The long Easter weekend was marked with the Blackrock A.C. Virtual Easter 1k challenge. All of our athletes across the club were invited to take part and complete 1km as fast as they could and submit their times. It wasn’t long before members began suggesting other elements to the initiative. So the 1km challenge soon became a virtual marathon distance race, where members would combine the 42 fastest to make up the distance. Added to that was the introduction of some competition, with the older lemons of Blackrock A.C. Fit4Life, Men and Women’s sections competing against some of the younger athletes from the Junior section (U20) who teamed up with members of the Juvenile section (U15).

1k Challenge

The competition was fierce. Members took to local parks and straights in an effort to get the best time possible for the 1k challenge. In total, we had 68 members from Fit4Life, Men and Women’s sections while the Juvenile and Junior sections accounted for a massive 130, ensuring strength in numbers! Altogether there were 198 members of Blackrock A.C. taking part.

Top 5 Virtual Easter 1km Performances 

Male

There were great efforts from all cohorts of Blackrock A.C. It was Brian Lenihan from the men’s section along with Liam Norton from the 2004 age group of the junior section who came home first in a brilliant time of 3:02, clearly demonstrating that Brian’s experience made little difference when faced with sheer determination from Liam. Robert O’Brien from the 2005 age group finished in 3:03, edging in front of Seán McFadden from the men’s at 3:04. 2007 age group member Charlie White was next at 3:08 followed 1 second later by Hugh Hunt at 3:09, Darren Egan at 3:10 and Miguel Flores at 3:11, all from the men’s section. Then it was 2006 age group member Antione Roquette at 3:15 followed by 2009’s Matthew O’Donnell at 3:36.

Female

Holly O’Brien from the 2007 age group was first home in an incredible 3:12, followed by women’s Helen Marie Maher at 3:28. 2006’s Ruby Mullen finished in 3:30 while 2008’s Megan Brunt and Fit4Life member Katherine Duff both finished in 3:36. 2009’s Caoimhe McDermott and 2010’s Alex Fellner Ring both finished in 3:42 and were followed by Fit4Life members Victoria O’Mahony in 3:57, Dorit McCann in 4:00 and Aedemar Cooke in 4:05.

A full set of the 1k challenge results can be seen further down the page.

Marathon Times

Team members from the Fit4Life, Men and Women’s sections finished in a total of 2 hours and 37 minutes but it was members from the Juvenile and Junior sections who came home first and finished the total distance in 2 hours and 33 minutes. A cool 4 minutes faster and a great team effort from all members of the club, well-done everybody!

Special Mentions

Well done to Josh Hunt, Lara Woods, Des White, Amelia Burns, Nieve Gleich, Annabelle Garvey, Matthew McKenna, Fiona Connelly, Jacob Ryan, David Greenan and Lucy Horrigan who all participated in this years 1km Easter challenge.

This group has been training virtually since January and prior to that had only ever trained for and raced distances up to 500 m. For 11 athletes to double this distance is an outstanding achievement. The athletes not only managed to finish this challenge but also recorded some excellent times too. Josh Hunt completed a very fast 1km with his father, 2012 coach Paul Hunt. Josh’s finished in 4 minutes 11 seconds. Lara Woods completed her 1km (and the first race for the club) in 4 minutes and 50 seconds, so well done Lara.

It’s back to training virtually for the next few weeks. We will continue to focus on strength and conditioning drills until our return to Carysfort Park. Audrey Burns – 2012 Age Group Coach

The Junior section which includes athletes aged 15 and older joined as individuals competing for the fastest 1km time in the club and also teamed up with 100 or so Juveniles to compete against the Fit4Life, Men and Women’s sections for the best joint marathon time. Congratulations to all those who completed the run with a special call-out to Liam Norton and Robert O’Brien who came first and second overall with a second between them. Fantastic achievement, especially given the level of competitiveness within the club for this event. 👏🏼  Mark Cafferkey – Junior Section (15+) Coach

Overall a great weekend of running by all our athletes and special congrats to those listed below for coming in with the fastest 1k in their age group:

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