All posts in Meet & train

Pamela Cooper reports: Sunday 22nd meet & train 2 mile xc race no.3 of 4

Tbe Clonliffe A Team continue to  hold onto 1st place in team rankings. Yesterday race no. 3 was hosted by Lucan Harriers AC in Griffen Valley Park with some 144 competitors on tbe day.

1st home for Clonliffe was Ciara Peelo in 6th place followed by Aisling Andrews, Aideen Brady, Laura Kernan and  Brid Beausang for Clonliffe A. The Clonliffe B Team was lead home by Claire Roche, Ailish Patton, Orla Deignan , Yvonne McDonough and Mel Curran.

Individual Clonliffe athletes of the day were Emer Brennan and Sophia. Well done all.

The cross country action across all sections of Clonliffe Harriers continued today with some 16 athletes running in the first Meet & Train Cross Country race of the season held in Swords, hosted by Fingallians AC. There were three black and amber teams in the 2 mile race, lead home in 9th place by Brid Beausang in 9th with Catherine Dempsey in 10th snapping at her heels, next home in 15th was Emer Brennan, Jen Carpenter 17th and Aideen Brady 20th completing the A squad.

All the Clonliffe girls enjoyed good solid performances and were well up in the field of in excess of 100 starters. The Bs finished in a bunch as follows: 21st Claire Roche, 22nd Yvonne McDonagh, 23rd Emer Doyle, 27th Helen O`Sullivan, 29th Sue Kelly and 42nd Vice Captain Mandy McMenamy. The C team: 30th Evelyn Brennan, 48th Joann McCabe, 53rd Ciara O`Regan, 54th Caoime Cruise and 58th Katie Hennigan.

When the points were added up it revealed that the A team had placed 3rd with the B team 5th a great opening day for the group in pretty rough conditions. Well done to all.

After their heroics on the grass and mud in the Meet & Train cross country winter league, that yielded team Gold, for the A team, and bronze for the Bs, the ladies may have been forgiven if they took things a little easier in the Summer Road League. No such thoughts, however, for these Clonliffe athletes as tonight the set was completed. In the final league race in Irishtown the story had a silver lining as the ladies took 2nd place overall. Once again the performance was underpinned by the superb Bernadette Kiernan who finished 2nd tonight and with Laura Kernan an excellent 9th, Catherine Dempsey 12th and Evelyn Brennan and Ladies Vic Captain Mandy McMenany, running the perfect team race to place 40th and 41st, team silver was secured.

The Clonliffe Meet and Train group last night took up where they had left off. Having dominated the Winter Cross Country League (the A team were 1st and B`s 3rd) they took to the Summer Road League in style in Lucan for the 1st round over 5k, hosted by Lucan Harriers . Once again Bernadette Kiernan was top Clonliffe athlete with a fine 2nd place. They say that cream always rises to the top, well that certainly is true in the case of Kate Purcell, Kate was one of Clonliffe`s top junior distance athletes a few years back and since her return to the fold late last year she has impressed, yesterday another impressive run for 10th place. Next in was Catherine Dempsey 11th, Laura Kiernan 16th, Evelyn Brennan 58th, Mandy McMenamy 65th, Ciara Fagherty 89th. Well done all. Round no. 2, hosted by Brother Pearse in Sunday May 10th.

The Clonliffe meet and train group got their 2014 cross country season off to an excellent start at yesterday`s Dunboyne Mudfest. It was the first meet and train race of the Winter season and with the rain of the past weeks doing some serious damage it was an experience for all concerned.

Despite thick mud and puddles everywhere the Clonliffe ladies were not deterred with two teams and a total of 11 athletes taking to the start for the two mile test. Great performances by all with Louise Carracher in particular revelling in the conditions to put in a sterling day`s work and claim a very impressive 3rd place. With 3 Clonliffe athletes (Louise, Ailish Andrews 14th and Laoise Moggin 15th)  in the top 20 from over 130 starters it was a great start to the season and will give the group great confidence for the rest of the series.

Full Clonliffe: Louise 3rd, Ailish 11th, Laoise 15th, Catherine Dempsey 32nd, Jen Carpenter 43rd, Claire Roach 68th, Frances Logue 74th, Marie Ralph 78th, Mandy McMenamy 91st, Joanne McCabe 99th and Colette Corbet 114th.

Next Meet and Train race is Jan. 4th hosted by Brothers Pearse

The ladies captain reports on an “outstanding performance” by Laoise Moggan in this morning`s Meet and Train cross country race in Dunboyne. Laoise who has only been a Clonliffe Harrier now for a few months continues to make excellent progress and was a most impressive 10th place today leading the black and amber home. The rest of the group also put in sterling efforts: Emma Kelly 28th, Mandy McMenamy 76th, Elizabeth Kerns 81st and Patricia McGrath 89th.

Pamela cooper reports: Race No.2 in this year’s Summer Meet & Train Road Race Series took place on Wednesday evening in Irishtown. The race was hosted by local club Crusaders but it was for the second time Clonliffe Lady Bernadette Kearnan who took home the Gold medal over this extremely tough and hilly 3 mile race.

There were approx 100 female athletes in the race with a total 9 Clonlliffe Ladies on the start line. Second Clonliffe lady home in a superbly ran race was Caoimhe Cruise in 12^th followed by Niamh Kiely 24^th Emma Kelly 28^th Mandy McMenamy 60^th Deirdre Dunne 72^nd and Claire Byrne 94^th. The next and final four mile race of the Meet & Train Road Race series will take place on Wednesday 22^nd May in the Phoenix Park at 7.30p