Thanks for TEAMING UP IN TRIM

The first Team up for Tabor 3km fun run was staged on the streets of Trim
on Friday evening. It attracted a good sized field of over two hundred to
the run , walk and jog over two laps of a 1500 metre course through the town
centre. There was a great buzz generated by the unusual after dark race and
the participants who gathered to fundraise for the Tabor House Recovery
Centre were roused into action by James Gibbons from Bootcamp Trim and
Celtic Festival organiser Ray Butler TD. There were some stirring
performances with brothers Rory and Peter Mooney from Clonard doing battle
for family honours at the head of affairs. Next up in the leading ranks were
Ciaran O Dwyer and local runner John Ferry. First junior home was Conor
Daniel from Trim. In the womens category Imelda Clarke headed the field with
ninth place overall.

Trim AC are very grateful to all the runners, joggers and walkers who turned
out to support out Team up for Tabor 3km run tonight. Thanks to Sgt Tom
Mahon & Garda Siochana, Michael Fitzsimons & the Civil Defence,
Cathaoirleach James O Shea, Trim Town Council, Aidan Heffernan & Tabor
House, Christian Harris for the barriers, Trim Tennis Club, Dunshaughlin AC,
Na Fianna AC,Kiltale M & T, John Magee, Athletics Ireland, Noel French &
Focus the volunteers from the Celtic Festival Committee, St Patricks Day
Committee, Richie Walsh, AlanGrehan, David Brady for the registration
office, James Gibbons from Bootcamp Trim, and  Ray Butler TD who generously
sponsored the medals, and spoke at length about everyone taking part.Trim AC
wish the Celtic Festival and the St Patricks day Parade committee the best
of luck with the rest of the festival programme. There was a great
team on duty from the ranks of the club and we could still get a good group
out running. Well done all. We look forward to doing it again. The team
results were as follows 1, Mangan Crew, 2,PRCM, 3, C2ND, 4, The Black and
Ambers, 5, The Warriors, 6, Royal County School of Music.

2 new races

Two new fixtures have been added to the athletics calendar in the county. On Saturday 7 April there will be a very novel one mile challenge in the village of Slane as part of its Easter Festival. Slane Athletic Club will stage the race through the village uphill towards the monastic ruins on the summit of Slane Hill as part of the commemoration of St Paticks lighting of the flame of faith in Ireland.

Road running makes a very welcome return to the roads of east Meath on Wednesday 25 July.  Cushinstown AC return to road race promotion with a 6km event starting and finishing at  the Pudden Hill Activity Centre which is situated between Kilmoon Cross and Garristown . The club previously organised the legendary Garristown 10k which was a feature of the Fingal village festival for many years.

The first night of the county track and field league will be at Claremont Stadium on Wednesday 21 March. 

Votes of Sympathy

The Meath Athletics Board passed Votes of Sympathy with the  Gilbert,Harten, Carolan, Watters and McNally families.

Easter camp and coaching programme

There will be an Easter Athletics Camp in Claremont Stadium on 3/4/5 April for youngsters aged 11 upwards and affiliated with Meath clubs. Book now by contacting 086 2642796 or info@navanac. The county coaching officer Tom Clinton will hold a coaching forum with coaches of all levels of expertise at Claremont Stadium on  Friday 23 March 8pm. It is also proposed that the summer project be opened up to participants from throughout the county this year. Clubs are asked to consider and propose nominees for the role of team manager for the Meath mens squad in the 2012 National Athletics League. The vacant role must be filled at the April county board meeting to allow adequate time to prepare for the first round of the league which is in June this year due to the London Olympics.

The regional development officer Bart Rogers is organising a level one coaching course for trainees from Meath and the general north east region. It will be staged over two weekends 13/14 April and 27/28 April at Claremont Stadium. Participants must be over 18 years of age.  He will also be organising an athletics leader course for newcomers at Dunleer  AC on 31 March. Clubs are asked to book the last few remaining places on both courses with bart@athleticsireland.ie or 087 2696577.

Schools Athletics

Secondary event announced

The Meath Athletics secondary schools track and field championships will be staged at Claremont Stadium on Wednesday 18 April . The county development officers will be notifying all secondary schools with a programme of events in the coming weeks. These championships are ideal preparation for young school athletes, many of whom are not members of clubs to become acquainted with the sport before the North Leinster qualifiers and provincial finals.

The primary schools relays will be held at the new track attached to Ratoath Community College. The Ratoath club has traditionally provided some of the best relay teams in the county and the relatively new local secondary school has made a big impact since its formation a few years ago. Relay races provide great excitement at all levels from underage up to Olympic level. We all have memories and images in our heads from down the years. The board hope that involving primary schools in this type of event will engender team spirit and excitement for newcomers to the sport

Primary Schools Cross Country

Meath Athletics Board will stage the county primary schools cross country finals at the Fr Murphy AC grounds in Frayne, Athboy on Friday 16 March at 10.30 am. The competition will be in the following format, first and second classes 400m, third and fourth classes 600m, fifth and sixth classes 1000m. All primary schools in the county are invited to send boys and girls teams of four to six representatives. Parents are asked to encourage the schools which their children attend and if possible offer help.  Contact Ciaran 086 3445903

Train with us

Juvenile training Boyne CS Tuesday 6pm , Claremont Stadium Friday 6-8pm.  Trim AC meet and train, 7.30 pm every Tuesday from opp the Garda Station,FRIDAY  Long Run 7.30pm Friday. No Circuit this week or next week .SUNDAY Long Run group 10am Porchfields.

Spring Half Marathon

The first Generali Spring Half Marathon was organised by Bohermeen  AC over a  flattish two lap course last Sunday. The weather  conditions were a lot more benign than the forecasters predictions when over 700 runners went to the start line on the gentle incline of the New Line road rising up from Ardbraccan. Trim Athletic Club was very well represented in this race and both the mens and the womens teams finished in fifth place in the team categories which included many established  and  illustrious road running clubs.


 The race incorporated the county half marathon championship and the honour  of winning that title fell on our own Sean Murphy in a great time of 1h18m08s. He was second in the overall M40 category and took the county M40 also. In the county M40 Don Mahon was the second finisher in a time of 1h25m. There were two other Trim runners in age group placings with David Hawcroft first in the M65 (time 1.47) and Ann Tobin, third W50,1h48m. The four counting runners on the prizewinning  mens team  were Sean Murphy,  Dermot Leonard,1.24;Don Mahon, Andrew Linsley, 1.27. In the womens race the four top places were occupied by Claire smith, 1.43; newcomer Niamh Tuite,1.46; Ann Tobin, 1.48; and Majella Thompson making her race debut with a brilliant 1.52 effort. The team and individual results for the county championships will be confirmed later in the week.

Many of our members were taking part in their first ever half marathon and made very good progress over the past year. There were a number of runners from the club with previous long distance experience and they recorded a few personal best performances. The finishing  times were as follows Danny Byrne,1.27,John Doyle,1.28, Enda Markey,1.29,Quinton Bourke,1.30, Frank  Farrell, 1.35,Barry Harten 1.35,Robert Farrell,1.42,Kealan Gormley,1.43,Mark Melia,1.45,Breffni Gordon,1.48,Kevin Horan,1.48,Gearoid Rogers,1.50,Jacinta Hyland,1.52,Heather Carty,1.55,Brian Grant,1.56,Enda Gallagher,1.57,Anita Rogers,1.58,Trish Duffy,1.59,Jane Murphy 2.00,Stuart Daniel,2.02,Genevieve Molloy,2.03,Helen Power,2.05,Juliann Boland,2.05,Paula Hegarty,2.09,Sandra Cunningham,2.13,Niamh Farrelly,2.14.

 The efforts put in during the winter paid off on Sunday when these runners  ran down the finishing shute to the applause of family, friends, club colleagues, training partners and total strangers from every corner of Ireland. Special mention for the Gordon Family, Maureen Lowther, Anna Fay, Mary Carr, Mairead McMorrow and her daughters for their very vocal support at Lawless Cross and Boyerstown.

PARADE your running talent

St Patricks Day is D Day for the Meath 5 Mile road race championship. The Fr Murphy Athletic Club will host the race over a quiet, scenic rural route that starts and finishes in Kildalkey, taking in Rathcormick, Baskinagh, Freyne, Wood Lane.  REGISTRATION €15.00 on the day (from 12.30pm till 1.30pm) at the Community Centre, Kildalkey. All numbers to be collected from Registration on the day.Prizes for first 3 men and women, first masters man and woman (Over 40, Over 50 & Over 60), first male (4 to count) and female teams (3 to count). Accurate measured course. Changing facilities at Community Centre ,after-race refreshments served. Online entry closes at 6pm Friday 16th March       ONLINE ENTRY       precisiontiming.primosolutions.co.uk/ps/event/FrMurphy5mileRoadRaceFunRun

Registration 2012

REGISTRATION 2012


The link below brings you to a downloadable copy of the 2012 registration form.Please complete and give to any member of the committee or post to David Hawcroft, Ballydrittas, Kildalkey, Co Meath.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16242260/Trim%20Athletic%20Club%20Membership%20Form.doc

dl.dropbox.com

Meet n train clarification

Please note that the last edition of Focus on Trim is carried a full page advertisement regarding " Trim Meet n Train" at Kiltale GAA grounds.This project is being organised by MLSP and is not connected to our own training group which has been in existence for the past six years. We will continue to train from our usual meeting place (opp Garda Station, Castle St., Trim) each Tuesday and 7.30pm with circuit training at Boyne CS on Thursday also 7.30pm. PLEASE spread the word among your colleagues.Hopefully this clarification will help avoid confusion. 

Primary Schools cross country

Trim AC has been in contact with local schools about the qualifiers and finals of the Meath Athletics Board primary schools cross country. The format is as follows depending of school size each school can select teams of    4 or 6 boys from 1st & 2nd classes ; 4 or 6 girls from 1^st & 2^nd classes over 400 metres.   4 or 6 boys from 3^rd & 4^th classes; 4 or 6 girls from 3^rd & 4^th classes over 600 metres.    4 or 6 boys from 5^th & 6^th classes; 4 or 6 girls from 5^th & 6^th classes over 1000 metres. Venue Fr Murphy AC Frayne. Date set by Meath Athletics Board Weds 14 March 10.30am. 

Out in force

The huge interest in road running and long distance running around Trim has been taken to a new level this week with over forty adult members of our club pre registered to take part in the Meath Spring Half Marathon at Bohermeen on Sunday. The race will be staged over two laps of a route which begins near the community centre and goes via Ongenstown onto the Athboy-Navan road through Boyerstown returning along the Newline. It is a good level course with no significant climbs. Trim AC has the highest number of entries from any club in the county and all our runners have put in a good preparation over the winter months. Incorporated in the race will be the first county half marathon championship under AAI rules. This record turnout from the ranks is great to see. The officers and committee of the club would like to wish all our members the best of luck with their efforts next Sunday.  

Donning the red and white of Trim for the race will be Helen Power, Danny Byrne, Breffni Gordon, Sandra Cunningham, John Doyle, Frank Farrell, Don Mahon, Carrie Brogan, Tracey Sheridan, Jacinta Hyland, Claire Smith, Kevin Horan, Andrew Linsley, Jane Murphy, Mark Melia, Ann Tobin, Trish Duffy, Martin Brogan, Carrie Brogan, John Ferry, John Canning, Julieann Boland, Brian Cully, Stuart Daniel, Niamh Tuite, Paula Hegarty, Enda Markey, Robert Farrell, John Murray, Niamh Farrelly, Barry Harten, Sean Murphy, Majella Thompson, Quinton Bourke, Paul Smith,  Heather Carty, Anita Rogers,  Mairead Heffernan, Enda Gallagher, David Hawcroft, Brian Grant.

"Team up for TABOR"

"Team up for TABOR" Streets of Trim 3km FUN RUN Friday 9 March 8pm Trim Athletic Club in association with the Celtic Festival and St Patricks Day Parade Committee will stage a 3km team fun run though the streets of Trim. This charity event will raise funds for Tabor House Recovery Centre. We invite all sports clubs, social groups, community groups, residents associations, schools, gyms and workplaces to form male and female teams of four to take part in this fun event which will mark the beginning of the Celtic Festival 2012 Medals for the first 200 finishers. €20 per team of FOUR !!! Registration on the night from 6.30pm at Market Square.

David Hawcrofts reflections & observations on long distance running

HOW YOU (AND EVERYONE ELSE) KNOW YOU ARE TRAINING FOR THE 'BIG ONE'
You've been going to bed exhausted and in pain and waking up exhausted and in pain.

You simply daren't look at your toenails.

You've run 10 miles in 70 minutes and marked it down as an easy run.

You tend to eat whole packets of spaghetti in one sitting

You drive to the wholesale fruit market to buy boxes of apples and bananas

You haven't bought a T shirt for years

You can't sit on park bench for longer than 5 minutes

You have to handle your underwear with disposable gloves.

You know the characteristics of every dog in a 10 mile radius from home.

Your bedroom stinks of sweat plus Deep heat, Tiger Balm and Arnica gel.

The local physiotherapist has you down on his Christmas card list.

You have a biscuit tin full of vitamin supplements, calcium, magnesium, zinc and unpronounceable herbal things.

At work you are the only one whose morning snack is a gel.

You are a professional lecturer and you are the one who falls asleep in the lectures.

You've been barred from the local 'All-You Can-Eat' restaurant.

Your heart rate has fallen so low you are defined as clinically dead.

You've eaten a four course meal, asked for a second dessert and are still hungry.

You've a drawer full of black tights and you're a man.

You've a drawer full of football shorts and you are a woman.

When you open certain cupboards T shirts  fall out and crush you.

Your login is 2.59.59

Your four favourite websites are runireland.com, letsrun.com, mapmyrun.com and athleticsireland.com

You average 9 hours sleep a night (plus a nap when you can) and are still knackered

You get aspirin, ibuprofen and vaseline in industrial packs

Your freezer contains two packs of frozen peas, neither of which are for consumption.

You taped over your wedding video with the London Marathon.

Your home has dusters everywhere and they are all old running socks.

You've fallen asleep during intercourse

You understand the meaning of PB, SB, DNS and DNF

You know the exact length of all the lanes and roads for 10 miles around home.

You run to work, change in a store room and hope nobody notices you stink

You've urinated in more public places than your dog.

You've so many old running shoes you even wore them to a wedding.

You wake up hoping the weather is far too bad to run (and when it is you worry)

You've eaten a six-pack of crisps before going to bed.

Your secret pin number in 02.59

You suggest to your partner that summer holidays could be in London (April), Belfast (early May) Longford (mid-August), or Dublin (late October)!!

David Hawcroft

Come along to our training sessions

Meet and train group from oppositeTrim Garda Station, Castle St every Tuesday 7.30pm. Circuit training at Boyne Community School sportshall, Thursday 7.30pm Track training Claremont, Friday 6-8pm .Long run intermediate group Castle St Friday evenings.  Long run / Marathon group Porchfields main gate 10am Sundays.

New Officers for 2012

Trim AC held its AGM at Scoil Mhuire, Trim on Wednesday evening. The following officers were elected for 2012.  Chairman, Ciaran Tobin, ;ecretary, Caroline Brogan; Treasurer, David Hawcroft; Registrar, Moira Aston ; PRO, Ciaran Tobin; Child Officers, Don Mahon, Maria Brogan; Captain Women, Ann Tobin; Captains Men, Brian Cully, Don Mahon.

Leinster indoor medals

The Leinster indoor athletic championships were held at Nenagh over the weekend and Trim athletes had a number of medal winning performances there. Shane Aston  finished second in the U19 shot putt and third in the high jump. Clare McLernon was second in the under 18 high jump. Oisin Walsh ran 8.60 to finish 6^th in the under 16 60metres. Conor Daniel ran well in the 1500m but finished outside the medals in his first indoor championships event.

Trim officers returned to Co Board.

The 2012 Convention of Meath Athletics Board returned the following members of Trim AC to officer roles

Moira Peppard Child Protection Officer
Moira Aston Registrar
Ciaran Tobin PRO

Same as it ever was

Meath County Board must listen to a lot of Talking Heads. The election of officers for 2012 resulted in a wholesale case of "Same as it ever was" with the 2011 board returned en masse. The only  exception being Gerard Heery who stayed on as cross country team manager but stood down from the same role with the national league squad where he was replaced by Maggie Higgins.
 Three members of Trim AC were returned as officers to serve for 2012. Moira Aston is registrar, Moira Peppard is joint childrens officer and Ciaran Tobin is PRO.