Below are the April/May Workshops & Courses being held in Wicklow and the South East.

April 18th – Javelin/Turbo Javelin + Long Jump Workshop – Craanford, Co. Wexford 6.00 – 8.00pm
Open to all Coaches and athletes over 9 years.
Venue: Craanford GAA Field, Craanford, Co. Wexford. Cost: €5 per Athlete/Coach

April 19th – High Jump Workshop – Kilkenny 7.00pm
Open to all Coaches and athletes over 12 years.
Venue: Scanlon Park/ The Watershed, Kilkenny City. Cost: €5 per Athlete/Coach

April 24th – Javelin/Turbo Javelin + High Jump Workshop – Wexford 6.00 – 8.00pm
Open to all Coaches and athletes over 9 years.
Venue: The Presentation School, Wexford Town. Cost: €5 per Athlete/Coach

April 25th – Long Jump + Triple Jump Workshop – Greystones 7.00 – 9.00pm
Open to all Coaches and athletes over 12 years.
Venue: Shoreline Sports Complex, Greystones. Cost: €5 per Athlete/Coach

April 29th – Long Jump + Turbo Javelin Workshop – Adamstown, Co. Wexford 6.30pm
Open to all Coaches and athletes over 9.
Venue: Adamstown Community Centre, Adamstown, Co. Wexford. Cost: €5 per Athlete/Coach

May 2nd – Javelin + Turbo Javelin Workshop – Greystones 7.00 – 9.00pm
Open to all Coaches and athletes over 9.
Venue: Shoreline Sports Complex, Greystones. Cost: €5 per Athlete/Coach

May 3rd – Sprints + Hurdles Workshop – Kilkenny 7.00 – 9.00pm
Open to all Coaches and athletes over 12.
Venue: Scanlon Park/ The Watershed, Kilkenny City. Cost: €5 per Athlete/Coach

May 8th – Sprints + Hurdles Workshop – Adamstown, Co. Wexford 6.30pm
Open to all Coaches and athletes over 12.
Venue: Adamstown Community Centre, Adamstown, Co. Wexford. Cost: €5 per Athlete/Coach

May 9th – Shot + Discus Workshop – Greystones 7.00 – 9.00pm
Open to all Coaches and athletes over 12.
Venue: Shoreline Sports Complex, Greystones. Cost: €5 per Athlete/Coach

May 10th – Javelin + Turbo Javelin Workshop – Kilkenny 7.00 – 9.00pm
Open to all Coaches and athletes over 9.
Venue: Scanlon Park/The Watershed, Kilkenny City. Cost: €5 per Athlete/Coach

May 16th – Hurdles + High Jump Workshop – Greystones 7.00 – 9.00pm
Open to all Coaches and athletes over 12.
Venue: Shoreline Sports Complex, Greystones. Cost: €5 per Athlete/Coach

May 17th – Shot + Discus Workshop – Kilkenny 7.00 – 9.00pm
Open to all Coaches and athletes over 12.
Venue: Scanlon Park/The Watershed, Kilkenny City. Cost: €5 per Athlete/Coach

April 15th – Sprints Workshop – Greystones 7.30pm
Open to all Coaches and athletes over 18 years.
Venue: Shoreline Sports Complex, Greystones. Cost: €5 per Athlete/Coach

Assistant Coach Course, Roundwood, Co. Wicklow
Saturday May 25th. 10am. Register Online
Price is €60.00
Contact: Colin Byrne colinbyrne@athleticsireland.ie or 087-0632326 for further details.
Location – Roundwood GAA Centre, Roundwood, Co. Wicklow.

For Further information please send email to: colinbyrne@athleticsireland.ie

Huge congratulations are due to Galway based Gary Thornton who battled some of the most extreme conditions on the planet to place first in the North Pole Marathon.

The Galway City Harriers athlete, who is also a school teacher, beat a number of other international competitors to win the race Marathon in an impressive time of 3:49:29 hrs

The -30C temperatures coupled with difficult underfoot conditions for the race made for and extremely challenging event. Thornton said it was the “most surreal running experience of his life”. Holding a marathon PB of 2:17 hrs, he said it was “very tough after the first third of the race” and a “mental battle to get to the finish”. (npmarathon.com)

Gary’s wife Elaine Barrett took part in the half marathon on the same grueling course and finished in a time of 4.54.16 hrs. Tuam AC’s Ian Egan also made the trip to the North Pole to and placed 19th in the men’s marathon in a time of 6.42.10 hrs.

Athletics Ireland’s President, Board, CEO and members’ thoughts and prayers are with the organisers, participants and volunteers in the Boston marathon following the tragic events which unfolded during yesterday’s race.

“The Athletics community in Ireland is thinking of all those involved in the marathon in Boston and especially those who are suffering the loss of loved ones, colleagues or friends” Athletics Ireland President Ciaran O’Catháin said “Our thoughts and prayers are also with those injured or suffering as a result of the terrible tragedy.”

Annual Open Track and Field Meeting

Wednesday 24th April 2013

*****Electronic Timing *****

track-and-field-24-apr-finn-valley-details

Venue: Finn Valley A.C., Stranorlar, Co Donegal
Date: 29th May 2013
Time: 11.00am Sharp

43rd-annual-area-primary-schools

Former President of Athletics Ireland Nick Davis received a special Plaque of Merit Award at the European Athletics Congress 2013 which was held on Saturday 13 April 2013 in Skopje, Macedonia. He received the award for his on-going contribution to European Athletics and in particular his work as part of the European Athletics Development Committee. Nick became the first Irish person to receive the special European Plaque of Merit, below is a summary of the numerous position’s he has held within athletics:

•2011 to date: Member of the European Athletics Education Commission
•1998-2002: President, Athletics Ireland
•1996 to date: Member of European Athletics Development Committee
•1996-2004: ATO European Athletics
•1993-1997: Olympic Team Manager, Athletics Ireland
•1990-1998: Vice Member/Board Member, Athletics Ireland
•1972-1979: Competition Secretary/PRO, Athletics Ireland

Athletics Ireland are seeking a highly qualified individuals with exceptional planning, organisational,management and coaching skills who have a strong understanding of athletics and cross country at both a domestic and international level to fill seven positions of National Event Coordinators.

Job Title: National Event Coordinator (1)Distance (2)Throws (3)Walks (4)Jumps (5)Combined Events (6)Hurdles/Short-Long (7)Sprints/Relays
Reports to: High Performance Director / Director of Coaching
Remuneration: The position will be considered as a part-time role under a fixed contract (including an expense budget)
Tenure of Post: The successful applicant will take on the role for a two-year-cycle and may be reappointed for an additional two-year-cycle dependent on their performance review

Purpose of Role: To build a stronger pathway and bridge the gap through elite athletics by coordinating and developing Athletics Ireland youth, junior and development athletes/coaches as the National Event Coordinator. As part of the High Performance Team, the National Event Coordinators role is pivotal to implement the High Performance strategies and transition athletes through Athletics Ireland High Performance pathways. Moreover, the National Event Coordinators will also provide support to Athletics Ireland coaching education programmes and facilitate coach mentoring.

For more information and how to apply see the High Performance section of our website

The 3rd annual Rundonegal Womens 5k held Sunday morning at Finn Valley ac was once again an encouraging success with 388 people taking part . Everybody certainly had a great time and the charity on this occasion was Breast cancer Care .Supported once again by Donegal Co Co with Lord Mayor Frank Mc Brearty getting the proceedings underway .Well done once again to the Finn Valley ac organising committee who delivered all aspects of the event .Its interesting to note that in excess of 2000 walkers /runners have undertaken 5k events at Valley in recent weeks a clear indication of the continued interest in such .

run-donegal-womens-5k-results

Some 10,000 runners of all ages took part today in the SPAR Great Ireland Run in the Phoenix Park, Dublin in very windy but warm conditions. Among these were almost 1,500 children in the Mini and Junior Runs for five to eight year olds and nine to fifteen year olds respectively.

The SPAR Great Ireland Run incorporated the Woodies DIY National 10k Championships and saw Olympian Linda Byrne of DSD take the Irish title in 6th place in 34:24. Stephen Scullion of North Belfast Harriers finished in 7th place in the SPAR Great Ireland Run and took the Irish national 10k title in 30:15.

The event also featured the SPAR Great Ireland Mile for elite men run on the main road of the Phoenix Park. Paul Robinson of St Coca’s AC in Kildare was a decisive winner coming home in 4 minutes and 14 seconds.

The 10k Run itself was won by defending champion Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia in 28 minutes 51 seconds, fast running in the high winds. He was challenged for the first 7k by Collis Birmingham of Australia but finally broke away just beyond the 8k mark. Second place in 29:08 went to multiple European cross-country champion Sergiy Lebid of Ukraine and world 10,000 metre champion Ibrahim Jeilan was third in 29:18.

Defending women’s champion Gemma Steel of Great Britain had to settle for second place behind compatriot Lauren Howarth who won in 33:36 ahead of Steel’s 33:49. Julia Bleasdale in third made it a clean sweep for the Britons in 33:53.

Results

Men

1. Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia) 28:51

2. Sergiy Lebid (Ukraine) 29:08

3. Ibrahim Jeilan (Ethiopia) 29:18

4. Hamid El Mouaziz (Belgium) 29:26

5. Collis Birmingham (Australia) 29:30

6. Urige Buta (Norway) 29:40

7. Stephen Scullion (Ireland) 30:15

8. Mats Lunders (Belgium) 30:28

Women

1. Lauren Howarth (Great Britain) 33:36

2. Gemma Steel (Great Britain) 33:49

3. Julia Bleasdale (Great Britain) 33:53

4. Diana Martin (Spain) 34:03

5. Elena Romagnolo (Italy) 34:19

6. Linda Byrne (Ireland) 34:24

7. Elle Baker (Great Britain) 34:38

8. Emma Clayton (Great Britain) 35:07

SPAR GREAT IRELAND MILE

1. Paul Robinson (St Coca’s AC) 4:14

2. Eoin Everard (Kilkenny City Harriers) 4:16

3. David Harper (Sligo AC) 4:18

SPAR JUNIOR GREAT IRELAND RUN, 2.5 KM

Boys (12-15)

1. Chilnnie Izuchukwi (Tullamore Harriers) 8:09

2. Conal Hayes (Le Cheile AC) 8:15

3. Jamie Wall (Tinryland AC) 8:18

Boys (9-11)

1. Eoin Quinn (Mullingar Harriers)

2. Andrew Shaw (Mullingar Harriers)

3. Andrew Daly (Mullingar Harriers)

Girls (12-15)

1. Siobhra O’Flaherty (St Laurence O’Toole AC) 8:38

2. Amy Clarke (Na Fianna AC) 9:08

3. Edel Monaghan (Enniskillen Running Club) 9:30

Girls (9-11)

1. Beatrice Drummond (Mullingar AC)

2. Neasa Reilly (Blackrock AC)

3. Ciara Quinn (Glenmore AC)

Woodies AAI 10k Championships

Men

1. Stephen Scullion (North Belfast Harriers) 30:15

2. Sergiu Ciobanu (Clonliffe Harriers) 30:59

3. Eddie McGinley (Annadale Striders) 31:00

4. Philip Harty (West Waterford AC) 31:26

5. Robbie Matthews (Dunshaughlin AC) 31:54

6. Andrew Connick (Ferrybank AC) 31:59

7. James McCarthy (East Cork AC) 32:04

8. Cathal O Donnabhain (St Finbarrs AC) 32:07

Women

1. Linda Byrne (DSD AC) 34:24

2. Eilish Kelly (Raheny Shamrocks AC) 35:37

3. Teresa McGloin (Finn Valley AC) 35:41

4. Siobhan O’Doherty (Raheny Shamrocks AC) 35:58

5. Anne-Marie McGlynn (Lifford AC) 37:00

6. Catherina McKiernan 37:41

7. Sinead Jennings 37:50

8. Natasha Adams (Lifford AC) 38:07

Mark English (UCD) provided the standout performance at the Irish Universities championships at the Mardyke in Cork, held on Friday and Saturday. He cruised to victory in the second heat of the 400m on Friday to win in a time of 49.45, with Timmy Crowe (DCU) and Eamon Wallace (Maynooth) the other heat winners. In the final on Saturday English put in another strong run to win in a time of 47.56, a new PB for him to improve on his previous best of 48.08. Wallace chased him home in a time of 48.59, his first time under 49 seconds.

David Hynes (WIT) and Steven Colvert were both given the same time of 10.66 in the 100m, but the photo finish showed Hynes a fraction ahead. They met again in the 200m but this time the photo finish equipment was not needed as Colvert crossed the line well clear to win in a time of 21.5, with Hynes second in 21.92.

Clare Fitzgerald (UCC) dominated the womn’s field events, winning the shot, discus, javelin and 8kg weight throw.

The championships were held on the newly laid surface of the Mardyke, which was re-named on Satuday the Sonia O’Sullivan Track.

Results

After another succcessful squad session on Wednesday evening in Athlone, attention now turns to the next session.

The next relay squad day is on in the Mardyke in Cork on Friday April 19th, at 5.30pm. This date was chosen to coincide with the Leevale Senior Athletics Sports Meet on April 20th at the Cork IT Athletics stadium.

Not only is this meet an opportunity for all squad members to compete in a senior event and avail of the electronic timing etc., it will all be an opportunity for squad members to compete as a Team in the relay event on the day. This gives an opportunity to put into practice what the squad has been working on at each of the sessions.

Contact sprintcoachsheehan@yahoo.ie for further information

Athletics Ireland will conduct a Throws Officiating Training course on Saturday 20th April 2013 at Athlone IT for current Level 3 (National Level), Level 4 (Chief at National Level) or Level 5 (National Technical Official) Accredited AAI officials.

The course will include both theoretical (classroom) and practical (stadium) sessions and will be based on the following section of Chapter 5 of the IAAF Competition Rules Handbook - Section IV Field Events:- C- Throwing Events.

At the end of the course, there will be a short exercise consisting of score cards and questions on material covered during the day.

The start time will be 10 am with an expected finish time of 4 pm. Lunch and refreshments during the break will be provided.

The course is open to all Athletic Ireland registered Level 3/4/5 accredited officials. As well as those who mainly officiate in Throws, we would encourage all others at Level 3/4/5 to attend to enhance your knowledge of officiating in another area.
It is proposed to hold a similar training event in the next year; Track – 2014. In 2012 there was Jumps.

These three events will provide a good foundation for the next National Technical Officials process which is scheduled for 2015. The Course tutors will be the Athletics Ireland Officials Education tutor(s) along with Athletics Ireland Area Technical Officials.

If you wish to take part please confirm your attendance to aaitechcommittee@gmail.com

The Woodie’s DIY AAI Spring Throwing Competition will also take place the following day Sunday 21st April 2013 at 11.00 in Athlone IT.

The Woodies DIY National 10k championships will be a part of the eleventh Spar Great Ireland Run this weekend. The run incorporates the Irish road championships under the auspices of Athletics Ireland and the largest field ever for the event, an 8% increase on last year of 475, has entered as club runners chase fast times and personal bests.

The home challenge will be led by national cross-country champion Sergiu Ciobanu of Clonliffe Harriers alongside Stephen Scullion from Belfast and Sean Hehir from Rathfarnham.

Defending national champion and Irish gold medal winning European cross country team member Linda Byrne will go up against Gemma Steel of Great Britain. Both will be pushed hard by Spanish number one Diana Martin, British Olympian Julia Bleasdale and Italy’s Elana Romagnolo.

As part of the SPAR Great Ireland Run’s commitment to keeping athletics in the public eye a new race, the SPAR Great Ireland Mile, has been added to the event programme and will precede the 10k Run on Chesterfield Avenue, the main road in the Phoenix Park. This new race will bring exciting competition out of the stadium and make the sport more accessible, especially to the large number of children who will be present in the Phoenix Park on the day.

The mile will feature 15 top runners from Ireland and Great Britain including the fastest man in Ireland over 1500 metres last year, Paul Robinson of St Coca’s AC. Also in the field will be Colin Costello, former European Junior 1500 metre champion, Anthony Whitehead, former European 1500 metre silver medallist from Great Britain, Ireland’s top under 23 Darren McBrearty from Letterkenny, Nick Samuels from Great Britain and Eoin Everard from Kilkenny.

The SPAR Great Ireland Run is the only event in Ireland recognised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the world governing body of athletics, with an IAAF Silver Road Race Label in recognition of the event’s high standard of organisation, elite participation and media profile. Over 10,000 adults and children will enjoy a family running day out in the presence of the world’s greatest distance runner on Sunday as the eleventh SPAR Great Ireland Run 10k, SPAR Mini and Junior Great Ireland Runs and SPAR Great Ireland Mile will take over the Phoenix Park in Dublin.

Kenenisa Bekele from Ethiopia, the defending champion and course record holder, triple Olympic gold-medallist and world record holder at 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres will top the bill as world champions, Olympians, Ireland’s finest runners, celebrities, politicians and children hit the roads of the Park at various distances.

Bekele will be the inspiring presence for over 1,200 children who have signed up for Ireland’s largest ever running events: the SPAR Mini Run for 5 to 8 year olds and the SPAR Junior Run for 9 to 15 year olds. Bekele will be strongly challenged by his compatriot and current world 10,000 metre champion Ibrahim Jeilan. Both men are seeking places on their national team for the World Championships in Moscow in August.

Also in the field will be Australian Collis Birmingham who broke up African dominance by finishing eighth in last month’s World Cross Country Championships, Moroccan marathon star Abderrahime Bouramdane, nine times European cross-country champion, Sergiy Lebid from Ukraine and 2:09 marathoner Urige Buta from Norway.

Willie O’ Byrne, Managing Director, BWG Foods (owners and operators of SPAR Ireland) said:

“We are delighted during SPAR Ireland’s 50th anniversary celebrations to be headline sponsor of the SPAR Great Ireland Run 2013. It is fantastic to see international athletes of the calibre of Kenenisa Bekele and Gemma Steel travelling to Ireland once again to defend their titles in the SPAR Great Ireland Run, particularly in this year of The Gathering. It is also wonderful to see that we have a greater number of children participating in this year’s SPAR Junior Great Ireland Run and the SPAR Mini Great Ireland Run, ensuring it is an event for all the family.”

RTE Two television will broadcast the Run live in a special programme.

Personal late entries for the event will be accepted at Life Style Sports in Blanchardstown on Friday 12 April (10 am to 7 pm) and Saturday 13 April (10 am to 4 pm) subject to availability.

The Run gets under way at 1:10 (elite women) and 1:30 (men). It will be preceded by the SPAR Junior Run at 11:30, the SPAR Great Ireland Mile at 12:20, and the SPAR Mini Run at 12:30.

Many participants are running for good causes including SPAR’s charity partner, The 3Ts - Turn the Tide of Suicide, providers of 1800 247 100, 1 Life, 24 hour suicide prevention helpline. The Run’s other nominated charity is the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation. The Baby Max Wings of Love Fund is the nominated charity for the Mini and Junior Runs.

A group of five Irish athletes will take part in the Rotterdam Marathon this Sunday, 14th of April. Brian Maher (Kilkenny City Harriers AC), Maria McCambridge (Letterkenny AC), Barbara Sanchez (Raheny Shamrock AC), Claire McCarthy (St. Finbarrs AC) and Ailish Malone (Clonliffe Harriers AC) will all have aspirations of a quick time as they are set to go the distance on Sunday. All five athletes are members of the highly successful Marathon Mission (MM) squad, the MM continue to improve the competitive depth in quality of times being run by Irish Marathoners and raise the standard amongst top ranked Irish Marathoners. The evidence of this ongoing support will once again be witnessed in Rotterdam on Sunday as the Irish athletes look to make their mark.

The final National Throws squad of the winter took place last Sunday in a cold but dry Tullamore. Unfortunately turnout was low, due to a number of clashes, but the work carried out by athletes in attendance was superb. The day was focused purely on throwing and technique and the development over the course of the day was very evident.

Coaches in attendance were as follows: John Farrelly (Shot Put), Sean Egan, Liam Hickey, Neil Williams (Hammer), Louis Wildenboer, David Courtney (Javelin), Garry Power, Peter Collins (Discus), David Sweeney (National Throws Coordinator)

The coaching team at Athletics Ireland would like to wish all athletes the best of luck in the upcoming season. We sincerely hope that there are many personal bests, Provincial and Irish records, and that we have lots of athletes qualifying for international championships.

Athletes will now be focusing on upcoming competitions, and there are plenty of these to choose from. WE are delighted to have the first ever Spring Throws Festival. This has been rescheduled to Athlone. It promises to provide some early season opportunities for those trying to qualify for international championships. All entries and fees should be submitted to Athletics Ireland office. Details are on Athletics Ireland website.

Other competitions over the next month or so include:

12-13th April       IUAA Intervarsity T & F Championships                 Cork CIT

13th April              Long Throws Competition                                            Antrim Forum   (see Athletics NI website)

21st April              Spring Throws Festival                                                  Athlone                               Sen, Jun and & Youths (Entry Form)

28th April              Munster Jun/U23/Juv Chps                                         Cork CIT

Various dates    Schools Regional/District Championships            Various venues

1st May                  Dublin Graded Meet - No 1                                         Irishtown

15th May               Dublin Graded Meet  - No 2                                        Morton Stadium

18th May               Letterkenny International Meet                                               Letterkenny       http://www.facebook.com/LetterkennySub4Mile

The National Combined Events squad took over sun drenched Morton Stadium as they met for their first session of the year on Saturday the 6th of April. The day started with a dynamic warm up delivered by Rosie Daniel.  A full complement of coaches was present with Brid Golden (sprint hurdles), Alan Golden (long jump), Garry Power (shot, javelin, discus) and Rosie Daniel (high jump). Athletes rotated through three groups over the day with particular attention paid to weaker or less practiced events.

Particular emphasis was put on the throws with all three coached by Garry. Good technical competency was demonstrated by the squad in the Javelin and shot put. The decathlete’s put in a solid session in discus with varying levels of experience with some lads stepping into the cage for the first time.

Brid Golden took advantage of the smaller coaching groups to provide one to one analysis and review of technical aspects of sprint hurdling. Alan Golden provided video analysis pit-side for all long jumpers during his sessions. Rosie Daniel worked the high jump with the squad after preparing them for the day’s work in the warm up. Rosie’s sessions proved very popular with athletes working on technical aspects of approach and take off.

Kieron Stout discussed competition planning with the squad and advised on suitable CE championship dates for World Youth and European Junior qualification. The next national squad date is scheduled for May 11th. You can follow ‘National Combined Events Squad’ on Facebook to keep in touch with squad information and competition dates.

For more information on the National Combined Events Squad please contact;

Kieron Stout, National Coordinator for Combined Events

Email: combinedevents@athleticsireland.ie Mobile: 086 2450134

FIT Magazine, Ireland’s leading fitness magazine, today launched the inaugural FIT City Run Series. The first event will be a 10k in the Phoenix Park on Sunday 12th May and a second run will take place in Cork City on Sunday 21st July.

With a prize fund of €3,000 up for grabs, the event is suitable for runners of all levels and is the ideal way to shape up for summer. The event will also benefit Athletics Ireland Fit4Youth programme which aims to foster an awareness of fitness and running among teenagers.

Readers of Fit Magazine can avail of a special entry fee of just €25 per event including booking fee (normally €31.50). Check out this Thursday’s FIT Magazine for an exclusive discount code.  Visit www.fitmagazine.ie for further details.

Not only that but FIT is also on the hunt for some real life runners to grace its front cover. The lucky winners will appear in the magazine this May after the FIT City Series run (which they must take part in), and grace the front page.

To enter simply tweet @FIT_mag with the hashtag #FITCityCover and tell FIT why you would appeal to FIT readers. Winners will be chosen by the FIT Magazine team, and notified via Twitter.

Reed And Whoriskey Rule at Bay Road 5K

Wednesday nights Bay Road 5K attracted over 150 runners and Declan Reed and Catherine Whoriskey were crowned NI 5K road champions after impressive efforts against quality opposition on the tight three lap circuit. Reed retained his individual title and led his City of Derry squad in a successful defence of the team honours while Whoriskey’s superb run yielded a pb of 18m 18s but the female Spartans lost their team crown to a very strong Omagh Harriers trio.

However local runners were pretty dominant across the board as the Furey Insurances 5K series got off to a flying start. Reed and Foyle Valley’s Scott Rankin were ahead from the gun and despite being chased down mid race by another Spartan Richard Johnston, they fought out the final metres with only a second separating them on the line. Reed clocked 15m 12s to Rankins 15m 13s with the hard working Johnston taking championship bronze on 15m 18s. A terrific upfront battle betwen the three of them with a clear indication of more exciting duels to come.

With Gary Slevin stepping up brilliantly to finish fourth on 16m 03s the red vests A squad comfortably retained the NI championship. Foyle Valley missed Keith Shields and Rankin was supported by Chris McGuinness 11th and Pius McIntyre 13th for team bronze. A great example of team packing saw the Spartans B string, Paul McCafferty 5th and top M45, James Brown 7th and first M40 and Colin Roberts 8th, take well deserved team silver behind their front liners.

Springwell’s talented Neill Johnston took the male U20 award in sixth while Spartans Nick Cassidy and the returning Greg Roberts completed the top ten. Mark Mullan ran 17m 36s for the top M35 finisher, North Belfast’s Laurence Johnston, Jim Breen of Springwell and Ballymena Runners Ray Curran were the leading M50, M55 and M60 respectively.Lagan Valley’s John Glover was first M60 and Springwell’s Jim Platt the top M65 as the age group awards showcased the input of several different clubs.

Catherine Takes Control
The womens race witnessed a terrific tactical run from Catherine Whoriskey who came through just before half way and kept the opposition at bay superbly, taking the win by four seconds from Springwell’s Gemma Turley, 18m 22s, and Michelle Strum of Omagh Harriers on 18m 35s. With the top F40 Julie Butler not far behind on 18m 40s and leading female U20 Sara Moore next on 19m 01s the Omagh women easily took the team championship from the Spartans and Inishowen AC.

Jackie McGinley and her sister Paula McGilloway completed the scoring Spartans trio and Evelyn McGinley, Henrietta Elves and Eilish Galbraith gave Inishowen team bronze. Former winner Cathy McCourt of North Belfast returned to competitive action with a 19m 20s run and took the F35 prize, Paula mcGilloway looked good for the F45 award as did the F50 winner Una Gavin.

Inishowen wheelchair athlete Karol Doherty took the course in his stride, sorry on his wheels, clocking 17m 34s to finish well up in the big field.

The awards were presented at the post race function in the UUMagee Sports Centre which provided an excellent event HQ, by Declan McCarthy of Atlanfish and Dara Furey of Furey Insurances. Race two in the series is in Buncrana on Wednesday May 29th at 7 30pm. Further infomation on this one will be available soon.

furey-insurances-5k-series-3013-race-1-results1

Details of upcoming workshops in April are below:

- Friday 12th April Throws Workshop at Cork IT Track 7-9pm. It will be run by Brian Hayes (Javelin) and Jerry Horgan (Shot/Discus). It takes place from 7-9pm and is open to all athletes and coaches aged 10+. Cost is €5 payable on the night.

- Thursday 11th April Fit4Life Workshop in Clonmel Co Tipperary from 7-9pm. This workshop is free.

- Thursday 18th April Sprints/Hurdles Workshop at UL Track 7-9pm. It will be run by National Sprints Coach Hayley Harrison and Drew Harrison. It takes place from 7-9pm and is open to all athletes and coaches aged 9+. Cost is €5 payable on the night.

- Friday 26th April Sprints/Hurdles Workshop at Cork IT Track 7-9pm. It will be run by Munster Performance Squad Coach Drew Harrison and AAI Level 3 Coaches Ger Moynihan and Liz Coomey. It takes place from 7-9pm and is open to all athletes and coaches aged 9+. Cost is €5 payable on the night.

- Saturday 27th April Munster Performance Squad Day Cork IT Track 10am (For all Munster Performance Squad members. Individual head coaches will be in touch with plans for the day)

Please pass on these details to all athletes and coaches in your clubs. For further workshops to be run in the future, there needs be be good support for these workshops.

For further information please contact RDO Steven Macklin at 0876335565 or e-mail steven@athleticsireland.ie.

The launch for the European Athletics Team Championships 1st League took place in the beautiful surroundings of County Hall in Swords, Co Dublin on Tuesday, 9th of April. A number of Ireland’s elite up and coming athletes were in attendance to launch the event along with Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sports, Leo Varadkar TD.

Minister Leo Varadkar commented “As Minister for Tourism and Sport I am delighted that the European Athletics Team Championships will be held at Morton Stadium in Dublin in June. It is a great honour for Irish Athletics to be hosting such a prestigious event and it is a great opportunity to showcase our country as a wonderful location for hosting major sporting events.”

This European Team Championships will be the highest quality athletics event ever staged in Ireland, with 12 national teams comprising of over 600 world class athletes competing to be crowned the European Team Champions 1st League in 2013. The event takes place in the world famous Morton Stadium in Santry, Dublin the home of Irish Athletics on June 22-23.

Coordinator of the event Liam Hennessey commented “The event in June will be the most prestigious international team event ever held in Ireland. We needed strong financial and infrastructural support to get where we are at tonight. It has been a most satisfying experience engaging with the enthusiastic support given by the individual partners; Irish Sports Council, the Gathering Ireland, Fingal County Council, National Sports Campus, Clonliffe Harriers AC , Setanta Sports and the Dublin Airport Authority.”

2013 is the year of the Gathering and Ireland will open its arms to hundreds of thousands of friends and family from all over the world, calling them home to gatherings in villages, towns and cities in an initiative knows as the Gathering. Irish people love to gather and watch or take part in athletics, whether it is Track & Field, Road Running, Cross Country or Race Walking and as part of the year long celebrations Dublin is proud to host the European Athletics Team Championships 1st League on June 22-23.

Athletics Ireland President Ciaran O’Cathain commented “It is a great honour for the association to be awarded the hosts of such a prestigious event and it is a challenge our enthusiastic volunteers have embraced wholeheartedly. Events like this are crucial in motivating the next generation of athletes and in this special year for Irish tourism where the Gathering is proving to be such a success, I have no doubt that the European Athletics Team Championships will produce special memories which will live long in the heart of everyone who attends Santry for years to come.”