Star of the Sea Athletic Club provided us with a rare chance to field a Fit4Life Cross Country team when they added a Fit4Life section to Sunday’s line up. With 30 Fit4Lifers recovering from last week’s half marathon heroics, we were delighted to still muster up a ladies’ team and indeed an entrant to the Men’s race.
Orlaith Leane was the first brave warrior to step up for the challenge despite knowing the hill that awaited her there; but if her champion boys could do it, so could she! Orlaith quickly rallied fellow juvenile mothers Orla Brady (Norman) and Tara McCormack and they got on board in a spirit of solidarity with the kids as they kicked off their cross country season. They also knew about the hill so kudos to them for being game-ball regardless.
Kay Gilmartin, Fit4Youth mentor, declared her intention to try Cross Country, suspecting she was half-mad to even consider it. “You don’t know the half of it Kay, wait till you see the hill” we thought, but didn’t dare mention. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.
Tom Barry also declared his intentions for the men’s race and with his farming background we knew he was no stranger to running through the fields. We still didn’t mention the hill though as his farm is on the flat. Tom had to tackle 6km on this tough course and he ran a super race to finish in a time of 36.15. Well done Tom! Great going! Turns out Tom was the only Fit4Lifer (from any club) who was brave enough to step up for the men’s race, so hats off to you Tom. Unfortunately there were no individual Fit4Life prizes; just the team ones, but prize or no prize, you were first Tom!
There was a large Fit4Life entry in the ladies 3km race. Orla Brady (Norman) was 1st Fit4Lifer of the race, finishing in 44th place overall in a time of 16.24. Directly behind her Kay Gilmartin finished 2nd in a time of 16.51 (45th overall). Orlaith Leane was 7th in the Fit4Life section in a time of 18.23 (53rd overall.) Tara McCormack followed soon after taking the 12th Fit4Life spot in a time of 21.33 (58th overall). Again, there were no individual Fit4Life prizes, just a team prize up for grabs.
With Dunboyne AC claiming 1st, 2nd, 7th and 12th in the Fit4Life Section, yes you’ve guessed it…..WE WON first prize in the Fit4Life section. Congrats ladies! We were 9 points clear of Star of the Sea’s home team that claimed second place. Ladies’ Captain Emilia Dan collected the prize on behalf of the ladies for presentation at Tuesday’s training session.
What a result from a few Mammies and a Fit4Youth mentor willing to give it a bash and not take themselves too seriously! This is the second time in as many weeks that Fit4Lifers fielded a team of our best sports and walked away with the top prize. Who dares wins!
Massive thanks to our Juveniles, Fit4Youth, Senior clubmates and parents who supported our Fit4Lifers on the day. We reckon that’s how we gained the edge on Star of the Sea. They had home support but we had even better support! Much appreciated folks!
Well done to Star of the Sea on a great event and thanks for adding a Fit4Life section this year, making Cross Country more accessible to us.
