Hilary Casey, winner of the visually impaired category at last year’s Flora Women’s Mini Marathon, is appealing to runners and walkers of all standards to join her at the first ever NCBI 10km in Dublin Phoenix Park next Sunday April 1 (10am).
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| Hilary Casey – runner and thrower |
Hilary has set herself the challenge of breaking her mini marathon time of 53 minutes 18 seconds.
“I’ll need all the help I can get!” she says.
Like her older sister Caroline, a noted charity campaigner, Hilary has had problems with her sight since birth.
“I have ocular albinism, which means I am legally blind. It’s like looking through a camera when it’s out of focus. I usually identify people by colours and movements.”
She has never let her sight problems hold her back.
“When I ran the mini marathon without registering as visually impaired, I was running into pavements and hitting things. So in 2009, I registered as visually impaired. Starting five minutes ahead of the main pack made such a difference,” she says.
She even got one or two “Come on Sonia” cheers from people who mistakenly thought Sonia O’Sullivan was leading the race!
Hilary had known she was in good shape thanks to the hard work she had put in with a Meet and Train group associated with her club Dundrum South Dublin.
“We train in a field, even in winter. I know where the goal posts are and I always have someone running beside me, which is a great help.”
Highlight of her athletics life so far has been completing the Dublin City Marathon in 2009, although recently Hilary has taken up throwing both discus and shot with DSD and hopes to compete this summer. She will use the NCBI 10km to test her fitness.
“I’ve worked as a social worker with the NCBI for the past eleven years and like all charities, we’re feeling the pinch. This race is very important to us.”
Want to join Hilary? For your €22 entry fee, you’ll get chip timing and a goodie bag, plus the chance of winning one of a number of valuable spot prizes. All profits will help the NCBI continue its vital work reaching out to the visually impaired.
To sign up, register at www.ncbi.ie or contact 1851 33 43 53.
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| Joe Sweeney in Dunboyne |
DSD’s Joe Sweeney shrugged off the cauldron-like conditions to win the EirGrid Dunboyne 4-mile road race in a time of 18 minutes 18 seconds – just ten seconds off the course record. Tom Fitzpatrick of Tallaght was second ahead of national cross-country champion Eddie McGinley, who was one of a large contigent of Northern Irish runners taking part in the race. First woman was Sarah Treacey of Moynalvy who had won the St Patrick’s Festival 5km a week earlier. Between the main race and shorter runs for children, over 1,100 turned out – and all were treated to a magnificent spread of tea, sandwiches and other goodies while waiting for prizegiving. This is a long-established race getting better by the year – well done to all in Dunboyne!
Live in the Celbridge area? Fancy taking up running? The Celbridge Athletic Club Meet and Train group trains every Wednesday (7pm) at the track behind St Wolstan’s school. New members are always welcome to drop down any time. Or contact Michael at 087-2655433.
* Starting next Sunday (11am) in St Anne’s Park Raheny is the annual Meet and Train Summer Leagues – a series of progressively longer races over two, three and four miles designed to help Meet and Train women get fit for the summer. New groups and individuals always welcome. Register Cara Hall, All Saint’s Road, Raheny from 10am.
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| Caroline Reid |
Despite the blistering heat, 66 hardy souls finished the gruelling 51km Wicklow Way Ultra from Glencullen to Ballinastoe and back, with David Simpson the winner in a time of 4 hours 21 minutes. Paul Tierney, who set a new Wicklow Way record last summer, was ten minutes adrift for second place, with Caroline Reid knocking a minute off her previous best time to finish first woman in 5 hours 11 minutes. Winning the trail run over half the distance were Ian Conroy and Catherine Devitt.
* Expect a great Meath welcome if you travel to Mullaghmeen Forest, near Oldcastle, Co Meath, for Sunday’s (12.0) 5km hill race organised by the local St Brigid’s club. Prizes for seniors, juniors and masters.
Buy anything from the www.sub4.ie online sports store from now until Saturday March 31 and you could win one of six free entries, each valued at €29, for the Spar Great Ireland 10km in Dublin’s Phoenix Park on April 15. See www.sub4.ie.
With winter already receding in the memory, the BHAA launches its summer season on Saturday at St Anne’s Park with the Dublin City Council Road races – 2 miles for women (11am), 4 miles for men (11.30). Registration from 10am in St Paul’s School.
*Winners of the annual North County Farmers floodlit 5.2km cross-country in Malahide RFC were Eoin Callaghan and Catherine Brogan.
Titanic mania is already sweeping the country, and a huge entry is expected for the 2012 Titanic Quarter 10km on Sunday April 22 in Belfast. The race takes place just a few weeks after the official opening of Titanic Belfast, celebrating the centenary of the ill-fated liner. Entry fee is £13 or £11 if you’re an athletics club member; register online at www.athleticsni.org.
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