Thursday, November 27, 2014

Even Age All Ireland Cross Country - Dundalk 23 Nov

We had 9 athletes  scheduled to compete in the even age All Ireland juvenile cross country championships at DKIT on 23 Nov. While the course was relatively flat, the tough underfoot conditions and the red hot competition meant it was not a day for the faint hearted.

The day got off to a bad start when Ben Mahon had to withdraw due to illness but both Alex Hunter (30th) and Brian Kiernan (93rd)  put in solid performances and helped Meath win the county team championship. Our u 16 girls, Aine O Connor (32nd) and Niamh Gannon (113th) just missed out on a team bronze as Meath finished 4th county. Aine has not run a bad race all season and is really mixing it with the big guns early on while Niamh has done remarkably well for an athlete in her first season of athletics. Our under 12 girls found the competition tough but they all battled hard right to the line with Aimee Doherty finishing 51st, Ella Healy 78th and Lili O Connor 129th. Tom Kilgannon had the misfortune to fall at the start and was unable to continue but this is another of our young athletes that will have plenty of good days ahead. Not so young but equally as fit and talented is Joe, his dad, who had to carry the injured Tom to the first aid station after the mishap. Thankfully, both Joe and Tom are now fully recovered. Good to hear that Peter Kilgannon is also on the mend from his injury and hopefully we will see him back in action shortly - but not too soon.





Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Please note that there have been  repair works carried out on the track  at the start line today, Wednesday 26th November. As a result the track is closed for this evening. 

The adult tempo session which usually happens on Wednesdays on the track should take place on the roads for this evening 

Thank you for your cooperation

Monday, November 24, 2014

Change in training time’s starting from Tuesday 25th of November.

Tuesday's

5:30pm-6:30pm:     Under 11 (children born in 2004)  join the U10 group
6:30pm-7:30pm:     Under 8  (children born in 2007) move to out door training.
7:30pm-8:30pm:     Under 12 (children born in 2003) join the U13+ group

All other training times remain unchanged.

Please email ratoathathletics@gmail.com if you need more information.





Thursday, November 13, 2014

AAI Leinster uneven ages Cross Country Report

The  AAI Leinster uneven age cross country Championships were held in Adamstown on Sunday 9th November. Thankfully the rain held off for most of the races but the underfoot conditions were demanding following heavy rain over the preceding few days.

Our u 11 girls squad set the tone for the rest of the day with some tremendous performances. Sophie Quinn led the team home in sixth place and was ably supported by Aimee Doherty (16th), Eabha Toole Toole(30th), Amelia Campbell (32nd), Laura Kelly (42nd), Molly Keane (47th), Ciara Subrian Walsh  (77th) and Matilda Ruhan (99th). The club team finished second just behind Thomastown and the county team were also second to round off a great day for the girls.

We had four competitors in the boys u 11 and what we lacked in large numbers we made up in quality with outstanding runs from all four. Fionn Drummond (20th), Eoin Kane (27th), Harry O Connor (39th) and Kyle Witter (41st)  just missed out on medals with both the club and county placing fourth..

Karen Hayes placed 38th in a very competitive u 15 girls race despite running out of her age group and was a key member of the Meath county team that won the silver medals. Harry Haskin (61st) was another running out of his age group. Harry continues to improve with every race in his first year of regular cross country competition and is definitely one to watch for the future.

Aine O Connor just missed out on making the Leinster squad for the All Ireland when she finished 13th in the u 17 girls. Aine went out hard from the gun and stayed up with the leaders beyond half way and was only pipped for an individual medal in the closing stages. Aine has made huge improvement over the past 12 months and from the way she is going in training, there is even more to come from this dedicated and talented athlete.



The boys under 17 was a great race with Alan Monaghan winning out in the end. Despite only flying in from New York the previous day, Philip Marron took up the early running and ran his customary positive and gritty race to finish 8th and looks to have more in the tank for the nationals in Santry. After a slow start, Alex Hunter stormed through the field to finish 13th and along with Philip was a member of the Meath county team that took the gold. Alex will  also be another to watch in the nationals as we have not seen the best of him yet this season. I suspect he is reserving his best form for the nationals.  Hugh Kelly was 73rd in the mens intermediate which was a fine run especially in light of the fact he spent much of the day assisting with the juvenile teams rather than focusing on his own warm up.Its easy to see where Laura gets her talent from. It was also pleasing to see Ciaran Crowther (Ashbourne a/c), who occasionally trains with our group,  have such a good run in the u 17 boys and  score on the victorious Meath county team.

Well done to the local club for organising such a well run event especially in light of the inclement weather leading up to the day and thanks again to all the parents and coaches for travelling and supporting all the athletes.























Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Meath Awards Night- Sunday November 16th

A reminder that the Meath Awards Night will take place this Sunday at the Ardboyne Hotel, Navan. Tickets can only be booked by contacting Siobheal Cummins on 086 8540050 or by e-mail siobheal.cummins@gmail.com
Closing date is tomorrow Thursday 13th November, all ticket fees to be paid at training tomorrow night.
Ticket prices Adults €25, Children €10.

Update 0n Fones4Life Recycle Club Appeal

A total of 64 mobile phones have already been collected towards the club target of 350.

A big thank you and well done to all those club members that have already contributed -  Lili O Connor, Karen Hayes and Ciaran McCarthy have been particularly good in rounding up as many old mobile phones as they could get their hands on so if the rest of us could follow their great example we will hit our target in no time at all.

Don't put it on the long finger,go home and dig out those old mobile phones tonight and bring them with you to the next training session

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Traning Tonight

The 5:30 and 6:30 training sessions are cancelled tonight due to the weather and condition of the track. Training only for Gerry Finnegan's and Peter Doherty's Cross Country/sprint Group at 7:30 on the roads.

Monday, November 10, 2014

Adult Training Session Cancelled

The adult training session is cancelled tonight due to the weather and track condition.
Adult Training - Monday 10 November

This evening we will be running an 11 minute time trial. 
This will enable us to note current fitness levels and set individual time based goals for each of you to train against each week. 
We plan on doing this every 6 - 8 weeks to monitor how you are coming along.

The clock used for Saturdays 5k and 2k Club run is available to us to use.

The session this evening will be short but tough. Don't eat too close to the session if you can avoid it.

Warm up as normal and then when ready you set off with the goal of getting as far as possible in the 11 minutes. your distance will be noted and from this we will tailor your training plans to suit you.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Final Reminder: Ratoath AC Members Only 5K & 2K Fun Run

Ratoath AC Members Only 5K & 2K Fun Run:
5K/2K Event
10.30am/11.15am
Saturday 08th November
Fairyhouse Race Course
This is a FREE event exclusively for members of Ratoath AC only. This event is NOT open to the public. Participants will be timed, use of facilities and plenty of parking on the morning.
Any senior/F4L members running with their young children please run in the 2k event.
This is a great opportunity for all RAC club members to test themselves over the 2k or 5k distances? Venue is close to home and current weather forecast is looking ideal for running. Please park close to the turn styles (not main entrance gate) as possible and make your way to the race track on foot. 
We are looking forward to seeing as many club members as possible in Fairyhouse this Saturday...

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Leinster Even Ages Report


The Leinster even ages cross country took place at Avondale Forest Park, Co. Wicklow last Sunday, we were in luck again with the weather and the course was in great condition. The u10s got proceedings underway in the open race, Sophie Quinn had a confident run leading from gun to tape to win the girls race and she was followed home by Laura Kelly 10th, Niamh Murray 34th and Lily Nannery 46th. Harry O’ Connor was our only competitor in the boys race and he put in another good performance finishing 10th, this was a great experience for our under 10s who will compete again next week at the Leinster un-even ages.

The u12 girls were short a few regulars but they performed very well none the less finishing 3rd in the club event and 3rd in the County team event from a very competitive field of 139 athletes. Aimee Doherty led the girl’s home in 13thth followed by Ella Healy 18th, Lili O’ Connor 37th and Eabha Toole 41st, a good team performance with all four of our girls scoring for the Meath team. The u12 boys finished 6th in the club event but had the consolation of wining the County event with good running from Tom Kilgannon 16th, Oisin Kelly had another great run finishing 23rd, Fionn Drummond 56th, Kyle Witter 61st, Matthew Hayes 86th and Stephen Kiernan 95th. Kyle, Aimee, Eabha and Fionn were all running up an age and they will look forward to their u11 Leinster’s on Sunday.

The u14 boys put in another steady run, Harry Haskins finishing 56th, Darragh Casey 62nd, Fergal Kilgannon 81st and Matthew Buckley who has showed great team spirit this season 95th. We were unable to field an u14 girl’s team, Karen Hayes and Aoife Kelly performing well finishing 31st and 85th.

The u16 boys were also short a few regulars and were very unfortunate finishing just 5 points outside the medals in the club event, Alex Hunter had a solid run finishing 11th but was disappointed not to be further up the field, Ben Mahon had another good run finishing 32nd, Brian Kiernan had a terrific run in 36th and Harry Bailey who was also running up an age ran well finishing 57th. The Meath u16 boys’ team took the gold in impressive style in the Counties event and they will be strong contenders at National level.

We had three u16 girls competing; Aine O’Connor had another good run but was also disappointed not to finish further up the field in 18th, Niamh Gannon, Kate Byrne competing in their first Leinster Cross Country put in a solid performance finishing 66th and 67th. The girls county team finished 3rd.
Hugh Kelly competed for the Meath team in the Novice men’s 6k finishing 67th.


Well done to all our athletes who competed and congratulations to our athletes who have qualified for the Nationals at the end of November.

Pictures from the day on the link below: