Waterford Road Runners

Thursday 6th saw the start of the long awaited 2006 Road Runners Summer Series on the track. With entrants arriving early, debating what time to aim for and wondering whether the rough wind on the home straight would be a factor, the excitement was palpable. In the absence of baby-sitters plenty of runners brought their off spring along, so that one mammy minded the kiddies while the other ran, leaving no excuse for anyone to miss the night! With an entry of well over 30, it was decide that 3 races would be held as well as one 800m race at the end for anyone who still had legs up to the challenge!
With the 800m for the speedies at the end of the night, the first mile race was also for these whippets, with a total of 11 toeing the line.

Race 1
With the outcome of the top 3 spots determined almost as soon as the first lap was over, the excitement in this race proved to come from further down the field. Kevin Malone, recovering well from a recent ITBS problem (sounds worse than it is, we hope!?) shared the work with Brendan Aspel around and around the new track. At the finish it was Kevin's strength that saw him beat Brendan by a massive 5 seconds, taking 12s off his previous best. Brendan also shaved 5s off his best. Behind these the 2 Alan's battled bravely to the line with Alan Kavanagh getting the dip just right ahead of Alan Whelan. Exciting stuff!! Not far off these was the indomitable Con Kelliher, well ahead of an ever improving Brian Deveraux, Wayne Allen and newcomer Dave Percival of Menapians. Winners were Dermot Cummins, WWAC's U23 star, and WAC teammates Mark Langford and Brian Swaby.

Race 2
This race saw plenty of newcomers to the track. Unknowns James Crookes, Jamie Hawan and John Johnson battled it out against the more 'experienced' Albert Tebay (happy belated birthday!), Andy Dollard and Frankie Walsh amongst others. In the finish Jamie Hawan just stayed ahead of Albert to claim silver behind Adele Walsh, with Andy and triathlete John Brennan hot on their heels. Another battle to the line between former Winter League winner Peter Murphy and Frankie saw them draw on 6.02. More ladies then as Chelley Brennan held her spot to stay a hair's breadth ahead of Brea Cooke, who was followed in by Alan and John. Nest week should see more interesting battles here as all try to improve their spots.

Race 3
By far the most cagey of the races, this was an all lady affair, with Kathleen Moran and Claire Sexton starting 30s ahead of the chasing pack. And chase they did. The pack stayed together for the first couple of laps, gauging each other's strengths and weaknesses, before Honor Lynch and Mary Burke made a break for it. Next up was Valerie Tebay who also pulled away leaving Clare Doherty, Tara Walsh and Bernie Sexton, Kathleen and Deirdre Chapman vying for the remaining positions. All showed great strength against the wind to pick up the pace for the last lap and sprint for the line.

800m
Again, Dermot Cummins showed his track prowess by winning in an impressive 2.03 ahead of Niall Sheil of Slaney in 2.08. A great chance to get a good race in as Niall said, without having the burden of travelling to Dublin. After that the order of finishing went almost the same as the mile race, apart from Kevin Malone who acted as the rabbit for the first lap only to pull out after mis-judging the pace. Bet that won't happen again though! Besides the faster athletes, the regulars also toed the line here as people gave the distance a shot to see what they were capable of, and managed to have some fun too!

O'Regan run a great success
Last Wednesday night's run was deemed in aid of the O'Regan family fund. A great crowd turned out and were lead around the 5 mile route as a group by the omnipresent Fintan Walsh, whose instructions and craic on the loudhailer added to the enjoyment of the night. After the run, Maurice O'Regan thanked the runners for all the work they do in general and specifically for the donation from that night and previous night's contributions for the family.

Full results
Mile Race 1
Dermot Cummins 4.26
Mark Langford 4.41
Brian Swaby 5.04
Kevin Malone 5.10
Brendan Aspel 5.15
Alan Kavanagh 5.19
Alan Whelan 5.19
Con Kelliher 5.26
Brian Deveraux 5.38
Wayne Allen 5.51
Dave Percival 6.05

Mile Race 2
Adele Walsh 5.47
Jamie Hawan 5.54
Albert Tebay 5.57
Andy Dollard 5.58
John Brennan 6.01
Frankie Walsh 6.02
Peter Murphy 6.02
Chelley Brennan 6.33
Brea Cooke 6.03
Alan Crookes 6.07
John Johnson 6.21

Mile Race 3
Honor Lynch 7.11
Mary Burke 7.14
Valerie Tebay 7.21
Clare Doherty 7.26
Tara Walsh 7.29
Bernie Sexton 7.31
Kathleen Moran 8.04
Deirdre Chapman 7.38
Claire Sexton 8.15

800m
Dermot Cummins 2.03
Niall Sheil 2.08
Mark Langford 2.13
Brian Swaby 2.21
Brendan Aspel 2.29
Alan Kavanagh 2.30
Alan Whelan 2.31
Brian Deveraux 2.36
Con Kelliher 2.38
Adele Walsh 2.41
Wayne Allen 2.45
Dave Percival 2.48
Jamie Hawan 2.52
Brea Cooke 2.56
Andy Dollard 3.04

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