Dublin Championships Even Age - Sun 17th October - Report

It rained all night but the sun came out in Abbotstown to shine down on our Mid Sutton teams on Sunday. The place was in immaculate condition, even former All Ireland team medalist from Lucan Harriers, Cathal Quinn (Mia’s Dad) was drooling over the condition of the course. Sure it had to be, we are hosting the European Cross Country Championships on December 12, that’s an event worth going out to watch!!

For now back to our little flyers! The crowds started to assemble early doors, the blue tent and Mid Sutton flag were right there in full view as you entered the arena. There was a flurry for numbers, pins and singlets but “Coach” Barbara (sorry Bar couldn’t resist), who loves a good list, was ready and waiting for the “rush hour traffic”.

We had a huge group of supporters this weekend, parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunties but there were a few experienced Grandads out to relive their days on the sideline watching young Gerard and Eugene in the blue, red and white, both of the same name Gerard and Eugene senior. They passed on the wisdom to their grandchildren which proved invaluable on the day …..all the grandkids managed to extract a fiver for treats from their parents, thanks Dad!!

So it was down to business, with Sharkey’s Sheilas up first in the U10 girls 1km race. We had a super team assembled and all of the girls remembered that extra bobbin to tie up the singlet. They went to survey the course with Jennifer and then had a thorough warmup - cart wheels, hand stands, hair flicks and dance moves were the primary exercises. They were just ready! Amy-May, Molly, Mia, Shauna, Robyn, Adele and Beth C took to the line all running fine races with smiles on their faces. The after race hot chocolates were were well deserved. Congratulations ladies on your first County Championship.

Next up - the tens, Coach Gerard had this troop well drilled, he aptly named them the tiger tens and sure enough they roared to the fore. Young Luke McMorrow followed in, well is it his Mum or his Dads footsteps or maybe it was his Granddad Maurice, the 3rd grandad in attendance on the day. Maurice a 3.07 marathon man had clearly given Luke some solid advice as Luke was up with the leaders from the gun. He came home in 4th place and was our first individual medal winner of the day. I am not sure who’s smile was bigger and lasted longer, Luke’s or Mammy Sarah. Special mention to Ross Coulter who responded to the Saturday evening team SOS WhatsApp. He put his hand up and ran for the team. The four boys ran super well with Conor (running up a year) and Max filling the other 2 spots for this team. Well done boys on a great run and team performance.

U12 Girls were a giddy bunch with coach Stephen having his work cut out for him. Stephen being a Dad to 2 boys found the going tough at first but wife Dee was there to settle things down for him. They do say behind every good man is a great woman … or so Gemma tells me. 6 girls 4 to count but never has a full team been so important. Stephen’s striders got off the mark fast but knew the 2km distance needed to be paced well, yes 2km! Tara Rose might be new to the sport but she was inspired by young Luke in the previous race. Up to the front she went showcasing the blue, red and white again. Beth R, Ella (running up a year), Anna(also up a year) were next in. Siofra and Katie G battled hard and their finishing placings were crucial. Both knocking 4th place team scorers from other teams down a spot or two meant our U12 girls finished in overall 3rd place. What a result, County medalists and a trip to the All Ireland’s at the end of November. Congratulations ladies, the coaches, parents, Stephen and Dee are super proud of you all on a brilliant brilliant team performance! 

U12 Boys next up, a large team of 8 boys were led by coach, well, yours truly. Not sure what to call them , the Euge team…..maybe you can make a few suggestions in the ClubZap (I’ll know if you read this or even got this far) 

The warm up was immense, it was like herding cattle and talking to Orangutans through sound proof glass. These lads were so in the zone, they had done this plenty of times before. They really needed no guidance. They just chatted away and messed about, exactly what a team of 11 year olds do. A quick course tour showed them the route, pointing out the hills and the turns was preparation enough. Coach Gerard then took the warm up drills and strides while O’Neill recycled singlets and got the numbers out to the lads. (FYI the new singlets are on route - we will have an update next week on them).

Again, a 2km distance for the U12s and this gang as they do, packed together up front. Ryan, Ben, Tim and Airt in the lead pack closely followed by Evan, Joe, Harry and Oisin. This team were tipped to medal but a very very strong Templeogue team got out fast and had 4 in the top 6 early on. Our little legends knew they were in a battle. This group has some very special runners and when they go it is like poetry in motion. Thanks to Liam Brady, football coach and Mid Sutton AC super scout we have a great bunch of young men and friends who run together on this team. Picture it, a sunny day, warm, a perfect course, firm under foot and Mid Sutton singlets everywhere. The lads ran so so well. All 8 finished strongly with Ryan coming home in 2nd place our highest finisher on the day. That’s 2nd in Dublin!!! We also had Ben Keating, this rising star getting inside the top 10 as did stalwart Tim Lavin, both picking up individual medals for top 10 and qualifying to run on the Dublin team at the Nationals. It also qualifies them for the province of Dublin, we are that big they consider Dublin a province too. I’m expecting some comments tomorrow evening from you country folk. Next home and 4th team scorer was young Harry O’Neill. This little cheeky chap has to get a mention. A year out of his age he nipped in in 16th place right on the line ducking under the athlete in front of him. His arms went straight out to grab the ropes to protect his spot. He even had the energy to give his Dad (me) a wink when he was cheered on with 150m to go, before sprinting to the line and passing 3 in that home stretch.

News filtered through later that afternoon that the team had secured a medal, a silver medal and will also run the National Championships with the U12 girls team. AMAZING result and such a great experience these young kids will have at Nationals on November 21st.

U14 girls were next in the mix and they stepped up to the longer lap of 1500m, not once but twice, 3000m. The extended course also incorporates some hills around the back of the forest, a challenge for anyone. No team here unfortunately. There will be words with this age group tomorrow evening at training, ….joking, ….am I? Hmm

2 ladies spiked up for this journey. Meabh Mulvaney in her second race, running a year up and Ella Fitzpatrick. These two girls were inspirational. They never gave up and just kept going right to the end. Meabh was cheered on by Mum, Paula and sister Anna (on the U12 team) and the rest of the Mid Sutton entourage who at this stage were lined along the course. I know I joked about the country folk earlier but Paula, a good Cavan woman, has instilled a super attitude in her two young ladies… go, go, go and keep going, it’s good for you. Gotta love it!! Ella soldiered through. She got into difficulty breathing half way in but there was no way she was stopping. She is a cousin of young Luke, she knew Grandad was watching. As she came around the final turn (and up that hill) Ella was flanked on both sides by young athletes from other clubs cheering for Mid Sutton. These young kids appreciated how hard this was and showed massive respect for a fellow runner. What a nice thing to see. As a coach you can’t ask for more than kids learning to be part of a team and respecting both their teammates and fellow competitors from other clubs. 

U14 boys was next and the final event for Mid Sutton. We did get a team together thanks to onlookers/siblings being in attendance and deciding, “hey if these guys need us we will run.” Charlie and Phoenix were accompanied by Rian O’Reilly and Gavin Murphy. They hadn’t intended to race but their pals needed 2 to make up the team so they just said, why not. Thank you Gavin, thank you Rian! 3k again on that longer tougher loop. All 4 lads were running a year up so it was going to be a grind and grind they did. These 4 young men performed their best and represented Mid Sutton in the U14 age group Cross Country which is the first time in a number of years we have had a team in this age group. Things are looking great for the future. Well done, no doubt you all slept well on Sunday night.

Another wonderful day of Cross Country filled with nerves, excitement, pain, joy, smiles, tears, cheers and laughs! Again, from all of the coaches well done and Congratulations to every single one of our athletes finishing the county championship. 

Looking forward to the next one in 2 weeks, the uneven age groups but you can run up an age. The Event is in this chat - sign up ASAP as we need to get the entries in tomorrow evening (Wednesday 21st).

So for now, I must dash, keep those knees up and stay light on your feet!

Euge