This article is from page 73 of the 2008-10-28 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 73 JPG
A WOMAN whose running career began in Shannon is returning to the town to encourage others to take to the track.
Deirdre Daly-Cahill, has, over the past three years, encouraged doz- ens of women to take up running, through her Meet and Train sessions in Ennis.
She selflessly gave of her time and organised weekly meetings on a vol- untary basis, since 2006. Now, under the auspices of the Clare Sports Part- nership, Deirdre takes a Meet and Train running group in Ennis every Monday night. The Ennis group started five weeks ago and there has been a phenomenal response, with more than 60 women attending every week. Given the resounding success of the Ennis initiative, Clare Sports Partnership co-ordinator John Sweeney decided to organise a pilot project in Shannon, starting tomor- row, Wednesday, at 8pm.
The group will meet at the Shan- non Development office at SkyCourt and will walk/run a one-mile loop, passing St Patrick’s Comprehensive School, the garda station and back to the starting point. The route is fully lit.
Deirdre emphasised that women of all ages and fitness levels are wel- come to attend.
‘The Meet and Train caters for all levels of fitness, from the walker that wishes to progress to jogging and to the jogger who wishes to run a 10k without stopping,” she said.
While she lives at Roslevan, Ennis, Deirdre is no stranger to Shannon. Her mother Christina hailed from Coolmen and her father Michael originally came from Ballyea, just outside Ennis. The family lived in Shannon for a period, when Deirdre was in school.
“History has come full circle. My mother was involved in the running craze in the 1970s and jogged that very same route when a group got to-
gether to keep fit,” she recalled.
While living in Shannon, Deir- dre attended St Conaire’s National School and was taken running by one Ger Loughnane, who taught at that school then. That was when her love of running was born.
“I do remember Ger Loughnane taking us out running. [ also ran with Shannon Athletics Club,” she said.
Although Deirdre gave up running for a number of years while living in London, her passion for the sport re-ignited when she moved to Dublin more than 10 years ago.
“One evening I saw a group of peo- ple out running in Chapelizod. It was the Donore Harriers Meet and Train Group, run by the famous Jim McNa- mara (former Olympian),” she said. Deirdre quickly joined that group and never looked back. Indeed, Jim was her inspiration when she began coaching three years ago. Along with her coaching, Deirdre also runs competitively with Ennis Track Club and ran the Dublin City Marathon
with Clare Crusaders two years ago. Deirdre is also a personal trainer, where she provides one-to-one train- ing from the proverbial couch potato to the fitness fanatic and is available for appointments.
She is optimistic that Meet and Train will take off in Shannon, given the huge interest in fitness among people of all ages.
“Shannon is a progressive town. I believe there would be sufficient in- terest,’ she said.
Anyone interested in joining Deir- dres Meet and Train group should contact Catherine Ryan at Clare Sports Partnership by calling 065 6865434.