Waterford Triathlon - Sat 20th June 2009

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Thanks to Flahavans for contribution to race goody bag.

Every June some 2000 cyclists take to the roads of Wicklow to take part in either the Wicklow 200 or the shorter 100k cycle which takes in many tough ascents and descents including the Sally Gap, Slieve Mann and the Shay Elliott.  It was an early 7am start as there is a 14 hour cut off to finish including some food stops but most finish well inside that time.  This year Tom Casey, Martin Kirwan and Siobhan Dunphy took on the 200k challenge with Louis O’Carroll competing in the 100k cycle.  The Outward leg of the cycle was tough and hilly and there was a strong headwind for the return leg which took a lot out of the cyclists.  Tom and Martin are both cycling very strong at the moment and found themselves leading many a bunch of cyclists on the route, only to drop most of them on the hills.  Martin got 2 punctures close to the finish which was a slight hiccup but they both finished strong but tired after about 8 hours in the saddle.  Siobhan also had a great cycle spending the day with her Dungarvan cycle club mates.  Fair play to her, there’s not too many females who would undertake such a difficult cycle.  Louis O’Carroll’s strong cycle training showed also as he finished the 100k route with no bother

Last weekend some of the club travelled to Schull to take part in their annual sprint triathlon.  It was an unlikely victim of the leaving cert exams problem and had to be delayed for a few hours but over 265 athletes made it to the starting point in the sea which was quite choppy for the swim.  The cyclists were also unlucky to get some hailstones on the bike but the weather cleared up nicely for the run.  Colm Long, who has been on the missing list for the past few months due to work commitments had a great race to finish 39^th overall in 1.23.25.  Edward Walshe who was competing as a Junior got off to a slow start in the swim emerging 132^nd out of the water but his super bike and 19^th fastest run overall brought him up to finish 44^th overall to claim the prize for 1^st Junior home in 1.24.03.  John Carew was next home in 1.34.36 with Dave Forristal not far behind in 1.35.13. 

Last weekend we travelled to Athy en masse with 29 members taking part in both the Olympic and Sprint distance races....Read More

The 40^th annual Waterford to Tramore road race which is part of the Ger Wyley Sports/Nike summer series took place recently with a record of 354 entries.  The race started at City Hall and finished at the Majestic in Tramore which is 7.5miles in total.  It was a lovely night for the race which was a bonus with 10 members of our own club participating.  Colin Fanning had a great run to finish in 47.31mins.  Dermot Power, Andrew Hickey and Stephen Butler all finished within seconds of each other in 50.58mins, 51.15mins and 51.34mins.  Next home were Marc O’Cathasaigh and Derek Barrett almost together at 54.55mins and 54.57mins.  Dave Forristal had a great run to finish in 57.30mins with Dots Connolly next home in 62.44mins.  Annette O’Mahony who is doing many of the longer races this year had a great race to finish in 66.36mins with Roisin O’Grady just behind in 66.43mins.

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The 2^nd race in the Ger Wyley/Nike Summer series took place with the 10k run in Butlerstown with unprecedented numbers taking part.  Over 313 runners lined up on a drizzly night to do 3 laps of the course which was tough for the athletes but great for the many spectators.  There was a top class field taking part so the pace was fast right from the start.  Peter Barry had a great run to finish 34^th overall in 38.28mins.  Maria Griffin was up against very tough competition in the ladies field especially as she has only recently started to race again.  She had a great race to finish 5^th lady, 44^th overall in a superb time of 39.14mins.  Colin Fanning got caught up in the fast pace at the start so suffered a bit on the final laps but had a brilliant finish time of 39.58mins.  Michael Moloney was delighted with his finish time of 41.04mins with Dermot Power not far behind in 41.49mins.  Marc O’Cathasaigh came home in a time of 44.54mins.  Caroline Russell is running strong lately and was delighted with her time of 51.31mins.  Annette O’Mahony and Tracy Pollard kept each other company on the run to finish in 1.00.24 and 1.00.44 respectively.  Stefan Green also took part in the race and was going great in the 1^st lap but had to pull out due to a stomach upset with which he knew he wouldn’t be able to finish the race with.  Hopefully it will be ok before his first Triathlon of this year next weekend.

The previous weekend saw 214 athletes take part in the 6 mile Marine Climb in Dungarvan which was the 1^st race of the Ger Wyley/Nike Summer series.  This is generally regarded as one of the toughest races in the series with some steep hills and climbs involved from the starting point in Dungarvan to the finish at the Marine Bar.  Michael Moloney had a great race to finish in 42.00mins with Andrew Hickey not too far behind in 42.30mins.  Caroline Russell was delighted with her time of 54.28mins as she managed to take off 4mins off last year’s time. 

Last weekend, the Comeragh Cycle Club held their Copper Coast Sportif cycle to help raise funds to enter a team of cyclists in the RAS cycle race which will take place here in Ireland in May in which professional teams from all over Europe will take part.  There was a huge turnout for the cycle with over 130 cyclists taking part in either the 50k or 100k cycle with the majority opting for the longer route which brought them down the coast road to Dungarvan and back the main road to Waterford.  We had 13 club members taking part with Davin Power, Stefan Green, Shane Scadding, Louis O’Carroll, Gavin Quinlan, Peter Barry, Michael Carroll, Tom Casey, Dermot Power, Michael Bowes, Siobhan Dunphy, Annette O’Mahony and Helen Whyte.  It was a great day out and organised exceptionally well with lots of foods and cakes supplied by the Comeragh CC club. 

The Splashworld 10k run in association with Balance Fitness was held recently in Tramore with almost 200 runners taking part.  It was a tough run with no way around the steep hill in Tramore other than to run up it.  Maria Griffin was first home for the club to finish 2^nd female overall in 25^th place in an excellent time of 40.50mins.  Stefan Green, who is an experienced triathlete but new to running races was next home in 31^st place in 41.32mins.  Dermot Power was running strong to finish in 38^th place in 42.45mins with Marc O’Cathasaigh finishing in 45.46mins and John Brennan home in 46.47mins.  Ann Hennebry ran the race with a group of her students from school to finish in 51mins.  Annette O’Mahony and Tracy Pollard came home together in 59.27 and 59.56mins respectively.

Carrick on Suir A.C. recently announced the details of their third annual Outfield Sports/Asics 3 Counties Challenge, which takes place in the Sunny South East between June and August this Summer. The first race takes place under the scenic Comeragh Mountains in Rathgormack ,Co. Waterford on June 5th (4 Miles from Carrick). All the proceeds from this 5 mile race go to the Irish Cancer Society.Race 2 takes us to the pictureiquse Co. Tipperary village of Ballyneale (2 miles from Carrick) for the Champion Kiely 5 Km on 3rd July. this race, on a flat fast course , is held in honour of one of Irelands greatest Olympians, Tom Kiely. For race 3 the series visits Co. Kilkenny for the Piltown 10km on July 17th, which is partly run in the grounds of Kildalton Agri College. This proved to be our biggest race last year, no doubt helped by the scenic lake surroundings of the college. The Last race in the series finally arrives in Carrick on Suir on August 7th for the Deadmans 5 mile race. All the races are held on Friday Nights with 7:30 starts.

What better way to see Paris than to run over 26miles around its famous streets taking in the attractions of the Eifel Tower, the Louvre and Notre Dame among other sights.  That’s exactly what Noel Dillon did recently when he participated in the Paris marathon with over 25000 other runners.  The race started at the Arc de Triumph, running down the beautiful Champs Elysees and 26 miles later finished back at the Arc de Triumph.  Noel’s training suffered a bit of a setback in the weeks leading up to the race when he fell of his bike and injured his groin.  He went over to Paris more or less to enjoy the race but still put in a brilliant performance.  He was doing better than expected in the 1^st half of the race but suffered a bit in the latter stages but still finished in an excellent time of 3hrs 20mins. 

The popular Connemara half marathon was held recently in the west of Ireland with over 3000 runners taking part from all over Ireland and abroad.  This is in it’s 7^th year with runners taking part in the ultra marathon, full marathon and half marathon all at the same time.  The course is very scenic but exposed to the elements with a tough hill in the latter stages that will play havoc with your timing.  David Connolly (Dots) had been in training for the full marathon but an injured knee in the weeks leading up to it put his training on hold so he decided to do the half marathon instead.  He had a great race to finish in 1hr 39mins.  His high spirits were almost dashed on the way home though as his van broke down 100 miles from home and he had to make other arrangements getting home and back up to collect his van.  Marc O’Cathasaigh was delighted with his race and finished in 1hr 47mins.  Gavin Quinlan also had a bit of bad luck in training on the lead up to the race as he had to rest an injured foot for a few weeks but he was able to run on it again in time to do the half marathon and had a great race to finish in 1hr 59mins. 

Waterford AC held their 4 mile road race in Waterford recently with over 170 runners taking to the streets.  It started across the bridge at the railway station and progressed up, down and around the streets of Waterford finishing at the RSC on the Cork rd.  It was a little windy at times especially on the home stretch but it didn’t stop everyone from running some fabulous times and enjoying themselves.  Colin Fanning didn’t feel 100% during the race but finished in an excellent time of 24.50mins.  David “Dots” Connolly was next home (with no after effects of the Connemara half marathon last week) with a blistering time of 27.18mins.  John Carew took off at speed right from the start and didn’t let up until he finished in an excellent time of 27.42mins.  Dave Forristal also had a great race to finish in 28.21mins.  Next home were Helen Whyte and Norma Goggin who decided they would look on this as a training run as they had done a windy 40 mile cycle the day before but as soon as the race started they couldn’t help themselves and set off at speed.  They paced themselves nicely and were thrilled with their times of 30.08mins and 30.13mins respectively. 

Last weekend Carrick Triathlon Club hosted their 2^nd annual duathlon in Rathgormack ...Read More...

The Triathlon Ireland awards were recently held in Portlaoise with Waterford Triathlon Club receiving 4 medals.  The awards are based on points which athletes receive from various races which they do throughout the season.  Awards are given to overall age group winners in the National Series and to age group winners in the 3 distances, sprint, standard and half Ironman distance. Shane Scadding picked up a gold medal in the National Series to win his age group 40-44yrs and also a gold medal in his age-group for the National Standard distance triathlon.  He also finished an excellent 10^th overall in the National Series which has almost 2000 competitors registered proving that age is no barrier.  Tom Casey picked up a bronze medal in the National Series to finish 3^rd overall in a hotly contested age-group 50-54yrs and also finished a brilliant 45^th overall in the National Series.  Louis O’Carroll, who is going from strength to strength at the moment, picked up a bronze medal in the Junior category in the National Series.  Based on points received by all members in various races, Waterford Triathlon Club also finished a commendable 13^th overall (out of a total of 35) in the club rankings.

The annual Ballycotton 10 mile road race which has been held for over 30 years took place recently with over 2400 finishers. Read More...

Great Club Success at Tramore Duathlon. Read More...

The 2^nd Duathlon in the Limerick series took place recently with another great entry of over 100 athletes for this 3.8k run, 16k cycle, 3.8krun.  The 2 runs involve a tough hill and the bike leg was difficult as it was undulating on the way out and everyone was looking forward to the return leg which should have been fast but the strong wind took away any advantage of down hills. Martin Kirwan had 2 great runs and a strong bike despite the windy conditions to finish a brilliant 6^th overall in 51.56mins.  Olive Costello was participating in her 1^st ever duathlon race today so was a bit nervous before the start.  She found the bike tough and uncomfortable with the wind but after she set off on the 2^nd run and got into her stride she was fine and finished in an excellent time of 1hr 16mins.  

Last week over 900 runners lined up in Dungarvan for the Quantum Life 10mile road race including 14 members from the club. Read More...