"There is no such thing as bad weather, just soft people" - Bill Bowerman.
 

The sands were golden, the sun shone and the beach thronged with scantily clad men and women.  No it wasn't the Costa del Sol in July, but, Dollymount Beach in November.  Saturday morning last, November 13th, witnessed the continued proliferation of the Bank of Ireland Beach Race in the BHAA winter series. The sting in Hurricane Thomas's tail may have lashed the western seaboard but his dying whimper bombarded Dollymount Beach on the morning of the race, with a mixture of sunshine, fleeting clouds and bitterly cold, sharp, persistent winds.  Approximately 240 athletes made their way to the start line on the beach front down past the Scout's Den  The tough course comprised of 2 laps of a straight out and straight in 2 mile circuit.  The wind at your back on the first leg seemed to catapult people down the beach.,  However the turn back up the beach was torturous  into the strong winds which immediately forced the athletes to double their efforts.  While the course was advertised as 6k, the truth is it was much longer.  As always AGS was extremely well represented, with new faces making their BHAA debut and some old familiar faces returning after a long absence.  Aidan Lanigan returned to the fold and led the lads home in 25:02.  Anthony Malone and Dave Sweeney soldiered together along the "tra" and only a few seconds separated them with Anthony running 25:48 and Dave 26:04.  Kevin Grogan continues to impress running 27:56, which earned him a well deserved second in his age category.   Ian Redican on his return to Bhaa action ran brilliantly to clock 29:55, only a few weeks after the marathon.  Our next two beachcombers ashore were debutant's.  Matt Kelly travelled from Ballyfermot on the advice of Grogan and returned in 31:20.  Michael McArdle sailed through the course 33:09, another fantastic debut considering the bank holiday 26.2 were still in the legs.  Two of our stalwarts John Burke and Hugh Reddy posted 35:12 and 36:39, respectively.  In the Team event Anthony, Dave and Kevin took silver in the A division.  Alas, due to prolonged absence or first time outings, Aidan, Ian, Matt and Michael were ineligible for the team event, which stranded John and Hugh.

AGS is in a strong position after the second race in the XC winter series and I am delighted to see new garda runners at each race.

The next race is on Saturday November 27th.  The NSRT-SMART 4m Cross Country Race  is universally agreed upon as the toughest race on the XC calendar and a very satisfying course to complete.  Crossing through a river and barely a blade of grass on the circuit, adds to the intrigue.   Registration will open at 10:00hrs at the Sports Complex in The Ward, North County Dublin.  The ladies race is 4 K and begins at 11:00hrs.  The men must complete 6k and are off at 11:30hrs.  For further details visit :   http://www.bhaa.ie/  .

Anyone seeking some of the new club gear just give me a bell on 087 2488602.