Back to hard work!

Training resumes for younger athletes tonight at 6.30 in the Abbey grounds now that Kookie has returned from the land of the mouse........see you all there.

Program for Training

There will be no sessions for the younger athletes again until Tuesday the 10th June as both Rodney & Kookie are off on holiday. We both took early holidays so that we can be there just for you guys all summer! I'm sure you believe that! Jan will still be in the Abbey as normal for the older athletes. So until then dont be lazy. 

Primary schools XC

Some of our younger members took part in the annual schools xc in Kilbroney Park on Tuesday morning, some also didn't due to a remarkable short-sightedness by a number of schools. It seems ok to have kids sit at the mind numbing bore-fest that is the Feis for hours and days on end yet their physical education appears to be not worth a morning out in the sun!! Go figure!! Star turn of the day was one of the youngest members, 8 year old Lorcan Forde, who stormed home in the P.4 boys race, star of the future for sure. Charlotte Rea ran really well to come home 2nd in the P6 race and Sheagh Dobbin continued his improvement with a fine 8th place in the P7 boys. Well done to all who took part.

Bush track this week

There will be a session this Saturday 17th at the Bush @ 4.00. Ring me if you need a lift and I'll see what I can do.

Thursday session

This Thursday, 15th, its back to the track for 6.30.

Sore foot!!

Boo! Hoo! Victoria Kinkaid broke a bone in her ankle playing netball in school last week. While we are very sad about this we have to ask.......NETBALL!!! For crying out loud, what's that all about....next thing she will want to play football or even, perish the thought, go swimming! Stick to the athletics!! 

P.S. Get well soon.

Orienteering

We are aiming to have a fun orienteering session on Sat this week weather permitting. Meet at the pool at 11.30 and transport to Sl Gullion forest park for a fun map reading run. Should be a laugh. We should have a BBQ going so a bite to eat is on the cards.

Thursday session

This Thursday 8th May training session will be at the track at the back of the pool at 6.30. Tata.

Schools Track & Field

Good results for the Kinkaid twins at the regional heats of the N.I. schools championship held in Bangor yesterday. Representing Our Ladies Grammar School both girls won their heats of the 800 mts to qualify for the finals in two weeks time. Victoria strolled home in a time of 2'47" while Maria declined advice to do just enough to qualify (as usual) and blazed her way to the line in a scorching 2'37"!! That left this coach wondering what happened at the league in Mary Peters 2 weeks ago when Maria served up a 2'46".  I'll be watching you next time!! Congratulations to all concerned and credit to the school for taking an interest. Don't know which twin this photo is and I suspect neither does anyone in the Kinkaid house!! 

Session at the Bush

After last weeks successful track session another is on the cards for this Sunday the 4th May at 4 p.m. Same stuff. Be there or miss out. £2 at the door please..............

DIET

A very touchy subject for a lot of people.........a very important subject for athletes! A representative from the club (alright it was me) attended a recent seminar on sports nutrition. Organised by the councils excellent minority sports development officer, Nikki mcAlinden, and held in the Arts Centre it was an opportunity to ask how diet affects children in sport. And ask was what this correspondent did.....the results were interesting! Any parents interested in chatting should call me or ask at one of the club nights. In the meantime I believe that good practices should begin at the club sessions and to this end we will try to encourage everyone to leave the sports drinks at home and bring a bottle of water and a piece of fruit to the sessions from now on instead. Better recovery benefits and cheaper to boot, everyone's a winner!  

Mary Peters 24-4-2008 update

Sorry for the delay in posting but I was waiting for the results to be posted on the web. A much better night and slick organising.  A real good effort from all our athletes as well. A few 2nd and 3rd places and a few 4th places in the boys classes. Pictures here. Thanks to Mark Kinkaid and John Farrell for the help. The next event in the league is on the 19th of June. 

Session at the Bush

There is a track session at the Bush track this Sunday the 27th @4.30. Sprints, hurdles and starting blocks are on the menu. £2 each and cheap at twice the price.......... 

Mary Peters 24-4-2008

Here we go again...2nd round of the young athletes league. Next one after this week isn't until the 19th of June so try and make it. A mixture of field events for all ages, a 150/200 mts sprint and a 1000/1500 mts depending on the age group. Bus leaves the pool at 5.15 so be a few minutes early. 

Mary Peters update

Well, that turned out to be a long night!  A bit of a logistics hassle added to a bit of poor event scheduling left us behind time and even at that some of our younger athletes didn't get to compete in their long jump or 600 mts! Still the craic on the bus was good and that, after all, was the point. Everyone performed really well with special note to newcomers to running on a track for the first time. Follow the links to get a full result page and to see some pictures. If your pic isn't there we will get one next week. Thanks to Rina Hanna and John O'Hanlon for coming to help out.   

Mary Peters 17-4-2008

We are off to Mary Peters track in Belfast on Thurs night for the first round of the Lagan Valley young athlete league. We have taken the step of renting a bus to make the transport easier. The cost of the bus is £5 each plus £2 for entry to the competition. We will be leaving the swimming pool at 5.00 and should be back at 9.45/10.00. Send the kids with warm clothes and a snack. If your child is using running spikes please ensure that the spikes in the shoes are 5 or 6 mm in length. These are much shorter than the normal cross country spikes and are required for track meeting. All the training our athletes do is geared for nights like these so please make an effort to see they can make it. Parents are also welcome to come along as cheerleaders and general gofers.

London marathon update

The terrible twins survived the streets of London in one piece.....well two pieces if you see what I mean! Both finished in just over 21 minutes, which is an incredible 5 kms for two eleven year old girls. A hearty congratulations to them both.

Coaching weekend update

What a brill weekend! Great weather, great craic and great fun. Over 60 kids showed up for our joint promotion, but unfortunately only 4, and a few apoligies, from our own club! Athletes from as far away as Boyne A.C. in one direction and from Lagan Valley in the other got the benefit of some expert coaching in a range of disciplines. We had some shot putt, javelin with both foam and competition equipment, two sessions of long jump, starting block,hurdle and sprint technique. Some of the older athletes also had a track interval session. There was a comprehensive warm up program on both days and the whole thing was topped of by some beautiful spring sunshine. Top class event! In the pic are Kim Murphy from Glenmore A.C. and our own Charlotte Rea both throwing the javelin.....photographer is in a bad place!

London marathon

Tearaway twins Maria and Victoria Kinkaid take to the streets of London early on Sunday morning to represent N. Ieland in the London Boroughs mini marathon. The girls qualified from the recent Ulster grammar schools xc championships. The 5 kms distance is sure to be a real test for the twins and dad, Mark, sent them off with instructions to get on the telly or dont come home!! Better tune in..............................

Coaching Weekend

We are co-hosting a cross border coaching weekend with Glenmore A.C. on the 12th & 13th of April at the track in the Bush. A wide range of events will be covered and there will be a report on the blog after the event. Cost for club members is 10 Euro per day and each day starts at 10.00. We should be over by 2.30.