Accommodation and entry details

EXPRESS BY HOLIDAY INN: OFFICIAL HOTEL PARTNER FOR ATHLETICS NI & ULSTER ANTRIM EVENTS

Below is the information on the negotiated sponsorship deal with the Express by Holiday Inn Antrim for the NI & Ulster Senior Championships on 14th June (online entry is now LIVE for this event) and the All-Ireland Juveniles on 5th-6th July.

This hotel offers the most competitive rates and is likely to book out very quickly, especially in the summer dates. However, there are a range of hotels etc in the area- see downloadable document for further information.

THERE IS A DEDICATED SECTION FOR THE ALL-IRELAND JUVENILE CHAMPS UNDER FIXTURES AT WWW.NIATHLETICS.ORG

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT THOSE BOOKING MUST QUOTE ‘ATHLETICS NI’ OR THEY WILL NOT AVAIL OF THE CHEAPER RATES- THIS IS ESSENTIAL!

· Junction One International Outlet Shopping, Ballymena Road, Antrim, BT41 4LL. Tel: 0870 890 9977
W: www.hiexpressantrim.co.uk E-mail: antrim@expressbyholidayinn.net Total number of rooms: 90 (all ensuite)

This newly opened hotel, 20 minutes away from the pulsating heart of Belfast City Centre and just beside Northern Ireland’s largest International Shopping Outlet, has been designed with the modern leisure traveller as well as the corporate business professional in mind. The hotel provides contemporary facilities with a relaxing atmosphere, ensuring a memorable stay for guests. All public areas and guest rooms are fully air-conditioned and with 90 stylish ensuite bedrooms and 4 state-of-the-art meeting rooms, Express by Holiday Inn Antrim will exceed your expectations and more. Guests can enjoy the inviting atmosphere of the hotel bar and a limited but delicious dinner menu. Less than 10 minutes away from Belfast International Airport and a few minutes from Antrim Forum, the hotel prides itself on its vibrant friendly approach, where every visitor is made to feel at home.

Please find below details of our rates for the Athletic NI dates only.

* Bed & Breakfast - £ 27.50 (€35) per person including full cooked Irish Breakfast (based on 2 sharing)

* x1 night package (as above, including full cooked Irish Breakfast & evening meal) £37.50 (€48) per person sharing (based on 2 sharing)

* x2 night package (including full cooked Irish Breakfast & x2 evening meals) £75 (€95) per person sharing (based on 2 sharing)

All above rates are subject to availability.

Please quote ‘Athletics NI’ on phoning hotel reception to avail of these special rates.

SPECIAL OFFER * * * ON ARRIVAL EACH GUEST WILL BE PRESENTED WITH A JUNCTION ONE DISCOUNT VOUCHER BOOKLET, ENTITLING THE GUEST TO FANTASTIC DISCOUNTS AT THE OUTLET SHOPPING CENTRE.

Antrim Hotel Rates

Clare McCoy

Marketing & Communications Officer

Athletics Northern Ireland

T: 02890 602707

M: 07841804032

www.niathletics.org

Berlin 2009 – the Sporting Highlight of the Year!

Event Information

Berlin is looking forward to the greatest international sporting event of 2009 when from 15 to 23 August 2009 the Olympic Stadium and the very heart of the great city will play host to the world’s top athletes battling it out in 47 competitions to anoint the new world masters.

The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics will offer nine days of unbroken passion, emotion and fascination, spills and thrills, victories and defeats and world-class entertainment. No wonder that these Championships for the key Olympic discipline are the world’s most important sporting mega-event second only to the Olympic Games themselves and football’s World Cup.

Be there yourself right in the thick of the action and experience the unique atmosphere of the legendary Olympic Stadium with its distinctive blue track when the best athletes in the world take you on an unforgettable roller-coaster ride of emotion.

Brochure

Tickets are on sale
* from 2nd April 2008 on the Internet at: www.berlin2009.org,
* or from the Ticket Hotline +49 (0)1805 1 2009 1
* and at all authorised ticket agencies.

Final reminder of Connacht Development Squad to be held this Sunday in IT Sligo from 12pm-2:30pm.

All athletes selected on squad are invited to attend. Format will be similar to previous get-togethers, starting with a talk, followed by a coaching session.

For futher info contact Athletics Ireland Regional Development Officer Paul McNamara @ paul@athleticsireland.ie or 0872693675.

Race-walkers warm up in advance of training session at Connacht Squad day.

Marathon Workshop, Saturday 17th May, Mardyke Arena, Cork.

Programme:

2.00pm - Registrations
2.15pm - Marathon Injuries & Prevention
3.00pm - Marathon Nutritional Strategies
3.45pm - Tea/Coffee Break
4.00pm - Planning for Race Day
4.45pm - Conclusion

The workshop will include three presentations relevant to Marathon Training. To begin Freda Davoran (Physical Therapist) will discuss common injuries associated with Marathon training and also the very important prevention measures that can be taken. Tom Hill an exercise physiologist from UCC who has worked with numerous endurance athletes and their nutritional needs will discuss the importance of fuelling and hydrating in both training and on race day. Following a short break former Olympian Gillian O Sullivan will discuss the various ways one can prepare both physically and mentally for race day. After each presentation there will be a questions and answers session for 15 minutes.

Places are limited, therefore to avoid disappointment please contact Joe O Connor (Athletics Ireland RDO) on joe@athleticsireland.ie or 087 6335565 to confirm attendance. There will be a €5 charge on the door

The main focus of international competition this weekend moves onto our racewalkers who are competing in the 23rd IAAF Race Walking Cup in Cheboksary, Russia, on May 10th and 11th.

This is an excellent opportunity for the athletes to gain some top class competition against the very best walkers in the world. The vast majority of the Beijing contenders will be present and this will give a very good indication as to how the Irish walkers have progressed over the winter and give them an indication of how their training is going.

Olive Loughnane is our only competitor in the women’s 20K and she is currently in excellent form. She finished 6th in a Grand Prix race recently in Portugal where she posted her second fastest time ever. It was in Cheboksary in 2003 that she actually set her PB so she will be hoping to have a similar reult again.

Robert Heffernan and Jamie Costin are both entered in the men’s 20K. Robert has had some slight disruptions to training but the overall trend is very encouraging. He had a very strong 20K in Mexico recently and is clearly benefitting from training with Francisco Fernandez who will be one of the favourites to take the individual title. Jamie will use this race as part of his continuing preparation for the gruelling 50K challenge that he will undertake in Beijing.

Colin Griffin is our lone entrant vin the men’s 50K. Colin is another who has been training well recently despite a few niggling injuries. He spends most of his time in Italy under the guidance of Italian guru Sandro Damilano and enjoys training with members of the Italian team.

Paul Fitzpatrick from Shercock AC will compete in the junior men’s 10K. He raced very well in the European Cup last year and will have one eye on the World Junior qualification standard in this race.

The junior women will have a team of Laura Reynolds, Mohill AC and Donna Carolan of Sli Cualainn. Laura will also be hoping to get inside the World Junior standard while Donna will gain valuable experience in what is her first venture into serious international competition.

Update

With three races of the Leinster league already held, Barry Minnock (Rathfarnham) already has three wins to his credit. The first race of the series was on Bray Head and Barry led home 226 finishers. Mountain-biker Jenny McCauley (Sli Cualann) was first woman.

A week later in Howth, Barry led home 179 runners and Aoife Joyce (Crusaders) was first woman. This week on the Hellfire, there were 208 finishers with Barry and Mags Greenan (Clonliffe) the individual winners.

In between, there was the Irish versus Northern Irish mountain running associations challenge in the Cooley mountains north of Dundalk. IMRA had a narrow win with Neil Carty (NIMRA) and Aisling Coppinger (IMRA and Clonliffe) the individual winners.

The trail for this year’s European championships is in Wicklow on 21st June. Contact Gerry.Brady@imra.ie for information. Signs are that some of our top cross-country runners will be making their debut on what is a very flat and fast course. The European masters will be held a week later on June 28th in Switzerland where Mags Greenan and Martin McDonald (North Laois) will be heading the Irish challenge.

Gillick happy with progress so far

Ireland’s Olympic athletes have been in warm weather training this week in Monte Gordo, Portugal at an Athletics Ireland camp as part of their preparations for this summer’s Olympics in Beijing.

All of Ireland’s top athletes have been working out at the camp including Derval O’Rourke, Paul Hession and Joanne Cuddihy as they hope to fine tune their performances looking into a long summer of competition.

European Indoor Champion, David Gillick, was also out in Portugal and has been very happy with how it is going. “I have been out here since Saturday and it has been great. There is a good buzz around and it’s very relaxed around the place as it’s not often we get a chance to go away as a group and not have the pressure of competition”.

While the camp has been a good getaway for Gillick he is focused on China. “Everything is going well for Beijing so far. I was in LA with my Loughborough training group for 5 weeks and I will be going back to the UK after this to keep up the preparations. After that I should hopefully get back into competition around early June and then it’s the final run into the Olympics,” Gillick said.

Athletics Ireland’s Olympic Team Manager, Patsy McGonagle, has been impressed with the standard of the camp. “There is a great atmosphere at the training camp and the athletes have come here for a specific training period to get them ready for what will be a long tough season,” McGonagle said. “The facilities and medical back-up we have here is excellent and everyone is in a real positive mood, which is great to see.”

While this has been a build up to Beijing for some of the athletes, there are others in the group who still have an eye on qualification. McGonagle believes this camp will have been a huge help to them. “The likes of Liam Reale and David Campbell are two athletes who should have a good chance of making the A standard for China in what is a tough qualifying time. They are two hugely dedicated athletes and this couple of weeks will be of great benefit to them both,” McGonagle said.

Saturday at Irishtown - Monte Gorde Training Camp

By Frank Greally

The Track & Field season gets underway this weekend at Irishtown Stadium in Ringsend, Dublin when the traditional G.V Ryan/ Louis Vandendries Trophy meeting takes place at 5pm on Saturday evening. This promotion organised by Crusaders Athletic Club is this year run in conjunction with the AAI Games & Senior Relay Championships of Ireland.

This will be an early season form gauge for many club athletes who will compete across a wide range of events. The recent warm weather should help swell entries in both the track and field events and the stadium in Irishtown is an ideal venue for this first big meeting of the season.

Meanwhile, most of Ireland’s Olympic hopefuls have been working out over the past two weeks at a special Athletics Ireland organised training camp in Monte Gordo, Portugal . Athletics Ireland Olympic Team Manager, Patsy McGonagle has been impressed with the training sessions of athletes like Paul Hession, David Gillick, Derval O’Rourke, Joanne Cuddihy, Fionnuala Britton and Olive Loughnane who have all achieved the A qualifying standard for Beijing.

“The is a great atmosphere at the training camp and the athletes have come here for a specific training period to get them ready for what will be a long tough season,”Patsy McGonagle said. “The facilities and medical back-up we have here is excellent and everyone is in a real positive mood.”

The Irish athletes have also enjoyed the company of the Meath GAA County Team who have also travelled to the same training area. “It just goes to show how professional things have become across the board in Irish sport and it is great to see the Meath players going through their paces as well as our Olympic bound athletes,” Patsy McGonagle said.

McGonagle has also been impressed with a few other Irish athletes who have attended the training camp in the hope that a fortnight of intensive training will help their chances of achieving an A qualifying standard for Beijing. “David Campbell and Liam Reale are two athletes who should have a good chance of making the tough Olympic qualifying standard,” Patsy McGonagle said. ”They are both very dedicated athletes and this few weeks will have been a big help to them both.

The Irish athletes return home from Portugal on Monday.

The closing date for the 2008 Champion Sports Cork City Marathon is fast approaching. Already thousands of entries have been received for both the marathon and the marathon relay and this years marathon looks set to be the biggest in Cork since the 1980’s.

The marathon relay was a big success last year with West Waterford Athletic Club winning the race. Marathon Relays Teams can be made up of between 2 and 5 athletes, men or women. There are 5 legs in the marathon relay varying in length from 4 to 7 miles so there is a leg suitable for all athletes and all abilities. The relay works with athletes passing on a wrist band to their relay partner. Last year in the relay, there were athletic club relay teams, family relay teams, charity relay teams, community relay teams, all of who enjoyed the chance to participate in the marathon experience without having to run all 26.2 miles.
However, if you do want to be part of the marathon experience by running all 26.2 miles, this is the marathon for you - the course is relatively flat - helpful to anybody looking for a fast time or doing it for the first time.

The 2008 route is essentially the same as the 2007 route and will again incorporate the Jack Lynch Tunnel.

The 2008 Champion Sports Cork City Marathon will take place on Monday, June 2nd. Closing Date for Entries is Friday May 9th
Athletes and relay teams can enter online on - www.corkcitymarathon.ie.

For further information and enquiries, contact us : Event Manager, Gina Johnson, Cork City Marathon, City Hall, Cork.
Email: info@corkcitymarathon.ie.

800 Mtrs Development Races - 600m Ranking List - Results

800 Mtrs Development Races

Wednesday May 14TH At Irishtown Stadium Ringsend

WOMENS RACE AT 8.10 PM.

MENS RACE AT 8.25PM.

CASH PRIZES 1ST THREE IN EACH RACE. PLUS PACEMAKERS.

ENTRIES CLOSE ON MONDAY MAY 12TH

ENTRIES TO JIM DAVIS TEL 0879537637 OR 0868538750 E MAIL coachjdavis@hotmail.com

ENTRY FEE 8 EUROS PER RACE

RACES SPONSORED BY RAWLPLUG IRELAND AND DUBLIN ATHLETICS BOARD

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Following on from David Mc Carthy’s time of 1.17.42 at the first Irish Milers Club meeting of the year, a number of Ireland’s athletics statisticians are compiling a list of top 600m performances over the years.

If anybody has any official times that they wish to add to this list, please forward them with the athlete name, date of performance, location of performance and time to Garrett Coughlan (gar@sportsmanagementireland.com)

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BUSA track and field championships

1,500m final
7 Rose-Anne Galligan St. Mary’s 4.25.61

Discus Final
4 Jermery Harper Ulster 47.01

Athletics Leinster Novice and Masters Road Race Results

Superstar Carolina Kluft for Cork - Coaching Vacancy in New Zealand

Olympic gold medallist and triple world champion for the heptathlon, Carolina Kluft from Sweden will compete in the long jump at the 57th.Cork City Sports which take place at the Mardyke on Saturday, 12th.July.

The twenty five year old Swede has completely dominated all her rivals over the heptathlon event since her teen years when she became World Junior champion in Santiago, Chile in 2000 and retained her title two years later in Kingston, Jamaica.

Her first European title came also in 2002 while still a junior as she won gold at Munich and repeated the feat when successfully defended her title in Goteborg, Sweden four years later.

She became World Outdoor champion in Paris in 2003 while just 20 years of age and was again crowned champion at the subsequent World Championships in 2005 at Helsinki and last year in Osaka where she established her lifetime best score of 7032 points, a new European record.

Not surprisingly Kluft had little difficulty in winning Olympic gold in Athens in 2004 scoring 6952 points. But as she has by now achieved everything possible in the world of multi-event competitions she has opted not to defend her title in the next Olympics but rather compete in her strongest individual event, the long jump, for which she has a personal best of 6.97 metres.

Carolina Kuft has been equally successful in the indoor arena having won gold in the pentathlon at the 2003 World Championships in Birmingham and also at the 2005 and 2007 European Championships.

Kluft has proved her versatility by annexing a bronze medal at the 2004 World Indoors with a 6.92m. jump and has also a high jump best of 1.95m.

The very popular and affable Carolina Kluft will surely prove to be a big hit with all sports fans when she competes in Ireland for the first time at the Cork City Sports next July.

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ATHLETICS COACHING in New Zealand

Applications are invited for several professional Athletics coaching positions.

1. Head Coach – a full time, salaried position to take control of all coaching activities and manage coaches. This will include being a Head Event Coach in a specialized area.

2. Head Event Coaches – several full or part time, salaried positions to take control of coaching in a specified discipline. Successful applicants will form a team that will between them cover all the event areas of sprints, hurdles, distance, jumps, throws and combined events. Their athletes will include those at Olympic and World Championships level, and groups in the Development Programme.

Remuneration packages and working hours will be negotiated.

NorthSport Academy provides Athletics Coaching services from Sovereign Stadium within the Millennium Institute of Sport and Health, at North Shore City, Auckland, New Zealand. World class facilities include a Rekortan surface 400m track with all event facilities, a Mondo surface indoor sprint, hurdles and jumps sports hall that includes weights, circuits and other conditioning areas, a separate throws training area, swimming pool and office and IT areas. Coaches will work beside leaders in sports science, research, medical services and other sports high performance personnel in the Millennium Institute.

Present Academy coaches all are, or have been, part of Athletics New Zealand National teams and coaching programmes.

North Shore City (population approx 230,000) is the Northern side (across the harbour bridge) of Auckland , New Zealand’s largest city. Features of North Shore City are quality housing, excellent schools and many surf and swimming beaches.

Applicants should include their full CV, explaining both competitive, if appropriate, and coaching, experience and qualifications and include references. Deadline June 14th, 2008
For further information ring (+64) 9 447 2035 or (+64) 21 190 3551 or e mail to athletics@institutesporthealth.org.nz

NorthSport Academy coaching services are provided to Bays Cougars, New Zealand’s most successful Athletics Club. Visit their website on www.bayscougars.co.nz

World Junior Standard for four juniors

Some tremendous competition at the Munster junior and under 23 championships at the Cork IT track today saw four athletes add their names to the list of qualifiers for the World junior championships which take place in Bydgoszcz Poland from 8-13 July.

Kalyn Sheehan from Ferrybank got the show under way when she ran a super race to win the 400m hurdles in 60.29.

The women’s 100m final was won by Niamh Whelan from Ferrybank in a nippy 11.80, with Joan Healy from Bandon chasing her home in 12.04 - the exact qualifying standard. The wind reading was a legal +1.5. Niamh has already qualified in the 200m. Eilish Fitzpatrick from Gneeveguilla was third just outside the standard with 12.08.

Niamh also won the 200m in 24.27, inside the qualifying standard, but the wind reading was +2.1.

The fourth qualifier came from Mairead Murphy who won the 100m hurdles in 14.16, and once again the wind behaved with a legal +1.7.

Christopher Russell from Ferrybank completed the men’s sprint double, winning the 100m in 10.86 (+2.6) and the 200m in 22.14 (+2.1), with David Quilligan from Leevale second in both.

Timmy Harrington from Bandon won the junior long jump with a PB of 6.90m, but there was no wind gauge in operation.

Running as a guest Marion Andrews won the 400m in 55.42, while Liam O’Brien from Togher won the 400m in 50.94, just ahead of Cathal Owens with 50.96.

Pamela Hughes qualifies for World Junior championships

Pamela Hughes was in top form at the British Universities championships in Bedford, finishing joint second in the high jump with a new PB of 1.80m, and that qualifies her for the World Junior championships in July.

In the US Andrew Ledwith smashed his 10,000m best time when he clocked 28:57.18 in Stanford

Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational Stanford, California
10,000m
14 Andrew Ledwith Iona College 28:57.18
5,000m
6 Roisin McGettigan New Balance 15:58.64

MAAC Championships Rider University
5,000m
1 Baker, Ashling Iona 18:11.92
10,000m
1 Baker, Ashling Iona 37:42.80

BIG EAST Jumbo Elliott Track At Villanova Stadium, PA
5,000m
8 Breffini Twohig SO PROVIDENCE 17:23.62

BUSA Championships Bedford
High jump
2 Pamela Hughes Brunel 1.80
1,500m Heats
3 Rose-Anne Galligan St. Mary’s 4.32.11 Q
6 Sara Treacy Birmingham 4.33.95
Discus
1 269 Jermery Harper Ulster 44.98 Q

Northwest 10k

Edmund O’Halloran (Rochestown College) and Patrick Maher (Davis College Mallow) who dead-heated for first place in the 100m hurdles at the South Munster schools championships

Pictured is the presentation for the West Waterford Athletic Club athlete of the month award for March to Raivis Zakis monthly winner.Making presentation is John McNamara of Comeragh Crystal The Mews Dungarvan (sponsors) .

Successful first meet of season at Irishtown

(Rooney (352) leads Murray and Merrien with Chesser behind. Photo Credits: Paul Cummins)

The Irish Milers Club got off to a fantastic start to the year with 50% of the men’s 3000m field running new personal bests and some great performances in the men’s 600m and women’s 1000m in the first meeting of the year sponsored by Nike in Irishtown Stadium. Conditions were almost perfect on the night as the wind died down, the Rolling Stones and REM played in the background and the crowd gathered anticipating some good races. The 3000m field started off at a brisk pace behind pacemaker Brian Farrell with Gary Murray, Colm Rooney, Aidan Bailey, John Coghlan and Lee Merrien in the lead pack. Going through 1500m the clock read 4.05 with the field now whittled down to the four of Murray, Rooney, Merrien and Chesser. Murray took on the pace for two laps before moving aside to let Rooney take up the reins ahead of Merrien. Going into the final lap all three athletes were still together with Chesser and Fintan Mc Gee chasing hard. With 300m to go, Merrien, a twice Commonwealth Games representative, made his move with Rooney tracking him and Murray still in close attendance. With 200m it was a two horse race with Merrien and Rooney generating huge excitement amongst the appreciative crowd. Rooney unleashed his trademark kick in the final 150m to win comfortably in a new personal best time of 8.10.82 and Merrien in 8.12.91. Murray opened his season well with an 8.15.63 with Chesser just holding off the fast closing Mc Gee as they both set new personal bests. Other athletes to run personal best times on the night included Gary O’Hanlon, John Coghlan, Eoin Flynn, Dan King and James King.

(Pacer Nic Hogan leads David Mc Carthy (367))

The 600m was equally exciting as David Mc Carthy whizzed around a lap and a half of Irishtown stadium in a new record time of 1.17.42. Pacemaker Nick Hogan took Mc Carthy through 400m in 50 seconds with Mc Carthy clipping his heels!! However he struggled slightly down the final 100m but still recorded an excellent time. Conor Healy finished second after just holding off Anthony Leglio (1.20.63 to 1.20.85) with other good performances by the rest of the field who all committed themselves to a fast pace.

(Kerry Harty wins the IMC 1000m)

Kerry Harty has been a great supporter of IMC races over the past two years and is finally showing some of her enormous potential after long periods of injury. She followed the pace for the first two laps, going through 800m in in 2.12. A tough final 200m brought her through in 2.47.65 to finish ahead of Aoife Byrne in 2.50.85 and Ciara Durkan in 2.53.22 as all three athletes went for fast times. Susan Byrne and Louise Reilly just missed out on breaking the three minute barrier in what was one of the biggest fields for an IMC women’s race in a number of years.

Overall this was an excellent start to the season for many athletes and the Irish Milers Club. There were nearly as many athletes watching the races as there was competing and we would encourage athletes of all standards and ability to join the IMC and get involved in the races and the organisation. Our next meeting is been held at the Irish Schools on May 31st where there are two men’s 1500m and a women’s 800m. The men’s 1500m A race is currently been set up as an Olympic A standard attempt by our top 1500m athletes. Entry is now open by emailing Garrett Coughlan (gar@sportsmanagementireland.com). Full details and results of the meeting are on the Irish Milers Club Website www.irishmilersclub.com.

Dr. Garrett Coughlan,

+353 (0) 87 13 13 146

gar@sportsmanagementireland.com

Olympic Medallist Beckford seeking third Cork win.

Olympic silver medallist James Beckford will be seeking his third consecutive victory when he competes in this year’s 57th.Cork City Sports on July 12 at the Mardyke. The popular Jamaican confirmed to the organisers last week that he will be back in Cork as part of his competitive preparations for the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Two years ago Beckford set a new meeting record of 8.19 metres breaking the old mark of current Olympic champion, Dwight Phillips.

Beckford achieved his career best jump of 8.62 metres back in 1997 but last year showed much of his old competitive spark by jumping 8.37 in Warsaw and making the World Championship final shortly after another victory in Cork with a 8.09m. leap, with the leading three jumpers all over 8 metres.

The Jamaican is also an outstanding triple jumper who has jumped 17.92 metres but in recent years has concentrated solely on the long jump winning silver medals in both the World Outdoor and Indoor Championships and narrowly missing out on the medals at the recent World Indoors in Valencia.

He opened his 2008 outdoor season with a win in Miami recently where he jumped 7.70m into a gale force headwind.

England Under 20 Entry details - Ballyhaunis 8km Road Race cancelled

Athletics Ireland will not be sending a team this year to the England Under 20 Championships on the 21/22nd June. This is due to an international fixtures issue with Athletics Ireland having to organise to European Cup in Estonia & Portugal and Mannheim Junior International team also on the 21/22nd June. Athlete’s who wish to compete in the England Under 20 Championships are advised to download the entry form at the link below.

Closing date for entries for England Under 20 Championships is 25th May. The nearest airport to Bedford is Luton. Accommodation can be organised by Linda Lake on 00 44 1543 481 338 or WGT on 00 44 121 745 1001.

Entry Form & Details

Ballyhaunis, County Mayo 8km Road Race scheduled to take place on Monday next, May 5th has been cancelled due to the tragic death of a son of one of the local Festival organisers. The race will take place at future date which will be announced in the next few weeks. Enquiries to: 087-2455989

National League and Combined Events changes - Dublin Graded Meet details

The first round of the National Track & Field League will take place at Tullamore and Antrim on 18th May

Amended Senior and Junior Combined Events Entry Form
Entry Form & Details

Dublin Graded Meet Details

Please note all hammer and pole vault competitions are moved to Morton Stadium as Irishtowm Stadium cannot facilitate these events.

Meeting 3 May 14

Meeting 4 May 29

Meeting 5 June 11

Meeting 6 July 9

Meeting 7 July 23

Meeting 8 July 30

Monday next 5th May

Almost 15,000 people and no fewer than four former winners will take the startline in next Monday’s 27th Deep RiverRock Belfast City Marathon (Start 9.00am at the City Hall).

John Mutai of Kenya and Marashet Jumma of Ethiopia captured the male and female titles last year and are determined to repeat their success on May Day. Kenya’s Joyce Kandie who won over two years ago has also entered as has former double local champion Tommy Hughes who was a popular winner in both 1988 and 1998.

With entries of this calibre there is speculation that the two former winners should set a pace capable of breaking Lemma Urge’s 2005 course record of 2.41.33. This would attract a bonus of £1000 in addition of the first prize of £3000. Jumma has a particular interest in the record as she was only 5 seconds short of setting new figures in her impressive win a year ago. She must start favourite following her sub 2.41 time in the Mumbai Marathon 3 months ago.

However the amiable Kandie oozed confidence following her run in the Titanic Quarter 10K a month ago. She explained that a break from the sport to have a child only made her stronger and prepared to tackle anything the opposition had to offer. This battle has all the hallmarks of a classic confrontation which may only be decided on the approaches to the finish at Ormeau Park. Best of the opposition could be Scottish runner Rosyln Alexander and North Belfast’s Breege Connolly.

On the men’s side defending champion Mutai should in theory be a convincing winner following his sub 2.19 performance in Mumbai in January. The former Dublin marathon and Great North Run champion is the model of consistency. A year ago he used the gruelling Antrim Road hill to destroy the opposition and eventually record a winning margin gap of some 6 minutes.

However Mutai will need to keep a wary eye on Ethiopia’s Tsegaye Tadesse who recorded a sub 2.16 win in Addis Ababa 2 years ago. Other names well to the fore should be Finland’s Jaakko Kero (2.20.43 in London in 2006) plus Ukraine’s Vyacheslav Prykhodko who has a PB of 2.23.

Top local name is North Belfast’s ever popular Tommy Hughes who is keeping his premise to race in the Belfast event every 10 years! 48 year old Hughes was victorious in 1988 (2.19.00) and 1998 (2.23.33) and is keen to do well again. Even he will admit however that any time below 2.40 on what is a difficult course is to be welcomed. Tommy could well have Dungannon’s Delfin Pimentel for company who was 6th last year and is aiming for a sub 2.30 this time round. Others of note might include Armagh’s Turlough Donnelly and East Antrim’s Sam Crawford.

Marathon Day organisers have again been swamped by a record entry of 15,000 participants in the various events. The Marathon itself has 1900 entries while the 5 stage relay now has an astonishing 1741 teams most of which have raised many thousands of pounds for various charities.

One particularly pleasing aspect is the number of entries with addresses outside the province, i.e. Great Britain 400, Republic of Ireland 300, Europe 20 and USA 13. Clearly the simple pursuit of running at whatever level has captured the imagination of thousands both locally and abroad. Let’s hope that this Belfast extravaganza can long continue to meet these needs!

The 2008 Deep RiverRock Belfast City Marathon is sponsored by Belfast City Council, Sport Northern Ireland, Up and Running, New Balance, Reach EPS, Tayto, Translink, Eventsec and Isaac Agnew. Official broadcast partner is U105 and accommodation provider is Premier Inn, which celebrates the first anniversary of opening its first Belfast hotel on the eve of the Marathon.

The 2008 Deep RiverRock Belfast City Marathon is organized by Belfast City Marathon Ltd., in partnership with Belfast City Council, Athletics Northern Ireland, Newtownabbey Borough Council, the PSNI, the Department for Regional Development, Sustrans and Translink.

The official charity of the 2008 Deep RiverRock Belfast City Marathon is the British Red Cross, which is celebrating its centenary this year.

The Athletics Northern Ireland Office are again submitting a team after their success last year. Their 2007 team- “An Office and a Gentleman” finished in an incredible 31st place in a time of 3.08.25. The team is made of athletes and non-athletes again and are hoping to do just as well on Monday.

Athletics NI challenged the other athletic federations across Britain. The Welsh were the only team to take up the challenge this year- the rest must be afraid of the opposition!
In 2007 UK:A and Wales sent over a team and both finished in the top 20. UK were an amazing 9th overall in a time of 2.37.34 and Wales were 18th with a time of 2.59.02.

Team Athletics NI:
1st leg: Heather Martin (Development Officer)
2nd leg: Clare Houston (Admin Manager)
3rd leg: David Reid (Coach)
4th leg: Kerry Harty (Development Officer)
5th leg: Clare McCoy (Marketing/PR)

Best of luck is also extended to Regional Development Officer for the Greater Belfast area, competing in her second Belfast City Marathon. Two years ago Heather Martin was third Northern Ireland finisher.

Marathon Office: Tel: 028 90605922 or visit www.belfastcitymarathon.com

The National Throws Squad and Irish coaches were treated to an excellent week of coaching in the past week. Paddy Mc Grath, the current Irish champion in the hammer and former Olympian held a workshop for coaches in Tullamore on April 20th and did some coaching with the National throws squad last weekend. Paddy’s approach is very practical and he demonstrated to coaches simple ways of developing technique and movement in the throw. Members of the national squad acted as demonstrators while Paddy explained the technical points. The session moved outdoors in the afternoon where both coaches and hammer throwers were able to try out what they had learnt. As usual the facilities in Tullamore Harriers were excellent and the catering was of its usual mouth watering standard, kindly provided by Ann Coughlan.

Poetry in Motion: National Squad Throwers at work with Paddy Mc Grath (courtesy of Dan Kennedy)

The National Squad shot and hammer was held at the DMP grounds in Wexford with a large attendance on both days. Paddy Mc Grath and Nicola Coffey both took the hammer event and were able to spend time going through technical points raised the weekend before. The two day event gave an opportunity to reinforce the learning and to deal with any technical and training problems being encountered by the hammer group.

Paddy Mc Grath throwing at the DMP grounds in Wexford (courtesy of Dan Kennedy)

The National Shot Squad also took place in Wexford with both John Farrelly and Dennis Roscoe (from the UK) working with the group. Shot putters were given the opportunity to use a traditional glide technique or learn the rotational technique. There were some great performances on the day with Eanna O Cathain in particular showing great promise using the rotational technique. A discussion group on “Preparing for Competition” was facilitated by John Farrelly and a broad mix of competition experiences were recounted.

Shot putt coaches were not left out with Dennis Roscoe giving a workshop on Sunday on using the rotational technique. Again members of the national squad acted as demonstrators and Dennis introduced coaches to a range of drills to deal with specific technical problems.

Dan Kennedy was on hand as usual to provide video feedback to the groups on both days and this is an integral part of the coaching sessions at National Squad level. Rosemary Daniel from the NCTC was also present at the Wexford session and also did some video work on the throwers. Many thanks to all the coaching team for their efforts in mixed weather conditions, the athletes for their dedication and enthusiasm , parents and coaches and to the DMP and Tullamore Athletic Clubs for the use of their facilities.

Entry Forms - Timetables - Event Details

G.V. Ryan / AAI Games / Senior Relays

Senior Relay Championships

Senior and Junior Combined Events

“Juvenile Track and Field”

The Athletic Association of Ireland Team Competition for U10, U11 and U12 along with Inter Club Relays for U9 10, 11 and 12 will be held in Tullamore on 14th June 2008. Please note timetable and rules of competition

Juvenile Track and Field