Sandis sets course record to retain the John Joe Barry 5K

The John Joe Barry 5K Road Race took place in good conditions last Friday night with a record entry. Right from the start the West Waterford duo Sandis Bralitis and Raivis Zakis renewed their competitive rivalry over this distance with Raivis proving the strongest over the Butlerstown 10k course a week earlier. They went well clear of the chasing pack and were still together at halfway. Then on the return journey Sandis upped the tempo and moved clear and as the athletes came into view Sandis had opened a commanding on Raivis. He held this lead all the way to the finishing line which he crossed in 15 mins 10 secs, great running, improving on last year’s victory by two seconds. Raivis also ran very well when finishing 2^nd in 15 mins 37 secs. Then we had Dwayne Farrell of Tinryland emerged from the chasing pack on the return journey to finish 3^rd in 16 mins 1 sec. Shane Mullaney of Thurles Crokes was 4^th in 16 mins 4 secs, eight seconds better than last year’s performance. We had a great battle for 5^th place with Kenny Curran of Ballynonty edging it close on the line from Stephen Hunter of Clonmel; Kenny’s time was 16 mins 16 secs with Stephen one second adrift. This was a PB for Kenny over this course, improving on last year’s performance by 23 seconds. For the record Danny Smith of Ballynonty was 7^th in 16 mins 22 secs. This was Danny’s first time breaking 17 minutes for this course, great progress improving on his previous of 17 mins 9 secs set in 2004. Tony Fogarty of Thurles Crokes making his debut on this course was 8^th in 16 mins 41 secs while Ross Alexander of Coolquill was 9^th in 16 mins 54 secs. In 10^th place we had Vincent Molumby of Thurles Crokes winning the Junior Men’s award when finishing in 17 mins. Brendan Delaney of Coolquill won the 0/40 award when finishing 14^th in 17 mins 20 secs while Vasiliy Neumerzhitskily of Clonmel was 2^nd 0/40 in 17 mins 39 secs when finishing 16^th overall. Neillie hall of Ballynonty was a popular winner of the 0/45 award when finishing 42^nd in 19 mins 32 secs while Seamus Brady of Clonmel was 2^nd 0/45 when finishing 69^th in 21 mins 29 secs. The 0/50 award was won by Jim St John of Clonmel when finishing 28^th in 18 mins 38 secs on his debut run over this course. We had Tommy Cahill making it a 1 – 2 for Clonmel in the 0/50 category when finishing 39^th in 19 mins 25 secs. The 0/55 award was won by Joe Gough of West Waterford ,on his debut run over this course, when finishing 22^nd overall in 18 mins 1 sec. William O Gorman of St Catherine’s was an impressive winner of the 0/60 award when finishing 53^rd in 20 mins 10 secs improving on last year’s performance by 42 seconds.

In the Ladies race we also had a great race with Siobhain O Doherty of Borrisokane underlining her good recent form when winning impressively in 18 mins 4 secs when finishing 24^thoverall. Then we had Adele Walsh of St Senan’s also running well when finishing 27^th overall in 18 mins 35 secs. Angela McCann of Clonmel ran very well when finishing 3^rd Senior Lady in 18 mins 59 secs when finishing 35^thoverall. Diane Behan of West Waterford was 4^th Senior Lady when finishing 41^st in 19 mins 29 secs while Laura Taylor was 5^th lady when finishing 46^th in 19 mins 42 secs. Denise Compton of Dundrum won the Master Ladies award when finishing 58^th in 20 mins 20 secs. The Junior Ladies prize was won by Eimear Kennedy of Thurles Crokes when finishing 61^st in 20 mins 51 secs.

The organising club, Coolquill, would like to thank the local ladies committee for providing after race refreshments which was appreciated by everyone. The Club would like to thank everyone who helped to make it the most successful race to date.

The Bulmers 10K Road Race

Preparations for this Summer Classic race are well advanced for what should be a great sporting occasion. This year’s course is as follows: The race will start at the Mall and from there the race will proceed up the Quay to the Old Bridge junction where the race will turn left and over to the Old bridge. On reaching the Old Bridge the athletes will turn left and onto the Raheen road and the Coleville road to Hotel Minella. From here it will turn right onto the Spa road and along Poulboy and onto Devine’s bridge. On reaching Devine’s Bridge the race will turn left and back to the Gashouse Bridge via Kilganey and the Coleville Road. On reaching the Gashouse Bridge the athletes will turn right and onto Dr Croke’s Place and then turning left onto the Quay. The athletes will proceed up along the Quay and turning right onto Sarsfield Street and then turning right onto O Connell Street to finish close to Tylers Shoe Shop. The race will start at 2pm. Entries and changing facilities will once again be at the Clonmel High School Sports Complex. Entries will be taken at the Clonmel High School from 11 o clock onwards. Indeed the organising committee would like all the local athletes to come early and enter.

This year the organising Committee have put up a great array of prizes as follows: 150 Euros for the 1^st Man and 1^st Lady, 1^st 6 Senior Men’s Prizes, 1st 3 Master Men 0/40, 1^st 2 0/45, 0/50, 1^st 0/55, 1^st 0/60, and 1st 0/65. 1^st 6 Senior Ladies, Master Ladies – 1^st 4 0/35, 1^st 2 0/45. In the Team competition we have prizes for the first 3 Men’s teams and 1^st 3 Ladies teams, 3 to score on each team and all must be outside the individual prize winners. The Entry fee is 10 Euros and it is one prize per athlete.

There will be a specially designed T Shirt and Goody Bag for all finishers. For further enquiries please contact Niall O Sullivan at 086 1660888.

This year the Race Charity is Cystic Fibrosis and anyone wishing to raise funds for this very worthy cause can do so by contacting Michael and Bridie Hickey, Kilmacomma, Clonmel – 052 23492.

The Tipperary Challenge

The John Joe Barry was the first race in this series and it was great to see a record entry for this very popular event, honouring one of Ireland’s greatest athletes. The next race in this series is the Bulmers 10k road race this Sunday in Clonmel , starting at 2 pm on the mall with entries and changing facilities at the Clonmel High School, Thomas Street. It is worth noting that all participants who complete all four races in this year’s Tipperary Challenge will receive a specially commissioned prize, well worth doing the Challenge.

Looking back on last year’s series we had 40 athletes doing all three races and we had 23 of these athletes competing again in this year’s John Joe Barry 5k, great commitment. To honour that commitment and dedication we will be having a special competition for these 23 athletes, consisting of six Ladies and seventeen Men. We have all their times from last year’s series and there will be a special for the Lady and Man that improves the most over the three races, namely the John Joe Barry 5k, The Bulmers 10k and the Poulmucka 8k road race. The League table will change a lot over the last two races the Bulmers 10k and the Poulmucka 8k, so everyone is in with a chance.

The top six in each group is as follows:

Ladies:

1^st – Aine Roche of Clonmel minus 73 seconds, she improved on last year’s race by 73 seconds. 2^nd Mairead O Connor minus 63 seconds, 3^rd Mary Horan of Dundrum plus 18 seconds, she was 18 seconds slower than last year’s performance, Mary Ann Callinan of Dundrum plus 19 seconds, 5^th Mary Molloy of Carrick on Suir plus 39 seconds and Anne Cronin of Carrick on Suir plus 112 seconds

Men:

1^st William O Gorman of St Catherine’s on minus 42 seconds. 2^nd Andrew Smyth of Coolquill minus 28 seconds, 3^rd Sandis Bralitis of West Waterford minus 2 seconds, 4^th Tommy Falconer of Carrick on Suir on plus 3 seconds, 5^th Ross Alexander of Coolquill on plus 4 seconds and 6^th Kieran O Dwyer of Dundrum on plus 9 seconds.

The full list of participants, can also be viewed on the website www.tipperaryathletics.com is as follows and their times:

Details
Ladies 2007 Performances
	Name	Club	Time	Race
1	Aine Roche	Clonmel	21. 04	The John Joe Barry 5K
	Aine Roche	Clonmel	33.06	Poulmucka 8K
	Aine Roche	Clonmel	44.21	Ballygowan 10K
2	Mairead O Connor	Dundrum	27.21	The John Joe Barry 5K
	Mairead O'Connor	Dundrum	43.15	Poulmucka 8K
	Mairead O'Connor	Dundrum	55.56	Ballygowan 10K
3	Mary Horan	Dundrum	25.40	The John Joe Barry 5K
	Mary Horan	Dundrum	43.16	Poulmucka 8K
	Mary Horan	Dundrum	52.53	Ballygowan 10K
4	Mary Anne Callinan	Dundrum	25.40	The John Joe Barry 5K
	Mary Anne Callinan	Dundrum	43.15	Poulmucka 8K
	Mary Anne Callinan	Dundrum	52.57	Ballygowan 10K
5	Mary Molloy	Carrick on Suir	20.18	The John Joe Barry 5K
	Mary Molloy	Carrick on Suir	35.05	Poulmucka 8K
	Mary Molloy	Carrick on Suir	42.36	Ballygowan 10K
6	Anne Cronin	Carrick on Suir	22.06	The John Joe Barry 5K
	Anne Cronin	Carrick on Suir	37.11	Poulmucka 8K
	Anne Cronin	Carrick on Suir	47.28	Ballygowan 10K
Men 2007 Performances
	Name	Club	Time	Race
1	Willie O Gorman	St Catherine's	20.52	The John Joe Barry 5K
	Willie O Gorman	St Catherines	33.12	Poulmucka 8K
	Willie O Gorman	St Catherines	41.02	Ballygowan 10K
2	Andrew Smyth	Coolquill	20.41	The John Joe Barry 5K
	Andrew Smyth	Coolquill	32.53	Poulmucka 8K
	Andrew Smyth	Coolquill	43.15	Ballygowan 10K
3	Sandis Bratilitis	West Waterford	15.12	The John Joe Barry 5K
	Sandis Bralitis	West Waterford	24.14	Poulmucka 8K
	Sandis Bralitis	West Waterford	30.21	Ballygowan 10K
4	Tommy Falconer	Carrick on Suir	18.49	The John Joe Barry 5K
	Tommy Falconer	Carrick on Suir	31.12	Poulmucka 8K
	Tommy Falconer	Carrick on Suir	41.41	Ballygowan 10K
5	Ross Alexander	Coolquill	16.50	The John Joe Barry 5K
	Ross Alexander	Coolquill	27.40	Poulmucka 8K
	Ross Alexander	Coolquill	35.23	Ballygowan 10K
6	Kieran O Dwyer	Dundrum	24.23	The John Joe Barry 5K
	Kieran O Dwyer	Dundrum	38.52	Poulmucka 8K
	Kieran O Dwyer	Dundrum	50.12	Ballygowan 10K
	Billy O Grady	Clonmel	20.01	The John Joe Barry 5K
	Billy O'Grady	Clonmel	32.50	Poulmucka 8K
	Billy O'Grady	Clonmel	42.34	Ballygowan 10K
	Ravis Zakis	West Waterford	15.18	The John Joe Barry 5K
	Ravis Zakis	West Waterford	26.51	Poulmucka 8K
	Ravis Zakis	West Waterford	32.13	Ballygowan 10K
	Tommy Cahill	Clonmel	19.03	The John Joe Barry 5K
	Tommy Cahill	Clonmel	31.09	Poulmucka 8K
	Tommy Cahill	Clonmel	39.59	Ballygowan 10K
	Neillie Hall	Ballynonty	19.00	The John Joe Barry 5K
	Neilie Hall	Ballynonty	30.16	Poulmucka 8K
	Neilie Hall	Ballynonty	42.53	Ballygowan 10K
	Ned O Brien	Clonmel	19.19	The John Joe Barry 5K
	Ned O'Brien	Clonmel	30.42	Poulmucka 8K
	Ned O'Brien	Clonmel	40.24	Ballygowan 10K
	Martin Keane	Dundrum	16.34	The John Joe Barry 5K
	Martin Keane	Dundrum	28.34	Poulmucka 8K
	Martin Keane	Dundrum	34.49	Ballygowan 10K
	Matt Alexander	Coolquill	18.11	The John Joe Barry 5K
	Matt Alexander	Coolquill	29.50	Poulmucka 8K
	Matt Alexander	Coolquill	38.15	Ballygowan 10K
	Maurice Boland	Clonmel	20.34	The John Joe Barry 5K
	Maurice Boland	Clonmel	32.42	Poulmucka 8K
	Maurice Boland	Clonmel	42.53	Ballygowan 10K
	Christy Touhy	Thurles Crokes	21.26	The John Joe Barry 5K
	Christy Tuohy	Thurles Crokes	34.45	Poulmucka 8K
	Christy Tuohy	Thurles Crokes	45.08	Ballygowan 10K
	Donal Keane	Dundrum	16.40	The John Joe Barry 5K
	Donal Keane	Dundrum	27.17	Poulmucka 8K
	Donal Keane	Dundrum	35.01	Ballygowan 10K
	Tadhg Vaughan	Coolquill	16.47	The John Joe Barry 5K
	Tadhg Vaughan	Coolquill	27.51	Poulmucka 8K
	Tadhg Vaughan	Coolquill	35.40	Ballygowan 10K