The inaugural Roundstone Bay 8K took place on May 21st in this very scenic seaside village on the west coast of Connemara. Under cloudy skies a good mixture of local and visiting runners took on the figure of eight course, which began opposite the Church of Ireland and then headed west passing by historic Errisbeg House. It wasn’t long before the heavens opened and anyone who had any ideas of finishing the race without breaking into a sweat soon had a lot more moisture to deal with!
As I left Dunsandle it was starting to rain, but when I got to Ballyvaughan it was a truly awful morning. A big change from the 26 degrees of 2010. The plan was 4 hours, but in this weather anything could happen, even the dreaded DNF!
Keeping as positive as I could, I reached the start in good time. The
DJ was doing his best to entertain the 1000 strong crowd but it was proving hard going. On the dot of 9 we set off. Nice and handy was the race plan – pure and simple. This course could and would eat you alive if you started getting too confident.
On a wet Saturday morning where else would we be only standing at the start of the Burren Challenge? After a few jokes about how to get our cars out of the field they were currently parked in, Elaine Quinn, Janet Clancy, Owen Curran, Frank Burke, Liam and Frances Egan and I were off.
Club results attached in XLS. Elvis hasn't left the building quite yet.
A great turnout by the club with 74 Athenry AC members finishing. Luckily the rain stopped right before the gun, and there were lots of fast times again this week.
Valerie and I paced a group of 27-28min finishers, led ably by Marie Curran who ran like a Trojan and was force fed information on nutrition for 100 mile running (if she could have run a little faster she might have run away).
It was the starting ground for Sonia O'Sullivan and John Treacy, not to mention Paul Hession, who narrowly missed a trip to Mosney, placing second in the county championships at the age of 10 (http://www.therunningreview.com/?p=395). The Community Games gave so many of us (talent not always necessarily guaranteed!) a wonderful start into the world of athletics - now it's time to ensure that the legacy continues.
See message below from Vincent Conway, chairman of Galway Community Games:
The third annual Kilcornan 8K was successfully run in misty conditions around the now usual 8K course early yesterday afternoon in Clarinbridge.
Tony Daley, and his crew of helpers drawn from Predator Tri Club in Athenry, put on a great show with a well marked and extremely capably marshaled course. We were greeted at the finish line by a gantry, a photographer, a race clock, Frank Burke (congratulations on his recent 40:01 10KM BTW) on the race timer and a tent where there were drinks and other refreshments available to all.
It was published late this time, but at the request of JAL, here is the latest Irish Masters Athletics Association newsletter. Please see the PDF attachment.
Jim McNamara, pictured, is the subject of this issue's 20 Questions feature.
We are delighted to welcome you to Marathon Club Ireland. The club was formed to encourage all aspects of marathon running in Ireland, from participation to organisation.
Our aim is to help, encourage and motivate as many people as possible to take on the challenge of completing the classic 26.2 mile distance and beyond, once, ten times or one hundred times. All levels and capabilities are catered for, young to old, slow to fast, slim to not so slim.
Team FreeWheelers are organizing an 8km Run through the scenic Cong Woods to raise money for Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association. The FreeWheelers are a group of 7 lads who have undertaken the grueling challenge of cycling the L'Étape de Tour Alp d'Huez 2011 to raise funds for this worthy charity. It promises to be a great day out for people with all abilities. Enter now on www.runireland.com. Your support would be greatly appreciated.
AAI Permit applied for.
Further details on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=227757240571477
