A cold damp start did nothing to curb the enthusiasm of our athletes this weekend. The venue was Tymon Park for the last round of the Dublin Cross Country League. A very strong turnout of our junior athletes created a great atmosphere at the startline. A team walk of the course showed that conditions were very heavy under foot and with plenty of mud and undulating terrain this was going to be a real cross country course.

First up the u9 girl’s with Keren and Holly competing. A fast start down into a tight bend meant that the field was quickly strung out. Keren showed her experience by timing a late burst to finish 5th, making up a lot of places in the last 60 metres. Holly coped well with the difficult conditions but unfortunately couldn’t complete the course after she got an elbow in the tummy, which winded her.

A big turnout in the u9 boys with Conor D, Conor C, Jamie, Dylan, Theo and Michael. Jamie made the early running with an electric paced start through the downhill. 400 metres in Dylan made his move. He forsook the high ground, dropping down into the off camber bank and sprinted to the head of the pack. Across the tough uphill finish he managed to hold onto most of the places, finishing very strongly in 7th. Dylan was closely followed by the rest of the guys with all finishing in the top 20. Next up was Aisling in the u10 girls. She showed excellent tenacity over the heavy course, finishing very strongly on the uphill.

Another big turnout in the u10 boys with Ben, James, Joseph, Kyle and Joe. Ben maintained the strong form that he has shown all season timing a good late move and finishing 7th. The rest of the guys were hot on his heels. Shauna was the sole Skerries participant in the u11 girls. Like Ben she maintained her excellent form and finished 6th.

With no U11 boys this week next up were the u12 girls. After an excellent start, the wheels almost literally came off for Keva as she lost a shoe in the deep mud. Not to be put off, she carried on with just one shoe. An early break by Laura was reeled in by Nicole and there was nothing to separate them on the line. They were quickly followed by Aoife and Ailbhe and just behind them was the one shoed Keva, who got a big cheer from the crowd.

Cillian and Darragh ran in the u12s and finished very strongly. Cillian had to fend off some very vigorous elbowing from an opponent as the jostled in the finishing straight. Cillian stayed strong and prevailed.

Altan ran in the u14s finishing 9th. The u15 and u16 boys races were amalgamated so Skerries had three athletes to cheer for with Ben, Joshua and Conal running. Joshua finished an excellent 3rd, with the other two finishing strongly well inside the pack. It was a long day of standing around for Anna before she ran in the u17 girls, the last race of the day, Anna finished strongly in 5th place.

The coaches were really pleased with the big turnout on such a miserable morning. Spirits were high as a result of the team support and this translated into some excellent running. We would like to thank the parents for their support this morning and all the way through the season

Thanks as always to the coaches for preparing the athletes and to those who were there on the day to give last minute advice and support.  Thanks to Michael for a fantastic summary of the day and photos.