All weathers!
The date was December 10, 2017, the day of the county senior cross country hosted by Dundrum AC in a small little village called Annacarty a short drive from Donohill in Co Tipperary.
The club’s media headline that week recalled a chilling end to the cross-country season. The report goes on to say character building is one phrase which could be used to describe the experience of the previous Sunday’s cross country. The forecasters had got it right and competitors woke to a sight they dared to dread, with snow covering the ground and many roads closed due to flooding in Tipperary. Many sporting events around the country were cancelled due to the harsh conditions but not this one, and many hardy runners turned up to compete in the ladies 6k and men’s 10k race.
Aoife Courtney put in a solid performance in tough conditions, finishing 12th overall and was the sole female club participant in the race. Eight Mooreabbey men came to the start line ahead of 10k race which was sure to test their stamina and steel. With the mercury reading 3 below zero, everything from their nose to their toes was numb after the first kilometre. But our boys gave their very best and proved their worth by winning two team medals, both bronze, in the A section by Kieran Lees, Barry Hartnett, Tom Blackburn and Willie O’Donoghue and in the B section by Kevin Lenihan, Gérard Hanley and Liam O’Donnell.
This day in particular is only one of many challenging weather conditions that our club members have run in.
In snow or hail, in rain or gale or the marvellous wonder that is the sun the Mooreabbey family will run.
Some of our favourite memories are the ‘ mud spa treatment’ aka the swamp fest at the Munster Masters in Cappawhite in 2015. The many ‘cryo hydro therapy’ aka the wash down and cooling in the local streams or rivers. The many races in the wonderful warm summer of 2018 but in particular the blistering heat at the Cahir half marathon and relay of 2019. The bellowing winds and the torrential rain of February 2020 as eleven club members battled their way across the Slí Gaeltacht Mhuscrai, and the lovely Ciara brewed up storm across the vales of Avondale, Co Wicklow at the national masters, also in February 2020.
CLUB REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN
Our door is open to all, from the amateur to the experienced. Adult and juvenile training with qualified coaches will resume as soon as regulations allow. For insurance purposes juveniles have to be registered with the club, they can register in the year of their 7th birthday. €20 per juvenile, €30 per adult with family rates available. Registration forms/online links are available by messaging us on Messenger or by email to mooreabbeymilersac@gmail.com. We look forward to welcoming both old and new back to the field when the time is right.