21st February 2010- Results and Fixtures

Masterful Performances in National Cross Country Championships

The National Masters and Intermediate Cross Country Championships were held in a dry but cold Lough Key Forest Park, Roscommon last Sunday. Apart from a couple of muddy patches, underfoot conditions were excellent and only one hill had to be tackled on each lap. The only gripe one would have on an otherwise well organized event was the inaccurate course measurement which led to all the races been much shorter than the stated distances on the programme.

The first race up was the Masters Womens over 4,000 metres saw defending champion Pauline Curley pitted against a strong field including old rival Annette Kealy from Raheny Shamrocks. Pauline forced the pace early on but could not shake off the attentions of Kealy and as the race entered the final stages the strong running Kealy pulled away to claim victory. Pauline Curley battled gamely on but was unlucky to be passed near the finsh by the fast finishing Rhona Lynch from Eagle AC. However third place is a great achievement in this very competitive event. Behind Curley, Liz Cuskelly was having a stormer of a race and finished in sixth place.

Next up was the Master Men and after many false dawns there was a cautious sense of optimism that maybe that this could be their year.And so it proved to be in a race with over two hundred runners, Noel Kelly led the over 35’s team home with a 13th place finish followed by Declan Fahey in 17th, Catch Grennan 21st and the club team was completed by John Donegan in 39th place. This gave Tullamore third place in the club competition and the above quartet were joined by Mick Murphy in 49th and John Harkin who placed 61st to earn Offaly second place in the county standings.

Meanwhile in the same race our experienced over 50 team were running very well with Johnny Feery 65th, Martin Carroll 69th, George Webb 79th, Tony McCormack 126th, Pat Conlon 133rd and Brendan Kennedy 181st. These performances were good enough to give Tullamore and Offaly first place in the club and county competition respectively.

The Intermediate Womens race run over 4,000 metres and here Pauline Lambe was our only repesentitive and she ran a strong and brave race and was rewarded with a silver medal. The Intermediate men ran over a supposedly 10K distance but in reality was less than 8K and here Tullamore had a largely inexperienced team but all the runners ran well and can be pleased with their performances. Paul Buckley from Ferbane AC. ran a strong race and finished a fine 9th place.

Full Results : Intermediate Women : 2 Pauline Lambe 10.50 Intermediate Men : 9 Paul Buckley (Ferbane AC.) 25.13 ; 103 John O’Connell 31.02 ; 104 Vinny Conlon 31.04 ; 109 David Gorry ; 111 Seamus O’Conghaile ; 112 Liam Byrne 32.51 ; 114 Fra Mollen 33.29. 8th County, 13th Club. Master Women : 3 Pauline Curley (2nd V2 ) ; 6 Liz Cuskelly (3rd V1 ) ; 50 Mary Daly ; 70 Martina Conlon ; 91 Mary Walsh.

5th County, 5th Club Master Men : 13 Noel Kelly ; 17 Declan Fahey ; 21 Catch Grennan ; 39 John Donegan ; 49 Mick Murphy ; 61 John Harkin ; 65 Johnny Feery ; 68 Declan Madden ; 69 Martin Carroll ; 79 George Webb ; 126 Tony McCormack ; 133 Pat Conlon ; 140 Joe Wrafter ; 181 Brendan kennedy ; 196 Jim Langan. Over 35 team ; 2nd County, 3rd Club. ; Over 50 team ; 1st county 1st Club.

Celtic Cup International 
Eoin Hannon, jumping for Ireland, concluded his indoor season with a fine 2nd place in the long jump at the Celtic Cup indoor international match in Cardiff at the weekend.  Eoin put together a really good series of jumps, culminating with a best jump of 7.33m in the 5th round, but he had to give best to his Scottish opponent who jumped a championship best performance of 7.42m to win the competition.  Eoin’s jumps were break, 7.13m, 7.18m, 7.33m, and 7.31m.  This has been Eoin’s best indoor season ever and hopefully he can build on this and confirm his status as Irelands no. 1 long jumper outdoors.

The club and in particular his training partners in the sprint squad wish Ger Hensey the very best of luck in the upcoming World Masters Indoor Athletics championships.  Ger is travelling to Vancouver in Canada next weekend to represent his club and his country at the championships and the best wishes of all travel with him.
3K Run/Jog/Walk event for beginner and improver runners.

Starting March 3rd and for every following Wednesday in March, there will be a timed 3000m run on the tarmac track in the Harriers Grounds. This is aimed at non competitive runners who regularly run/jog and would like to challenge themselves without any pressure whatsoever of official racing. Tullamore Harriers members will supervise the event and encourage all those taking part to enjoy and improve their running times and fitness. Details from John @ 087 9253739 or Mary @086 1906747 or any club member

Fixtures.
February 28th : Peter Devery Memorial Challenge in Emo,Mountmellick at 11am.
Wed. March 3rd : 3,000 metre run/ Walk on tarmac for non competitive runners at 6.45pm. All welcome.
March 7th : Inter Club Cross Country Championships, Phoenix Park.
April 11th : National Road Relays, Raheny.
April 18th : National 10K Road Race and Bupa Run, Phoenix Park.
May 3rd : Leinster Novice and Masters Road Race, Gowran, Kilkenny.

Training: Tuesday and Thursday at 6.30pm, Sunday morning at 8.30am Except on a race day. New members always welcome.

With the dark evenings now here it is important to be seen on the roads so reflective gear must be worn while training on the roads

Membership is now overdue. Forms available in clubhouse.