Turkey Trot and Fun Run

Our first ever “Turkey Trot” Fun Run and walk will take place next Sunday 18th December. This is a great way to start Christmas Week. The “Turkey Trot” will start at the entrance to Courtown Forest and finish at the train station (4K) . All you need to do is come along to the track on Sunday morning from 10.30 and register your name and the time you think you might do and the nearest to the time will win the prizes. So walkers and runners have a fair chance of winning some prizes. Spot prizes will also be given out. This is a FREE EVENT – but donations may be made and will be given to the St Brigids Hospice Annual Collection. We encourage all our members to bring their families along to be part of a community event.

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Kildare Senior Cross Country

It was a very historic day for the ladies of St Cocas yesterday in Castletown House in Celbridge. For the first time ever we were able to field a team for the Kildare Senior Cross Country. Weeks of training and encouragement went into the preparation for the event with just one ultimate aim…..to strike GOLD! Even the weather obliged us on the day. It was like a spring morning when 39 women lined up for what promised to be a tight team race. Host clubs Celbridge and Le Cheile has full squads out and Newbridge were also out in force. Dark horses Donadea Runners also looked good. The race started out at a fairly smart pace and immediately Donadea showed that they meant business. They had 3 athletes in the top 6. The Newbridge number one was also looking good but also in the mix was Emily Milner, Sophie Courtney and Lynda Gormley. Celbridge and Le Cheile athletes were among the mix too and also Brigid Fitzsimons from Kildare AC. At this stage I found myself up with the head bunch….what was I doing there! Adrenaline! As we moved into the 2nd field I suddenly found myself sprawled on the ground….a bit sorry for myself I roared to the team to keep going, I was grand! Things at the top end had moved on with Donadea’s Charlotte Kearney taken a clear lead and Newbridge Michelle Cox 2nd and a battle royale for third with Emily and the 2nd Donadea runner. It was all about clever team running at this stage. Sophie and Lynda were in about 6th and 7th, but where were the rest. Next thing they all appeared as if in training, Louise, Annette, Deirdre, Pamela and Teresa and they were working hard. With less than 2k to go it was just keep the head down and get to the line. It was still hard to tell how the team results had gone, some felt the Donadea had it in the bag and others felt maybe Newbridge. Meanwhile the pain was setting into my arm and it was off to casualty for me….but not before I got the great news St Cocas Kildare Senior Cross Country Champions 2011….Job done! St Cocas were also well represented in the mens race where Andrew Smyth was first man home for the club in 7th place. Larry and Gerry also finished well and the were followed by Martin Baten, Kevin Kelly, Mick Burke and Martin Kennedy. The team finished 4th. All in all a great day for the club in two very competitive races. 2011 has seen a renewed interest in athletics all over the county and here in St Cocas we hope to build on the successes of 2011 into the next year. Well done to host clubs Celbridge and Le Cheile and to Kildare County Board for well organised event.

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Leinster Cross Country – Day 2

Day 2 of the Leinster Cross Country took place in beautiful conditions in Adamstown in Co Wexford yesterday. 12 St Cocas athletes were in action on various county teams. Kildare county had their first victory of the season in the girls U11 where the county team won gold medals. Naas club team came 2nd with a good team run. Our U11 team did not travel on this occasion but having finished 2nd to Naas in the county championships will no doubt be looking forward to having a go next year. In the girls U13 race we had 3 athletes. Lucy McCann having a really good run to finish in the top 30, Eimear Callagy was also in the top half of the race and Karla Burke had another good run. The Kildare team came 5th. Stephen Smyth in his first ever Leinster race ran brillantly to finish 13th, just outside the medals but his Kildare team won bronze and have qualified for the All Ireland in the Curragh. Ciaran Smith was also a member of this team. In the U15 age groups Karen Bourke and William McDonnell both ran great. Niamh Burke was the sole Kildare runner in the girls U17 and also ran well. Kevin Kelly was 16th in the boys U17 but here again Kildare did not field a team. Emily Milner, having missed her age group 2 weeks ago due to injury moved up to the U19 and finished 5th to qualify for the Leinster team in the upcoming All Ireland. In the final race of the day Larry Kelly and Andrew Smith were in action in the Intermediate Men’s race where they were both in the top 30.

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October “Mile Challenge”

The October “Mile Challenge” will take place on Friday 28th. Walkers at 6.45 and runners/joggers at 7pm. All welcome. Entry fee €2 for adults and €1 for children. This years charity is the LauraLynn House – Childrens Sunshine Home. Visit http://www.sunshinehome.ie/ for more info.

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Leinster Cross Country Day 1

The first round of the Leinster Cross Country will take place in Belvedere House, Mullingar on Sunday next 30th October. The first race will commence at 12 midday sharp. The following athletes have been selected to represent the club AND County Kildare on Sunday. U12 girls Sorcha Gillman, Emma Ginty, Aine Burke, Tara Whittaker, Amy McDermott and Laura McDermott U12 boys Jake Reidy U14 girls Sophie Milner, Laura Rattigan and Lucy McCann U14 boys Eoin Reidy and Ciaran Smyth U16 girls Caoimhe Whittaker, Niamh Burke, Katie Milner, Karen Bourke and Elaine Kilduff U18 girls Emily Milner, Sarah Bourke, Sophie Courtney and Sinead Kelly U18 boys Kevin Kelly Novice men Andrew Smyth We need to be at the venue by 11am. When you arrive at Belvedere look our for the club banner.

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Kildare Cross Country Day 2

The 2nd day of the Kildare Cross Country took place today Sunday in Eire Og/Corracoill GAA Grounds. It was mild but blustery for the young athletes but it did not deter them in the various races. First up were the girls U9 team and Rebecca Travers got into her stride early in the race and cruised home to win. Her team mates were running great behind her and Leah Groome 8th, Doireann Killeen 9th Aine Field 13th, Hannah Corcoran 18th and Lauren McDermott won the team gold medals. Well done to these girls who are really dedicated at training and deserve their win. Another team to perform exceptionally well were the girls U11. For most of the team this was their first Cross Country race and they ran like a true team to finish right behind each other Sorcha Monaghan 12th, Cadhla O’reilly 13th, Laura McDermott 14th, Ailish Mulhall 17th, Sadhbh O’Reilly 18th, Holly Ginty 21st and Aoife Rattigan 22nd. They won silver team medals. These girls can only improve now for the Leinsters with a race under their belt. Just two weeks ago we were unable to field even one boys team but today we get two very competitive boys team out. The u9 boys were also new to cross country running and their team finished just outside the medals in 4th. Pierce O’Reilly 13th,Conor Rattigan 17th, Shane McDermott 25th and Alex Connolly 33rd were fantastic for such small lads. In the boys U11 Rory Kavanagh came 9th and here again his team were 4th just 4 points behind the bronze medals. Diarmuid Smyth 18th, Ben Deherty 24th, Johnny O’Sullivan 27th and Alex Ginty 33rd. Stephen Smyth had a really solid run in the boys U13 to finish 6th with Gareth Kavanagh 18th, both lads running cross country for the first time. The girls U13 had a few members who cried off due to injury on the day but it did not stop Lucy Mc Cann from having her best race ever to finish 4th. Eimear Callagy 9th with Katie O’Sullivan 29th, Karla Burke 30th and Helen Field 35th the team came 5th. Michael Malone also had a fine run in the boys U15 to finish 11th and Karen Bourke came 6th in the girls equivalent. From here on it was gold all the way for the club when Caoimhe Whittaker U17, Rachael Smyth U19 and Kevin Kelly U17 all won individual gold medals. The girls U17 team also claimed the gold with 4 runners in the top 5. Sophie Courtney 2nd, Niamh Burke 3rd and Verena Shcumacher 5th. In the boys U17 Eoin Byrne finished 3rd after a great run. Lynda Gormley, Aine Traynor and Carmel Kelly completed the St Cocas runners when they ran the Intermediate race with no results yet. Well done to all today. I think many of the athletes surprised themselves with their good runs and enjoyed the experience. Leinster Championships will take place in 3 and 5 weeks time.

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Mile Challenge takes place in the rain

The first “Mile” since the summer took place tonight in a torrential downpour. It did not stop 21 hardy souls from taking part. Earlier on in the day almost 200 5th and 6th class pupils from the three primary schools did the mile. Read the “Mile Challenge” link for more.

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Kildare Cross Country

The first round of the Kildare Cross Country took place today in Narraghmore and St Cocas teams were successful in all of the girls and Womens races. First up were the girls U10 where we had a full team out and they ran away with the team competition. They were led home by Rebecca Travers who won an individual silver medal. She was closely followed by Aoife Rattigan in 4th place. Holly Ginty, Jodie Flanagan, Anna Malone, Kirsten Monaghan, Lauren Grogan and Maud O’Shea were also members of this talented team. Girls U12 saw Sorchl Gillman ran a brillant race to claim a silver medal. She was followed home by Emma Ginty, Amy McDermott, Laura McDermott and Claire Durkan to win team bronze medals. The U14 girls team were also silver medal winners with the team being led home by Sophie Milner. Also on that team were Lucy McCann, Laura Rattigan, Meghan O’Brien, Eimear Callagy and Allanna Keane. Walker Karen Bourke was the first home in the girls U16 where she came 4th. The club team here came 2nd with Niamh Burke Katie Milner, Elaine Kilduff and Varena Schumacker. Sophie Courtney had a marvellous run in the U18 race to finish 2nd and lead the team to gold medals. Sarah Bourke and Sinead Kelly also being part of that team. In the Masters race Annette Whittaker, Carmel Kelly and Aine Traynor combined to take the team title. Then to the boys and mens events. We were very thin on the ground in these races where Diarmuid Smyth and Alex Ginty both ran well in the U10 race but did not have a full team. In the U14 age group Eoin Reidy had a fine run to finish 6th with Ciaran Smyth 9th but yet again no team. Kevin Kelly ran a storming race in the boys U18 to take the individual silver and the only individual winner of the day was Larry Kelly who won the overall masters race. He was followed home by Mark Leonard, Martin Kennedy and David Hynes. No team results available for this race. Well done to all who competed today. It was great to see such a great turnout from the club and looking forward to two weeks time in Eire Og. Some photos have been added on our FACEBOOK page

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Mile Challenge

September “Mile Challenge” will take place on Friday 30th at 6.45 for walkers and 7pm for runners/joggers. We hope to see as many people as possible taking part this year. It turned out to be a great event last year with many adults joining our Tuesday night training as a result. €2 per adult and €1 per child. Why not encourage your friends and neighbours to take part and challenge them to the “Mile”?

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Weekend News

KILDARE “B” Track and Field – Sunday 4th September in Leixlip Amenities Centre at 11am. Events for U9 to U14 years. Girls U9 80m and Ball Throw Boys U9 80m and Ball Throw Girls U10 80m and Ball Throw Boys U10 80m and Long Jump Girls U11 100m 600m and Ball Throw Boys U11 100m 600m and Long Jump Girls U12 100m 800m and Long Jump Boys U12 100m 800m and Long Jump Girls U14 100m 1000m and Shot Putt Boys U14 100m 1000m and Shot Putt TRAINING RESUMES ON MONDAY 15TH AUGUST AT 7pm.

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Saturday 13th August 2011

Well done to Emily Milner who represented Athletics Ireland at the Celtic Games Track and Field in Antrim on Saturday. Emily competed in the U18 1500m where she came 3rd. Congratulations!

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Sunday 7th August 2011

Congratulations to Paul Robinson on his fantastic win in the National Senior 1500m final in Santry on Sunday. This was Paul’s first Senior outdoor victory and comes on the back of some very good performances over the past number of weeks. He will be competing in a number of races in Europe over the coming weeks. Everyone in the club wishes him the best of luck for the remainder of his season.

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Sunday 24th July 2011

Paul Robinson made another breakthrough in Finland today when he set a magnificent new PB for the 800m. Running in Lapinlahti in a top class race he crossed the line in 1.47.31 almost 3 seconds inside his provious best time. This time also qualifies him for the European Championships in Helsinki next year.

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Saturday 23rd July 2-11

The National Juvenile Track and Field Championships took place in Tullamore with the Walks and 1500m being top of the programme. St Cocas had 5 athletes in action coming away with 4 medals. Nathan Murphy claimed top spot in the U15 Walk. Emily Milner U18 1500m and Karen Bourke U15 Walk both won silver medals and Sarah Bourke won her first national medal claiming a bronze in the U18 walk. Rachael Smyth finished 6th in the 1500m. Well done to all athletes who participated during the season. Winter training will begin the second week of August.

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Sub-4 Mile for Paul Robinson

Paul Robinson made a little bit of history last Friday night in Santry when he ran his first Sub-4 minute mile to become the youngest Irish Sub-4 miler ever. In doing so he also became one of 45 Irish men and only one of two other Kildare men to have achieved this marvelous feat. Fellow St Cocas man David Campbell and Newbridge’s Andrew Walker the other two. On what was a perfect night for fast times Paul lined up in a top class field of Americans, Australians and Irish runners to finish in 7th place overall in a time of 3.59.99! In a field of 17 runners it was never going to be an easy task but when Paul reached the bell he knew the time was on. However when he crossed the finish line he had an agonising wait for the time to be confirmed…..and how close was it! This is a great send off for Paul as he sets off to Ostrava on Tuesday as part of a 20 strong Irish team. Paul will be competing in the 1500m heats on Saturday morning at 9.35am. Full live coverage will be on Eurosport from 9am in the mornings and 5pm in the afternoons from Thursday next. Best of luck to Paul from everyone in the club.

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Sunday 10th July 2011

Congratulations to Rachael Smyth on winning a silver medal at the All Ireland Track and Field finals in Tullamore on Sunday. Rachael had a fantastic run in the U19 3000m race to win a well deserved medal. Well done.

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Sunday 26th June 2011

Congratulations to Paul Robinson on his fantastic win in the National U23 1500m in Tullamore on Sunday last. Paul has just returned from altitude training in the Pyrenees and cruised to victory. His next race will be the “Morton Mile” in Santry on Friday 8th June and from there it is onto the European U23 Championships in Ostrava in the Czech Republic in mid July.

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Leinster Track and Field Championships - 18th/19th June 2011

Leinster U13 to U19 championships took place over the past weekend in Tullamore. First up on Saturday morning were the walks. Nathan Murphy won the U15 boys walk and Karen Bourke 2nd in the girls race. Sarah Bourke came out on top in the U18 race. Ciana Curley was competing in her first Leinsters and came 4th in the U16 event. Also in action early on Saturday morning was Helen Field in the U13 Long Jump and Shot where she performed very well but was out of the medals. In the middle distance races Rachael Smyth (U19) 3000m and Emily Milner (U18) 800m both won gold medals but Sophie Courtney (U17) was just caught on the line for 3rd place. She still qualifies for the All-Ireland. Kevin Kelly had a good solid run in the U17 800m finishing 6th and Niamh Burke (U16) and Michael Malone (U15) both competing in the 1500m ran well but were also out of the medals on this occasion. On Sunday Emily and Rachael were both in action in the 1500m coming 2nd in their categories. Caoimhe Whittaker (U18) finished 6th in the 800m and Ciaran Smyth ran well in the 600m heats but failed to make the final. The last two athletes in action on the day were Sinead Kelly (U18) finished 4th in the Triple Jump and Lucy Benndorf came 4th in her heat of the U14 800m.

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Leinster Team Competition - 11th/12th June 2011

5 teams travelled to St Abbans track in Co Laois for the Leinster U9/U15 team competition last Saturday winning silver medals in the U12 event and performing very well in the other age groups. The U12 team of Sorcha Gillman, Amy McDermott, Emma Ginty and Tanisha Dions (sub Aine Burke) won the silver medals having competed in the 60mh, 600m, Shot Putt, Long Jump and relay. The U11 team had to move up a year as one of the team could not make it and they did great finishing 8th team overall. Saibhdh O’Reilly, Cadhla O’Reilly, Laura McDermott and Aine Burke were on this team. The U9 team of Aine Field, Rebecca Travers, Yvonne Farrell and Noibh Ginty finished 5th while the U10 team of Kirsten Monaghan, Holly Ginty, Maud O’Shea and Anna Malone came 6th. The older team of Helen Field, Caoilann O’Reilly, Karla Burke, Lucy McCann and Eimear Callagy were competing U13 and came 6th. Well done to them all. It was a lovely relaxing day and all the girls enjoyed the competition. On Sunday many of the older athletes travelled to Castleisland in Co Kerry to compete for County Kildare in the Senior Track and Field League. Kildare women were in the Premier Division and Emily Milner had a great run in the 800m to finish 2nd and get 7 points. Sinead Kelly 4th in the Triple Jump and Sarah Bourke 3rd in the Walk. Niamh Field and Aisling Kilduff were also in action. The standard in the premier was very high and Kildare are sitting in 5th place in the division after round 1. A big job lies ahead in round 2 to make the National final in August. The Senior men were also in action and even though they are also in 5th place they are better placed to make the final. Bobby King showed many of the younger men how its done when he came 3rd in the walk to gain 6 points. Andrew Smyth also 3rd in a great 1500m race while Kevin Kelly guested in the 800m and came in just behind Le Cheile Conor Murphy in a new PB of 2.08. The remainder of the team were from all over the county and they had many 3rd place finishes and are looking forward to round 2 in July.

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All Ireland Schools Competition - 4th/5th June 2011

Another Impressive performance by Sinead Burke on Saturday at the Schools All Ireland in Tullamore. Representing her school Maynooth PPS she won the junior girls walk in a time just under a second outside the record set by Kate Veale a couple of years ago. In the same race Sinead O’Connor (Celbridge AC) who trains with Sinead and the walkers here at St Cocas won a bronze medal in the same race. Sarah Bourke also had a fine walk in the Inter girls event finishing 4th and Nathan Murphy finished 6th in the junior boys event. On Sunday then the Leinster Senior and Masters took place in Tullamore. Bobby King started the day off in style when he cruised to victory in the 3K walk. No electronic time was taken but the hand time indicated that he was on schedule for another world best time! Andrew Smyth lined up is his first Leinster Senior 800m and showed true grit to go out hard with the leaders early and came home in a time of 2.05 and a bronze medal. Larry Kelly also in action had a fine run in the 5k coming 2nd in his category.

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Paul Robinson sets PB in 1500M in Manchester - 28th May 2011

News just in from Manchester where Paul Robinson was in action tonight at the BMC meet. Competing in the “A” 1500m he had a brillant run to set a new PB and also make the standard for the European U23 champs this summer. There were some fantastic performances today in Navan at the Leinster U9/U12 events. Pride of place must go to the U9 girls team of Rebecca Travers and Aine Field who won a gold medal in the 300m and silver in the 60m. There were some more exciting performances from the girls U10 Aoife Rattigan, Kirsten Monaghan, Holly Ginty, Maud O’Shea and Lauren Grogan who ran great in their events. No full results yet. Preliminary results in the girls U11 where Laura Mc Dermott, Sorcha Monaghan and Ailish Mulhall were competing where Sorcha and Ailsih were in the hunt for medals. In the U12 events Sorcha Gillman finished in the most unlucky place of all, 4th after a marvelous run in the final. Emma Ginty had a great run in the 60m heats and just missed out on the final while Amy McDermott also just missed out on the 600m final. Tanisha Dions ran great in her first Leinster event.. Full results should be available on athleticsleinster.org. It has been an exciting 24 hours for the club. Last night the last of our “Mile Challenges” before the summer holidays took place and the current record holder Alan Kelly (GCH) made the journey from Galway to try to better his time. Unknown to him we had invited a little bit of opposition to him. Naas AC Patrick Roche and Ciaran Mattocks lined up with Alan, Andrew Smyth, Kevin Kelly and Larry doing the mile for the first time. A total of 12 athletes took to the starting line and after a moderate first lap 6 athletes were locked together. Same positions after lap 2 with Alan pushing from the front. Entering into the last lap Alan got a few metres lead on Andrew. Patrick was another few metres behind with Larry and Kevin slugging it out after that. With 200m to go Alan was still out in front when Kevin turned on a bit of speed and cruised past Larry and Patrick and made a gallant effort to pass the two leaders. Meanwhile Andrew too was closing on Alan who was really hurting now. They crossed the line just over a second apart with Alan holding on to win. No new record but a fantastic race. Andrew, Kevin Patrick and Larry all ran under 5 mins with Ciaran just outside it in his first “mile”. Results will be added soon and a video of the race can be seen on our facebook page. Upcoming Fixtures – Saturday next 28th May Leinster U9-U12 competition in Navan starting at 10am. Details of the pairs and events at training on Wednesday. Sunday 29th Leinster Junior and U23 in Kilkenny.

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Leinster Schools Track and Field – 20th May 2011

Congratulations to Nathan Murphy (Scoil Dara Kilcock) and Sinead Burke (Maynooth PPS) who both won gold at the Leinster Schools today. Nathan in his first Leinster schools won the junior boys walk by over 100m and Sinead had an even bigger margin in the girls event. Karen Bourke (St Wolstans) was just edged out for the bronze medal. In the Inter girls walk Sarah Bourke (St Wolstans) won a silver medal following a very good walk. Also in action was Rachel Smyth and Sinead Kelly (Scoil Dara) and Sophie Courtney (Kings Hospital). All performed well but were out of the medals. Last Wednesday Niamh Burke (Lucan Community School) won a marvelous bronze medal in the U16 mile while Kevin Kelly (Scoil Dara) had to be content with 9th in a top class race.

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Mile Challenge

Results for the April “Challenge” have been added – click on right

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Fixtures Updated

Kildare Track & Field – click on the right

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Clothes Recycle Drive

A big thank you to all who supported out recycling drive to raise funds for the club. The clothes were collected tonight (Tuesday) and we will have a final tally in the coming days. Hope all your wardrobes and hot presses are neat and tidy now!

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Kildare Track and Field Championships – Day 2

Sunday next 8th May in Celbridge starting at 12 midday. We need to be in Celbridge at 11.15 to get numbers and warm up.

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DAY OUT – 2nd May 2011

30 athletes and 9 adults had a fantastic day at Causey Farm in Co Meath on the Bank Holiday Monday. The weather was fantastic for the visit. We got our chance to get up close and personal with many of the farm animals – some closer that others…. The new born lambs and the day old chicks were great favourites and we should never be short of milk again with all the milking maids (and masters) around. Another highlight was the sheepdog herding the sheep into a pen (made up of us all). At this stage a tractor and trailer pulled up to bring us to the bog in style ……. and then the real fun started. Jumping into the bog hole (a new sport) proved to be fantastic fun. It wasn’t long before Gerry and Bobby were rolling around up to their necks in muck. It was all about getting down and dirty. Everyone got involved…….well almost everyone! Some people needed to keep the make up and hair intact! (Still looking great Debbie and Annnette!). Gerry had to get a bit of coaching in and started a few relay races (across the bog). By going home time there was plenty of happy and dirty bodies and all agreed that it was a great day out very suitable for all ages. Photos to follow. Sunday 17th April – Kildare Track & Field Narraghmore A very large contingent of club athletes travelled to Narraghmore today for round 1 of the Kildare Track and Field. Well done to everyone who competed and we had some marvellous results. One of the many highlights of the day was a fantastic winning return to competition for Andrew Smyth who had a great run in the Inter 800m. Rachael Smyth also followed up her Senior 800m win last year with back to back titles and Kevin Kelly won his first Kildare track title for a number of years in the U17 800m. Results: U9 Rebecca Travers 1st 80m and 2nd Long Jump U10 Relay Aoife Rattigan, Kristen Monaghan, Nise O’Cuill and Holly Ginty 2nd U12 Tara Whittaker 80m 2nd, Sorcha Gillman 600m 2nd U13 Oisin O’Cuill 600m 2nd U14 Niamh Disney 100m 3rd and Shot 2nd, Cormaic Divilly 200m 2nd U14 Relay Lucy Benndorf, Lucy McCann, Sophie Milner and Niamh Disney 3rd U15 Nathan Murphy Walk 1st, Jamie Smyth High Jump 3rd, Michelle Curran 100m 3rd U17Caoimhe Whittaker 300m 1st, Niamh Burke 1500m 2nd, Kevin Kelly 800m 1st U19 Emily Milner 800m 1st Senior Women Rachael Smyth 800m 1st, Lynda Gormley 3rd Inter Women Lynda Gormley 1st Annette Whittaker 3rd Inter RelaySinead Kelly, Aisling Kilduff, Annette Whittaker and Emily Milner 1st Inter Men Andrew Smyth 800m 1st Inter Relay Kevin Kelly, Tom Durkan, Mark Leonard and Andrew Smyth 1st Masters women 800m Lynda Gormley 1st, Louise Manders 2nd – Annette Whittaker 1st, Debbie Burke 2nd, Samantha Ginty 3rd Masters Men 15 00m Larry Kelly 1st- Mark Leonard 1st – Tom Durkan 1st Masters 200m Mark Leonard 3rd

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West Leinster Schools Santry - 12th April 2011

The first day of the West Leinsters took place on Tuesday and St Cocas had a number of athletes representing their various schools with lots of success. Sinead Kelly (Scoil Dara Kilcock) got the day off to a great start in the Senior Triple Jump where she not only jumped to a new PB but won the gold medal too. Rachael Smyth (also Scoil Dara) and Emily Milner (Maynooth PPS) both ran a great race in the senior 1500m with Rachael winning in a new PB and Emily finishing like a train to take the bronze. Also in the senior events Aisling Kilduff (Scoil Dara) ran a brillant 400m to win a bronze medal. Niamh Burke (Lucan Community School) had a marvellous win in the U16 mile and Kevin Kelly (Scoil Dara) also ran a new PB when winning a bronze medal in the boys U16 mile. Sophie Courtney (Kings Hospital) was another to qualify when she finished 2nd in a great Intermediate 1500m. This was even before the walkers got started. Sinead Burke (Maynooth PPS) made a winning return to competition in the Junior walk and Karen Bourke (St Wolstans Celbridge) finished 3rd with Ciana Curley (Maynooth PPS) 4th in her first ever race. Nathan Murphy (Scoil Dara) followed up his recent all Ireland success with a very commanding win in the Junior walk and Sarah Bourke (St Wolstans) also took top spot in the Inter Walk.

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National Indoor Championships - Nenagh - 2nd April 2011

There were some fantastic results from the National Indoors today in Nenagh. Pride of place goes to Nathan Murphy who claimed his first All Ireland medal in the walk… and he went for the best medal possible winning the 1000m walk in a fantastic time of 4.44. Karen Bourke had to settle for 2nd in the U15 walk where her training partner Sinead O’Connor from Celbridge edged ahead in a very good race. Sarah Bourke was just outside the medals in the U18 walk where Kate Veale of Waterford set off in a blistering pace. Earlier on Rachael Smyth finished in the most unlucky position of 4th in the U19 800m and Sophie Courtney 5th in the U17 800m. Congratulations to everyone and especially Bobby King on the successes of the walkers. Along with Karen, Nathan, Sarah and Sinead he also has been working with Aloise King from Tallaght who won a bronze medal in the U14 walk.

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News from 17th/19th/20th March

Some great results over the past few days for St Cocas athletes home and abroad. While we were ambling our way around the streets of Kilcock on St Patricks Day Bobby King was taking things a lot more seriously in Gent in Belgium as he struck gold in the M65 3000m walk. He followed this up on Sunday with another victory in the 5000m walk and led the Irish team to silver team medals. Bobby's success was very well deserved after all the time he dedicates to training. He also takes time out to coach a very talented group of young walkers from St Cocas and beyond. Meanwhile in Magherafelt on Saturday afternoon Emily Milner and Rachael Smyth were in action at the National Juvenile indoors in the 1500m. Emily Milner ran the race of her life to take the gold medal, her first, in the U18 race and Rachael finished just outside the medals in the U19 1500m in 5th place. Well done to Bobby and the two girls on their achievements over the weekend.

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Kildare County Senior Road Race - 13th March 2011

Another tremendous performance by the St Cocas women today in Leixlip at the county senior Road race. In a top class competitive race Rachael Smyth showed her class as she cruised to victory over the 4k route. Behind her the team race was hotting up with Celbridge, Newbridge and St Cocas having runners well up. Lynda Gormley had another fine run to finish 9th and Sophie Courtney 11th and Jessica McKenna 14th in their first senior race the team just narrowly lost out to Newbridge by 2 points when the results were calcualted. Celbridge were just another 2 points behind. Louise Manders also finished well just ahead of Carmel Kelly and Aine Traynor not far behind and delighted with her progress. Athletics is definitely on the up in the county with 37 finishers in the womens race and when the men lined up it looked like another cracker. Naas AC had the first two but were unable to field a full team. Newbridge completed an impressive double winning the men’s title. Larry Kelly and Andrew Smith finished together in the top 15 with Larry giving current Irish International David McCarthy of the host club Le Cheile a bit of a fright as he sprinted with him to the line – David just getting the better of him! Mark Leonard and Shane O’Malley completed the scorers for St Cocas but were out of the medals. The host club Le Cheile put on a great spread of tea and cakes (forget lent!) afterwards which was appreciated by all. The organisation of the race and the stewarding was superb too. Well done to all. Tuesday night training is showing dividends for these senior athletes and anyone interested in joining in just come along the the track any Tuesday at 7pm.

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All Ireland Schools Cross Country - 12th March 2011

The All Ireland Schools Cross country took place at Abbotstown Sports complex in ideal conditions. Aislinn Hurley was the lone club athlete in action and she had a super race in the Senior girls race to be 3rd scorer for her school The Bower, Athlone. The team finished 5th overall in a very competitive race. Paul Robinson was also in action in the Universities Championships where he was representing his college DCU. Paul was up against some fairly experienced runners and finished 8th overall and was part of the winning DCU team.

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Scottish Indoor Championships, Glasgow - 5th March 2011

There were some great performances from St Cocas athletes at the Scottish Indoor Championships in Glasgow over the weekend. Emily Milner had a fantastic run in the U20 800m in a flying finish to claim the gold medal – the first for the club. Emily left herself a bit to do with 200m to go but really started to move down the back straight and just overtook the scottish athlete on the finish line. Rachael Smyth also had a marvelous run in the U20 1500m. In a very tactical race she was always in contention just fading in the last 200m to take a silver medal in a new PB. Caoimhe Whittaker and Sophie Courtney were both running in the U17 800m. They were up against some very stiff opposition and Caoimhe made the final with Sophie getting a new PB in the heats. Caoimhe finished 5th in a very hot final. Sinead Kelly was in action in the U20 triple jump where she finished 7th place. It was a very enjoyable weekend for the girls with the medals being the icing on the cake. Roll on the National Indoors!

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Kildare Intermediate and Masters Road Races - 27th February 2011

The County Kildare Intermediate and Masters Road races took place this morning at Naas Rugby Club. On a bright and sunny morning the turnout for the races was magnificant with 26 women and over 40 men taking part. It was probably the most competitive county road race for many years. St Cocas had 5 women and 5 men taking part and the women were up first. Best for the club was Lynda Gormley who finished 7th and she was followed by Annette Whittaker, Carmel Kelly, Debbie Burke and newcomer Aine Traynor. The team ran great coming fourth in the Intermediate category and 2nd in the Masters. Annette and Carmel winning medals in their respective categories. Next up were the men and about 5 runners from Celbridge, Naas, Newbridge and Donadea Runners took up the running. The St Cocas men were patient however and by the time they came around the 2nd time towards the finish Larry Kelly was 4th overall and 1st place master. Without a full masters team it was down to the younger lads to score for the Intermediate medals. Andrew Smyth had a strong run to lead this team to Bronze medals. Mark Leonard, Tom Durkan and Shane O’Malley all coming through to make the team. Well done to all who took part. It was great to see such good competition at Kildare level and many of these athletes will be looking forward to the county Senior in 2 weeks time. Kildare should be able to field some very competitive teams also in some of the upcoming Leinster races too.

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Paul Robinson wins Senior 1500M at Woodies DIY National Senior Indoors - 20th February 2011

Fantastic performance by Paul Robinson in the final of the 1500m at the Woodies DIY National Senior Indoors at the Odyssey on Sunday. In his first ever senior final Paul cruised to victory in a time of 3.52.60. This comes on the back of a very heavy training schedule. Paul’s main target for the upcoming season in the European U23 championship and the World Student Games. Congratulations Paul from everyone in the club on one again putting ST COCAS on the map.

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Leinster Indoor Championships 12th/13th February 2011

The Leinster Indoors took place in Nenagh over the weekend and it was another successful competition for St Cocas Athletes. The 1500m and 600m were the main track events on Saturday and Sophie Courtney had a great run in the U17 race to claim a well deserved silver medal. Emily Milner also had a great run in the U18 race with the result in doubt up to the last lap when Emily showed her class and pulled away from the field to claim the honours. Similarly in the U19 race Rachael Smyth always looked like she was going to win and she pulled away in the last 400m. Earlier on Ciaran Smyth and Oisin O’Cuill ran in the heats of the U13 600m. Both lads ran well with Oisin making the final as fastest looser. In the final he showed real spirit after a bumpy start and got himself into 3rd place going into the last lap. However he was overtaken in the last 100m and had to settle for 4th place. Sinead Kelly had to wait until the end of the day to compete in the U18 Triple Jump where she claimed a bronze medal. On the second day the Walks were the focus of the early part of the programme. Bobby King had the walkers well ready for battle and they all performed well. Karen Bourke had to settle for 2nd place to her training partner Sinead O’Connor (Celbridge) in the U15 race. Some good competitions ahead for both girls! Probably the race of the day for the club athletes was the U15 boys walk where Nathan Murphy put in a blistering performance to take his first Leinster gold medal. Sarah Bourke also won the gold medal in the U18 walk. The 800m were up next and first out was Eoin Reidy in the U14 event. A clever race by Eoin saw him easily make the final. Gavin Judge also had a good run but failed to make the final. Caoimhe Whittaker, in her first race of the season had a solid run to finish 3rd and qualify for the ALL Ireland. Niamh Burke was 7th in this race. Sophie Courtney found tired legs when she needed speed in the U17 race but finished well to claim the silver medal and Rachael Smyth had to run with the U18 girls but ran on strongly to cross the line first and win gold in the U19 event. In the sprints Jake Reidy qualified for the final of the U12 60m and came 7th in the final. Tara Whittaker and Anna Bourke ran well in the U12 60m heats. David Judge was 2nd in his heat of the U13 60m but was unlucky not to make the final and Lucy Benndorf and Niamh Disney both ran well in the U14 sprint, Lucy also just missing out of the final. Last event of the day was the 800m final and Eoin Reidy ran a stormer finishing in 4th place behind 3 very good runners. Well done to all who travelled to Nenagh on two well organised days by Leinster Athletics. The medalists can look forward to the All Irelands in late March/early April.

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Ras na hEireann

Aoife O’Cuill was the lone club runner in the annual Ras na hEireann on Sunday where she had a marvellous win in the U11 event.

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All Ireland 'B' Cross Country - 6th February 2011

On one of the wettest days of the year 22 St Cocas athletes made the short trip to the Aer Lingus Sports grounds to take part in the All Ireland “B” Cross Country. On the course there were many areas of flooding and the running proved tough for everyone. First up were the U11 girls and they ran a terrific team race. Sorcha Gillman led them home with Emma Ginty, Aoife O’Cuill, Amy McDermott, Laura McDermott, Aine Burke and Elena Teeven combining to take a marvellous club bronze. This was a great achievement for these girls and is the first time a St Cocas girls team have won All Ireland Medals. Four of the team Sorcha, Emma, Aoife and Amy were members of the county Kildare team who won silver medals. In the boys U11 Sam McCormack got off to a great start and finished in the middle of a very big field. The girls U13 also had 7 club athletes and Sophie Milner ran her best race ever to finish 9th overall and win an individual medal. She along with Laura Rattigan 51st and Meghan O’Brien 61st were part of a successful Kildare silver medal winning team. Karla Burke, Helen Field, Louise Leonard and Lucy McCann all ran well and the club team finished 6th. A very strong Kildare county team in the boys U13 won the overall gold medals with Eoin Reidy 6th part of that team. He also led the St Cocas club team to silver medals, finishing exactly the same points as Na Fianna but awarded the silver on countback. Oisin O’Cuill 22nd, Shane McCormack 28th, Brian McLoughlin 43rd , Gavin Judge and Ciaran Smyth were all members of this very strong team. Then the U15 girls got off with Niamh Burke always in the top 15, she battled her way through to the top 10 and finished strongly in 8th place. This race was won by Sinead O’Connor (Celbridge) who trains for the walks with St Cocas. Well done to all who competed as the conditions were absolutely awful.

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Irish University Indoors - 5th February 2011

Paul Robinson got his indoor season off to a solid start when he was in action in Nenagh at the Irish Universities Indoors on Saturday. He finished in 2nd place in a time of 8.25 and helped DCU to overall victory in the competition. Paul is now looking forward to the National Senior Indoors which takes place in the Odyssey in Belfast in two weeks time.

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Leinster Indoor Championships - 30th January 2011

Sinead Kelly and Sarah Bourke were the only two club members in action at day 1 of the Leinster Indoors on Sunday 30th in Nenagh. Sinead won a silver medal in the junior Triple jump and bronze in the Long Jump and Sarah won a silver in the Junior Walk. Well done to both.

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New MILE RECORD at “Challenge”

A chance drive around the roads of Kilcock was all that Roscommon man Alan Kelly needed to take the “Mile challenge” last Friday night. Alan had spent his college years studying in Maynooth college and had even trained at the running track while staying in Maynooth and it was his good memories of that time that brought him back to take up the “Mile challenge”……..read more in MILE CHALLENGE

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World Age Group Record for Bobby King - 23rd January 2011

Sunday, January 23rd, 2011 Today’s Woodie’s DIY Masters indoor championships at Nenagh stadium produced some exciting competition. One of the highlights of the day came in the men’s 3,000m walk where Bobby King (St. Coca’s AC) set a new world O65 age group record with a time of 15:19.02. The headline on the AAI website says it all…. Well done Bobby, all that hard training really paid off. Everyone at St Cocas is so proud of you. Keep up the good work. Paris is just around the corner.

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Mile Challenge

31st December 2010 A very happy new year to you all from the coaches and committee of St Cocas AC. After all the snow and frost we are all looking forward to resuming training next week on Monday 3rd January.

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The Leinster Athletics Star Awards - 8th January 2011

These will take place on Saturday 8th January in the Seven Oaks Hotel, Carlow. Great news for the club again this year as Rachael Smyth has been chosen as the Kildare winner and will be presented with her award on the night. Tickets for the night are €30 and can be ordered from either Larry or Carmel. It was a great social night last year and a large number of athletes and parents attended from the club.

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Up coming events

January 9th Leinster Senior and Junior Cross Country Kilmacow Co Kilkenny January 16th All Ireland Uneven age Cross country Tullamore Co Offaly January 30th Leinster Indoors day 1 – Junior/Senior and Masters and juvenile relays – Nenagh Second Level Students The various zone competitions for Schools Cross country will take place towards the end of January/early February. It is important to keep up the training for these events. Please contact the co-ordinator in your school and make sure that your team is entered.

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Best wishes to Paul this weekend

Everyone in St Cocas wishes Paul Robinson the best of luck in Albuferia on Sunday. Paul will be representing Ireland in the junior mens event at the European Cross Country. Ireland will be very well represented in all races from Junior up to Senior. Check RTE or BBC for live coverage of the event.Weather update….. With a thaw finally in sight we hope to be back training next Monday night at 7pm.