Marathon Reflections

Perfect weather conditions on Bank Holiday Monday in Dublin helped make it an almost perfect day for many runners in the record Marathon field. Our representatives did the club proud with their excellent performances and whilst much of the post race chat has been about the first few across the line, each and everyone of our 17 strong entry can be very proud of their performances.

However, it would be remiss not to again illuminate the superb individual performances of our leading man and leading lady. Neilus Aherne broke new ground when conquering the magical three hour mark with arguably the finest display of his career. The same script could be written about Michelle Nolan who put in massive pre race effort and was rewarded with personal best time of 3:01, leaving her as the 5th lady Over 35 to cross the line.

Elsewhere there many more stories to tell, amongst them a husband and wife double delight. Joan and Danny McCarthy along with Mary and Mark Walshe both completed another marathon on a day when the younger generation from both households continued the sporting family feel good factor. Cathal McCarthy and Cormac Walshe were both part of the Midleton team that claimed County Premier Minor Hurling Championship glory, just hours after their parents had received their marathon day medals.

Adam Duchnicz produced another excellent run inside 3:15 whilst not far behind Peter Gunning. Mick Murphy, Owen O’Connell and Vincent O’Neill can all be very pleased with their solid displays. Denis Kelleher added another excellent finishing time to his extensive collection of recent marathon exploits.

As for the ladies there was a mixture of new and experienced runners on the start line and the name of Deirdre Aherne certainly stands out after she excelled with a 3:42 finish first time out. Heartiest congratulations are also extended to Noreen Emerson, Mary Toher, Anne McCarthy and Catriona McGregor who all completed the course in fine style. (Full marathon results including split times are available by logging on to the Dublin Marathon web site.)

There is still plenty of marathon talk in the air at present. Clonakilty is due to host it’s inaugural marathon early next month, whilst Waterford city looks set to join the marathon brigade with a new race in November 2011. Before that some of our Midleton athletes are planning a spring time marathon abroad whilst word has it that there is a change on the way in relation to the Cork City Marathon next June.

Shorter Races

In the meantime there is plenty of action this side of the New Year with the East Cork 3K continuing every third Tuesday (NEXT RACE THIS TUESDAY – 7.30PM) and the usual list of traditional races at this time of the season.
The upcoming programme includes the Lisgoold 5K on Sunday next at 11am, the Inniscarra 4 Miler on Sunday 22nd at 11.30am, the Cork Simon Christmas Run on Sunday December 12th, and the Belgooly ‘4’ on St Stephen’s Day.

HSE 4 Mile

Sunday saw the BHAA fixture list continue with the HSE 4 Mile race on the Marina/Monahan Road circuit. The fact that we had heavy rain overnight and that the County Cross Country Championships were on later, prevented some runners from taking part but there was still a healthy turn out.

Midleton AC were again well represented with several of our runners producing very good performances. Congrats to Peter Gunning who picked an individual prize just seven days after his marathon exploits and also to our club members who were amongst the team prize winners.

Munster 10 Mile Series

Mallow, Dungarvan, Ballycotton and Kilnaboy will again be in the spotlight during the early months of the New Year when the John Buckley Sports Munster 10 Mile Classic Series will occupy the minds of many runners. Race 1 is in Mallow on Sunday January 9 (12.30pm). Whilst entries will be taken in advance or on the day for this race, the organisers of Race 2 in Dungarvan on Sunday January 30th have stressed that they will only accept pre entries. It costs 15 euro before December 17th or 20 euro before the final cut off point of January 17th. More info is available on the West Waterford AC web site.

In relation to Ballycotton, the race of course is pre entry only and the organisers have issued the following press information in relation to the 2011 event.
1) People can apply for forms from now up until Friday November 26th by sending a SAE to: Ballycotton Running Promotions, Ballycotton, Co Cork
2) All forms will then be posted out on Monday November 29th - ideally to arrive with applicants by the following day (Tuesday).
3) The entry form will be put up on the website www.ballycottonrunning.com on Tuesday evening (Nov 30th), also in John Buckley Sports (Cork), Ger Wyley Sports (Dungarvan) and local shops in Ballycotton and Shanagarry that same afternoon.
4) The first 2,500 postal entries opened will be automatically accepted – regardless of who they are.
5) Entries for the following will be accepted by post up to and including Thursday December 16th:
(a) All bona fide AAI (Athletics Ireland) registered club members.
(b) All runners who completed the 2010 Ballycotton Summer Road Race Series (all four 5-mile events).
6) All bona fide overseas entrants accepted by post up and including Monday January 10th.
7) As usual, a limited number of elite athletes will be accepted up to near race day.
REMEMBER - When applying for forms, please enclose a large (A4) SAE with the correct postage, stating the number of forms required. If more than one form is going to the same address (two or three members of the same family, etc) one envelope is sufficient.
If the correct postage is not on the envelope we cannot be held responsible for postal delays. Also, we prefer people to enter on the official form, so ask for enough of forms – there is no need to photo-copy.


From our club point of view the most important reference is in point number 5. The extra few weeks for all club athletes does take the pressure off, but don’t caught out and get too relaxed about the deadline date. Get the form filled up and sent away! We will have forms available at training after November 30th.

There are no such deadlines in relation to the final fixture in the Series which will be held in Kilnaboy in County Clare in mid April. Here the average turn out is in the region of 300 athletes.

Cross Country

After last Sunday’s County Senior and Junior Cross Country Championships in Cloyne, there is more action on the immediate agenda. Next Sunday sees the Munster Intermediate Championships in Charleville, on Sunday November 14th the County Intermediate Championships will be hosted in Carraig na bhFear whilst on Sunday November 21st it’s the Munster Masters Championships in Dungarvan.

Sally Drennan is doing a wonderful job in promoting cross country in our club. You can call Sally on 087-2265857 regarding entry details for all the above. So far this year Midleton AC have certainly stepped up their presence on previous years, so why not keep up the trend and make a temporary change and sample life off the roads.

Christmas Dinner

So far there has been a very good response to this year’s Christmas Dinner which will be hosted by Midleton Park Hotel on Saturday December 4th. On offer is a 3 course meal for just 20 euro for all club members – the cost for non members is 39 euro. All bookings and payments should be made to Fergal O’Meara or Marc Dalton at training on Mondays or Wednesdays.


Club Merchandise

There is a range of quality club merchandise available for purchase at training each week. Our Clothing Officer Claire Fitzgerald is the contact person in relation to singlets, track suits, rain jackets, caps etc which are great value as they are heavily subsidised by the club. But don’t delay hurry whilst stocks last.

Midleton AC Key Contact

Again we would like to highlight especially to new members the many ways of keeping in touch with club info and ongoing running details.
Just check www.midletonathleticclub.blogspot.com for all regular updates. E mail contact is midletonac@ireland.com You may also have regular club news, updates and results sent directly to you via our club e mail service. Please give your e mail address to PRO John Cashman to avail of this service. Telephone enquiries regarding the club may be directed to Danny McCarthy on 087-2403940.

So there is absolutely no reason for not feeling right up to date with events at Midleton AC. Incidentally at present our membership has soared to in excess of 150 and again we take this opportunity to offer a very warm hand of welcome to newcomers who have recently joined us.

Training

Training returns to normal again this week after a temporary alteration last week. The Monday sessions at Midleton College All Weather Pitch have a slant towards speed training and runs from 6pm to 7pm. The beginner’s session continues from 6pm to 7pm at Midleton Community Centre each Wednesday with the usual follow on session for the rest of the club taking place at the same venue from 7pm to 8pm.
With winter time no upon us please ensure that you wear some form of reflective clothing.

Until next time – keep on running!