Joining an AC/Average times

Wreckreational

Hello,
I'm looking to join an athletics club in Dublin. I have only ever competed seriously in Primary school and a bit in secondary so I'm not at a high level obviously.
However, I'm big into sport - played rugby for years and currently play soccer at a good standard in the LSL so I'm fit enough and fast compared to most I play against.
i know that when i come up against athletes who have been running seriously for years they'll probably leave me chasing shadows but I'd still love to give athletics a good go as theres a history of it in my family.
what i want to know is whether athletic clubs are welcoming towards people like me who have no experience but want to learn, and more importantly are there different divisions to compete in? or will I be lumped i with really fit/fast runners from day 1?

also, can anyone tell me what would be an average time i Ireland for these events...
100M, 800M, 1500M
I dont mean to ask what the average national time would be but what would be a DECENT time for your run-of-the-mill club runner in those events. I want to know so I can compare my own and see if I have any chance of making a decent fist of it.

Thanks very much and sorry for the long post

hdunne

hi i'm not into the running scene myself but my brother and dad are. they are members of the BHAA and it seems to be a great way to get into it. for more information I would get onto the webpage (ran by my brother) and he will give u anything u need, they are in a club tehy train with and then get together for races and the likes. you are bunched with people or your age and ability so i wouldnt worry. the webpage is www.bhaa.ie

best of luck with it!

thirtyfoot

Presuming you are male. BHAA is grand and great for road races but not for track so if you want track join an AAI club. Don't worry about times, just join a club as there are graded meets in Dublin all through the summer, think there are 8 meets altogether. Join a club and get training. Clubs are crying out for track athletes to fill league teams/relays etc.

Good club times would be
100 11.3
400 50.0
800 1:55
1500 3.57

Average/decent club times would be
100 11.4-11.6
400 51.0-53.0
800 2.00-2.05
1500 4.05-4.15

This are off the top of my head and by no means scientific and even if you think you are outside these don't worry, there are many slower than these times.

Are you south or northside?

Pherekydes

What area are you in? Clubs would welcome you with open arms. If you're already in decent shape you're at an immediate advantage compared to most other beginners. Dublin has a graded league, so you could give that a go and gain some experience of racing different distances against people near your own standard.

As regards standards, anything faster than 12 seconds for the 100m is quite decent, and there would be many of that standard in the graded leagues, so you could get a decent race. The equivalent performances at 800m and 1500m (based on the IAAF scoring tables) are about 2:05 and 4:18.

Wreckreational

thanks lads,
im southside but close to the city centre, so i'd say anywhere from Dundrum inwards (towards the city centre) is fine for me.
Dundrum seem to have a good website so i was thinking about them (though I'm only going on quality of website!). i'd be looking for mostly track events and would the clubs be prepared to take me on even though i'm not sure of my best event.
I have quite a fast sprint and decent middle distance pace but not sure of which event im best suited to. (i have no recorded times, sorry)
Can you tell me how many divisions there are as a matter of interest? are they sorted by time, age or...?

Thanks again

Pherekydes

The Dublin graded leagues are graded purely on time (I'm assuming you're an adult). DSD or Crusaders would probably be your best bets.


UCD have a club.

Wreckreational

yeah im in UCD, they dont look well organised, the website is from 2005 or something! classic UCD.
I'm 22 so I presume that puts me in the adult category.
I'll contact one of those clubs anyway. Thanks for your help

5k runner

You should look at Rathfarhnam wsaf, they look to have a very good set up going and would be perfect for your type of age group. Was thinking of joining them myself soon as i live around the area, just have to get this knee sorted out first. Best of luck with it.

Peckham

I joined a club (not one of those mentioned above) with little short distance athletics experience, but reasonably fit as had just completed a marathon. I had no experience at all over anything shorter than 5 miles, but found that the club training was very good at improving my 800m, 1500m, 5000m speeds, and became quite confident racing at those distances (although by no means Olympic standard!).

Joining a club is a good way to go, and they're all very welcoming based on my experience - any fresh blood and enthusiasm is always welcomed!

Racing Flat

Join a club. Times are irrelevant. No problem with going to those near you - Dundrum, Rathfarnham, Crusaders for a session or 2 to each, see how you fit in and that might help you make the decision. Times are irrelevant because after a few months of training with any club you will significantly improve. As you already must have a baseline level of fitness, your improvements may come more quickly. I know 2 cases in recent years of fellows who have come from high level GAA and soccer, never really done specific running training and within 2-3 years they won national medals at long distance events. In relation to the clubs above, Dundrum would have a strong tradition of really elite (Olympic level) athletes, Crusaders have one or 2 current National champions, but may be low in numbers (although I'm not certain on this), while Rathfarnham, while not having any individual champions (that I know of) have a very strong group of 'club runners' hence their individuals win an awful lot of the road races around Dublin and they are very competitive in all team races.

I think the times above are at the top end of the club running spectrum. I run with a group of about 30 in a club and the mile race times range from 4.50 to 7mins, most lads in 20's - 40's around 5.20, most in 50's and 60's around 6mins and a few outliers. But then there is also a group of Senior runners who would be close to 4minutes for the mile, so if you are good enough you will progress through the standards in the club.

In relation to the Dublin graded meetings, there are 4 grades, e.g. in the mile, the A may be won in around 4.10-4.20, B won in 4.25-35, C 4.40-4.50, D around 5mins, but slowest could be over 6mins. See www.dublinathletics.com

So there's something for everyone, in clubs and at races. Road and cross country races are also split according to level - Senior, Intermediate and Novice. You can run in any but if you win an individual medal or team gold at Novice, you can no longer run novice and similarly for Intermediate. Most clubs will put teams forward at all levels. Depending on club size, some clubs will have the same few lads running at all levels, and other clubs would have to have trials to determine the senior/inetrmediate or novice teams.

Go for it. Might help the football. But be careful - a lot of fellows who take up running to improve their fitness for another sport, give up the original sport, as the running bug kicks in!

Wreckreational

thats great lads thanks a lot i appreciate you all taking the time to answer.
Im going for a track run 2moro so I'll post times just as a thank you.

thirtyfoot

Wreckreational wrote: »

thats great lads thanks a lot i appreciate you all taking the time to answer.
Im going for a track run 2moro so I'll post times just as a thank you.

What are you going to do? Do you know what event you ultimately would like to do?

Try maybe something like 200's as its a workout that sprinters and middle distance people do and is a good bit of common currency between the disciplines (the only bit of common currency between posey sprinters and mucker middle distance:D). Set a target of a certain amount of runs and a defined recovery period, eg, 4 x 200m with 4mins recovery or something to that effect.