Sunday 6th December 2009, Coleraine It was a cold but at least dry day when Michael, Emily & Packie collected me in Swords for the long drive up north to Coleraine for this year’s National Novice XC. The last race of the year promised to be run in more favourable conditions than the Dublin Intermediate the previous week and hopefully Clann Lir would be absent from the course today. We got up to Coleraine in plenty of time and managed to find a pool table in the Students Union, which kept us occupied for a while. Paul Duffy continued his fine run of form on the pool table and when he got bored beating everyone, Packie took a turn giving us all a pool lesson. The team assembled, we made our way to the course to catch young Sean Wall (Waller) in action in the Under 19′s race. Waller had a great race and worked his way through a very competitive field. It was a tough race for him aswell as the U19′s had to run 6k, same as the novice. Next up was the girls (Stephanie, Lorna, Ruth, Susan and Helen) over 3k. Lorna Quinn (19th) came through very strongly and continued to show her fine running form. Ruth(27th) and Stephanie(28th) were next in, only a hare’s fart seperating them. Next up was Susan (45th) with Helen(56th) the final scorer. No medals today with fifth spot team place but Rathfarnam were seventh, so every silver cloud and all that… Next up was the lads. There had been some controversy surrounding the start of a lot of the junior races and our own start wasn’t the most clinical. No chutes and little warning but that’s [...]
Dublin Novice Cross Country 2009
Dublin Novice CC 2009 Lorna the Longford lass shows ‘em how it’s done Phoenix Park, Sunday October 11th – The magazine fort was the setting for Sunday’s Dublin novice cross country championship. Glorious sunshine and hard under footing at the famous Münich lap meant that each race went off like the proverbial clappers – and stayed that way for 3k/6k for the girls and guys races respectively. While meant for beginners, novice competitions represent a huge step up from Meet and Train or BHAA competitions, and the pace can be shocking for debutants to championship racing. However that didn’t bother our Lorna, who set the pace from the gun to get away from a possibly record turnout of over 70 girls and 12 teams. At 1k (3:15), she remained in a group of 6 hardy competitors who didn’t want to leave without silverware. After one lap (at the bell), she piled on the pressure and the only one able to live with this was Rathfarnham WSAF’s Carole Pauli. A tactical race between the two was looking on the cards when they turned back into the forest with 1k left. Lorna was having none of it though, running with an exuberance and confidence that surprised most of us. Turning the last corner with 350m left and the wind behind her, she finished like an express train to take the biggest victory of her less than 4 year old career. Lorna also led the red and white to team gold, where we had all 4 girls in the top 10 thanks to brilliant displays from Louise, Mairead and Susan. Also representing the club with honour were Ann, Helen and Barbara; gaining valuable experience from the occasion. From [...]
National Novice Cross Country 2008
National Novice Cross Country, Ballyheise, 7 December 2008 And so to it, the last cross country endeavour for 2008. Following the harrowing experiences of Avondale and Abbeyleix, Ballyheise in the heart of Cavan was the location selected to host the National Novice XC. Arriving at the arena in Ballyheise, we were confronted by a biting cold in the air and the sight of little kids bawling their eyes out, others with icepacks strapped to ankles and even one poor misfortunate being stretchered out with a neck brace and oxygen mask. It was clear we were a long long way from La Santa. Sean Wall was the first of the Sportsworld participants to face the course. In the Under-19 race, a gruelling 6k race, in which young Waller admirably held his own, stepping up an age class to compete. The ladies’ novice race was the next to feature Sportsworld runners. At a distance of 3k, this race went off with a ferocious pace around the course and the Sportsworld team quickly got into their stride. Lorna Quinn, Mary Finn, Crona Brady, Stephanie Bergin and debutante Catherine O’Neill all put in strong performances. Both Lorna and Stephanie also ran on the Dublin side while Crona wore the green and gold of Meath. The men’s novice race was the last race of the day. The Sportsworld team of Ronan Merrick, Ed McEntee, Michael Cunningham, Colin Bolger, Paul Duffy, Paul Mitchell and Will Greensmyth faced into six laps of the course, by now well churned with knee-deep mud after the previous races. The Sportsworld gents dug deep and got around with some exceptional performances. Worthy of particular note is that of Ronan Merrick whose top form this season continued [...]
Leinster Novice & Master CC 2008
Leinster Novice & Master race – 26th October 2008 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 [...]
Dublin Novice Cross Country 2008
There were strong runs by all our members in sundays Dublin Novice Cross Country race. The sportsworlds ladies team got the bronze medal, with the men’s team finishing 8th, the full results are here Two sets of photo’s for you all Dublin Novice Cross Country 2008 Dublin Novice Cross Country 08 And video!! The girls start. The loudest starting gun ever, “and can people please keep the course clear”. The men’s start And the finish (thanks to jakub for providing the pedal power)