The cross-country season is now well and truly underway and on Sunday last, Finn Valley made the journey north to Carndonagh in Inishowen, where Inishowen AC hosted the County Novice and Uneven Age Championships.  Finn Valley returned with limited success in the Novice Championships, having won in these events on numerous occasions in recent years.  The event dictates the need to find a new team to be eligible to compete and on this occasion our resources were limited.  The club did have Ryan Quinn finishing second in the novice men, with the men’s team finishing 3rd.  There was no team involved in the novice women although Geraldine Browne flew the flag on this occasion on her own.  Onwards to the Underage Championships and the club had a number of outstanding team and individual performances, indeed to the point that they finished 1st, 2nd 3rd in a number of events.  The U15 girls had Saorla Gilligan, Darci Clarke and Andrea Reid in the lead positions while in the U11 boys Zak McKinley (Newtowncunningham), on his first ever outing at a championships event, led in a Finn Valley 1st, 2nd, 3rd with along with Shay McHugh (Convoy) and Darragh Coyle (Drumkeen)

There was yet another strong performance in what has been an excellent season for Caoimhe McNeill as she won the U13 girls, with team mates Caoimhe McElhinney and Aoibhinn Greene making up a Finn Valley 1,2,3.  We saw continued good form from Odhrán Mcbrearty, who has ben logging some strong mileage in recent weeks but had enough in reserve to win the U17 boys with his team mate Paraic McGettigan in 3rd position.  Meanwhile in the U19, Lorcan Byrne finished 3rd. 

It's clear from these results that the club can build strong combinations to pursue Ulster titles in the corresponding Ulster Championships in Belfast in a few week’s time.  The event was superbly organised by the local club in what is known as the Carndonagh Show Field, an excellent venue for an event of this type.  

This Sunday, it’s on to the Donegal Senior Championships and Even age Championships.  The venue is The Rosses, more specifically the Banks, Mullaghderg with the race headquarters at the local GAA ground.  Finn Valley defend both the men’s and women’s team titles and of course have a very strong history of success since the early 70s at this level.  There have been many outstanding club athletes who have won individual titles, most notably Theresa Doherty, Catriona Devine, Pat Hegarty, Ian Ward, Patsy Doherty, amongst others.  It’s a 10am start for the senior athletes with the younger groupings getting underway at 11am.  

Meanwhile at Wisconsin University, Cara Laverty and Liam McKay were included on the Providence College Teams for an early season meeting in preparation for Nationals.  Both were on the scoring team for the University and no doubt will have gained immense experience as they move forward in the season ahead.  

Elsewhere in the states, Eimear McCarroll runs in a similar type meet for Bradley University at Notre Dame in the coming days and we wish her well. 

Finn Valley AC is delighted to welcome the confirmation that €500,000 has been allocated to development of our home at the Finn Valley Campus. The allocation paves the way for the development of a new dressing room area at the Finn Valley Campus as well as the addition of a new pole vault area, steeplechase facility and hammer cage.  This funding will not only benefit FVAC, but also the many other sports clubs, organisations and groups who call the Finn Valley Campus home.  This development program aims to remove barriers to participation, increase gender representation in athletics and improve regional performance outcomes through the provision of improved facilities (campus toilets and equipment), enhanced athletic infrastructure (steeplechase, throw cage and pole vault ) and building energy efficiencies to future proof the campus.

Arrangements are now well underway for the Annual Remembrance 10k/5k which has a November 10th date this year.  People are encouraged to enter online and indeed it’s a great opportunity for family and friends to come together in memory of those no longer with us.  Everyone is welcome to walk, jog or run the distance that suits them best.  Follow the Remembrance 10k Facebook page for updates.  A contribution from the race funds will be made to local charity.