National Evens XC Race Report
A massive well done to all 15 of our athletes who competed yesterday in the National even ages XC in Abbottstown. Each one of the Bray contingent ran their hearts out for club, county and province. First to race were the U12 girls - Roisin Murray, Catherine O’Neill, Kate Hanly and Kripa Kissanthomas. The girls put in an outstanding effort and were justly rewarded with team silver for Bray, which is a first for our club at national level!!. Both Rosin and Catherine secured individual medals (10th and 12th Place) and were also part of the Leinster team which took gold. Kate was just outside the medals and Kripa not far behind. Their united effort won them 2nd Club team overall and for that they will all receive a silver National medal.
Next up was James Foot and Aaron Egan. Aaron placed a very impressive 58th in a field of 172, running up an age category. James Foot ran a brilliant but very tough race against very talented competition to win the first National individual Gold for Bray. He is also part of the Leinster team which took gold yesterday.
Our talented Boys U14 team of Matthew Daly, Finn Campbell, Rian Anafi-Fitzgibbon and Bobby More all finished in the middle of the very competitive national field and all within sight of each other. Three of the boys were competing for the first time at national level and Bobby was running out of age. This is a very impressive result and we have great hopes for this group of athletes as a team along with Fionn Begley who was unfortunately injured for the Leinsters and therefore couldn’t compete.
Next was the girls U16 race. Three of the girls Niamh Murray, Hannah Kelly and Eleanor Foot were running out of age and together with Hannah Foot and Ciara Murray they put in gutsy performances all around on terrain that was becoming an ever increasing sea of mud with every race. Niamh Murray (29th) fought hard to secure a top 30 position in a field of 139. Hannah Kelly (51st) and Eleanor Foot (75th) with Hannah and Ciara not far behind also put in impressive performances. The 3 younger girls will also be racing on 15th Dec in the Uneven Ages National XC in Dunboyne
Regitrations
All athletes must be registered in order to run outside. This is for the athletes own safety as we are training on the roads. If you are not registered you will not be allowed to run outside but you can remain in the hall.
Training
Tuesday training will continue in Woodbrook College tomorrow from 6.50 – 8.00pm.
Thursday training will be on the promenade in Bray, meeting at the boathouse coffee shop 7-8pm (Southern end of the prom). This session is open to all athletes born in 2008 or earlier
The Sunday run will resume this weekend and we will advise on time and venue on the Whats App groups over the coming days.
Upcoming Events
Xmas party and awards night: December 17th in Bray Bowl 7-9pm (instead of training). Please bring €5 as we will be having pizza.
Round 5 of the juvenile league will be held by Bray Runners on December 6th at 7pm in Bray Emmets Even ages
Irish Life Health National Juvenile Uneven Ages Cross Country in Cow Park, Dunboyne December 15th.
Volunteers
Thanks again to the parents who have volunteered to help out at training. Without your assistance we would not be able to keep accepting new members. We will keep the appeal going for parental assistance, every week we keep growing with 108 registered juveniles with the club and in order to maintain the smooth running of our training sessions we need help. You do NOT have to be a runner, all you have to do is provide encouragement and support to our young athletes. Please feel free to speak to any of our coaches about volunteering.
Good Luck!
This Saturday Nov. 30th Grainne O’Sullivan will represent Ireland when she competes in the Schools Combined International at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow. We wish Grainne the very best of luck.
Race Reports
National Schools Combined Event
Firstly, a massive congratulations to Grainne O’Sullivan on winning silver in the National Schools Combined events at the AIT last Saturday. Grainne will now be the first ever juvenile Bray athlete to represent Ireland. She will be competing at the Schools Combined International at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow on November 30th. All her hard work and dedication over the past number of years is paying off. We are all very proud of Grainne.
Leinster XC Uneven ages
We had another amazing turnout for the Leintster Unevn Ages XC last Saturday in Ferbane, County Offaly with 15 of our Bray athletes toeing the line. The weather held for the event and despite the heavy rain the previous night, the course was in relatively good condition and not as mucky as we anticipated. However, there was a large scattering of cow pats and various steep hills to be negotiated by the athletes. We had some very impressive individual performance as well as some great team efforts on the day. The U11girls race kicked off at 12 noon and Saorlaith Kieran competing for her first time at Leinster level, ran a fine race and was undaunted by the experience. Well done Saorlaith! Next up was the Boys U11, where Aaron Egan fought hard to finish in an impressive 3rd spot to win a Leinster bronze medal. We had 5 girls running in the Girls U13 race with 3 of the 5 running up an age group. The standard in this race was very high and Roisin Murray was first of the Bray athletes in 21st position followed by Kate Hanly in 28th, Catherine O’Neill was 32nd. Mia McEntee and Eile Kennedy also ran very well against stiff competition. Overall the Bray girls were the 7th club team home and Wicklow were the 5th county team. Next we had Bobby More and James Foot in the boys U13 boys race. This was another very competitive race. James in a very tactical race had to use all his race experience to date to try and hold his nerve by tucking in behind the lead group of 5 boys and then managed to pull off a sprint finish with 200m to go to secure another Leinster gold. Bobby came in in 16th position and together they secured a place for Wicklow in the Nationals on the 15th December. Noah Harris of Ashford finished in 4th and Malachy Kenny of Kilcoole finished in 7th which made 3 wicklow athletes were in the top 12. In the girls U15 race we had 4 athletes – Niamh Murray, Hannah Kelly, Eleanor Foot and Jennifer O’Dwyer, Jennifer was also running out of her age group in order to complete the Bray team. Niamh Murray in typical form left nothing on the course to finish in an amazing 6th position. She was closely followed by Hannah Kelly who is narrowly missed out on a medal by coming in a very impressive 14th. Eleanor and Jennifer also had fine races and the Bray team were 5th overall and the girls will now form part of the Wicklow team who have qualified for the Nationals by being the 4th County team. Hannah Foot was the final of our athletes to race in the U17 race. Hannah is returning to fitness after a rest period from running and racing and was using the race to improve her fitness for the Nationals on the 24th. Well done to all our athletes.
Sleep and Nutritional Advise
As we have two XC Nationals events coming up shortly, with the first in 2 weeks time, we would like to include a note on the importance of sleep and nutrition. Both are so important when racing and particularly at National level in order to give the athletes the best possible chance of perfoming at their best. We cannot emphasize enough the importance of proper Sleep and Nutrition and its effect on performance.
Proper sleep, especially during the week of the race is so important. We would suggest getting an extra hours sleep each night for a week leading up to the race and not just the night before.
Proper Nutrition plays a huge part in the development of young Athletes and again good habits are so important.
We would suggest that after each training session or race, Athletes refuel within an hour of exercise (ideally within 20 mins). It is scientifically proven that the first hour after training/Race is the vital time in managing an Athletes recovery.
We would suggest that after training on a Tuesday or Thursday or after a race that the Athlete has a glass of Milk or some nuts (protein) with some carbs (say a banana or peanut butter sandwich or a healthy cereal with Fruit).
Staying hydrated before and after sessions is also very important. Please talk to the coaches if you need any further information or advice.
Registration
Could all unregistered athletes please register on or before 12.11.2019 with the club as you will not be allowed to run outside if you are not registered.
Training
Tuesday training will continue in Woodbrook College tomorrow from 6.50 – 8.00pm.
Thursday training will be on the promenade in Bray, meeting at the boathouse coffee shop 7-8pm (Southern end of the prom). This session is open to all athletes born in 2008 or earlier.
Next Sunday we are hoping to check out the course in Abbotstown for the National Even ages XC due to be held there on the 24th November. We are waiting for confirmation from Inbhear Dee that we are allowed to run on the grounds. If we are allowed, this would be very beneficial to all athletes especially those competing in the Nationals so please make every effort to attend, more details in the Whats App groups to follow.
Upcoming Events
**Round 4 of the juvenile league will take place on Friday, November 15th at 7pm in Roundwood Uneven ages**
U/7 200
U/9 400
U/11 800
U/13 1200
U/15 1600
These races are a great introduction to crosscountry, with a certificate awarded to each athlete on race completion. The emphasis is on athlete participation rather than on winning.
Location: An Tochar GAA club, drive through R/wood and keep right for Laragh and it’s on the lefthand side. Emma Craxton will be there to register the athletes so look out for Emma.
Round 5 of the juvenile league will be held by Bray Runners on December 6th at 7pm in Bray Emmets Even ages
Irish Life Health National Juvenile Even Age Cross Country in Abbotstown on 24th November.
