Ratoath Athletic Club Leinster Relay Club of the year

Congratulations to everybody in Ratoath Athletic Club on winning the Leinster Relay Club of the year Award!!

This is a fantastic achievement and well deserved. Well done to all our athletes, Coaches and parents.

The Leinster Star Awards will be presented in the Seven Oaks Hotel, Carlow on Saturday the 21st of January 2017 at 7.30pm.

https://athleticsleinster.org/8-news/122-leinster-star-awards-2016

National Uneven Age Juvenile XC - Dundalk IT

Dundalk IT hosted the national uneven juvenile cross country championships on 11 December. We were again blessed with relatively good weather on the day which made for some fantastic racing.

Our under 11 girls squad of Cara O Sullivan, Sarah Forde, Kate Rafferty, Ciara Coroner Lauren Fewer and Niamh Murphy gave it everything in s super competitive field and will have all gained invaluable experience for the future. Amelia Campbell is probably the most improved female athlete in the club this year and she once again delivered with a fabulous 9th place in the girls u 13. Aimee Doherty, Laura Smith, Laura Kelly, Eabha Toole and Emily Heather all packed well to take a wonderful silver in the club team category - brilliant for all concerned (athletes, parents, coaches).

Matthew Hayes and Marcus Clarke found things tough in the boys u 15 but like our u 13 squad of Eoin Kane, Fionn Drummond and Kyle Witter, they battled hard right to the end and all have bright athletic futures ahead of them. Philip Marron has been ultra consistent this XC season and his 10th place in the u 19 boys represented another excellent run with Alex Hunter in close attendance (17th) and Ciaran Crowther having his best race of the season in 35th. The 3 Ratoath lads were the cornerstone of a battling Meath team performance and placed second behind a strong Dublin team.

National Cross Country Championship Sunday the 11th of December

Best of Luck to the 24 Ratoath AC athletes listed below who have qualified to compete for club and county this Sunday in the National Uneven Ages Cross Country Competition in Dundalk IT. This is a fantastic achievement for our club to have such a large group of athletes competing at the highest level in the country, well done to them and well done to their coaches U11- Hugh Kelly U13 +U15 Peter Doherty U19 Gerry Finnegan for all their time and effort put in to their athletes.

 U11 Girls

Sarah Forde, Cara O Sullivan, Kate Rafferty, Ciara Coroner, Lauren Fewer, Niamh Murphy

U13 Girls

Aimee Doherty, Amelia Campbell, Laura Smith, Laura Kelly, Eabha Toole, Emily Heather 

U13 Boys 

Fionn Drummond, Kyle Witter, Eoin Kane

U15 Boys

Matthew Hayes , Marcus Clarke

U19 Girls

Áine O’Connor, Niamh Gannon

U19 Boys

Philip Marron , Alex Hunter, Ciaran Crowther, Peter Kilgannon, Ciaran Quinn

National Even Age Juvenile & Junior XC Championships

The new custom built cross country course in Abbotstown was the venue for the national even age juvenile and junior championships on Sunday 27 November. Conditions were near perfect and yet again we were treated to some superb athletics.

Our under 12 girls team were first to toe the line. The entire squad of Sophie Quinn (1st), Laura Kelly (17th), Hannah Keogh (50th), Aisling Stratford (65th), Lily Nannery (84th) and Amy Forde (105th) ran out of their skin to win the club team silver medal. Well done to all athletes, coaches and parents. It was wonderful to see Sophie and Laura right in contention from the start leading out a field of over 200 athletes before Sophie gradually turned the screws and relentlessly pulled away for a fantastic individual win.

Some of our under 13 girls squad moved up an age and competed in the u 14 championship primarily to gain some experience for their forthcoming championships on December 11th. Teak tough competitors Aimee Doherty (29th), Amelia Campbell (38th) and Laura Smith all ran impressively and will be a force to be reckoned with in 2 weeks time when competing in their own age group.
Karen Hayes was our lone competitor in the u 16 and as always put in a tough shift while Aine O Connor (46th) and Niamh Gannon assisted Meath to a fine 4th in the u 18 girls county team category.

The boys u 14 squad were 9th in the club team. Matthew Hayes (44th), Tom Kilgannon, Oisin Kelly, Kyle Witter, Fionn Drummond and Stephen Kiernan  gave it everything on the day and are all developing nicely and are getting better with each passing season. The combined u 18 / junior field was frantic for the start with over 200 athletes in the field. Alex Hunter  is gradually getting back to his best and finished 13th in the u 18 category with Ciaran Quinn 91st. Six places on the Irish junior team for the European Championships were up for grabs so the junior race was ultra competitive. Philip Marron (14th)  and Ciaran Crowther (38th)  were both running up an age  and will no doubt put the experience gained to good use in in 2017. Our club team were 7th and Meath finished 4th in the county team.

2016 Leinster Juvenile XC Championships

Both the even and uneven juvenile Leinster XC championship's were held at Tyrellspass

Day 2 -  29 Oct

First up were the even ages on 29 October. Conditions were near perfect and we were treated to some first class athletics.

Sophie Quinn had a gun to tape win in the under 12 girls and she was brilliantly supported by Laura Kelly, Aisling Strafford. Hannah Keogh, Amy Forde and Lilly Nannery (love those pink stockings Lily) to take silver in both the club and county team titles. Aimee Doherty was not deterred running up an age in the u 14 girls and was in the leading bunch from the off. Aimee finished 8th with Amelia Campbell, Laura Smith, Eabha Toole and Ciara WalshSubiran all in close attendance with the club team placing 5th and the county, 3rd. Track specialist, Karen Hayes was our sole representative in the u 16 girls where she battled hard all the way to take 25th with the Meath county team 4th. Our golden oldies in the girls u 18 (Sorry Aine and Niamh) lived up to their name by helping Meath win the county team gold with Aine O Connor 16th and Niamh Gannon 35th. Its fantastic to have some young women representing the club in this age category.

The boys were determined not to be outdone by the girls. Eoin Kane and Stephen Walsh kicked off matters in the u 12 boys with 2 impressive performances. The sight of 9 Ratoath athletes competing in the u 14 was a sight for sore eyes and each and everyone of them gave it their all.Matthew Hayes, Tom Kilgannon (just back from injury), Oisin kelly, Marcus Clarke (running through the pain barrier with a sore toe), Kyle Witter and Fionn Drummond (running up an age), Stephen Kiernan, Ciaran Rogers and Killian Stratford combined to take the club team bronze. Meath county won the team gold. Adam Quinn was 57th in the u 16 and helped Meath take silver in the county team. Alex Hunter, Ciaran Quinn and Naoise Mckenna also combined well to assist Meath take the u 18 county team gold


Day 3 - 13 Nov

Our under 11 girls squad of Sarah Forde, Cara O Sullivan, Kate Rafferty, Ciara Coroner, Lauren Fewer, Niamh Murphy and Caoimhe Fitzsimons all ran mighty races with the club team finishing 4th and Meath also placing 4th county team. There were high expectations for our u 13 girls team and they did not disappoint as they edged out Mullingar Harriers after a titanic battle for the club team title. Amelia Cambpell (getting better with every race), Aimee Doherty, Laura Smith, Laura Kelly, Eabha Toole, Emily Heather and Ciara WalshSubiran  battled all the way for a hard earned victory. Meath were second in the county team.

Kyle Witter, Eoin Kane and Fionn Drummond did themselves proud in the u 13 boys with Meath taking bronze largely thanks to their combined efforts. Matthew Hayes  and Adam Quinn were our only competitors in the u 15 boys and again assisted Meath in placing second in the county team.. Our u 19 squad of Alex Hunter, Ciaran Crowther, Peter Kilgannon and Philip Marron won bronze in the club team category. Meath won County Gold. Philip had the added satisfaction of taking the individual gold after a great sprint down the home straight with Jack Boylan from Dunleer

Best of luck to all those that have qualified  for the national championships over the next couple of weeks.

U12-U16 training on road tonight

U12-U16 training group will be on road tonight as track is too wet. Both sprint and endurance groups please wear runners and rain gear. Meet at container before 7pm for hi-viz vest

Training

Training will be on the road tonight as the track is too wet, please bring runners and rain gear.

Meath Cross Country League Day 1

The first leg of the Meath Cross Country league begins this Sunday 6th November at 12pm in Navan Adventure Centre at the Navan Racecourse.
This is a development league aimed at introducing young athletes to cross country competition in a relaxed participation oriented environment.

http://www.meathathletics.ie/index.php/fixtures/4

Juvenile League Distances
Category	Distance
U9	600m
U11	800m
U13	1,000m
U15	2,000m
U17	3,000m

Good luck in the Marathon

One more sleep till Marathon day and now all the training is finished for the 11 Ratoath AC athletes who will be taking part in the Dublin City Marathon tomorrow
Best of luck to Mary Keily, Richie Smith, Hugh Kelly, Michelle Doyle, Keith Heffernan, Jen Sweeney, Sharon Dolan, Henry Fleming, Bram Jansen, Colm McDaid and Earle Doyle, we will be watching out for the Ratoath AC singlets passing the finish line, enjoy....

Leinster Cross Country Championships-This Saturday

Please find under entries for this Saturdays Leinster Cross Country Championships at New Forest Golf Club, Tyrrellspass, Co. Westmeath. The Championship starts at 12 noon with the u12 girls race.
The very best of luck to  all our athletes taking part.


Allow 65mins for your journey, can all u12 & 14 athletes be on the course for 11am.
www.newforest.ie

Course Map: 
Course map available for download here

U12 Girls		U12 Boys
Sophie Quinn		Eoin Kane
Laura Kelly		Josh Grogan
Hannah Keogh		Stephen Walsh
Lily Nannery
Amy Forde
Aisling Stratford
U14 Girls		U14 Boys
Aimee Doherty		Marcus Clarke
Amelia Campbell		Matthew Hayes
Eabha Toole		Oisin Kelly
Laura Smith		Kyle Witter
Emily Heather		Fionn Drummond
Ciara Walsh		Tom Kilgannon
		Ciaran Rogers
		Killian Stratford
		Stephen Kiernan
U16 Boys Adam Quinn.		U16 Girls Karen Hayes
U18 Boys		U18 Girls
Ciaran Quinn		Aine O' Connor
Alex Hunter		Aoife Reynolds
Ben Mahon		Niamh Gannon
Naoise McKenna

No Little Athletics school hall training tonight 25th of October,

Dear Little Athletics Parents,

There will be no Little Athletics training tonight Tuesday 25th of October, as the secondary school is not available to us. As the Halloween mid-term break begins this Friday 28th of October, there will not be any training on Tuesday 1st of November. Little Athletics training will resume on Tuesday 8th of November.

Regards,

Little Athletics Team    

Fencing erected around Ratoath Track

Eoin Clayton, with the assistance of two elderly club members (pictured) are currently erecting (Sat 15 Oct) fencing around our track to enhance health and safety conditions especially when athletics and rugby training times coincide. The lads are putting in a heavy shift and will be there for most of the day so if anyone wants to drop down with a flask of hot complan, multi vitamin tablets or some sandwiches it would be greatly appreciated

Sincere thanks to Eoin Clayton, Peter Doherty, Hugh Kelly and Ciaran Buckley for all their hard work on a wet and miserable Saturday morning.

Meath Cross Country Championships

The Meath even and un-even age Cross Championships took place over the past two weekends with Day 1 hosted by St. Andrew’s Ac Ashbourne and Day 2 by Fr. Murphy’s Ac Athboy. 

We had some terrific individual and team results on both days with all teams entered coming away with medals. On Day 1 the u10 boys took team gold for the second year running with a great run from James Kelly taking individual gold, good performances also from Harry Bogan, Gavin Witter, Liam Walsh and Conor Walsh. The u10 girls put in a great performance also finishing second in the team event with an individual bronze for Saoirse Corrigan. Sophie Quinn had a good win in the u12 girls 1500m and led her team to gold with a great score of 19 points, great performances also from Laura Kelly 4th, Hannah Keogh 6th, Lilly Nannery 8th, Amy Forde 9th and Aisling Stratford 12^th, all 6 girls finishing in the top 12. Unfortunately we could not field a team of 4 in the u12 boy’s event but Eoin Kane made up for that by winning his first Meath Cross Country title with an impressive run from gun to tape. 

Our u14 girls put in a fine performance seeing that our entire team were all moving up an age, Aimee Doherty finishing second with the girls also taking silver in the team event. Our u14 boys put in the team performance of the day taking team gold with Marcus Clarke, Matthew Hayes and Oisin Kelly securing the 1,2,3 on the podium followed home by Kyle Witter 6th Fionn Drummond 7^th and Ciaran Rogers, Killian Stratford, Stephen Kiernan 12^th,13^th & 14^th. 

Our u16 girl’s team of Karen Hayes, Aoife Kelly & Niamh Boshell were in the medals also finishing 3^rd over the 3.5k distance. Aine O’ Connor finished 2^nd in the u18 girls race and was followed in by Aoife Reynolds and Niamh Gannon to take 3^rd in the team event. Adam Quinn, Fergal Kilgannon and Harrys Haskins finished 3rd in the boys u16 team event.

Ciaran Quinn was our sole competitor in the u18 boy’s event after a few late withdrawals due to injury, Ciaran put in a fine performance over the 6k distance finishing 3^rd.

Our youngest club competitors kicked off the action on Day 2 with the u9 girls and boys securing their first cross country medals with bronze and silver in the team events. Our u11 girls put in another great team performance with great individual runs from Sarah Forde 2^nd, Cara O’ Sullivan 3^rd, Caoimhe Fitzsimons 4^th followed closely by Niamh Murphy, Ciara Coroner, Kate Raftery, Lauren Fewer Jane Dolan, Corina Wade and Sadhbh Kelly to take our first team gold of the day. Our u13 girls followed that performance taking another team gold with great individual performances from Aimee Doherty 1^st, Amelia Campbell 2^nd and Laura Smith 5^th. Great credit to Eabha Toole who fell at the start of the race, Eabha showed great determination to pick herself up making up big ground to finish 12^th which proved vital with the team only winning by one point. Good running also from Emily Heather, Ciara Walsh and Grace Conway. Our u13 boys just missed out on gold by a single point in the team competition with great running from Kyle Witter taking individual bronze, Fionn Drummond 5^th, Eoin Kane 6^th and Stephen Walsh 14^th. Marcus Clarke, Matthew Hayes, Oisin Kelly and Adam Quinn put in a good performance in a very competitive field finishing 3^rd in the team event. Last but not least our elder statesmen Philip Marron, Ciaran Crowther and Peter Kilgannon finished off the day in great style with a terrific individual gold for Philip and team gold for the lads in the junior men’s race, this will be a team to watch at Leinster and National level.

Well done to all athletes who competed over both weekends and best of luck to all who have qualified for Leinster.