Sportsworld athletes put in strong performances with the senior ladies and masters teams taking gold. Mairead was first finisher in the senior ladies and  continued a great run of form taking 2nd place in the senior race.  Helen did equally well in the masters race. Everyone else taking part for the club gave 110% and had excellent individual races.

In the mens 6k race the team came home in second place being narrowly beaten for first by just two places in the end. Paul Duffy after putting in almost all of the early running was outpaced on the final hill and took 2nd place in the senior mens.

It was a great day out and highly recommended  as a good spend of a sunny  bank holiday Monday for everyone’s

Full results with names, finish times will be up on Athletics Leinster over the next few days.

Initial results (Ladies) from the road race in Gowran on 2nd May. Download here and the mens

Photos are up in the Gallery or on Picasa

Sunday 8th November saw the Leinster Intermediate Cross Country hosted by Tullamore Harriers in Tullamore, County Offaly.

Sportsworld were represented in the men’s race. Some of us were led to believe that we were running an 8km race, but we were taken back when we reached the field to be informed it was 10km made up of 5 laps. Hoping that underfoot conditions might be ok, we weren’t long finding out that the course was flooded in one corner and the rest was the near resemblance of a field vacated after the national ploughing championships with 3 hills to tackle 5 times thrown in to make it more enjoyable.

The race took off at a steady pace led by eventual winner Tom Hogan of Slaney Olympic. Sportsworld were led out by the excellent Micheal Cunningham, Paul Duffy and Ronan Merrick, followed closely by Mark Dunne, Paul Mitchell and Liam Mc Fadden.

Lap one was the greatest test for all, seeing was it safer to take a 30 metre detour to avoid the small lake in the bottom corner of the course or dive straight in and hope to make it out the other side with spikes still on. Gladly we all took the dive and made it trough. After that it was a case of settling in and trying to make moves on the leader board.

Sportsworld were unlucky not to come away with a team bronze medal for all their hard effort eventually finishing 4th placed team.

Overall Results
1 Tom Hogan 34.20 (Slaney Olympic)
18 Michael Cunningham 38.19
24 Paul Duffy 38.50
27 Ronan Merrick 39.10
30 Paul Mitchell 40.15
32 Mark Dunne 40.33
40 Liam Mc Fadden 42.21

Report by
Liam Mc Fadden recovering from ‘trench foot’ has supplied this report.

November 9th saw the annual meeting of the Leinster Intermediate CC Races, which was held in a mud bath at Heywood College Abbeyleix Co. Laois. We knew that it was going to be a tough day from the start, when the parking man stop us at the gate saying ‘I think lads ya may park here, the auld field up above is gone soft’, and can I have 5 Euro each as well!.

Well the parking man wasn’t lying, the course didn’t have a blade of grass which makes the performance of our Ladies team remarkable. The Girls team brought home the first gold of the cross country season. Well done to Aoife & Crona Brady, Stephney Bergan & Lisa Dowling. Aoife season is going from strength to strength & she took 1st place to boot. Even at that the twins weren’t finished clearing the place out of medals. They also picked up Gold for Meath in the county competition.

The lads were up next and they had the pleasure of 5 laps in the cold icy blustery conditions. But what else would you be doing on your Sundays, I even heard one of the lads saying the harder the better. But I’m soft & I taught that its was a day beside the fire. Despite the Conditions Ronan Merrick & Ed McEntee battled on to claim 11th & 16th overall. Next in Micky Cunningham marched in 24th spot. Paul Mitchell, James Shanahan. Will & Paul Duffy also had a go & the team as a whole just missed out on a bronze medal. However lads our day will come again.

Race report by Paul Duffy.

The 26th October saw the annual meeting of the Leinster Novice & Master races in Avondale, Rathdrum Co. Wicklow & gave the chance for the up & coming sportsworld stars a chance to shine. The race was held in the scene grounds of Avondale house in weather of all seasons & there were some fantastic performances put in by all of sportsworld runners especially Crona Brady & Ronan Merrick.

First race of interest to sportsworld was the novice Women of Crona Brady, Stephanie, Ciara Foster, Susan McDonnell & Claire O’ Reilly. The girls ran particularly well & were unlucky to miss out on the medals by 3 points. Susan, Ciara & Stephanie were together through out most of the 3K course & worked great as a team to finish 14th, 26th & 28th overall. However Crona stole the show to claim 5th place & based on this performance it will not be long till she will be running along side her sister in future races to come.

Next up the Novice Men were given there chance to shine. The race was 3 laps of a 2km course incorporating in what can only be described as a very steep hill that seem to go on forever. This hill will give me nightmare of years to come & most who saw it were left speechless by its length & steepness. However Ronan Merrick marked his come back to form with an outstanding 11th place. Ronan went to the front of the race early on & held his place with the leaders for one lap before dropping back a few places. Michael Cunningham also ran well & marched on to claim 21st spot overall. Michael is also coming back from injury & was delighted with his placing. Other notable performances were Paul Mitchell & James Shanahan who finished 44th & 45th respectively. Sportsworld claimed 6th overall in the team competition.

The masters women was the last race of interest to sportsworld. The girls ran really well & claimed 2nd spot with 22 points overall. Rachel Morgan ran a steady race to claim 5th place not to far behind Pauline Curley who won the race for Tullamore Harriers. Helen White & Kathleen O’ Callaghan completed the team & finished 7th & 10th overall. Well done to all who ran

Race report by Paul Duffy.

Although the races were short, it was a very chalenging course, with steep descents and hills on evert lap. However, as usual there were medals aplenty for the girls: The Novice team of Louise Nolan, Ciara Foster, Kim Masuda and Anne Delaney won bronze in the team event, and Louise and Ciara also got bronze medals as members of the Dublin county team.

Lucy Darcy, Helen White, Sandra Armstrong and Breda Browne were 2nd placed team in the Master’s event, with Lucy running a very strong race to take second overall.
Eanna Cunanne came 3rd in the Novice Mens Event and Ronan merrick and Eanna also got Bronze Medals for the Dublin County Team.

Leinster Intermediate Cross Country Championships were run over a gently undulating 2KM course in Abbeyleix. There were hills galore on every lap, but these seemed manageable to anyone who tackled the “hill of death” at the Leinster Novice Championships in Avondale 2 weeks previously!

The Girls’ team was made up of Sarah McAteer, Orlagh Fleming, Helen Dixon and Clare O’Reilly. They all finished closely together, which was a great team effort in a race dominated by local clubs.

Eanna Cunanne led home the Dublin team to a team gold in the men’s event, and also got the individual silver medal (having been narrowly beaten in a sprint finish by Ger Clancy of DMP). Ronan narrowly missed a team gold, and with him and Ed both putting in strong runs, we were unlucky not to have had a full team, as we would have got bronze medals in the team event! ( Report by Eanna Cunanne )

Sarah McAteer Sportsworld 17.11
Orlagh Fleming Sportsworld Dublin 17.15
Helen Dixon Sportsworld 17.30
Clare O’Reilly Sportsworld 17.39

Eanna Cunnane ( 2nd Overall )Sportsworld Dublin 32.02
Ronan Merrick Sportsworld Dublin 34.39
Ed McAteer Sportsworld Dublin 35.20