From Track Racing 2009 Wednesday 5th August 2009 The final evening of the graded series for 2009 took place at a warm and sunny but breezy Irishtown stadium. First up was the 200m, and there were 2 grade C races. In the 1st Sportsworld’s fastest man Conor Murphy was an impressive gun to tape winner 27.08 and would have bettered this if there was somebody to chase. In the 2nd Packie Enright made his debut at sprint events and finished third in 27.52. It wasn’t a bad result for someone with no track or speed work of any sort done, but it wasn’t a sensible decision to race either with no preparation; one based on impulse. Next up was the 1500m girls, and Crona was a decent 4th in Grade A behind fellow national senior finalists Lorraine Manning and Azmera Gebrezgi. In a mere 18 months running Crona has climbed to a level that no one would have expected of her, and the national championship of three days beforehand was her peak of the season. As a result she looked a little tired, and maybe should be on a break from running for a few weeks. She wanted to come back this evening to try for a pb but on such a breezy evening no athlete recorded one. Hopefully she’ll be very pleased with what she’s achieved this year, it’s rare that someone of such little experience progresses so quickly, and the Brady’s enthusiasm is something we can all learn from. Conor was back in action at the 1500m grade D and did very respectably considering that distance running is not his event. With laps of 84, two 89s and a 56 second last 300m, [...]
Latest Lord Mayor Series and Track News
From Track Racing 2009 Tuesday July 7th Lord Mayor 2m Road Series # 4, Raheny Packie Enright was the only red & white representative at the 4th round of the Lord Mayor Series and duly came 3rd out of around 50 people in total. Conditions were fresh & breezy but nice & dry. The harmless low key race comprising mainly of veterans, average club runners, triathletes, BHAA members & general fitness enthusiasts was a slow tactical one with many running negative or even splits. The series takes place on the same quiet housing estate as the National Road Relays, except instead of being 2 full laps it finishes back a smidgen from where it started (as the course is 1620m or just 11m longer than a mile). After a slow 1st mile (5.24) Enright was at the back of a bunch of 10. The pace picked up significantly then by the leaders, & Enright passed lads that went out too hard; moving up to 6th with 600m left & 5th with 400m to go. The clareman outsprinted the next 2 in the last 150m with one of them fighting back in a mighty ding dong, both runners credited with the same time (10.45). Enright left it too late to catch the first 2, won by the ageless ox Mick Traynor in 10.31. It was a mediocre time for Enright’s 1st race in over 10 wks and there was a definite lack of sharpness & simple ability to distance run at 5 min pace. Then it was back to the clubhouse for tea & biscuits, and the organisers are well known for their hospitality along with knowledge of athletics. The prize on offer wasa beautiful poetry [...]
Dublin Graded No.6 Irishtown
From Track Racing 2009 Wednesday 1st July had the Dublin Graded No.6 track meeting in Irishtown on a perfect summers evening. Poor Lorraine Manning of Raheny had a tough time as she faced Aoife Brady on stunning form in the 3000m race. Unfortunately there was not much competition for Aoife to help push the pace but she still managed by herself to do a brilliant time of 9.35 betting her PB. Lorraine then had to face an ever improving Crona in the mile, with Crona pushing Lorraine for the first couple of laps and finished up in an excellent 3rd in 5.12. Lucky for Lorraine Paul Duffy is the only triplet in the club. We had new club member Conor Murphy who is really relishing the track season taking part in all the events (400m, 3000m and mile) and still managing a sprint finish in each one. Paul Duffy who after winning the C grade a couple of weeks ago could of taken the easy option of running grade C again but took the tough decision to move up a grade to B and did a great run in a tough field of 4.50 for the mile . I managed to avoid track races up to now but Packie did a brilliant report on what is involved in the graded track races a few weeks ago so I had to give it a try. I went for grade C in the mile and just told myself its just a lap and a bit of the top lap in Bushy park we do for warm up but without the dogs, dog owners with 20meter nearly invisible leashes, walkers, tree roots and the distraction of the girls [...]
A Summers Evening at the Dublin Graded No. 5 in Santry
Well, twas a bright summers eve, with a fair gust of wind about. Sportsworld had a good contingent out and aquitted themselves well. The Brady sisters were to the fore in a very competitive ladys 1500. Aoife won comfortably in 4.36. The ever-improving Crona ran strongly in the pack, coming in 9th in 4.55. The men’s 1500 started with the D race. Colm McCarthy took off like the proverbial clappers, opening up a 20 metre lead after the first lap. He maintained this gap until the last lap, when a combination of tiredness and strong finishing from the athlete behind denied him victory. A fine run nonethess (4.42) and Colm should certainly be comfortable in the C grade next time around. Next up was Paul Duffy in the 1500 C. Paul ran strongly in an unfamiliar event. He battled well and finished in the pack in an impressive 4.32. More to come from the club’s fastest improving athlete. Well if Paul O’Connell was a novice to the 1500, he could have fooled me. Maintaining second for most of the race and seemed to be tiring with a lap to go. Then, from nowhere the trademark burst of speed kicked in on the back straight. Second and third were left for dead in a matter of metres and Paul cruised home in 4.14. Then it was left to the old horse (yours truly)to reaquaint himself with with the sacred santry track. The 5000m wasn’t as packed as usual. It was one in a fine 15.08 by James McFadden. With 2nd and 3rd sewn up, it was left to my old adversary Michael Frehilly and I to decide 4th. It was a good old ding dong as [...]
A Run in the Sun
The summer racing schedule is in full flow now with some outstanding running. No more so then Aoife Brady’s 1st place finish in the 3000m at Irishtown stadium last Wednesday evening (3rd June) and Paul Duffy who won his grade in the men’s 3000m at the fourth Graded Track & Field. On a perfect warm summer’s evening Aoife ran a storming 3km in 9.41.05 winning by a cool 18 seconds clear of second place (also 9sec off her PB!!!) and Paul won his grade with a sprint to the line coming home in 9.31.22. Crona Brady finished 10th in a competitive 800m on the same evening and Sean Wall battled to 7th in his grade also in 800m. Also on the June Bank Holiday Monday saw an impressive Sportsworld contingent set out in sweltering conditions in the Womens Mini Marathon. An epic sight of a field of 40,000 took on the 10km course. Those of us spectating were melting in the heat so it must have been akin to running in a cauldron for the competitors. Congratulations to everyone who took part and even more so to the club member’s who braved the hot weather, basked in the sun and cheered the club on. Out of the huge field Sportsworld had Lucy D’Arcy, Helen White, Kathleen O’Callaghan, Stephanie Bergin all finishing in the top 50. See the Photos Menu for pictures of the great day. Up in the hills and far away a steady stream of Sportworld runners have been competing in the Irish Mountain Races in all weather conditions. Recent events have included the Powerscourt 6km uphill race, Corrig Mountain and Prince Williams Seat where Colm Kennedy, Paul Mitchell & Jakub Splawski all had [...]