Gorey Night Run / parkrun
Gorey Night Run
Thursday night saw some club members head to Gorey for the 10th hosting of the Gorey Night Run. A breezy evening but dry so runners were happy to avoid a rainy night as they joined close 1,000 people on the start line. The course travelled down Gorey Main Street then off to some residential areas before passing the Tesco Supermarket on the way to the finish line. A nice course around the town.
Congratulations to Martin who added another M70 win to his growing collection.
Dermot and Brian had a little battle around the route with only seconds between them.
A superbly organised race which attracted some top athletes to Gorey. Well done to all involved in the organising of it.
Brian Smyth 19:33
Dermot Foley 19:37
Martin Kelly 22:33
Paul Harpur 22:44
John Dier 24:48
Bridie McGuire 40:06
Sharron Dier 46:15
Niall Tyrrell 46:15
parkrun
It is nice to hear from parkrunners interested in more information about the club. We have picked up lots of members through the parkrun over the years. Well done to Hazel who had her first run as a club member.
Enda O'Sullivan ran in Borrisokane &
Brian Smyth ran in Fethard Co Tipperary.
Peter & Janette Mulvany ran the Fairview parkrun in Dublin.
At Wexford Racecourse Parkrun we had 20 members taking part : Eamonn Foley, John Hyland, Gareth Lloyd, Geoff Hoffheinz, Micheál Kinsella, John Dier, Hazel Doyle, Rob Mehigan, Dermot Foley, Dave Clancy,Darren O'Grady, Martin Kelly, Linda Leacy, Mary Cronin, Alex Parris, Michael Murphy, Bridie McGuire, Paul Harpur, Sharron Dier & Helen Burrell.
Well done to everyone.
Leinster Schools Cross Country / Enniscorthy 10k / parkrun
Leinster Schools Cross Country
Go to school or run around Phoenix Park ?
Tough choice but the run won out for Fiachra Mehigan today. He travelled up to Dublin to compete in the Leinster Schools Cross Country event in the Junior Boys category for his school CBS Wexford. Another excellent performance from this young athlete who loves the longer distances. He is a dedicated young man and today in a very tough race he was the 2nd Wexford athlete over the line finishing in 11 min 53 seconds in 47th place.
Well done to you Fiachra
Enniscorthy 10k
The Old Dublin Road was overflowing with the colours of a multitude of club vests as 260 entrants all warmed up awaiting the start gun. The roads were wet but luckily the rain held off for the most part making good running conditions.
As is the norm with any race hosted by the clubs of County Wexford Menapians athletes were present. Today's number was 9 athletes with 8 men and 1 lady lining up on the start line ready to go.
Another successful day for Martin as he claimed the M70 prize. Brian had the honour of first club member home with Tony only seconds behind, with the other club members strung out across the field as athletes came through in quick succession.
Slaney Olympic Athletic Club again showed their ability to host a race seamlessly as parking and number collection was so easy. Well done to all involved in the organising committee. Congratulations to them on another successful event.
Congratulations to everyone who ran. Looks like lots of athletes are I good shape for the upcoming Novice Road Race in March.
Club results:
Brian Smyth 39:49
Tony Harpur 39:55
Dermot Foley 41:10
John Hyland 44:07
Eamonn Foley 44:16
Martin Kelly 47:27
Micheál Kinsella 50:32
John Dier 52:19
Sarah Bermingham 57:51
parkrun Roundup
Lots of members taking easy runs on Saturday on a damp morning as they saved themselves for the 10k on Sunday morning.
Eamonn Foley,Geoff Hoffheinz, Sarah Bermingham, Helen Burrell, Enda O'Sullivan, Linda Leacy, John Hyland, Brian Smyth, Dermot Foley, Mary Cronin, Michael Murphy, Bridie,Sharron Dier & John Dier all completed the Wexford Racecourse Parkrun.
Peter Mulvany was in Tralee and ran the local parkrun while he was there.
Siobhan Doyle explored an old parkrun route in Toulouse France which is no longer in use while spending some time there.
Well done to everyone.
Wexford Credit Union Night Run 5K / Fun on the Track / IMRA Tropperstown / parkrun
Wexford Credit Union Night Run 5K
A nice chill in the dark air around town as the Quay was buzzing with athletes and supporters awaiting the start of the race.
27 of our members signed up to take part with some pushing themselves as others used it as a training run. Great to see so many out supporting a great cause.
Fiachra was the first club member across the line running a super race finishing 2nd junior male and 20th place overall. Helen Wallace had a good night and was our first lady home. Conor was 3rd and John 4th O60 age cat with Martin 1st in the M70.
Well done to all that ran. Kudos to all involved in organising the event, all your work made the event run so smoothly and thanks to Sportsphoto Ireland & Wexford Free Press for photos. Wexford Credit Union Night Run
Members results:
Fiachra Mehigan 18:26
Brian Smyth 19:42
Ryan Ellard 19:54
Eamonn Foley 21:26
Helen Wallace 22:06
Jesse Kielthy 22:02
Martin Kelly 22:30
Fran Power 23:40
Conor MacAogain 23:58
Gareth Lloyd 24:34
Paul O'Meara 24:44
John Dier 24:49
Zac Dee 26:32
Ilze Bedrite 26:51
Jennifer Kehoe 27:10
Enda O'Sullivan 27:16
Dermot Foley 27:26
Rob Mehigan 27:36
Sarah Bermingham 27:51
Nora Boggan 28:35
Linda Leacy 30:58
Helen Burrell 31:31
Siobhan Doyle 32:29
Michael Murphy 34:38
Bridie McGuire 40:38
Sharron Dier 47:11
Niall Tyrrell 47:36
Enniscorthy Track Fun Night
A brilliant fun night on the track in Enniscorthy last night as Eion, Pippa, Benny, Este, Daniel, Danny, Kyle, Chloe, Fionn, Conor & Leon all took part in an introducton to events. This was done in a fun and inclusive environment where the emphasis was on enjoying athletics and having fun.
Thanks to our coaches Ellen, Louise, Tadhg, Padraig & Liam.
Well done to Deirdre and Enniscorthy AC for organising a wonderful evening of fun athletics !
IMRA Trooperstown
9.70km was the marked race route distance as Helen and Tadhg took on a new challenge in the form of an Irish Mountain Running Association race on Trooperstown County Wicklow.
Tactics are different than in a road race and the 2 settled themselves into a steady rhythm as they navigated the course.
Nice running from Helen Wallace (57:02) & Tadhg Henderson (1:11:14) as they happily crossed the finish line quite content with their days work.
parkrun
Special mention to Linda who has shown steady improvement since she joined the club and was rewarded on Saturday by running her fastest 5k time.
Borrisokane Parkrun saw Enda O'Sullivan add another event to his list.
Brain Smyth, John Hyland, Dermot Foley, Fran Power, John Dier, Sarah Bermingham, Ann Thomas, Martin Kelly, Helen Burrell, Oliver Stack, Linda Leacy, Michael Murphy, Bridie McGuire, Dave Percival, Gareth Lloyd & Sharron Dier all completed the Wexford Racecourse Parkrun.
Well done to everyone.
Richmond Half Marathon / John Treacy 10 mile / Corach Ramblers 5K / parkrun
Richmond Half Marathon
Ryan Ellard was in London for a few days and while over there he decided to go for a run. 13 miles later and he had the Richmond Park Half Marathon complete in 1:46:02
Congratulations Ryan.
John Treacy 10 Mile
Dungarvan had much nicer weather than Wexford on Sunday morning as over 3000 athletes converged on the town. Clubs from all over Leinster and Munster made up the majority of entrants in the increasingly popular event. Excellent organisation from West Waterford AC each year as the event runs so smoothly.
3 club members took part this year with Martin, Dermot & John (his first 10 mile race) putting in excellent performances. Benjamin Button himself went and won the M70 age category so huge congratulations to you Martin.
Dermot Foley 1:09:19
John Hyland 1:15:15
Martin Kelly 1:22:44
Corach Ramblers 5k
On Bank Holiday Monday Corach Ramblers FC hosted their 5k for the first time. By all accounts an excellent course with friendly marshals and tea afterwards. Simple as that.
Five club members took part and this year as it was the first hosting they decided not to time the race.
Well done to Gareth Lloyd, Niall Tyrell, Bridie McGuire, Sharron Dier & John Dier who all took part.
parkrun
The home of the Parkrun movement is Bushy Park in London where the first ever run took place. Mary, Helen, Brian and Ryan paid a visit on Saturday as their running mate celebrated 250 parkruns as they joined 1500 people on the start line. Nice event to have on their list.
Enda O'Sullivan attended the Tramore Parkrun.
Mary Cronin, Helen Burrell, Brian Smyth and Ryan Ellard ran the Bushy Park Parkrun.
Fiachra Mehigan, Eamonn Foley, Geoff Hoffheinz, John Dier, Gareth Lloyd, Fran Power, Sarah Bermingham Dave Clancy, Martin Kelly Linda Leacy, Bridie McGuire, Dave Percival, Rob Mehigan & Alex Parris all completed the Wexford Racecourse Parkrun.
Well done everyone.
South Leinster Schools Cross Country
The South Leinster Schools Cross Country took place on Thursday in County Carlow. Most people were busy preparing for the arrival of Storm Éoywn but some of our athletes were busy making sure they they day off school to run.
Running for CBS Wexford Fiachra Mehigan had another super run finishing 8th place and this qualifies him for an entry to the Leinster Schools.
Josh Nolan also CBS Wexford dug deep and finished in 133rd in the Intermediate race .
Alex Lonergan was running in St Peters colours with a 152 finish place.
It's great to see our members stepping up and representing their schools at events like these.
Well done to all our young athletes.
County Schools Cross Country / Leinster Intermediate and Masters CC / parkrun
County Schools Cross Country
On Wednesday 16th January the County Schools Cross Country took place in Ferns. Fantastic to see some of our athletes stepping out in their school colours ( anything to get time off school)
In Wexford CBS colours Fiachra Mehigan and Josh Nolan ran excellent races with Fiachra 2nd place in his race and also on the gold medal team.
Orla Dolan had a strong run representing Presentation Girls School.
In St Peters College colours putting in good performances were Zac Dee, Lucas Page Redmond, Elijah Page Redmond, Alex Lonergan & Sean Timmons. Lucas Page Redmond had a superb run as part of St Peters College silver medal winning team.
Keep up the great work.
Leinster Intermediate & Masters Cross Country.
Birr in County Offaly was typed into the sat nav as Martin & Tony hit the road on Saturday morning. They arrived and surveyed the course noticing that 'its not too mucky but lots of turns'
Martin was first up in the M70 age cat and as fine wine gets better with age so does Martin.
He took gold in the race with an excellent run finishing in 18:02, congratulations Martin.
The men's race followed with Tony pushing himself hard running with the pack and was rewarded with 74th place in a tough competitive field of 124 hardy souls. Tony finished in a time of 28:31, well done Tony
parkrun
Another big milestone hit on Saturday as Mary Cronin hit the magic 250 parkruns. Congratulations Mary.
Nice to see Sharron back completing the full 5k after her recent leg break.
At Wexford Racecourse Parkrun Fiachra Mehigan, Dermot Foley, Eamonn Foley, Ryan Ellard, John Dier, Rob Casey, John Hyland, Enda O'Sullivan, Rob Mehigan, Sarah Bermingham, Helen Burrell, Linda Leacy, Mary Cronin, Michael Murphy, Bridie McGuire & Sharron Dier all completed the free 5k event.
AI U16 Indoor Pentathlon / Ferrycarrig "5" / parkrun
Athletics Ireland Under 16 Indoor Pentathlon
Fiachra Mehigan represented Menapians at the Athletics Ireland Under 16 Indoor Pentathlon on Sunday (12th January) at the National Indoor Arena in Dublin. He was 7th in the sprint hurdles, broke 4 metres in the long jump, set a new personal best in the shot put, cleared 1.30m in the high jump and was 4th in his 800m. He finished 7th overall in the national competition. He was the 3rd Leinster athlete in this competition which saw him rewarded his first Leinster Championships Indoor medal. Fantastic performance and we look forward to Fiachra’s achievements for 2025 and beyond!
Ferrycarrig 5 Mile
Due to the recent cold snap the organisers had to postpone the race for 1 week in the interest of safety. A correct call to be fair as the popular race attracts athletes and fun runners from near and far.
They were rewarded with a bright mild day which is suited to running and athletes turned up en mass to take part.
The popular wooly hats were available to all who completed the 5 miles. A gang of 24 club members made their way to the home of Wexford FC where the start/finish lines are located and they joined with many club members from Wexford and neighbouring counties. Congratulations to Martin who won the M70 age category, classy running as ever from Martin.
Nice to see so many colours on display. One of ours thought the 5 miles was a bit too easy so decided to push his child around in a pram to make it more difficult !
Club Results:
Tony Harpur 31:24
Brian Smyth 33:00
Dermot Foley 33:15
John Hyland 35:05
Eamonn Foley 35:54
Jesse Kielthy 36:20
Martin Kelly (M70 winner) 36:53
Helen Wallace 37:02
Tadhg Henderson 37:45
Conor MacAogain 38:39
Ryan Ellard 39:21
Micheál Kinsella 40:43
John Dier 41:26
Rob Casey 41:52
Gareth Lloyd 41:58
Geoff Hoffheinz 42:25
Sarah Bermingham 43:26
Ilze Bedrite 43:47
Enda O'Sullivan 44:14
Ger Mulhall 48:08
Ann Thomas 48:23
Siobhan Doyle 49:09
Helen Burrell 49:24
Bridie McGuire 1:07:05
parkrun
A special morning for Bridie on Saturday as she hit the milestone of 250 parkruns (with lots more as a volunteer). Well done Bridie hope you enjoyed the 2 cakes, most people would be happy with 1 cake !
Brian Smyth, Enda O'Sullivan, Fran Power, Sarah Bermingham, Micheál Kinsella, Linda Leacy, Darren O'Grady, Michael Murphy, Gareth Lloyd, Dermot Foley, Bridie McGuire & Alex Parris all ran the Wexford Racecourse Parkrun.
Seasonal Update 2024
Quick catchup on a few things over the last few days.
The Clonmel 4 mile saw Brian Smyth put in another good performance finishing on 25:18
At the Rita & Robbie 5k in Navan Martin Kelly ran a superb 21:49 and was the M70 winner on the day.
The Goal Mile returned to Wexford hosted by Faythe Harriers on their grounds. Louise Henderson, Rory Henderson & Peter Mulvany took part while on Christmas Day Tadhg Henderson did the swim in Bray and he then joined Louise & Rory taking part in the Bray Goal Mile.
County Senior Cross Country
Mr Oil Senior Cross Country
The final County race of 2024 took place in Enniscorthy on Sunday as the counties athletes assembled in their club colours to compete on a course marked out by the hosts Slaney Olympic. As is customary ladies were first up and 5 of our athletes took the start line. Excellent running by each showing determination with each step to finish the 5k route. Helen Wallace was our first finisher in a fine 7th place and was backed up by Catherine O'Connor 18th, Ilze Bedrite 19th, Helen Sinnott 20th & Siobhan Doyle 24th place. Well done ladies.
After the ladies race was completed the men gathered at their start line as the wind picked up a bit to add to the challenge.
Two club athletes dug deep and put in energy sapping efforts to compete the 10k route. Tony Harpur 38th & Conor McAogain 48th in his first outing in club colours, well done men.
Another job well done to Tadhg Henderson & Helen Sinnott as County Competition secretaries, thanks to our officials Mary Gaynor, Senan O'Reilly, Louise Henderson and Martin Kelly and thanks to John & Sharron Dier for their support for all our athletes. Another smoothly run event by Wexford Athletics Officials with thanks also to host club Slaney Olympic.
There is one more cross country race which takes place on 26th January 2025.
National Novice Cross Country & Uneven Age / Waterford Half / Christmas Cracker
National Novice Cross Country & Uneven Age
Tramore hosted the National event on the well known Tramore Racecourse. A muddy loop on a mild day and good weather for the time of year with some nice climbs to test the leg strength. The club had 2 members in action today. Helen Wallace was our 1st lady to ever run National Novice and Fiachra Mehigan was only our 2nd underage boy to qualify for National.
Fiachra was running in U15 age category in a hugely competitive field. He ran his own race and settled into a good pace finishing 103rd in a large field of 138 athletes. A very creditable result for this young man.
Helen was 1st Wexford lady home finishing 93rd in a field of 120 ladies, no mean feat and a run to be proud of for the unassuming athlete who just gets on with the job in hand.
A huge round of applause for you both, great to see athletes performing well and seeing training work.
Also we had Padraig Kelly as part of the large crew of minions who ensure large events like this can take place. Padraig can always be found volunteering at these big race events, well done.
Waterford AC Half Marathon.
The final race of the year for so many as they grow their collection of different woolly hats. An excellently organised event by Waterford Athletic Club who have now settled on a scenic and fair route after a few changes over the years. The section on the Greenway takes athletes away from any traffic and tracks the river as the latter stages of the race hit the legs
Well done to our crew of 8 who completed the distance
Brian Smyth 1:33:06
Tadhg Henderson 1:42:58
Eamonn Foley 1:41:47
Jesse Kielthy 1:45:46
Paul Harpur 1:53:42
Ger Mulhall 2:11:16
Enda O'Sullivan 2:23:57
Jamie Jordan 2:32:35
The Christmas Cracker
Slaney Olympic held their Christmas Cracker event on Sunday. A unique and fun event where runners are told to put away their tracking devices, watches and phones and just run and everyone gets a prize.
They tell everyone the race distance on registration which this year was 4.71km and you have to predict your time. Winner is not the first over the line but instead the person whose prediction is closest to their actual time.
John Dier was only 18 seconds out and Bridie McGuire 23 seconds out which is good going when unable to track your progress
Well done to you both.