The Athletics Ireland National Intermediate & Masters Cross Country Championships were held this year in Dundalk on Sunday the 24th of January 2016. The numbers turning out were mixed with a very good attendance in the Masters events while the Intermediate Championships were pretty poor.
First off, the Masters (those aged 35 and over). The numbers here were pretty good and obviously reflect the growth in the number of masters nationally.
In February of 2015, this event was held in Tuam, Co.Galway and they got 223 men and 140 women in the masters. This year, the numbers for the masters were 255 men (+14%) and 196 women (+40%). In 2015, there were 20 club teams and 8 county teams in the O35 mens section. In 2016, that was 23 club teams and 8 county teams. In the mens over 50 section, that increased from 7 club teams and 5 county teams to 10 club teams and 6 county teams.
The womens O35 changed from 16 club teams and 11 county teams to 19 club teams and 9 county teams. The womens over 50 changed from 7 club teams and 5 county teams to 7 club teams and 6 county teams.
Overall, very positive and a growth in what were already good numbers. Perhaps the number of counties could have been higher but still a good turn out.
These are some of the medals picked up by club athletes from Cork and Kerry...
Masters Men...
Masters Men O35.....1st Tim Twomey Leevale A.C. // 3rd Tim O'Connor An Riocht A.C.
Masters Men O60.......1st Neillus Aherne Midleton A.C.
In the Mens O35 section, St.Finbarr's AC from Cork finished 3rd out of 23 teams.
Men O35 Team Club Team Points
Place Club Positions Points
1 Donore Harriers 11, 14, 18, 26.... 69 pts
2 Rathfarnham W.S.A.F. A.C.5, 12, 39, 40..... 96 pts
3 St. Finbarrs A.C. 15, 22, 24, 67...... 128 pts
4 North Belfast Harriers A.C.10, 30, 35, 55...... 130 pts
The Cork O35 team finished second out of 8 county teams.
Men O35 Team County Team Points
Place County Positions
1 Dublin 5, 11, 12, 14, 18, 26...86 pts
2 Cork 2, 15, 16, 20, 22, 24...99 pts
3 Donegal 4, 38, 41, 42, 43, 45...213 pts
Masters Women...
Masters Women O35........2nd Karina Teahan St. Finbarrs A.C.
Masters Women O50......1st Niamh O'Sullivan An Riocht A.C.
Masters Women O60.......1st Carmel Parnell Leevale A.C. // 2nd Majella Diskin An Riocht A.C.
The Cork Womens O35 team finished 3rd out of 9 county teams.
Women O35 Team County Team Points
Place County Positions Points
1 Dublin 1, 5, 12, 13...31 pts
2 Laois 3, 8, 21, 43...75 pts
3 Cork 15, 19, 38, 41...113 pts
The results can be found on the Athletics Ireland website.....Master Men (35-64), Master Men O65 & Masters Women
*****
Intermediate Men...
The Intermediate Cross Country Championships however were a different story. Last year in Tuam, there were 76 men and 55 women. This year, it was 85 men and 53 women...about the same. It's in the teams however that the poor numbers are really reflected. In the mens section in 2015, there were 10 club teams and just 3 county teams...Dublin 1st, Cork 2nd and Offaly 3rd. This year, there are 11 club teams but still only 3 counties....1st Clare, 2nd Dublin, 3rd Laois. Cork as the second largest county in terms of club membership was unable to field an Intermediate team of just 6 men.
Intermediate Women...
In the womens Intermediate competition, the numbers were poor also. There were 5 club teams and 5 counties represented in 2015. This year, the number of club teams went up to 7 but the number of womens county teams went down to just 2.........Dublin 1st and Cork 2nd. Think about that for a second. It only requires 4 women for a county Intermediate team..........and there are just two counties represented. It's not like the event was held up at the top of Donegal and way down in West Cork, it was in Dundalk. Where is Co.Meath? Kildare? Louth!
There are some serious problems with this Intermediate cross country competition. Back in early December of 2015, there were 208 men and 89 women in the National Novice Cross Country Championships. It seems as if people just aren't interested in the Intermediate competition. Time to call it a day?
The results can be found on the Athletics Ireland website.....Intermediate Men, Intermediate Women
Photos.....
1) Kieran Carlin of Finn Valley AC has a large gallery on Facebook (account required to view)
2) Lisa Shine has a video clip on Facebook HERE
9 comments:
Was location of this event a factor on the following:
The top 3 in the Munster Masters O-35 section didn't compete at all in the Nationals.
Case in point M. Harty - Judging by his resent results on the road racing scene over the Christmas period and also in his win in the Munster Senior & Masters cross country, I'm certain that he would have battled gamely with T. Twomey to make it a 1 - 2 for Cork.
Along with that I'm sure P. Harty wouldn't have been far off the mark on making the podium in the O-35 section.
So my question really is does the national masters championship really attract the top masters or is it that the AAI Autumn CC in the Phoenix Park the true event that the guys in O-35 section strive for. As this event can lead them to represent their country.
Any views on this?
The bigger issue is that the masters category should really revert back to starting at Over 40 not 35. Most 30 to 35 age runners are still competing at a high level in senior events.
The runner that was 3rd from Kerry in the masters 35 was actually outside the top 10 in the Munster masters.....very strange. Is the standard in the 35 section just very poor outside Munster maybe that is the reason why the top 3 in the Munster 35 age group didn't travel to the nationals. A call for a county in Munster to hold the Masters event next year
Congrats to all our Cork athletes.
Cork men would have won the county section if they had Michael Harty running also in the vets 35 age group.
The above comment about the British & Irish Masters International being higher on some athletes agenda than the National Masters could have some truth in it. The above mentioned athlete that was missing from the masters 35 age group on Sunday ( Michael Harty ) ran for Ireland in October and won the Masters 35 section and lead Ireland to team gold. So once he had won the Munster senior and Master cross country titles, I'm guessing his Cross Country season was over.
So maybe the answer is to hold all national championships in the calendar year.
That is some jump alright from tenth in a provincial event to 3rd in a National championship, albeit with the top 3 in Munster not competing. What does that say for the standard in the rest of the country.
To be fair to the runners who took part, they can only compete against what is put in front of them.
The idea that the guys that finished 1st 2nd and 3rd in Munster would have made the podium also in the national 35 age group is just guess work.
Granted the event is diluted and less competitive without them but no one can say what they might have done.
Standard probably was,not great at the masters, seems a lot of top guys stayed away, still the athletes that did show up made a race out of it. Agree masters should not start until 040 at least.As poster says a lot of runners still compete nearly at elite level well into their 30,s. As for Nat intermediate seems that should be scrapped going by the numbers.
The outstanding performer here is Pauric McKinney, what a runner for a man in his fifties. Class act.
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