Irishtown stadium/Crusaders

celestial

Hey folks,

Looking to get into sprinting/running and would love to use Irishtown stadium for this. I think I was probably 8 years old the last time I ran on a running track in a stadium, so just wondering what the deal is re just going in and running there. I know it's Crusaders who train there but what if I want to just go in and run myself at a random time - I presume you can't just go in and run around? Would I need to pay a membership with Crusaders and then only go in at a certain time, or what is the craic there?

eltuerto

to celestial

Irishtown is a public track but anchor tenants are Crusaders. Therefore outside their training times you can pay in to use the track €5 entry.

Crusaders times are Tues 6.30 to 7.30 , Thursday the same and Sat morn 10.00 to 11.30. So turn up outside these hours and you will be OK.

Alternatively you can turn up for Crusaders training on Tues at 6.30 and you will be put into an appropriate group for stryctured training. No charge for first few weeks so that you can see if you liek the set up.

celestial

eltuerto wrote: »

to celestial

Irishtown is a public track but anchor tenants are Crusaders. Therefore outside their training times you can pay in to use the track €5 entry.

Crusaders times are Tues 6.30 to 7.30 , Thursday the same and Sat morn 10.00 to 11.30. So turn up outside these hours and you will be OK.

Alternatively you can turn up for Crusaders training on Tues at 6.30 and you will be put into an appropriate group for stryctured training. No charge for first few weeks so that you can see if you liek the set up.

Thanks for this info! I was gonna ask what the opening times are for the stadium but just found the Irishtown stadium website. Great facilities down there - hadn't realised that Ringsend park had so many pitches/tennis courts and that too! Great to see.

thirtyfoot

celestial wrote: »

Thanks for this info! I was gonna ask what the opening times are for the stadium but just found the Irishtown stadium website. Great facilities down there - hadn't realised that Ringsend park had so many pitches/tennis courts and that too! Great to see.

You could train by yourself or join a training group. A group train there on wednesday's (and probably other days too) from DSD AC. They are a top notch sprint group with some of the top sprinters in the country. Would bring you on a lot more.

Maybe if you got up and running these guys would be a good option to train with after a few months or at the start of next season (Sept/Oct). You could join Crusaders and still train with these guys I'd imagine. Crusaders have young sprinters who train so they could be an option too but I'd guess that the DSD group could be a good option.

eltuerto

The DSD sprinters group on Wednesday would not be very suitable unless you were a top class sprinter as this is Jim Kidd's group.

Best to start off on your own.

thirtyfoot

eltuerto wrote: »

The DSD sprinters group on Wednesday would not be very suitable unless you were a top class sprinter as this is Jim Kidd's group.

Best to start off on your own.

Would disagree with this. Sprinting of all things you need a coach. You'll end up faffing and wasting time and unless you are lucky or a great self-coach you will be going nowhere. Who knows the OP may be a top class sprinter or have the potential. Sprinting is not like going for a jog, you need structure.

Waste time and faff and dramatically reduce your chances of progress and enjoyment from the sport or at least ask the question and see can you join a decent training group. Most sprint training groups will have women and if the OP is male even as a starter he will be able to work off the women in any group.

All one can do is ask. Many coaches will love the challenge of taking someone off the street and turning them back into an athlete. Ask.

celestial

Tingle wrote: »

Would disagree with this. Sprinting of all things you need a coach. You'll end up faffing and wasting time and unless you are lucky or a great self-coach you will be going nowhere. Who knows the OP may be a top class sprinter or have the potential. Sprinting is not like going for a jog, you need structure.

Waste time and faff and dramatically reduce your chances of progress and enjoyment from the sport or at least ask the question and see can you join a decent training group. Most sprint training groups will have women and if the OP is male even as a starter he will be able to work off the women in any group.

All one can do is ask. Many coaches will love the challenge of taking someone off the street and turning them back into an athlete. Ask.

Cheers for the advice Tingle and I would agree that having structure - even if you are not going to be a top performer - is always better than no structure and will bring you so much more. And that is what I am after at the moment - to get involved with a group and to see what my potential is and how far I can go.

I am not a top sprinter, unfortunately! In fact, while I have good base level of fitness and weight train regularly, I am starting running at a low level pretty much and need to get to a higher level of cardio fitness. I guess I am the stage in my life (I'm 28) where I am conscious of getting a bit older (not saying that 28 is old of course) and simply wondering what my potential is in terms of sport. It's kinda now or never in terms of seeing what my potential is - I don't want to ever look back and think 'what if I had tried my hand at that'.. you know?

Sprinting and short distance running (up to half mile distances let's say) appeals to me more than more aerobic/endurance work and so I just want to see how far I can go with that with the right training and coaching. One thing going for me here is that at just under 5'9", 88kg and around 16-17% body fat (and going down), I have a lot of fast-twitch fibres:D