The U12-19 Munster Indoor Track & Field Championships took place over last weekend in a packed Nenagh venue. It was an ideal opportunity for some of our more experienced athletes to get race at their favoured events or test themselves at different distances as they build towards the season ahead. Some of our younger athletes also made their first foray in to racing at provincial level which is a considerable step up from divisional and county level.
Our younger athletes were first into action. Hannah Coffey follows sisters Emma and Orla competing in the Pole Vault, but she is certainly not in their shadow as she powered her way to a new Munster U14 record of 2.25m, congratulations Hannah on an amazing achievement! Emma Johnson and Allie Phillips were competing in heats 2 and 3 of the U14 girls 800m. Both girls ran very well, Emma finishing 5 th in her heat in 2:48:76 and Allie finishing 4 th in 2:46:09, invaluable experience to build on. Caoimhe Gray-Walsh ran in a very competitive U17 girls 800m straight final. Tactically, Caoimhe ran superbly, a steady first 3 laps was followed by a storming last lap earning her the bronze medal in a good time of 2:36:48, well done Caoimhe! The Junior Women’s 3km race was also held in conjunction with the underage championships on Saturday, congratulations to Laura Moore on winning gold in a pb time of 11:53.17!
Ruaidhri Boyle placed 2nd in the boys U19 400m in a time of 52:45, narrowly losing to Aodan Mac Consaidin who is a relative newcomer at the event but is obviously very talented. A rare defeat for Ruaidhri in Munster but good competition is always welcome as the driver for improvement. Lucy Lynch drew some valuable experience from the U18m 200m and 800m building both speed and endurance for her favoured event of 400m. Very well done to everyone competing in Nenagh at the weekend!
Other News: The Kinsale 10-miler took place on Sunday 25th in driving wind and rain. Undeterred by the inclement conditions, three Carraig na bhFear AC warriors took to the start line and produced great results. Tadhg Crowley finished in an impressive 21st place overall and 5th in category in a huge field of 927 runners, Tadhg’s finishing time of 1:01:59 is excellent given the conditions. Christy Murphy placed a fantastic 2nd in Category in 1:25:05! Finally, Seanna Boyle couldn’t have paced any better to break the 1hr 30 mark, 1:29:59 as good as it gets to break the barrier! Well done to the 3 athletes on their performances.
Park Run: At the Glenriver Parkrun on Saturday morning, Liam Colbert finished in 10th place overall in a time of 24:50. Surprisingly, this was Liam’s debut in Parkrun but his recent good form will only improve with this invaluable addition to his training. Definitely not Parkrun Newbies, young Aidan and Liam Walsh received their parkrun ultramarathon wristbands at St. Marys Junior parkrun having hit a whopping 50 parkruns! Congratulations to the boys!
Look Ahead: It looks as if it will be another mud fest in Tramore Valley Park next Tuesday for the Munster Schools cross-country championships. Best of luck to Robyn, Faye, Caoimhe, Laura, Aidan and Timmy who will bid for places in the all-Ireland Schools finals in Tymon Park, Tallaght on 9th March.