Mullingar Half Marathon 2019 (17th March)
Tough conditions for Mullingar Half Marathon
All the hard work and graft in training over many months put in by a group of more than forty of our adult members came to fruition on St. Patrick’s Day when they lined up with nearly 1,400 others in the middle of Mullingar Town at the start of the Mullingar Half Marathon, the fifth edition of the event that has gained a very strong reputation and continues to grow and go from strength to strength. The event was a fundraiser for TEAM (Temporary Emergency Accommodation Mullingar), a very deserving local cause. Whatever about the cold, or the heavy rain showers, it was surely the wind that was the main talking point after the race. In previous years the runners faced near freezing conditions but at least the wind was on their backs for the second half, but this year they started with a tailwind but on the return leg had to run into a stiff headwind with quite a biting wind chill factor for the last few miles along the exposed stretches of the Royal Canal, guaranteed to take its toll on tired legs trying to press for home and the finish in Mullingar Town Park. Every runner knows that no amount of tail wind assistance going out makes up for a stiff headwind on the way back!
Even though it was a charity event, and for most the event was simply a chance to run the distance in company, a race is still a race and they ran hard from the start looking to record a good time on a fast mostly flat course. Despite the wind, the winning time of 1:08:01 was actually the quickest yet and in fact the top 4 men all ran quicker than any previous winner, so clearly they weren’t disadvantaged by the conditions! The race winner was Tom Fitzpatrick (Tallaght AC) in 1:08:01, closely followed by Sean Hehir (Rathfarnham) in 1:08:06 and JP Carty (Sligo) in 1:08:18. The first woman was Adrianna Mulligan (Longford AC) in 1:22:44, closely followed by Elizabeth Carr (Mullingar Harriers) 1:22:59 and Aisling O’Connor (Edenderry) in 1:23:08.
The first finisher for Mullingar Harriers was Andrew Nevin in eleventh place (1:16:21), followed by James Keegan in sixteenth (1:18:52), Eddie Newman eighteenth overall (1:19:04) and first in his master category, Kieran Nolan (1:22:39), Elizabeth Carr (1:22:59) second woman to finish, Alan Crowley (1:23:01), Brian Collentine (1:29:07), James Cribbin (1:29:27), Ger Brady (1:31:46), Paul Ginnell (1:34:11), Joan Flynn (1:35:22) and Nollaig McEntegart (1:35:42) first in his master category. There then followed a steady stream of finishers in the distinctive maroon and white of Mullingar, including Robin Jackson, Ollie Gaffney, Breda Daly, Stephen Naughton, Michelle O’Halloran, Bernard Groenewald, Willie Ahearne, Declan Costello, Joan Hickson, Colm Walsh, Jenny Algar, Criona Reid, Gerard Flynn, Jane Creevy, Andy Quinn, Emer O’Hanlon, Joe Fagan, Michael O’Sullivan (despite being clipped from behind at 5 miles and taking a bad fall but he did very well to get up and run on), Stephen Olwell, Ann Hall, John Bannon, Siobhan Farry, Caroline Mullen, Tommy Archbold, Pauline Troy, Thomas Cully, Kevin O’Brien, Caroline Robinson, Ruth Greene, Raymond Smith, John Callaghan, Anna Redmond, Des Walsh (second in his master category) and Geraldine Walsh (first in her master category). Congratulations to them all from everyone at the Club.
