International Youth Challenge - success for Irish teams

Slogger Jogger

Just got this news. Update below from IMRA site. here

Very provisional results from the International Youths race in Italy indicate that Ireland won the boys team. The girls team won bronze medals behind Russia and England.

Eoghan Totten (Newcastle) finished 3rd, Kevin Dooney (Raheny Shamrocks) 5th and Carl Dunne (Dunleer) 9th. All three came through the field on the second and third laps on what was a reportedly steep and rough ski-slope course.

Meghan Ryan (DSD) came through in the girls race for 9th, Claire Brennan (Celtic DCH) 12th and Emma Sharkey (Lagan Valley) 14th.

Congratulations to the three managers (Mags Greenan, Leo Mahon and Eddie McDonagh) and the six athletes on a fantastic performance, and to the members of IMRA for enabling the team to participate.


Congrats to all involved


Last Weds, Gerry Brady posted this preface for the race:-

International Youths Race

Two strong teams will represent Ireland in the International Youths challenge in Italy this weekend. Claire Brennan (Celtic DCH) who won the intermediate girls 3000m at the Irish schools championships will lead the women�s team. She will be joined by Emma Sharkey (Lagan Valley) and Meghan Ryan (DSD). In 2009 the girls team were equal third on points.

Kevin Dooney (Raheny Shamrocks) who was runner-up in the Irish schools intermediate 1500m steeplechase and 4th in the 3000m and Carl Dunne (Dunleer) will make their international mountain running debuts. Joining them will be the experienced Eoghan Totten (Newcastle) who won bronze in the senior boys 5000m at the Irish schools. This team has a real chance of winning medals.

donothoponpop

Awesome result. This against countries where hill running is very much a premier league sport. Well done all.

climbhigh

Thats a great achievement by both teams. No reason why Ireland could not do it again at junior and senior level in the European and World championships. You get used to losing and you can get used to winning and mountain running seems a good place to start.

ocnoc

Its really great that they are clearly on top game.
Pity we never see them on the hills in Ireland, at all!

Searched the IMRA site for the runners...

Kevin, no dice
Carl, only a few photos
Eoughan, one race - the trial (or trail) race
Meghan, ditto
Claire, ditto
Emma, ditto

climbhigh

Kevin ran the Irish schools in 2009. Eoghan and Emma are from the North, Eoghan won the British and Irish in 2009 and Meghan and Claire ran this race also. Carl, Meghan and Claire all ran the Youths trial. Most of them have ran schools mountain races the results of which are not on the system. How many IMRA races should they have ran at age 15 or 16?

The guys just won medals at international level so they must be doing something right! They are running both schools and club races on cross-country and track. Add on IMRA races and they will follow the other 90% of young runners who stop altogether. At 16 and 17 they are still developing physically and are better off not running too much in the hills. And they are at the age to learn to run fast, the strength can come later. John Lenihan probably ran his first hill race at around age 25 so time enough for the future

http://www.imra.ie/ad-hoc/2010_Youths_Results.pdf

ocnoc

woooh back up!

I'm not saying they are doing anything wrong - i am aware they do XC and track. It a savage results! Like, they won in Europe!!

At at 15/16 I was orienteering internationally. I was ignoring Gerry Bradys attempts to recruit me in favour of o'ing

I'm only saying that it would be nice to see them race in a few races here in Ireland - that doesn't mean I expect to see them at every Wednesday leinster league and weekend Championship race.

Peterx

Fantastic results and well done to both teams and their managers.
The future looks bright!

Running Wednesday night hillruns 200m ahead of the field is not the best prep for international races, neither are our lovely, homely, unmarked and mostly untracked weekend races - these are what they are and fast furious close racing against 40 people of similar standard to yourself is not what they are.
The closest thing I've seen here to the Europeans and the Worlds are the cross country championship races where every place and every second counts and it's all about the team and the places and everyone knows it and all the coaches are shouting it all the time "every place counts"