Deise Dungarvan 10k
Four Carrick AC runners took part in the recent Dungarvan 10k road race and all enjoyed very good runs. Patrick Roche came home in fourth place overall in a superb time of 34:47. Andrew Downey smashed the 40-minute barrier , clocking 38:33 while Tom Doherty came home in a time of 41:17. Our only representative in the ladies' race, Emer O' Brien, finished in 45:55 and was fourth in the O/40 category.
Ballycotton 10
The Ballycotton 10-mile road race has become one of the highlight races of the spring calendar and once again attracted a huge entry for last Sunday's renewal. Tommy Falconer was our first finisher and again broke one hour for the classic distance with a time of 59:36. Michael O' Sullivan had an excellent run also, clocking 63:37. Seamus Ward was very happy with his time of 68:11 and Tom Egan ran a really solid race to finish in 68:44. Melanie Ward was our only lady runner and finished in 89:22. Well done to all our runners.
Big Changes at 3 Counties
Carrick-on-Suir AC's 3 Counties Challenge has firmly established itself in the South East running calendar since its inception in 2007 with the series growing from a single race with 100 runners to last year's successful 4-race series with close to a thousand participants. One of the keys to this success has been the club's ability to change and improve the series and 2013 will continue that trend with a new race (making the Challenge a 5-race series), a new venue and some new sponsors.
Because of the expansion, the series will now start on Friday, 26th April with the first running of the Faugheen 5km road race, kindly sponsored by Bobby FitzGerald Accountants. This flat course will be held on the famous Faugheen 50 motor bike circuit in the pretty Tipperary village and is sure to become a runner's favourite very quickly.
This will be followed closely by the second new addition in the series, the Tom Jordan Memorial 5-mile road race on Friday, 10th May. This race has been organised by the Portlaw Red Cross for several years with the help of Carrick AC, so it was a natural progression to include this fantastic County Waterford course in the series. Runners' feedback has been extremely positive about this route and we think many athletes will be eyeing this event for a PB time!
The third race in the series will see us return to County Tipperary on Friday 7th June for the ever popular Carraig Hotel 'Deadman's 5' road race. Now in its eighth year, this race starts outside the historic Ormond Castle in the centre of Carrick-on-Suir, taking in a scenic 5-mile run around the Deadman's Boreen and finishing on a lovely straight stretch passing the tree-lined Town Park.
The penultimate race in the series sees us visit the picturesque village of Rathgormack in County Waterford for the AutoPower Rathgormack 5 on July 12th. This challenging, undulating course is an ever popular addition to the series, thanks to the beautiful scenery of the Comeragh Mountains and the superb home cooking which can be sampled post-race in the Hiking Centre.
Finally, the series will conclude in County Kilkenny with the Morris Oil Piltown 10k road race. On another scenic route, the race starts on the grounds of Kildalton Horticultural College and winds its way down by the lake and tree-lined avenue before taking in a circuit of the flat roads around Piltown. A firm favourite in the series, the 2013 race will be the sixth Piltown 10k.
The club is delighted to welcome back local specialist running store Outfield Sports, Carrick-on-Suir, as the series sponsor for the seventh year (now promoting its new website, hence the outfieldsports.ie 3 Counties Challenge title). We are delighted that International Sports Brand Adidas is also involved as title sponsors.We are very grateful to our sponsors for their continued support of our series year after year. As usual, the message from the club is for all runners to return the support of these businesses who have been good enough to support us despite the harsh economic climate.
The prize fund for the series will be in excess of €10,000 with €200 first prize for all Men's and Ladies' races and prizes in all the usual age categories. There will be a team prize at each race as well as spot prizes down the field. There will also be a souvenir for anyone who runs four of the five races as well as a €25 voucher for Adidas running footwear at Outfield Sports.
Pre-entry can be availed of at http://www.runireland.com/ and up-to-date information will be available on the club website, http://www.carrickroadrunners.ie/ and on our club Facebook page. While there are some changes, the 2013 series will remain one that is ideal for new runners to progress from 5k to 10k through the summer with well-stewarded, accurately measured courses, good food post-race and the famous Carrick AC welcome for all our runners. Looking forward to meeting all our friends (old and new) this summer in the sunny South-East!