Carrick Road Runners Athletic Club Notes 26th February 2008
It's hard to believe but the 2007-08 Super-Valu Winter League has finally come to an end for another year at a glittering prize giving ceremony in The Strand Bar on Friday last. A word of thanks must go to a number of people, for without whom this years Winter League simply would not have been possible. To our Sponsors Super-Valu Carrick-on-Suir who not only gave us very valuable financial support but also encouraged many of their staff to participate in the league led by the in form P.J. Guinan, thank you one and all. The club also owes a huge debt of gratitude to Kildalton Agricultural College, Piltown who provide us with the best possible venue every Tuesday at no charge and offer great encouragement to the league in the process. To the two most diligent and hardworking stewards and time-keepers, John Brunnock and Bobby Power who not only involve themselves in the Winter League but in all other club activities. It has been great to see the league grow in popularity over the last 2 years but this has brought with it headaches for the organisers. One such headache is the weekly production of times, results and the following weeks handicaps, this was made less of a headache by the fact that we had 2 very capable young ladies who gave up hours every week to come up with a system on excel to record the results accurately, so to Barbara Cooke and Lynda Brunnock, a big thank you and well done. A hearty thank you also goes to each and every club member who volunteered over the course of the 15 weeks to steward, register runners etc. The club is also grateful to Joe Holden and the staff of The Strand Bar who continue to support the clubs activities particularly when it comes to meetings and social events. As well as our main sponsor Super-Valu we would also like to mention The Carraig, Auto Power and Outfield Sports who all helped out with the prizes. Finally to each and every one of the competitors who took part in this year's Winter League congratulations and see you all for Fit 4 Life!
Before the overall winners are reveled here are just a few vital statistics. 200 runners registered for this year's Winter league, with 94 in the 2.5k, 90 in the 50k and a further 16 who moved from the 2.5 to 5k after the Christmas break. The biggest competitive night was 13th November when 99 runners went to the line. The average registering across the 14 nights was 80 runners.
Finally here is the top 10 in both of the main divisions: 5k (Division 1): 1. Andrew Downey-185pts.; 2. Jamie O'Shea-244; 3. John Fitzgerald-248; 4. Tommy Falconer-249; 5. Ann Power-266; 6. Jimmy Power-294; 7. Mick O'Shea-296; 8. Jane Evans-308; 9. Mark Connolly-310; 10. John O'Sullivan-311.
2.5k (Division 1): 1. Lisa Maher-288; 2. Anne Marie Hennebry-289; 3. Jill Bourke; 4. Carolin Connolly-301; 5. Bernadette Hahessey-309; 6. Denise Blackmore-317; 7. Carol Kelly-318; 8. Eoin O'Driscoll-334; 9. Tricia O'Doherty-341; 10. Phillip Kelly-343.
The benefit of the Winter League system which was pioneered by West Waterd AC can be clearly illustrated by a quick look at how our 2 overall winners improved their times over the course of the 15 weeks. Lisa brought her time down from 16:45 to 14:20, an improvement of 2:25. While Andrew saw his time go down from 25:11 to 19:33 in the 5k a massive improvement of 5:38! Congratulations one and all!
Bausch and Lomb Kilmacthomas 5
Well done to all involved with race 3 in the Michael Roche Carpets Spring Series held over the very fast 5 mile course in Kilmacthomas on Sunday last. It was great to see the organisers donate the entire proceeds from the entry fee to Waterford Hospice, a very worthy cause I'm sure all would agree. On the competitive front the men's race was won by in a time of, while the ladies race went to in. From a Carrick point of view it was another successful outing with club athletes running. Here is how they finished.
Photo and Club Gear
On Saturday 1st March at 11:00 a.m. at the Ormonde Castle, Carrick-on-Suir the club will be having its first ever official club photo taken by local photographer Denis Barry. This photo will be used on the clubs new website which will be online very soon. We would love as many as possible of the clubs members (over 100 people) to be included. We would ask however that anyone who wishes to be included wear an the item from the clubs clothing range which is available at discount to all club members from Outfield Sports, Main St., Carrick-on-Suir. Do it today we don't want anyone left out! Remember there will also be a training session held after the photo is taken for any interested runners.
Fixtures
Fit 4 Life every Tuesday 7 p.m. Kildalton College, Piltown. (Meet and train all subsequent Tuesdays for 15 weeks).
County Novice B road race championship, Sunday 2nd March, Coolquill.
Easons Dungarvan 10k: 2 p.m., Sunday March 2nd, Dungarvan.
Ballycotton 10: 1:30 p.m., Sunday March 9th, Ballycotton, Co. Cork.