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Mathys delivers Spectacular end to 2018 XC Season
Navan Racecourse provided the stage for the final fixture of a spectacular year for Craughwell AC Cross Country as the All-Ireland Uneven and Novice Championships took place. The club had athletes in almost every race, undeterred by gloomy forecasts and yellow weather warnings. As it turned out - the day wasn't as bad as forecast, and the mud was actually not bad at all - just some patches in the corners to keep things interesting! It was a tough course however - very twisty and hilly with a long, seemingly never-ending 2km loop.
U13 Boys 2500m - Mathys wins bronze!
The standout performance for Craughwell was definitely that of Mathys Bocquet who was Galway's highest placed finisher on the day claiming a medal-winning 6th in the U13 race. After exceptional performances in the Galways, Mathys feared that his promising season was dashed when he pulled up with a torn calf muscle 100m into the first Connacht cross country. He showed great character and resilliance to return via cross training and ultimately easy jogging to get himself back in shape for the all-ireland. His excellent step-up of a few weeks ago showed promise with a super top-40 finish but it was still all to do. In the race itself he started hard but not too hard - settling in at 15th position after a Kilometer. On the second lap, his strength and endurance shone through as he worked his way through the leaders and closed out in a superb 6th place - well done Mathys on a remarkable performance! His clubmate Sean Liston (150) also had a super race - running hard all the way in this exceptionally high standard field.
Mathys and Sean celebrate great performances
U11 Boys 1500m - Keelan leads the way!
Keelan Moorhead was impressive also in the U11 boys 1500m when placed in the leading group for much of the race but picked up a foot injury mid-race and slipped to 38th place – still a fine performance and leading the club to 11th place out of over 20 teams with Stephen Ruane 72nd, Declan O'Connell 78th, Cian Brady 118th, Orrin Gilmore 127th and Jack Farrell 154th.
U11 boys Team
U11 Girls 1500m - Strong team performance!
The U11 Girls placed 17th in their race led by Emma O’Donovan 91st and followed by Amelie Bocquet 113, Ciara O'Connor 116, Kelly Hallinan 129, Keevagh Barry 149, Aeveen Kelly 150 and Erin Dillon 164. Well done all on a super performance!
U15 Girls 3500m - Emily and Aoibhinn do themselves proud
For the the 3500m u15 Girls we had two competitors - the fast improving Emily Miskella and the ever tough Aoibhinn Keane. Multi-talented Emily has shown fantastic application this year at training, mixing the running in with the Camogie and other sports. In recent weeks as she focused dilligently on her endurance the dividends were obvious in training and it showed clearly on Saturday as she finished well up the field in a fine time. Aoibhinn made a fantastic start up the long hill well to the front of the field but has been struggling with her hamstring all season and it gave her increasing trouble as the race went on. She would have bravely run the race to completion, but her Dad wisely chose to step her aside with about a km to go to avoid worsening the injury.
U15 Boys 3500m - fearless Ross stars in remarkable run
Ross McGuinness, was next up for Craughwell and he had a truly remarkable run. The Connacht Champion was not to be outdone by his good friend and fellow triathlete Mathys and he really took the race by the scruff of the neck. Ross pushed quickly into the top 5, then the top 2 then led for a period at the end of the first 1500m lap. He wisely settled back into second place at the start of the final 2km lap - but it was a precarious position due to the size of the chasing pack. Ross has tremendous endurance and his running style would probably have suited a faster pace in this section from 1.5km to 3km which would have really thinned out the chasing pack, however the pace settled and group behind the leading two got bigger until the big surge happened with 500m to go and 4 athletes went past Ross, pushing him into 7th place with 300m to go up the long hill finish. Ross tried to kick to the line but after the repeated late surges his legs just didn't react as he'd like and he got pipped into 13th place literally by a nose on the line. Incredibly unlucky and though understandably disappointed to have just missed out on a medal, he can be proud of a sensational run, and a tremendous display of heart, courage and smart running.
Ross fearlessly leading the field after 1.5km
U17 Girls 4000m - Ailbhe delivers when it counts!
The program quickly moved on to the u17 girls race where Ailbhe had a superb run, winning the coveted award of Craughwell's leading Miskella of the day by claiming a fine 40th position. Ailbhe has been improving steadily and consistently all season under the careful guidance of her coach Lisa and this was one of her best ever performances at the highest level of Irish endurance running. As usual for Ailbhe, she got stronger as the race progressed - however she showed a new string to her bow on Saturday with a fantastic sprint kick up the long uphill finish to fend off attackers and catch some of those ahead of her. Brilliant run!
U17 Boys 5000m - Kyle has a stormer!
Another athlete delivering a season's best performance at the right time was Kyle Moorehead. Kyle was as relaxed and strong as I've ever seen him - powering through the strong field to finish in 41st position. I would need to consult with "records-man" Mike, but I think this might be Kyle's highest ever Cross Country finishing position? This was a fine run from Kyle and further evidence if it were needed that the hard work and smart training is working for him - well done!
Novices Men 6000m - O'Boyle leads a decent squad home!
The novices event is the biggest Cross Country races in ireland in terms of the size of field. This combined with the relatively short 6km distance makes it a hillariously crowded spectacle of running both to watch and take part in. Craughwell had a really quite strong team of 5 athletes on the day - Piotr Prokop, Damian O'Boyle, Kevin Mooney, Jack Miskella and Mark Davis.
All smiles and clean legs before kick-off
Forget the "Novices" name, the field is always of a high standard and this year was no exception. In fact.. this was definitely the strongest novices field I have competed in in terms of the amount of decent runners in there - the top 80 are always very good but this one felt like it had strong athletes throughout and combined with the twisty course it made for some interesting and compact racing! Though the course was mostly firm, on each lap at the muddy corners, runners were falling and getting hurdled by the following hoardes to give a "grand national" feel to the thing.
The race got off with the "cavalry" charge up the 400m uphill start and curved around to the right. Kevin Mooney was in his second ever cross country race and had vowed to learn from his Ballina race by getting out of the blocks quickly. As it turned out, Kev had probably learned a little too much as his first km of 3.01 uphill was good enough to get him into the AAI event pictures!
1km Completed! Smile for the Camera!
As the Kilometers rolled past, either the oxygen debt or perhaps the lack of further photo opportunities motivated Kevin to moderate his pace and he settled into a still phenomenal-on-that-course 3:20/km for the remainder of the race. Behind him the experienced and quick Collegiate Damian O'Boyle ran a clever race, not getting drawn into things at the start and building from the top 60 to eventually pass Kevin and push on to ultimately finish as first Galway man in 31st position. It was a fine run from Damian who is really in a recovery phase after a hard Cross Season Stateside. There aren't too many hills in Tenesee and he's starting to re-acquiaint himself with them! Kevin finished close behind Damian in a fine 44th position - more valuable Cross Country experience for our talented club Marathon record holder who has some great days in his future.
Jack Miskella targetted this race and it really showed - the tough NUIG student started out hard and held his pace solidly throughout. 6km is a long way for a man that specializes in the 800m but the training he has done this season really showed and he finished ahead of many people that he had never beaten before - a great sign. His 91st place finishing position made him the 3rd Craughwell and Galway Athlete, but sadly for him he ended up getting the Miskella "Wooden Spoon" on the day, and his prize was waiting for him at home (hint: a bucket and mop was needed!). Seriously - it was a great performance, and it's smashing to think that one family had 3 athletes in different age races at the all Ireland finals.
Next home for 4th Craughwell and 5th Galwayman was Mark Davis (i.e. me). I went out quite hard but after another year of injury hadn't enough done really to sustain the pace and could really feel it in the last 4k where people seemed to flood past me. In the last 500m or so with the end was in sight I kicked pretty well for a respectable 117th place.
Piotr Prokop was taking part in his first national Cross Country and didn't really know what to expect. He "sandbagged" at the outset joking that his goal was not to finish last - fat chance!! Piotr ran magnificently. He finished well in the top-200, with over 60 finishers behind him (and reportedly about 10 DNFs) - very well done - a fine run, and there's definitely a lot more in Piotr in years to come if he keeps training like he has been!.
In the end, Craughwell were first Connacht club - 12th club team of 32, and provided 4 of the 6 Galway scorers who made 8th County team - not bad for a day's work!
After the race, I had to look back with renewed appreciation at Jason Broderick's fantastic run in Waterford 2015 where he was 3rd man home for a sensational bronze medal in an equally tough field. When you consider the quality of the guys behind him - some of whom made the top-6 in the sensational recent euro qualifiers at Abbotstown, it was a truly exceptional performance from him - definitely in my mind the finest cross-country run ever by any Senior in a Craughwell Singlet. If we can get Jason back injury free next year, there's no telling how far he can go!
Craughwell AC Gear Goes Online!
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Pre-Christmas Clothes Clearout??
The next clothes collection for the club will be shortly before Christmas.
If doing a pre-Christmas clearout, why not bring it up to our container on our athletics ground and help the club raise much needed funds for our facility development. The container is open 24x7.
Note no duvets or pillows please as the recycling company don't accept them. But all other old/new clothes and shoes, belts and bags accepted.
National Bronze Caps off Great Day in Abbotstown
The nationals are always an exceptionally high standard, but there's a general rule of thumb that the closer to Dublin the venue, the hotter the field, and this was never more true than today. In each event from the U12 right up to the Senior Men, the depth and standard was unbelievably high and medals were as rare as hen's teeth.
The sun was out but the wind was biting and a heavy week of rain in Dublin had left the hilly sections of the beautiful National Cross Country course in Abbotstown coated in a skin of mud. The custom-built course is a fantastic venue for spectators and athletes alike, something to be proud of - well done to all involved in the Sports Campus project - definitely the way to go.
Part of the intrigue of Cross Country is how courses can dictate the race! One feature of this course is a fabulously wide long start of about 250-300m, which narrows and swings to the left into some relatively tight turns for many of the races. This encourages fast starts and a lot of the day was decided by who could manage to recover from the start! It also meant that some athletes who prefer to build gradually from the back were unable to execute their strategy effectively.
The U16 boys race was the highlight of the day for Craughwell, with the Connacht Champion team of Sean Cotter (25), Ross McGuinness (35), Oisin Davis (44) and Luke Burke (110) doing enough to win 3rd place out of the 17 teams by a slender margin of 2 points. It is impossible to pick out a man of the match performance here as they all excelled and needed to in order to clinch this narrow victory.
The Bronze-winning U16 Team
The talented Sean Cotter has had a niggling hip problem for the past few weeks and despite rest and physio it was still bothering him in his warm up. Ever brave, he put it behind him when the gun went and took to the fore of the field covering the first kilometer in well under 3 minutes to put himself into a superb position for individual glory as they headed into the large laps. About 2km in his hip really started to flare up, and Sean showed incredible character to not only see the race out but to ignore the pain and finish strongly.
Fortune favours the brave - Sean leading the field
Next home was Ross McGuinness in 35th, the Connacht U15 champion who stepped up to the U16 team. Ross has an amazing gas tank and ability to recover on his feet so this course suited him perfectly. He recovered from the fast start and cruised through the field picking people off with each passing kilometer to finish 35th. Oisin Davis was very close behind Ross in 44th. Like most in the field, Oisin found the starting pace intense but showed great grit to hold his position bravely as he recovered into it, fending off all challengers and wasn't passed for basically the whole race. Newest member of the team, Luke Burke is very talented but as a triathlete hasn't yet had quite the focused running base of his teammates. He does have a phenomenal kick which has been duly noted in training - he promised before the race that he would make full use of it on the long home straight and he certainly delivered - passing 3 or 4 competitors in a gut-wrenching final 200m to get under the arch. Coming from Connacht, the standard was such a shock that all the lads were a little disappointed at the end but this soon turned to joy when the news broke that they had won an incredible Bronze - well done all!!
Earlier in the day, from a Craughwell perspective, the action got underway with the U12 boys race of 2 km where Fionn Higgins, sporting the classic #1 bib number, had a fine race to finish in 97th, followed closely by Jack Farrell (153). This was a huge step up for the lads from Connacht and an experience that will stand to them in years to come.
From Castlegar to Abbotstown, it's been a great Cross Country season for our U14 girls team - today the fortunes were mixed but they each gave it everything. The girls were led home by a resurgent Clodagh O'Meara in 100th place. Clodagh was a narrow 4th in the Connachts and her fitness is improving with every race. Right next to Clodagh was Fauve Aylmer (102). Fauve took the race on hard for the first Kilometer but whether it was the fast start or just one of those days, our Connacht champion couldn't quite find her gears on the day. Fauve was upbeat and philosohical after the race - she's had a great early season and is rightly looking forward to the indoors! Next home for Craughwell was Siofra Davis (140). Cross country is not Siofra's favoured discipline but she ran strongly throughout. Closely following Siofra and completing the team Holly O'Boyle also had a strong run stepping up in age on the day for the sake of the team.
Our U14 Girls team shortly before race start above and shortly afterwards below
In the U14 boys, we had two competitors. The talented Mathys Bocquet had a hugely disappointing Connacht Cross Country, fearing that his season was over when he pulled up with a calf injury on the starting straight in Sligo. He has wisely taken the time off since and after a few jogs and some bike work this week decided to try the step up in age. He ran exceptionally well, placing 33rd out of the over 150 competitors - a stunning run. He will be stronger and better in three week's time for his own age - should be exciting stuff! Sean Liston also had a very solid run all the way to finish in 143rd position and is one for the future!
We had just one competitor in the U16 Girls race - despite a pretty bad cold, Aoibhinn Keane stepped up in age and ran a consistently hard pace throughout the 4km course to take 128th position. Aoibhinn has the distinction of making the all-Ireland for almost all of her athletics career!
Aobhinn under the watchful eye of Marathon Champion Maria McCambridge
Next event for Craughwell was the U18 Girls where we had one competitor. Ailbhe Miskella stepped up in age for this event with no expectations and had a fantastic effort to finish in 41st place - what a great run! Roll on December 15th!
Ailbhe on the charge!
For the U18 boys, we weren't entered as a team due to the way the Connachts went, but we did have a really strong crew. Ben Ryan, sporting his awesome custom-made singlet blazed home in 28th place in a fine run, recovering greatly from the foot-problem that dashed his Sligo run. The rest of the guys were all bunched closely together. Next home for the club was the ever-improving William Fitzgerald in 70th. William is coming out the far side of a dip, and his training is clearly working very well for him now - he has found his way back to enjoying his training and racing which bodes well for the future. Patrick Noonan went out HARD, possibly a little too hard, and felt the pinch of the pace as his race wore on - he showed great character toughing it out to hold on to 72nd position but the experience of mixing it at the front of the field will stand to him greatly..
Kyle Moorhead, stepping up in age had one of the races of the day in 77th position - he looked strong and relaxed throughout in his best race of the season thus far. He can also look forward with optimism to his own age group on December 15th! Last for the U18s was Sean Noonan in 84th who continues to stun his coach Lisa (and the other coaches in the club!) with his rapid improvement. Sean is one of the top Kayakers in the country who is just taking baby steps back into the endurance world, and is doing these great runs off early-base training which is absolutely amazing. He is about 6 months ahead of where I would have guessed he'd be at this stage and looks set for a great year.
4 Happy U18s with Delighted Coach Lisa
Finally the AAI get their seedings sorted!
Next up were the Senior events and Craughwell had one competitor in the Junior Women - Caron Ryan who was competing as a Junior for the last time and gave her all in a valiant attempt to claim one of the precious top 6 european qualifying slots. Caron took the race on by the scruff of the neck and drove out hard. It was the right strategy and she put herself in a stunning position in the top 5 with roughly 800m to go. However when it came to kick for home and she asked questions of her legs, they didn't react in the way they usually do - it happens sometimes, more often than not in Cross Country. That said - she held on bravely to finish the 4km in 16th position overall - Craughwell's highest female finishing position of the day! A superb run for the very talented young TCD runner. She was disappointed after the event but can look back on her effort with great pride.
Caron digging deep!
The Senior Men's event was combined with the U23 and was perhaps the highest quality distance running event I have seen in Ireland since the European Cross Country came to Santry. The standard and depth of the field was absolutely stunning - it really was a meeting of the "best of the best" gladiators in Ireland. For Craughwell we had two very strong Competitors in the U23 - Jamie Fallon and returning US Collegiate Damien O'Boyle. The pace was just incredible in this race and both guys found the going very tough. It is only when you look back at the results and you realise the quality of the athletes BEHIND them that you realise how ferociously high the standard actually was. Jamie came 9th U23 and 59th overall and Damian came 15th U23 and 97th overall. To my knowledge, both guys are still u23 next year so this is a massive learning experience for them. With consistent training, they are definitely capable of breaking the top ranks but nobody will say it's easy!.
Jamie and Damien all Smiles at the Start
3 of our 4 medallists at the end (Sean was gone home by the time the medals were tracked down!)
Caron Helps TCD to Road Relay Silver!
Caron Ryan pictured with her TCD teammates who won team silver
in the Universities Road Relays in Maynooth at the weekend
The winning habit continued for Caron Ryan at the weekend when she raced the first mile leg for Trinity College Dublin at the Universities Road Relays which were held in Maynooth on Saturday last. Caron posted a time of 6:13 in the 1-mile first leg, giving the team a solid 5th place at the changeover amongst the 26 teams in action. The team covered the 1-2-2-1 miles relay in a combined time of 34:15 to win the coveted silver medals, just a minute off the leaders DCU and a close 6 seconds ahead of the bronze medallists UCC.
Also in action, Jack Miskella raced the first mile leg of the men's race (1-2-3-2-1 miles) in a fine time of 5:27 to help the NUIG 'A' team to 5th place amongst the 27 teams in a combined time of 45:58 while John Cormican raced the same leg for the TCD 'B' team in an impressive 5:34 to help the team to 16th place in a combined time of 49:31.
Well done also to John O'Connor on his usual brilliant photos, full albums at his flickr website.
Jack Miskella and John Cormican on the start line of the University Road Relays
Caron and Ross Sweep to Connacht Victories!
Craughwell AC's U17 Boys - Connacht Cross Country Champions 2018
Sean Cotter, Oisin Davis, Kyle Moorhead, Luke Burke
Our athletes hit the M17 yet again for another day out at the second day of the Connacht cross-country which was held in Beleek, Ballina. One of the finest cross-country courses in Connacht, I can still recall my first trip here for the primary school’s cross-country finals way back in 2003 when Craughwell NS raced to a terrific first Connacht title in the Senior Girls 1000m. The hills haven’t gotten any smaller since then and coupled with very cold and sometimes wet conditions today, it made for a very formidable challenge for our young and not so young athletes.
Our U11 Girls were first into action at noon for their 1500m. With the wintery showers just starting to bite before the race, it was a very tough race for the girls. But as the saying goes, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going” and our girls put in an exceptional performance to race to a fantastic team silver. Keevagh Barry and Emma O’Donovan got off to a brilliant start and battled hard all the way around with Keevagh finishing in an impressive 9th place and Emma 21st. Emma was followed swiftly by Kelly Hallinan in 23rd, Ciara O'Connor 24th, Amelie Bocquet 26th, Aeveen Kelly 31st and Erin Dillon 45th in a field of over 70 runners. You could see the cold written all over the faces of the girls at the finish line, so to run so well and take team silver was just fantastic.
Craughwell AC's U11 Girls - Connacht Silver Medallists 2018
Pictured on the start line before their 1500m
The U11 Boys were up immediately the girls finished and straightaway Keelan Moorhead got out fast with the leading group and held on strongly right through the race to take a brilliant 6th place, with Declan O’Connell hot on his heels in 7th. Declan had gotten blocked in a little at the race start but made massive progress up through the crowded field on the first half of the race for a brilliant finish. Cian Brady has an outstanding run in his first Connacht final to take 15th place and was followed closely by Orrin Gilmore in 23rd, Stephen Ruane in 25th, Jack Farrell 31st and Josh White 72nd. The boys’ efforts were rewarded with team silver, a brilliant achievement and the 4th time that the club have medalled in both U11 races on the same day.
Carughwell AC's U11 Boys - Connacht Silver Medallists 2018
Pictured at the finish after their 1500m
We didn’t have enough runners for teams in the U13 2500m races but nevertheless there were some fine individual performances, with Holly O’Boyle racing to 32nd place and Claudia McGuiness close behind in 37th. In the boys’ race, Conor Cahill made his debut for the club with a fine 33rd place finish a year out of age and Sean Liston had a strong run to place 42nd in a quality field.
The U15 Girls were our next team into the fray where Fauve Aylmer put in another outstanding performance to take 4th place overall, sticking with the leading group of 5 for most of the 3500m and only drifting back into 4th in the final 1000m – a super performance out of age. Clodagh O’Meara also stepped up a gear, moving up multiple places in the latter half of the race to take brilliant 8th place. Emily Miskella had a fantastic race also – steadily getting back to her brilliant best with a 10th place. Aoibhinn Keane completed the team scoring with a 29th place finish to help the team to the team silver with a good score of 51 points. The girls’ performances also earned county gold for the Galway team, with 3 of the scorers from our club.
Craughwell AC's U15 Girls - Connacht silver medallists 2018
Emily Miskella, Clodagh O'Meara, Fauve Aylmer, Aoibhinn Keane
Next one of the highlights of the day for the club and indeed one of the highlights of recent years of cross-country where Ross McGuinness powered around the Beleek course as if the hills didn’t exist and literally ran away with the Connacht title by a huge margin – an exceptional run and one that was rightly hailed by the on-course commentator as one of the performances of the day.
Onto the U17 girls 4000m which was ran in conjunction with the U19 4000m, where Ailbhe Miskella put in a trojan race to take individual 4th place – unlucky not to make the podium but Ailbhe’s highest placing yet in Connacht cross-country and one that is richly deserved for an exceptionally dedicated athlete. Our U17 Boys were next into action in their 5000m where led by Sean Cotter, they put in a brilliant team performance to take the Connacht title with a score of 26 points. Sean led the team home with a brilliant bronze medal, followed by the ever-improving Oisin Davis in 5th, Kyle Moorhead 8th and Luke Burke 10th with all 4 of the lads also scoring for the Galway county team that took team gold. We didn’t have a team in the U19 boys 6000m but this didn’t deter the Noonan brothers Patrick and Sean from putting in a tremendous display of running to take 6th and 10th place, with both scoring on the county team that took team gold. What was even more impressive was that their runs came less than 24 hours after competing in the Irish Kayaking Trials where Sean placed 1st and Patrick 6th with Sean’s performance earning him selection for the Irish Junior team for the forthcoming Kayaking International. Luckily a kayak was not required to negotiate the cross-country course in Beleek today!
Ross McGuinness - Connacht U15 Cross Country Champion 2018
With the juvenile races done and dusted, it was now time for our athletes to shine in the senior races. Caron Ryan fresh from her dominant performance in last weekends Connacht U20 4000m, put in another splendid performance to comfortably win the Senior Women’s 4000m – an impressive performance from an athlete who is going from strength to strength in every race. And in the senior men’s race, marathon specialist Kevin Mooney only 2 weeks after his brilliant club record run in the Dublin marathon, made his debut on the turf with a superb 5th place finish in the Senior Mens 8000m. Kevin was followed in by the sprightly Mark Davis with a brilliant 13th place finish despite carrying an injury and by Jack Miskella with a strong 17th place finish, one that will place him on or close to the podium in the Novice men’s category when the results of the 3 Connacht senior races are tallied.
So another great day for the club and well done to Moy Valley AC and the Connacht committee on a very well run event despite the wintery conditions.
Info on Connacht XC Sunday 11th Nov Beleek, Ballina
Click here for Google maps link to Beleek Ballina and read on below for more information in regard to travel and parking. Please arrive at least an hour before your race to give time to warmup and familiarise with course. Races start at noon sharp.
Connacht Uneven Ages,
&
Novice, Senior, Masters Cross Country League – 3rd Round.
Belleek, Ballina
11th November 2018
Start time: 12.00 NOON for Juveniles &
2.00pm approx for Seniors.
U11 Girls & Boys – 1500m
U13 Girls & Boys – 2500m
U15 Girls & Boys - 3500m
U17 & U19 Girls – 4000m
U17 Boys – 5000m
U19 Boys – 6000m
Senior League – Ladies & O’65 Men – 4000K.
Men – 8000m
Read more: Info on Connacht XC Sunday 11th Nov Beleek, Ballina
Launch of New Development Plan with Night at Dogs
Connacht Titles for Caron, Sean and Fauve!
Connacht U16 Cross Country Champions 2018 - in the distant shadow of Ben Bulbin!
Sean Cotter, Ross McGuinness, Oisin Davis, Luke Burke
A hardy band of Craughwell AC athletes travelled north to Sligo yesterday for day 1 of the Connacht juvenile cross-country held in Sligo racecourse.
The day got underway with the U12 girls 2000m where Claudia McGuinness and Amelie Bocquet had solid runs to place 32nd and 41st. The U12 Boys were off next in their 2000m with a strong performance from Fionn Higgins in 12th place leading the team home to 4th place and just outside the medals. Fionn’s performance earned him team silver with the county team and he was followed in by Darragh Reidy in 19th, Jack Farrell 29th and Sean Lavan 30th.
Craughwell AC's U12 Boys who placed 4th in the Connacht Cross Country
The U14 Girls toed the line immediately afterwards for their 3000m, faced with 2 laps of the tough Sligo loop and its never-ending steep incline at the end of each lap. What goes up must come down however and the girls made the most of the downhill with some remarkable performances. Fauve Aylmer is going from strength to strength, rattling off PBs in 800m and steadily rising up the cross-country ranks as the years go by. As an U11 in 2015 Fauve placed 53rd in the Connacht cross-country. Yesterday Fauve’s performance was inspirational when taking the race out hard in the early stages and leading from the front, she battled to a brilliant Connacht title – her first Connacht cross-country title and the first girl from the club since Dearbhaile Walsh in 2011 to become Connacht Cross Country Champion and joining Dearbhaile and Linda Porter as the only girls from the club to do so prior to today. And with an equally brilliant performance, Clodagh O’Meara also put in a fantastic race, staying in contention with the leading group right throughout the race and putting in a lung-busting final 600m to move from 6th or 7th up into 4th place, almost getting into the individual honours – a fine performance from another super athlete. Not far behind Siofra Davis and Holly O’Boyle raced home in 20th and 26th place to help the team to the silver medals just 1 point adrift of the team winners GCH, a really super team performance from the Craughwell girls.
Craughwell AC's U14 Girls who won team silver at the Connacht Cross Country Championships
In the U14 Boys 3000m, pre-race favourite Mathys Bocquet had an unfortunate calf niggle at the start-line and had to withdraw early in the race. Cian Lavan stepped up in his place to lead the team home with a brilliant 14th place, followed in by Evan Hallinan in 25th, Sean Liston 32nd and Ryan McDonnell 37th with Cathal Fitzpatrick also having to withdraw with a foot injury. The team placed 4th and a big shout-out to Ryan McDonnell for coming in as 4th scorer despite feeling quite ill in the latter half of the race. The Co Galway team took the silver county medals in the race with Cian as 4th scorer.
Craughwell AC's U14 Boys who placed 4th at the Connacht Cross Country Championships
In the U16 Girls 4000m, Aoibhinn Keane stepped up an age from the U15s and had a solid run in 24th place, great experience for her own age next week where she will be part of a strong team. It was a tough race as it was combined in with the U18s and U20s. Ailbhe Miskella had a super run in the U18 category, taking 7th place amongst her age group. But the star of this race was our sole U20 Caron Ryan who blitzed around the course to take a super Connacht title in a very competitive race. It was Caron’s first Connacht clubs cross-country title and what a way to finish off your Junior days prior to entering the seniors. Her victory throws up a few interesting statistics – making it now 4 girls from the club to hold Connacht club titles – Caron, Fauve, Dearbhaile and Linda; and making it the most successful day ever at an individual level for girls from the club in Connacht cross-country.
Fauve Aylmer and Caron Ryan
Connacht U14 and U20 Cross Country Champions 2018
The U16 Boys got underway next in their 4000m where they gave an exhibition of front-running with Sean Cotter, Ross McGuiness and Oisin Davis breaking away early in the race into a leading group of their own. Floating around the course like Kenyans in the Rift Valley, the 3 lads cruised home to take the top 3 places with Sean followed by Ross and then Oisin. And only slightly behind Luke Burke completed an incredible team score when taking 6th place with a super performance.
The U18s were off next in their 6000m where Patrick Noonan is steadily returning to his elite self from his younger juvenile days with a fine 5th place finish, equalling his 5th place finish as an U11 in 2012. He was followed in by a super run by Kyle Moorhead in 14th. Unfortunately, Ben Ryan had to withdraw from the race after approx. 4000m.
And massive runs also from Jamie Fallon 2nd in the senior race and from Jack Miskella – Mark has already described their performances in a separate article and we will have some serious competitive senior teams in the not too distant future with Jamie and Jack and the calibre of the younger lads coming through and our emigrant in the US when he returns (Damien O’B) plus some of the impressive marathon runners in the senior club fresh off big PBs in recent marathons.
So, all and all another great day for the club. I keep a chart of juvenile performances in Connacht cross country here if anyone feels like a bit of reading.
Jamie Shines in Sligo Connachts
The road back to competitive running after a long layoff is tough! It takes motivation, patience and immense faith as you wait to turn the corner. Last Tuesday at training, Jamie Fallon was cruising through his intervals as usual but something was different about him - you could tell he was enjoying himself and his old stride and flow was back - he was going to be a dangerous man come Sunday!.
A large field of over 50 hardy athletes lined up for the second leg of the Connacht Cross country today which was run over four 2-kilometer laps, with the famous Sligo drag of over 400m to cope with on each lap. The big guns of Sligo athletics had lined up - including standout athletes like JP Carty and Emmet Dunleavy (iaaf profile), alongside the best of Mayo, Roscommon, Leitrim and Galway. Jamie took the race by the scruff from the start and soon formed a breakaway group of two with Dunleavy hanging on to his heels. It was a fascinating battle to watch unfold as the classy Dunleavy dug deep and responded to surge after surge from Jamie. Dunleavy who has a 1.53 800m is known for his phenomenal kick and he duly used it to push for home from 400m - up that hill and win by two seconds. A brilliant race to watch! Well done to Jamie and his longtime coach/mentor Jimmy for getting him into such terrific shape so quickly.
Jamie (center) and Jack (right) pose with a fan
Jack Miskella also had a fine run in a field of serious quality. Jack is primarily using the cross country to build a base of strength for his favoured track season and races like this should definitely do the trick! He got off to a strong start - slipped a little in the middle but rallied again at the end for a great finish - well up in the top quarter of the strong field.
Unfortunately on this occasion the club didn't have a team as some that were travelling to the event weren't quite able to make it in time. Galway was well represented however as GCH and Castlegar had big teams there and were very strong with good runs from many of their guys. Hopefully we can field a few more in the mix next week in Belleek, Ballina - perhaps even a few ladies!
550 Happy Halloweens!
Happy Halloween to all of our members! The club‘s juvenile membership recently burst through the 550 mark yet again – the 5th year in a row that it has done so and the only club in the country to do so in any of those 5 years.
Its testament to the hard-work of the many dedicated coaches in the club. Our younger ages in particular are bursting at the seams with over 70 kids attending U9s training on Wedensdays and over 80 kids attending U10s training on Thursdays. We are always seeking new parents to help out so if you have an interest and would like to get involved please let us know … just tell the lead coach of the training group in which your child is in and she or he will do the rest to get you involved.
It’s being a wonderful year so far both from a competitive perspective and a participation perspective. We consistently have the most competitors taking part in Galway and Connacht competitions, significantly the most in fact as illustrated by the entry fees bill that we pay to Galway and Connacht. And we had our best year ever at National indoor and outdoor competition with the highlight being the qualification of our U20 girls for next year’s European Club Championships.
We will very shortly be publishing our facilities plan for the next 6 years. With the help of grants and loans and parents support, we hope to extend our track around 1 bend next year to over 200m long as part of its eventual extension into a full 400m track and hope to complete a throws area and a perimeter pathway around our new field and a toilet block next year also, as well as 36m x 24m sportshall by 2023.
We hope to launch these plans with a Night at the Dogs in early December – more information to follow on this.
And we would like to keep encouraging parents to support our club Lotto at https://www.locallotto.ie/localhome.asp?LL_ID=1388.
Our Lotto is an essential part of our plans to fund facility development for existing members. Every cent that the club generates is going into the development of facilities for the existing members – we don’t do savings as to do so would mean fundraising and not spending it on the members who give the funds. So please continue to support us and click on our club lotto. And thanks as always for all the support to date, we have a fantastic club and a fantastic support base and the signs of this are evident at every training session on the happy smiles on our members’ faces.
Mooney Goes Wild at Dublin Marathon!
In absolutely perfect running conditions, Kevin Mooney dug deep and delivered on his fantastic form of recent months by knocking over a whopping 4 minutes from the Club Marathon record. This corny headline had to be used at least once and this provided the perfect opportunity!!
Kevin powering through at Mile 22
After an exceptional half-marathon in Charleville, few doubted that Kevin would break the magical 2.35 barrier, but the marathon can be a cruel beast and many fantastic athletes have stumbled at the distance over the years: "there are no guarantees here". For many, the big question was if his legs would recover from his Galway bay marathon win (2:40) of less than a month ago - not something you often see on marathon training plans! So basically - he still had to pull it out on the day - and pull it out he did!
Kevin started with intent, clocking out the 3:20 to 3:30 kilometers to pass through 10k in a little over 35 minutes. He continued to push the pace, incredibly passing through half way in a remarkable 1:14.55 - a sub-2:30 pace, and ahead of many athletes that actually ended up breaking the 2:30 mark.
Through the latter stages of the second half, he started to feel the pinch - particularly over the last 10k where the uphill sections of the course took their toll. From mile 20 to 22 his pace dipped by almost 20 seconds a kilometer. Some abuse from fans like Barry, Gerry and myself (though more likely some downhill sections) may have helped him rally a litte from mile 22 to 24 but the last two miles were again tough - leading to a second half almost 3 minutes slower than the first. Splits like this just indicate massive potential for improvement!
At the end his time is an unofficial 2.32.59 - a BRILLIANT personal best and a fabulous new club record which I wouldn't bet on staying this side of 2:30 for very long! Well done to Kevin - splits are below if you click "read more".
Crew from Craughwell all Smiles at the start!
PB's too for Piotr and Others!
Kevin wasn't the only Craughwell AC Athlete in marathon action today - Piotr Prokop SHATTERED the magical 3-hour barrier in Frankfurt with a great 2:58 - well done Piotr, it's not every day you will get a 13 minute PB - enjoy it!
Back in Dublin - only some Craughwell athletes were listed as such in the results search engine, so will add others as we get them but among the other great performances were:
- Aisling Roche - 5:03
- Dean Roche - 4:27
- Elisha Daniels - 4:06
- Colm McAllen - 4:54
- John Melia - 3:22
- Mick Gallagher - 4:11
- Reena Deely - 4:19
- Aideen Gillespie - 4:19
- Brian Gorman 3:42
- Katie Gorman 3:43
- Brian Matthews 3:42
- Cathriona Leen 3:54
- Sharon Gilligan 4:00
- Fiona Gleeson Keane 4:56
- Lorraine Craven 4:18
- Declan Craven 5:47
- Dave Callanan 4:14
- Treasa Callanan 3:55
- Kay Touhy 3:54
- Tony Nevin 3:58
- Marita Carolan 5:24
Well done all, fantastic achievements and please let me know if I missed anyone else!