Podium joy for Duleek girls
TAKING on the unknown can be daunting at the best of times, but a lack of familiarity proved to be no barrier to Duleek & District AC’s Under-11 girls team who arrived home from last week’s Leinster Team Events in Tullamore with bronze medals.
Five disciplines - 60m, 600m, long jump, turbo javelin and 4x100m relay - were included in the competition and each athlete had to complete two of the first four events, with all working in tandem in the relay.
The idea is to test and reward the overall combined strength of a team in the sprint, middle distance, throwing and jumping events - and Duleek’s girls were not found wanting amongst the stiff competition provided by 10 other clubs from throughout the province.
Nicole Hoey ran a storming 600m, working her way through the placings and showing great patience and stamina, and backed this up with a very strong 60m.
Ciara McCroary also sprinted strongly and put in a great shift in the turbo javelin, which is always an event that Ciara excels in.
Doireann Power showed no signs of the post holiday blues as she set a PB in the long jump with a massive 3.40m and dusted herself down to throw a PB in the turbo javelin.
Ruby Hartford as always ran a very strong 600m, coming through very strongly at the end, and set a new personal best of 3.39m in the long jump. All four girls finished with a strong relay event and when the points were counted Duleek finished third overall.
However, the success did not end there as the adults also got in on the act, with David Doyle taking bronze in the 800m.
A mere six days later there was another trip down the M6 for the Pairs event. The event is unique as athletes compete in pairs in the same events, with their combined scores counting. Therefore, in selection, it is important to pair athletes of similar strength together.
Jack O’Connor and Cormac Brereton competed in the Under-9 long jump and 300m and both competed strongly and finished narrowly outside the medals. Ruby Hartford and Nicole Hoey were next up in the Girls Under-11 events as they went in the 600m and long jump. Both athletes showed no signs of fatigue from earlier in the week as they performed very well amongst some very stiff competition.
Jumping and throwing were on the menu for Doireann Power, Ciara McCroary, Saoirse Dixon and Megan O’Connor as they saved some of their best performances of the year for when it was most needed in the Under-11 long jump and turbo javelin disciplines.
In the Under-9 events Nessa Rohan and Saoirse Power added to the club’s tally of Leinster medals this year as they took silver in the long jump and 60m. Fionn Brereton represented the club very well in the Under-12 600m where he ran a great race, and was no less impressive in the 60m sprint.
It was an equally productive weekend for the club’s adults, with action taking place in Moylagh, Cooley and Bohermeen.
In Moylagh, Ray Cassin had an early start in the 50-mile event and as with any endurance event it is very much about managing the physical and mental peaks and troughs that occur throughout.
This would be the longest event attempted by Ray in advance of his 100-mile challenge in Connemara in August and therefore would serve as an accurate barometer of his physical endurance.
Thankfully the test was passed with flying colours and another rung en route to Connemara was successfully scaled, with Ray finishing strongly.
The Glenmore AC 10-mile Road Race, held in the Cooley Mountains, is an annual favourite of Duleek & District AC athletes and traditionally is the first step on the Dublin Marathon journey.
This year proved no different as a number of club athletes made the journey north to tackle both the humid conditions and the undulating terrain. Robert Kierans finished in an impressive 82 minutes, with Shane Reid two minutes behind, and there were strong performances from Mary Murray and Anita Lenehan, both of whom showed continuous signs of improvement to finish in 1hr 40min.
By comparison, the ever-popular Patrick Bell 5k in Bohermeen was fast and furious and proved to be a new and interesting addition to the Duleek Captains Series, while the post-race barbecue and live music added a fun and social dimension.
There were lots of sought-after team points earned as the series entered its mid-way point.
Steve Gallagher clocked a fantastic 21:12 and is improving with each race, while Amanda Duff ran a strong race to finish in just over 30 minutes, with Tara Devine just behind her.
Greg Dixon is returning to his best form judging by his time of 19 minutes, whilst there were also impressive performances from Aishling Scully, Amy Devine and Olive Reilly.