Togher Athletics News

Togher junior athletes traveled to Banna Beach Co. Kerry for their pre season training camp at the weekend. A group of 45 athletes travelled to Banna and a very enjoyable time was had by all. Coach Steven Macklin supervised the athletes as they took part in some easy running, swimming, a workout on the sand dunes and some core strength work. The athletes put in a big effort over the few days and are now well set for the Cork Cross-Country Championships next Sunday. A big thank you to all the athletes for their superb behaviour over the weekend.

Photos from Banna

Cheboksary, Russia - For a long time Robert (Robbie) Heffernan showed potential for honours at highest level - but injuries and disqualifications halted his progress for much of the time since his first IAAF Race Walking Cup in 1999. Now the guidance of Robert Korzeniowski and the environment of his training group seems to have turned round the career of the affable Cork man - meaning he is, perhaps, Ireland's top hope for an athletics medal in Beijing.

“I’m going well and you can’t write anything off”, said Heffernan in confident mood the day before traveling from his training base in Poland to Cheboksary, Russia for the 23rd IAAF World Race Walking Cup (10-11 May 2008).

He was buoyant for other reasons too as he planning a walk down the aisle with 400m runner and fellow Togher AC member Marian Andrews.

“Yeah, I got engaged a couple of weeks ago. It was about time for me now being thirty years of age. I’m delighted - it’s all good! I’m getting married in October (after the Olympics).”

Marian Andrews has a chance of an Olympics spot for Ireland too. “She ran 55.44 in her first race of the season, so hopefully she’ll make the team for the Europa Cup, so she has an outside chance of getting on the relay team. So, it’ll save us a bit of money if we both go off to the Olympics together!”

Robbie Heffernan’s World Cup record goes back to Mézidon-Canon, France, but features just one other start in Naumburg, for 27th place, in 2004. Apart from an eighth place in the 2002 European Championships his fast times weren’t translated into major honours.

Steady progress

However, since joining Korzeniowski’s squad after the Athens Olympics, Heffernan has seen steady progress, resulting in fifth place in a national record 1:20:15 at the European Cup in Leamington Spa, Great Britain, last May (just losing out in a final sprint for medal to Igor Erokhin of Russian and Ivan Trotski of Belarus). He further enhanced his status with sixth place in the Osaka World Championships, defeating Trotski, Erokhin and the two other Russians Ilya Markov and Valeriy Borchin in the process.

“I look back over my career now I was so, so, raw. But with the professionalism of Robert ... it took a couple of years of walking with him to get it right. Just by staying injury free for a year meant being able to train properly for the whole year. What I achieved was a direct result of that.”

“It’s just about doing things right and being smart about it.”

They’re all training sessions for the Olympic Games

So far this year Heffernan’s has set an Irish 5000m indoor record (the second fastest in the world this year only to Olympic champion Ivano Brugnetti) and he gained another sixth placing in 1:23:45 for his 20km season opener at the IAAF Race Walking Challenge in Mexico.

“Everything’s going well” said Heffernan on his preparations. “After Mexico we were in South Africa for a month, then I came back to Ireland for a few days, then came here to Spala in Poland to train for the last ten days, and am getting ready to go to Moscow tomorrow (Thursday).”

“This year I’ve come up another level. I walked an Irish record indoors, and some of my training sessions this year have been a lot stronger.”

“I actually got a bit sick in the week of Mexico so it was a very good performance considering I wasn’t 100%.”

“My base level this year is just a lot stronger so my minimum performance is at a higher level. If I can hit it right and everything is going well hopefully I can cause another surprise.”

So are we likely to see a similar tussle to that at Leamington Spa with Robbie challenging for a medal in Cheboksary?

“Hopefully, hopefully, Chebosary, in the bigger picture, is another test. I’m also going to do Krakow (two weeks after the World Cup), and maybe La Coruña (7 June). At the end of the day they’re all training sessions for the Olympic Games.”

“They all offer little things to take on board for the Olympics in Beijing. Even racing in Mexico I came away learning something and, hopefully, it’ll be the same this weekend.”

Heffernan has some experience of racing in Cheboksary, in the European Cup of 2003 - although he’d prefer not to be reminded of a DNF.

“I had a stress fracture that year so my season finished after that and I never went to Paris. I injured myself for a year - I ended up with a double stress fracture in my metatarsals. On both sides. So that’s wiped from the memory!”

Even after returning from injury Heffernan suffered the strain of disqualification in Helsinki in 2005 but last year seems to show he has turned a corner.

“I train with Paco (Francisco Fernández) the whole year and for him it’s normal to be 100% professional. It’s the environment I’m in - training with Paco he’ll have his own people always with him; he’ll have a physio available full-time and Robert telling us what to do - you just have to look back and think ‘my God!’ this is the way it’s actually done, and it’s normal for them to be doing that even at a young age. It’s natural to them which is why certain countries produce such great results.”

“With the likes of Ireland and England we may talk about training but it’s not fully practical but over in Spain and Poland there’s a lot of theory but it’s very practical as well.”

This time last year it seemed a surprise for Heffernan to be challenging the leading Russians right to the final few metres. From now on it may, indeed, be a realistic proposal that Ireland has a chance of a medal at world level in the 20km.

Togher AC will be represented on the international front again next week when six club members will represent Ireland. The Douglas CS six man u17 team of Peter Hanrahan (Captain), Patrick Coleman, Marc Tobin, David O’ Keeffe, Adam Kelleher and Brian Murray head for the Czech Republic to represent Ireland at the World Schools Cross-Country championships. These championships are held every two years and the race takes place on Thursday 24th April. This is a fantastic achievement for the club and school, we wish them the very best of luck. A special thanks to Sportsgeardirect and John Buckley Sports who have kindly sponsored gear for the team.

Togher athletes traveled to Banna beach Co. Kerry for a three-day training camp and the 45 strong group had a great time. The weather proved to be marvelous with blue skies and sunshine each day. All the athletes trained well under the guidance of coach Steven Macklin, taking in some easy running, a workout in the sand dunes, some core work and some swimming. A special thanks to all the athletes on their good behavior over the three days. They now focus their attention on the All-Ireland Schools Cross-Country championships taking place in Galway on March 8th.

Photos from Banna

The year 2008 should prove to be a fruitful one for Togher athletes on the competition front. It is an exiting year with the Olympic Games in Beijing in August, where our own Robert Heffernan will line up against the worlds best in the mens 20km walk. Robert had an outstanding year in 2007 culminating in a superb 6th place at the World Championships in Japan. Robert has his sights set on a top 6 finish and a potential medal. His season is well underway at present as he trains twice daily and prepares for one or two indoor races in January, before a stint of training at altitude.

Craig Murphy is another club athlete who will have a busy year ahead with numerous competitions and the Leaving Cert examinations. Craig had a great year in 2007 finishing 2nd in the All-Ireland schools cross-country championships and winning the All-Ireland u19 3,000m title on the track. He also set PB’s in every distance from 800m-5,000m on the track. Craig has his first race of the year on January 12th where he runs for Ireland in the Celtic International Cross-Country in Edinburgh and has his sights set on running in the World Cross-Country championships in March.

The young athletes in the club turn their attention to the schools cross-country season throughout Jan-Mar and all will be hoping for some success with their respective schools. Our sprinters are getting ready for the indoor season with the main focus being on the outdoors in the summer. Kieran Ware, Kevin Walsh, Ronan Foolkes, Liam O’ Brien, Marian Andrews and Eoin Joyce all look set to run fast in the summer under the watchful eye of coach’s Frank Doherty and John Hayes. Also race walkers Mark Dineen and Tim Healy are improving immensely and should have a great year. Best of luck to all the club athletes in 2008 and may it be a very successful year for all.

Togher AC held a fund raising table quiz in Dunlops social club Blackrock. A very enjoyable night was had by all. Club members, family and friends turned out for the quiz and raffle and also used it as a bit of a christmas gathering. Robert Heffernan was MC for the night and club legend Ted Murray was also proudly in attendance. The club made a presentation to our successful u16 cross-country team who won the All-Ireland title in November. An article about their triumph will be published in the evening echo next week sometime with photos.

A special thanks to all who turned up for the table quiz and all at the club would like to wish everyone a merry christmas and a happy new year!!!

Photos from the night

Athletics Ireland have announced their teams for the Celtic International Cross-Country in January and Togher athlete Craig Murphy has been named on the Junior Mens team. The event takes place in Edinburgh on January 12th on the course where the World Cross-Country championships will be held in March. Craig was unlucky not to make the team for the European Cross-Country championships in Spain but he now focuses on the National Junior Cross-Country and All-Ireland Schools Cross-Country in early March. Congratulations to Craig on his selection for the Celtic International and all at the club wish him the best of luck.

The full teams are as follows:

U-23 Men
Michael Clohissey - Raheny Shamrocks
Cathal Dennehy - Emerald AC
John Coghlan - Metro St. Brigid’s
Jason Fahy –Unattached

U-23 Women
Frances Nic Reamoin - Clonliffe Harriers
Rose Anne Galligan - Newbridge AC
Ciara Durkan - Skerries
Rebecca Woods – Clonliffe Harriers

Junior Men
Michael Mulhare – North Laois AC
David Flynn – Clonliffe Harriers
Patrick Hogan –Ferrybank A.C
Craig Murphy – Togher A.C

Junior Women
Sara Louise Treacy (Moynalvey AC)
Lorraine McCarthy (West Waterford AC)
Tekea Gebrezgi – Celtic DCH
Patricia Barry –Ferry Bank A.C

Girls u/17
Ellie Hartnett - Greystones & district
Shannon Ryan - Dooneen
Niamh Kearney - Greystones & district
Mary Mulhare - North Laois

Boys u/17
Shane Quinn - Ferrybank
Liam Markham - Ennis Track
Tommy Casey - North Sligo
Christopher O’Brien – Tipperary

Team Manager - Anne Keenan Buckley
Coaches – Teresa McDaid, Br John Dooley, Tony Ennis

The 2nd round of the All-Ireland Cross-Country championships were held today in Dungarvan on a flat and fast course. The event catered for the uneven ages and the novice cross-country races. Togher athletes had a fairly successful day taking home 8 medals. The teams however finished outside of the medals but everything looks bright for the future. The u13 race over 1200m had four Togher athletes running for the Cork Team. The team finished 5th and John Durcan, Billy Murphy, Eoin Bourke and Luke O’ Leary all performed very well in their first ever All-Ireland race. The u15 boys team were led home by Patrick Coleman with a superb 11th place finish. The team came 6th and the Cork team was 3rd in this age group with Patrick, Shaun Healy and Cullen Lynch all scorers on the team. John Dorgan, Robbie Kidney and Conor Foley all ran well also in their first ever All-Ireland.

The u17 team were without the services of their number 1 man Adam Kelleher, but battled well to a 7th place finish. Peter Hanrahan continued his rich vein of form with a super 30th place finish and he was also a scorer on the Munster team. The Cork team were 2nd with Peter, Brian Murray and Mark Tobin all scorers on the team. Darren Walsh, Alan O’ Brien and David O’ Keeffe all ran superb also. The u19 team was without the services of the top two runners and only started with the bare four athletes. Richard Quirke led the team home with a great run in 38th and James Fennell, Craig Harrington and Cormac Lehane all ran well. The team finished 5th and then Cork team was 4th. The Novice mens team didn’t fare too well with half the team missing for numerous reasons. The team came 14th and many team members were unhappy with their performances. That concludes the competition phase before Christmas and now the attention focuses on the Indoors and the Schools Cross-Country season. All the athletes will take a well-earned break and resume training in the New Year. Congratulations to all the athletes on their performances this winter especially our u16 National Champions!!!

Togher athletes are heading to the Curragh in numbers next Sunday, to compete in the All-Ireland Inter County Cross-Country Championships also incorporating the Juvenile even age championships. The club has teams running in the boy’s u16 and u18 races and also athletes competing on the Cork team in the Junior & Senior races.

The boys u16 team is very strong having finished 2nd in Munster to Ennis Track, losing out on the gold medals by a mere 6 points. Patrick Coleman will lead the team having had some superb performances of late. Brian Murray, Peter Hanrahan and Conor O’ Brien are all running very well of late also. The u18 boy’s team has been in great form also winning the Cork title and finishing 2nd in Munster, losing out on 1st place by 4 points. The team will however be without the services of Adam Kelleher (6th in Munster u17), who was recently the victim of an unprovoked attack walking home and has had to undergo surgery as a result. All at the club would like to extend their best wishes to Adam and his family and hopefully a speedy recovery. The team will be led by Kevin Loftus and Richard Quirke. No doubt the team will rise to the occasion and give it everything for Adam in the Curragh. In the Junior mens race Craig Murphy, Shane Coffey and Craig Harrington compete for Cork. Craig had the misfortune of picking up a stomach bug in Tilburg last week but he is now back to full health and in great form. Craig is seeking a top 4 finish on Sunday, to make the Irish junior team for the European Cross-Country Championships on December 9th in Spain. Shane Coffey the Cork Junior champion goes in to the race in his best ever shape, having run a great opening mile for UCC in the Varsity Road Relays last Saturday. Craig Harrington is also in fine form and should run well. In the Senior race Togher will be represented by Kieran Ryan, Eoin O’ Sullivan and Tadgh O’ Callaghan. All three are in great shape and should help the Cork team to medals. Best of luck to all the athletes on Sunday.

Robert Heffernan, Marion Andrews and Steven Macklin attended the AAI awards ceremony held in the Crown Plaza Hotel Santry on Saturday night. With over 300 people in attendance a great night was had by all. Robert was awarded with the Race Walker of the year award, a well-deserved honor after a superb year. The AAI have said that it will be an annual affair in the future with the possibility of it being broadcast live on RTE television. Below are a list of the award winners:

• Performance of the Year: David Gillick (Dundrum South Dublin)
• Athlete of the Year: Eileen O'Keeffe (Kilkenny City Harriers)
• Track Athlete of the Year: Paul Hession (Athenry AC)
• Field Event Athlete of the Year: Eileen O'Keeffe
• Race Walker of the Year: Robert Heffernan (Togher AC)
• Junior Athlete of the Year: Kelly Proper (Ferrybank AC)
• Cross-Country/Road Athlete of the Year: Fionnuala Britton (Sli Chulainn)
• Master Athlete of the Year: Niamh O'Sullivan (An Riocht, Castleisland)
• Coach of the Year: A Jones (Rathfarnham)
• Official of the Year: Harry Gorman (Donore Hrs)
• Club of the Year: Clonliffe Harriers
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Sean & Maeve Kyle (Ballymena)
• University of the Year: Dublin City University.
• Hall of Fame Award: Ronnie Delany.

Photos from the Awards

There is another busy weekend ahead for Togher athletes with competition both at home and abroad. The club will be out in force at the 2nd Leg of the Munster Juvenile Cross Country Championships, also incorporating the Intermediate races. The races a taking part in Carrignavar on a testing course, starting at 12pm. The club will have full teams in the boy’s u13, u15, u17, u19 and Intermediate races. Qualification is on the line for the All-Ireland Championships being held in Dungarvan on December 16th. The boys u13 team will be led by Billy Murphy and Gary McCarthy who have been in good form of late. The boy’s u15 team is one to watch out for with Patrick Coleman in superb form. The u17 team won silver medals in the All-Irelands in Sligo 2 years ago and they have their minds set on taking some medals home from Dungarvan on December 9th. The u19 team will be without the services of Craig Murphy but still have plenty of big time performers in Kevin Loftus and Richard Quirke. Kieran Ryan spearheads the mens Inter team having had a super race to take 4th place in last Sundays Cork Senior Championships. Eoin O’ Sullivan is another who had a super run last Sunday for 5th place and he too will no doubt be in the shake up.

Craig Murphy has been selected by Athletics Ireland to compete in the 49th International VGZ Warandeloop Tilburg Cross-Country event taking place in Holland on Sunday. Craig travels as part of an Irish Junior selection and will take part in the Junior mens 6,200m race. This race is part of the preparation for some of the Juniors for the European Cross-Country Championships in Spain on December 9th. Craig is in great form and has planned all his training towards December 9th and hopefully a place on the Irish Junior Team. Best of luck to all the clubs athletes at the weekend.

For all results from the weekend see Togher Athletics.com on Sunday evening!

Togher athletes Robert Heffernan and Craig Murphy have been named on the Athletics Association of Irelands High Performance Panels for 2008. Robert has been upgraded to the World Class/Contracted category, which will be of huge support to him. Robert had a superb year finishing 5th in the European Race-Walking Cup, setting a new personal best and national record over 20km and finishing 6th in the World T&F championships. His main focus now turns to the Olympic Games in Beijing next year. Craig has been named on the Junior panel and he too also had a superb year. He finished 2nd in the Schools Senior All-Ireland Cross-Country championships, came 1st in the All-Ireland u19 3000m and set personal bests for every distance from 800m-5000m. He also finished in the top 30 on the European Junior T&F Rankings for 3000m with a time of 8.27.20 (11th u19 athlete). The club is very proud of the achievements of both athletes and we wish them both the best of luck in 2008!!!

Togher athletes traveled to Banna Co. Kerry for their annual pre-season training weekend on Friday 21st September. There were 40 of the clubs juvenile/junior athletes in attendance and Ronan Duggan Bandon AC, Mike O’ Sullivan West Muskerry AC and Niall Tuohy Ferrybank AC also trained with the group. Coach Steven Macklin took the athletes through some training sessions on the beach and the sand dunes. The group also took in some swimming and core-strength. Outside of the training, Ian Tobin led the Poker night while Peter Fennell and Kevin Loftus entertained the group with their guitar expertise and Niall Tuohy gave us a sample of his party pieces with a few Christy Moore songs. All in all a great weekend was had by all and a special thanks to the effort put into training and the good behavior of the athlete’s at the weekend.

Photos from Banna.

On the 18th of September the date was set for the Annual General Meeting of Togher Athletic Club. It will take place on the 27th of November at 8:30pm sharp. All athletes and those involved in the club are encouraged to attend.

The next committee meeting will be on October 9th at 8:30. All committee members are, as always, required to attend.

Steven Macklin reminisces on the day that will never be forgotten by a talented young man from Douglas.

September 12th 2007 will live long in the memory of Togher athlete Brian Murray. Brian a student at Douglas Community School had just received his Junior Certificate results and after ripping open the dreaded letter, it revealed he had scored 12 A’s and was announced as the number 1 student in the entire country.

I arrived at the school at the usual time and was gearing up for a routine training session with the 1st and 2nd year athletes. As I approached the main door to the school I was greeted by the gathering of a large crowd and a camera crew from RTE television. In the middle of the crowd was Brian Murray his face beaming with delight and many schoolmates looking at him in awe. Brian is a quiet, modest and respected character and he was somewhat overwhelmed and almost shocked by the situation he found himself in. As he answered the questions of the reporters, I remembered back to the day he came to his first training session almost 3 years ago, small, skinny and a head full of blond curls. How he has progressed as both a student and athlete is a testament to both Brian and his Parents. I thought to myself how important it was for students to be involved in physical activities outside of school work and how they can benefit students in the classroom. Brian had run in the All-Ireland Schools T&F Championships 4 days before he sat his first exam last June. He trained 4 days a week all year and he will tell you the significant role it played in his success in the classroom. The Romans once had a proverb, ‘mens sana in corpore sano’ meaning ‘a healthy mind in a healthy body’. Brian certainly has this in abundance.

As other students dispersed to receive their results, I brought the 1st and 2nd year athletes to the field to begin training. No sooner had we finished our warm up we were summonsed to the front of the school for a photo shoot with Brian. The young lads were delighted and Brian was slowly but surely getting to grips with the reality that he had just got 12 A’s. The other athletes on the team that did the Junior Cert also received super results and I wondered to myself how significant a part has running played in their results. Running I believe is one of the best solutions to a clear mind and I think the escape it gave these guys from school, allowed them to maximize their efforts in the classroom. As the old saying goes ‘Success isn’t how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started’ and Brian has certainly had a long journey to this point. As the cross-country season looms Brian is gearing himself up for more success and has his sights set on team medals at the All-Ireland Schools Cross-Country Championships in March 2008 and maybe a place in the World Schools Cross-Country Championships, where Brian will try to conquer the world having already done so in Ireland. Special congratulations to all the Togher athletes on their fantastic exam results!!!!

Togher athlete Robert Heffernan walked the race of his life to finish 6th at the World T&F Championships in Osaka Japan. Robert went into the race in the form of his life recently setting a new National Record for the 20km walk. Under the guidance of the legendary Robert Korzenioski, the planning for this race was meticulous. I remember viewing an e-mail from the great man himself back in October last year and August 26th was the key date, with training camps, racing plan and training plans all written down in detail. The planning and preparation that went into this race was first class and this result was no more than Robert deserved. Having gone through double hernia operations and numerous other problems, this performance was truly world class. Having had a great training camp at Matsue where he and the other Irish athletes acclimatized to the conditions, Rob was in confident form heading for Osaka.

The race was held in searing heat and humidity that troubled the best of the African distance runners. Starting at 8am local time temperatures reached 30 degrees Celsius but this did not deter Rob. He settled himself in the Top 10 right from the off and always kept in touch with the leaders. The opening pace proved to be slow as to be expected with the weather conditions and it being a major championship. Italian Olympic Champion Ivano Brugnetti made a break at about 6km and held the lead until the 13km stage. World Record Holder Jefferson Perez passed the Italian and held a slight lead at this stage. Robs training partner Francisco Javier Fernandez of Spain and the surprise package of Hatem Ghoula later joined him at the front. Rob was back in 10th place at this stage but gradually working his way through the field. Perez eventually pulled away to win in a time of 1.22.20. Fernandez passed Ghoula 10m from the line to snatch the silver medal with Ghoula taking the bronze. Rob battled all the way through the last 3km despite picking up 2 warnings. He eventually finished a fantastic 6th place and his delight was clear for all to see as he crossed the line. I watched the race at Robs brothers house surrounded by friends, family and clubmates and it was a mighty celebration when he crossed the line. Congratulations again Rob on a truly world class performance, everyone at the club is proud of you!!!!

Photos from the World Championships

Togher athletes Robert Heffernan and Craig Murphy top the Irish Senior & Junior rankings this summer. Robert is number 1 on the outdoor rankings over 3km, 5km, 10km, and 20km with the latter being a new National Record time of 1.20.15. Robert also lies at number 13 on the European Senior Outdoor Rankings with 1.20.15. Craig lies at number 1 on the Irish Junior Outdoor Rankings over 5000m with 14.53.27 and at number 2 over 3000m with 8.27.20. He also makes the European Junior Outdoor Rankings placing 22nd over 3000m with 8.27.20. Congratulations to both athletes on superb performances this summer. Both are National Champions in their respective events. Best of luck to Robert who competes in the mens 20km race-walk at the World Championships in Osaka Japan on Sunday August 26th, starting at 8am local time (12.00am Irish Time Sunday August 26th).

Craig Murphy and coach Steven Macklin traveled to Belgium at the weekend to take part in the KBC Nacht track meet. Held at a wonderful track in Heusden, the night proved to be a runaway success with many athletes running personal bests. The meet had many top athletes competing including Alan Webb who won the 800m in 1.43. Craig lined up in the 3rd heat of the National 5000m, this being his first ever attempt at this distance. The pace proved to be fast from the start with an opening lap of 65 secs. Craig settled in midway in the 22 man field quite content to stay off the fast early pace. He gradually worked his way through the field until he found himself running with the leaders. After 6 laps Craig was forced to lead the race and stretch out the field. He did so for 4 laps and was eventually overtaken with 800m to go. Craig showed tremendous guts in the final 2 laps and finished his last 600m in 1.40 with a final 200m timed at 31 secs. He was rewarded with 3rd place in a time of 14.53 with the winner timed at 14.51.

Such was the nature of the race being largely a tactical affair and the speed of his last 800m, there is no doubt that Craig could have run a lot faster. It has been a memorable year for this talented young athlete setting personal bests over 800m, 1500m, 3000m & 5000m on the track and winning All-Ireland titles on the track and over cross-country. Craig is ranked number 2 Irish Junior athlete over 3000m with 8.27 and number 1 over 5000m with 14.53. He also lies at number 20 in the European Junior Rankings over 3000m (ranked 8th u19). He now takes a well-earned break from competition and training for 3-4 weeks. Congratulations Craig on a wonderful season.

Also this weekend the club took part in the second round of the National League held at a sunny CIT. The team was hit hard by absentees due to injury but performed well with Mark Dineen 2nd in the walk, Ian Tivy winning the 800m, Elton Heffernan 2nd in the 5000m and David O’ Keeffe 2nd in the steeplechase.

Kieran Ryan took part in the latest leg of the Ballycotton 5 mile series held at Churchtown South last Thursday. Kieran has a great run finishing 3rd in 26.47. He has been in great form on the road of late and will surely finish in the top 3 in the overall Ballycotton series. Tony Lilly also competed and ran a solid 31.06. Its good to see Tony getting back fit again.

At the National u14-u19 T&F championships in Tullamore two athletes represented the club. Robert O’ Neil continued his fine progression in the race walking event coming a superb 5th in the u15 2km walk in a new personal best time of 11.46.43. Patrick Coleman rounded off the season in style in the boy’s u15 1500m. Patrick ran a super race to take the bronze medal in a new personal best time of 4.26.59. Well done to both Rob and Patrick.

Togher athletes competed in the British Milers Club meet in Solihull, the Donoughmore 7 mile road race and the National Senior T&F championships over the weekend.

At the Donoughmore 7 mile road race on Fri 20th Colin Merrit and Kieran Ryan represented the club. Held over a tough undulating course Colin and Kieran ran superb. Colin finished 2nd in 37.22 and Kieran came 5th in 38.25.

Craig Murphy traveled to Birmingham to take part in the latest BMC grand prix. Weather conditions were cold and wet but this did not deter Craig. He lined up in the B 3,000m and finished 9th in 8.30. Craig admitted afterwards that he felt unwell throughout the race but showed true guts in finishing. This time was only 3 secs outside his best set in Belgium 2 weeks ago. Craig now races next Saturday and then takes a well-earned break from training and racing.

The National Senior T&F championships were held at Morton Stadium Santry at the weekend. Held in ideal conditions on the Saturday, Sunday’s weather proved to be quite the opposite with rain the order of the day. On Saturday three Togher athletes lined up in the mens 400m heats all with one eye on a place in the final. Liam O’ Brien and Kevin Walsh unfortunately did not perform to their best and missed out on a place in the final running 50.33 and 50.17 respectively. Kieran Ware ran a strong heat time of 49.40, which was enough for a place in the final. Also on Saturday Ronan Duggan Bandon AC and Ian Tivy lined up in the 800m heats. Both athletes performed well with Ronan 5th in his heat in 1.57 and Ian 5th in his heat in 1.56. The experience will stand to them for next year. Ronan Foolkes ran 56.96 in the 400m hurdles heats, which was enough for a place in Sundays final.

On Sunday Robert Heffernan opened proceedings with an exhibition of race-walking. Robert just home from a big block of training in Guadix, showed how well his preparation is going for Japan. He led from start to finish stretching out the field after 1 lap and walked one of his fastest times ever for the 10 km distance with 39.11. Robert now focuses his full attention on the World Championships in Japan in August. Also competing in the walk was Mark Dineen. This was Mark’s first ever National Senior championships and he produced a great walk to complete 5 km in 23.40, a new PB by 90 secs. Kieran Ware put in a valiant effort in the 400m final and came 7th in 49.34. Ronan Foolkes was not so lucky in the 400m hurdles final where he had to step off the track just after the 300m point. Ronan has been troubled by an Achilles tendon injury and had to strap it up for the race. Congratulations to all the athletes on their performances over the weekend.

Pictures coming soon

GlaxoSmithKline 5 mile road race

On Friday 13th four Togher athletes traveled to Dungarvan for the GlaxoSmithKline 5 mile road race. Eoin O’ Sullivan ran very well to finish 5th in a time of 26.25. Junior Shane Coffey ran a super race to finish 9th in 27.25 and Peter Fennell also run very well to come 10th in 27.33. Another Junior James Fennell continued his impressive form of late running 31.14. Also on Sunday Colin Merrit and Eoin O’ Sullivan finished 2nd and 3rd respectively in a 5 mile road race held in Fermoy.

All-Ireland u14-u19 T&F championships

Also at the weekend Togher athletes traveled to Tullamore to take part in the All-Ireland u14-u19 T&F championships. First into action on the Saturday was Patrick Coleman in the u15 boys Javelin. Patrick performed very well and was rewarded with a 7th place finish and a best throw of 30.63m. The boys u17 1500m steeplechase featured Toghers David O’ Keeffe. Dave battled hard throughout and cruelly lost the bronze medal in the last 50m. Dave however finished a brilliant 4th in a new PB of 4.59. In the u19 boys steeplechase Craig Harrington produced yet another PB to finish 6th in 7.26. Patrick Coleman lined up in the boys u15 800m with a bi d field of 14. The pace was very fast from the gun with Patrick passing through 400m in 61 secs in 11th place. He ran a strong 2nd lap to come home in 8th place and he was 1st Munster man home. In the u17 boys 800m Togher has 2 athletes towing the line in Adam Kelleher and Alan O’ Brien. Both athletes have missed most of the season due to exams but performed well to finish 10th & 12th respectively.

One of the truly great performances of the day came from Ronan Duggan Bandon AC in the u19 800m. Ronan is coached by Steven Macklin and after a PB last week in the National Juniors he was looking for a medal. Sticking to the pre race plan Ronan sat in 4th place keeping tabs on the leaders. With 100m to go Ronan unleashed a mighty kick to bring him into 2nd for the silver medal. An added bonus was a new PB of 1.56. Also congratulations to Michael O’ Sullivan of West Muskerry AC who trains with Ronan and the Togher athletes. Mike ran a sup erb race in the u16 800m to take the bronze medal and also a new PB time. With all the 800m races at an end it was time to focus on the 3,000m. Here Togher had 2 athletes running, David O’ Keeffe in the u17 race and Craig Murphy in the u19 race. In the u17 race David O’ Keeffe ran a great race to finish 10th in a new PB of 10.00.00 just missing on breaking the 10 min barrier.

Performance of the day came from Craig Murphy in the u19 3000m. Craig lined up against 10 very talented athletes with the gold medal firmly in his sights. After an opening lap on 73-74 secs the athletes were almost tripping over each other. This continued until the mile where the paced quickened to a 70 secs lap. At this stage it was Craig, Conor Dooney Ferrybank, Eoin Pierce Clonliffe and Lee Stenson Mullingar locked together. Both athletes covered this lap in 64 secs. Pulling away from the field Dooney was in front until he started to slow with 500m to go. Craig kept the pace strong and opened up a 15m gap with a lap to go. He went on to win the title comfortably in 8.47 with Dooney 2nd and Pierce 3rd. Congratulations to all the Togher athletes on their superb performances at the weekend.

Photos

Togher athletes had another busy weekend competing in Belgium and Tullamore. On Saturday Craig Murphy and coach Steven Macklin traveled to Oordegem Belgium to take part in the Memorial Van Buyle track meet. The meet was held at a wonderful facility with a large crowd in attendance. Craig lined up in the 3000m at 11pm at night alongside some top athletes. Ranges of nationalities were represented in the race including an Ethiopian, a New Zelander, Belgians, Dutch and French runners. The 19 man field came through the opening lap in 63 secs with Craig Murphy settling back in 12th place. Craig showed true determination throughout the race and was rewarded with a fantastic 8th place and a new PB of 8.27.20. This was a truly inspirational performance from Craig and considering he covered the last lap in 64 secs, there may be more to come this season. This run now places Craig 18th on the European Junior outdoor rankings. Craig now turns his attention to next Sundays All-Ireland u19 3000m in Tullamore.

At a wet Tullamore Harriers stadium on Sunday, Togher athletes competed at the National Junior & u23 Track & Field championships. The clubs sprinters continued their rich vein of form this season, with Liam O’ Brien coming a great 2nd in 49.88 in the u23 mens 400m and Kieran Ware finishing strong to take 3rd in 49.91. Eoin Joyce took part in the u23 mens 200m and finished a superb 5th in 23.26. Congratulations again to Frank Doherty on coaching the athletes to such fine performances. In the race-walking event Mark Dineen and Tim Healy took part in the u23 5000m, this being their first National Championships. Mark finished a superb 2nd and Tim Healy 3rd, with both athletes winning their first ever National medal in race-walking. Ian Tivy ran a fine 800m in the u23 race and was rewarded with 4th place and a time of 1.58.07. Congratulations also to Ronan Duggan who is coached by Steven Macklin. Ronan finished a fine 6th in Junior mens 800m in a new PB of 1.57.52. The performance of the day came from Peter Fennell in the mens u23 1500m. With a very talented field assembled Peter found himself in last place through the opening lap. Showing tremendous courage Peter battled hard throughout and was rewarded with a new PB of 4.13.53. Shane Coffey also ran well in the Junior mens 1500m. The attention now focuses on the All-Ireland u14-u19 T&F Championships being held in Tullamore next weekend

Weekend Report

Togher athletes competed in numerous events over the weekend including the EAP meet in Nivelles Belgium, T&F meeting in Barcelona, the Cork City Sports, the Munster u15-u19 T&F and the ESB National League Round 1.

EAP Meet, Belgium

Ronan Foolkes traveled to Belgium to compete in the 400m hurdles. The EAP meet was held in Nivelles. Carrying a bit of an injury at the moment which has interrupted his training, Ronan finished a very good 5th in 56.95. Hopefully he can get over this problem and be at his best at the Natioanl Senior T&F in three weeks time.

Race Walking, Barcelona

At Barcelona in Spain Robert Heffernan took in a 5km race, taking time out from his training stint in Guadix. He finished 2nd to Juan Manuel Molina in a time of 18.59.37 smashing the Irish Record. This was a magnificent effort by Robert and he can now focus his attentions on training and the World championships in Japan in August.

Cork City Sports

At the Cork City Sports Eoin O’ Sullivan took part in the Irish Milers Club B 800m and ran a solid 2.04. Weather conditions were not ideal with strong winds at the Mardyke.

Munster u15-u19 T&F championships

At the Munster u15-u19 T&F championships in CIT Togher athletes were again in the medals with some great displays. With a lot of the squad on holidays, the athletes who competed did very well. David O’ Keeffe continued his fine season with a 2nd place finish in the boys u17 3,000m to add to his silver in the steeplechase last weekend. Peter Hanrahan u16, James Fennell u18, Alex Kelly u18 and Craig Harrington u19 all ran very well in their 3,000m events. Alex produced a great new personal best by 8 secs. In the u15 800m Patrick Coleman ran a very brave race to finish 4th and qualify for the All-Ireland championships in 2 weeks time. Others to run well were Cullen Lynch, Robert O’ Neill, John Dorgan, Ian Tobin, James Kelleher and Andrew O’ Keeffe. In the girls u16 Race Toghers new member Susan Fennell ran a very good race her first ever one to come 7th in 3.05. The u15 race walk had two Togher athletes competing with Robert O’ Neill coming a fantastic 2nd and John Dorgan unfortunately getting disqualified with 250m remaining in the 2k event. The u17 800m produced the highlight of the day with a Togher one, two finish. Adam Kelleher did much of the pacing and was overtaken by Alan O’ Brien with 350m to go and Alan went on the record a fine victory. This was Alan’s first ever win at a Munster championship and both athletes can now look forward to the All-Ireland championships to be held in Tullamore on 14th/15th July.

ESB National League Round 1

At the ESB National League Round 1 in Waterford, Togher/Belgooly athletes performed well. Round 2 takes place on Sunday 29th July.

Results from Waterford.

Dublin Graded Series

On Wednesday June 27th seven Togher athletes and Ronan Duggan of Bandon AC made the journey to Dublin for the latest round of the Dublin Graded series. The races were held at a cold and blustery Irishtown Stadium in Ringsend.

Full report from Ringsend.

Togher athletes were very busy three weekend competing in three championships, the South Munster Schools T&F on Saturday (athletes competing for Douglas CS and Ballincollig CS), the Cork County u14-u19 T&F on Sunday and the Munster Junior & U23 T&F on Monday. The club was very successful in the weekends racing.

7^th - Munster Junior & U23 T&F
6^th - Cork County u14-u19 T&F
5^th - South Munster Schools T&F Championships

Robert Heffernan competed against the worlds best race-walkers at the world race-walking challenge held in Shenzhen, China. Uncomfortable heat and high humidity greeted the athletes in the mens 20 km race. With all the worlds top walkers there this was going to prove a massive challenge for Robert. True to his nature, Robert pulled out a superb performance finishing in 11th position in 1.21.52. This was a huge improvement on his seasons best of 83 mins and also a qualifying time for the 2008 Olympic games to be held in Beijing. The fact that he recorded this time in such testing conditions proves that all his training is going to plan, with the big target for the season being the World Championships in August. Robert’s training partner Francisco Fernandez won the race in a super time of 1.18.51, a new world leading time. Also congratulations to Colin Griffin on his performance in Slovakia. Colin walked 3.51.32 for 50 km which is a world and Olympic qualifying time.

The athletic association of Ireland recently announced their high performance programme for the year. A total of 72 athletes have been named on the programme for this year, which will see 37 athletes in the senior programme and 35 athletes in the youth and junior achievers programme. Togher athletic club have 2 representatives on the programme with Robert Heffernan named on the international senior high performance squad and Craig Murphy named on the junior achievers panel. Both athletes fully deserve their places on the panels with both in superb form at present. Robert has recently returned from the Spanish race-walking championships, after recording a time of 83.02 on a tough demanding course. He now races in China before a training spell at altitude. Roberts’s main focus is the world championships in Japan in August so all his preparation is going fully to plan. Craig has been in outstanding form this winter recording wins at two UK-Cross Challenge races in Cardiff and Birmingham. He also won the Irish national u18 cross-country title and finished 2nd in the Irish schools cross-country championships having another year left at senior level. Craig now heads to Poland at Easter with the squad for a 10 day training camp at Spala.