Un-even ages Cross Country Re-Run

Two races from the Uneven ages Cross Country are to be re-run in February, the following information is taken directly from the athletics Ireland website; "The re-run of the two races declared void at the uneven age group championships in Coleraine, boys under 13 and girls under 15, will take place in conjunction with the juvenile ‘B’ cross country championships at Lough Key, Boyle, Co. Roscommon, on Sunday 21st February 2010."

The athletes affected by this re-run are Conal Hayes and Seán Flanagan (both competing in the boys u13). The re-run of this event will greatly affect their training for the indoor and track&field season's but no doubt the boys will rise to the occasion. Best of luck!

Club Christmas Party

The Club Christmas party was held tonight (Thursday 17^th December) a night that was enjoyed by all who attended. The night started off with a basketball tournament followed by a small awards ceremony. Certificates were presented to Patrick Flanagan, Fiacra MacSuibhne, Julie Boyle, Conal Hayes, Sean Flanagan, Niall O’Sullivan and Erica Dixon for representing the club in the various National Championships throughout the past year. Vouchers were also presented to Conal Hayes, Julie Boyle and Niall O’Sullivan for their performances in these Championships. We ended the night with a male vs female sing-off. The males who chose ‘Jingle Bells’ were no match for us girls who chose ‘Santa Clause in Coming to Town’, There's always next year boys...

Training will resume on Thursday 7^th January.

Wishing everyone a happy and safe Christmas and New Year!

All Ireland Race Report - Sunday 22nd November 2009 Kilbeggan Race Course

The even ages All Irelands took place in terrible weather conditions. The course in Kilbeggan was tough and had a number of twists and turns, underfoot conditions were slippy but the Le Cheile athletes did their very best.

First up were Naill O'Sullivan and Conal Hayes, both boys competing in the U12, they were wet through as they were held in the cold and rain by the starter. Finally they got under way and both boys did their very best, unfortuantely on this occasion the Kidlare team were out of the medals. Niall and Conal will be running in Coleraine, Niall on the Leinster and Kildare team U11, with Conal on the U13 Kildare team.

Next to line up was Sean Flanagan and Fiachra McSuibhne, Sean was on the line and rearing to go when Fiachra showed up, thanfully with the help of Pat Hayes Fiachra got to the start, in a very tough race the boys did themselves proud, its hard to get up to the front when the middle is so bunched up, given the twists and turns in this course it made it quite difficult to pass anyone out. Both boys were on the Kildare team and again they were out of the medals, but they put in a good performance. Sean with also be running in Coleraine he is on the Leinster and Kildare U13 team.

The Girls u16 race was fantastic with Ciara Hewson claiming 5th place, Ciara was on the Kildare team. Well done Ciara.

The last juvenille race of the day was U18, Erica Dixon was on the kildare team along with atheletes from Naas, St Coca's and Newbridge, They were frozen to the core by the time they got off as they had endured 3hrs of rain. The girls were rewarded for their efforts with a bronze team medal. Well done.

In the Senior race and U23 you had Mark Kennelly and Alan O'Brien and Paul Robinson to name a few competing for Kildare as well as their respective clubs. Congratulations to you and best wishes to you in the forthcoming European CC, which will be held in Santry.

Many thanks to all the parents who supported the athletes on the day.

Leinster CC 8th November 2009

Results:
Girls U 11 Fina Hayes, Boys U11 Niall O'Sullivan 12th, Kildare Gold County Medal, Boys U13 Le Cheile Team 8th - Sean Flanagan 11th, Conall Hayes 44th, Daragh Nolan 52nd, Patrick Flanagan, Conor Keily, Kildare Team 3rd; Boys U17 - Conor Murphy 17th: Kildare Team 4th Niall O'Sullivan and Sean Flanagan both made Leinster Team for the Nationals:

Race Report;

The second round of the Leinster Cross Country was held in Tullamore, it was a well organised event. The ground was very soft (those of you who were there know exactly what I mean) and it was a bright sunny day. First off for Le Cheile and the only Girl competing was Fina Hayes; Fina had a good run and was feeling ok and was supported by her dad Pat. Fina finished in great style and brought some glamour to the photo's. Well done Fina. Kildare Team finished 6th and won't make it to the nationals time. Niall O'Sullivan was running u11, although he was nervous he got out ok but fell back slightly, however Niall has great speed and when he passed me I let a shout at him to move up and he finished in 12th place overall. He received an indv medal for his efforts and a Gold County Team medal. Well Done!
The U13 Le Cheile team were up next ;Sean got a great start and wasn't far off the leaders during the middle part of the race, he passed me with 250m to go and I gave him a shout hoping that he would push forward and secure a place on the Leinster team; next passed me was Conall he too pushed forward, he was closely followed by Darragh, next passed was Patrick (running out of age) and Conor brought the team home. Well done boys; it was a tough race but you did yourselves proud!
Conor Murphy was the last Le Cheile athlete running; he was moving up an age to run U17 and hoping for a place on the Leinster team, Conor had a great start his best one this season, he held he own with the leaders who wer in a pack of 11, they pushed on a Conor fell slightly adrift with 1k to go the pack broke again and Conor was is 20th position, he gave it his all and finished in a very respectable 17th position, he was the 3rd man home on the Kildare team who finished 4th and will go forward to the Nationals.

Congratulations to all of the athletes who competed in fine style for Le Cheile, many thanks to parents, Fiona, Anne, Paul, Pat, Martin and Colm who were fantastice support to their athletes. The All-Irelands un-even ages will be held in Coleraine University, Derry.

Dublin City Marathon 26th October 2009

Bank Holiday Monday saw a early start for Erica and I as we headed to the 14mile post to support Tony Brennan (Club PRO). Tony was running in his first Marathon. Tony had trained hard for this race, along with many others from the meet and train group. Tony had set himself a high target for this race - 3hrs. He had expected to reach the 14mile post at 10.36 precisly. Erica and I arrived to Kimmage at 9.00am and we waited for the lead group, they passed us just before 10.00am. Tony arrived bang on time - well 10.38 by me but I was about 150m further down from the marker. Tony looked very comfortable and even managed to flash a smile and a wave of his right arm. He was still with the 3hr pacer, Tony was right on track for his target of 3hrs. We waited on Sean O'Sullivan who was expecting to be 15mins behide Tony, Sean went past us in 10.48am so as this stage he was 5mins ahead of schedule. Another athelte that we were hoping to see was Jarleth, who when he passed also managed to give us a wave. I'm not sure what times Sean and Jarleth finished in but I'm delighted to tell you that Tony (legs) finished in a remarkable 2hr:59:50 - Congratulations Tony on your fantastic achievement ; Tony was supported along the route by his wife Noeleen and family.

Ultra Marathon

Congratulations to John O'Regan - John finished 4th in a 24hr race that saw him run 220k - This was his first attempt at this distance. Some could say he is mad! You will be happy to hear John is in one piece and delighted with his achievement. John is quick to point out that he couldn't have done it with-out Tony and the support of his family. Well Done!!! For a more detailed account please check out John's web page, you will find a link on this site.

Leinster CC 25th October 2009

Results;
U12 Boys - Niall O'Sullivan 16th, Conall Hayes 24th, Patrick Flanagan, Paul Maguire; Team were 9th over all. Kildare County Team were 4th; Niall and Conall scored on County Team
U14 Boys - Sean Flanagan 21st - Kildare CountyTeam were 3rd ; Sean scored on County Team
U16 Boys - Conor Murphy 13th - just missed out by one place for Leinster Team
U18 Girls - Erica Dixon 18th, Kildare County Team were 1st; Erica scored on County Team

Race Report;
The first round of the Leinster Championships was hosted by Adamstown,iCo. Wexford. This meant an early start for all those competing. We arrived in plenty of time and the course was well laid out. The rain held off and the races got under way at 12.00. First up was U12 Girls and Fina Hayes was running in this race, she headed for the line and had a great position in the middle of the pack. Fina ran 1000m and did well, unfortunately she was out of the medals on this occasion, but was still smiling at the end. Next up were the boys U12 team, they had a good start with Conall getting out early closly followed by Niall (out of age), Patrick and Paul. In a very tough race with 130 other athletes the boys did very well, Niall was first home for the Le Cheile team, followed closely by Conal, Patrick was caught up in the middle of the pack and came in 59th with Paul Maguire bringing the team home. Many thanks to Paul as he is recovering from an injury. Kildare County will decide in the next few days if they will send a team to the All-Irelands - If they do both Naill and Conall with be on the Kildare Team.

Sean Flanagan was competing in the boys U14 which is out of his age goup, Sean was not as nervous as normal and was looking forward to the race. Sean got out in the middle of the pack and was down in about 50th position when he was able to move steadily towards the top twenty. Sean had a great run and was very happy with his 21st placing. Sean was reward with a bronze County Medal and will represent Kildare County in the All-Irelands.

Conor Murphy was competing in the boys U16 3k, not having a club team Conor was hoping that the Kildare Team would qualify for the All-Irelands. Unfortunately on this occasion Kildare County were 6th. Conor had a great race and was very comfortable throughout, he thought he had done enough but he finished 13th, the top 12 make the Leinster team - so Conor just missed out. He was very level-headed afterwards saying "that's the way it goes". Hard Luck Conor!

Erica Dixon was the last Le Cheile athlete to run, again running 3k, Erica got out well but was unable to maintain her position, Erica finished 18th overall. Kildare County finished in First place, Erica received a Gold County medal and will represent Kildare County in the All-Irelands.

My thanks to the Fiona, Martin, Colm and Martina for their support on the day, thank you also to all the athletes who represented Le Cheile on the day. Hope you enjoyed yourselves and I think I got photo's of you all (Tony will attach). Next round un-even ages 8th November.