Social Distance League – Round 1 (23rd May)

Competition returned to the Club in sorts on Saturday 23rd May under the guise of the Social Distance League. Designed to comply with the current restrictions imposed under the Government’s Covid-19 Guidelines, Club members took to their local roads and trails in an unusual race.

All participants were tasked with running a distance of either 5k or 10k as fast as they can on their own. Each race is run solo and recorded on a GPS watch any time before 6pm on race day. The results are then submitted to the race referee for validation. Athletes are free to choose their own race route, so long as they stay within the 5k limit from their homes. As the competition is open to all senior and masters club members a process of Age Grading is being used to make the races fairer, particularly for those longer serving club members taking part. Age grading uses tables of “age factors” and “age standards” to put all runners, regardless of age and gender, on a level playing field.

Round 1 saw 37 Harriers take part on a very windy day and most participants took full advantage of the freedom to choose their own route and placed the wind on their backs. Some very interesting times were recorded, with Maurice Looby running the fastest 5k of the day in 16:28. Although Áine O’Reilly was the quickest woman in the 5k, after processing the times through the age grading system, Brigid McCabe was propelled to the top of the table with her very impressive time trial. Graded times in the 10k saw the first three men finish within just 8 seconds of each other. James Cribbin has a very narrow advantage over Stephen Naughton and Alan Crowley and similarly in the women’s race, only a few seconds separate Terri Greene and Mary Stuart.

The league will take place over three consecutive Saturdays with round 2 taking place on Saturday 30th May and round 3 on Saturday 6th June. Competitors’ two best performances from the three rounds will go towards their final score. This means it is not too late for Club members who missed round 1 to still take part in the league.

Club members taking part in the league are being encouraged to make a small donation towards prizes. All prizes will be vouchers for local businesses who have been hit by the restrictions during the Covid-19 closures. For more information on the league contact the club on info@mullingarharriers.com.