from BHAA Saturday 26 September last was a great day for the BHAA. Many members answered the call to steward at the half marathon in the Phoenix Park in the morning (and our thanks to all of you) and nearly 300 people attended the 30th anniversary dinner at the Alexander Hotel that evening.
It was a great night with some great speeches followed by music and dancing. The general consensus seemed to be that we shouldn’t wait for the 50th anniversary for the next one. I know that Kathleen Horgan, Deirdre Fitzsimons and Peig and Richard Dunne put a huge effort into organising the event. We thank and congratulate them and everyone else involved for making the night such a big success.
Our next event will be the first cross-country races of the season, the Teachers’ races at Castleknock College on Saturday next, 10 October 2009. The women’s race will be over two miles and the men’s race will be over four miles, with simultaneous starts at 11.00am.
It is a nice flat course with a couple of small inclines when you move from one level to another.
Getting there: Please be aware that the Castleknock Gate into the Phoenix Park is closed at present due to roadworks so you will not be able to approach the college through the park. If you are coming from the southside, I would suggest coming along from Islandbridge to Chapelizod, bear right up through Chapelizod Village and continue up to the top of the hill where you will come to a crossroads with Castleknock College facing you on the left. You turn left there and then turn right into the college. From the northside, I think that you might have to come through Castleknock village. You should check out your route before you leave. The maps section on the website doesn’t have a marker for Castleknock College at present but we will try to put one in there before Saturday.
One other thing to be aware of: The Simon Community fun run will be on in the Phoenix Park on Saturday morning at 10.30am also and that will mean more traffic so you should try to avoid that if possible and allow a bit of extra time to get to Castleknock.
What footwear to wear in the race? If you have spikes, that would generally be preferable. However, the ground is still likely to be quite firm, given that we have not had much rain, so if you don’t have spikes, don’t worry this week – but you will certainly need them when January comes.
I hope to see you in Castleknock.
The Editor
