Clonmel Senior Athletic Club Notes for July 2017
All Ireland Glory for Galloway and O Neill
Tullamore was the venue last Sunday for the National Masters Track and Field Championships, which were held in ideal conditions. Hazel Galloway underlined her status when defending her two National titles with style. In the 100m she ran a brilliant race to win the Women’s over 60 100m title in 15.90 secs, improving greatly on her Munster performance earlier this year when she ran 16.19 secs. She was able to put in this performance on her 2nd attempt as the first race was a false start and she ran the full 100m. Then later in the day she ran a brilliant race off the final bend to win the 200m in 33.43 secs and here again she greatly improved on her Munster Championship performance where she ran 34.75 secs
Bernard O Neill also had a very good Championship. In the 100m he was fast out of the blocks to win the National over 65 title in 14.25 secs and this was a massive improvement on his recent Munster success when he ran 15.32 secs. Then later in the day he ran a great 200m to win the Silver medal in 30.91 secs and also well inside his Munster performance of 31.94 secs. In between these two finals he won the National over 65 Long Jump Silver medal.
Mike Fitzgibbon was competing in his first National Championships and ran very well. He will have learned a lot from this experience and will be a prominent force over 400m next year.
Great performances at Coillte 10K
The 32nd edition of this very popular race took place in ideal conditions last Wednesday night, 5th July, in Dundrum over their fame 2 lap course. The Club was very well represented in this event and it is great to support this event as Dundrum AC athletes are always great supporters of our events throughout the year.
Nigel O Flaherty showed a welcome return to form when running very well when finishing 19th in 35 mins 57 secs. We also had good performances from Joey Feery 49th in 39:14, Billy Moloney 50th in 39:22, Daniel Slattery 51st in 39:26, Aine Roche ran well when finishing 6th woman in 41:02, Siobhan McHugh also ran very well when setting a new course record for the women’s over 45 when finishing in 42:34 and was 1st over 45. Anthony Power also ran very well when finishing 93rd in 43:07 and in the process set a new PB. Alan Carter also ran well when finishing 103rd in 44:04, Dan O Keeffe also ran very well when finishing 107th in 44:26 and greatly improved on last year’s run of 48:57, John Laste was 125th in 45:25, Kenny Brett was 129th in 45:32, Pat Walsh was 159th in 48:56, Ian Patterson was 174th in 50:36, Cathy Mansfield was 213rd in 56 mins 7 secs and a massive improvement on her 2015 performance of 66 mins 2 secs. Cathy’s brother, David was a convincing winner of this year’s event in 32 mins 3 secs. We also had good performances from William Lonergan who was 216th in 56 mins 51 secs and Roberta Ryan who was 226th in 60:48.
Brilliant performance by Sean Tobin
The Letterkenny International Mile took place last week and Sean Tobin ran a brilliant race. Despite getting blocked in at the start Sean found his rhythm down the back straight and was in the 2nd group as he passed the 400m in 61.07 secs. The pace was strong and he went through 800m in 2 mins 1.25 secs. At this stage he had moved up to the front of the 2nd group that was just off the leading group and he kept the tempo going to reach 1200m in 3 mins 3.08 secs. Then down the back straight he moved onto the leading group and was full of running coming off the final bend and he made great strides down the finishing straight when finishing 4th in 4 mins 1.10 secs when finishing a very close 4th. His training partner in America Robert Domanic won the race in 3 mins 59.98 secs.
Top of Form
Bottom of Form
Great performances at Cahir Half Marathon – 9th July
The Cahir Half Marathon took place today in glorious sunshine and very warm conditions. This year’s race was over a new course. It was great to see David Ryan back running well again as he prepares for the Dublin City Marathon in October. He went with the early pace and was soon part of the leading group. David kept the pace going and came home 4th in 81 mins 57 secs to win the over 40 award.
We also had good performances from Conor Fleming 15th in 86 mins 36 secs, Billy Moloney 25th in 89 mins 13 secs, Bohus Jarabek 28th in 89 mins 46 secs, Brian Carroll 32nd in 90 mins 53 secs, Alan Carter 34th in 91 mins 35 secs, Kealey Tideswell ran very well when finishing 2nd woman in 91 mins 52 secs, Neil Proven 56th in 98 mins, Vincent McHugh 57th in 98 mins 21 secs, Michelle Doherty 61st in 99 mins, Billy Prout 72nd in 100 mins 6 secs, Pat Walsh 128th in 108 mins 48 secs, Ned O Brien 142nd in 111 mins 37 secs, Brian Tyrell 153rd in 113 mins 50 secs, Julie Tideswell 173rd in 116 mins 22 secs, Lizzie Ryan 222nd in 127 mins 56 secs, Ian Patterson 224th in 128 mins 7 secs, Helen O Ceallaigh 241st in 131 mins 57 secs and Michael Egan 246th in 132 mins 52 secs.
Sean Tobin breaks 4 minutes for the mile
Morton Stadium in Dublin has witnessed many fantastic performances over the years like on the 6th August 1958 when Herb Elliott smashed the World Record for the mile when winning in 3 mins 54.5 seconds and it was also the first time that the 4 minute barrier was broken by 5 athletes in the one race. Last week the Morton Mile took place at the same stadium with a very talented International entry that included our own Sean Tobin. The pace was very strong from the gun and Sean was well positioned throughout, going through 400m in 59.4 secs and reaching halfway in 1 minute 59.3 secs. At this stages Sean was at the back of the leading group of 13 athletes and well positioned. He reached the bell in 3 mins 1.4 secs and he kept the strong pace going down the back straight. He put in a brilliant effort off the final bend and came through very strongly over the final 80m to finish 11th in 3 minutes 58.7 secs. Such was the talent in the race that the top 12 athlete all broke 4 minutes, fantastic. This was a brilliant performance by Sean as he set a new PB for the Mile and it was his first sub 4 minute outdoor mile and great that he achieved such a performance at this fantastic venue.
Clerihan Road Races
All roads lead to Clerihan this Friday night, July 14th, for their annual race which starts at 7.30pm. This race also honours two of the Club finest athletes, Laura Taylor and Joe Grinsell. The first Tipperary female athlete will be presented with the Laura Taylor perpetual Shield while the leading Tipperary male athlete will be presented with the Joe Grinsell Shield. The club would encourage all our members who are taking part in this race to wear the Club singlet as both Laura and Joe were great ambassadors for the Club as they always wore the Club singlet when competing. This year the Prize list for the 8K race is as follows:1st 3 Senior Men and Women, 1st Man over 40, over 50 and over 60 as well as the 1st Woman over 35, over 45 and over 55. There will also be a Fun walk 5K also starting at 7.30pm. Registrations will take place in the Community hall from 6pm onwards. For further enquiries please contact Mark at 087 6314814.
Clonmel Senior Athletic Club Notes – 16th July
David Mansfield wins Clerihan 8K race
The very popular Clerihan 8K race took place in warm conditions last Friday night. Right from the start David Mansfield (Clonliffe Harriers) went to the front and set a strong pace. He kept this pace going and soon opened up a lead which he held all the way to the line to win very convincingly in 25 mins 42 secs. This was David 2nd Success in Tipperary in recent days as he was also a very convincing winner of the Coillte 10K in Dundrum. Then we had William Stevens of Coolquill A C emerging from the chasing pack to finish 2nd in 27 mins with Paddy Cummins of Moycarkey Coolcroo finishing 3rd in 27 min 17 secs. For the record Dermot Gorman of Raheny Shamrocks was 4th in 27 mins 24 secs with Nigel O Flaherty of Clonmel A C finishing 5th in 28 mins 36 secs and winning the over 40 award very convincingly and Jimmy Boland of Clonmel A C was 6th in 28 mins 47 secs. Ger Murray won the Men’s over 50 award when finishing 11th in 31 mins 30 secs while Noel Howley won the over 60 award when finishing 109th in 47 mins 12 secs.
The women’s race also attracted a very good entry. Here Madeline Loughnane of Thurles Crokes ran very well when winning the race very convincingly by finishing 15th overall in 31 mins 38 secs. We had a right tussle for 2nd place as the three contenders, Kate Veale of West Waterford A C, Linda Grogan of Dundrum A C and Aine Roche of Clonmel A C were together at the first water station. Then over the closing stages Kate Veale went clear and came home 2nd Woman in 31 mins 50 secs with Linda Grogan 3rd in 32 mins 8 secs and Aine Roche 4th woman in 32 mins 41 secs. Bervon Lyons of Waterford was 5th overall and she was also the 1st over 35 Woman when finishing in 34 mins 6 secs with Siobhan McHugh of Clonmel A C winning the women’s over 45 award in 34 mins 8 secs.
This race also honours two of Clonmel A C finest athletes, Laura Taylor and Joe Grinsell, who died so tragically in recent years. The Joe Grinsell Perpetual Shield was presented to David Mansfield as the first County Tipperary man home while the Laura Taylor Perpetual Shield was presented to Madeline Loughnane as the first County Tipperary female winner.
The organising committee would also like to thank everyone who competed in the 5k Fun Run and Walk as well as anyone who helped in any way to make this year’s event such a success.
Great performances at the Clerihan 8K
The Club colours were very prominent at the Clerihan 8K last Friday night with 44 club members competing as the Club honoured two of its finest athletes, Laura Taylor and Joe Grinsell, who died so tragically a few years ago. Nigel O Flaherty ran very well when winning the over 40 award in 28 mins 36 secs when finishing 5th overall. Then we had Jimmy Boland making a return to competition running well when finishing 6th in 28 mins 47 secs. Another athlete making a very welcome return to competition was Mark Darmody and he too ran well when finishing 8th in 29 mins 10 secs. We also had good performances from Daniel Slattery 12th in 31:34, James Denn 17th in 31:52 and improving greatly on last year’s run of 33:04, Niall O Ceallaigh 20th in 32:19, Bernard Durand 21st in 32:38, Aine Roche 22nd in 32:41 and improving on last year’s run by 13 secs , Shane Greene 23rd in 32:45, Noel Gillman 24th in 33:04, Brendan Walshe 25th in 33:35 and improving greatly on last year’s run of 34:43, Neil Proven 28th in 33:59, Siobhan McHugh was 30th in 34:03 and she won the women’s over 45 award very convincingly, Suzanne Shine 31st in 34:18, Cyril Fogarty 32nd in 34:36, Tom Butler 37th in 35:25, Sean O Dea 43rd in 36:17 and improving on last year’s time of 36:37, Dan O Keeffe 46th in 36:32 and improving greatly on last year’s run of 37:50, Kate Wall 51st in 37:53 and improving greatly on last year’s run of 38:32, Annmarie Boland 52nd in 37:56, Sean McCarthy 56th in 38:41, Brendan Coffey 60th in 38:53, Martin Walsh 63rd in 39:23 and showing a big improvement on last year’s run of 44:53, Michael Ryan 64th in 39:37, Keith Robinson 65th in 39:38, Julie Tideswell 66th in 39:54 and improving greatly on last year’s run of 42:01, Orla Durand 69th in 40:05, Eddie Prendergast 75th in 40:21, Nicola Maunsell 87th in 42:07, Mellissa McCarthy 88th in 42:08, Szilvia McGee 89th in 42:09, Bernie Hopkins 90th in 42:15, Sinead Kennedy 92nd in 42:41, great to see Sinead back running again after a lengthy lay off due to injury, Helen O Ceallaigh 93rd in 42:45, Catherine Ryan 95th in 42:59 and improving greatly on last year’s run of 43:41, Marie Laste 100th in 44:40 and improving greatly on last year’s run of 45:41, Gillian Prendergast also making a welcome return to competition was 104th in 45:30, Roberta Ryan 112th in 47:23, William Lonergan 113th in 47:24, Pauline Lonergan 119th in 49:17, Karen Dunne 120th in 51:16, Donna Nagle 121st in 51:33, Marguerite O Halloran 123rd in 55:24, Jason Lyons 124th in 55:24 and Kieran Dunne 124th in 55:30.
Clonmel Senior Athletic Club notes – 23rd July
Sean Tobin finishes 3rd in the Cork City Mile with a new PB
The famous Cork City Sports took place last Tuesday night and once again Sean Tobin ran a brilliant race in the Mile event. The previous Wednesday night Sean ran 3 mins 58.7 secs in the Morton mile and he was full of confidence going into the Mile event in the Cork City Sports. The race started and Sean showed great determination by going out strong and getting into 4th place right from the gun. He was in this position as they went through 400m in 60 seconds. He maintained that pace on the 2nd lap and reached halfway in 2 mins 2 secs. Now the race was on as the pacemaker had done his task and the field began to bunch for the final wind up but Sean was full of running and he reached the bell in 4th place in 3 minutes 1 second. On the final lap it was a heck of a sprint as six athletes were in the leading group including Sean who was 6th coming off the final bend. Then over the final 100m Sean put in a tremendous effort surging past three athletes on the home straight to finish 3rd in a fantastic time of 3 minutes 57 secs, brilliant and another PB over the Classic Mile distance and his 2nd PB in less than a week. Sean was timed at the 1500m mark as 3 mins 41.78 in 6th spot.
County titles for David Ryan, Julie Tideswell and Eileen Hynes
The Club hosted the County Master 6k road Championships last Sunday in very warm conditions. The Club was very well represented and it was brilliant to see the Club colours very prominent in the race. The race started outside Barlo Motors and right from the start David Ryan was with the leading group and he ran very well to win the over 40 title impressively when finishing 3rd overall. Indeed the Club had a clean sweep of the over 40 category as both Nigel O Flaherty and Dermot Logue put in two very good performances to win the Silver (6th) and Bronze (8th) over 40 respectively while hot on Dermot ‘s heels was Mark Darmody in 9th place and this quartet were crowned Men’s over 35 County Champions. We also had very good performances from Lar Martin 23rd, James Denn 27th, Niall O Ceallaigh32nd, Alan Carter 34th, Mike Fitzgibbon 38th, John Laste 41st, Vincent McHugh 42nd, Bohus Jarabek 43rd, Anthony Power also ran very well to win his first County Athletics medal when winning the Bronze medal over 55 by finishing 45th, Tom Butler 49th, Alan O Shea 50th, Pat Coffey 51st, Kenny Brett 52nd, Dan O Keeffe 53rd, James O Brien 55th, Sean O Dea 57th, Billy Prout 58th, Donal Casey 64th, Ned O Brien 67th, Brian Tyrell 68th and Myles McHugh was 2nd over 70 and it was great to see Myles still enjoying the Sport and the banter afterwards, a great ambassador for the Sport and for the Club. The combined talent of John Laste, Anthony Power and Pat Coffey combined to win the Men’s over 50 Inter Club bronze medals.
The Club was very well represented in the Women’s 6k race and here we had Michelle Doherty running a great race to win the Women’s over 40 Silver medal when finishing 6th overall. We also had very good performances from Kate Wall, making a very welcome return to competition when finishing 10th overall and Grainne O Malley another athlete making a welcome return to competition when finsihing16th and along with Kate and Michelle she combined to win the Inter Club over 35 Bronze medals, first such medals for all three athletes, brilliant achievement. Then we had Julie Tideswell running a brilliant race to win the women’s over 50 title impressively when finishing 17th overall. Lizzie Ryan also ran very well when winning the women’s over 45 Bronze medal while Mellissa McCarthy also ran very well on her return to competition. Eileen Hynes ran very well to win the women’s over 55 title impressively and we also had good performances from Helen O Ceallaigh 22nd and debutant Sinead Fahey 23rd. In the women over 45 inter Club competition the combined talents of Julie Tideswell, Lizzie Ryan and Eileen Hynes won the Gold medals. The Club would like to thank everyone who helped to make these Championships such a success.
Clonmel Senior Athletic Club Notes – 25th July
Sean Tobin wins Club’s first National Track title and Kevin Maunsell wins Club’s first National Track Bronze medal
Club History was created in Morton Stadium this weekend. Morton Stadium was the venue for the National Senior Track and Field Championships this weekend where the cream of Irish Athletics talent was competing. Right in the mix of such talent the Club had its biggest ever entry at these prestigious Championships with 4 athletes competing. Prior to this year’s Championships the nearest the Club ever got to a National Track and Field Championship medal was two very good performances by Evan Lynch in the 2014 National 10K Walk and Anthony Tobin in last year’s 10K walk with both athletes finishing 4th in their event. In this year’s Championships the Club had two athletes competing in both the 10,000M and 1500M. The 10000m final took place on Saturday with both Kevin and William Maunsell competing over the 26 lap distance. Going into this race Kevin had run a brilliant sub 30 minutes 10000m last May in England while William was tackling this track event for the very first time. However both men were going into this race with great confidence as their training had been going very well. The race started with 25 athletes competing and after the first few laps Mick Clohisey of Raheny Shamrocks, who is competing in the World Marathon Championship in London in the next few weeks, took up the pace and soon he had the field in single file with a group of four athletes getting away that included both William and Kevin Maunsell along with the eventual winner Kevin Dooney, two athletes from Clonmel AC and two athletes from Raheny Shamrocks, all wearing green and white singlets. They were still together passing through 5000m, then on the 17th lap William began to lose contact but he was still determined to hang on and he was still in close attention. As they approached the 22nd lap Kevin began to lose contact but he again was determined to battle hard for that Bronze medal with William not too far behind in 4th place. Both athletes kept the pace going with Kevin winning his first National Track and Field medal when capturing the Bronze medal in 29 mins 52.08 secs with William finishing a very good 4th in 30 mins 7.2 secs, two fantastic performances from two very talented and dedicated athletes. Indeed Kevin created Club history as he becomes the first Club athlete to win a National Track and Field medal since Athletics Ireland was formed in 2000, a well deserved reward for all his dedication.
Also on Saturday was the heats of the Men’s 1500m and here we had Sean Tobin and Michael Carey competing. Both athletes were competing in the first heat and here the pace was strong all the way with Sean finishing 2nd in 3 mins 57.4 secs and qualifying for the final while Michael was edged out of the last qualifying spot on the final straight when finishing 9th in 4 mins 2.48 secs. This was a very good run by Michael as his training had been hampered by a recent injury. The 1500m final took place on Sunday and here Sean was the favourite to win this title as he had shown great tactical improvement in his recent races when breaking the 4 minutes for his last two races over the Classic Mile distance. The race started and soon it became a tactical event as no one was willing to take out the pace and so the field of 15 athletes were bunched together for the first 700m and all the time Sean was well positioned in the 2nd lane and able to cover any quick move. So on the 2nd last lap the pace was increased and Sean moved onto the shoulders of the leading two athletes and he reached the bell well positioned in 3rd place. Then with 250m to go Sean surged to the front and made every stride a winning one as he came home a very convincing Champion in 3 mins 57.18 secs to claim his first National Track title in the style of a true Champion. Sean has now won National titles at Juvenile, Schools and Senior levels, fantastic ambassador for the Sport and indeed for his Club and County. Sean also created a piece of Club History as he becomes the first Club athlete to win a National track title since Athletics Ireland was formed in 2000. Indeed Sean has lit up the Sport in the past few weeks with some fantastic performances and I have no doubt that winning this prestigious title is the one he will cherish the most as he joins a long list of talented Irish athletes who have won this title in the past, athletes like Eamon Coghlan, Ray Flynn, Marcus O Sullivan, Frank O Mara and Mark Carroll to name but a few.