National Even Cross Country Finals
On Sunday morning many of our Junior Stags had an early start and set off on the M1 to Navan, County Meath for the 2023 National Uneven Championship Finals.
After navigating the fog bound road on the way down and the ploughing field that was used for parking, our young runners assembled near the warmup area to get their race numbers and final preparations. There is always a great buzz at the Nationals and today was no different with over a thousand of the best young runners from across the Island competing.
Now, the venue may have been Navan race course, a course often host to the finest thoroughbreds from the Curragh but todays course would have been more suited to the Christmas Budweiser Clydesdales with its rough terrain, long grass, unforgiving hills and slippery mud.
Before we go through the individual results, I just have to reference for anyone not there that the start line was at the bottom of a steep hill with long grass and yes, they started running uphill upon the firing gun setting them off, a bit like starting your car in 3rd gear!
Finally, every one of our young Stags was there today on merit after qualifying from the Ulster finals so a massive well done to every one of them, no doubt with commitment to their training, they along with others at the club will be back at All Ireland finals for many more years to come.
U11 Girls – 1500m
| Nola Rafferty | 185 | 7:20 |
| Betsy Taylor | 192 | 7:37 |
The first race of the day was for our youngest juniors and it was up to them to tread the course first with its long frosty grass. Both girls put in a great effort with a spirited and enthusiastic run for what was their first ever national final and with their continued positive attitude and training, they’ll be back again!
U13 Girls – 2500m
| Leila Jones | 23 | 9:54 |
| Cassie Curran | 62 | 10:23 |
Our next batch of runners were Leila and Cassie and it was certainly an eventful race!
Upon reaching the top of the starting hill, Cassie took a competitors spike to her shoe that not just tore her shoe but also causing a nasty cut to her foot, undeterred she showed fantastic strength to continue running and finished in a very good position. This was made all the more evident, as after the race and upon first aiders checking her foot, Cassie was swifty dispatched to Drogheda A&E to receive a few stitches! We are pleased to confirm Cassie is making a full recovery, her dad may be out a few quid buying her ice cream though.
Meanwhile, Leila was in the chasing pack and at one stage took a fall along the course but again, showing fantastic strength of character, she was swiftly back up on her feet and continued to make gains ahead of her and finished in an excellent 23rd spot.
Both girls were also among the first 6 scorers for Antrim (7th place) with Leila the 1st Antrim runner over the line and Cassie 3rd. Leila was also the 4th Ulster runner over the line. Well done girls!
U13 Boys – 2500m
| Cormac Leheny | 30 | 9:24 |
| Franky Mooney | 105 | 10:10 |
| Lucas Mooney | 133 | 10:36 |
| Dualta McGleenan | 134 | 10:37 |
| Tom McLoughlin | 154 | 11:14 |
| James O’Shaughnessy | 155 | 11:16 |
Our U13 Boys qualified as a team due to their excellent 2nd place team finishing in Donegal last month and what a great experience it was for them today. First over the line was Cormac followed by Franky and then Lucas and Dualta crossed the line together with just a blade of grass between them. Tom and James then brought the whole team over the line in what was a great effort and team camaraderie. These are a great bunch of boys with more in the group and without doubt we’ll be seeing more success form this group. As a county, Antrim finished in 13th place with Cormac (1), Franky (2), Lucas (4) and Dualta (5) all among the first 6 scorers, well done lads!
U15 Girls – 3500m
| Erin McAuley | 151 | 16:48 |
Erin was our sole runner for the U15 girls, she put in a good solid shift building on her continued running progress. Battling right to the end with a strong finish and setting her up for a strong Schools XC season in the new year.
U15 Boys – 3500m
| Thomas Coy | 77 | 13:30 |
Thomas was our only boy in the race and after a tough start on the hill he kept reeling the runners in front of him in and crossed the line in an excellent 77th, all the better when you consider he is probably among the youngest in this race and will be racing this group again next year. To top off a fine run, Thomas was the 2nd Antrim runner over the line with the County finishing in 10th.
U17 Girls – 4500m
Holly Collins ran in this very competitive race with 119 quality runners and crossed the line in an excellent 61st place in 13:20. Another big final Holly has qualified for and sets up up nicely for the schools cross country season in January.
U17 Boys – 4500m
| Oscar Purvis | 34 | 15:56 |
Our final Junior to run today was Oscar and what a great effort to round the day off, especially as by this stage the course was well beaten up. A good solid strong run and the 2nd Antrim finisher on the day with Antrim finishing in 6th place. Continued progress for Oscar and no doubt he’ll be back next year and will be looking to finish ever higher.
2km Waterworks Junior Parkrun – Sunday 3rd December 2023
A cold crisp morning awaited the brave juniors who made the trip down to the waterworks on Sunday morning and thankfully there was no ice to put the brakes on proceedings.
A massive congratulation to Thomas and Ronan who both achieved PB’s – great running guys!
| Isaac Mooney | 1 | 8:19 |
| Thomas Weiniger | 2 | 8:26 *PB!* |
| Eimear Coy | 6 | 9:28 |
| Sophie Weiniger | 9 | 10:30 |
| Dara McLaughlin | 11 | 11:31 |
| Ronan O’Neill | 12 | 11:44 *PB!* |
The Junior Parksruns are a great way for the juniors to put their training to the test in a friendly environment and over the Winter months with less races, it’s not just a great way to keep up training but they’ll continue to socialise with their club mates.
If you haven’t registered yet, then please check out the following link:
home | Waterworks junior parkrun | Waterworks junior parkrun
Waterworks 5k Parkrun – Saturday 2nd December 2023
Two of our young Stags took on the 5km challenge on Saturday, well done Alex and Milo showing us older runners how to run a nice, composed parkrun.
| Alex Reid | 8 | 20:41 |
| Milo Purvis | 40 | 24:21 |
Training
Training for the Juniors continues at the Girls Model Track – 6:00 start for the Primary school kids and 6:15 for the older kids. Please ensure the kids bring layers with them for the colder evenings and are dressed accordingly. If any parents can assist with putting up or taking down the floodlights that would be appreciated by the coaches.