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31st
Jan 2010Declan Reed wins bronze
in the "Junior"
City of Derry's Declan Reed continued his
fantastic season yesterday winning an individual bronze medal
in the NI/Ulster Junior/Intermediate Cross Country Championship
in Ballybofey. While there was a smaller than usual entry
in the race in terms of numbers, there was no lack in quality.
The race was won by St Malachy's Michael McKillop who is really
benefiting from being a full time athlete, with another Malachys
athlete Aiden McGowan in 2nd. This led the way for an easy
team win for St Malachys who obviously expected it as they
didn't bring the cup with them!! North Down took silver with
the Spartans having to settle for bronze. In a very strong
Masters men’s race Colin Roberts was the leading CoD
runner in 5th. No category winners available at the moment.
The ladies race also contained a strong field and the Derry
club picked up Silver and Bronze team medals in the Intermediate
and Masters respectively. Well done to all. Full results here
and photos here.
10th
Jan 2010Training details for
Tue 12th Jan 2010
Training for U15, U17 and Senior Track and
Field Group will be in Gransha next Tue 12th Jan. No training
for U13 group till the weather improves. Danea.
10th
Jan 2010NI & Ulster Age
Group Championships, Odyssey
Note to all athletes competing in the NI
& Ulster Age Group Championships, Odyssey. Attached are
Entry forms and timetable with Information about New False
Start Rules. here
and here.
Form must be printed out and returned to the club with entry
fee before 14th Jan. Danea.
11th
Dec 09 NW Cross Country Championships
Annadale Striders' Eddie McGinley won the
main event at yesterdays North West Cross Country Championships
in Gransha. Top female Spartan Aileen Morrison was an impressive
winner of the womens race which was run along with the men.
Results of Senior Open 6km Race here.
Photos thanks to Dara here,
and from Malcolm here.
Junior races results
here.
11th
Dec 09 NW Cross Country Championships
Details
Poster for NW XC Races on the 19th Dec here.
Note registration from 10.30. Main race starts at 12.15
6th
Dec 09 City
of Derry runners win team and county double at All Ireland
Novice XC
The Spartan men's team made history today
when they won the All Ireland novice cross country championships
for the first time in a very mucky Coleraine. The team won
not only the club championships but also the county with Derry
prevailing over a strong Cork squad. The club championships
was won with an excellent 34 points to Clonliffe's 51. That
man again, Greg Roberts led the club in a fantastic 3rd place(to
win his 4th medal in 2 days!), some recovery from 30.37 for
10k the day before. He was backed up Diarmuid Grant, getting
back to himself in 5th place. In 12th place was Aaron 'Arnie'
Doherty, recently returned from Spain with Declan Reed having
another fantastic run in 14th. These 4 did the job for the
club championships and with the addition of Emmett McGinty
26th and Kevin Carlin 52nd (both getting back to good form)
the county championships was won. Backing the top 6 up were
gutsy runs from Eoghan Furey 62nd, Pajo Hamilton 65th, Brendan
Murphy 90th and masters athlete Declan McCarthy in 91st. The
most unlucky man of the day must be Gary Slevin who lost his
spike in the crowd after only 300m, no doubt he will be back!
Marina Campbell was the sole Spartan female on duty having
a solid run to finish 26th. Photos here
and here,
thanks to Dermott Conolly and Malcolm McCausland for these.
Club
1ts City of Derry Spartans 34pts
2nd Clonliffe harriers 51 pts
3rd Donore harriers 127 pts
County
1st Derry113
2nd Cork158
3rd Kerry235
6th Donegal312
6th
Dec 09 Greg runs new PB in
the Seeley
Greg Roberts continued his great running
with a fantastic 3rd place in the Joe Seeley 10k in Belfast
yesterday running 30 mins 37 sec. A small number of City of
Derry runners competed as the main club target of the weekend
was the all ireland novice xc in Coleraine the following day.
Good runs were also had by James Crampsie and Philip Donaghy
who both ran pbs. Foyle valley also had a good showing at
the race. Full results on NI Athletics website.
6th
Dec 09 City of Derry surrender
Malcolm Cup
Despite a decent effort by a hastily assembled
Spartan squad, North Down lifted the Malcolm Cup in Ballyclare.
Emmett McGinty led the spartans home in 7th. Results here.
Photos on the Annadale site here.
22nd
Nov 09 Spartans dominate Pegasus
XC
City of Derry men’s squad won the team
race easily at yesterdays Pegasus XC race held in the grounds
of Coleraine Academical Institution. The Spartans filled 7
of the top 10 places. Greg Roberts had a comfortable win and
Aaron Doherty won the battle for 2nd with Owen Carlton spoiling
the Derry clean sweep by edging out Declan Reed for 3rd. This
race may as well have been a Derry County Championships, as
the majority of the field was made up of Derry clubs with
Foyle Valley and Springwell also turning out in large numbers.
Karen Alexander won the women race where Anne Paul got bronze.
Results here.
Photos here.
19th
Nov 09 City of Derry AC are
the top club in NI
It's official! City of Derry Spartans is
the top athletics club in Northern Ireland for 2009. The award
was presented in Belfast on Wed 18th November at the annual
athletics awards ceremony. The overall club of the year award
was given in recognition of the fantastic year that the club
had in 2009. The junior club of the year award also went to
the Spartans. Individually Danea Herron won the development
coach of the year award and Mr Sparta himself, Gerry Lynch
was recognised with an award for his volunteering work. Some
of the reasons we won the award are listed below. Well done
to everyone, apologies if I left anything out. Eoghan.
Come on the Spartans!!!!!!!!!!!!
| Event |
Women |
Men |
| NI ½ marathon |
NI 1st Team |
2nd NI Championship Team
1st AAI Champ Team |
| NI 5km Road |
|
Individual 1,2,3 and 1st Team Championship |
| NI Junior XC |
2nd Team |
3rd team |
| NI Vets XC |
1st Team |
|
| NI Senior XC |
Individual winner Aileen Morrison |
2nd Team |
| Ulster Novice XC |
2nd Team |
2nd Team, 2nd Individual Declan Reed |
| Malcolm Cup |
|
1st Team |
| National T&F League |
1st Div – 6th in final |
Winners 1st div |
| AAI national champs T&F |
|
100m winner(Jason Smyth), 400h winner(Tom Carey), 3rd
TJ(Simon Herron) |
| McConnell Shield |
|
Team Winner |
| Comber Cup |
|
Team Winner |
| AAI Intermediate XC |
|
Team and County Silver Medal |
| YAL |
Team Winner |
Team Winner |
13 members selected on NI/Irish Teams for
British/Irish Masters XC International Birmingham 14/11/09.
2 club members on Irish senior squad for the European Cup.
Successfully Organised NI 5k Road Champs, NI Half Marathon
Championships, Furey Insurances 5k Series (6 races) and other
events.
Link to NI athletics website with details and photos from
the awards night here
19th
Nov 09 Bogle hits new heights
Spartan Allan Bogle had a fantastic performance
in the World Mountain Marathon Series final in Argentina.
Allan qualified for the final by winning the Grand Canaria
race of the series a number of months ago. The Limavady man
finished in 18th position in a time of 3 hours 40 mins with
the race being won in 3 hours 7 mins. Well done to our man
in the Canaries. Hopefully he'll make it back for the NI Senior
XC in Feb.
19th
Nov 09 Happy hunting for the
Spartans in England
A busy weekend of cross country action for
the club. Greg Roberts was the leading NI finisher in the
international XC race in Gateshead. Christy McMonagle got
an individual silver medal (V65) in the home countries masters
XC in Birmingham. Collie Roberts and Oran McBride picked up
team silver (Rep of Ireland) and bronze (Northern Ireland)
medals respectively in the M40 category. Well done to all
our club members on international duty.
19th
Nov 09 Marina wins Ulster
Novice
Marina Campbell had a great run winning the
Ulster Novice XC in Killybegs. This was last won by a Spartan
in 2007 when Aileen Morrison won the title. While both mens
and womens squads picked up silver medals and all competing
gave their best, the club will see this as two team titles
lost. If all entered had competed the story would have been
different!! Next year! There was similar disappointment in
Ballyclare when a vastly under strength men’s squad
surrendered the McConnell Shield. Apart from Marina's success,
a weekend to forget for the club.
1st
Nov 09 Donegal Senior XC Championships
The Donegal senior XC championships took
place today in horrendous conditions in Ballybofey on a new
course which can best be described as a real cross country
course. Puddles up to 1 foot deep ensured that none of the
competitors had time to relax. The individual titles were
won by Pauric McKinney and Theresa McGloin, while hosts Finn
Valley won both team contests. As this is an open championships,
a City of Derry Squad entered and won bronze medals in the
mens race. A day to remember for all! Results here.
1st
Nov 09 PATAGONIA BECKONS FOR
EGLINTON RUNNER
Eglinton man Allan Bogle is rapidly carving
out a name for himself in international running circles. Now
based in the Canaries where he teaches, Bogle recently won
the Gran Canaria K42 multi-terrain race across the island.
It was the first time a fixture of the International
K42 Circuit had been held in Europe and qualified the City
of Derry athlete for the grand final in Argentina on November
1. In the meantime races are scheduled in Brazil and Africa
where the course was in the Sahara Desert.
“I led from the gun, which was my plan, as
I like to control the pace, and wanted test myself in preparation
for Argentina,” said Bogle. “I was two minutes slower than
last year but it was much hotter and the tide was quite far
in meaning I had to run on soft sand.”
The winning man and woman from each qualifying
race will dispute the final Salomon K42 in Argentina’s Villa
la Angostura. Awaiting them there will 1500 runners, each
with his own personal target.
“I was pleased with how I ran, but I have
a lot of work to do this month because I will be facing World
class opposition in Argentina,” revealed the former Limavady
Grammar School pupil. “I plan to step-up my training this
month.”
It will be the toughest race that the City
of Derry Spartan will ever run with the course following paths
through the foothills of the Andes to a height in excess of
1400 metres. He will face, among others, Gustavo Reyes who
won last year’s race and one of his idols, Spanish marathon
legend and former World Champion Martin Fiz.
In the meantime, it’s twice a day training
for Bogle who tries to average between 10 and 14 hours of
running each week. “I don't enjoy getting up so early to train
before work, but it is a necessary part of my preparation,”
he confessed.
Prior to his departure for sunnier climes,
Bogle had been a key member of the City of Derry Spartans
helping the club to its first ever Northern Ireland Senior
Cross Country team title in 2007. Photo here.
1st
Nov 09 Juvenile Athletes of
the the year
Ciara Armstong and Ryan McParland have been
selected as County Derry juvenile athletes of the year by
the Ulster Sports Council. Ciara and Ryan have been invited
to a banquet in Killybegs to receive their awards. Ciara and
Ryan both train at City of Derry athletics club. This is a
fantastic achievement for the two youngsters and just goes
to show to other runners that commitment and loyalty in the
club really does work.
1st
Nov 09 CoD win the Comber
Cup
A large group of 'senior' aka masters spartans
competed in the recent Comber Cup. The mens team won the Comber
cup for the first time. The race also doubled as a trial for
the masters international and a the club was very succesful.
Possibly 11 members of the club have gained selection for
the international event on either the Northern or Republic
of Ireland teams. Well done to all. Some photos here
from Bridgeen and Martin.
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