Runners ready to flock to Gowran this weekend

A Kilkenny sports club is preparing to roll out the welcome mat for an army of athletics fans this weekend.

Gowran will become the home of Irish athletics when it hosts the national cross-country championships on Sunday.
Fans of the sport will be able to see the stars of the Irish cross-country scene as thousands of runners are expected to line out on a purpose-made course in Gowran Demesne.

“This is a big event for Gowran,” David Denieffe of Gowran AC told the People. “We’re expecting thousands of people will attend - there will be about 1,400 to 1,500 runners across all the events, with many more cheering them on.”

While Kilkenny is a sports-mad county, cross-country athletics has become a huge hit - no surprise given the success it has delivered.

“Ireland would be regarded as one of the leading nations in cross-country, culminating in our hosting of the European Championships in Dublin a few years ago,” he said. “We have had plenty of success in it too over the years, while in Kilkenny we would be known as having a very strong tradition in cross-country.”

That tradition, coupled with some hard work, helped bring the championships to Gowran.

“This all started about six or seven years ago when we hosted a Leinster cross-country event,” Denieffe recalled. “We went on to hold three provincial events, which is big enough on its own.”

But that’s only half the story.

“There are three national events that would be the pinnacle of the cross-country championships: the Novice, the B event and the Seniors,” Denieffe continued. “We will now be part of a small group of clubs who have hosted all three. This is the culmination of a lot of years of hard work and recognition of what a club can do, but it’s all down to the willing group of volunteers we have, a group of about 60 to 70 people who get involved, building the course and helping out on the day.”

“It’s a full club effort, from parents of our juvenile athletes to our senior members,” he said. “Everyone rows in, from those who are running on the day down to people helping out with the parking.”

Hosting the championships is another chapter in the success story that is Kilkenny athletics - and the county has had plenty of highlights over the years.

“Look at the athletes from across the county who have been picked for the various teams over the years,” he said. “People like Aoibhe Richardson and Peter Lynch to Shay McEvoy and Cathal O’Reilly, there are some real stars there. They have represented Ireland on the international stage, so it’s great that we will be able to host athletes of their calibre.”

While the club is looking forward to the championships, hosting them has entailed putting in many hours of work. An army of volunteers came together last weekend to build the course, which will accommodate runners from all ages. The first race will be the girls’ under-12 final, which starts at 11.30am, finishing with the senior and under-23 men’s race at 2.30pm.

“It’s a huge honour to be recognised as a club that can host an event like this, but that’s down to the core of volunteers who have stepped up and come together to deliver it,” he said. It’s going to be a really enjoyable day.

“We’ve also had a lot of support from local farmers and Gowran Park. The golf club’s driving range will be the core, with surrounding fields also in use. The course is a classic cross-country course - it’s tough, but fair. There’s an L-shaped finishing straight so when athletes turn and come in home over the last 300m or so they’ll be met with crowds on both sides.

“The whole course is built around a 2.5km loop with a number of sub-elements. For example, the senior course is 9km in length. They will have three 2.5km loops with another 1.5km loop. The men and women will do the same distance, a first for the nationals.”

With a contained course, the championships are ideal for people to keep a close eye on the action.

“It’s a great spectator event,” Denieffe added. “Once people are inside on the course they will be able to see everything. It’s a great event to come and watch and we’d encourage people to come along as they’re going to see the best athletes in action.”

The 123.ie National Senior & Even Age cross-country championships will be held in Gowran on Sunday, with the first race off at 11.30am (Eircode: R95 FEO4). Tickets are available from eventmaster.ie, with full championship information available on athleticsireland.ie