ROAD RUNNING 2005

County Cavan Winter League 2005

Shercock AC Win the Sillan Tours Cup

Albert Eakins Performs Well in Amsterdam

Shercock master Albert Eakins traveled to Holland to take part in the Amsterdam half-marathon and enjoyed a successful competition, finishing 149th overall in a men's field of 4657, completing the course in a time of 1:28:26.

October 9th - Cavan Winter League Round 2, Bailieborough

The second leg of the Cavan Winter League took place today in Bailieborough. A cold wind provided a stiff challenge to the competitors however the rain that had threatened earlier in the day held off, sparing everyone an early taste of winter. There was strong participation in most of the races and in the senior events Noel Carroll strengthened his grip on the men's title with a comfortable win over 6km from Laragh's Martin Fulton and Bailieborough's Briain O'Dowd. The men's team title went again to Shercock with Bailieborough second. Albert Eakins likewise was a convincing winner of the masters race however Colin Waterson continues to show improvement and with team mates Eamonn Gargan and John Joe Rogers secured team honours for Shercock. The Shercock senior and masters mens team are pictured left. Karen Ruxton finished third in the ladies 3km race which was won by Annalee's Louise O'Reilly. There was a great battle between Shercock's James Muldoon and Luke O'Brien and Annalee's Fionan O'Reilly in the under 18 3000m (right) with the lead changing hands on several occasions. O'Reilly pulled away in the closing stages to win while Luke moved into second place as James tired at the finish. The result left all three runners tied for first place on four points each after two rounds, so it will all come down to the wire for the final stage in Drumgoon next Sunday. Fiona Murray was a comfortable winner of the girls under 18 race, while Lisa Clerkin produced a great run to take second place in the under 16 event where Shercock were depleted by the absence of Derrice McPhillips, who was recovering following an accident during the week. Celine Clerkin and her brother Niall were impressive individual winners of the under 14 and under 12 events while Barbara Ward produced a great effort when finishing second in the girls under 12 600m, just ahead of team mate Edel Kieran. Colm Smith (left) made a return to competition to win the under 16 1500m while a below-par Kevin Ruxton finished third.

Shercock were the leading club on the day, scoring 77 points followed by Annalee (69), Innyvale (39), Team P Elliott (12), Drumlin (11), Bailieborough (5), Mullahoran (3) and Laragh (2). After two rounds, Shercock have established a strong lead with a total of 167 points ahead of Annalee (123), Innyvale (75), Team P Elliott (32), Drumlin (15), Mullahoran (11), Bailieborough (9) and Laragh (4).

September 11th - Cavan Winter League Round 1 The first leg of the annual winter league began in Breffni Park today following a late change of venue from Killygarry GFC. The weather belied the title of the race series as the temperatures rose into the twenties while a record breaking entry ensured plenty of lively competition for the large crowd of spectators in attendance. Shercock started the league as defending champions and holders of the Sillan Tours Cup but faced strong opposition from a resurgent Annalee AC, Innyvale AC and hosts Team P Elliott AC. . Karen Ruxton began the day with a win for the club in the ladies 3000m and there were further points gained when Catherine Magorahan took the runner up spot in the ladies masters section. The men's 5km had a large starting field however the race belonged to Noel Carroll who led from gun to tape for an impressive win in 15:31. Michael and Peter Muldoon, and Alan McEntee secured the team honours for Shercock. The masters race saw Albert Eakins finish first with a commanding lead over team mates Eamonn Gargan and debutante Colin Watterson. The threesome scored a valuable 1-2-3 to take the team points for Shercock. Fiona Murray looked comfortable throughout the under 18 1500m, taking first place, while team mates Edel Gargan, Bernadette Muldoon and Bevin McGeever ran well to take second team behind Innyvale AC. The boys under 18 2000m produced what was arguably the race of the day as Annalee's Fionan O'Reilly went head-to-head with Shercock's James Muldoon and Luke O'Brien. The race followed a predictable pattern initially as O'Reilly tracking Muldoon who set a strong early pace, and seemed set up for the Annalee man to take the win in the closing stages with his impressive finishing pace. A change in the script occurred with two laps remaining, however, as Muldoon injected a surge of speed which O'Reilly struggled to match allowing the Shercock man to break clear, building his lead all the way to the finish line for his first win over his rival this year. Luke O'Brien, meanwhile, also produced a strong finishing surge over the final lap and overtook the tiring O'Reilly to secure a surprise second place. Paul Fitzpatrick and Edward McDermott brought the Shercock team home to take the team honours. Derrice McPhillips led her team mates Lisa Clerkin and Katie Dillon to a clean sweep of the honours in the under 16 1000m and secured first team with the help of Rachel Daly. Kevin Ruxton matched Annalee's Aodoghan O'Reilly stride for stride on the opening laps of the under 16 1500m and then picked up the pace to move into a clear lead which he maintained all the way to the finish line. Shercock's Craig Lynch. Kieran McDermott and Paul Smith combined to take team silver behind Annalee. Celine Clerkin ran away from the rest of the field for a comfortable win in the under 14 600m while team mate Shauna McGeever also ran well to finish fifth. Team honours went to Shercock with Team P Elliott in second place thanks to the efforts of Laura Rogers and Julie Ward. The boys under 14 race was dominated by Annalee AC, however a young Shercock team which included Joe Dillon, Reece McEnteer and David Roe ran well to finish second overall. Very large fields were the order of the day in the under 10 and 12 age groups. Barbara Ward had a great battle with Annalee's Eadaoin O'Reilly in the under 12 400m, finally settling for second place at the finish line. A strong team performance by Edel Kieran, Sinead O'Neill and Ashling Farrell, all of whom finished in the top 10, secured team honours for Shercock. Niall Clerkin was the best placed club athlete in the boys under 12 race, also finishing second as did the Shercock team, while Grainne Faulkner and Micheal Marron were top finishers for the club in the under 10 events. Summary Team Results - Updated: Ladies Masters: 1. Annalee Men's Masters: 1. Shercock Senior Men: 1. Shercock Girls 18: 1. Innyvale 2. Shercock Boys 18: 1. Shercock Girls 16: 1. Shercock 2. Innyvale Boys 16: 1. Annalee 2. Shercock 3. Innyvale Girls 14: 1. Shercock 2. Team P Elliott 3. Mullahoran Boys 14: 1. Annalee 2. Shercock 3. Team P Elliott Girls 12: 1. Shercock 2. Innyvale 3. Annalee 4. Mullahoran 5. Team P Elliott Boys 12: 1. Annalee 2. Shercock 3. Team P Elliott 4. Drumlin 5. Mullahoran Girls 10: 1. Annalee A 2. Team P Elliott 3. Innyvale 4. Annalee B 5. Mullahoran 6. Shercock 7. Mullahoran B Boys 10: 1. Annalee A 2. Team P Elliott 3. Mullahoran A 4. Innyvale 5. Shercock 6. Annalee B Overall Positions after 1st Leg: 1. Shercock (90 points) 2. Annalee (54) 3. Innyvale (36) 4. Team P Elliott (20) 5. Mullahoran (8) 6. Drumlin (4) 6. Bailieborough (4) 8. Laragh (2).

Colin Watterson (Mens Masters) and Alan McEntee (Senior Men) in action in the 5000m.	Karen Ruxton was a comfortable winner of the ladies 3000m.

Noel Carroll takes an early lead in the 5000m before running on strongly for an impressive win in 15:31.	Catherine Magorahan looks relaxed as she comes home in second place in the ladies masters 3000m.

Masters Clean Sweep - Shercock's Eamonn Gargan (2nd), Albert Eakins (1st) and Colin Watterson (3rd).	Fiona Murray was a comfortable winner of the under 18 1500m.

The race of the day gets under way in the under 18 2000m.	Derrice McPhillips leads team mates Lisa Clerkin and Katie Dillon to a Shercock 1-2-3 in the under 16 1000m.

Kevin Ruxton leads Annalee's Aodoghan O'Reilly on the opening lap of the under 16 1500m before running home strongly to win by a large margin.	Celine Clerkin puts in a great effort to run away a convincing winner of the under 14 600m.

The boys under 14 team put in a strong performance to take second place behind Annalee AC.	Shauna McGeever finishes strongly in fifth place in the under 14 600m.

Joe Dillon battles for valuable points at the end of the under 14 800m.	Barbara Ward leads the Shercock charge at the start of the girls under 12 400m.

Michael Marron leads home the Shercock team in a packed out under 10 300m.	Eadaoin O'Reilly (Annalee AC) and Barbara Ward battle for the lead at the end of the under 12 400m.

Start of the men's 5000m.	Michael Muldoon on his way to a fourth place finish in the men's 5000m.
September 2nd - Streets of Monaghan 5K Road Race The annual Streets of Monaghan 5K took place today on the flat fast 2.5km course around the county town's centre, producing some great individual contests among the large field that turned up to support the Monaghan Phoenix promotion. The senior men's race saw a new course record as Willowfield's Paul Rowan shook off the challenge of his club mate Dean Fisher and junior men's leader Paul Pollock on the second lap of the two-lap course to come home a convincing winner in a time of 14:49. Third place in the senior men's section went to Boharmeen's Derek Croan. Julie Butler from Omagh moved rapidly up the field, overtaking many of the male competitors in the closing stages, to secure the women's title from Newcastle's Kerry Harty and local girl Donna Evans from the host club. Shercock interest was centred on the junior men's race where Noel Carroll produced a strong closing lap to take second place behind Paul Pollock while James Muldoon found Bailieborough's Briain O'Dowd had too much in reserve in the closing stages and conceded third place to his fellow Cavan man. Luke O'Brien made his debut in his first major road race and finished well in sixth place in the junior men's event. Georgina Treanor from Monaghan Phoenix was a comfortable winner of the junior women's section from Oriel AC club mates Orla and Emma McCabe. Among other Cavan competitors, Laragh's Martin Fulton came home in 11th place in the senior men's category while Laragh AC club mates Brian O'Reilly and Michael Smith produced good runs but finished outside the medal positions in their masters categories. Pictured right: Junior Men's 5km medalists - Briain O'Dowd (Bailieborough AC) third, Paul Pollock (Abbey AC) first and Noel Carroll (Shercock AC) second.

Paul Rowan (Willowfield) wins the senior men's event in Monaghan with a new course record.	Paul Pollock (Abbey) comes home in third place overall and as winner of the junior men's race.

Shercock's Noel Carroll finishes strongly in second place in the junior men's race.	Luke O'Brien finishes sixth in the junior men's 5km in Monaghan

April 10th - County Cavan Road Championships
The county road championships were held today in Killygarry and a strong squad from the club turned out to defend the McCormack Cup which Shercock has won for the past seven years. The men's 10km race started on the main Cavan to Dublin road near the Lavey Inn and turned up a side road to Kilygarry GFC, following a very hilly circuit with some steep inclines in the closing stages before finishing on the track around the local GAA pitch. In the absence of defending champion Sean Smith and pre-race favourite Martin Fulton from Laragh AC, who had competed in the BUPA run the day before, the race was the most open in recent years. Noel Carroll showed that his recent improvement in form was not confined to the track as he took the race by the scruff of the neck and ran away from the field to record a surprisingly comfortable victory on the tough course. Michael Muldoon stayed to the back of the pack in the opening stages until he reached the hills when his mountain running prowess took him up the field to finish well in second place. James Muldoon appeared to have third place well sewn up by the half way stage however he came under pressure in the closing stages from Bailieborough's Briain O'Dowd. James held on to his position and finished strongly in the end. Luke O'Brien, meanwhile, was making his first appearance in the competition and produced a great run to finish in sixth place and secure the team title for Shercock. Albert Eakins was a comfortable winner of the men's masters 10km and there was further reason to celebrate for Shercock when Eamonn Gargan produced a great run to take the masters silver medal ahead of Laragh's Michael Smith. In the ladies race Fiona Murray put up a strong challenge to Irish intermediate cross country silver medallist Louise Reilly from Annalee however Reilly pulled away in the closing stages leaving Fiona in second place at the finish line. Karen Ruxton and Bernadette Muldoon produced a great team effort to take third and fourth place and secure the team title for Shercock ahead of Bailieborough in a repeat of the men's team result. There was further cause for celebration in the Shercock camp when Geraldine O'Reilly produced a great effort in the closing stages of the ladies masters 3km to move up the field into second place and secure valuable points for the club. When the points were totaled Shercock had comfortably retained the McCormack Cup for the eighth successive year. In the juvenile races there were some great individual runs by the club's younger athletes. Celine Clerkin was a very convincing winner of the under 14 event and her younger brother Niall ran well to finish second under 12. Barbara Ward showed good form to take third place in the under 12 competition. Derrice McPhillips ran away from the field to win the under 16 800m while team mate Lisa Clerkin was also impressive in third place. Kevin Ruxton led the under 16 800m from start to finish and Gerard O'Reilly made a rare excursion over 800m, finishing in second place.

Fiona Murray keeps company with national intermediate cross country silver medalist Louise Reilly in the women's 3km. Reilly eventually broke away from Fiona to win.	Geraldine O'Reilly was a surprise medalist in the women's masters 3km, producing a strong final lap to take the silver medal.

Pictured are the medalists in the senior ladies and masters events at the county road championships which took place in Killygarry on Sunday. Back row, senior ladies: Fiona Murray, Shercock, 2nd, Louise Reilly, Annalee, 1st and Karen Ruxton, Shercock, 3rd. Front Row, ladies masters: Geraldine O'Reilly, Shercock, 2nd, Ann Donoghue, Team P Elliott, 1st and Michelle Hutton, Team P Elliott, 3rd. The senior ladies team race was won by Shercock AC with Bailieborough second and in the ladies masters the team event was won by Team P Elliott.	Noel Carroll arrives on the Killygarry track after a grueling up-hill slog to claim his first Cavan senior title in the senior men's 10km road championships.

Victory tape: Noel Carroll breaks the tape to lift the senior men's title for the first time.	Following the club's strong overall performance, which included both the senior men's and senior women's team titles, newly crowned men's champion Noel Carroll accepts the McCormack Cup from Sheana Kiernan, on behalf of the sponsors. Also pictured left is county board chairperson Carol Kiernan.

Michael Muldoon arrives at the Killygarry track in second place after a conservative opening 5km followed by a typical powerful performance on the uphill section of the course.	Pictured are the medalists in the senior and masters events at the county Cavan road championships on Sunday. Back row, senior men: James Muldoon, 3rd, Luke O'Brien, 6th, Noel Carroll, 1st and Michael Muldoon, 2nd, all of Shercock AC who were the team champions. Front row, masters: Michael Smith, Laragh AC, 3rd, Albert Eakins, Shercock AC, 1st and Eamonn Gargan, Shercock AC, 2nd.

Luke O'Brien leads Bailieborough's Shane Donnellan and master's leader Albert Eakins in the closing stages of the men's race.	Barbara Ward strikes for home on her way to taking third place in the under 12 event.

Celine Clerkin was an impressive winner of the under 14 800m in Killygarry.	Brian Sankey leads the charge on the opening lap of the under 14 800m.

Derrice McPhillips leads Lisa Clerkin on her way to an impressive win in the under 16 800m.	Karen Ruxton and Bernadette Muldoon keep close company on their way to finishing third and fourth in the ladies 3km, a result which combined with Fiona Murray's second place to secure team gold for Shercock.
Albert Competes in Prague Half Marathon Albert Eakins was in action in Prague at the weekend, competing in a half marathon on the cobbled streets of the old European capital. Albert covered the distance in 1 hour 27.37 and had an enjoyable race in good weather conditions.