Running club south Dublin

SB5

Anybody know which would be the best club to join

Terenure
Rathfarnham
Dundrum

I am a female runner, 26, half marathon time 1.33 ish.

I would like people to run with to help improve my times.

Does anybody know what times these clubs train and if any have a track?

RacoonQueen

SB5 wrote: »

Anybody know which would be the best club to join

Terenure
Rathfarnham
Dundrum

I am a female runner, 26, half marathon time 1.33 ish.

I would like people to run with to help improve my times.

Does anybody know what times these clubs train and if any have a track?

Sportsworld Terenure would be the best club for you out of the batch. Try all three and find the best fit for you but I would suspect Sportsworld would suit you better than the other two.

PVincent

Bros Pearse would also be very suitable. Tues/thurs 7pm training in the Knocklyon area. Have a look at our fbook site or email me at peter.vincent@aviva.ie

digger2d2

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Sportsworld Terenure would be the best club for you out of the batch. Try all three and find the best fit for you but I would suspect Sportsworld would suit you better than the other two.

For once we agree RQ

Come along any Tuesday or Thursday at 7... Clubhouse is in Bushy Park

RacoonQueen

digger2d2 wrote: »

For once we agree RQ

Come along any Tuesday or Thursday at 7... Clubhouse is in Bushy Park

It was the most painful thing I've ever posted on here.

SB5

Great...thanks for the info.

I was previously with a club in Tipperary but on moving to Dublin last year I have been running on my own...can get a bit boring though...


Is it possible to attend a training session or two of the clubs to see which suits best before joining?

I work late on Thursdays, but Tues would suit me. Do Sportsworld and Knocklyon also have long run training on Sats/Sundays?

RayCun

Bros Pearse is obviously the best option
The coached sessions are Tuesdays and Thursdays 7pm, there's a regular Sunday meetup (though that's more for beginners), and club members arrange their long runs together through our facebook page or weekly training email.

(Rathfarnham and Sportsworld also have their main training sessions Tuesday and Thursday at 7. Pretty much any club will let you come down to a couple of training sessions and see how you like it before you decide to join)

digger2d2

SB5 wrote: »

Great...thanks for the info.

I was previously with a club in Tipperary but on moving to Dublin last year I have been running on my own...can get a bit boring though...


Is it possible to attend a training session or two of the clubs to see which suits best before joining?

I work late on Thursdays, but Tues would suit me. Do Sportsworld and Knocklyon also have long run training on Sats/Sundays?

Come along for a few training sessions and try it out to see if it suits, ask for Paddy or Emily and they'll look after you and introduce you etc. There are quite a few lady members who are in or around 1:25 - 1:30 HM times so you'll get into a good group there.

Group long runs at the weekends too and also training sessions in Bushy on Saturday mornings when the cross country season kicks in.

I should say also that the Grass Trackers Bros Pearse also have a very good reputation as an emerging club.

RayCun

oh god, do I have to say something nice about Sportsworld now? :pac:

yis scrub up well, I'll give you that

digger2d2

RayCun wrote: »

oh god, do I have to say something nice about Sportsworld now? :pac:

yis scrub up well, I'll give you that

:D

Maybe we should join forces and become Sports Trackers

SB5

Thank you..this thread has been very helpful.

I won't lie...at the half marathon last Sat, when I heard a lady cheering on Sportsworld I thought it was a sportshop, ha.


I love the friendly banter between clubs! It's hard to pick between them all...at home I only had one club to choose from.

RayCun

SB5 wrote: »

Thank you..this thread has been very helpful.

I won't lie...at the half marathon last Sat, when I heard a lady cheering on Sportsworld I thought it was a sportshop, ha.

It is!

SB5 wrote: »

I love the friendly banter between clubs! It's hard to pick between them all...at home I only had one club to choose from.

We often run in the same places too, last week there was a group of us from Bros Pearse running the route of the Rathfarnham 5k, and I could see a bunch of what looked like Sportsworld in Bushy Park, then around the corner there was a gang from Rathfarnham. Tallaght cross over into civilisation sometimes, their eyes wide at the street lights and motorised vehicles, and DSD spread over into Marlay Park (plus they have a juvenile feeder club that trains in Bushy Park)

statss

Can't speak for the other clubs but there would be a good few women your age and standard in Sportsworld.

Here's Rathfarnam's info out of interest, don't know if they have many members who post here.

Summer
Tuesday at 6.30pm - interval session, Bushy Park (meet by children's playground).
Thursday at 6.30pm - circuit training, Bushy Park (by children's playground).
Saturday at 9am - speed session, Bushy Park (or track session in Tallaght at 11.00am)

Winter
Tuesday at 6.30pm - interval session, Loreto Park, Nutgrove (meet by Leicester Celtic Football Club).
Thursday at 6.30pm - circuit training, clubhouse (Main Street, Rathfarnham).
Saturday at 9am - speed session, Bushy Park.

Easy group runs are also held on Mondays and Wednesdays at 5.30pm and Sundays at 8am and 9am (meeting at the clubhouse in Rathfarnham village).

RayCun

All the local clubs will be out in force at the Rathfarnham 5k I'd say, might be a good time to talk to people in person

SB5

statss wrote: »

Can't speak for the other clubs but there would be a good few women your age and standard in Sportsworld.

Here's Rathfarnam's info out of interest, don't know if they have many members who post here.

Summer
Tuesday at 6.30pm - interval session, Bushy Park (meet by children's playground).
Thursday at 6.30pm - circuit training, Bushy Park (by children's playground).
Saturday at 9am - speed session, Bushy Park (or track session in Tallaght at 11.00am)

Winter
Tuesday at 6.30pm - interval session, Loreto Park, Nutgrove (meet by Leicester Celtic Football Club).
Thursday at 6.30pm - circuit training, clubhouse (Main Street, Rathfarnham).
Saturday at 9am - speed session, Bushy Park.

Easy group runs are also held on Mondays and Wednesdays at 5.30pm and Sundays at 8am and 9am (meeting at the clubhouse in Rathfarnham village).

Thanks for the info Statss..are you with Sportsworld yourself?

I often go running in Bushy park so I think this club would be the best location to where I live.

SB5

RayCun wrote: »

All the local clubs will be out in force at the Rathfarnham 5k I'd say, might be a good time to talk to people in person

Yes Raycun, I plan on participating in the rathfarnham 5km,...if my legs have recovered from the HM..taking a little longer to recover this time...no doubt due to the hills!

statss

SB5 wrote: »

Thanks for the info Statss..are you with Sportsworld yourself?

I often go running in Bushy park so I think this club would be the best location to where I live.

yep I am with Sportsworld, there'll be loads of people of your standard there every week, there's usually a nice steady run or fartlek on Thursdays if you wanted to drop down tomorrow. In winter we usually train around the Dodder Road and Butterfield Avenue area, meeting first at the Clubhouse in Bushy.

digger2d2

statss wrote: »

yep I am with Sportsworld, there'll be loads of people of your standard there every week, there's usually a nice steady run or fartlek on Thursdays if you wanted to drop down tomorrow. In winter we usually train around the Dodder Road and Butterfield Avenue area, meeting first at the Clubhouse in Bushy.

And...... Not only is he in Sportsworld but statss has amazing hair

ecoli

Gonna throw a spanner in the works here but Tallaght AC is in the same area, have a tartan track and club house. There would be two fairly large groups of runners in the club that would be in or around your level. While I cant offer the amazing hair of statss we do have a Santa Claus look alike:D

Training times are;

Monday/ Wednesday 6.15
Tuesday/Thursday 6.30

Just saying:p

SB5

statss wrote: »

yep I am with Sportsworld, there'll be loads of people of your standard there every week, there's usually a nice steady run or fartlek on Thursdays if you wanted to drop down tomorrow. In winter we usually train around the Dodder Road and Butterfield Avenue area, meeting first at the Clubhouse in Bushy.

I won't be able to attend tomorrow I work late on Thursdays, and I am away on hols next week but I might come down on Tues of the following week and check it out.

SB5

digger2d2 wrote: »

And...... Not only is he in Sportsworld but statss has amazing hair

Oh the hair is a definite attraction...ha ha

SB5

ecoli wrote: »

Gonna throw a spanner in the works here but Tallaght AC is in the same area, have a tartan track and club house. There would be two fairly large groups of runners in the club that would be in or around your level. While I cant offer the amazing hair of statss we do have a Santa Claus look alike:D

Training times are;

Monday/ Wednesday 6.15
Tuesday/Thursday 6.30

Just saying:p

Hmmm...I am confused now... I was nearly sold there to Sportsworld but the track and training on Monday aswell as Tuesday is a definite plus!

The location to where I live however might be an issue..don't want to be spending lots of time in traffic.

digger2d2

SB5 wrote: »

Hmmm...I am confused now... I was nearly sold there to Sportsworld but the track and training on Monday aswell as Tuesday is a definite plus!

The location to where I live however might be an issue..don't want to be spending lots of time in traffic.

Having lived in Tallaght for 25 years I would advise you against it, unless you like the smell of burning cars The clincher for you may well be that the fantastic Sportsworld hires out the Tallaght track ( and a fine track it is to) on Saturday mornings during the summer.

Peterx

join the club that is easiest for you to get to and that may mean Crusaders in Irishtown fits the post work bill. they have fantastic facilities.

Their own track = Tallaght or Crusaders
In Bushy Park = Rathfarnham or Sportsworld
Near Bushy = Pearse Brothers

Muddying the waters are the fact that both Rathfarnham and Sportsworld hire track time from either Tallaght or Crusaders
I'd imagine any of the clubs I mention have nice people to play with so only you will know which club provides the best mix, they are all very welcoming of newcomers, especially ladies who can run half marathons in 1.33!

ecoli

digger2d2 wrote: »

Having lived in Tallaght for 25 years I would advise you against it, unless you like the smell of burning cars The clincher for you may well be that the fantastic Sportsworld hires out the Tallaght track ( and a fine track it is to) on Saturday mornings during the summer.

Where else will you get outdoor heaters along your route during those cold winter months

I agree with the previous post regarding going down to sessions. Most clubs welcome people to "try before you buy" so to speak so its a good way of finding out which club is the best suit for you regarding training, logistics, amenities etc

SB5

Peterx wrote: »

join the club that is easiest for you to get to and that may mean Crusaders in Irishtown fits the post work bill. they have fantastic facilities.

Their own track = Tallaght or Crusaders
In Bushy Park = Rathfarnham or Sportsworld
Near Bushy = Pearse Brothers

Muddying the waters are the fact that both Rathfarnham and Sportsworld hire track time from either Tallaght or Crusaders
I'd imagine any of the clubs I mention have nice people to play with so only you will know which club provides the best mix, they are all very welcoming of newcomers, especially ladies who can run half marathons in 1.33!

Thanks Peterx, good advice, I'll have to attend a few training sessions and suss it out myself.

The main thing for me is to have ppl to run with who are around my pace, really want the company on interval workouts and long runs at weekends.

I don't want to join a club where the athletes are too good for me, I want to be In a club where I will have the chance to progress.

Everyone's advice has been great.

ecoli

SB5 wrote: »

Thanks Peterx, good advice, I'll have to attend a few training sessions and suss it out myself.

The main thing for me is to have ppl to run with who are around my pace, really want the company on interval workouts and long runs at weekends.

I don't want to join a club where the athletes are too good for me, I want to be In a club where I will have the chance to progress.

Everyone's advice has been great.

You will be very hard pushed to find too many clubs with a full womens group of sub 1.35 HM women so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

Best of luck in your choices on a club

roseybear

Sportsworld prob ur best bet, have a good group of women of diff standards there!

PVincent

So do Bros Pearse. We have the winner of the longford half marathon, a few ladies pushing to that 90min barrier..and we are one of the friendliest, most welcoming clubs in the dublin area. Check out our fbook site under Knocklyon runners. You won't regret trying out with us. Watch out for us at the Rathfarnham 5k. We will be the club with over 75 runners in the field.

SB5

PVincent wrote: »

So do Bros Pearse. We have the winner of the longford half marathon, a few ladies pushing to that 90min barrier..and we are one of the friendliest, most welcoming clubs in the dublin area. Check out our fbook site under Knocklyon runners. You won't regret trying out with us. Watch out for us at the Rathfarnham 5k. We will be the club with over 75 runners in the field.

Where exactly are ye based?? And where do ye train?

blockic

SB5 I think it is time for you to get an agent! ...serious recruitment going on here!

SB5

blockic wrote: »

SB5 I think it is time for you to get an agent! ...serious recruitment going on here!

I know...I can't figure out if people actually want me to join their club or are just enjoying the banter of who has the best club...ha 😀

menoscemo

SB5 wrote: »

Where exactly are ye based?? And where do ye train?

They are also known locally as the knocklyon joggers/the grass trackers. That might be a clue
If you want to join a serious running club, I would go with Ecoli's suggestion of Tallaght AC; our track is the envy of all the clubs mentioned; so much so that they pay us to use it at designated times (i.e. when we don't need it). Of course if you join Tallaght it's free to use at any time

PVincent

Bros Pearse during the summer months are based in Cherryfield Pk which is opposite Ballyboden St Endas gaa club. In the winter months we meet at a church car park which is behind Superquinn knocklyon . tues/thurs 7pm .. Wednesday and Sunday runs also . Saturday runs /track work in Tallaght also available by arrangement within the club. Also a circuits session indoor on a thurs if that was of interest to you. Send me an email to the address I put on one of the earlier posts and I can give you more info . Otherwise come and talk to us on Sunday and we can advise on your best option. Would love you to join us but as long as you join some club , and get training with others , and doing proper beneficial sessions , then that is when you will see the improvements hopefully. We pride ourselves on training hard but having plenty of banter and craic. Relaxed and happy runners train better and harder and improve quicker

RacoonQueen

Jesus lads...leave the poor girl alone.

You should just join Donore, we're better than all these clubs anyway.

RayCun

RQ, you missed your chance (and I'll be reporting you to Donore for your recommendation of Sportsworld) :P
SB5, there'll be 70 Bros Pearse runners at Rathfarnham, you won't miss us

SB5

Thanks for everyone's advice....and to think I was a bit nervous about joining a club up here.....if only I had known that everyone was so friendly I would have joined one long ago.

I would love to join every club mentioned...I'm sure each one is great.

Unfortunately... I think Tallaght and donore are too far from where I live. Although I would love the track in Tallaght.

Sportsworld would be the best location wise but I could possibly stretch to pearse Bros....I will be attending training sessions in the coming weeks.

Cheers

statss

So in summary, Sportsworld > *

Glad that's settled.

:pac:

Letyourselfgo

SB5 wrote: »

.

Unfortunately... I think Tallaght and donore are too far from where I live. Although I would love the track in Tallaght.

I'm a member of Tallaght and live close to Marlay park, there's never any hassle with traffic and it never takes longer than 10 minutes. All the mentioned clubs are pretty good though so you wont go wrong no matter what club you pick.

chinguetti

I bet that if I started a thread saying i wanted to join a running club in South Dublin, the touting for my signature for a club wouldn't be a patch on this thread.:p

SB5, good luck with the decision whatever it is.

RayCun

chinguetti wrote: »

I bet that if I started a thread saying i wanted to join a running club in South Dublin, the touting for my signature for a club wouldn't be a patch on this thread.:p

Pudsy, on the other hand, would be highly sought after

digger2d2

chinguetti wrote: »

I bet that if I started a thread saying i wanted to join a running club in South Dublin, the touting for my signature for a club wouldn't be a patch on this thread.:p

SB5, good luck with the decision whatever it is.

That's cos you're sh1te spagbol

SB5

I will be keeping an eye out for all the clubs on Sunday.

Thanks for everyone's advice...tough decision!

digger2d2

SB5 wrote: »

I will be keeping an eye out for all the clubs on Sunday.

Thanks for everyone's advice...tough decision!

Look, all clubs (afaik) are looking for new members and although there is good banter going on here the reality is that the ladies section in Tallaght is very weak, I'm sure the Tallaght lads won't disagree with that sentimenet. Sportsworld have a strong ladies section with a similar profile of age/experience who have improved greatly since they joined the club. They drag each other along in training to better performances but also have a lot of craic along the way. Our great leader , Emily Dowling, won the Dublin Marathon in 1981 so she knows her stuff but also knows that non-running things get in the way sometimes.

Anyway, I'm actually not here to gather new members, there is always good banter between the clubs mentioned but in my opinion and it's just my opinion, if you don't go the Sportsworld direction than Bros Pearse should be your number 2.

RacoonQueen

digger2d2 wrote: »

Look, all clubs (afaik) are looking for new members and although there is good banter going on here the reality is that the ladies section in Tallaght is very weak, I'm sure the Tallaght lads won't disagree with that sentimenet.

My thoughts about Tallaght and Rathfarnham as well, I wouldn't have recommended Sportsworld otherwise. :pac:

SB5

RacoonQueen wrote: »

My thoughts about Tallaght and Rathfarnham as well, I wouldn't have recommended Sportsworld otherwise. :pac:

Ok that's great advice thank you. I really appreciate that because I don't want to join a club where I cannot progress and improve my times.

I thought rathfarnham ladies were strong though no?

RacoonQueen

SB5 wrote: »

Ok that's great advice thank you. I really appreciate that because I don't want to join a club where I cannot progress and improve my times.

I thought rathfarnham ladies were strong though no?

AFAIK they don't have a particularly big group, or at least they don't go to training if they do. That's from a girl who used to be with us and now runs for Rathfarnham after moving to them probably over a year ago.

As an example, from this years two half marathons in Dublin Sportsworld sub 1:40 runners say FAR outnumbered Rathfarnham/DSD/Tallaght.

Couldn't tell you about brothers pearse they're not a real club so didn't pay attention to them. :P

chinguetti

digger2d2 wrote: »

That's cos you're sh1te spagbol

Tis the last time i'll tell people your guns are great.:mad:

And boo to Sportsworld:p

jahaco

You should definitely take a long hard look at Crusaders in Irishtown. We have a large ladies membership. They are the current holders of the national novices x country title and 3rd in the national road relays. Your half marathon times are bang smack in the middle of the times achieved by our runners (and all have improved by having joined the club) and we have a dedicated long distance running group for both men and women that is over a 100-strong (we had 50 runners in the Frank Duffy and 40 in the half) that focuses on road running from 5k through to marathons (we had well in excess of 30 runners in the Dublin marathon last year and expect similar numbers this year). Training is Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

RacoonQueen

jahaco wrote: »

You should definitely take a long hard look at Crusaders in Irishtown. We have a large ladies membership. They are the current holders of the national novices x country title and 3rd in the national road relays. Your half marathon times are bang smack in the middle of the times achieved by our runners (and all have improved by having joined the club) and we have a dedicated long distance running group for both men and women that is over a 100-strong (we had 50 runners in the Frank Duffy and 40 in the half) that focuses on road running from 5k through to marathons (we had well in excess of 30 runners in the Dublin marathon last year and expect similar numbers this year). Training is Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Sorry, but why would she consider Crusaders? They're way out of her way and not a club she's interested in? The clubs she's mentioned are all very close to each other, there is most likely a reason for that...

This has just turned into pimp my club.

For the record, if she had asked for ANY club, I would have recommended Crusaders myself but she's looking at clubs in a completely different area...this would be like mentioning Sportsworld to someone who was trying to decide between Donore, MSB and Liffey Valley.

RayCun

RacoonQueen wrote: »

This has just turned into pimp my club.

I thought that was the game all along