Author: BTR

Well it’s been a hectic 2 months since our last update, as usual our club members were active as ever!

On a drizzly Sunday morning in November, a determined group lined up for their first 5k. The reward for all their hard efforts over the previous 9 weeks could be clearly seen in the smiling faces as they crossed the finish line to the cheers of family and friends.

Over the 9 weeks every Monday and Wednesday evening this group turned up in all kinds of weather, determined to reach their goal of running a 5k. From the first day when they started out with a gentle 1min running/ 90 second recovery participants were encouraged along the way by a fabulous group of mentors who they themselves had previously been through the program over the past number of years. Over the course of the weeks the running intervals gradually increased in length until they were running 30mins.

Everyone celebrated at the finished with their hard earned medal and cup of tea and slice of cake at our famous dashboard diner. We would like to thank everyone who helped out to make this day run smoothly.

We had many club members reach fantastic mile stones in the ParkRun.

Congratulations to :

On Saturday 23rd November despite Storm Bert turning many areas around the country Red, Orange and Yellow with various warnings in place, Born to Run turned the Tralee Town Park Orange in a very different way with their annual takeover day, much fun was had and people travelled near and far for their Saturday ParkRuns as many areas had cancelled their runs. Much fun and laughter was had and everyone went away with a smile on their face.

Saturday December 14th saw members swapping their runners for their dancing shoes when they attended the BTR Christmas Party held at the Ashe Hotel. A fantastic night was had. A mystery still revolves around the mystery elf who created the little Hats for everyone, we can only guess!

A reminder to everyone our AGM takes place on the 14th January at the Kerins O’Rahillys Clubhouse at 7pm. Details have been emailed to all members.

All the committee would like to Thank everyone for all their support throughout the year and would like to wish you a Happy New Year. We will see you all on the roads again in the New Year for more running and fun.

We are inviting all club members to attend our AGM which takes place on the 14th January at 7pm in Kerins O’Rahillys Clubhouse.

While some of us took advantage of the extra hour of sleep on Sunday, many of our runners where up before dawn to get ready to take part in The Tralee Half Marathon or The Irish Life Dublin Marathon. We also had members volunteering at both events giving up their free time to ensure that participants at both events were well looked after. Congratulations to all runners that took part in the two events and thankyou to all those that volunteered.

At home here in Tralee, Born to Run was well represented in the Tralee Half Marathon with a large number of our members taking part.

Meanwhile in Dublin another large group of runners took on the Dublin Marathon.

Eoin Regan ran his first marathon in Dublin in memory of his mother to raise funds for The Kerry Hospice foundation which funds the Palliative Care Unit at University Hospital Kerry. If you wish to donate to this worthy cause you can still do so at the following link: https://eventmaster.ie/fundraising/pages/ER13049908

Well since our last update our Club members have proved that we don’t know the meaning of taking it easy after a very busy summer. Over the last 6 weeks our members have been as busy as ever! From ParkRuns to Marathons, Boat tours in Tralee bay to Kayaking around Fenit Lighthouse, hiking in Waterville to Completing Killarney Quest and not to forget mentoring or taking part in our Couch to 5k program.

The last few weeks have seen a number of Parkrun milestones by our members.

As usual our members have been spotted at various ParkRuns around the country.

Our couch to 5k is now heading into its 8th week and the participants are doing really well and are looking forward to their graduation run on the 10th November. A huge well done to everyone and thank-you to the mentors who give up their time to help them to achieve their goal. Many of the mentors took part in the couch to 5k programme themselves over the past couple of years.

In mid September a number of our Club members took a break from running to enjoy a tour around Tralee Bay on a boat, while this group were relaxing on the boat another group decided to Kayak around Fenit Lighthouse . They had a wonderful time and would like to encourage us all to do some of the tourist attractions on our doorstep.

We wouldn’t be a Running Club if we weren’t spotted participating in running events around the country.

Meanwhile Connie smashed the gruelling Dual Quest in Killarney, completing it in under 3 hours.

Swapping her running shoes for a pair of hiking boots, Catherine took on a 21km Hike in Waterville and was kind enough to share some beautiful photos of the scenery, it certainly has tempted a few of us to take this on next year.

Halloween fun – Every Tuesday night we gather together around our famous ‘Dashboard Diner’ for a cuppa and a cheeky treat after our run. This gives the opportunity for members that run at different paces to interact and get to know each other. This week Louise and Antonia brought Halloween forward by a few days for some light hearted fun before a big weekend of running for those taking part in Dublin City Marathon and Tralee Half Marathon.

Finally we would like to wish the best of Luck to our Members taking part in Dublin City Marathon and Tralee Half Marathon this weekend. Remember Run Long and Run Strong the whole Club is rooting for you. Go n-éirí libh.

Well it has certainly been an active and busy time by our Club members over the last few of summer before we all settle down to our Autumn/Winter training, from running in around Tralee to cycling around Wrocław to swimming in the Shannon if there was an activity on you were sure to find one or more of our Club members there!

There were quite a few Parkrun milestones earned by club members. Congratulations to Veronica O’Dowd(200 ParkRuns), Eleanor Stack (100 ParkRuns), Noreen O’Leary (150 ParkRuns) and Noreen Quirke (250 ParkRuns).

Keeping on the topic of ParkRuns over the past few weeks a number of Btr Members have been spotted in various locations at home and abroad- it’s a delight to see and reports have it that our club colours were spotted on mass at Jersey Gardens Parkrun last weekend when Club Member Hilda Jones completed her challenge of doing the Parkrun Alphabet Challenge.

We were proudly represented at many race events around the country from 5ks to Marathons and Ultra Marathons. A huge contingent from the Club took part in Dingle Half and Full Marathon on the 7th September

While we are a running club, our members love being active taking part in many other activities and have been spotted at various events over the past month. Earlier in August a group of our members were spotted cycling around Wrocław.

While many of her Club Mates were busy running in the Dingle Half and Full Marathons Mary Deane took on the challenge of swimming 8k from Blennerville to Fenit, only a week later Mary then decided to do the Island Swim in the river Shannon. We would like to congratulate Mary on these two fantastic challenges.

On Monday the 9th September we were delighted to start this years couch to 5k. This was attended by a large group. We would like to welcome this new group and wish them continued success as they take up the wonderful sport of running

What an action packed weekend our little Club had! It all kicked off on Saturday at Parkrun with Club Member Kathy Jordan completing her 100th Parkrun a fantastic achievement, well done Kathy.

Next up on Saturday we had Nora Begley doing a fantastic time in Rás an Stricín in Lios Póil. A run not for the faint hearted, Nora made it look easy.

The fun continued on Sunday when a large contingent of Club members took part in the local event Banna 5k/10k road race, the club was well represented at both distances. Well done to everyone that took part.

Our Club was represented at Celtic Warrior Challenge 2024 in Lilliput County Westmeath by Betty Brosnan who did an impressive 2 Back to Back Marathons over the course of the weekend, doing a marathon on Saturday and then another one Sunday morning. A huge congratulations to Betty on this fantastic achievement.

On Tuesday Evening we were delighted to present a cheque from our recent fundraising run for Kerry Cancer Support Group. We were delighted to hand over a cheque to the value of €6500. Again we would like to thank everyone who helped out on the day and of course to all those wonderful people who signed up to run for such a fantastic charity. Photo credit to Paddy White Kerryseye.