities seem to enjoy. Well done to St Joseph's County Kilkenny on hosting their race which doubles as the County Race for Kilkenny.
Gareth Lloyd 50:48
John Dier 52:55
Helen Burrell 1:04:07
Sharron Dier 1:22:12
Bridie McGuire 1:24:57
Niall Tyrell 1:25:34
parkrun
Shout out to the weekends parkrunners.
Special mention to Ryan & Ali who both picked up PB runs on Saturday.
Enda O'Sullivan completed the Knockancree Cloughjordan Parkrun
Dermot Foley, Ryan Ellard, Ali Ahsgar Khoyee, Brian Smyth, John Hyland, Rob Casey, Alex Parris, Geoff Hoffheinz, Fran Power, Marion Galvin, Michael Murphy, Sharron Dier & Gareth Lloyd all completed their 5k at Wexford Racecourse Parkrun.
County Track & Field / Community Games / County B Championships / Viking Half and Quarter Marathon / parkrun
Mr Oil County Track & Field Championships
The highlight of many athletes season is the chance to become County Champion in their chosen event while for others its a chance to try an event or simply watch the counties finest athletes show off their talent.
All club athletes proudly wearing their clubs colours while chasing the elusive medals and the glory it brings.
A wonderful evening of bright skies and reacquainting with old adversaries awaited our clubs athletes as they arrived into Enniscorthy and heading to the Sports Hub.
A big well done to everyone who competed and congratulations to our medal winners
Senior Women 2000m Steeplechase Helen Wallace Gold
Club results:
2000m Walk Sharron Dier 6th
2000m Walk Senior Men John Dier Silver
800m Women O35 Ilze Bedrite Gold
800m Women O50 Catherine O’Connor Gold, Nora Boggan Silver
200m Senior Women Helen Wallace 5th in heat
200m Women O35 Ilze Bedrite Gold
200m Women O50 Nora Boggan Silver
200m Men O50 John Dier 5th
4x400m relay Women 4th
3000m Senior Women Helen Wallace Bronze
3000m Women O35 Ilze Bedrite Silver
3000m Women O50 Catherine O’Connor Gold, Nora Boggan Bronze
3000m U16 Boys Alex Lonergan Gold
5000m Men O35 Rob Casey 4th
Shot Putt Women O50 Samantha Donegan Silver
Shot Putt Men O50 John Dier 5th
Weight for Distance women O50 Samantha Donegan Bronze
Community Games
Brilliant result for Fiachra Mehigan today as he competed for Ballymitty in the Community Games Long Jump.
He broke his PB, secured silver and qualified for the Nationals of the Community Games.
Good man Fiachra
Mr Oil County B Championships
These Championships are aimed at athletes who did not win medals at the County Championships giving a second chance. It also puts a huge emphasis on inclusion making sure the young athletes enjoy the competition. The weather wasn't what we would hope for on Summer Solstice Day but that didn't deter the athletes.
Chloe Carroll, Kayla Lyons, Clodagh Long, Benny lonergan & Este Lonergan all put in great effort across the events really enjoying the Track & Field experience.
Leon spudic was 2nd in his shot putt.
Emmet Marcus was 1st in long jump, 2nd in his 80m sprint.
Sonny Lowney was1st in 300m & 1st in shot putt.
Fionn murphy was 3rd in his turbo javelin.
Pádraig, Catherine and Siobhan were officiating and Liam was our club coach on the night.
Alex Lonergan had his first experience of officiating and loved every minute well done Alex.
This completes the season for these young athletes, enjoy the Summer and we go again in September.
Viking Half and Quarter Marathon
An early drive to Waterford and a warm morning for the road runners earlier today as they headed to tackle the Viking runs. Some tackling a half for the first time and comfortably completed it with a smile and a smirk. Others more used to the distance ticked off another one on the list. For some it was their first time competing as a Menapian while others have countless events under their belt and one returning after a few years. The Quarter Marathon is a unique race distance which does not appear too often on the race calender. The Half Marathon is a distance that is becoming more popular amongst runners hence the interest in this one not far from home. We had 8 in the Half and 3 in the Quarter Marathon.
A very warm day added an extra challenge to the event but thankfully everyone came through OK . Training plans paid off as everyone reported being happy with their finish time. Also nice to see one of our old training buddies Caimin still running as he met up with Enda.
Quarter Marathon :
Rob Casey 57:44
Ger Mulhall 58:41
Linda Leacy 1:06:57
Half Marathon :
Brian Smyth 1:33:08
Ryan Ellard 1:40:16 (P.B.)
John Hyland 1:46:01 (1stHalf)
Jesse Kielthy 2:02:21
Ollie Stack 2:06:00 (P.B.)
Enda O'Sullivan 2:13:23
Grainne Hayes 2:28:30 (1st Half)
Jamie Jordan 2:33:58
parkrun
A warm morning so why not get an early run complete, well despite the Viking run taking place on Sunday there was still a good crew out on Saturday morning.
Paul Harpur took a spin down to JFK Park for the New Ross Parkrun.
Paula Gondard, Gareth Lloyd, Alex Parris, Geoff Hoffheinz, Brian Smyth, Rob Mehigan, Mary Cronin, Michael Murphy, Martin Kelly, Sharron Dier, Bridie McGuire & John Hyland all completed the Wexford Racecourse Parkrun.
Dermot Foley had the most unusual run of the weekend getting his Saturday morning 5k complete in Lanzarote.
Leinster Championships / parkrun
Leinster Championships 12-19 years.
A wonderful weekend for our members who competed at the Leinster Championships competition spread over 2 days in Tullamore. Blessed with nice weather its always more enjoyable especially for the supporters, coaches and parents who give their free time.
On Saturday Elijah Page Redmond was in U16 javelin and he threw a PB of 39.94m which was enough for Silver Medal. He now qualifies for National Championships.
Josh Nolan also competed in U16 javelin throwing 600g for first time grabbing a PB of 37.80m finishing 4th and he also now qualifies for National Championships.
Fiachra Mehigan competed in the U15 1500m race, a tough challenge which he embraced battling off the 6th place athlete to claim a very creditable 5th in Leinster in his first attempt. He then competed in Long Jump where he jumped a PB of 4.05m for 7th place
Lucas Page Redmond was competing in U18 100m and ran superbly to qualify for the final where he ran 11.94 seconds for a 6th place finish.
Onto day 2 of competition and cars were on the road early again to Tullamore some for the second day in a row. A lot of dedication from parents and coaches alike.
In U16 discus Elijah Page Redmond threw 30.47m for a Bronze medal qualifying for Nationals. He made the 200m final finishing 5th in 24.71 seconds.
Josh Nolan threw discus 24.93m for a 7th place finish.
Lucas Page Redmond was in action in the Long Jump with a best Jump of 5.71m which earned him a Bronze medal qualifying for Nationals. He also made for 200m final but did not run.
Fiachra Mehigan took on High Jump with a best Jump of 1.30m which placed him in 6th.
Alex Lonergan threw a PB in U16 hammer of 22.59m securing a Silver medal second place finish qualifying for Nationals. He jumped 8.41m for 7th place in triple Jump.
Thanks to our coach present in Tullamore Tracey, Padraig our official and the parents getting our athletes to Tullamore.
Best of luck in the Nationals to Alex, Josh, Lucas & Elijah
parkrun
Lots of members hitting parkrun last Saturday morning.
Enda O'Sullivan ran his 5k in Knockancree Cloughjordan Co Tipperrary.
In Wexford Racecourse Parkrun Brian Smyth, Dermot Foley, John Hyland, Paul Harper, John Dier, Fran Power, Gareth Lloyd, Micheál Kinsella, Rob Casey, Geoff Hoffheinz, Sarah Bermingham, Gráinne Hayes, Ollie Stack, Mary Cronin, Linda Leacey, Michael Murphy, Martin Kelly Sharron Dier, Bridie McGuire & Helen Burrell all completed their 5k runs.
County Masters Road Race / Leinster Combined Events / Portumna Half / Mile Marker / parkrun
Mr Oil County Masters Road Race
Club athletes from around the county raced home after work on Friday evening June 7th, grabbed their gear and headed to the middle of the County in Enniscorthy ready to do battle in the Masters Road Race.
A lot on offer in this race as their is the added bonus of age category medals on offer as well as the traditional 1,2,3 and team medals. This adds to the competitive edge to the Masters as every place counts even more importantly as athletes empty the tank in pursuit of the elusive County medals.
As is standard ladies were first up and their race was a testing 4k route as they started on the easier section before being faced with the long hill bringing them towards the finish.
Our 5 put in stellar performances pushing themselves every step to the finish line. Paula was our first member home, quickly followed by Catherine who had a challenging sprint finish, Ilze, Nora and Samantha completing the team.
Congratulations to Nora who won silver F60 and Paula was silver F55.
The men started out on the main road running approx 1km then had 1 full loop to complete their 6k route. As they passed the finish area heading out on a full loop our lads were trying to settle in and get the second wind as they went out on the full loop. Tony pushed every ounce of energy as our first man home, not far behind Brian & Dermot crossed the line with Rob, Micheál and John completing the team.
Congratulations to John who was 3rd in M60.
Club results:
Ladies
18th Paula Gondard 18:14 SILVER F55
27th Catherine O'Connor 19:34
28th Ilze Bedrite 20:06
30th Nora Boggan 21:58 SILVER F60
32nd Samantha Donegan 23:07
Men
24th Tony Harpur 22:13
35th Brian Smyth 23:42
36th Dermot Foley 23:46
44th Rob Casey 25:06
51st Micheál Kinsella 29:06
53rd John Dier 30:12 BRONZE M60
Words of thanks to our supporters who encouraged our athletes around and to Ilze, Darren & Padraig who stepped in to the entry and results role.
Another great night of club colours gracing the roads , thanks to the County Board and hosts Slaney Olympic for organising.
Leinster Combined
A huge well done to our 3 athletes who competed in the Leinster Combined events in Tullamore on Saturday.
Fiachra Mehigan finished 7th in the under 15 event. Maebh McCormack finished 6th in the under 16 and Orla Dolan 5th. These athletes are relatively new to the combined events pentathlon, having competed in the indoors earlier in the year so some great experience gained.
They compete over 5 events, hurdles, shot putt, long jump, high jump and an 800m to end the day.
Fiachra Megihan finished with a total of 1208 points, jumping well in the long jump and high jump. He had a 6th placing in the shot putt with a pb of 7.07m and finished off strongly in the 800 running 2:34.
Maebh McCormack's strongest event was the hurdles where she finished 6th. She jumped well in the long jump and had a best of 5.32m for the shot putt. She cleared 1.30m in the high jump and finished out the 800m with a total of 1337 points to take 6th place.
Orla Dolan finished on 1354 points to take 5th place. Orla’s best event was the long jump where she jumped 3.77m on her last jump.
Well done to Fiachra, Orla & Maebh who put a lot of effort into training for these events. Thanks to Padraig who officiated and Catherine for coaching and a Words of thanks to the parents for taking the time to bring the athletes to competition.
Portumna Half Marathon
Well done to Enda O'Sulllivan who on Saturday (June 8th) completed the Portumna Half Marathon in 2hr 10m.
A 4 loop course making it more of a mental challenge !
Mile Marker
In Danesfort County Kilkenny our running brothers Tony and Paul Harpur raced the 10 mile event. There was also a 5k and 5 mile event so lots on offer.
Tony ran 1:03:58 putting in a big effort after his Masters run on Friday evening and was rewarded with a well earned 7th place finish.
Paul Harpur also had a great run in 1:18:33 putting him in in 31st place.
Great running from the two lads, well done
parkrun
A nice unwelcome shower just before the run got everyone questioning getting up early but it quickly passed everyone was treated to weather which was a little nicer.
Special mention to Linda Leacey & John Hyland on their first outing as a club members.
At Wexford Racecourse Parkrun Eamonn Foley, Ryan Ellard, John Hyland, Gareth Lloyd,Brian Smyth, Dermot Foley, Fran Power, Helen Burrell, Jesse Kielthy, Ollie Stack, Rob Casey, Linda Leacey, Michael Murphy, Tony Harpur, Paul Harpur Sharron Dier, Bridie McGuire, Gráinne Hayes & Martin Kelly all completed their 5k.
Triathlon / Women's Mini Marathon / parkrun
Athy Triathlon
Something a little different for John Dier on Saturday June 1st as he competed at the Tri a Tri Triathlon in Athy.
He was well chuffed as he improved on his overall time from last year finishing in 1:16:59. This time also secured him 1st in his age category
Congratulations John
Mini Marathon
The VHI Womens Mini Marathon kicked off at lunchtime on Sunday June 2nd in glorious sunshine. The biggest sporting event over the weekend saw approx 25,000 women all come together to run/walk the 10k route on a super warm day. 5 of our wonderful ladies travelled up with each performing admirably on the day. Happy smiling faces approaching the finish line.
Well done to each of you.
Sarah Bermingham 1:00:18
Samantha Donegan 1:03:58
Jamie Jordan 1:08:12
Sharron Dier 1:28:33
Bridie McGuire 1:29:26
parkrun
Bright blue skies and a warm morning greeted the earlybird runners on Saturday morning. Special mention to Ryan on his first outing as a club member and Fiachra who continues to improve as the weeks go by.
At Wexford Racecourse Parkrun Fiachra Mehigan, Brian Smyth, Dermot Foley, Paula Gondard, Ryan Ellard, Rob Casey, Geoff Hoffheinz, Rob Mehigan, Dave Clancy, Darren O'Grady, Fran Power, Michael Murphy, Bridie McGuire, Alex Parris & Martin Kelly completed the 5k route.
Gareth Lloyd was in Edinburgh and completed the Oriam Park Parkrun while he was there.
Burren Half / Leinster Masters Track & Field / Dublin Mountains 25K / Newry 10K / parkrun Takeover
Burren Half Marathon
Rob Casey headed west for the weekend with the Burren Half Marathon taking place in North County Clare.
Rob had a great run in good conditions finishing in 2hr 2 mins.
Well done Rob, another one in the bag.
Leinster Masters Track & Field
SETU welcomed the Provinces Masters athletes to Carlow for the Masters Track & Field Championships. Superb performances from our own athletes who travelled up over the two days of competition. Great to see hard work and dedication paying off.
Samantha was on a mission to throw everything as far as she could, our stand out performer over the 2 days of competition. Catherine arrived determined to bust a gut and the three newbies didn't know what to expect in their first taste of Leinster competition.
Day 1:
*Catherine O'Connor flew around the 1500m winning Gold in O55 in a fantastic 6:44.90
*Samantha Donegan had a great Championships competing in the O50 category winning Silver in Weight for Distance 4.09m, Bronze in Shot Putt 5.08m and 4th place in javelin 9.53m.
A tough day for throwing into the wind.
Day 2:
The weather was a bit kinder on Sunday as athletes geared up for day 2.
*Samantha Donegan was back throwing after Saturdays success full of confidence.
In O50 hammer she claimed a Silver throwing 18.56m and in discus claimed Silver in 14.19m , a fantastic weekend of medal winning performances.
* Brian Smyth finished 4th in 19:19 and Fran Power 6th in 22:05 O40 5000m
*Dermot Foley dug deep and claimed Bronze in 20:25 O45 5000m
This was a first Leinster experience for Brian, Dermot & Fran.
The club is proud of the achievements over the weekend.
Thanks also to Helen Sinnott & Siobhan Doyle who officiated at the event and to the support crew Martin Kelly.
Also thanks to Padraig Kelly who was officiating at the Munster Masters.
Also a big well done to Roisin O'Reilly who was competing in UCD's yellow vest in the Senior 1500 finishing 5th place in 4:47.21.
Dublin Mountain 25K challenge
in aid of Barretstown was Brendan Broderick's challenge for the weekend.
A fantastic event, we done Brendan and all fir such a great cause.
Newry 10K
Ali Ashgar Kohyee had an early start on Sunday morning as he travelled to Newry, Co Down. He was on a mission and entered the 10k with one goal in kind - to set a PB. He did exactly that finishing in 46:31 , delighted to see Ali hit his target, well done. Below is his thoughts on the event.
"The weather was perfect, felt slightly cold when starting out but it helped avoid overheating during the race. The route was closed to vehicles - at least half the road, generally the full road. And there were plenty of water stations with proper water bottles, plus various people on the run route were offering jellies and things to keep energy up (though I didn't need any this time for the 10k). Excellent crowd and support, the marshalls were very friendly and helpful, especially when my bus reached a bit late and I was guided very well and encouraged when starting, on the route, and after returning."
parkrun Takeover
Parkrun with a difference at the weekend as Menapians AC were the first club to take over the volunteer roles at Wexford Racecourse Parkrun.
Dermot & Brian on scanning, Alex on tokens, Niall on timing, Sharron on course check and Darren as Run Director saw our gang ensure the day went smoothly while giving the regular volunteers a breather.
Thanks to everyone who stepped up to volunteer and a special mention to our pacers on the day Ali, Sarah, Paul, John & Eamonn. Lots of great feedback about you guys and all very positive.
Some superb performances with some PB times on the day also from our club members.
Fiachra Mehigan, Paula Gondard, Micheál Kinsella, Gareth Lloyd, Eamonn Foley (pacer), Tadhg Henderson, John Dier (pacer), Geoff Hoffheinz, Enda O'Sullivan, Rob Mehigan, Paul O'Meara (pacer), Sarah Bermingham (pacer), Mary Cronin, Michael Murphy, Ali Ashgar Khoyee (pacer), Gráinne Hayes, Bridie McGuire, Ollie Stack & Dave Percival all completed the 5k route in club colours.
Huge thanks to John and the Wexford Racecourse Parkrun team for such a warm welcome. We received some very positive feedback from Parkrun regulars and the pacers went down a treat. Lovely to see everyone finishing with a smile, many of whom beat the pacer they were chasing around the route.
Finally, Paul Harpur was in Thurso on the North Coast of Scotland where completed the local parkrun.
