The Galway Indoor Track & Field Championship was held in AIT on Sunday January 18th.  Ballinasloe & District Athletic Club athletes performed splendidly on the day bringing home a fantastic haul of 20 medals.

Results:
U10 Girls
Kayla McKeon had a marvellous sprint in the 60m coming in 1st place to bring home the Gold with a time of 10.12. She put in another great run in the 400m coming in 4th place & missing out on the Bronze medal by just .18 seconds. Aoibheann Fitzpatrick had an impressive run in the 60m coming in 4th place & missing out on the Bronze medal by just .02 seconds. She had a brilliant run in the 400m coming in 2nd place. Clodagh Kileen, Sinead Daly & Leah Clarke all had great runs both in the 60m & 400m with the girls finishing in 7th, 9th & 11th position respectively in the 400. Ashlinn Arru put in a good performance in the 60m.

U10 Boys
Niall Jennings & Fionn Ryan both put in strong performances in the 60m & 400m.

U11 Girls
Ava McKeon had 2 magnificent runs winning Gold in the 60m with a fantastic time of 9.46 & also got Gold in the 600m where she was over 8 seconds ahead of the silver medal winner. Mya Kelly & Roisin Grealy both ran very well in the 60m.

U11 Boys
Eoin Connell & Mark Kilkenny both had a good run in the 60m . Mark Kilkenny had a great run in the 600m coming in 8th place.

U12 Girls
Emma & Shauna Mitchell both ran very well in the 60m & 600m with Emma coming in 8th place in the 60m & 9th in the 600.

U12 Boys 60m
Shane Fitzpatrick won Gold in the 60m with an outstanding time of 8.98 seconds. Charlie Naughton had a brilliant run coming in 3rd place to bring home the Bronze. Conor Harley had a super sprint coming in 6th place. Joseph Tierney, Adam McGreal & Cahal Daly all had great sprints.

U12 Boys 600m
Conor Harley & Shane Fitzpatrick both put in a fantastic performance in the 600 but unfortunately there was a mix up on the day with their heat & both boys ended up running 800m instead of the correct 600m. With the mix up the boys ended up in 4th & 5th position but they will both go forward to the Connacht Championships to fight for their usual place on the podium. Adam McGreal who is new to athletics put in an impressive performance in the 600m with a great time coming in 7th position.

U14 Boys
Tom Fitzpatrick had a splendid run in the 800m coming in 5th position.

U15 Boys
Rowan Harley had 2 good runs finishing in 9th place in the 60m & 7th in the 1500m.

Relays:

U10 Girls
Kayla McKeon,ClodaghKileen, Leah Clarke, Sinead Daly &AshlinnArru got the Gold. These talented young runners have a promising future.


U11 Girls
Roisin Grealy, Aoibheann Fitzpatrick, Mya Kelly & Ava McKeon all ran well coming in 4th position.U11 Boys
Mark Kilkenny, Eoin Connell, Niall Jennings & Fionn Ryann all had a good run coming in 5th positionU12 Girls
Shauna & Emma Mitchaell, Mya Kelly, Ava McKeon & Roisin Grealy did themselves proud coming in 2nd place.

U12 Boys
Conor Harley, Adam McGreal, Shane Fitzpatrick & Charlie Naughton had a magnificent run coming in 1st place & brining home the Gold.

Joseph Tierney, Cahal Daly, Mark Kilkenny & Eoin Connell all ran well coming in 7th place.

Ballinalsoe & District Athletic Club would like to congratulate all these young runners on their great performances. They all did themselves & their club proud. Best of luck to those in the U12 & over who will now go on to perform in the Indoor Connacht Championship which will be held in AIT over 2 days on Feb 28th & March 1st.

The Ballinasloe GAA Croke Park cycle was a great success with many new riders out on the bike. It would be great to see this trend continue into the winter, cycling presently can be tough with the dark evenings and cooler temperatures.

Winter however can also be the best time to start as it gives you a few months to get a good base before you head into the spring where the real fun starts.

The benefits of getting out regularly on the bike are huge; better muscle tone, stronger legs and think of all that fresh air. As an asthmatic it has improved my condition, as cycling is great for the cardiosystem, with a proper bike fit which is critical you can improve your overall fitness and health in no time. The sport of cycling is not too hard on the body provided your bike fit is correct. With good exercise comes a change in lifestyle for many, diet is usually the main change as your diet directly affects your ability on the bike. A hunger for good nutrition will come when you start to feel better and stronger on the bike and for some “get more competitive”.

Over the last couple of years anybody in the area looking to take up running had a great outlet in the form of “Running Against Cancer” to start out. Cycling now has a similar outlet; a new cycling club club called “Ballinasloe Cycling Club” has been formed. I would advise anybody who is currently cycling or thinking of
taking up the sport to join a club, this time last year myself and a few local guys joined Shannonside Cycling Club in Athlone and I can honestly say it was the best decision I made since taking up the sport two years ago.
The cycling club offers a medium for you to meet fellow riders and complete regular spins in the locality. Cycling as group takes the sting out of winter cycling along with gaining the skills of cycling in a group which is important for sportive cycling next spring/summer.

Join up with the newly formed club for an exciting heart pumping 2015. The cycling club members are currently
going out on morning/evening spins and welcome cyclists of all abilities especially beginners. The club can be contacted by clicking this link or on Facebook.