Ruthann Sheahan of Athenry AC sets new Irish 24 hour record in Poland...

At the 24 Hour World and European Championships in Katowice, Poland over the weekend, Ruthann Sheahan of Athenry AC set an new Irish womens 24 hour outdoor record. She covered an incredible 229.3 kms or 142,5 miles in the 24 hours, smashing the old record of 206.650 kms which was set back in 1996.

Not only did Ruthann's finish as 5th woman in Europe and 7th in the World but she was within 300 metres of the top Irish man John O'Regan who ran 229.6 kms.

Just in case you are wondering just what kind of speed that is, 229.3 kms in 24 hours works as 9.55 kms per hour which is 10 min/mile pace for a whole day!

Ruthann is originally from Leap in West Cork and now lives in Galway. She is also a former winner of the Dingle 50 mile Ultra-Marathon.

Ruthann's teammate Valerie Glavin is the current holder of the Irish womens 24 hour indoor record of 217.8 kms set back in 2011 in Finland. Athenry AC can now boast of having two Ultra distance record holders in their ranks!

European Championship Womens...
5th place Ruthanne Sheahan 229.3 km.....5th in Europe, 7th in World
Deirdre Finn 103km 73rd place

European Mens:
25th place John O Regan...229.6 km 31st in World
33rd place Eddie Gallen.....226 km 42nd in World

National Half-Marathon in Athenry...Too far to travel??

The Athletics Ireland National Half-Marathon was held in Athenry, Co.Galway on Sunday, the 2nd of September.

The results can be seen HERE

Scrolling down through the results, it becomes very clear that there seems to be almost a complete lack of runners from Cork clubs taking part. And it's not only Cork clubs, there is an absence of runners from Kerry, Waterford, Limerick and Tipperary as well.

Was it just too far away? The drive from Cork to Athenry is around 2h 50m. Last year, the event was in Waterford City and there were plenty of runners from Cork there......(1h 50m drive). Is it that people won't travel so far for a Half-Marathon? Plenty of people seemed to have come across from Dublin but that is a two hour drive on a motorway.

Was it the fact that there are so many Half-Marathons in Munster? Between mid August and late September, there is a Half-Marathon in Clonmel, Blarney, Dingle and Charleville. Are runners just opting for the local events instead?

Was it a lack of publicity? For example, 400 runners turned out in Athenry last Sunday. 690 turned out in Waterford last year.........and it's not like there is a shortage of runners in Galway.

Is it a combination of all the reasons above? Comments?

Athenry AC to host National Half-Marathon in September

It has been announced recently that  Athenry AC will host the 2012 National Half Marathon on Sunday, the 2nd of September.

Following on from the success of the 2011 race in Waterford which got 690 runners, the 2012 race looks likely to be a hit as well. With a very high number of club runners in Galway and the ease of access from Leinster and Munster, it could well attract a record turnout.

More details will no doubt be released as the date gets closer.

Some more Ultra-Running news...

For those of you that might be interested, I came across the following items...

Keith Whyte from Ennis to compete in Anglo Celtic Plate...

There was an article in a recent issue of the Irish Examiner about Keith Whyte of Clare Crusaders AC who is going to compete in the Anglo Cletic Plate 100 km race in Scotland in March. The piece can be found HERE

Race Report on the 24 Hour race by Mick Rice...

Following on from the earlier post about the four Athenry AC runners who  recently took part in a 24 hour race in Finland, Mick Rice has written up his own race report. Mick, who won the Connemara 100 mile last August and ran 2:44 in the Dublin Marathon last October was at the top of his game going into this event. His report really shows the demands such an endurance event places on the body. It makes for fascinating reading and just goes to show how even the best prepared plans can go awry. You can see it on Mick's blog HERE

Valerie Glavin of Athenry AC sets new 24 hr distance record

Picture this....an indoor track....in Finland....a race which is run over a set time rather than over a set distance....and that time is 24 hours.....and you keep doing loop after loop after loop....and you have some idea of the crazy world of Ultra-Running. Four members of Athenry AC made the long trip to Espoo in Finland to take part in this 24 hour race last weekend.

The fastest of the 4 was Valerie Glavin who ran a distance of 217.8 kms (~135 miles) in the 24 hours. In the process, she set a new Irish 24 hour indoors distance record for women. Just to put that in context, 217 kms is like running just over 5 full Marathons back to back!! It also works out as an average of 10.4 min/mile pace which when you consider time lost to necessary breaks is amazing....(Avg pace per Marathon 4h 39m!)

In terms of position, she finished in a very credible 2nd place with Sumie Inagaki of Japan finishing 1st (240.6 kms). Valerie also featured recently here in Cork when she won the Clonakilty Marathon back in December.

The 2nd Athenry runner home was Ruth Ann Sheehan who finished in 188 kms (~118 miles). Ruth Ann who is originally from Cork but now lives in Galway won the inaugral 50 mile Ultra-Marathon in Dingle last September.

The other two Athenry AC runners were......Mick Rice (165 kms / 103 miles) who was the winner of the Connemara 100 mile last Summer and Ray O'Connor (122 kms / 76 miles) who is the driving force behind the famous Connemarathon in April every year and recently completed his 100th Marathon.