Athenry Athletic Club

Once upon a dark and dreary day, in the middle of last year as I drove to work, I wished I was out running rather then dragging my sorry arse in the direction of the office. Inspiration hit and a few phone calls later I had arranged to run from Louisburgh to Leenaun in Connemara the following week. I was joined by Ray and Peter that day and I don't think any of us will ever forget the beauty of the Doo Lough Valley and a thirst quenching end-of-run pint in Leenaun. We didn't rush, we stopped to look and take it all in and we ran, walked, talked and laughed.

Paul Hession continued his Olympic buildup with a fine victory at a low key Spanish meeting last evening. In a six man field Paul came home first and was a clear winner over Malcolm Christian of Great Britain and Arnaldo Abrantes of Portugal. Everything seems to be heading in the right direction for the Athenry sprint star.

Paul also took part in the high quality 100m race in Salamanca and finished in third place behind David Rodriguez of Spain and Francis Obikwelu of Portugal in a super speedy time of 10:23. Rodriguez's time was a Spanish National record.

Congrats Paul!

Contact tonynevin@eircom.net for more details of the evening at City Limits in Oranmore on Saturday evening, 5 July @ 7PM.

See attached PDF & JPG.

The Annaghdown Summer Solstice 10K took place on Saturday June 21st. The day started off wet, and then got wetter! Despite this, over 150 brave souls from all over the country, and some as far afield as Scotland and Sydney made it to the starting line. The race only had to be delayed by a mere 5 minutes and once the worse of the rain stopped, they were off. The weather actually cooperated and it was dry for the duration of the run and at the finish. In fact it was so nice it convinced some folks to take a dip in the lake to cool off.

Pauline Mulqueen was one of at least eight Athenry AC members who participated in the Clare People 10k last weekend. By all accounts it was a great race. Pauline is one of a number of Athenry members who's running has improved dramatically over the first half of this year and she has been good enough to share some of her memories of the race with us below.

Well done Pauline and all the other Athenry AC members who took part on the day.

Race Report by Pauline Mulqueen

Athenry AC member recently took on the challenge of one of the most difficult triathlons in the country which is organised by Limerick Triathlon Club, namely, 'The Hell of the West'. Where have we heard that name before?

Ruth had a fantastic race and tells her story below.

Check out the RTE web site for more details:

http://www.rte.ie/sport/irelandsolympians/

Lots of coverage of Paul Hession I'm told...

Report & Pictures by Tom Hunt of Mayo AC

The second race in Mayo AC's 2008 Road Race League, sponsored by C & C Cellular, took place in fine but breezy conditions at Claremorris on Saturday evening. The DeCare International sponsored road race and walk, now in it's seventh year, started and finished in the Main street.There was an excellent turn-out of 200 participants: club runners from all the major Connacht clubs, walkers, fund raisers in aid of Mayo Cancer Support Association.

Seamus Power had a comfortable margin of victory in winning the Clare People 10k at the weekend with eleven seconds to spare over Donal O'Callaghan. Eight Athenry AC members took part in the race namely, Ann Carter, Peter Lowney, Aileen McNamara, Maria Hehir, Breege McGrath, Pauline Murray, Pauleen Mulqueen and Iain Shaw.

Well done to all!
Results attached

Follow Richard Donovan's progress at www.runthecountry.ie. He should finish at some stage tomorrow, fingers and legs crossed.

Training for the Streets of Galway? Missing the May 5km Galway race series? Or just want a challenge and to get fit?

Boston Scientific are holding an open 5km Road Race and Fun Run in aid of Galway Cystic Fibrosis
(AAI permit applied for in association with Athenry Athletics Club).

Entry is open to the public so invite your running friends.

All levels of fitness are welcome (runners, joggers and walkers) so dig out those trainers!

Date: 8pm, Wed. July 23rd.

Venue: Maree Community Centre (see directions attached) .

Interesting interview with Paul here:

http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/sprinter-hession-has-final-...

I’ve always been very fond of the Bilboa 10k. It’s a race that has a lot going for it. The course is interesting, well stewarded and very quiet from a traffic point of view. In fairness it’s not a particularly fast route as it gets quite hilly towards the end and those hills tend to knock the stuffing out of you just as you might reckon you have a chance of a decent time. Part of the race’s charm for me is the warm welcome you get at registration and the generous homemade refreshments that are provided for all when the running has been done.