Midleton AC – Senior Section News

All Roads Lead To Ballycotton

In running terms the end of summer is usually signified when the Ballycotton Summer Series draws to its conclusion. This Thursday evening, like it or not, the calendar will reach August 27, the fourth Thursday in the month meaning that Dan McCarthy’s starting gun will sound at 7.30pm sharp in Ballycotton village.

This year’s series has broken all previous records in terms of participation levels and whilst it has been dominated up front by Sean McGrath (East Cork AC) and Rhona Lynch (Eagle), there have been some splendid times recorded by many athletes throughout the course of the summer months. Midleton AC has stood alone at top of the table in terms of numbers competing and as documented in previous columns many of our runners have made massive strides.

The lie of the land going into Race 4 sees a total of 36 club members (20 men and 16 ladies) having completed the three previous events. Allowing for holidays, work commitments, social engagements etc this represents a remarkable level of participation. In fact in the last race in Churchtown South no less than 49 of our club members participated, a figure which also reflected the massive increase in our membership during recent years.

The key factor has been the improvement made by many members over the popular distance during the course of the series with many of the relative newcomers making a great impression.

As for the famed tee shirts the chase is on for the top 50 men’s places and the top 15 ladies. The overall standings from a Midleton point of view show 6 club members in the men’s top 50 – Tom Cody 20th, Neilius Aherne 22nd, John Cashman 27th, Kevin Cooney 30th, Dan Horgan 36th and Alan Kelly 50th.

Just outside the 50 mark are a number of other club members who could well produce a big performance on the final night. In fact Ned Ramsell – 53rd, Niall O’Neill – 59th, Brian Healy – 60th, Trevor Mahoney 63rd, Ken Owens – 66th and Billy O’Sullivan – 67th all bettered their previous 5 mile time in Churchtown suggesting they could continue that trend this week.

Our ladies have a very strong hand behind run away leader Rhona Lynch. Michelle Nolan is 2nd, Ann Geary is 3rd and Sally Drennan is 5th, whilst Anne Marie Perry and Breda Cahill are lurking just outside the top 15 at present.

Remember the big race begins at 7.30pm sharp and with another record entry expected, probably in the region of 500, do get to the venue as early as possible. Car parks will again be in operation on the approach road to the village.


PTAA 5K

There is just one more evening fixture remaining on the BHAA calendar and that is the PTAA 5K in Togher on Wednesday next, beginning again at 7.30pm. A good entry is expected for one of the last 5K races of the year.

Race Action

The race action since our last bulletins included the Ardmore 5 Mile event, the inaugural road/wood race in Ballyhooly and the Army Navy 5K.

Last week’s Army Navy event topped the 300 mark and on a murky humid evening, we again had plenty of Midleton AC faces in the gathering. Noel O’Regan’s excellent 28:21 time over the testing course brought him home in 6th position overall, which meant he was the second Over 40 athlete to cross the line. Tom Cody collected his customary prize in the Over 50 category when coming home in second place whilst John O’Halloran ran another fine race to figure prominently in his category.

Sally Drennan again embellished her productive season with a great run which saw her finish third lady overall. Margaret Barry (2nd lady home Over 50), Com Jordan, Joan McCarthy, Donie O’Connell and Brian Healy were amongst the other club members in action on the night.

Ballyhooly

Just three days earlier, Sally Drennan again flew the club flag in the ’John Hartnett Classic Race’ in Ballyhooly. A modest entry of just under 60 took part in this the first year of the race. Sally’s impressive current form saw her again run a very solid race to finish as third lady, recording a time of 70:45 for the difficult course.

Ardmore ‘5’

Earlier on the same weekend Ardmore was the venue for the concluding race of the West Waterford AC Summer Series. The fixture attracted a record gathering with plenty of Cork runners, including a sizeable Midleton contingent. Sandis Bralitis set a new course record in winning the race, but quite a few of our representation who were making their debut in the race also enjoyed very creditable performances.

On the night in-form Noel O’Regan was again our leading light, crossing the line in the village in a time of 28:23 with Tom Cody next home in 30:35. Good runs were also enjoyed by Dan Horgan, Marie Murphy, Olive Hallahan, Karen Aherne, Joan McCarthy, Danny McCarthy, John O’Connell and the progressive Alan Kelly.

However, the real heroes of the night were Denis Kelleher and Michael Hanrahan. The Midleton duo sacrificed their own race to come to the rescue of an athlete from outside our club who had stopped in the middle of the race having felt unwell. The gesture was much appreciated by the athlete in question. So the guys deserve to take the plaudits as our stars of the week.

Mini Marathon

- A reminder to all our female members that the Mini Marathon takes place on the streets of Cork on Sunday September 27th. You can enter on line for this 4 mile event on www.corkminimarathon.com

St Finbarr’s Half Marathon

Time is pushing on towards the Cork Half Marathon on September 13th. The race organised by St Finbarr’s AC starts and finishes in Blarney and takes in a tough climb into Grenagh village just before the half way mark. The following are the key race details issued by the organisers –

“This race will incorporate both the County and Munster Marathon Championships. Entry is €20 until September 5th, €25 on the day, details on www.munsterathletics.com.
All registered Cork athletes will be automatically entered in the county championships (first 3 senior and first 3 masters) but athletes must enter separately for the Munster Championships - see www.munsterathletics.com for details”.

Cork To Cobh

A little further down the road and a little longer on the feet is the Cork to Cobh 15 Mile Race on Sunday October 4th. The BHAA have issued the following race details following the recent launch of this year’s race .
“Sports Supplies 'Cork to Cobh' 15 Mile Road Race -Sunday 4th October @ 9:30amEntry fee: €20 Late entries: (after 28th September) €25Late Entry Registration and Changing Facilities: The Montenotte Hotel, Montenotte from 7:30amRunning gear transferred to finish area in Cobh Town Centre.Goody bags and T-Shirts for all finishers.Contacts: Kevin Cummins (021 4292509 kevcummins@eircom.net ) andMichael Dooley 087 9790806Entry form (in Word format) with further information - http://www.corkbhaa.com/Corkcobh2009.doc

Marathon Monday

It’s good to see plenty of interest in the Dublin Marathon this year. At present the total number of runners from our club with the event on their radar is in the region of 15.
Most runners are preparing with a long run at the weekend which is a central requirement of the big race preparation. If you are involved ask around at training regarding the various groups – it is always much easier to cover those long miles in company. A few of our crew are also heading for Berlin in September so their preparations will soon be reaching a peak.

Training

Our usual summer training arrangements will continue until late September. Remember it’s Midleton CBS on Monday evenings from 6pm to 7pm where the emphasis is on speed work. Then on Tuesday club members assemble at Midleton Community Centre at 7pm for a run on the roads.
In late September it is the intention to have an Open Evening, with the emphasis on us all to welcome new members. It will also be an opportunity for the current members to meet and mingle outside of training or racing. The club’s winter training schedule will also be announced on that evening. Watch this space for further details in the weeks ahead.

Mailing List

Finally, a reminder if you wish to receive regular club notes and notes via the e mail please give John Cashman your e mail address. Since it’s inception a few months back close on 50 members have signed in to receive regular updates.

In the meantime “keep on running”.


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