Good running club in Dublin

PatrickRuns

Hi,

After a few years in the US, I'm moving back to Dublin (where I lived 4 years from 2006-2010).

I used to be more of a recreational runner back in the days but while in the US I got bitten by the racing bug, joined a club in San Francisco and competed for the last 3 years in the PA series (www.pausatf.org).

I'm moving back to Dublin in June, and I'd love to join a club and start competing there. I run track, cross country, road from 1 mile to marathon (no ultras yet).

I've been improving steadily for the last 3-4 years and it's important for me to find a club with runners of similar or higher levels (5000m: 15:54 | half: 1:13:57 | mile: 4:33), ideally with a good coach and a supportive, fun and social spirit.

Also I'll be staying in Harold's Cross for a few months, and probably around Rathmines later. So a club within 5-10 kms of HC would be ideal.

Any club you would recommend?

RayCun

:pac:
These threads are always fun, as all the club members pile in to sell their clubs.
The nearest club to Harolds Cross is Dublin Striders
The best club within range is Brothers Pearse.
Other clubs are available.

smmoore79

Or Crusaders AC down at Irishtown stadium. They have a good few sub 16 min 5kers to train with and have a good track. Plus theres a good social scene!

www.crusadersac.org

average_runner

RayCun wrote: »

:pac:
These threads are always fun, as all the club members pile in to sell their clubs.
The nearest club to Harolds Cross is Dublin Striders
The best club within range is Brothers Pearse.
Other clubs are available.

Haha, you couldn't resist


If you want a club with a good track, look at Tallaght or Crusaders

menoscemo

RayCun wrote: »

:pac:
These threads are always fun, as all the club members pile in to sell their clubs.
The nearest club to Harolds Cross is Dublin Striders
The best club within range is Brothers Pearse.
Other clubs are available.

Ah come on Ray, be honest, The OP would have no-one in Bros Pearse to train with given his times. Not even your fastest athlete Micelle McGee could keep up with him

OP in all seriousness the closest clubs to you in Harolds Cross would be Sportsworld AC or Rathfarnham AC. Both would have a lot of runners at your standard. Neither of those clubs have a track though so if you are willing to travel a bit further then Tallaght AC has a great track facitlity and has lots of guys at or around your standard too.

best of luck.

RayCun

I did say the nearest club was Dublin Striders!
how dare you suggest I was anything other than completely neutral

The map of Leinster clubs is useful, even if it is incomplete. According to that the other closest club would be Dublin Front Runners, but they do all their training in Phoenix Park. (Also, they are "a running club for gay men, lesbians and our friends")

There aren't, as far as I know, any clubs that train in the city centre. You have Striders in Harolds X, Crusaders in Irishtown, a bunch of clubs in the park, and everyone else further out in the suburbs.

menoscemo

RayCun wrote: »

I did say the nearest club was Dublin Striders!
how dare you suggest I was anything other than completely neutral

The map of Leinster clubs is useful, even if it is incomplete. According to that the other closest club would be Dublin Front Runners, but they do all their training in Phoenix Park. (Also, they are "a running club for gay men, lesbians and our friends")

There aren't, as far as I know, any clubs that train in the city centre. You have Striders in Harolds X, Crusaders in Irishtown, a bunch of clubs in the park, and everyone else further out in the suburbs.

Harolds Cross/Rathmines is much closer to Terenure/Rathfarnham than to Phoenix Park

statss

The only club that makes sense to you is Sportsworld. I live in Rathmines and make training in Bushy Park within a 10 minute jog. Drop down any Tuesday or Thursday evening and ask for Emily or Paddy and we'll look after you.

RayCun

Yeah, the location for Front Runners is Portobello on the AAI map, but that doesn't reflect where they train so isn't much use

adrian522

Also looking for a club in the same area, but I'm at a lower level than the OP.

I was considering Rathfarnham or Sportsworld.

I'm currently running about 23:30 5k -- 50 min 10K -- and currently training for the DCM.

Any thoughts?

statss

adrian522 wrote: »

Also looking for a club in the same area, but I'm at a lower level than the OP.

I was considering Rathfarnham or Sportsworld.

I'm currently running about 23:30 5k -- 50 min 10K -- and currently training for the DCM.

Any thoughts?

there's loads of people at the same level as you in Sportsworld and Rathfarnam. Both train out of Bushy Park in the summer. Sporstworld start at 7 from the club house and I think Rathfarnam start at 6.30 from the big tree by the playground. Have a look at the DCM 13 results and search by both clubs if you can and you'll note loads between 3.30 - 4.30 I bet. I know from experience with Sportsworld that everyone meets up at 7 and then little groups form depending on ability for the actual session. So the fast group go off first, then the next, etc...you wouldn't be on your own at all.

Either club would be fine for you.

RayCun

Brothers Pearse!
7-8pm Tuesdays and Thursdays and long-run groups on the weekends.
There's a sub-4 DCM group starting up soon, they'll be doing a lot of their training together...

adrian522

Thanks lads I'll take a look at the ones mentioned!

ecoli

Hi OP

As you can probably see a sub 16/74 guy would be a valuable asset to most clubs and as such they are in high demand so expect the "recruiters" to be on this thread like a fat kid on cake .

In terms of clubs fitting your criteria I would say Crusaders would probably suit your needs best (as a Tallaght AC athlete myself I would say there are people at your level in the club but for the social aspect at that level and the coaching I reckon Crusaders would best suit your needs) Rathfarnham would also be a good choice however as was mentioned they do not have a track facility themselves.

Most clubs would welcome people to come along to a training session and get the feeling of the club before joining so don't be afraid to attend a few to find the right fit.

Best of luck in finding a club and hopefully your addition to the Irish scene won't push a few of us down the race results lists too often:D

ecoli

adrian522 wrote: »

Also looking for a club in the same area, but I'm at a lower level than the OP.

I was considering Rathfarnham or Sportsworld.

I'm currently running about 23:30 5k -- 50 min 10K -- and currently training for the DCM.

Any thoughts?

The world is your oyster to be honest. Can't speak for the other clubs in this regard but I know Tallaght have a thriving social scene at this level and large groups to train with as well as good coaching infrastructure and of course the big pull of the track/gym as a facility

drquirky

ecoli wrote: »

Hi OP

As you can probably see a sub 16/74 guy would be a valuable asset to most clubs and as such they are in high demand so expect the "recruiters" to be on this thread like a fat kid on cake .

In terms of clubs fitting your criteria I would say Crusaders would probably suit your needs best (as a Tallaght AC athlete myself I would say there are people at your level in the club but for the social aspect at that level and the coaching I reckon Crusaders would best suit your needs) Rathfarnham would also be a good choice however as was mentioned they do not have a track facility themselves.

Most clubs would welcome people to come along to a training session and get the feeling of the club before joining so don't be afraid to attend a few to find the right fit.

Best of luck in finding a club and hopefully your addition to the Irish scene won't push a few of us down the race results lists too often:D

Kinda agree here, Cru or Tallaght your best bet here in terms of standard/ facilities but Cru is more "city centre"

Rashers23

menoscemo wrote: »

Ah come on Ray, be honest, The OP would have no-one in Bros Pearse to train with given his times. Not even your fastest athlete Micelle McGee could keep up with him

Open to correction here but think Michelle McGee has now moved to DSD AC and is being trained by Enda Fitzpatrick?

(Some of the best distance runners in the country in DSD so might be worth a look!)

PatrickRuns

Wow - I wasn't expecting so many passionate responses. Thank you all!

The opportunity to do regular workouts at the track is important to me, but not nearly as much as being in a good training group and having a reputable coach. As for the club location, I generally jog 4-5 miles on my own before workouts, so it doesn't matter if the club isn't located in Harold's cross or Rathmines etc ... I think even Phoenix Park-based would be acceptable from a distance point of view.

I'll do a few try outs with Dublin-based clubs in June/July. This is what I've gathered thanks to you all and a bit of research on the web:
- Brother Pearce (Tallaght) | Sprint track only?
- Dublin striders (Kimmage) | no track?
- Crusader AC (Irishtown) | track available | has a group of runners under 16:00
- Tallaght AC | track available
- Sportsworld (Terenure) | no track?
- Rathfarnham AC (is it the same thing as Rathfarnham WSAF AC?) | no track | has runners under 16:00
- Donore Harriers (Chapelizod) | track available | they seem to have fast guys
- Clonliffe Harriers (Santry - probably too far) | track available | some really fast guys!

ecoli

Hopefully some more info can help

- Brother Pearce (Tallaght) | Sprint track only?
Grass track but use Tallaght facilities on a regular basis. Very active committee and developing in terms of level of competition

- Dublin striders (Kimmage) | no track?
No track and lack of depth in distance runners to the best of my knowledge

- Crusader AC (Irishtown) | track available | has a group of runners under 16:00

Track, good group training/coaching set up

- Tallaght AC | track available
Track available and number of high level athletes (2 sub 68 guys and 2 sub 74 guys) however in terms of group training enviroment not the most ideal and more a case of meet up with each other now and then for sessions/ long runs etc

- Sportsworld (Terenure) | no track?
No track but good group enviroment in or around the sub 75 mark over half with a number running sub 16 also

- Rathfarnham AC (is it the same thing as Rathfarnham WSAF AC?) | no track | has runners under 16:00
Again No track but good group enviroment in or around the sub 75 mark over half with a number running sub 16 also

- Donore Harriers (Chapelizod) | track available | they seem to have fast guys

Good group setting, good coaching setup but the track is a 300m track


- Clonliffe Harriers (Santry - probably too far) | track available | some really fast guys!

High level of talent however I am not sure how this translates with good group setting in terms of group training

Other possibility

Raheny - Good road running presence with great depth of talent and decent coaching set up. No track available however.

In the end the club setting here is not always so clear cut and there are many training groups which has athletes from a few different clubs so there are plenty of chances to meet up and train with groups if you wished also.

PatrickRuns

Thanks ecoli, you the man!

Calvin Johnson

Rathfarnham has the best kit.

PatrickRuns

Forgot Dundrum South Dublin. Do they have a track available and a good coach ?

ecoli

PatrickRuns wrote: »

Forgot Dundrum South Dublin. Do they have a track available and a good coach ?

DSD - Currently in the process of building a track so will have one in the near future (circa 2015/16 IIRC). Good history of producing good athletes and decent access to coaching. Not sure how the training groups operate in the clubs these days as I know a few of the lads train on their own but I am not sure whether this is down to their own availability.

gerard_65

PatrickRuns wrote: »

Wow - I wasn't expecting so many passionate responses. Thank you all!

The opportunity to do regular workouts at the track is important to me, but not nearly as much as being in a good training group and having a reputable coach. As for the club location, I generally jog 4-5 miles on my own before workouts, so it doesn't matter if the club isn't located in Harold's cross or Rathmines etc ... I think even Phoenix Park-based would be acceptable from a distance point of view.

I'll do a few try outs with Dublin-based clubs in June/July. This is what I've gathered thanks to you all and a bit of research on the web:
- Brother Pearce (Knocklyon) | Sprint track only?
- Dublin striders (Kimmage) | no track?
- Crusader AC (Irishtown) | track available | has a group of runners under 16:00
- Tallaght AC | track available
- Sportsworld (Terenure) | no track?
- Rathfarnham AC (is it the same thing as Rathfarnham WSAF AC?) | no track | has runners under 16:00
- Donore Harriers (Chapelizod) | track available | they seem to have fast guys
- Clonliffe Harriers (Santry - probably too far) | track available | some really fast guys!

FYP.

RayCun

(Bros Pearse have a sprint track and long jump pit [but it does need to be repaired at the moment], Sportsworld and Rathfarnham train at Tallaght track once a week, Donore's track is 300m)

menoscemo

RayCun wrote: »

(Bros Pearse have taken a piece of grass from a local GAA club and haphazardly drawn some lines on it. It's a bit slopey on one side, the grass is over grown and we could use a new pot of point but we are working on that ],

FYP

RayCun

don't think I can embed the google map?

johnnyfox24

If you'll be living in Rathmines I'd recommend Rathfarnham - info on their website athleticsrathfarnham.ie, they train in Nutgrove (4KM from Rathmines) on Tuesday nights during winter and Bushy park in Summer. They also use Tallaght track for Saturday morning sessions. It has a good social training environment and top coaching, also a range of abilities. Their athletes are competitive in track, cross country, road races (5k-marathon) and mountain running IMRA.ie

Mission14

Donore Harriers is right next to the Phoenix Park and has a good coaching structure. Although the track is 300m it has a scenic location next to the River Liffey - and the clubhouse mirrors the vibrancy of a club promoting athletics at all levels amid the traditions of a club steeped in the history of Irish cross-country and distance running ...

eldiva

ecoli wrote: »

Hopefully some more info can help

- Brother Pearce (Tallaght) | Sprint track only?
Grass track but use Tallaght facilities on a regular basis. Very active committee and developing in terms of level of competition

- Dublin striders (Kimmage) | no track?
No track and lack of depth in distance runners to the best of my knowledge

- Crusader AC (Irishtown) | track available | has a group of runners under 16:00

Track, good group training/coaching set up

- Tallaght AC | track available
Track available and number of high level athletes (2 sub 68 guys and 2 sub 74 guys) however in terms of group training enviroment not the most ideal and more a case of meet up with each other now and then for sessions/ long runs etc

- Sportsworld (Terenure) | no track?
No track but good group enviroment in or around the sub 75 mark over half with a number running sub 16 also

- Rathfarnham AC (is it the same thing as Rathfarnham WSAF AC?) | no track | has runners under 16:00
Again No track but good group enviroment in or around the sub 75 mark over half with a number running sub 16 also

- Donore Harriers (Chapelizod) | track available | they seem to have fast guys

Good group setting, good coaching setup but the track is a 300m track


- Clonliffe Harriers (Santry - probably too far) | track available | some really fast guys!

High level of talent however I am not sure how this translates with good group setting in terms of group training

Other possibility

Raheny - Good road running presence with great depth of talent and decent coaching set up. No track available however.

In the end the club setting here is not always so clear cut and there are many training groups which has athletes from a few different clubs so there are plenty of chances to meet up and train with groups if you wished also.

Raheny have a funny set-up. The top training group consists of the top club runners but has talent from other clubs training with them due to the coach. We train on a Wednesday and Saturday generally in Santry and there are a few groups to go to depending on your distance of choice.

IMO your best choice is Donore, they have good facilities, great coach, great atmosphere in the group and some serious talent.

Ag23

Does anyone have any experience with Clonliffe harriers? Looking to join a club and they seem to be most suitable

oldrunner

Clonliffe is a good club with a wide range of groups to suit most abilities in the male and female categories. Tuesday's and Thursday's at 7 are the main training nights meeting at the clubhouse. Tuesday is probably the best bet to start on. Come up a little early and ask to speak to Joe Cooper (male club captain) - he will point you in the right direction.
Edit: I see from another post your name is Agnes. So, you probably should ask for Pamela Cooper - Ladies captain.

Ag23

Thanks! Did the Limerick Marathon in 3.43 last weekend and aiming to do Dublin in 3.30! Hopefully this will help to achieve this! Will Pop down on a Tuesday if I can at all.