Sunday, December 16, 2018

Club Notes Week Ending 16th Dec. 2018

National Novice & Juvenile XC
The final cross country race of the year was the National Novice and Juvenile uneven ages. Held in Navan on what was a very windy and damp day. Considering the amount of rain we got over the last few weeks, the ground conditions were quiet good. It was a challenging course with plenty of hair pen bends and undulating hills into the wind. 
Shauna McCarthy was competing in the U15 3500m race. The start was into a uphill climb where Shauna got off to a good start positioned in the center of the field of over 100 runners. At just the 700m mark there was a fall by another athlete which resulted in Shauna loosing one of her spikes. Not deterred she picked herself up and fought hard over the course of the race to move up the field. She showed her strength on the hills and coming into the final 500m's she was now in the top 20 group. Shauna gave it everything to right to the finish where she was placed 11th overall, earning her first individual National A medal. She was also part of the Munster team to get silver. A great race and one she will always remember.
The final race of the day was the Novice Men's 6000m where we had George McCarthy & Arthur Fitzgerald part of the county team. The course was by now muddy and the wind had picked up. The start was wild with 254 athletes racing to find a good position before the course closed in. Arthur had a great race where he battled through the field over the three laps. he finished in 82nd place and third scorer for the county. A great achievement and a difficult course. George equally did well to be placed 136th and the sixth scorer. The county team was placed 9th overall.

The Annual Newmarket 5K was held on Sunday 16th December. This is always a fast and popular event. Well done to Mary Daly completing the distance in 18:29 and Caitriona Barry in a time of 19:37.

There was great support for our bag packing fundraiser in DUNNES Killarney last week-end. A special thanks to all our volunteers who gave up their time to support. Thanks also to DUNNES Killarney, a major sponsor to our club.

Membership 2019:
Athletics Ireland has set-up a new on-line membership system. Athletes can access the membership system and renew their membership in minutes without contacting the club secretary. Full details can be reviewed on AII website.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our club members and their families Seasons Greetings and see you all in the New Year.
Reminder our Annual 5K Road Run on St. Stephen's Day (Dec. 26th) at 12 noon. Hope to see you and your families out to support.

Club Training:
All training will return in the New Year

Athletic's Fixtures
Wed 26th Dec: Farranfore Maine Valley AC 5k, Farranfore, 12 noon
Tue 1st Jan: Beaufort 10K & 5K, Start Of The Laune AC, 12 noon
Sat 12th Jan: AAI National Indoor League - Round 1, Indoor Arena AbbottstownSun 20th Jan: Munster Juv. Inter Club Relays & Juvenile Jumps & Throws - Day 1, Nenagh Indoor Stadium

Please contact club secretary, Mary, 085-1909509 to register for competitions in advance
See Kerry & Munster Athletics website for full fixture lists & timetable for events.