All Ireland uneven ages & Novice XC report 15.12.2019

It was a very successful day for our athletes who made the journey to Dunboyne in Co. Meath for the All Ireland Juvenile Uneven ages & Novice cross country championships.   Dunboyne A.C. were the host club and Cow Park was the venue and though a relatively flat enough course, it was very, very mucky and boggy.    It is a big ask of athletes at this time of the year to make it to the start line in full health and injury free.    Most of our juvenile athletes had to contend with a lot of sickness recently which hampered their training however, they were determined to take their positions on the start line and do their best.

Beibhinn horstmanhoff competed, wearing the Cork singlet, with her usual strength and determination in the girls u. 13 2500m race.    Although Cork did not win any county team medals, Beibhinn was the 4th placed scorer for Cork which is a big improvement on her placing in the County championships.   

Fionn Harrington and Seán Lawton were next up in the boys under 15 3500m distance.   Fionn got a very good start and settled in nicely to the fast paced race.    He ran side by side with his training partner Seán for a good part of the race before Seán pulled away from him with a km to go. However, Fionn found some energy in the final few hundred metres and gave it everything he had running in to the finish line passing  athletes on the way finishing in 7th overall.  Seán also had a fierce battle to get to the finish line with two other athletes and he took the 10th place medal and both were thrilled to make the top 12 finishers podium.  Not only did they win individual medals, but they both were scorers on the Cork team and the Munster team who both claimed the gold medals.  

Aoibheann Lawton was next up in the girls u. 17 4000m race and ran brilliantly throughout finishing in a super 15th place overall.  This was a huge improvement on her finishing place in 2018.  Aoibheann was the 2nd Cork athlete over the line and the 4th Munster athlete, which again is a significant improvement on her County and Munster performance.  Aoibheann did not come home empty handed, winning both a Gold Cork County team medal and a broze Munster  medal. 

Michael Harrington competed in the last race of the day, the mens Novice race over a distance of    6 km.  The course was well and truly dug up and mucky at this stage in the day, so it was a pure test of strength and stamina. Michael finished in 49th position out of a field of 216 athletes and was delighted to win a silver medal with the Cork team, being the 5th place scorer for them. 

Huge well done to all athletes, who had the honour of competing against the best of athletes from the four corners of Ireland.  

RESULTS HERE - 

PHOTOS HERE

Athletics Ireland Report / provisional results 

Newsletter 1st December 2019

Turnpike, Co. Tipperary was the venue for this years Munster B XC Championships, hosted by Moycarkey Coolcroe A.C..  Representing the Club were Adam Whelton (u. 9) Emily Drinan (u.11), Robyn Whelton (u.11), Liam Horstmanhoff (u.11), Bebhinn Horstmanhoff (u. 13), Finnian Lawton (u.13), Anna Towns (u.15),  Caoimhe Horstmanhoff (u.15)  Caoimhe Cotter (u.17) Michael Harrington Intermediate Men. Great running by all athletes.  There were individual medals for the first twelve finishers overall in addition to Club and County team medals.  Adam Whelton, a relatively new member of the Club, had an impressive run in his first Munster championship race, finishing in an excellent 5th place in the boys u. 9 category.  Not only did Adam win an individual medal, but he was also a scorer on the Cork team that took the gold County medals.   Caoimhe Cotter also had a very strong performance in the girls u. 17 race and finished in 10th position overall.  Caoimhe also won a gold team medal with Cork.   Michael Harrington was our last athlete to run. He is returning to good running form after injury woes.  He grafted hard throughout the race to win the Munster Intermediate Men's bronze medal.  Michael has also been selected to run on the Cork team at the upcoming All Ireland Novice Cross Country championships.  

RESULTS HERE
Videos/Photos on Cork Athletics  HERE  and photos on Durrus AC Facebook page HERE

 

Carmel Nash finished off her running year on a good note, competing in the Clonakilty Half Marathon.  Carmel also took part in the Skibbereen Athletic Club 10 mile road race last weekend in poor weather conditions, as did Deirdre Towns in the 5 mile distance.    Jimmy Tobin has been getting in the Christmas spirit taking part in both the Killorglin Jingle Bell 5k run and the Castleisland 5k Run Rudolph Run. 

Run specific juvenile indoor Strength & Conditioning training will start this Friday evening in Durrus Community Hall from 5:45 - 7 p.m. and will continue for the next few months every Monday & Friday at the same time.  Strength & conditioning training prevents injuries, improves running form & enhances performance.  There is no charge for these sessions.   Parents are reminded to drop off their children and collect them from inside of the hall.  Children will not be permitted to leave the hall by themselves.  

Annual Club registration will take place this Friday night

Where →  Durrus Community Hall 

Time  →   5:45-7:00 p.m.  

There will be a second registration night on Monday next at the same time and venue, to facilitate members.  

Registration fees for 2020 are -

€30 child / €40 adult / €100.00 family rate (family of 4) (additional family members - €20.00).

What do you get for your membership fee ????

• Minimum twice weekly qualified coached athletics sessions all year. 
• Winter Indoor Strength & Conditioning training. 
• Fit4Life / Adult running sessions twice a week for all abilities. 
• Running advice 
• Little Athletics for kids age 5-8 for the Spring & Summer.
• Free Couch to 5k program for beginner runners
• Option to participate in championship/league events - No pressure!

Enquiries re registration
 📞 Michael 086 856 7179
 📞Annie 087 930 9807
 📞 Mary (Fit 4 Life / Adult groups) 086 841 4358

There will be a new free Couch to 5km running program starting in early January for over 18s.  This is for complete beginner runners (no experience necessary) or lapsed runners.    You need to be a registered member of the Club to take part in this program.   Any enquiries, contact Mary on  📞086 841 4358.

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Newsletter12/11/2019

Cross Country season is well underway.   The County Masters and Novice B competitions were held in Castlelyons on November the 3rd.  Giles  Deacy and Michael Harrington competed for the Club both running well, Giles in the Novice B and Michael in the Masters Men finishing 1st in the o.45 category (7th overall).

Giles Deacy giving it everything to the finish line

Results HERE

The following Sunday the Munster "A" uneven ages xc championships were held and the venue was Conna in Cork.  The course was a true cross country course over two fields which tested all the athletes to their limits.    Medals were presented to the top 12 over the line which secured automatic qualification for the All Irelands in December which are being held in Dunboyne, Co. Meath this year.  There were also County team placings for the taking, with the top 10 Cork athletes over the line securing a place on the Cork teams at the All Irelands.     We had three individual qualifiers. 

Séan Lawton and Fionn Harrington ran a super race in the boys u. 15 3500m .  They were in the early break away group of 12 who stayed together for most of the race.  With the race just won, Séan had a sprint finish against the reigning All Ireland Minor Boys school champion, with Séan coming over the finish line in 3rd place taking the bronze medal.   Fionn followed, digging deep in the final few hundred metres and moved from 11th position to 6th overall to secure automatic qualification.  They both helped Cork take the County team gold medals with Séan and Fionn both scorers on the team.  Cork is very strong in this category with 6 athletes in the top 12.

Aoibheann Lawton ran another powerful race in the fiercely competitive girls u.17 category.    She finished in a brilliant 12th position overall also securing automatic qualification to the All Irelands and was also the 4th  scorer on the Cork team that took gold.

Also testing their limits and running to their strengths but outside of the medals on this occasion were Beibhinn Horstmanhoff u. 13 (33rd) Caoimhe Horstmanhoff u.15 (60th), Ellen Collins u. 17 (35th), Caoimhe Cotter u. 17 (39th) and Michael Harrington in the Mens Senior race (25th).

Michael Harrington in action in the Mens Senior race

Full results HERE

Photos on Durrus AC Facebook Page HERE

This Sunday the Munster Masters championships will be held in Beaufort, Co. Kerry
Details here

REMINDER of A.G.M. being held Thursday 14th November at 8:30 p.m. in Durrus Community Hall.  All members & parents encouraged to attend

Newsletter 28.10.2019

It was another busy week for the Club with members competing in various events from 2k to 42.2k.

On the trails, Giles Deacy & Elmarie Lynch have  been in good running form at the Glengarriff Parkrun over the past two weekends, with Giles posting a p.b. of 23:20 on the 5k distance on the 19th of October and finishing in 3rd place overall last Saturday. 

On the roads, Carmel Nash and Jimmy Tobin were our 2 representatives at the annual Dublin City Marathon.    Carmel had been training diligently since Cork City Marathon for this event and her training certainly paid off.  She ran a very evenly paced marathon, coming in at 2 hrs at the half way mark and  finished in a fantastic time of 4:03.42.   

Jimmy Tobin has continued with his running streak taking part in the recent National Council of the Blind Annual 10k in Thurles and the Dromtasna 10k Challenge in West Limerick.  He finished off the month of October by taking part in the Dublin City Marathon, which he completed  at a slower pace than normal for him, as he was pacing another runner, but enjoyed it all without the pressure of the clock!!. 

Our juveniles were in action on Sunday at the County "B" cross country championships hosted by Duhallow A.C. and held in Dromtarriffe.    Competing in the following age categories were; U.9 Adam Whelton & Liam Horstmanhoff, U.11 Robyn Whelton, U. 13, Beibhinn Horstmanhoff, Lily Collins, Anna McAuliffe & Finnian Lawton, U. 15 Caoimhe Horstmanhoff &  Anna Townes, U. 17 Ellen Collins & Caoimhe Cotter.   Great running by all the athletes, who can be very proud of their performances.    Medals were awarded to the first 6 individuals over the line.   Adam Whelton on his first competitive race with the club narrowly missed out on a medal finishing in 7th place, as did Lily Collins who also finished in 7th and Caoimhe Horstmanhoff who finsihed in 8th place. 3 individual medals were won.   Ellen Collins won the girls u.17 race followed by Caoimhe Cotter in 2nd place who took the silver medal and clear winner of the girls under 13 race was Beibhinn Horstmanhoff, who ran a very tactical race.  Well done to all.

RESULTS HERE

PHOTOS HERE

Next weekend the County Masters Cross Country will be held in Castlelyons hosted by St. Nicholas A.C. with the Munster Juvenile uneven age & Senior Cross Country championships being held the following weekend on Sunday November the 10th in Conna.  Details here