< Previous© April 2018 The Meath Coaster50The Benefits of Serious Illness PoliciesMost of us do not like to think of how we would manage financially should either a spouse or child become seriously ill. Fortunately there are vari-ous options available when it comes to protecting yourself and your family and it can be an important addition if you have no health insurance cover in place.1. Standalone Serious Illness CoverThis is simply a Serious Illness plan with-out life cover. This type of policy is suit-able should you have no dependants. 2. Life & Serious Illness CoverThis plan provides you with both life cov-er and serious illness cover. If a serious ill-ness claim is paid, the life cover amount remains the same. If you should die during the term of the policy, the life insurance cover will also then be paid out in full.3. Life & Accelerated Serious Illness CoverAs with above, this plan provides you with life cover and serious illness cov-er, however, if a serious illness claim is paid on this type of policy, the life cover amount is reduced by the serious illness pay-out amount. However, if you should die without having made a serious illness claim, the full life cover is paid. The benefits can vary amongst the differ-ent life companies, but most will include the following:Free Children’s CoverIt is important if you do have children to check this with your life company, as they may be covered for all of the illnesses list-ed on your policy, and sometimes for other child-related illnesses, such as meningitis.Waiting list and overseas surgery benefitUnder this benefit the insurance company pays out part of the serious illness benefit, if you are put on a waiting list for certain major types of surgery, or if it is essential for you to have major surgery outside of Ireland.PTD Benefit If you become permanently, totally disa-bled (PTD) from an illness, or condition that is not otherwise covered by the pol-icy, you could claim the serious illness benefit cover under PTD. The two types of PTD cover are: Any-Occupation PTD – you can only claim if you are not able to work at any job. It means you are permanently unable to do many normal daily activities, such as walking, lifting, bending, writing, or speaking. Own-Occupation PTD – you can claim if you are permanently and totally unable to do your current job. You will usually pay extra for this type of PTD cover. You may not be able to get this extra cover, if your job carries a higher risk of disability. For example, if you are a sports professional.Have questions? Contact Oran on 087 668 6624 if you have any queries on this topic or visit www.drumgoolebrokerage.ie for more information. §Drumgoole Financial Services is regulated by The Central Bank of Irelandoran@drumgoolebrokerage.iewww.drumgoolebrokerage.ie© April 2018 The Meath Coaster51Cilles Athletic ClubLeinster indoors Junior ChampionhipsThe Leinster indoor junior champion-ships were held on the 24th of Feb and have become the clubs most successful day in competition to date. Our amazing juveniles brought home 5 gold, 9 silver and a bronze medal for their efforts. Aaron and Ciaran had PBs in the 1500m, Lauren claimed bronze in the 800m, team silver for Caoimhe, Meg, Lauren and Holly in the 400m relay. Gold for Liam, James, Aaron and Kenneth, also in the 400m re-lay and silver for Paddy, Patrick, Kai and Cian in the 400m relay. An amazing day for the club and the individual athletes, well done to everyone.Leinster indoor juveniles Feb 18 group medalLauren & Aaron indoor finalsLeinster indoor juv Feb 18 Day 3 relay© April 2018 The Meath Coaster52Duleek & District AC 5KFeb 25th was an unusually lovely day on which Derek Butler, Claire Gaffney Purtill and Grainne took to the streets of Duleek for the Duleek & Districk AC 5K. They posted super times : Derek 22:54, Claire 29:41 and Grainne 31:23 well done guys! Look at that blue sky behind them, I’m getting a bit weather obsessed!Leinster indoor Junior Championships – Day 3The boys Under 12 relay team were up today at Day 3 of the Leinster Indoor Ju-venile Championships. They had a long wait with 30 teams competing in this cat-egory alone and they ran in the last heat. Sean Hyland kicked off handing the baton to Shane Reilly who passed to Jonathan Logue with Fionn Lannon gearing up for the last leg only to be knocked over by a runner from another team who accidental-ly got in the way. That didn't stop Fionn though who picked himself and the baton up to finish off. The lads had a great tech-nique going and running well and were just a bit unlucky. They'll be back next year though to give it another go. Well done lads.Cilles AC race leagueThe Cilles AC race was launched this month, an internal club league that groups our members together in friendly compe-tition. We will be competing in 20 plus events over the summer, starting with the Drogheda 10k and finishing with the Boyne AC 5k in September, then it’s time to count the points and award the prizes. I am of course neutral in all of this but there’s a team called ‘Cool runnings’ who I think show great promise, I’ll keep you updated! This was a great success last year, really looking forward to this years.Kenny in CambridgeKenny Boyle has brought an international flavour to this months proceeding. I al-ways think ‘University Chalenge’ when I hear the name Cambridge but it turns out they also have a half marathon(I’m sure there’s lots more too) which our Kenny took on smashed in a time of 1 hr 39 mins, well done Kenny it looked mighty chilly.Winter Indoor League CushinstownCilles AC were represented on the 7th of March at the Winter indoor league in Cushinstown.Duleek 5k Grainne Dereck ClairBallbriggan 10k Mairead© April 2018 The Meath Coaster53It was Tara Maguire's and Finn Harding's first outing and Joshua Wade also attend-ed, a regular at this stage. A massive con-gratulations to you all for taking part in the 60metre sprint and long jump, earning some valuable points for Cilles AC.Attendance at these events is so important for the kids and club alike so we can all be really proud of them. See this great shot of Tara in mid flight doing the long jump.Bronze for Holly at Schools cross coun-tryHolly Brennan claimed a bronze medal at the All Ireland Schools Cross country compe-tition on March 10th. Holly was representing her school Sacred Heart secondary Drogheda. Holly was running a year out of age, mak-ing this a very impres-sive achievement. She not only took the bronze but has also secured a place on the Irish team that will travel to Not-tingham in a couple of weeks for the Interna-tional Schools Cross Country, Congratulations from all at Cilles AC.Bohermeen Spring Half Marathon and 10K24 lovely Cilles AC athletes headed off on Mar 11th to Bohermeen. Many of these brave souls turned down the offer of breakfast in bed for Mothers Day to take on the Half marathon or 10k. About half way through many of us were ques-tioning the sanity of having turned down breakfast in bed! Those thoughts were short lived, it was a super event that saw Grainne Ward take on her first 10k doing herself proud in the process. The trio of Claire Gaffney Purtil, Fiona Mullen and Fiona Kerbey tackled their first half in su-perb style. The ladies all demonstrated the power of supporting each other through the race,running it and crossing the line together. It was a chilly day but a warm welcome awaited at the end of the race in the form of much appreciated soup. There was a great atmosphere at the after gath-ering and everyone was very impressed with the t-shirt and fab medal.The Bohermeen Half Marathon incorpo-rated the Meath Half Marathon Champi-onships. Mairead Murphy won gold in her category with some fantastic running and a time of 1he 43 mins, very well done Mairead. The Cilles men finished in 9th place and the ladies team just missed out on a medal coming in fourth. Well done all. Bohermeen 10 K. The fantastic four :Erin Clarke 58.06; Bridget O Brien 58.30Grainne Ward 1.10.26; Clare Dagger 1.10.07 Winter indoor league Cushinstown Tara in flightHolly all Ireland Schools cross country© April 2018 The Meath Coaster54The Half Marathon Gang :Ciara Lenihan 1.39.22; Deirdre McNulty 1.41.18; Mairead Murphy 1.43.05; Shay Clarke 1.47.24; Graham Devitt 1.48.00Derek Butler 1.51.32; Tim Donnelly 1.51.41; Regan Buckley 1.54.53; Eloise Cowie 1.56.29; Olivia Cranny Bennett 2.09.27; Susan Kielty 2.10.56; Caroline Conroy 2.12.52; Nicole Ludden 2.17.36Fiona Kerbey 2.18.41; Claire Gaffney Purtill 2.18.53; Sinead Daly 2.18.58; Fio-na Mullan 2.18.33; Orla Turner 2.21.10Declan Ferrick 2.21.10; Eimear Berming-ham 2.21.11And where would we be without Regans Race Report :For this half Marathon we swapped the wide samba sidelines of Barcelona for the musky manured country roads of Bo-hermeen. Bohermeen was originally sup-posed to be the target race but after the buzz of Barca and downing of my co-tar-getee by the Australian flu , the foot was well and truly off the pedal. With a bit of cajoling one of the fantastic four did agree to come for the “crack!”Anyways we did the teeth chattering jog to the start line and lined up where we stopped which happened to be just behind the ballooned 2 hour Pacers. “ The Snow” was top of the sandbagging citations with everyone around cussing it ! If only for that snow hey!!We followed the pacer for 3k ish. After a bold move by the cajoled one we ma-neuvered past the balloons and quickly moved steadily away from the pacers . Gulp- too soon maybe?The course is pleasant (the perfuming aside)and the inclines are barely notice-able in the first half . Most folk were club folk running in twos and threes which made early passing a bit of an exercise . The thought did pass my mind that many of these guys would pass me later. Hardly the mindset of a champion .The locals were out in force (about 15?) - mostly at the water stations . Hard work-Bohermeen Hallf and 10k gang© April 2018 The Meath Coaster55ing urchins handed out sports capped mini bottles that were perfect for the journey . I’m ridiculously bad at hydration so forced myself to drink a sip every km .The turn back towards the start brought a country breeze and the reminder we had to do it all again . The brain didn’t like this and slowed down scared, in this loop the hills were looming. It was time for the hill mantra “ one two Freddy’s coming for you , three four you better lock that door!”.I only had to get to 16k were I gifted my-self with a wee rest for more gel buzz. Lazy bones me may have made a meal of the gel. Well rested I clocked the fastest k of the race afterwards.Only 5k to go. This wasn’t fun anymore . My legs hurt - my calf screamed but I sol-diered on just wanting it done . I tucked in behind two lads who were setting a steady pace and tried to keep up.At about 2k to go I had become part of a determined group of about 5 battle wea-ried warriors running in formation with the two lads leading the pack .Once we turned the corner and started on the home straight there was none of this solider messing and we raced each other to the finish line . I wasn’t doing too well in the placings until I spotted the clock . I had a chance of a pb !! Whoop whoop . Out of my way soldier boys!!! This girl is taking it home !!Thanks Bohermeen AC for a great race. I’ll be back !Balbriggan Cancer Support 10kVery Irish weather indeed on this most Irish of days, Baltic were the words on everyones lips but it didn’t deter Mairead Murphy or Bridget O’Brien. Mairead clocked up a time of 45:47, continuing her winning ways and giving her a third in category, well done ladies on a windy and cold St. Patricks day! National Indoor 1500m racesA busy day for Aaron Smith and Lauren Murphy who ran in the National Indoor 1500m races in AIT today. Aaron finished in 5th in his heat in 4:34 to qualify for the final. He faced stiff competition in the fi-nal finishing 10th again in 4:34. Lauren finished 3rd in her heat in a very fast time of 4:59 and then went on to run 5:00 flat to finish 7th in the final. It was a long day but the experience of running heats and finals will stand to these athletes in the future.NSP B5 Race For the first time since the inaugural event in 2015 the B-5 or Bettystown 5 Mile which is Sponsored by NSP will have it's own theme. - "Flying a Kite' The event is held in East Meath, right in the heart of this community is the beach so what better way to celebrate such a famous landmark than to incorporate it into our 2018 theme. 'Flying a Kite' will be the theme for 2018 The Boy Flying the Kite statue is a now famous landmark in Bettystown Square. The bronze sculpture erected in 2004 was created by Jarlath Daly. Flying a Kite has become synonymous with Bettystown Square and the entrance to the beach. This years shirt and medal will feature ‘The Flying a Kite’ theme.This years event is on 17th July at 8pm in the village and one thing is for sure, this again will be an event for runners, joggers © April 2018 The Meath Coaster56and walkers that is organised by runners to suit everyone.It's 5miles long and takes in the stunning environs of East Meath. Previous years have huge success and the participants who have taken part in the past have all had very positive things to say about the event. We put that down to the volun-teers who come out to support and run the event, from giving water, medals, mak-ing tea and coffee to directing traffic, the B-5 volunteers take enormous pride in their race and make it very a very special day for the runners. They are Cilles A.C. members and friends of the club which is a new developing running club in the community that has big plans for the fu-ture.The Medal will support the theme and all finishers will receive one however the T-Shirts are Limited! We will have 300 t-shirts to give away and these will go to the first 300 people who register for the event. The cost is €20 to enter, all finishers re-ceive a Medal, but if you register early enough you will get a t-shirt, Its chipped timed so you will get a accurate time for you run. If you register with a buddy you will get a buddy rate of €38 and for groups of 15 or more we will have a special rate of only €18pp. Our now famous spread of sandwiches, cakes, tea and coffee are provided after the event in the Laytown and Bettystown Golf Club. It really is a wonderful evening and what value – shirt, medal, running, atmosphere, sandwiches, seaside and hopefully sunshine! There’s a prize fund of over €2,200 for the first 6 finishers, top 2 in each category and team prizes, male and female. We even have a Junior category for U20s which we hope will encourage youths to participate and get running. Register now at https://register.primo-events.com/ps/event/B5Bettystown-5Mile2018 or visit our website www.Cillesac.ie.Happy running everyone, look forward to seeing you all in July.© April 2018 The Meath Coaster57Laytown & Bettystown Golf ClubPictured here are the winning teams in the Captains' Drive In Social Golf Team Event. §Photo Right 9 Hole Team Winners (Front 9) Katie Burke, Bryan Collins (Capt.), Rita O’Connor, Brendan Burke & Bernard Seerey.9 Hole Team Runners Up (Back 9) photo aboveTom Delany. John Daly, Oliver O’Sullivan & Kieran Mongan with Captains, Bryan Collins & Rita O’ConnorPhoto on the left9 Hole Team Runners Up (Front 9)Eamon Cooney, Anne Cooney, Noel McGoldrick & Tom McDowell (missing)with Captains, Bryan Collins & Rita O’Connor. Above photo 9 Hole Team Winners (Back 9)Joe Ryan, Con Crowley, Helen Cremin & Vivienne Branigan with Captains, Bryan Collins & Rita O’Connor. © April 2018 The Meath Coaster58‘Thrilling!’… sandyachting with a disabilityI’m no daredevil. I certainly don’t seek out the high roll-ercoasters or the adrenaline-filled funfair rides. But, I do enjoy a challenge. I also really like to challenge the miscon-ceptions that people have about what those with a disability can do.I have had Multiple Sclero-sis (MS) for the past 15 years. While my mobility is now limited, my thirst for new challenges isn’t. So, when an opportunity to go sandyachting arose, I leapt at the chance; particularly as a friend mentioned how keen the event organizers (IPKSA - Irish Power Kite & Sandyacht Associa-tion) were to encourage those with a dis-ability to take part in the sport. So, that’s how I ended up on Bettystown beach on a Saturday morning in January, wearing very unbeach-like clothes (i.e. ski suit and ski gloves). Even though the weather was relatively mild for the time of year, I wasn’t taking any chances!Three of us arrived at the beach for the ‘come and try’ session. When we arrived, the organizers were still getting ready, so we gladly decamped to a local cof-fee shop before heading back to the beach. As Alan and the other organizers showed my friends and the other newbies what to do, I perched on my rolla-tor (walker) in the shelter of the organizer’s trailer. It was a perfect viewing spot to see the sandyachts in action. And, what a sight! At one point, I saw 12 sandyachts going at varying speeds across the sands of a large cordoned-off section of Bettystown beach.Having got the other newbies sorted, Alan and Kevin returned to the shelter to get the adapted sandyacht ready for me. As my mobility is limited, stirring the sandy-acht with my feet was impossible. Alan and his colleagues in IPKSA had sourced an adapted sandyacht for me (I heard later that it come from Northern Ireland!). I was touched by the friendliness and kind-ness of the organizers. They took the time to not only source the adapted sandyacht for me, but also to rig the harness and to instruct me on what to do. For the first few runs, Kevin even sat on the edge of the sandyacht. He expertly steered the han-dlebars while I tried to get to grips with the sail (no easy task!). Having got the feel of the sandyacht, Kevin disembarked and stood at the far end of the sandy course while Alan stood close to the trailer with my friends. From their vantage points, both Alan and Kieran shouted helpful advice and encourage-© April 2018 The Meath Coaster59ment to me. I could hear them, despite the wind, the speed that I was going, and my own piercing screams!I must admit, the experience was terri-fying at times, but it was also thrilling - reaching speeds of 25km per hour, with no brakes and powered only by the wind! I never felt more alive (or out of control!). Sandyachting was an amazing experience. I can easily understand why those who have been bitten by the sandyachting bug, are so enthusiastic about this sport. As a person with limited mobility, sandy-achting is a perfect sport for me. Once I’m in the sandyacht’s harness, I’m secure - there’s no way that I’m going to topple out. With so many willing helpers, get-ting in and out of the sandyacht was also problem-free (though, I wouldn’t win any marks for grace!). However, above all things, it was the help-fulness of the organizers that made the experience so enjoyable. They were con-siderate throughout the day and never pa-tronizing. I think it’s safe to say that I’ll be back for more sandyachting in the future. You’ve been warned! More information on forthcoming events (including ‘come and try’ sessions), please visit www.ipksa.com, find the IPSKA on Facebook or email info@ipksa.com Dara Duffy, February ‘18Next >