A great contingent of senior and masters athletes headed to Athlone for the Leinster Indoor Championships last Sunday 6^th March. Some of the gang were old hands and some complete newbies but a fun and successful day of competing was had by all.

For those who aren’t familiar with the athletics Arena at Athlone IT: this is a state of the art indoor athletics facility, built just a few years ago and of world championship standard. The track, being indoors, is of course a bendy, highly slanted 200 meters and the shortest race was a 60 meter stretch at the center. Long jump, high jump and throws are all neatly aligned at the centre too. Every aspect of the arena is perfect, and our hosts at Leinster Athletics ran the event to perfection.

We did our warm up mile on the lovely outdoor tartan track before heading back indoors for the first call for our distances. There’s an upper level with a long 3 lane track just for warming up on and from there you’re called for your specific race to a call room. The official tells you which heat you’re in , and  in the case of the sprints, you pick a number out of a hat for a lane number. It’s the luck of the draw.

Phelim was first up early in the day for the masters 800 which of course he won, with ease. That set the trend for Phelim’s day! He reclined for a while on the stands, shouting encouragement to the rest of us.

200s next and Roisin, Rosemary, Keith and Michael were on. First time on a track like this for Roisin (it was a bit different from Cushinstown!) but the thrill of being able to race on a track like that helped overcome most of the fears. Inexperience showed itself though as Roisin paced herself too generously starting out – a big mistake in the very short 200, and finished joint fourth in 31.96 after failing to make up for the slow first 50M. Next time Roisin! Rosemary was in the next heat and ran a fantastic race, knocking a full second off her time last year and finishing 6^th in 37.59. A great race for Rosemary and proof that the recent step up in training is paying off.

Next up for the men was Keith who started well, ran strongly and, loving that home straight as always finished good and fast to come home in 2^nd position in an excellent time of 26.04. Keith’s first silver of the day, well done Keith.

Michael Cornyn, despite having been unwell the previous week couldn’t resist the allure of the 200 and stepped up to the blocks. Never a worry though for Michael who picked up the pace with around 60 to go, pulling ahead of one or two to finish a blisteringly fast 2^nd position. Great stuff Michael!

Bit of a rest for this four and time for our throwers to take centre stage in the shot putt. Shane Nolan was very happy with his best throw of 8.45 meters and bagged himself a silver medal for his trouble. Meanwhile the Street duo threw to their usual high standards, Chris’s  8.72 meters enough to win him gold in his competitive category, and Michelle impressing as always throwing 6.929 to take silver in hers. Well done to our three field athletes.

Eva. Relative newcomer to the club but clearly not a newcomer to athletics as she showed her experience in sharp relief in her race. The first of her 8.5 laps in the 1500M were spent right at the back of the pack. Last place is not where we’re used to seeing Eva so we wondered briefly if anything was amiss. Not for long though as by the 4^th lap she started to pick them off. One by one, almost all of the other racers paid the price for their too fast start and fell back a little. Eva meanwhile stuck to her planned pace, from Lap 1 to the final lap, and in the process passed almost every single girl in her race. Impressive stuff Eva! This brilliant performance (her time was 5.06.45) earned Eva a silver up against a European Masters champion, so a really great race for her.

Phelim, the Machine, took to the track again. 1500M and none of his competitors stood a chance. Gold again for our champion! Words fail me!

The 400s were next – widely regarded as being the toughest of the shorter distances. Not so for our two ladies Rosemary and Roisin who ran well over the gruelling sprint distance to bag a bronze medal in each of their age categories. Well done ladies! Not to be outdone Keith stepped up to one of his favourite distances: denying the distance and his competitors any intimidation Keith covered the two laps in PB time of 57.41 and bagging himself a silver medal in the process. Nice one Keith! Last of the 400s was Michael who again picked up the pace in the last half a lap to finish just outside the medals in 4^th in a time of 64.41: another impressive burst of speed at the finish. Well done Michael.

Meanwhile Emilia was warming up for her 3000M . We all sat back to relax and watch the master at work and she did not disappoint. The first few laps saw our ladies captain move steadily from 3^rd or 4^th into 2^nd position. Her junior opponent (this was an O35, O40 and O45 race combined) had stretched ahead and Emilia was unable to make up the distance but it was a pleasure to watch her maintain perfect pace throughout the remaining dozen or so laps, never letting the pressure go and in the process finishing in a great time of 11.00.95. Gold in her O45 category and a better time than all but one of the O40 and O35 competitors. Well done Captain Emilia!

The 60 meters was next: yet another warm up for Rosemary and Roisin and then the Long Slow Walk from the call room to the far end of the track and the 60 meter blocks. Scary stuff! But the thrill of the 60 meters made it all worthwhile. Rosemary ran  a PB time of 10.77, finishing 4^th. Roisin also finished 4^th, running 9.39 – an agonizing one hundredth of a second outside the medals!

Norbert Smith, recent recruit to sprint distances planned to put his last few months’ sprint training to good use and this he did in style, finishing his heat meters ahead of his opponents. A slightly faster second heat left him with silver in his first attempt at the distance to run a sub 8 second. Fantastic stuff Nobby, looking forward to seeing what comes next from you!

Rory Kavanagh had a long wait for his 3000M senior men’s race, coming close to the end of the day. This was a very competitive field and the effort put in by Rory was written all over his face as he pounded out the laps. Rory ran a fantastic race and finished just outside the medals in 4^th position with a great time of 8.56. Amazing stuff Rory, well done.

Last (planned ) race of the day was Phelim in his third outing from the stands. 3000M and again The Machine did what he does best: strong and steady pacing before putting the boot down with a hugely impressive show of speed for the final 300 meters, leaving his opponents far behind in his wake. To do this in the 3000M after the 800 and 1500 earlier in the day was a huge feat of athleticism and talent. A pleasure to watch. Well done Phelim and keep up the good work!

We’d been there all day, why not hang on and put in a team for the very last races of the day – the women’s 4X200 relays said Eva? Well, exhaustion, the prospect of the drive home and a day of jangled nerves were a few good reasons! Still though, the prospect of making history as Dunboyne AC’s first ever women’s 4 X 200 relay team at this event won over and off we went to practise: Eva (the pro!), Rosemary, Roisin and Emilia. In the absence of a spare baton a water bottle had to do, and a few goes with that, along with some hurried advice from Eva set us up nicely. Rosemary was out first from the blocks and she ran a blinder, saying afterward that the pressure of the rest of the team was a great incentive to run very fast indeed! 200M later and Eva was off, taking charge of the break and showing us how it’s done. Captain Emilia took the third leg to screams of support, again making up the distance to the junior teams who were racing alongside us. A smooth handover left Roisin with the final sprint home, and third position! What a fantastic way to end the day, availing of the only team event of the competition and a medal to boot!

If you’ve read this far you might have a suppressed interest in the shorter distances on the track! Don’t be put off by some of the lads thundering around the track – come and have a chat with one of us and give it a try. If you’ve some speed then try 60M up to 400M, if endurance is your thing then 800 up to 3K will suit better. It’s brilliant fun and something completely different to road racing. The same goes for field events, there could be something there for you and we have fantastic coaches in the club for you to avail of. It’s a privilege to be able to compete in Athlone International Arena – the facilities are second to none and they’re there to be used by us! Standards are not too onerous or intimidating and a few months training would get anyone who’s interested well positioned to take part. Masters categories make it accessible to all of us.

Make 2016 your Year of the Track!

The Medal Haul: Leinster Indoor Championships, Athlone IT, 6^th March 2016:

Gold! Phelim Glynn, 800M 2.16.28

Silver! Keith Englington, 200M 26.04

Silver! Michael Cornyn, 200M 27.87

Bronze! Michelle Pilkington Street, Shot Putt, 6.92 meters

Gold! Phelim Glynn, 1500M 4.36.87

Silver! Shane Nolan, Shot Putt, 8.45 meters

Bronze! Rosemary Higgins, 400M

Bronze! Roisin Bell, 400M

Silver! Norbert Smith, 60M

Gold! Chris Street, Shot Putt, 8.72 meters

Silver! Keith Englington, 400M 57.41

Silver! Eva Nic Niallais, Senior  1500M

Gold! Phelim Glynn, 3000M 9.56.29

Bronze! Women’s 4X200 Relay Team: Rosemary Higgins, Eva Nic Niallais, Emilia Dan and Roisin Bell

 

Check out some photos HERE