Watch more video of 2012 New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on flotrack.org

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Leevale T-shirts and singlets will be on sale on the day €10 & €25 respectively.

A bus will depart from Merchants Quay at 8am, €5 per juvenile and €10 per adult. Places are limited so please confirm your place at training with your coach on Tuesday night. Under 9 to under 11 athletes must be accompanied by an adult.

There will not be any stops, so all athletes must bring drinks and a packed lunch. Neenah can be cold so dress warm.

AAI Indoor Championships programme

Leevale entries for this event are listed below. If you cannot make it or need to change your entry for whatever reason please contact your coach, secretary@leevale.org or Leevale Webmaster

The full Leevale Club DVD 2011, complete with bonus DVD, is still available for purchase at the following link.

If you can’t hear the audio, try the following link to a podcast of the show on the RTÉ website.

Last Monday, Ciarán also featured on the “Off the Ball” sports programme on Newstalk. Try the player below to hear the show – Ciarán’s interview is about 18 minutes in.

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Meanwhile, Ciarán Ó Lionáird gets his season off to a start this Saturday in the mile event at the New Balance Grand Prix in Boston. Ciarán has given a couple of radio interviews recently ahead of this weekend’s event – see links here.

Start list

Leevale athletes travelled in numbers to Dungarvan today to take part in the 10 mile road race hosted by West Waterford AC. Such were the numbers of Leevale runners that a minibus was hired to cater for the crowd! It was a worthwhile trip for many athletes with individual, category and team prizes galore.

Lizzie Lee had a good run in the ladies’ race to finish 2nd in a high-quality field in a great time of 57:29. The overall honours were taken by Maria McCambridge in a course record of 55:58.

First Leevale finisher across the line was Cillian Ó Tuama, who finished 12th in 54:05, followed by Donal Coffey who is returning to form with 22nd in 55:45. Colm Moore wasn’t far behind in 58:39 and this scoring three ensured that Leevale took the team title. There was also a category prize for Ann Moore who took 2nd in the F45.

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More photos

Dungarvan 10 Miles, Sun 29 Jan 2012 1:00 pm

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Munster Development Squad 10 am – 12 pm with registration at 9:30 am sharp. This session is for all U14 (1999) – U20 (1993) athletes in 2012 age groups. This is open to all athletes from clubs in Munster and the cost is €5 payable at registration at 9:30am. The events covered on the day will be sprints, hurdles, shot and long jump.

Munster Performance Squad 12:30 pm – 4 pm with registration at 12:15 pm sharp. This session is only open to the 85 athletes slected on the performance squad via letter to their club and parents before Christmas. This is for those selected athletes in the U17 (1996) – U21 (1992) age groups in 2012. The head event coach for each event will e-mail the personal coaches with plans for the day.

Irish Team Coach Br. John Dooley will also be in attendance, acting as guest speaker for the performance squad at 12:30 pm sharp with the sessions starting at 1 pm.

The workshop is aimed at all athletes aged 14+ and will cover the following topics:
- Event Preparation/Competition Day
- Confidence Building
- Positive Thinking

This is a worthwhile event and we encourage all U15 and older athletes who want to perform to the best of their abilities in 2012 to attend.

The workshop will be held upstairs in the Student Centre (red brick building) next to the athletics track stand and the cost is €5 payable at registration on the night between 6:30-6:55 pm. The workshop starts at 7 pm sharp so please be on time.

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AAI Games results

Meanwhile, earlier this afternoon Lizzie Lee was in action at the Antrim International Cross Country where she placed 14th in a high-class field. The race was won by Ireland’s European Cross Country Champion, Fionnuala Britton.

Entries for individual events will also will be taken in early February.

Liam was a founder member of Leevale. Prior to that he competed and acted as an administrator for Hilltown athletic club. Hilltown AC merged with Fr. Matthews AC to form Leevale in 1967. In that year, with the formation of BLE, international athletics was opened up to Cork athletes for the first time since the 1930s. Liam was a firm advocate of the formation of a strong club in Cork, which would cater for all aspects of our sport. He saw the merger and the formation of Leevale as being the ideal vehicle to achieve this aim. In the late 60s he was elected chairman of Leevale and acted in this position into the mid 1970s. Older members of the club will remember that he was, initially, the “reluctant” chairman. However, having accepted the position he attacked the job with gusto. During his period as chairman he initiated the setting up a Grounds Committee with a view to getting a permanent home for the club. This aim was ultimately achieved with the purchase of a property in Blackrock Road in 1976. As an athletic administrator he was well known for his organizational ability and his no nonsense no fuss approach to getting the job done.

When he gave up his administrative role he remained a great supporter of the club. He would attend some cross country races. He always kept up to date with the newspapers and read with pride the exploits of the current generation of Leevale athletes. Our club would not exist today were it not for the vision of people like Liam.

Liam’s death follows shortly after that of 3 other former Club Chairmen: John Smyth, Joe O’Flynn and Bernard Walley. We are sad to be saying goodbye to another Leevale stalwart. He will be missed by all of us who knew him.

We extend our deepest sympathies, to his wife Pauline, son Tony daughters Mary, Kathleen, Olive and Geraldine

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dilis

Chairman Leevale AC
Liam Horgan

This course is open to all club members, any one interested in attending please text Donal @ 087 6455018.

Senior Men 10000m

Senior Women 5000m

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The Leevale 2012 Open T&F Meet takes place at CIT on the weekend of 14\15 April. This year, it will be a two-day event; the junior and senior programme will be on the Saturday, juvenile events on Sunday. It promises to be a great weekend of T&F action in Cork!

This year’s meet will have an expanded senior programme featuring men’s and women’s mile events. Javelin events have also been added this year. There will be cash prizes and electronic timing for all senior events.

Juvenile athletes competing on Sunday should enter their events at the track on the day. Online entry for senior and junior events will be open shortly. Entry is free of charge and should be done using the online form. For senior athletes who enter on the day there will be a charge of €5 so all seniors are encouraged to use the free online form.

Entry fees are payable at the gate only. There is no additional charge to enter events thereafter, apart from relays. The entry fees are as follows:

Check-in information: Juvenile athletes should check in at the start of their events – listen for PA announcements on the day. Senior\junior athletes should check in to receive their numbers at the stand side of the track. Check in closes an hour before each event.

Directions to CIT

Meet programme

Printable meet programmes

Senior\Junior – Saturday

Juvenile – Sunday

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This was a fantastic run from these up and coming athletes. The race was run over a distance of 4 kilometres. Best place of the Irish was Aisling Quinn (Ferrybank AC) who placed second, she was followed closely by Linda Conroy (Mullingar Harriers AC) in fifth and Sarah Fitzpatrick (Dundrum South Dublin AC) in sixth position. Special mention must go to Louise Shanahan (Leevale AC), aware of the team aspect of the race Shanahan pushed all the way to the line to finish in tenth place. This gave the Irish team a well deserved victory over Scotland and Wales respectively.

At the same venue Mark Hanrahan competed in the Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country. This is a top level international race made up of teams from around the world. Mark finished in 19th and was 7th European home.

Jessica will receive a Juvenile Munster Star Award for Indoor & Track and Field performances. While David will receive the Senior Men T&F award.

Congratulations and well done to both athletes.

The Leevale man’s US collegiate career was fragmented by illness and injury but it took on a new dimension after a final-year switch to Florida State.

He still struggled with his confidence but that, too, was about to change. He had hammered at 3:40 for 1500m until he lined up for an attempt at the Olympic qualifying standard in the Belgian town of Oordegem.

What was originally a low key event turned into a sensational race with Ó Lionáird running the fourth fastest time ever by an Irishman at 3:34.46 — knocking almost six seconds off his previous best time and posting his A standard for both the world championships and the Olympic Games.

And he maintained his form in Daegu, where he ran 3:36.96 in the semi-finals and 3:37.81 in the final where he fell victim to a sensational 51-second final lap that saw Asbel Kiprop become the first Kenyan to win the world 1500m title.

Ó Lionáird immediately set his sights on London 2012. He was signed up by Nike, joined Alberto Salazar’s group of elite athletes in Portland alongside the newly crowned world 5,000m champion, Mo Farah, and began his Olympic build-up.

“Everything is great here in Beaverton,” he said yesterday. “I spent Christmas at Nike WHQ, staying in the routine. We are in the middle of a hard training block here so I didn’t want to disrupt it.”

He is revelling in the training regime without getting carried away by his enthusiasm — something that has been a problem in the past.

“Training is going really well,” he said. “I have some very talented teammates who push me every day in sessions and a coaching staff that makes sure I have the right amount of work. Being able to learn from Mo and Galen [Rupp] and Dathan [Ritzenhein] has been great as they’ve been competing at the top for quite a few years.

“Alberto Salazar, Steve Magness [his assistant who is a physiology expert] and our sports psychologist Darren Treasure are watching every session to make sure I’m working optimally physically and mentally. It’s a great team to have behind me.”

And it does not end there. The shoe developers at Nike put him in the best products and customise his shoes so as to limit the risk of injury.

“We had to change a lot of things when I arrived,” he said. “Alberto is changing my arm carriage and posture and also I am spending a lot of work in the gym fixing the imbalances that caused all the injuries when I went to college. We’re making great progress and I’m feeling no aches or pains anywhere. Having the great facilities like an underwater treadmill here is great as I can reduce impact, too, and further limit injury risk.

“The main goal of the year is obviously London and getting a medal there but we’re going to use the indoors as a good way to gain more experience with tactics. If the first few races go well, then we’ll give the world indoors a lash hopefully.”

There were good wins in the men’s and ladies’ categories for Leevale athletes Tim Twomey and Lizzie Lee. Mark Bickerdike is improving with every race and finished 6th overall to win the M45 category. Eimear Hallahan made it three wins for Leevale as she won the junior women’s race.

Donough Coughlan Memorial Cup 5 Miles, Bandon, Mon 2 Jan 2012, 1:00 pm

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Photos from Gearóid Ó Laoi.

Meanwhile, earlier in the Christmas season, Lizzie Lee had another good win, this time at the Athenry 10K on St. Stephen’s Day. Full results. Photos

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The coaches in Leevale wish all our athletes and families a happy and peaceful Christmas. See you in the New Year.

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Newmarket 5K, Sun 18 Dec 2011, 1:00 pm

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Thanks to Santa, the efforts of organisers Donal O’Callaghan and Derek Coffey, and all the parents who brought gifts for St. Vincent De Paul, the party was a great success and enjoyed by all. At the end of the party a presentation was made to Shane Aherne and Andrea Ring as the athletes who have trained most consistently in 2011.

Santa Gallery