EYERIES 5MILE ROAD RACE 11TH NOVEMBER 2017 …by Pat Twomey

Thirteen hardy Eagles made the journey to Eyeries for their annual 5mile road race which took place in that most picturesque and colourful village located on the Beara peninsula.

While the weather wasn’t the best nothing could detract from the enthusiasm of the local community who had come out in their droves to run and support this event which is organised so brilliantly by fellow Eagle Mark Gallagher and his very able support crew. One member of this support crew is another Eagle Kevin Sievewright who kindly provided us first-timers with some words of wisdom in our approach to the race – ‘don’t get carried away and keep something in reserve for mile three to four’ – wise words indeed!

Maura Regan…1st woman!

The race starts about a half mile up the hill from the village and as it finishes in the village then the course should be considered a net downhill one – in theory! Following a fast start down the hill and through the village the race then turns northwards and begins to climb steadily until mile two when it descends rapidly for the following mile. From mile three on the really difficult climbing begins and just when you think that the worst must be over another hill appears to challenge you and to force you to dig even deeper and then another and another. Onwards and upwards until you reach four and a half miles and then it’s a fast finish into the village and the cheering locals who have come out to support the runners. Young and old runners take part in what must be the most picturesque and scenery laden race in Ireland, if not the world.

The spread after the race in the community hall was only the best and the two local pubs (O’Sheas and Causkeys) together with the local Bistro (Rhonwen’s) made sure that the athletes and their supporters were well hydrated and fuelled up before their journey home.

The Runners World has a list of the 20 races you should do before you die and for me I believe the Eyeries 5mile road race should be included on this list.

To paraphrase the ‘Knocknagoshel Banner’: Arise the Eyeries 5 miler and take your place among the road races of the world!

EAGLE AC RUNNERS
5. Dermot Slyne M40 Eagle AC 31.39 (2nd M40)
6. Vincent O’Sullivan M Eagle AC 32.05
8. Colin O’Herlihy M 45 Eagle AC 32.50 (1st M45)
11. Jerome McCarthy M Eagle AC 34.02
12. Maura O’Regan F35 Eagle AC 34.21 (1st female)
14. Denis Carroll M55 Eagle AC 34.56 (1st M55)
27. Elaine Guinane F40 Eagle AC 37.35 (1st F40)
29. Pat Twomey M50 Eagle AC 37.59 (2nd M50)
31. Eddie Trindle M40 Eagle AC 38.06
32. Maeve Cotter F35 Eagle AC 38.16 (2nd F35)
43. Niamh Lehane F 40 Eagle AC 40.07 (2nd F40)
44. Tony Merritt M50 Eagle AC 40.28
50. Ed Fitzgerald M45 Eagle AC 41.22

Club Notes,,,by Karen Bevan

Well done to everyone on the involvement in, and also great results in, a wide variety of events across the country this week. We had Richard on International duty representing England in the British and Irish Masters cross country in Derry and a team of Eagle’s competing in the Munster Masters Cross Country here in Cork. There were also club members taking part in marathons and half marathons in Kerry, Clare and Laois, and not forgetting or races here in Cork also. Congratulations to all on a great weeks work!

5K In Doneraile Park for Joseph Murphy.
The event we would all love to support this weekend is 5k in Doneraile park on November 25th at 12 noon, this is as you know is a fundraising event for the repatriation of Joseph Murphy, son of club member Joe Murphy whose funeral took place this week.

If club members are travelling to Donerail to run in or help out with the fundraiser on Saturday, please do wear your Eagle AC club gear.

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The Munster Masters Cross Country Championships were held on Sunday the 19th of November 2017 and the club’s M35 team secured a Silver medal after finishing 2nd.

Men O35 Team Club Team …Points
Place Club Positions
1 East Cork A.C. 1, 9, 11, 17 …38
2 Eagle A.C. 2, 4, 24, 29 …59
3 An Riocht A.C. 8, 18, 20, 32 …78
4 Leevale A.C. 6, 16, 31, 41 …94
5 Mallow A.C. 37, 40, 48, 51 …176
6 Youghal A.C. 38, 74, 82, 95 …289
7 Galtee Runners A.C. 69, 70, 94, 109 …342

The scoring members of the Eagle AC team were Alan O’Brien 2nd, Vivian Foley 4th, John O’Callaghan 24th and Ruairi O’Callaghan 29th.

In the individual categories, Alan O’Brien took Silver in the M35, Vivian Foley took Gold in the M45 and Pat Twomey won Silver in the M65.

Full results… Men … Women

Well done to club member Pat O’Connor who took first place in the Run in the Dark 10k road race in Cork City on Wed 15th November.

It was a difficult race for faster runners as the roads were narrow and the four loops around the city centre meant that many slower runners had to be lapped.

Despite the congestion and 700+ other 10k runners, Pat managed to still finish first in a time of 37:42.

Pat is in flying form at the moment having run a PB of 2h 48m in the recent Dublin City Marathon.

The club will be holding its next talk & workshop on Wednesday the 8th of November.

The evening will start at 7pm with a talk by Jennifer O’Callaghan titled ‘Fueling for Peak Performance’.

After a brief coffee break, the second part of the evening will be a practical workshop by Kieran McKeown titled ‘Functional Strength and Conditioning for Runners’.

We hope to finish off the evening by about 9:45pm. More details by email to club members.

Club Notes…by Karen Bevan

Well done to the Club Members who ran the Dublin City Marathon last Sunday. It was a very special occasion, the atmosphere was electric and the crowds of supporters on the day were just amazing. There were some very impressive results posted too and Ruairi has plenty more on this HERE. Alongside the congratulations to the club members running, is a very special word of thanks to the Eagle members who go out of their way to assist other club members in achieving their goals, providing training plans, advice and a listening ear to get people to the start line long before they reach the finish line. This is most sincerely appreciated and peer support is a very strong quality within Eagle AC.

We wish club member Mark Smith the very best of luck as he heads to the USA to take part in the New York Marathon. This will be Mark’s first race in his new EAGLE AC singlet and we will be thinking of him and wishing him the very best on the day.

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New month, new logo! The club has now introduced a new logo as shown above on the right.

While the old logo has served the club well for many years, it was thought that the new version would be more distinctive when seen from a distance. The decision to change was made by the club members who voted in favour of it by 64% to 38%.

This change will be reflected in the new singlets which will also have the club name on the front as well. Again, it was felt that with so many Black singlets and tops now seen in an average race, the old club logo on its own wasn’t distinctive enough.

As part of the change, the club has also decided to increase the subsidy for all singlets so that they now cost just €10. While the old logo is likely to be seen around for a while yet, the new logo will gradually replace it over time.