On a cold Autumn day with good underfoot conditions, the Juvenile ranks of Rathfarnham tackled the super cross country course of Santry Demesne. In the Under 9 Boys, Fionn Mc Glynn had a great run to finish 7th, and Ben Mulvihill was impressive in 13th position. In a large Under 11 Girls field, Eimear Doyle came home 49th and making her debut for the club Evie Mai Molony also ran. The strong running Ryan O'Neill was unlucky not to finish on the podium, coming home in a tight finish in 4th place. Dara Mulvihill was 6th and Fionn Kelly 29th. The Under 11 Boys team finished in 5th position overall, 2 points behind Clonliffe Harriers. In the Under 13 Girls our top finisher was Alice Hickey in 26th, with Aoife Doyle 31st, Elizabeth Hickey 52nd, Abbey Kelly 53rd and Elena Cullen 61st. The Under 13 Girls team placed 10th overall. The Boys Under 13 saw Rory Sweeney (48th) making his Championship debut for the club. Well done to all our young Athletes! Next up, Sunday 4th December, League 3, Tymon Park!!

Elena Cullen

Alice Hickey

Aoife Doyle

U13 girls L to R: Elena, Aoife, Alice, Abbey and Elizabeth

Boys Under 11 team

The first two athletes to represent Rathfarnham AC were Philippa McGlynn and Isabel Burge in the girls Under 10 1000m race. The two girls ran a super race and can feel really proud of their efforts. This was the first official race on the new, purpose built cross country course at the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown.

Second up for Rathfarnham were Alice Hickey and Charlotte Burge in the girls Under 12 2000m race. Again these two girls ran their hearts out with Alice just missing out on qualification for the National Cross Country Championships. Well done girls.

Lastly, Rathfarnham AC was ably represented in the boys Under 12 2000m race by Cathal Keogh sporting his new pair of running spikes. Cathal ran a super race, passing three or four fellow competitors in the last 50m.

Overall, it was a good day's running by our Rathfarnham AC juvenile athletes. All five represented the club with distinction. It would be great if more of our juvenile athletes could enjoy the experience of representing the club in competition.

This year the Rathfarnham Juvenile Road Races took place prior to the New Ireland Rathfarnham 5k Run. Three race distances were contested in perfect conditions. First off was the 600m Girls/Boys Under 12 Race. Edel Mc Creery was first home followed by Clara Kinsella, Sophie Maxwell, Charlotte Burge and Mia Mc Glynn. First for the Boys was Dara Mulvihill, Ryan O'Neill was second and Cathal Keogh 3rd. Next up was the Girls Under 14 800m. Alannah Fasenfeld was 1st, Aoife Doyle 2nd, Niamh Cunningham 3rd, Clodagh Cullen 4th and Gemma Murphy 5th. The Under 16s battled out the final race over 1km, and Amy Mc Cabe was a convincing winner. Next over the line was Ellie Stapleton followed by Orla Hannan, Annamaria Teaca and Jessica Lynch. Alex Hill was the first Boy home. Well done to all the young athletes that took part in the curtain raiser to the main event! The Juvenile Races proved to be a great success and the 5k will go from strength to strength. Thanks to the many parents and club members who assisted to help make it all happen.

First off on the Saturday was Anna Doyle and Elena Cullen in the Girls U13 80m. Later in the Girls U13 Shot Put, Elena threw 5.32m to finish 8th. The Rathfarnham Girls U15 4x100m relay team, drawn in a difficult inside lane, put in a sterling performance to place 4th in a time of 54.60. The team of Clodagh Cullen, Alannah Fasenfeld, Alannah Cullen and Isabelle Doyle agonisingly just missed out in a place in the final. Sunday's action featured Alannah Fasenfeld in the Girls U14 Hammer, who threw 23.84m and placed 7th. Later on in the Boys U19 800m, a very impressive Richard Keogh struck gold in a time of 1:56:27 to claim the national title. Well done to all our athletes! Full results are on the AAI website.

L to R Girls U15 4x100m Relay team: Alannah Cullen, Alannah Fasenfeld, lsabelle Doyle and Clodagh Cullen.