These are the 151 reasons I shared last July via Twitter on why you should attend the Irish Senior Championships. It turned out to be a pretty memorable championship, and most of these reasons are valid every year! See you all in Santry in later June 2024.
I was going
to do a preview for this weekend's
#NationalSeniors, but thought that was too obvious, so instead I'm going
to attempt to come up with #onehundredandfiftyonereasons to get your backside
to Morton Stadium on Saturday and/or Sunday.
1. At 151
consecutive editions, it is the longest running national athletics
championships anywhere in the world. Ever.
2. You
might see someone you used to run with at college 20 years ago (I'm being
generous). You remind each other of the good ol' days and that unforgettable
intervarsities, and you'll both walk off thinking "gee, haven't I aged
better than them!"
3. The
weather is usually 'fresh' in Santry!
4. It'll
get you off the sofa for one afternoon
5. The
men's 1500m. Always the men's 15!
6.
Waterjumps, especially if it's raining!
7. You
won't have to sit through ad breaks!
8. You'll
can do your own punditry, and see if you really are all that!
9. 400m
heats! With no semi-finals at Irish nationals, the 400m heats are usually crazy
(occasionally there are more heats than there are places in the final, so not
even the winner is guaranteed a spot).
10. The women's high jump. Four athletes on the entry list have season's bests between 1.78 and 1.81. You try choosing a winner from Lecky, Kealy, Rogan and Rochford (or could it be someone else?).
11.
Michelle Finn chasing down her 9th Irish steeplechase title. She already has
more titles than anyone else in the event; if she wins her 9th she'll have more
than EVERYONE else added together (that's a boast not even Terry McHugh can
make!)
12. The
men's 800m; always the men's 800m.
13. Not
having to sit in an assigned seat; in fact not having to sit at all!
14. The
women's LJ featuring the equal 2 second-longest Irish long jumpers ever. Ruby
Millet and Elizabeth Ndudi both have PBs of 6.44. Ndudi took the title indoors,
but who'll come out on top this time?
15. Getting
to watch badass events like the weight for height. You don't get that at the
diamond league!
16. The
men's shot put. Eric Favors has thrown beyond 19.25 (the current CBP) in every
one of his 14 outdoor competitions this year. And on Saturday last he got
within 15cm of the Irish record he set way back in March. Expect him to add to
his single outdoor title from 2019.
17. Nicola
Tuthill. She, like Favors, has been super consistent this year with almost
every throw further than she'd ever thrown before 2023! Her recent 4th at Euro
U23s is the highest ever finish by an Irish field eventer at that level!
18. Ranking
points. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely hate them, but the fact that some
athletes still need them to get to Budapest should lead to some 'heroics'.
19.
Possibly related to number 18: somebody will blow up and while we don't like to
see that, the passion that makes it happen is exactly the reason why we love
nationals so much.
20. You'll get to see the reigning #fantasynationalindoors champion (who also happens to be Ireland's fastest man) run the 100m!
21. Relays.
Nobody stays for these, but that’s their loss. Don’t miss out on watching @RatoathAC,
the Belgium of Irish inter-club relays, doing their thing!
#onehundredandonereasons #nationalseniors
22.
Olympians. Watch many of them, too numerous to mention individually, compete!
#onehundredandonereasons #nationalseniors
23. Witness
@fintanreilly cover more ground than all the athletes put together
#onehundredandonereasons #nationalseniors
24. Tom
Barr, already a 10-time champion, has run 49.something in 7 different countries
so far this summer; can he add Ireland to the list? Or is the second half of
the season the 48.something tour? #onehundredandonereasons #nationalseniors
25.
There’ll be European U18, U20, U23 and senior medallists competing!
#onehundredandonereasons #nationalseniors
26. There
are at least nine national senior record holders entered. That number could
rise as well as fall over the weekend! #onehundredandonereasons
#nationalseniors
27. You
could get to see Ireland’s fastest barrister zooming down the home straight!
#onehundredandonereasons #nationalseniors
28. That
one race that you think is weaker than normal and that then turns out to be an
unforgettable battle #onehundredandonereasons #nationalseniors
29. A cagey
affair. Or two. #onehundredandonereasons #nationalseniors
30. The pole vault. #onehundredandonereasons #nationalseniors
31. The
men’s 5000m. Darragh McElhinney won a very exciting race last year. But if both
himself and Brian Fay show up, this could be even better. Both would like to
sit and kick, but McElhinney still needs B standard and big points for
Budapest! #onehundredandonereasons #nationalseniors
32. The
men’s 5000m not all being about McElhinney and Fay
#onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
33. The
women’s 1500m. If the top 3 race, it’ll be the highest standard domestic
women’s 1500m there’s been in Ireland; if they don’t, it’ll be an exciting
battle to see who can snatch a medal. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
34. Because
we have no idea who the real star will be! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
35. The
fact that there are Road to Paris ranking points on offer too! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
36. The
men’s 200m. A big performance could see Mark Smyth sneak into quota spot for
Budapest. He gave us fireworks indoors; could we get fireworks outdoors too
(where they’re a bit safer)? #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
37. The
weather! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
38. Sarah
Lavin will be chasing her 8th national 100m hurdles title. Derval
O’Rourke holds the record at 9, but her CBP of 12.95, run with a +4.1m/s wind
will be the first of her marks that Lavin will be chasing down. Will she even
need a tailwind! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
39. Rhasidat
Adeleke! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
40. The lovely new blue track #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
41. I’ll be
there! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors #scrapingthebarrell
42. The
men’s 400m. There are mixed relay spots on the line. While it may appear
obvious right now who’ll be getting those, you never know who could spring a
big surprise. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
43. Nostalgia.
Particularly if you remember the shed! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
44. Pre-competition
nerves, especially if you’re not actually competing! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
45. The
women’s 5000m could feature Roisin and Eilish Flanagan, who’ll both be looking
for their first national senior title! Roisin has been very close to both the B
standard for Budapest and a quota spot; perhaps they have a plan! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
46. All the
other potential stories in the women’s 5000m. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
47. The
men’s LJ could be every bit as good a battle as the women’s equivalent! Reece
Ademola, Sam Healy and Shane Howard are the ones to watch out for, but it’s
long jump, so don’t expect it to be a foregone conclusion! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
48. Saragh
Buggy. She already has 10 national titles (7 x TJ and 3 x LJ). Not only is she
the clear favourite for the triple jump (where she holds the CBP at 13.01m),
but she is the third best long jumper in the country this season. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
49. Women’s
100m. Bet you nobody is going to pick that one in #fantasynationalseniors! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
50. The men’s b and c 5000m races. They won’t be the highest quality races of the weekend, but don’t expect them to be any less competitive! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
51. Getting
to see airplanes heading out from Dublin airport #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
52. Ikea:
either having the opportunity to hit it on the way there, or having an excuse
not so spend Sunday afternoon there! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
53. Decathlon
(the shop, not the event; multis were last week!) #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
54. Hoping
it’s warm/dry enough to sit on the grassy bank! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
55. It’s
free in for those under 16; much cheaper and less noisy than Playzone on a
Saturday afternoon. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
56. It’s
only £10 per day for grown-ups, which is much cheaper and a lot easier than
[whatever concert they’re all in a queue for today]. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
57. The
10-lane home straight! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
58. Circuit-level
lane packing in the 800m finals! (If you’ve ever watched a world tour gold meet
from anywhere in Europe, you’ll know what I mean!) #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
59. Joining
the dedicated souls who’ve taken up residence on the back straight stand, and
dearly wanting to be part of their community! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
60. The general buzz #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
61. @gabrielkehinde0
might get to interview himself and his fellow sprinters again; you wouldn’t
want to miss that! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
62. Someone
will win their first national title and doing so will mean the world to them! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
63. You
could be inspired to chase your own sporting goal! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
64. There’ll
be at least someone trying to catch the action for free from behind the gate in
the park (did I mention already how cheap it is?) #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
65. You’ll get to have that conversation again
about how Morton Stadium could really do with a couple of big screens on days
like this, preferably showing live field event results. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
66. You can
share your opinions on how there’d be a bigger crowd here if you were in
charge! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
67. You
might get to catch up on some gossip #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
68. The
hurling is over. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
69. You get
to spot who’s been called for doping control! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
70. You get to sense how everyone thinks they can win with men’s 800m with 220m to go! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
71. You get
to sense how everyone thinks they can win with men’s 1500m with 420m to go! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
72. retweet
one
73. You get
so see some racewalking up close! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
74. The
women’s 400m, and not really knowing who’s in what shape until they line up and
race each other! It’s not like they haven’t been racing all season, but there’s
still the expectation that none of them have quite peaked yet! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
75. Having
151 opinions on who should get the relay spots! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
76. Ciara
Mageean. She’s broken three national senior records (800m, 1500m, mile) and won
Commonwealth Games and European Champs medals since last year! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
77. Seeing
the pure joy on the faces of children who are here for the first time. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
78.
Remembering your first time! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
79. Sophie
O’Sullivan, and being reminded that you’re old enough to have seen her mum run
here too! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
80. Getting to cheer on your #FantasyNationalSeniors team in person #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
81. You
might get to see Ireland’s fastest quantum physicist in action over two laps! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
82. The
women’s 800m. Always the women’s 800m! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
83. The
men’s 110m hurdles and seeing if last year’s record -8.3m/s headwind can be beaten #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
84. The
men’s steeplechase and seeing just how close Jayme Rossiter gets to those
barriers! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
85. Having
a day off ‘listening’ to me on Twitter #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
86. There
being at least one finish that’s too close to call, but still being sure you
know who got it, from your slightly obscured vantage point near the 100m start!
#onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
87. You
might get an autograph or two! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
88. Seeing
past champions being honoured (do they even do that any more), and berating
yourself, again, for fluffing that one shot you had at a title back in 2010,
for example. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
89. The
athletes deserve a crowd. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
90. The athletes will appreciate a crowd. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
91. You’ll
be missed if you don’t go! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
92. You’ll
miss out if you don’t go! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
93. Because
three years ago we couldn’t attend! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
94. Your
sofa needs a day off too. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
95. You
might get to see someone who set their PB in the 1980s compete! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
96. You
can’t really get a full appreciation of how complicated the pole vault is until
you see it in person. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
97. You
won’t have to cut away from the steeplechase at the 2k point to see a foul in
the long jump #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
98. You
won’t have to cut away from the long jump to watch the steeplechase. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
99. You’ll
be reminded of how young you once used to be. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
100. Maybe nobody will notice if you hop on the track for a nostalgic lap after the event is over. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
101. Because
the Olympics are less than one year away; there’s no better way to start the
hype! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
102. Have I
mentioned the men’s 1500m already? It could be magic #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
103. If you
cheer the athletes, they’ll might actually hear you. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
104. Someone
might (accidentally) as you for your autograph! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
105. You
can rewatch all the action on the Player/Youtube later, so you might as well
come soak up the atmosphere. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
106. You
definitely don’t get the full atmosphere on the telly anyway. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
107. You
might get so see some of the rising stars before they head away to the Euro
U20s. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
108. You
might get talking to somebody more interesting than yourself. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
109. You
might see an old friend.
110. You might make a new one. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
111. It’s
cheaper than the Olympics. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
112. It’s
cheaper than most other sporting events. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
113. There’s
no lottery for the tickets. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
114. It
might be fine enough on Saturday for a pre-event picnic! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
115. We can
argue about the recycling of the 150th thing! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
116. We can
celebrate the lack of recycling the 150m thing! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
117. You
might realise you’re not the biggest athletics nerd around. 118. You might
realise you are! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
119. You’ll
be able to say you were there, did that, and bought the tee-shirt (there’ll
definitely be tee-shirts for sale, right?) #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
120. If you’ve written a book about running, you could probably sell a few copies. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
121. You
might get to see Niamh Fogarty win her 5th national senior
discus title #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
122. Someone
might come from the depths of hell #depthsofhell #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
123. You
will hear @FeidhlimKelly shouting for this @dublintrackclub athletes. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
124. Have I
mentioned the men’s 8 and the men’s 15? Andrew Coscoran dropping down to the
two laps makes both of them more difficult to call, and potentially far more
exciting. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
125. The
more people that are there, the less windy it’ll feel! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
126. It’ll
be less crowded than Dundrum Town Centre at the weekend. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
127. You
might get to see Michaela Walsh win her 6th consecutive national
senior shot put title. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
128. You
might see Sean Mockler winning his third consecutive hammer title. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
129. Somebody
might actually break 15 metres in the men’s triple jump! Three have been very
close so far this season, which could make for a close and exciting event. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
130. Nobody has successfully defended their 10km walk title since Alex Wright in 2016. Will it be another new winner: the 6th different one in 7 years since; or will David Kenny add a third title? Come and find out. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
131. Day 1
will be way better than your average Sat at nationals. The 3 women’s track
finals should feature the superstars Rhasidat Adeleke (200m) and Sarah Lavin
(100mH) and double Olympian and 8-time national champion Michelle Finn (3000m
S/C). #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
132. And Nichola
Tuthill (HT), Saragh Buggy (TJ) and Eric Favors (SP) should ensure some field
event fireworks on day 1, with a potential too-close to call, 4-way battle in
the women’s HJ. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
133. Morton
stadium always scrubs up well for the big occasion! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
134. You’ll
get to see some national U20 and U23 champions crowned too! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
135. You
might see David Cussen win this 4th national title, and thereby
become the most prolific male high jumper this century! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
136. You’re
guaranteed to see a brand new, first-time champion in the men’s javelin! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
137. You
might see a great battle between Grace Casey (2017 and 2021 champ) and Kate
O’Connor (2020 and 2022 champ) in the women’s javelin. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
138. Half
the 8-man pole vault field have won this title before (including one in the
1980s); but there are at least two others who could win if the stars align for
either of them on Sunday! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
139. There
will be no final three nonsense. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
140. There will be no repechage rounds. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
141. There will be no hot seats. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
142. You
might have to walk a mile to the stadium, but the exercise will do you good. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
143. You
could bump into your old biomechanics lecturer! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
144. It’s
the last big domestic competition of the summer (masters athletes, I know;
don’t @ me!) #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
145. You
might get to meet the infamous seagull! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
146. You
can join the stampede to leave the stadium at 8.25pm on Sunday! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
147. I’ll
make sure the word ‘innovation’ isn’t even mentioned! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons
#nationalseniors
148. The
weather might actually be ok! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
149. It
will be great. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
150. It
will be really great. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
151. Because I went to all this effort to let you know just how special National Seniors are! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors
