Last night saw Day 1 of the Galway Track & Field Competition. It was a fun night, I know I certainly enjoyed myself.

Track & Field is for everyone. Some people seem to be reluctant to give it a go and when questioned the answer is generally along the line " Oh I'm not good enough" or "that's only for elites and young speedsters"

Well I'd like to put it out there that Track & Field, along with all running is something that can be enjoyed by everyone! Don't be afraid to come out and give different events a go!

The 2012 Connacht Track & Field results, from U13 to Senior, are attached.

The Junior & U23 All Ireland track and field Championships were held today in Tullamore. GCH had a very succesful day and it's great to see such talent coming through at this level.

We had a double podium finish in the Junior 400m Hurdles. Evan Maguire ran a incredibly fast time finishing 2nd. Anthony Hebron, Evans training partner showed true grit and determination finishing 3rd. Great to see Anthony coming back after completing his Leaving Cert.

The weather gods did not know what to do this summer solstice for the 6th running of the Annaghdown 10k road-race which was a good marker for mid-summer’s night once again. Previous editions of the event have been visited by either torrential downpours or glorious sunshine. This year however, after a day of continuous rain in Galway, the evening remarkably chose to remain dry and humid with only a light breeze to worry competitors.

This really is the season for road-racing, with new events springing up all the time and hardy perennials coming around again with the calendar year.

Two such annual events that already feature in the GCH events calendar are club member Paul Fallon's Summer Solstice 10K Race in Annaghdown, Co. Galway on 21st June next and the Guess Your Time 4M organised by good friend of ours, Dave "Sump" Huane, in Ballindine, Co. Mayo next Saturday, 23rd June.

The Galway City Harriers mens team had a very good day in Athlone IT on Sunday 10th June for the National League Round 1. GCH men are now in the premier division. We managed to come second in our group and have a realistic chance of reaching the final in August.

There was a lot of last minute hurdles to overcome. Competition was originally to be held in Tullamore but due to the bad weather, Tullamore was deemed unfit for the competition. Venue was changed to AIT on Friday!

The Galway T&F competitions are always a great fun event. They are a low key competition and a great way to try out new events and distances.

This year the Championships will be held over 3 days with 3 seperate categories - Junior, Senior and Master.

Schedule of Events:

Day 1 - Thursday 28 June starting at 7.30pm - 100m, Long Jump, Shot Putt,
800m, Weight for Distance (only Seniors and Masters), 4x100m relay.

Day 2 - Tuesday 10 July starting at 7.30pm - 400m, Triple Jump, Javelin,
1500m, (400, 800, 1200, 1600) Relay.

We've uploaded some photos of the Craughwell leg of the Galway 5k Series here: http://www.galwaycityharriers.com/albums/galway-5k-series-2012-craughwell - all captured by Andy Talbot on the night.

Entries for the 2012 Corrib Oil Streets of Galway 8K road-race are now closed having reached the comfortable course capacity of 2,500 entrants. This year's event takes place on Saturday 11th August at 7pm sharp. With the long-term weather forecast looking at least reasonable, all the pointers are for another super night of racing around our city streets.

Congratulations to Robert Staunton who finished 5th in the recent Edinburgh half-marathon, posting a fine time of 1:11:54 for the distance. Closer to home was the Clifden Sky Road 10k last Sunday where Mike O'Connor continued his comeback with a win, over a tough hilly course, in 33:07. Matt Bidwell was second in 34:05 and Chris McGrath continutes to improve with a 4th place finish in 34:57. Helen Corbett had a blistering run to be the first woman home in 40:18 and she looks well set to go sub-40 on a faster course. Congrats also to Brian Bruton who won the recent Mayfly Challenge 10k in Oughterard, where club-mate Brian O'Connor was also 2nd.