Late entries accepted at annual athletics presentation event

Extra chairs and tables were needed to accommodate those who turned up for the Meath Athletics awards night at the Old Darnley Lodge Hotel on Sunday evening. More people than expected showed up at the Athboy venue to see young, and not so young athletes from around the county, receive recognition for the effort and dedication they displayed during the last 12 months that helped them win events both at home and abroad. After a sumptious dinner the athletes filed up to receive their awards including a long list of youngsters. They were presented with plaques in recognition of the fact that they won medals at the National Championships. It was all part of attempts by the governing body in the county to drive home the message that hard work and effort equals reward. Among those in attendance was AAI president Liam Hennessy, his Meath counterpart Sheila Mallon and many other well-known figures from the local athletics fraternity. Fresh from his recent run in the Dublin City marathon was Athboy athlete Tony Ennis. The Fr Murphy clubman ran the now famous race in four hours, eight minutes, quite an achievement considering that he has been running in the event, every autumn, since it started 32 years ago. His best time in the race was 2.41 in his second year and he has been back there since without fail, his consistency matched by another Meath runner Seamus Dunne from Dunboyne. Meath Athletics chairman Brendan Meade pointed to the tableful of trophies and plaques and suggested this was a clear indication of another successful year for Meath athletics, both at home and abroad. Yet he quickly added that there was no room for complacency and that improvements could continue to be made at various levels. "Our senior teams in the track and field leagues didn't have as good a year as other years and we would hope with our young crop of athletes, of which we have plenty coming through, that they would make a difference to us over the next couple of years," he told the Meath Chronicle. "On the cross-country front we're going well, both the Meath senior ladies and men's teams are in section A of the national cross-country so that we would hope that we can build on that. "The ladies won a silver medal in the national cross-country and we'd hope that this year the men's team, now that they are in section A would win a medal this year, that's without putting extra pressure on the men, but we think the team is good enough." On other issues the Meath chairman said that he would like to see tighter control of road races and said that there was a move within the World and European governing bodies that the organisation of road races should come under the umbrella of the national governing bodies. "Within Meath we have 13 road races organised by the clubs and all organised to a high standard and we would hope that we can grow on that next year. We had great participation this year and we would hope that this participation would increase again in 2012." He added that the numbers taking part in running had increased considerably in recent years partly because it is "a relatively cheap sport to take part in" with athletes of whatever level having a chance to take part in the various road races for just €15. "Some might be lucky enough to win a prize, but at the end of the race there was tea, hospitality, a bit of crack. "For €15 it means the clubs who are running the road race series are giving the customer great value for money in comparison to a lot of private races that are out there that could cost €30 or €34 or even more." Among those who received an award on Sunday night was Moira Peppard for her achievements in the masters track category. During her running career, the Trim athlete has won numerous honours. She is this year's Meath ladies masters track category winner and has dominated the o-45 section in recent seasons. This year Peppard competed in the British masters for the first time and was third in both her respective disciplines, the 100m and 200m. She also enjoyed success in these events in the o-45 age group at national and provincial levels. Peppard is also closely involved in spreading the athletics gospel in Meath as she is part of a Meath Athletics-supported initiative. Along with two other coaches she goes into primary schools and provides interested students with relevant information on athletics as well as coaching tips. It's a combined effort to get more youth involved in the sport. "The aim is to encourage children to join their local club and to get active as well," she explained. "It's a project that involves the Sports Development Project based in Navan, Meath Athletics Board and the Meath Local Sports Partnership. "We go to primary schools every day and introduce them to athletes, show them the basics and try and encourage them to join the local club, it has increased numbers in local clubs." Among the senior athletes recognised for their efforts on Sunday night were Sharon Monaghan, Michelle Pilkington, Darragh Rennicks, Kourosh Foroughi and Padraig White. For them, and the other successful athletes, the awards represented a worthy recognition of their triumphs on various fronts over the past year. As well as the athletes, those in the big attendance included friends, family members and officials from various clubs around the county with a late influx of people sparking a search for more tables and chairs.