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Great weekend for Mark, Caron and Jack

Mark 3rd from left with the Irish M45 team

Mark Davis made his international debut at the weekend when representing Ireland in the British & Irish Masters Cross Country held in Aintree on Saturday. It was a fantastic achievement for Mark to be selected to represent our country and just reward for years of dedication to the sport. An impressive performance saw Mark place 9th overall and in the process help the Irish team to silver medals behind England and ahead of the Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland teams. Results are here.

Also in action at the weekend, Caron Ryan put in a terrific first leg in the annual Universities Road Relays held in Maynooth to help her Trinity College to team gold in this prestigious event in a time of 34:10, just 12 seconds ahead of DCU in 34:22. The women’s race is a 4-leg relay over 1-2-2-1 miles, while the men compete in a 5-leg relay over 1-2-3-2-1 miles.

In the men’s event, Jack Miskella also had a fine performance when running the first leg of the relay for his NUIG team who went on to win the bronze medal – the first time in the 33-year history of the event that NUIG have medalled. Results are on the very impressive IUAA website which is an excellent resource for anyone with an interest in athletics. Check out also the legendary John O'Connor's 77edenhill website for photos of the road relays including the ones below.

Caron pictured 3rd from right with her Trinity College teammates

Jack 2nd from right on the start line for the men's road relay

Best of luck Mark!

Mark racing to victory in the Headford 8k 2008 (photo nicked from Athenry AC website)

Best of luck to coach extraordinaire and cross country specialist Mark Davis who represents Ireland this Saturday in the British & Irish Masters Cross Country Championships on the fabled grounds of Aintree racecourse. There’s clearly something in the water in Cahercrin that helps its residents make the grade for Aintree or Cheltenham!

To my knowledge, Mark becomes the first coach from the club to be selected to represent Ireland – others have made it in the past, but prior to their coaching careers including Diarmuid Quill (high jump), Mark Gillen (1500m) and Noel Harvey (10k and xcountry).

Mark's contribution to the club is immense. One of the founding members of the senior section of the club back in 2005, Mark helped drive the senior circuit training sessions in the hall for many years - these predated fit4life and became the seed for the club’s very successful fit4life group in later years when AAI launched that initiative. And in parallel with all of that, Mark has been one of the key coaches in the juvenile club, helping many to great achievements particularly in middle distance and cross country.

One would wonder where Mark finds the time to do his own training, but find it he does and like a vintage wine, Mark keeps on getting better with age! He is on the cusp now of breaking personal bests in a range of distances that he set when 10 years younger – amazing stuff!

To be selected to represent Ireland is a massive achievement and honour for Mark. To have Mark in our club is a massive honour and privilege for the rest of us! Best of luck at the weekend Mark!

Medals Galore in Beautiful Beleek

The morning was cold and misty on the road from Galway but as we neared Ballina the sun cracked through to reveal a beautiful Cross Country Course.  Each time I visit Beleek I get a little more envious - with the ample grass, hills, wooded loops, clubhouse and track, it really is a showcase Athletics training facility and is improving all the time - a credit to all concerned.  The event was run splendidly by host club Moy Valley AC and all races went off without a hitch.  The course consisted of one 500m loop and one 1km loop - the larger loop incorporating the famous "Beleek Hill" which is a short sharp stuffing knocker (though not actually as bad as it was "in my day" when it used to go up again through the trees).  The surface was sticky in places but as a whole impressively solid for this time of year!  As the day went on the temperature noticeably dipped and it became bitterly cold for spectators and marshals alike.

We enjoyed another remarkable day as our little village club produced no less than three dominant individual winners in Mathys Bocquet, Sean Cotter and Caron Ryan, several other medals and many wonderful team performances.  More winners than any other club in Connacht - not bad!

Threes company! The u11 girls crew that kicked the day off!

The day kicked off with the u11 Girls - one of the biggest races of the day with over 90 competitors!  Aeveen Kelly (22) was first Craughwell lady home followed by Claudia Coyle (33) and Aisling Lavan in 40th.  Aisling scored on the Silver medal winning Galway team.

u11 men's team! Featuring bronze winning Alan Hallinan

Next up were the u11 boys in what was the biggest race of the day, over 108 finishers!  Craughwell duo Alan Hallinan and Stephen Joyce led club and county home with a stunning 3rd and 4th position, followed by Alan Warde (53rd) and Darragh Higgins (68th).  Craughwell were 5th team in a really tough field and Alan and Stephen were top scorers on the Gold medal winning Galway team.

u13 Boys team had a fantastic run!

In the u13 Girls race, Craughwell had a single competitor in Claudia McGuinness who finished a creditable 39th.  The u13 boys had a solid team, led by Keelan Moorehead in 11th, Stephen Ruane in 14th, Fionn Higgins in 18th and Sean Lavan in 39th.  After the points were totted up Craughwell were incredibly unlucky to finish 4th place, on the same points score as the 3rd place team.  Keelan and Stephen did pick up gold medals as scorers on the winning Galway team however.  

The u15 Girls team were down a lady as Aoibhe Carr was sick, but still won a marvellous Silver with a great team performance in what was a very exciting race.  They were led home by club stalwart Clodagh O'Meara in 13th place, followed by Holly O'Boyle stepping up in 17th place, Anna Cotter in 20th, Leonore Church in 22nd, Siofra Davis 23rd and Allanah Grogan in 24th.  Leonore and Siofra were running off the effects of their all-Ireland Multi-Events the previous day which can't have been easy!

Girl power!  Super team performances from the ladies!

Allanah shows great form under the watchful eyes of her coaches!

The u15 Boys race was one of the races of the day from a spectators point of view.  Craughwell had a solid team in Mathys Bocquet (stepping up in age), Killian Walsh, Cian Laval and Evan Hallinan.  Mathys joined with the leading group of three or four for the first lap and then broke away into a group of two with a very talented North Sligo athlete. The pre-race plan was for Mathys to press the pace on the downhill and flat sections of the route.  On the third "long" lap Mathys made a move and really stretched the field.  It still wasn't quite enough to shake Rian from North Sligo however and on the last hill Rian got his nose in front. 

Mathys celebrates with the team after his fine individual gold!

Killian drives for home!

Knowing there was a very long run-in for hom, Mathys didn't panic when overtaken and pushed again on the home straight for a long gut-wrenching finish to claim the gold - a brilliant run and the perfect blowout!  Killian was next clubmate home in a similar fantastic on that long home straight - this time Killian could not quite find a way around the long elbows of his opponent but he finished in a very strong 22nd position.  Cian Lavan was close behind in 26th and Evan Hallinan in 27th.  Overall the team were unlucky to be just pipped for bronze by a single point!  

The u17 girl's race was mixed with the u19 race and featured perhaps the most dominant winner of the day in the incredible u19 Maeve Gallagher - a stunning athlete and one to watch - definitely a contender for the all-ireland.  Craughwell had one Athlete in the u17 race - the ever reliable Emily Miskella stepping up.   As this race unfolded, Emily got stuck in a rotten position between two groups of athletes, just off the leading group.  In normal circumstances, Emily would have closed the gap but she had a tough Camogie final yesterday and I could see that it took a shade of the usual pop from her legs so she didn't quite manage to recover the ground on this occasion.  She finished 4th of the 14 finishers in a fine run which will stand to her in the weeks ahead!

Ross went back to his favoured plan - go hard and let pride take you home!

The u17 boys race was run in parallel with the u19s, but the u19s were set off at a stagger of 500m.  Craughwell had one late injury in Oisin Davis, so didn't have a team on this occasion.  Sean Cotter fresh from a victorious County football final with Oranmore yesteray took to the front early and pressed home for a comfortable and confident solo victory.  Sean looks to be exactly where you would want to be at this stage of the season - fresh and fast.  Next home for Craughwell was Ross McGuinness stepping up and showing a nice return to form with a superb 5th place.  Ross headed out hard and was in 4th until that last long stretch when he just got caught.  Third man home and also running well was Luke Burke in 14th place - he was going even better but the last two laps just caught up with him.  Luke is showing signs of racing himself back to fitness after a few injury setbacks earlier in the season.  Sean, Ross and Luke scored on the winning Galway team.

The boys all hard solid runs!

The u19 boys race was another high quality field with another dominant winner in Michael Morgan.  In the battle for the "best of the rest", William Fitzgerald had a solid run in 4th, closely followed by Patrick Noonan in 5th and Kyle Moorehead in 7th.  It was fantastic to see three Craughwell lads in the top 10 and they allscored on the winning Galway team.  At this stage, the north wind had picked up and it was quite a biting cold that either suited you or it didn't!  The moods were changing among the spectators!!

Caron driving clear up the hill

The next race was the senior women's race and featured a completely dominant performance by Caron Ryan from start to finish.  Caron looked fresh, strong and fluid and ran like she was looking forward to getting into somewhere warm!  She has had a rotten year with setbacks, and it's fantastic to see her back in action and enjoying her running again - really looking forward to what the future holds!

David doing his "Before" pic!

The final race of the day was the men's 8k race.  This week we had one competitor in David Evans.  At this stage rain had joined the cold wind and raised the misery levels a bit!  Tough conditions, but David is pretty tough himself!!  David went out a little hard but recovered well and enjoyed the experience.  He finished in 26th place out of the nearly 50 competitors - not bad for an m50!

Leanagh Claims National Bronze!

Leanagh Gilligan with a super performance at the Irish Schools Combined Events in Athlone
to place 3rd in the Senior Girls age group

A number of athletes from the club made the short trip to Athlone IT yesterday for the Irish Schools Combined Events where Leanagh Gilligan shined to claim the bronze medal in the Senior Girls Pentathlon.

It was Leanagh’s first individual national medal since soaring to the gold medal in the U12 Girls High Jump in 2013 despite going close on a number of occasions since then. It was so wonderful to see her claim a PB of 1.52m in the high jump and go on to claim the National bronze with performances of 4.90 in the long jump, 5.92 in the shot, 10.93 in the hurdles and 3:02.59 for a total of 2331 points.

Also in action Ellie Cronin placed 13th in the Intermediate Girls with a solid 2357 points including 4.39m in the long jump, 10.25 in the hurdles, 7.43m in the shot, 1.46m in the high jump and 3.:01.61 in the 800m.

Siofra Davis took 7th place in the Junior Girls grade with fine performances of 10.39 in the hurdles, 1.46 in the high jump, 7.50 in the shot, 4.21 in the long jump and 2.42.81 in the 800m for an impressive points total of 2483. Leonore Church was also impressive with 2.42.20 in the 800m, 1.46 in the high jump, 10.93 in the hurdles, 6.80 in the shot and 3.73 in the long jump for an overall total of 2243 points and 10th place.

Well done all!

Info for tomorrow's xcountry in Ballina

The Connaught Cross Country Championships (under 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, Seniors, Master’s) will take place in Belleek, Ballina on the 10th of November with the first race to start at 12:00. The finest cross country runners from the Western region encompassing the counties of Mayo, Galway, Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon and Longford will descend on the beautiful North Mayo town to take on the beautiful but challenging parkland course.

Moy Valley Athletic Club, in consultation with Ballina Municipal District, are encouraging all who will travel to the event to use the Council owned parking facilities in Ballina (especially at (1) the Market Square; (2) adjacent to Dunne’s Stores and LIDL; and (3) Bachelor’s Walk) and then make the relatively short walk to Belleek. The cross country course is best accessed via the historic Belleek Gatehouse (https://goo.gl/maps/soKb35e4vSN2 ). There will be both Garda and club stewards in the area to minimise traffic delays so please observe their directions.

Registration

The race Headquarters will be Ballina Town Football Club (https://goo.gl/maps/FwAMjpvH7hm) but please note that race numbers will be given out in a designated tent on the cross country course itself until 11:30 am.

Course Map

The course will be laid out in two laps as detailed below. The small lap is 400m long and the blue lap is almost 1000m long with a run to the finish line of almost 100m, Where the 400m lap is required, athletes will run the shorter lap first. Therefore, the race distances will be covered as follows:

1500m = 1 small loop; 1 large loop

2500m = 1 small loop; 2 large loops

3500m = 1 small loop; 3 large loops

4000m = 4 large loops

5000m = 5 large loops

6000m = 6 large loops

8000m = 8 large loops

Autumn Gold in Stunning Sligo

The venue was Calry, Sligo - a course with a reputation for mud, hills and more mud. With the heavy rain of late spirits were muted in the cars on the nearly 2 hour drive from Craughwell - however when we got out and walked the mist-covered course, we had a pleasent surprise.  The long drags were still there, but the course was runnable with only about 200m of the 1km lap that were really muddy.  Rumour has it the farmer had switched from Cattle to Sheep, and we were all grateful for it!  The course is set in a spectacular setting in Yeats country and as the mist burned off we were treated to some great views.  Each lap is just over 1km, and consists of a 500m drop followed by a 500m drag.  The finish in particular is a gut-churning 250m straight up a long drag, brilliant for spectators and we saw some superb battles.

Craughwell athletes featured in almost every race and the results were smashing as usual with every child giving their all and doing themselves proud.  Craughwell did brilliantly in all the age groups, with the highlights being a superb individual gold from Caron Ryan and a brilliant team Gold from the u12 boys.

[note: results aren't released yet, let me know if there are errors or omissions, or if you know of some more results!]

Sisters in arms! - the u12 Bronze medal winning team

The u12 Girls 2000m kicked things off with a simply superb team effort to claim Bronze.  Aeveen Kelly, Emma O'Donovan, Keevagh Barry, Amelie Bocquet, Ciara O'Connor and Katelyn Walsh wore the green and white with pride and each had a big part to play in the result.

The u12 boys 2000m fared even better, with one of the runs of the day coming from Keelan Moorehead in their race, leading his teammates of Stephen Joyce (6th), Stephen Ruane (7th), Declan O'Connell (12th), Cian Brady,  and Jack Farrell to Gold.  With 3 finishers in the top 10 of a superb field, they always had a superb chance of winning.  Keelan was in Bronze position at the base of that long tough finish, but just got pipped to 4th at the end of the climb.

The u12 boys delighted after their superb performances!

Next up in the u14 boys 3000m race, Sean Liston and Mathys Bocquet donned the green and white for the 3km race. Mathys was my strong pre-race pick for the win as he has been training very consistently, but as they say "there is always someone!".  In this case the entire field looked strong up front.  Mathys and another fine (Swinford?) athlete  moved clear after a lap.  They ran close to each other, with Mathys just a few steps behind for the first two laps.  With about 1000m to go, the lead athlete put on a surge and the gap stretched from three paces to about 10 and try as he might, Mathys couldn't rein him in.  It was a superb race and no doubt these two will meet each other again in Abbotstown on the 24th!  Sean Liston finished strongly, running hard all the way.

Emily rightly delighted with her Silver

The u16 girls 4000m was the next Craughwell race, and we had one competitor in Emily Miskella.  This was a fascinating race to watch - many of the competitors familiar with each other from the Connacht endurance squad and other events.  It started out so tactically with the entire field grouped together and feeling each other out for a lap.  After they had completed the first lap, the leaders added an injection of pace from the middle of the hill and the field soon spread out into several groups.  Emily watched all the moves carefully and put herself in a good position in the first three.  This group of three eventually pulled clear of the field and it was all about the colours of the medals for them from about 2.5k on.  About half way through the final lap, one girl put on an almighty surge and broke clear so Emily was left in a battle for Silver.  She won that battle in a real barnstormer of a run down the back straight, broken clear by the bottom of the hill finish.  It was a real "give it all" performance from Emily, and an absolutely brilliant performance to watch.

The boys putting the athlete into triathlete!

In the boys u16 4000m, Ross McGuinness and Anthony Boyle represented Craughwell in yet another stacked field.  This race started at a pheonomenal pace and the field soon got spread out.  Ross attached himself to the leading group of three and they broke clear of the chasing pack.  Ross looked comfortable with about 2km ran, but at this stage another surge happened and he found himself unable to respond on this occasion and a gap developed.  He held on bravely for an excellent 3rd place finish.  Anthony was running his first ever Cross Country and he totally blew all my expectations out of the water!  He ran an exceptionally smart race.  He didn't get sucked into the early chaos, picking off runners all the way through his race.   At one stage he was in 6th position, but in the end I think he got 7th overall - an exceptional debut from Anthony!

Anthony in full flight

Emma Boyle was our sole competitor in the u18 girls 4000m race.  This race was exactly the kind I hate being in - it had a small field of about 10 athletes but everyone was good so there was nowhere to hide!  Emma was totally unphased and settled in over the first lap and found her rhythm.  In the end she came 4th which was a superb result.

In the boys u18/Junior 6000m race, the pace was ferocious!  Luke Burke was the only Craughwell competitor and he was running smartly in the early laps but unfortunately developed a pain in his foot so decided wisely to live to run another day.

Sinead, Emily and Ailbhe who is itching to get back!

In the Senior Women's 4000m race, Craughwell had two competitors - both on comebacks!  Caron Ryan hadn't raced all year and was itching to get her spikes on again.  Sinead Gaffney has been racing but this was her first competive Cross Country in many years.  Caron made a triumphant return with a superb solo run up front from the gun to claim a marvellous first position.  Sinead got carried away a little in the first Kilometer but ran a superb run and won't find a tougher course than that to test her!  Welcome back to both ladies!

Golden lady! Caron makes a fabulous return!

Last race of the day was the Senior men's 8000m race with quite a large field of 40 or 50 athletes from all over the province.  Craughwell fielded a strong team of Kevin Mooney, Jack Miskella, Gavin Cooney and Mark Davis.  The longer slogs can sometimes suit the old dogs and so it transpired on this occasion as I managed to work my way through the field until I ended up in a nice see-saw battle with a Moy Valley lad.  I had a good night's sleep and felt fresh enough to push for home early and was pretty surprised and happy with taking 3rd - a good boost two weeks out from the 5-nations in Aintree.  Next home for Craughwell was Jack in about 6th or 7th, followed by Gavin in 11th and the carefully building Kevin not far behind.   Exceptional running from all and results not out yet but I think Craughwell were most likely first club on the day.

All laughs - I'd say we were first team?

Cross Country Update

Best of luck to all of our athletes competing in Sligo this Sunday in the Connacht even age groups and senior cross-country!! 

The club has a rich history in the event. For those of you who like stats, names and placings ... check out this document for details of our performances since 2002 for the age groups from U11 to U20. Our most successful year ever was back in 2013 when we had 95 participants over the 2 days of the championships with 13 teams featuring on the podium.

Logistics for Sunday are as follows:

• Date: Sunday, 3rd Nov 2019
• Time: Starts 12 noon Sharp
• Venue: St. Josephs GAA Club, Hazelwood Road (R286), Sligo
  (do not go to Calry village)
• https://maps.google.com/maps?daddr=Calry%2FSt.+Josephs+GAA+Grounds%4054.26957245675592,-8.41778039932251&t=h&z=16

NB. The course itself is on the fields behind the GAA pitch. Hazelwood Service Station which contains a shop (with tea/coffee and sandwiches etc.) is located close to the GAA club.

Race Distances

BOYS

• U12, 2000m
• U14, 3000m
• U16, 4000m
• U18, 6000m
• Junior, 6000m
• Novice, Senior, Masters 8000m
• O65, 4000m

GIRLS

• U12, 2000m
• U14, 3000m
• U16, 4000m
• U18, 4000m
• Junior, 4000m
• Novice, Senior, Masters 4000m
  
  

Course Map

Catch-up On Connacht Primary Schools XC

A little late in getting this report up onto the website but here it goes for historical purposes!

The Connacht finals of the primary schools cross country took place a couple of weeks ago at Moyne Community College in Longford. I know, people are always asking when did Connacht take over Longford– I guess with Galway now the 4th most popular place in the world, it’s cool to be from Connacht! Interestingly I see on Wikipedia that it says Longford was added to Leinster by King James I in 1608 and had previously been considered part of Connacht – so I guess the 1607 version of the race might have been held in Moyne too!

There with many superb performances by athletes from the club on the day. Races got underway at noon with the Junior Girls 800m where Craughwell NS’s Mia Hollingsworth was first home from the club in an excellent 15th place, leading her team to 5th place overall just 7 points shy of bronze medals – with Gemma Cloonan 31st, Beth Glynn 40th, Jenna Brady 59th and Aoileann O'Connor 65th. Seven points is nothing in a cross-country, less than 2 places per runner, probably less than 2 metres per runner – so the girls were very unlucky not to score a team medal. It would have extended a 9-year winning streak for Craughwell NS teams to feature in the top 3 in Connacht, but unlucky to miss out on this occasion.

However that close miss was quickly eclipsed by an outstanding run from the youngest member of the Moorhead running dynasty – with Keelan running an absolutely incredible race to place 6th overall in the Senior Boys – the highest place ever achieved by a pupil from Craughwell NS in that race. To do that a year out of age is testament to Keelan’s talent as there have been many fine runners from Craughwell NS taking part in this race down through the years.

The previous best finish was 8th place and was jointly held by Keelan’s older brother Kyle along with Ross McGuinness. We need to bottle the sibling rivalry that brought that run out of Keelan and reapply it as often as possible! If there was a battle for Craughwell’s most talented athletics family, the Moorheads would definitely be up there near the top with all three of Kyle, Jade and Keelan excelling at the highest levels.

Kyle is picrtured across after his 8th place finish in 2014.

Back to the races, Katelyn Walsh (Craughwell NS) had a fine run in the Senior Girls 1000m taking 16th place overall – a super run a year out of age and next year Katelyn will be eyeing up the top placing of 9th place held by Clodagh O’Meara in the senior girls race to become Craughwell NS’s top girl finisher! Full details of previous performances from the school are here.

Stephen Ruane (Scoil Iosaif Naofa Oranmore) had an outstanding run in the Senior Boys race to take 9th place and lead his school team to the silver medals with Sean Martyn also featuring in 31st place and Liam O’Donnell in 62nd and continue Oranmore Boys school’s long and proud history in the race. Cian Connaughton placed 25th overall to lead his Carrabane NS team to 6th place.

Ballymana Ns’s Laura Flynn had a strong run in the Junior Girls race placing 32nd while in the Junior Boys race, Stephen Joyce (Scoil Iosaif Naofa Oranmore) has a marvelous run to take individual 3rd place and lead his school to 5th place in the team event. Craughwell NS placed 10th in the junior boys race led home by Alan Hallinan in 14th place followed by Darragh O’Donnell, Sean Colleran, Charlie Daniels and Zach Keane. And misfortune befell the exceptionally talented Ballymana NS senior girls team who were warming up when their races started way earlier than expected and the Galway champions missed out.

Full results of this years Connachts are here.

Siofra Takes Connacht Pentathlon Title!

XC Success from Abbotstown to Bushfield

Marvellous Autumn Sunshine and cool fresh breezes bathed two of the finest cross country courses in Ireland - Abbotstown in Dublin and Bushfield in Loughrea as Craughwell AC sent teams out to battle on either side of the Country.

Autumn Open Success

The Autumn Open held at the National Cross Country Course in Abbotstown is one of the premier Cross Country events in the Irish Calendar, second only to the National XC.  It is an unusual event in that the top Juniors, Seniors and Masters athletes in Ireland are all launched off together in a massive and frenetic start.  The Juniors running 6k (4 laps) and the Seniors/Masters covering 7.5k (5 laps).  Abbotstown was in good shape, aside from the hill up the back which was muddy and almost unending, dragging up about 400m in total I'd guess.  In each event, a top 6 position put you in strong stead for international selection. As a whole, Craughwell enjoyed our best ever day at the event on Sunday!

Craughwell had 6 athletes in total entered - Jack Miskella (Senior), Paul Joyce (Senior), Mark Davis (Masters), Kyle Moorehead (Jun), William Fitzgerald (Jun) and Sinead Gaffney. 

In the Junior 6km event, both of the lads had fantastic runs - the popular and talented William Fitzgerald who is just 17 cruised through the field, attacking the hill on each round and maintaining a strong pace throughout to finish a wonderful 15th position overall among the very elite under 20s in Ireland. This is the best ever Craughwell Finish in this event, and a fantastic breakthrough run for a smashing and talented athlete.  If William keeps this steady level of improvement, he can challenge for honours at this event in the future, I have no doubt.  Next home for Craughwell in another breakthrough run was 16-year old Kyle Moorehead in a superb 33rd place.  Kyle ran a big PB for his 5k of 17.30 on a muddy hilly cross country course, which gives you an idea of his pace. 

Spot the Craughwellites!  Mark, Kyle and Paul are in here somewhere

In the Senior/Masters 7.5k event, I achieved one of my goals for the year (lifetime?) by claiming 4th and a guaranteed spot on the Irish M45 team for the British and Irish Masters in England next month.  The warm-up races in Castlegar and Tuam where I suffered in the second half served me well and my strategy was to take it a bit easy for the first two of the five laps, especially up the hills.  A glance at the watch 500m into the albeit downhill start showed 3:04 per km so I put the brakes on a bit and settled into things, hoping that patience would see people come back to me.  One nice feature of this race is that the masters guys have their age category on their backs so it was easier to see who you were up against... unfortunately my eyesight is not the best so sometimes I chased a lad down to dissapointedly see that he was an M35!.  Anyhow as things went on, people did come back and happily for me, the hard work of the last 3 months paid off, job done, really delighted! :).

Jack charging ahead!

In the Senior event, Jack Miskella had a super run, taking exactly the opposite strategy of mine.  He headed out hard and hoped that pride would bring him home!  It did bring him home but the last lap was a character test I'd say!  He finished with a fine 38th position overall in the Seniors.  Paul Joyce had one of those days by his high standards, but ran bravely to finish in a very respectable 42nd position.  A lot more to come from Paul.. watch this space!

The event also incorporated an "Experience" event which was similar to a road race, and Sinead Gaffney ran the higher standard version as a good hard training run.  Sinead performed brilliantly to finish 4th in the race of over 300 participants!  Fantastic stuff Sinead - rumour has it this track specialist might actually be starting to get the cross country bug!

Meanwhile... in Bushfield!

Bushfield was at its glorious best as the very best athletes in the County competed in the Even Ages Championships.  (I wasn't able to make today's event and am typing this report before the official results are out, so I might have some corrections to make - apologies if so - I'll correct when I get them, also - if you have pics of anyone not below, please send on!!)

The first race of the day was the under 10 Girls where a fantastic team led home by a brilliant run from Remy Aylmer included Anna Kelly, Avril Reidy, Aisling Lavan, Jenna Brady, Aoileann O'Connor, Ciara Havil, Laura Kelly, Ciara Niland, Faye Whelan, Sophie Meehan, Lily May Grealish and Allie Brady.  They all combined wonderfully to take a marvellous Silver medal.  You go girls!!

Cross Country is Serious Stuff!!

The under 10 boys matched the girls with a team Silver and added a wonderful individual Gold medal to things from Alan Hallinan!  People in attendance reported Alan's run as one of the performances of the day.  Congrats to him and his huge crew of teammates:  Alan Warde, Eoghan Geraghty, Luke Connaughton, Donal Coyle, Oisin O'Donovan, Dara Kavanagh, Oisin Molloy, Killian Burke, Eoghan Morrissey, Charlie Daniels, Michael Baylon, Daithi Lawless, Noah Brady, Rhys Whelan, Joshua Whiriskey, Darragh Higgins, Zach Keane, Oisin Fallon, Daniel Harty, Darragh O'Donnell, Sean Niland and James Niland!

The under 12 Girls won a fabulous GOLD with the super team of Keevagh Barry, Katelyn Walsh, Jessica Walsh, Emma O Donovan, Eabha Molloy, Ciara o Conor, Aeeven Kelly, Megan Smith and Claudia Coyle.  Keevagh, Katelyn and Emma all scored in the top 10 of a very strong field!

Again, the under 12 Boy's team matched their female counterparts with a fantastic performance.  They were led home by Declan O'Connell in a brilliant 2nd position, followed by Stepen Ruane in 3rd and Keelan Moorehead in 4th. Cian Brady was in the top 10 and Jack Farrell was not far behind him!

With the u14 Girls, Craughwell didn't have a team, but Holly O'Boyle ran excellently to finish well up the strong field in 7th position.  

In the u14 boys race, Mathys Bocquet put on one of his trademark displays of dominant front running to take GOLD by literally a country mile.  He was really not troubled from start to finish in the race, and all the early signs are positive for a smashing season from him.  Fionn Higgins and Sean Liston also ran strongly in the race.

Sadly, with girls athletics the numbers tend to drop off after Junior cert (especially in Connacht for some reason, something we need to work on!) so they combined the u16 and the u18 races into one 4000m event.  Combining them worked well as by all accounts the girl's u16 race was one of the most exciting races of the day for the spectators!  The field soon split up as a leading group of four took out the pace in a chess match to see who could claim top position.  Emily Miskella (u16) and Emma Boyle (u18) were well placed in that top group of four but as they moved into the final lap the pace increased once more and Emily and another u16 athlete broke away from the group to make it a straight shootout to the line with 300m to go.  However, Emily is a smart racer and had saved plenty in the tank - as they rounded the corner she eased into the lead to claim the GOLD in a solid display of tactical racing, completing a Galway double for her with both the u16 and u17 titles.  Emily's performance was enough to lead her u16 teammates of Clodagh O'Meara, Leonore Church, Siofra Davis and Allanah Grogan to a memorable GOLD, all of whom ran brilliantly on the day.  

Under 16 County Champions 2019!!  Doubling up!!

Em and Em! The u16 and u18 County XC Champions 2019!

The next race up was the u16 Boys Race where Ross McGuinness was hotly tipped to reclaim his crown from last year.  Ross went to the front but was joined by another fine athlete from GCH new to the scene, and as the 4500m race came to a finish, Ross got pipped in the home straight in a good battle that can only help him as the season progresses.  

Emma Boyle had a superb first outing in a good while to claim a smashing GOLD in the u18 girls in her first run for the club, hopefully the first of many successes for the popular athlete!

Luke Burke was the sole Craughwell Athlete, stepping up in the u18 Boys race and Luke performed strongly, winning Bronze in the u18 race.

In the men's Intermediate race, David Evans had a super run, picking up hugely from his Tuam performance - as he says himself he is "still learning!" - aren't we all!!  The women's intermediate race had one entrant - fellow endurance coach Lisa Thomas donned the spikes for the first time since her childhood and did herself proud in the event.  She went out too hard (don't we all!) but recovered strongly and has a base to build on!

Craughwell Blitz Galway Cross Country 1st Leg

Glorious sunshine lit up the beautiful grounds of Palace park in Tuam as the Galway Uneven and Senior Cross Country kicked off the season for 2019.  Storm Lorenzo might have departed without causing too much damage, but the weeks of heavy rain had taken their toll on the course and large sections were muddy and heavy going underfoot.  The route itself was changed slightly from previous years and was anything but boring always undulating and presenting the athletes with something fresh to consider (even if just "what the heck am I doing here?").

Clubs from all corners of the county were proudly sporting their colours and the grounds were full of smiling kids sporting wide grins.  None were grinning wider than the Craughwell kids who enjoyed spectacular success at all ages and all did themselves and their area proud. Kudos to Tuam AC and the Country board on a fantastic event.

[Results are not yet published so apologies if I miss someone - just send me a message and I'll edit the article!]

Under 9: Girls and Boys run a stormer for Bronze
It's a big moment lining up for your first ever Cross Country and these under 9s performed brilliantly over the tough course. 

First of the girls was Sophie Meehan, closely followed by Allie Brady and Lily May Grealish.  The boys had a quartet and it was strong enough to win a superb bronze, with James Niland leading the way followed by his brother Sean Niland, Ciaran McNena and Donal Coyle.  Well done guys and enjoy your athletics journey from here, it's going to be something special!

Under 11: GOLD for Hallinan! Girls take Bronze while Boys take Silver

Aisling Lavan ran spectacularly to lead her teammates Claudia Coyle, Aeveen Kelly, Ciara Niland, Laura Flynn, Ellie Niland, Leah Ryan and Laura Kelly to a richly deserved bronze.  All the girls had fine races.

The boys went one better as Alan Hallinan led the field home in a spectacular show of front running to win an amazing Gold medal.  WELL DONE Alan!!  He was followed by fast finishing teammates Alan Warde, Keelan Griffin, Noah Brady, Zach Keane and Oisin Fallon in a great finish.

Alan Hallinan Storms his way to Gold!

Silver (mud) Surfers!

Under 13: Girls and boys power home

Multitalented athlete Claudia McGuinness was first Craughwell girl home in the Under 13s.  Claudia was followed by Amelie Bocquet who after a smashing start had trouble catching her breath in the second half but finished very bravely. Third home for Craughwell was Katie Flynn in a fine run. 

Claudia driving home in a fabulous run!

Stephen Ruane stepped up in age and came home 4th in a tight finish in the boys race - an incredible result.  Keelan Moorehead ran hard all the way to finish in the top 10 overall in a very high standard and close-fought affair.  

Under 15: Two Golds and a Silver!

Dream Team!  The 2019 Galway Cross Country Champions from Craughwell, led home by Silver winning Aoibhe Carr

The under 15 girls race was one of the standout races of the day with incredible performances throughout.  The brilliant Aoibhe Carr had an absolutely amazing performance to build up through the field and power home to a marvellous individual Silver behind an exceptional South Galway Athlete.  It's the fact that she does almost of all of her running chasing after a sliotar that makes the achievement so remarkable. Holly O'Boyle who was stepping up to the age, had another incredible run to build up through her rivals and come second for the team.  Next home was Clodagh O'Meara in a great performance followed closely by Anna Cotter, Siofra Davis, Leonore Church, Alana Grogan and Jade Moorehead.  The team did enough to easily claim GOLD in a smashing team effort - well done ladies, you are just brill!!

Mathys all smiles after his Step-up win

In the U15 Boys Race, Mathys Bocquet stepped up in age to take GOLD in a typically fantastic run.  The popular Mathys has endless endurance and chewed up the hills to win ahead of a very talented Castlegar athlete.  In fact, the first 3 athletes home in this race were stepping up so we should see a similar battle again on the 20th in Bushfield!  Great to have 3 such talented youngsters in the county.  Killian Walsh had a smashing run to finish as next Craughwell athlete home in a great battle all the way with Liam Shaw of Athenry, followed by Evan Hallinan who is still recovering from injury.  

Killian won this particular battle!

Under 17: Another two GOLDs and a Silver!

As often happens since they run the same 4000m distance, it was decided to combine the u17, u19 and Senior ladies in the same race.  Emily Miskella ran with her traditional fluidity to a fine Gold in the u17 race, and in fact she was 4th overall in the entire field which included some very experienced and talented (not to mention tough!) ladies!.  A smashing run from Emily yet again.  Incidentally Craughwell AC Coach Jane Anne Meehan also race excellently after a rotten season with Injury to claim a Silver in the Senior ladies.

The u17 boys team won Bronze in the all Ireland last year, but were down a couple of members due to GAA and Snorkling commitments!  The remaining two members Oisin Davis and Ross McGuinness (stepping up) acquitted themselves admirably taking Gold and Silver respectively.  Oisin and Ross have a tradition of beating each other every second race and Oisin took his turn this time after Ross pipped him at Castlegar.  It was a smashing run from both guys as they decimated the field with a pretty brutal pace.  In 3rd place representing Caltra was honourary wolfpack member David Hillary.

Under 19 and Senior men: Craughwell win almost everything?

The u19 and Junior men started with the Seniors for the last race of the day, and had one of the best turnouts for many years.  The large field of Senior men ran 8 Kilometers, while the Juniors and u19s ran a little over 6km.  William Fitzgerald had perhaps the most head turning run of the day to drive home as first Junior.  He caught up with the leading Senior about 4km in and really turned the screw for the last two km in a faultless display of effortless running, sailing over the mud and hills.  Effortless is the only word to describe his running. Fellow u19 Patrick Noonan also had a cracking run to win a superb Silver medal, also beating the Senior men to the 6km mark.

Craughwell Men - Galway Senior Cross Country Champions 2019

In the Senior men's race, I (Mark Davis) had been training pretty hard recently and decided to push the boat out in the 8k at the start and see what would happen. As I ran around I could hear stuff like "Dad's gone off a bit mad again" from my peripheral hearing.  Turns out they were right as the wheels duly came off at about 5 or 6k and got passed by a fine GCH athlete John Moroney.  We were both suffering from the hard start but he bore it a lot better and had a decent lead by the end.  In truth I should have made him work a bit more for the win, but it would have been tough and the result probably the same!  Still, happy enough with second (or 1st o35 as it happens).. my best ever Galway finish I think! 

3rd man past the finish line and second Senior was a massive surprise to me as I honestly thought he would die a death (no offense Paul!).  Despite several years off and a very conservative training load, Paul Joyce breezed home comfortably in 3rd with just an outrageous run for someone at this stage - his ability is astonishing.  Next home for the club was Gavin Cooney in a fine run - I didn't quite get his position but the 800m specialist was well in the top 10 or 12.  Kevin Mooney who typically leads any Craughwell team home was 4th scorer in about 15th position.  This was basically Kevin's first run of any sort since he he got married a month ago and if he was trying to find out which works best - training or not training, I think he has his answer!.  He has signed up for a really interesting Spring Marathon so expect to see him revert back to the front shortly.  David Evans was next home for Craughwell and I think 3rd o50 in another fabulous run on not his favoured surface!  All in all it was enough to win the Senior County Cross Country championship for the first time in a good few years (I'd need to check the records but it's been a while since I was on one!).  This is a great achievement from a small village and something to be very proud of.

Local Schools Shine at Primary Schools XC Finals

Craughwell NS Squad at the Galway Primary Schools Cross Country Finals in Renmore

The Galway Primary Schools Cross Country finals took place last Tuesday in Renmore with some fantastic performances by athletes from the club and half of the medal winning teams featuring athletes from the club with Oranmore taking 2 Galway team titles, Ballymana 1 team title, Craughwell 1 team silver and 1 team bronze and Carrabane 1 team silver.

Oranmore Boys School led the way with super team victories in both the 3/4th class boys race and the 5/6th class boys race, continuing a fine tradition for the school who have been 1 of the top cross country primary schools in Galway over the last 20 years. In the 3/4th class race, Stephen Joyce put in a commanding performance to take the individual victory and lead his team to glory with David Casserly 3rd, Aaron Hanrahan 22nd, Ojay Emihian 29th, Patrick McGrath 59th and Sean Cleare 66th. Later their older schoolmates put in an equally convincing performance to take the senior boys title with Stephen Ruane leading the way with a fine 8th place followed by Stephen Caulfield 15th, Daniel Gilbert 28th, Sean Martyn 36th, Liam O'Donnell 62nd and Daithi McCearra 79th.

Ballymana NS won an historic Galway team title in the Senior Girls race with Keevagh Barry leading the team home in 7th place followed by Emma O’Donovan in 12th, Gillian Crowe 16th, Amelie Grogan 35th, Beth Crowe 71st and Keely Grogan 72nd – with the team overflowing with twins!

It was a super day also for Craughwell NS who took team silver in the Junior Girls 800m with Mia Hollingworth first home in 9th place followed by Gemma Cloonan 31st, Beth Glynn 35th, Jenna Brady 45th, Emilly Hewitt 80th and Aoileann O'Connor 85th. The school followed it up with a bronze medal winning performance in the Junior Boys race with Alan Hallinan leading the way in 8th place, Jack Cahill 23rd, Daniel Farrelly 33rd, Darragh O'Donnell 58th, Eoin Middleton 73rd and Sean Colleran 83rd.

Carrabane’s Louis Keary led his school to team silver in the Senior Boys with a 19th place finish followed by Cian Connaughton 20th, Alex O'Grady 27th, Thomas Gallagher 42nd, Phillip Walsh 56th and Jack Reidy 119th.

Katelyn Walsh led the Craughwell Senior Girls team to 6th place with an individual 14th place finish followed by Ciara O’Connor in 22nd, Lauren Morgan 56th, Claudia McGuinness 66th, Chloe Keane 83rd and Alanna Clancy 90th.

There were strong performances also from many more from the club notably Craughwell’s Keelan Moorhead 12th in the Senior Boys race, Ballymana’s Laura Flynn 12th in the Junior Girls, Clarinbridge’s Aeveen Kelly and Aisling Lavan 26th and 27th nm in the Junior Girls; Ballymana’s Oisin O’Donovan 28th in the Juniors Boys.

Full results of the finals are here and of the semi-finals a week earlier here. The top 3 teams and the top 15 individuals from the finals proceed to the Connacht finals which will be held at noon on Sunday 13th October on the grounds of Moyne Community School in Longford. Best of luck to all of the athletes from the club and local schools who are taking part!