A New Year at Focus On Fitness

A new year and it wasn’t long before the Focus on Fitness Athletes were back on the racing scene. One of the first races of the year and always one to blow out the cobwebs is the Naas Duathlon. This is a series of 3 races which always attracts a good quality field and a fast pace from the get go. John Hayden was first across the line from the Focus on Fitness crew in 11th place and 3rd in his age group. This race is a favorite of my own so I took part this year to get a break from the training for the Race 2017, I came in 15th overall and 1st in age group. Siobhan Kennedy was 5th female and won her age group.

St Paul’s 5 mile

The next race up was the St Paul’s 5 mile road race. This is turning into a popular local race, it’s for a good cause and is a good lead into the Dungarvan 10 mile road race. A big crowd turned out and Focus on Fitness was well represented again. Darrell Evans led the crew crossing the line in  31:00 min, 13th overall and first in his age group. David Devine was next in 32:09, Siobhan Kennedy had a great race, 1st female in 32:43, Ian Fanning was next, very close in  32:50, Mark Rainer  in 33:37, Ciara Mc Sweeney set a PB running 35:37,  Neil Griffin 35:49, Ger Nolan 36:32, Nigel O Sullivan 38:29, Peter Whelan 41:55. Well done to Ger and everyone who was involved in organising the race.

Carlow 10 km

David Devine headed back home to take part in the  Carlow 10 km and raced a good consistent race finishing in 5th place. A Little bit of local pressure goes a long way.

Dungarvan 10 mile

This is a fantastic race, always a well organised event run by West Waterford AC. The conditions were perfect on the day for road racing. This is another very popular race and always a sell out. Jason Travers finished in 1:04 leading the crew home, Brendan Mooney ran 1:05, Kate Nolan was home for the race and ran 1:06, Darrell Evan’s 1:07, Siobhan Kennedy 1:07, Stephen Collins 1:08, Mark Rainer was next in 1:12, Ciara Mc Sweeney setting another PB taking 5 min off her previous best 1:13 followed closely  by  Catherine Mooney 1:13, Neil Griffin was close again in 1:14, Jim O’Brien ran 1:17, Ger Nolan ran 1:18, Rhona Hayden ran 1:19 just ahead of Bernie Mockler coming back from injury ran 1:19, Nigel O Sullivan ran 1:20, Liz Nolan was next 1:23, Maggie Murphy ran 1: 23 her first time running in Dungarvan and really enjoyed it. Julie Monaghan and Sandra Rellis both crossed the line in 1:25, Susan Hayes ran 1:29 well done to everyone.

Trim 10 mile and Lusk Half Marathon

Ronan Todd traveled to Trim for a 10 mile in Feb finishing in 1:20 and competed in the Lusk Half Marathon 3 weeks later finishing in 1:21. These are in preparation for the Ironman Lanzarote in May.

Anne Valley 5 mile

The ever popular Anne Valley 5 mile is getting bigger each year with a massive 400 entries this year just proves how popular it is. Kate Nolan was 4th female and ran 33.45, Ken Dickenson was next in 37.49, Ger Nolan crossed the line in 38:22, Richard Daly ran 38.56, Bernie Mockler ran 39:18, Tricia Quinn 39:47 and Liz Nolan 41:54. Everyone enjoyed the post race refreshments which is worth doing the race for.

Kilmac 5 mile

The following day the Kilmac 5 mile took place, the weather was not as favorable for this race but another good turn out from Focus on Fitness. Tom Cousins ran a very strong race to run 30.02, followed closely by Gavin Downey in 30:11 and Jason Travers 30:29, David Devine was next in 31:00, Darrell Evans 31:50, Eamon Ryan 32:09. Siobhan Kennedy had a great race continuing her good form. She had  a  big battle with Kate Veale in the female race with Siobhan taking 2nd place in 32:58. J.P Williamson was next in 34:01 and Davy White making improvements on every race finishing in 35:23. Sandra Rellis was coming back to form running in 37:19. Nigel Sullivan ran 38:58 with Ann Hennebry 39:39, Colin Dunne  ran 40:29 Peter Whealen 41:46 and Katie Jacob 44:39.

Naas Duathlon Race 2

The battle continued on in Naas for race 2 of the 3 race series. John Hayden made big improvements in this race finishing 7th in 55:41, Nigel O’ Sullivan finished in 1:13, Sandra Rellis had a mechanical problem on her bike and had to pull out of the race. Well done to Emmett Kelly Waterford Tri taking victory and setting a new course record.

Tramore Duathlon

A record crowd braved the elements for the Tramore duathlon. This was going to be a tough day out with the weather blowing a storm all morning ahead of the start. Jason Travers completed the course in 1:01 followed closely by Tom Cousins in 1:02, Stephen Collins was next in 1:04.

Paul Rossiter and Ken Dickenson are new to the Focus on Fitness crew and finished in 1:13 and 1:15 respectively. Sandra Rellis was next in 1:22 followed by Darren Foley and Susan Hayes both in 1:29. Richard Daly finished in 1:34. Well done to Waterford Tri Club for what was a fantastic race and super organised throughout.

 Athy Duathlon

Anthony Hughes took part in Race 2 in the Athy duathlon series again in stormy conditions the day after Tramore. Tony had a great race finishing in 10 place and 1:09

Auckland Adidas 10 k

Eamonn Ryan manged to get a race in while on holidays in New Zealand, running 41:40 in the Auckland Adidas 10 k.

Invacare League Round 1 in Kildare

Seamus Wall took part in the Invacare League Round 1 in Kildare – Hosted by Kilcullen CC finishing 2nd in a time of 42 min 1 sec

A lot of racing in the first 2 months of the year! Well done to everyone and I hope I didn’t forget anyone.


Focus on Fitness Sports Psychology Workshop with Ciara Losty

In January and February Focus on Fitness held a 2 night Sports Psychology Workshop with Dr Ciara Losty. This was a major success and a lot was learned by everyone who attended.

This is a very important aspect of training and racing, often overlooked by many athletes. I am delighted with how it went and can already see improvements for many of the athletes I coach. A Big thanks to Ciara for working with me on this one.

Keep an eye out on for more workshops in the coming months.

PHOTOS

If you have a goal race or event this year and need some direction, a plan, some focus, give me a call, message, mail or text and I will get back to you as soon as I can!

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If you are looking to increase your fitness levels and reach your goals, Martin is the man for you.

David Connolly

The best thing about working with Martin is that he clearly remembers what it was like to start from scratch and because of this he understands what you are going through and is there to support you through it all.

Brian Jacob

I know without a doubt that I would not have achieved a fraction of what I have without Martin’s support and guidance.

Katie Ryan

I have been told at the track that we run so well together it appears like we are one person running.

Amanda Crotty

I heard of Martin through a friend and cannot speak highly enough of the motivation, encouragement and self-belief he has instilled in me.

Tony Hughes

Through Martins personal involvement in my training, observing and tweaking elements as the year went on, my 2015 season consisted of me consistently knocking 7-8 minutes and sometimes more.

Seamus Wall

Whats special about training with Martin is that regardless of how many people he is training he has a massively individual approach and takes into account each persons level of fitness/performance, goals, challenges and balancing training with everyday life.

Kate Nolan

What Focus on Fitness offers is a ‘unique’ package, tailored to individual needs, combining Experience, Knowledge, Commitment, Time and above all Patience!

Siobhán Kennedy

For anyone looking to improve their Running, Cycling or just to get direction and focus in training I have no doubt that with Martin’s help you can achieve your goal.

Ger Nolan

I would recommend anybody to try focus on fitness it’s changed me for the better in so many ways.

Nigel O'Sullivan

I am absolutely delighted to have completed my first Half Ironman, the biggest event I have ever done!

Siobhán Keating

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