Fit4Life: Overall standings after Race Four

Once again the turnout was huge for race four in this autumn's fit4life series. The one mile race was held along the "back avenue", cleveragh, with conditions very good underfoot due to the new walking surface laid down over the past 12 months. The leader board is starting to shake up now with athletes jostling for the top 10 positions. Please see below for top ten athletes after four races;
carty, caroline 76pts
regan, evan 101pts
smyth, neil 108pts
anderson, patricia 119pts
o'connor, vincent125pts
coyne, ciaran 137pts
higgins, pamela 145pts
whyte, emer 153pts
sheridan, liz 154pts
eglington, mary 154pts
Good luck to all athletes taking part in this weekends Connacht Cross Country Races in Ballinamore. For more information on this event please email slyouthfootball@eircom.net

Sligo Athletes record pb's in Dublin Marathon

Sligo AC's Mel Casserly continued his rich vein of form recently when recording a personal best in the 2009 Dublin Marathon. He completed the gruelling course in a time of 2.55.19 coming in at 184th place overall out of over 11,000 entrants. Sligo AC's Lucy Brennan ran to her usual high standard coming home in a time of 2.51.18; taking fourth place in the Irish Womens section (136th overall) whilst Gerry Higgins also recorded a personal best finishing in a time of 3.03.59. Well done to all who competed. Meanwhile Sligo AC's veteran Tom Meehan is continuing his preparations to represent Ireland after securing his place on the team in the Gerry Farnan Cross Country race held recently. All at the club wish him the very best in his endeavours. Ballinamore, Co. Leitrim is the location for Connacht Cross Country races this weekend with Sligo AC hoping to have athletes in the novice, intermediate and masters sections. For full list of athletes so far please click on the comments link below this post. For any athletes interested in entering these competitions please email slyouthfootball@eircom.net . There will be a bus leaving Sligo Garda Barracks at 10.30am on the morning of the race (Sunday 1st November) at a cost of 5 euro per head. Updated Fit4Life results will be posted shortly.

Sligo Athletic Club News

Fit4Life
The winter-time change this weekend means that it will be dark at 5.30pm from Saturday. As a result race 4 on Tuesday 27th changes to a mile road race starting at 6.30pm at Smyths Toys. Registration from 6pm at playground across from Smyths Toys Cleveragh. The course will be on the road starting at Smyths heading for the Sports Complex and turning left before the hill up to the complex and coming back along the pedestrian walkway to finish on the grass area beside the playground. Apologies to all for the inconvenience but we thought the time changed at the end of the month.
Training
Training will be at the VEC pitch across the road from the Clarion at 6.30 on Tuesdays (park in Sligo IT and enter from the back entrance. Do not park in VEC park please). Training will be at Smyths Toys at 6.30pm on Thursdays.Warm up on grass followed by hills.
Cross Country
Reminder of cross country for Connacht Masters (over 35 men and women) Novices and Intermediates on Sunday 1st nov in Ballinamore. Please let me know who is interested and we can arrange for a number of drivers rather than a lot of half empty cars travelling.The club will make a contribution to each driver to cover petrol cost. Anybody competing would need to be there at 1pm and allow an hour and a half for travelling. I suggest that all meet at the Garda Barracks at 11am. For more information you can email us at slyouthfootball@eircom.net

Fit4Life: Overall Standings after race three

regan,evan: 38pts
carty, caroline: 59pts
anderson, patricia: 63pts
eglington, mary: 71pts
conlon, martina: 72pts
smyth, neil: 78pts
o connor, vincent: 79pts
mulvihill, orla: 94pts
murphy, claire: 102pts
coyne, ciaran: 103pts

Once again the turnout was huge for race three in this autumn's fit4life series. The two mile race was held in the race course, cleveragh, with conditions good underfoot. After three races, Evan Regan has a good lead from Caroline Cary followed by Patricia Anderson and Mary Eglington. With five more events to go it is most likely that there will be changes with those outside the top fifty coming into contention. The next event over one mile will be on grass in the Racecourse at 6pm on Tues 27th October and then the rest of the events will be at 6.30 each evening on road. Please see previous posts for full details of all Races in this series.

Assistant Coaches Course

27 Coaches from Mayo/Sligo/Leitrim/Roscommon/Donegal and Fermanagh successfully completed an Assistant club course in Sligo on two successive Wednesday nights, 30th September and 7th October 2009. Sligo AC's Dermot McDermott, Michael Gilroy, Gerry Higgins, Rory Connor and Sarah Jane Boyce were amongst those present. Athletics Regional Development Officer Eamonn harvey was delighted with the turnout and thanked all the participants and their respective clubs for support.

Sligo Cross Country Season kicks off!

The County Sligo Cross Country Championships were held in Sligo Racecourse on Saturday last. Local Clubs were well represented with many good performances. It was a testing day with strong winds and some nasty showers but athletes showed their strength in all age groups. The next Cross Country meet is the Co. Sligo Primary Schools CC which takes place at Calry Community clubhouse on Saturday 17th October. All schools in the area have been notified of this event and entries should be submitted by 13th October. For more information please email slyyouthfootball@eircom.net This Competition consists of a Junior and Senior Race; Juniors third & fourth class boys and girls - Seniors fifth & sixth class boys and girls. A walking race for Boys and Girls will also be held on the day.

Ballina 4 Mile Road Race

The Vodafone C& C Cellular Mayo AC Open Road League continues on Sunday next 11th October with race 7 of the nine race series. The 'Terry Fox' 4 miler takes place at Ballina and is a one lap course starting and finishing along the autumnal splendour of Beleek Park.The 'Terry Fox' takes place annually at venues all over the world in support of the Terry Fox Foundation which raises funds for Cancer Research in memory of a brave young Canadian.The race will not have a prize fund as all money raised on the day will go towards the Terry Fox Foundation. Local man Michael Rice and his team of helpers have organised this race at Ballina for the past 17 years. Mayo AC are very happy to support the great work done by Michael in his fundraising effort.Start time 3pm. Entry €20 from 1.30pm at track clubhouse. T shirt for all finishers.- Enquiries Michael Rice - 087 6611975; Michael McGrath (Mayo AC) 086 8534729,

Race Results: October 4th 2009

Grange 10k. Well done to Martin Conroy (Sligo A.C) who set a new course record of 31.28 on the 10k course in Grange. Mary Cullen and Paddy Brennan (both North Sligo) had a titanic battle for second place with Paddy just stretching on the line to beat the Irish International athlete. Elsewhere in the field good runs by Neil Higgins, Michael O'connell, Tom Meehan, David Kearins and especially Mel Casserly ensured that the race lived up to its growing reputation. Full results to follow. Elsewhere in the Rathfarnham 5k Sligo A.C athletes did not fare as well. Dermot McDermott came home comfortably in 15.54 whilst Ultan McNasser ran 16.55 over the same distance.

Athletics Ireland Coach Education Courses

Athletics Ireland invites applications for places on the following Coach Education courses.• Level 1 course – Venues – Donegal and Sligo - 23rd/24th Oct and 6th and 7th Nov.
Level 1 Course in Donegal/Sligo
This is a qualification for coaches interested in working with children/young athletes between the ages of 11 to 15. The Level 1 course is linked to the ‘Training to train stage’ of athletics development. Level 1 Coaches focus on developing the young athletes fundamental physical skills in a fun environment. Coaching Course content includes:• Developing the techniques of running, jumping and throwing • Understanding the effects of puberty • Planning and conducting a training session incorporating running, jumping, and throwing • Developing a sense of fair play, discipline, confidence, concentration • Developing the sport specific running, jumping and throwing skills fundamental Duration: (25 hours)
Entry Requirements: Level 1 is open to those who have completed an Athletics Leader Course/Assistant Club Course/ or an Introductory level athletics course. Assessment/ Qualification: The Level 1 Coaching badge is awarded on the basis of• Attending/participating in the • Sample training session[s] • Observed Practice • Oral assessment Cost: €100 – includes L.1 Coaching Manual and support materialVenue[s] – Donegal and Sligo venues
Dates Fri 23rd/ Sat 24th Oct. Fri 6th Nov/ Sat 7th Nov
Time –Friday evenings - 6.30 -10pm and Saurdays 9.30am -4.30pm
Applications to Eamom Harvey, Athletics Ireland, Regional Development Officer, Drimark, Donegal Town email eamon@athleticsireland.ie Mob 087 2797548