Last Friday 17th November the club held its annual Dinner Dance and Awards night in the ballroom of Dunboyne Castle Hotel. It was a night to celebrate a wonderful year for the club and to recognise some of our members for their achievements during 2017.
Congratulations to all our award winners on the night.
*Hall of Fame Award : Bobby King
A Club member since the early 60’s, Bobby competed on the road, on the track and in cross country. He was the Meath Junior Champion in the early 70’s. As a senior trainer he was responsible for multiple marathons including a 2:28 marathon, 14 World Medals, 18 European Medals and elite race walking times, including 20:55 (5k), & 1:20 (20k). Congratulations to Bobby.
*Junior Athlete of the Year: Thomas Thornton
Thomas at 16 had a great year winning a silver medal in the Triple Jump at the National Indoor championships and followed up in the national outdoor championships, also wining a silver medal. He also won 3 medals at Leinster level. He is a hugely committed and dedicated athlete who puts in long hours of training to attain such fantastic performances. Well done Thomas.
*Fit4Life Person of the Year: Jackie Brannigan
Jackie is a long term Fit4Life member and is a constant and consistent Fit4Life trainer. She is an extremely accomplished runner, constantly improving with every race and is chalking up times and performances to match some of her senior club colleagues. Jackie is always up for a challenge both at home and abroad and is a deserving recipient of this award. Well done Jackie.
*Fit4Life Newcomer of the Year: Janet Lowthe
Janet embraced the club and very quickly fitted in and became part of the Fit4Life family. She displays an endearing character who constantly runs with a smile on her face. She is prolific with her racing, very quickly becoming one of our racing members who is seen most weekends competing in the white and blue. Congratulations Janet.
*Senior Runner of the Year: Jim Lineen
Jim ran a sub 5 hour marathon in 2015 after starting couch to 5k the year previously. This year in preparation for his marathon he followed the plans he was given, he listened to his coaches, he trained at 5am and 10pm just to ensure he got the allotted session done. He is a reliable club helper and helped many people achieve their goals in our 4 Miler by being one of the pacers on the day. Also this year he broke 40 minutes for 10k and then broke it again. He broke 90 minutes for the half marathon distance, and then broke it again! He knocked a whopping 75 minutes off his marathon time and achieved a PB in every distance he ran. A very well deserved winner of this new award for 2017.
*Senior Athlete of the Year: Padraig White
A member since he was 14 years old, Padraig is now a club member for 17 years. A product of Belvedere College, he fought back from serious injury 3 years ago to get back to the top of the pile. In 2017 he won numerous medals at Leinster level, won a silver at National level in the Hammer, plus silver in the 56Lbs also at national level. He’s unbeaten in the last 2 years by any home based athlete and also this year was selected to represent Ireland at the Euro Throws International competition. Padraig is another very well-deserved winner.
*Master Athlete of the Year: Michael Cornyn
Michael had a wonderful 2017. An ex-chairman of the club and long-time club official, he won numerous medals at Leinster level plus 2 Gold medals and 2 Bronze medals at National level. He had the honour of representing Ireland at European Championships bringing home silverware. But perhaps his greatest achievement was winning a complete set of Gold, Silver and Bronze medals while wearing the green of Ireland at the World Championships in Daegu doing Dunboyne AC proud in the process. Well done Michael.
*Club Person of the Year: Roisin Bell
On the track this year Roisin won a Leinster indoor Silver and Gold medal and 2 gold medals at the Leinster outdoor championships. At National level she won a silver indoor medal and she won a gold and silver in the outdoor version. Off the track she tirelessly and unselfishly makes a difference to our club and its members. She has been involved in most of the groups within the club at one time or other. She is involved in all the major projects within the club including the track development. She leads the communications team in the club and is involved in marketing and events. She was our 4 Mile race director this year and is a very well deserved winner of the 2017 award.
*Athlete of the Year Award: Emilia Dan
Emilia has won numerous medals at Leinster level. She is the National Half marathon champion. She is also the National Marathon Champion. Plus she is the National 10k Champion and to cap it off she also is the National Cross Country Champion. She is hugely popular with her club mates and is one of the most dedicated and inspirational people to ever enter our club. She is a sub 3 hour marathon runner and now an international athlete having represented Ireland last weekend. Emilia is a hugely deserving winner of Athlete of the year for 2017.
Congratulations to all our award winners on their achievements and a very enjoyable night was had by all.
