Stirling Cross Country 2020 (11th Jan)
Sterling Performances in Stirling
Set against the iconic background of Stirling Castle and spread across the grounds of Stirling Golf Club and the historic King’s Park, in excess of 7,000 athletes gathered early on Saturday morning 11th January for a feast of cross country racing. Some of the best athletes across Britain and Ireland were competing for honours in a series of races including the Home Countries International and the Celtic International. Twenty eight athletes from Mullingar made the trip to Scotland, including Claire Fagan (no stranger to running in an Irish singlet), Amy Geoghegan, and Phoebe Bates who were representing Ireland for the first time following superb displays at the National Cross Country Championships in Abbottstown last November.
Flying into Edinburgh on Friday afternoon to lovely mild weather, all changed over the next 24 hours when up on two inches of rain fell resulting in some of our younger athletes running in appalling conditions both underfoot and overhead. However, by sticking to their training programmes over the Christmas holiday period they were in excellent shape and determined not to allow the atrocious conditions dictate matters.
Lining out in their Irish singlets for the first time, Amy and Phoebe (representing Ireland in the Celtic International) were accompanied by their club mates Meabh Killalea, Bea Drummond and Karla Cunningham running as individuals in the u/17 girls 6,000m. Running on a course classed as technically difficult with numerous sharp corners and terrible underfoot conditions, these girls were determined to wear their Irish and Mullingar singlets with pride. Competing on stamina sapping mud and sodden turf, Phoebe finished in twenty seventh place overall, and hot on her heels was Amy in twenty ninth, helping Ireland to finish second team, delighted to win medals on their International debuts. Although there were no honours at stake for Meabh, Bea and Karla, they can be very proud of their displays in a very competitive race.
Silver team medallist in the u/23 European Cross Country Championships in Portugal before Christmas, Claire Fagan lined out alongside some of the best UK athletes in her age group and she did not disappoint. Battling all the way from gun to tape in the u/23 women 8,000m she showed all her fighting qualities holding off a Scottish athlete in a race to the line and in doing so winning the u/23 race and was first Irish athlete home, leading the Irish team to second place.
A few hours before the u/17 and u/23 women races, some of the younger members of the Club were competing for the first time against International competition and were eager to show their talents. The u/13 girls competed over 3,000m and all the signs in training were that they were in superb form and they did not disappoint. Undeterred by the conditions the girls ran with the leading bunch all the way. When the leaders returned back into the main field for the final time, there was great excitement when the maroon and white of Mullingar were visible not far behind the leaders. Superb performances from Adele Geoghegan (tenth), Leah Geoghegan (twelfth) and Grace Byrne (sixteenth) laid down a marker to all that Mullingar was a club that could mix it with the best of them. After watching the u/13 girls run superbly, the Mullingar boys in the u/13 boys 3,000m were determined to match the fighting spirit displayed by the girls. A blistering start right from the gun by some of the Scottish athletes left our boys in no doubt that they were in a race. Once the race settled down, they got into their rhythm and ran as a team all the way to the end with Jamie Wallace showing all his fighting qualities finishing in eighteenth place, followed a few yards behind by Conor Sherwin (twentieth), Conor Liston (twenty first) and Luke O’Leary (twenty second) with only eight seconds separating Jamie from Luke.
Next up was the u/15 girls 4,000m and with the rain now pelting down and the ground turning into a mud bath the girls had to dig deep to complete the course. Jessica Cunningham ran a superb race followed closely behind by Caoimhe Donohue, Ellen Foran, Lucy Donnelly and Shauna Traynor. The u/15 boys 4,000m followed and like all the previous races staying vertical was a now a real challenge such were the conditions. Very fast starts were the norm in all the previous races and this race was no different. Diarmuid Fagan showed his class and with true grit and determination, he tracked the leaders all the way and was delighted with his race, finishing seventh in a blanket finish, just one second separating fourth from seventh. The zigzag nature of the course allowed competitors to see the front runners and seeing one of their teammates running with the leading group drove on the rest of the team. Ross Killalea, Philip McCartan, Callum Costello and Conleth Mullen ran superbly and all were delighted with the experience of running against some top class international competition. Finally, was the u/17 boys 6,000m. Running in a huge field and rapidly deteriorating conditions, Colin Smith, Lorcan Mullen and Ruairi Fagan were all happy with their performances in very testing conditions.
With medals for Amy, Phoebe and Claire and so many excellent performances from the rest of the Mullingar group, it was a great experience for all our Club members and most are now looking forward to packing away the long spikes and preparing for the indoor track season ahead. To travel with such a large number of underage athletes is a big undertaking for the Club and it would not have been possible without the coaches and parents that travelled with them, so they are to be congratulated and thanked for their support.
