BHAA 2012

JosDel

Good race today, Thanks to the SCC and the BHAA, Tough little course, Great to see the results out so quick.

pconn062

Agree that it was a tough course, seemed to sap the enuegy out of the legs in places, great event though, fail play!

Caprica

Good race today with a big turnout. That was the easiest I have found this course, the last few years it has been very mucky and tough going but it was fairly solid today. Barcode system seemed to work very well, the individual results were available in no time

RayCun

Caprica wrote: »

the individual results were available in no time

are they online? or were they available at the clubhouse after the race? I had to shoot off straight away, missed the brack
(thought the men's race was starting at 12 )

gmurran

Great race today. The standard was better than I expected.

Fair play to BHAA for getting the chip timing. Makes a bit of a mockery of the AAI. The national senior in 7 weeks will be pen and paper.

TheRoadRunner

gmurran wrote: »

Great race today. The standard was better than I expected.

The first few XC races of the new year always have a decent field

gmurran wrote: »

Fair play to BHAA for getting the chip timing. Makes a bit of a mockery of the AAI. The national senior in 7 weeks will be pen and paper.

Are you sure. They had chips the last couple of years IIRC. Also no need for chips for interclubs, not as if there will a couple of 100 racing in any of the races. Nothing wrong with good auld pen and paper at times

happygoose

The BHAA are miles ahead of the AAI in terms of race organisation.

gmurran

I may be wrong but dont remember having a chip in Santry last year. Apologies if I'm wrong on that. The Novice certainly does'nt with fields of 250+ where 10 places can mean 8-10 seconds.

My point was more that Dublin, Leinster and AAI should get their act together. Places are obviously more important in XC but I dont agree that pen and paper is reasonable record keeping these days, apart from a fun run.

JosDel

RayCun wrote: »

are they online? or were they available at the clubhouse after the race? I had to shoot off straight away, missed the brack
(thought the men's race was starting at 12 )

Ray,

They printed down the mens results in full and hung them outside the club house.

They will be available online tomorrow.

AJCOT

Let me reassure all that there is no plot to toughen up cross country runners by keeping them outdoors before & after races! Unfortunately, maintenance work in the St.Jude's GAA club hall today kept us from getting in, fortunately, it was a dry day & some boy scout brought their tent. A huge thanks to Mick Mc Cartan, all in South Dublin County Council and the BHAA for getting us off to a super start in 2012 with two great races. There were a few minor teething problems with our chip timing system & team prizes will be given out after the races in Cherryfield Park on 21/01. We will be in a far better position to take annual memberships in a fortnight, keep those spikes sharpened.& thanks for your patience today.

Seres

RayCun wrote: »

Good race today, a big crowd out and well run.
Congrats to the boardsie in the women's race who came in 6th (?).

gerard65 wrote: »

Great morning for it, although it was freezing standing around watching, would have loved to run. Blown away by how easy the top guys and girls make it look, they seem to be floating across the ground.
Well done to the girl in the Boards AC vest - great running.

That was me ! , thanks , i went out too fast and lost a place in the last 500m ,so came in 7th never happens me ,, normally start slower and finish strong , i could have kept the place if i dug a bit deeper , but first race of the year so... . Good field of runners there today , very fair course . Hadnt a clue what the route was for the course so that didnt help my performance im sure . Thanks to whoever out there was sh.outing encouragement to me , really appreciated it !, i wouldnt normally know anyone around that neck of the woods .

runrabbit

Well done Seres that was good running.

I'm a cross-country newbie but I enjoyed today; though I'm not sure I got the pacing quite right. I was a mile into it before I got moving and it was half over by then! I spent the second half passing people which was good but I probably should get used to pacing myself better in the shorter races.

I had to leave straight after but I'm looking forward to watching the men's race and enjoying some BHAA brack and chat on the 21st!

pconn062

Seres wrote: »

That was me ! , thanks , i went out too fast and lost a place in the last 500m ,so came in 7th never happens me ,, normally start slower and finish strong , i could have kept the place if i dug a bit deeper , but first race of the year so... . Good field of runners there today , very fair course . Hadnt a clue what the route was for the course so that didnt help my performance im sure . Thanks to whoever out there was sh.outing encouragement to me , really appreciated it !, i wouldnt normally know anyone around that neck of the woods .

You looked very strong at the end when I seen you Seres, I noticed your Boards AC top, 7th is very impressive.

Seres

runrabbit wrote: »

Well done Seres that was good running.

I'm a cross-country newbie but I enjoyed today; though I'm not sure I got the pacing quite right. I was a mile into it before I got moving and it was half over by then! I spent the second half passing people which was good but I probably should get used to pacing myself better in the shorter races.

I had to leave straight after but I'm looking forward to watching the men's race and enjoying some BHAA brack and chat on the 21st!

It hard to get the pacing bang on but i always find its best if you can finish strong , good for the confidence . Hopefully will make the 21st . I love watching the xc race , worth goin out to see , must better viewing than the road races .

pconn062 wrote: »

You looked very strong at the end when I seen you Seres, I noticed your Boards AC top, 7th is very impressive.

Thanks , had a bit more in the tank at the end , tactically not my best performance either but sure im never happy !!! How did you get on ?

pconn062

Seres wrote: »

Thanks , had a bit more in the tank at the end , tactically not my best performance either but sure im never happy !!! How did you get on ?

I'm a bit like you never happy! Only decided to do the race on a whim last night so was happy enough. 26: something for four miles, the guys race was really competitive so was tough enough! Looking forward to the next one now! Two miles seems very short to me for a womans race, would you prefer something a bit longer?

RayCun

Seres wrote: »

Thanks to whoever out there was sh.outing encouragement to me

When you passed the start line and coming to the finish, I was cheering on Boards, should have known it was you all right.

pconn062 wrote: »

Two miles seems very short to me for a womans race

I notice some women run in the longer race, they prefer the distance. Don't think they'll let me in the shorter race though

TheRoadRunner

gmurran wrote: »

I may be wrong but dont remember having a chip in Santry last year. Apologies if I'm wrong on that. The Novice certainly does'nt with fields of 250+ where 10 places can mean 8-10 seconds.

My point was more that Dublin, Leinster and AAI should get their act together. Places are obviously more important in XC but I dont agree that pen and paper is reasonable record keeping these days, apart from a fun run.

Not sure about last year but definitely the year before.

Agree chip timing is the way to go, your example of the novice is a good point. However when the field is as small as the senior inter clubs, pen and paper is very accurate. Recent races has shown us that chip timing has it's problems too (malfunctioning chips etc) but in general I'd go with chip timing. It's like e-voting though a paper backup is prudent

couerdelion

Official results up.

itsalltrue

it was a good race and one of my better cross country times but has left me with a sore knee but hopefully i won't be out too long

Nialler73

pconn062 wrote: »

You will probably be fine for most of it, you will just need to be careful at any boggy patches as you could easily go over your ankle, I've seen it happen a few times. Enjoy your first cross country race, you'll love it!

Managed to navigate my way around the course in the Kanadia's without too much dificulty although you wouldn't say that if you saw me on the 3rd lap...
Question from a cross country newbie - Do the spikes provide me with significantly more grip?

gmurran

Nialler73 wrote: »

Do the spikes provide me with significantly more grip?

Yes. You need spikes if the ground is in any way soft. They aren't too expensive and it's easy to change the spikes out depending on the conditions or how often you clean them

Burgman

Nialler73 wrote: »

Question from a cross country newbie - Do the spikes provide me with significantly more grip?

Yes, definitely. Well worth investing in a pair. They last forever, as long as you don't lose them, and they are less expensive than a pair of ordinary running shoes. I would recommend a pair of fairly plain spikes because those lovely fluorescent swooshy/stripey ones don't look as nice after immersion in ankle-deep mud. Make sure that you get them with longish spikes - 12mm or even 15mm. A lot of spikes, even those described as cross-country spikes come with little 5mm spikes that are useless.

(And since you didn't say anything like "I hated every minute of it", I know that this cross-country thing will grow on you. I'm biased - the muddier the better for me.)

Nialler73

(And since you didn't say anything like "I hated every minute of it", I know that this cross-country thing will grow on you. I'm biased - the muddier the better for me.)[/QUOTE]

I enjoyed it alright, I won't be threatening anyone at the top of the field anytime soon but it was a good runout and something different to what I'm used to. The lungs were bursting more that I thought they would be during a 4 mile race and my speedy 1st lap came back to haunt me but I'll definitely be going again in a couple of weeks.

AJCOT

Totally agree with the spike comments, tried to run in ordinary runners & it'sOK until you get a really muddy field & then it becomes impossible. I have heard very positive feedback from many better & more experienced runners on some trail shoes but I think when conditions are most trying, the spikes are hard to beat.

AJCOT

Our second race of the year is on Saturday 21st in Cherryfield Park, Firhouse. This Eircom supported cross country 2 mile/5 mile run has 11.30 & noon start times. 292 runners gave it a go in 2011 with Donna Mahon, Annette Kealy & Ailish McDermott first home in the womens race, while Mick Clohisey, Kevin Moriarty & Mark Hoey were the top three men. Registration is at Ballyboden, St.Enda's GAA club. As many members will be registering for the year, we'd advise all to get there a little earlier than usual. Post any race queries here or call Kevin Donoghue 085 1744475 or Derek Quinn 085 1740109.

AJCOT

A dry and cold day is on the cards next Saturday according to the Met.office. Rain on Thursday & Friday looks highly likely so the going will be soft. Don't wear whites!

Nialler73

Hi, If I rejoin for the year online can I register for the race online also or do I register on the day as a member?

AJCOT

Nialler73 wrote: »

Hi, If I rejoin for the year online can I register for the race online also or do I register on the day as a member?

Register before the race as a member.

RayCun

Who else is up for Saturday then? I'll be seriously hungover, but this is my usual training ground so I really have to go...

pconn062

RayCun wrote: »

Who else is up for Saturday then? I'll be seriously hungover, but this is my usual training ground so I really have to go...

Not sure if I'll be there or not, it's a wee bit close to Raheny but that could change in the next few days. Will definitely be heading towards the next one in Swords, a bit closer to me.