Dunleer club begin countdown to Ràs Cross-Country
PREPARATIONS are well under way for this year’s Rás na hÉireann Cross-Country event on February 5th, which will take place as usual on the fantastic Battle of the Boyne site at Oldbridge House.
The online entry system will be up and running soon, entry will be available on the day as usual and the organising club Dunleer AC are promising an extra treat this year for all finishers in the senior and master races.
The Rás, as it is popularly known, was first staged by Dunleer AC and Larry Mc Guill in 1970, and a fitting tribute to Larry - who sadly passed away in 2011 - is the presentation of the Larry Mc Guill Memorial Cup to the winner of the men’s race by Larry’s wife Bernadette.
The Louis Duffin Cup will be presented to the first Dunleer AC senior man home and the winning men’s team will be presented with the Noel Mc Guill Cup. This year, as well as the Sandra Floyd Memorial Cup for the winning ladies team, there will be cups presented to the first woman home in the senior ladies race and the first Dunleer AC woman home. This gesture will reward and appreciate the equal effort made by the ladies who train hard and compete hard at cross-country.
The juvenile programme commences at noon with the Under-9s and continues with races for Under-11s, 13s, 15s and 17s, and all details will be available in the lead up to the Rás on www.dunleerac.net and rasnaheireann.com as well as the Dunleer AC Facebook page.
Meanwhile, registration with Dunleer AC and the governing body Athletics Ireland for the new year has commenced and all members are asked to get their forms in as training recommences after the Christmas break. The recent registration night for seniors and Fit4Life athletes was a huge success and club chairman David Carrie was delighted to outline the training possibilities afforded to members by the very experienced coaching team. Fintan Reilly, Kevin Matthews, Patrick Connolly, Pat Fitzpatrick and Anthony Connolly coach the seniors on Wednesday and Thursday nights, while Pat Cheshire, Santis Kaugars, Micheál Mulligan, Jacqueline Matthews, Hugh Hodgins, Helen Cheshire, Brenda Ledwith, Grace Foley and Seoda Matthews coach the juveniles on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
Sessions also take place at Oldbridge and Lourdes Stadium at the weekends, while David leads Team Carrie in the summer and early autumn months. •Dunleer AC is delighted to support Jack Mc Cullough as he aims to bring his Sport Star monthly award status a step further as he seeks the support of the voting public to become Sport Star of the Year at the Drogheda Independent Coca-Cola Sport Star Awards on Saturday January 28th.
Jack is a fantastic swimmer and a fantastic runner and deserves your votes, and so all club members are asked to vote for Jack.