Q2, 2018 News & Reports – April to June

June

AAI Junior & u/23 T&F

The stadium in Tullamore certainly lived up to its reputation as a suntrap on Saturday 30th June when the AAI Junior and u/23 T&F Championships took place in absolutely sweltering conditions. Even at the early start time 10.30am it was already very hot, and Rachel Glennon said conditions were tough for the 3,000m race walk for women u/23 but she is an extremely experienced athlete and coped well to finish in second place and win the silver medal. Andrew Nevin ran in the 5,000m for men u/23 and also found the conditions very tough and was disappointed with his performance and finish place out of the medals, but incredibly, he returned to the track a little over an hour later for the 3,000m steeplechase for men u/23. Rightly regarded as one of the toughest track events, the steeplechase is not an event for tired legs but Andy settled into his rhythm and with great determination to make amends for the 5,000m run, was delighted to come home in first place and win his first All-Ireland track title. Top marks to Andy for sheer guts and determination!

Awa Fane and Shauna Leydon contested the junior women 100m where Shauna gave it her best effort but only Awa advanced to the final thanks to a fine personal best time of 12.22 seconds to qualify comfortably. The final proved a disaster for Awa though when she false started and was disqualified. A bitter blow, but she vowed to make amends in the 200m. In the junior men 100m, with only the winner of the four heats guaranteed to advance to the final, qualification was always going to be very difficult and while Patrick Leydon ran well in his heat, he did not advance to the final.

Shauna Leydon moved to the junior women long jump where she was disappointed with her series of jumps and finished out of the medal places. Later in the afternoon, Shauna was much happier with her performance in the junior women triple jump, where she placed sixth with some jumps not far off her personal best, giving her plenty to be satisfied with.

The opening lap of the junior women 800m was very slow, so the pace really heated up for the second lap and the very uneven lap split times just did not suit Aoife Darby and she finished out of the medals. The 800m for u/23 men was a much more even paced race, which suited Oisin Quinn and though he finished just outside the medal places, ran close to the two-minute mark.

The long hot day took its toll on Patrick Leydon and he said he felt a bit drained for the junior men 200m and though he ran well, with only the winner of the four heats guaranteed a place in the final Patrick did not advance from his heat. Looking to make amends for a false start leading to disqualification in the final of the 100m, Awa Fane made no such mistake in the junior women 200m, which was a straight final. Blasting from the blocks and with a terrific run on the bend she came into the home straight with the leaders and with great fight and spirit held her form to cross the line in third place and win the bronze medal to round off a good day for Mullingar.

Daingean 5k

The Daingean 5k on Saturday 30th June was billed as the “Hottest 5k in Offaly”. While there may have been concerns regarding racing in above normal temperatures, that didn’t deter nearly 250 taking part. Host Club Naomh Mhuire AC left nothing to chance in terms of race management, with plenty of water stations on the course, wet sponges at 2k, a garden hose at 4k to spray the passing runners and even an old-fashioned bucket shower for all at the finish. When you’re fit enough, you simply adapt to the conditions and adjust your pace accordingly, and that’s what Ciaran Nolan did as he finished tenth overall in 17:41, first junior man, followed closely by Kieran Nolan in 17:47, fourth in his master category, and Christy Creagh (27:43) second in his master category.

St. Coca’s AC 5k

Preferring to stick with the shorter distance, Michael Moran, Stephen Campbell and Eddie Newman headed to Kilcock for the St. Coca’s AC 5k on Friday evening 29th June to join over 330 others on an extremely warm sunny evening, but with attention to detail the organisers from St. Coca’s looked after everyone extremely well. Michael was first of the trio to finish in a time of 15:55 to place 2nd junior man, followed by Stephen in 16:48 and Eddie Newman in 17:05 to win his master category.

Clonee 10k

Despite record temperatures across the Country on Thursday evening 28th June, Dunboyne AC put together a great race and over 300 toed the line for the Clonee 10k. Among them was Mullingar’s sole representative Enda Seery who coped well with the heat to finish well up overall in 41:49, a very creditable time given the heat of the evening and he was delighted to reach the finish and get out of the heat and avail of the post-race refreshments to help him recover.

Irish Runner 5 Mile

The summer sun really added to the occasion for over 1,500 participants in the Phoenix Park on Sunday morning 24th June for the Irish Runner 5 mile road race, though with the temperatures forecasted to soar during the day, they were very glad with the early 10am start, so they could avoid the highest temperatures. Representing Mullingar was three members and first of them to finish was Patrick Muldoon in a very good 29:53, followed by Michelle O’Halloran in 36:30 and Gordon Ward made up the trio with 37:00, all glad to finish well and get into the shade and relax after the race.

Schools Inter-Provincial T&F

Based on the results in the Leinster Schools T&F, the top three in distance and field events, a number of the Club’s athletes had the honour of selection to represent Leinster at the Tailteann Inter-Provincial T&F in a sunny and extremely warm Santry on Saturday 23rd June. As well as representing Leinster, at stake was possible selection for the Irish Schools team that will compete in Edinburgh in July.

Putting a disappointing performance in the All-Ireland Schools T&F finals firmly behind her, Jennifer Fidgeon (Loreto Mullingar) bounced right back in the girls 3,000m walk with a very strong performance to finish a close second place, just six seconds behind the winner. There was no surprise that Oisin Lane (Mercy Ballymahon) simply dominated and was the clear winner of the boys 3,000m walk but it was great to see Matthew Glennon (St. Finian’s Mullingar) placing second, well clear of third place. The boys 800m was a terrific race and Eoin Quinn (Colaiste Mhuire) was right in contention for a medal but was just edged into fourth place in the finish straight, though has to take comfort from running 2:00.32, so close to breaking the magic two minute barrier for the distance. Finally, it was disappointment for Shauna Leydon in the girls triple jump where she was hoping to build on winning performance in the triple jump at the Leinster T&F the Sunday before, but unfortunately, she just couldn’t quite get her check mark right and finished out of the medal places.

Dunshaughlin 10k

Enjoying positively Mediterranean-type weather conditions on Saturday 23rd June, nearly 760 runners, joggers and walkers took part in the “Michael Manning Memorial 10k” in Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath. Nearly 40 years in existence, this fixture ranks right up there as one of the best in Ireland, thanks to the tremendous effort and attention to detail put in by host Club Dunshaughlin AC, reflected in the quality of the entrants and the standards required to get in the prizes. First of the group from Mullingar to finish and very happy to finish well up in 18th place was Andy Nevin (33:03). With great team running by John Whitelaw (33:20) first junior man, Eddie Newman (34:52) running under 35 minutes for the first time in two years to finish 2nd in his master category, and Ian McCormack (35:42) providing the fourth score, the Mullingar men’s team finished a very creditable 4th Club. Tom McGrath placed 3rd in his master category (35:46), followed by Evan McCormack (36:43), then Alan Crowley (37:29) marking a new PB for him by 21 seconds, Pauric Brady (38:20) and Liam McGlynn (40:44).

Leinster Juvenile u/12 to u/19 T&F

The final Leinster Juvenile Championship of the season, the Leinster u/12 to u/19 T&F took place in Tullamore on Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th June and, as expected, Mullingar athletes were to the fore across a wide variety of events. The weather was generally overcast but quite warm on both days, but a strong gusting side wind made it difficult for the middle distance athletes in particular.

First into action on Saturday were the sprint hurdlers and Aideen Langtry ran well in the u/12 girls 60m hurdles but didn’t advance from her heat. Shane Ormsby qualified comfortably from his heat of the u/14 boys 75m hurdles but finished out of the medal places in the final. Shane returned to competition later in the morning and finished second in the u/14 shot to win the Leinster silver medal. Over at the girls u/17 long jump, Shauna Leydon struggled with her check mark and had to settle for a place out of the medals on this occasion but vowed to make amends in the triple jump the next day.

Mullingar has established quite a reputation in race walking, thanks to the excellent coaching work put in by Michael Lane. Andrew Glennon cruised to victory in the boys 2,000m u/14 walk, Jayne Walsh Smith was very pleased to win the silver medal in the girls 2,000m u/16 walk, and Matthew Glennon won gold in the boys 3,000m u/16 walk. It was silver for Jennifer Fidgeon in a very competitive 3,000m u/17 walk where she finished in a new personal best time of 15:23.32. Finally, Oisin Lane absolutely dominated the boys 3,000m u/17 walk to win with ease in a new Championship Best Performance of 13:18.44 and his win meant that all the Mullingar walkers won medals in this very technical event.

Moving to the sprints, it was great to see Rachel Cornally win a medal in her last juvenile track race when she won the girls 400m u/19. Rachel moves to the Junior ranks next season. We had three in the girls 100m u/18 where Awa Fane won her heat and advanced to the final, Eve Wallace finished second in her heat to also advance to the final, but unfortunately, Whitney Imafidon didn’t progress to the final but ran well in her heat. It was still great to see two Mullingar athletes in the 100m final where Awa Fane closed down hard on the early leader but the line came just a little too soon and Awa finished second, just six hundredths of a second away from victory. With Eve Wallace finishing very strongly in an excellent fifth place, she continues to make huge progress in the sprints.

Leading the girls 800m u/17 out at a very fast pace, Caoimhe O’Brien controlled the race from the gun and with a polished performance and despite a late challenge she had enough in reserve to win comfortably. In the corresponding boys 800m u/17, Eoin Quinn kept with the leading group and with 200m to go quickly moved from fourth place to take the lead into the home straight and holding his form and showing great strength, pace and determination he crossed the line to win the Leinster title.

The final series of races with a Mullingar interest were the 1,500m. Aisling Lane battled well in the girls 1,500m u/14 but finished out of the medal places. Ross Killalea put in a very strong performance in the boys 1,500m u/14 and really deserved to win a medal but finished in fifth, just out of the medal places, in a very competitive race. Phoebe Bate and Amy Geoghegan contested the girls 1,500m u/15 where after an excellent race they both finished very strongly. Phoebe finished fourth, out of the medals, but an automatic qualification for the All-Ireland finals, though at the expense of a place for Amy whom she edged into fifth place right before the line. A bittersweet result for Phoebe. In the boys 1,500m u/16, Colin Smith and Lorcan Mullen were always in contention for medals but had to work very hard on the final lap to hang on and it was Colin who found the extra bit of pace to move into fourth place, with Lorcan finishing close behind in sixth. Just as it looked like Bea Drummond would take nothing from the girls 1,500m u/16 despite running so well, she dug deep with 200m to go and successfully holding off a challenge she finished in fourth place to book her place in the All-Ireland finals.

On Sunday morning, Shauna Leydon bounced right back from a disappointing long jump the previous day by winning the girls u/17 triple jump with a new personal best of 10.45m. Later in the day, she competed in the girls u/17 discus where she finished third to add to her medal tally. Another field event athlete in great form was Criostoir Ormsby who showed why he is the current indoor All-Ireland Champion by winning the boys u/12 long jump on his last jump with 4.62m, just 3 centimetres off the Championship Record. Alanna Costello competed in the girls u/15 long jump but we could not make it four out of four in the field events as Alanna finished out of the medal places.

On the track, Eve Farrell competed well in her heat of the girls 800m u/14 but didn’t advance to the final. There was a straight final in the boys 800m u/14 where Ross Killalea competed bravely but had to settle for a place out of the medals, but top marks for effort. In the girls 800m u/15 Amy Geoghegan and Phoebe Bate advanced from the heats but only Amy toed the line for the final as Phoebe was feeling unwell. The final was run at a furious pace right from the start and Amy was well up in the leading group at the bell but had to settle for a place out of the medals at the finish on this occasion but will have learned much from the experience.

Moving to the sprints, Alanna Costello was unlucky not to advance from her heat of the girls 100m u/15. There was no problem for Awa Fane or Eve Wallace who qualified comfortably from the heats of the girls 200m u/18. In the later final it was all about Awa who simply dominated from the gun to win with ease, and Eve ran brilliantly to finish in sixth place, delighted to be have competed in her second sprint final of the week-end.

Mullingar’s reputation in middle-distance is well founded and reinforced by an excellent performance by Eoin Quinn in the boys 1,500m u/17 where he reprised his great sprint finish of the previous day, closing down hard on the leader, but just couldn’t close the gap and Eoin crossed the line in a close second place. Aoife Darby was equally impressive in the girls 1,500m u/18 and was rewarded with a silver medal. Bea Drummond looked very much in control throughout the girls 3,000m u/16 and with 200m to go simply upped the pace to pull clear and went on to win comfortably in a new Championship Best Performance of 11:19.50. In the boys 3,000m u/16 Colin Smith and Lorcan Mullen kept in close contact with the leading group and looked full of running. Moving down the back straight for the final time when the pace began to increase, Colin had the edge on Lorcan and with a great sprint finish took himself into second place, holding it to the finish, followed closely by Lorcan who finished strongly but just out of the medals in fourth place.

After two days of great competition, our juvenile athletes took home 18 medals – 10 gold, 7 silver and 1 bronze – and we had another four athletes finish in fourth place meaning a very big number have qualified for the All-Ireland finals in July. Medals and qualifications for All-Irelands aside, the commitment and dedication shown by all our underage athletes whether they won medals or not was commendable. For some it was about progression in the sport, for others it was about reaching finals and running personal bests. Those that have qualified for the All-Ireland finals in July need to keep training hard between now and then, but those that have not qualified should consider the AAI “B” T&F on 7th July.

British Masters 5k Road Race Championships

Having his first race since he picked up an injury at the European Masters Non-Stadia in Spain in May, Sean McMullin maintained his unbroken record of competing in every BMAF 5km Road Race Championship since the event was first held 11 years ago at Horwich, near Bolton, when he competed on Sunday 17th June in the 5k road walk. Sean has some way to go to full recovery but is recovering well and was therefore very happy to take silver in his master category. As an indication of the class of the opposition, the winner set a new World best, so Sean was mixing it with the very best. Congratulations to Sean on his success.

Trim AC “Braveheart 5k”

Thanks to the friendly atmosphere and excellent post-race hospitality combined with great organisation by Trim AC, the ever-popular “Braveheart” 5k on Friday evening 15th June attracted a big entry of over 700 participants who ran the part-grass, part-path route around the Porchfields in Trim. The race route took the runners along the banks of the River Boyne among one of the finest collections of medieval monuments in Ireland, most notably Trim Castle and the iconic Yellow Steeple. A small number from Mullingar Harriers took part this year, led home by John Whitelaw 9th overall in 16:49, first junior man, followed by Ian McCormack (17:30), Sinead Whitelaw (18:21) 4th woman, Kieran Nolan (18:23) 3rd in his master category and PJ Ballesty. Well done to them all.

Leinster Pairs, u/12 and u/13 T&F

The early morning mist in Tullamore on Saturday morning 9th June quickly burned off to give way to a glorious sunny day, though as the temperature rose to the mid-twenties Celsius during the afternoon, conditions became quite tough for running for the young athletes competing in the Leinster u/9 to u/13 T&F. The u/9, u/10 and u/11 athletes competed in pairs, which meant their times in track races or distances jumped or thrown in field events were added together to give them a team score, adding to the excitement as each depended on their partner to perform as well as themselves. The older u/12 and u/13 athletes competed as individuals. Mullingar had nearly seventy youngsters taking part and when added to the huge number of boys and girls from Clubs right across Leinster, it meant that there were many heats in every track event and the programme was very long but the Mullingar athletes coped extremely well and all gave great accounts of themselves. As with any Championships, medals were very hard to win but our young athletes competed to the very best of their abilities and were delighted to be competing, whatever the outcome in terms of medals. That said, we were delighted that by the end of a very long day Mullingar athletes had won nine medals – three gold, two silver and four bronze – and a fourth place finish too, so Mullingar will be well represented in the All-Ireland Finals but more importantly the future looks very bright for the Club.

First into action were Morgan Corcoran, Orla Manning, Ellen Daly, Rose Macken, and Eve Scally in the girls 600m u/12. Though all ran well, only Morgan qualified for the final where she turned in an excellent performance, running faster than in her heat, but finished just out of the medals in fifth place, only a split second off the bronze medal. Jamie Wallace and James Flynn romped home in their heat of the boys 600m u/12 to qualify comfortably for the final, as did Conor Liston in his heat, but no such luck for Alex Lynch, Rory McDonnell, Andrew Gavigan and Hugh Carey who didn’t advance to the final. As expected, the final was run at a blistering pace from the start. Conor Liston led from gun to tape to win in a new Championship Best Performance of 1:42.78, followed by Jamie Wallace in second place who dug deep in the home straight to hold off a late challenge and James Flynn was just run out of the medal places in a very tight finish.

Adele Geoghegan and Aimee Wallace won their heats of the girls 600m u/13 to qualify for the final, along with Lucy Donnelly who finished third in her heat, but Síofra O’Halloran, Leah Geoghegan, Jessica Cunningham and Shauna Traynor didn’t advance from the very competitive heats. After a cautious first lap the final came down to a sprint over the final 200m where Aimee came though very fast to take the bronze medal, followed home by Adele and Lucy who had to settle for places out of the medals, but can take satisfaction from qualifying for a Leinster final. Philip McCartan made it look easy to win his heat of the boys 600m u/13 and qualify for the final, joined by Daire McDonald, but unfortunately not by David Burke who did not advance from his heat. Leading from the start the win looked assured for Philip McCartan when he turned into the home straight but he had to dig deep in the closing stages to hold off a very late challenge, but he had enough spare in the tank and with a dip at the line worthy of the best sprinters he finished first. Daire ran much faster than in the heat but had to settle for a place out of the medals in a very close finish, though he knows he performed really well.

Moving to the girls 600m u/11 pairs, despite great efforts by Eileen Farrell, Emily Farrell, Eva Jackson, Orlagh O’Brien and Charlotte Butler Clyne, there were no medals won by the Mullingar girls. Matthew Molloy won his race of the boys 600m u/11 in great style and with Luke Greene finishing well up in his race, when their times were added, the boys were delighted to finish third overall and win Leinster bronze medals. Megan Charles and Beibhinn O’Reilly (girls 300m u/9), Greg McDonnell, Jack Geoghegan, Cathal Kilmurray, Joshua Scahill and Cillian Grennan (boys 300m u/9), Therese Daly, Katie Glennon, Pippa Jackson, Aiveen Lynch, Sarah Davitt and Kiera Vitalo (girls 500m u/10), and Oliver Lynch (boys 500m u/10) competed well but finished out of the medal places.

A leap of 1.39m on his second attempt in the boys u/12 high jump was good enough for Criostoir Ormsby to win the event and secure the gold medal. Alex Lynch enjoyed competing in the boys u/12 shot despite finishing out of the medals, as did Jack Geoghegan and Cillian Grennan (boys u/9 pairs long jump) and Luke Greene and Matthew Molloy (boys u/11 pairs long jump), who jumped well but didn’t finish in the medals.

In the girls 60m u/9, Cara Andrews and Megan Charles finished third and second respectively in their races and when their times were added they finished just outside the medal places. Also competing was Alexa Gavigan, Beibhinn O’Reilly, Aobh Smith and Hui Fen Bartley but they too finished out of the medals. Despite some great sprinting performances, there were no medals for Joshua Scahill, Cathal Kilmurray, Greg McDonnell, Jonah Hassett, Jude Murtagh, Darragh McCabe, Darragh Daly and Cian Traynor (boys 60m u/9), Katie Glennon, Therese Daly, Pippa Jackson, Aiveen Lynch and Sarah Davitt (girls 60m u/10), Oliver Lynch, Conor Geoghegan, Joshua Wade and Joshua Marriott (boys 60m u/10). We got back in the medals again when a win by Katie Kilmurray in her girls 60m u/11 and a very close third place by Norah Garry in her 60m saw the girls rewarded with bronze medals. No luck though for Jayne Charles, Lydia McDonnell, Síofra O’Reilly, Eileen Farrell, Eva Jackson and Emily Farrell in their 60m races though they turned in some great performances. An excellent first place for William Scahill in his boys 60m u/11 and a close fourth by Sean Graham in his race saw the Mullingar pair win the bronze medals to add to the Mullingar haul.

Orla Manning, Eve Scally and Aideen Langtry contested the girls 60m u/12 but didn’t advance from the extremely competitive heats. No problem for Kyle Faherty and Criostoir Ormsby in their heats of the boys 60m u/12, both advancing to the final, but sadly not joined by Jamie Wallace, Andrew Gavigan, Killian O’Halloran, Hugh Carey or Rory McDonnell. Flying from the start in the final, Kyle was always in contention and keeping his form brilliantly he crossed the line in second place, only a few hundredths of a second away from gold, with Criostoir close behind in fourth, just missing a medal by the narrowest of margins. It was great to see Emma Higgins in her first race for Mullingar advance from her heat of the girls 60m u/13, joining Aimee Wallace in the semi-final who advanced from her heat, but though she ran very well, Shauna Traynor didn’t advance to join the girls in the semis. Aimee safely negotiated the semi-final to qualify for the final, but despite running faster than in the heat, Emma did not advance to the final with Aimee, where despite a strong effort, Aimee had to settle for a place out of the medals on this occasion.

The final race of the day with a Mullingar interest was the girls u/11 Inter-County relay where Norah Garry, Jayne Charles, Eva Jackson and Katie Kilmurray combined well and put in a strong effort but finished out of the medal places.

All the Mullingar youngsters competed brilliantly and their coaches were very proud of them, which repaid them well for all the time and effort they put into training and getting them ready for competition. Thanks to the many parents for bringing the youngsters to Tullamore and providing terrific vocal support and encouragement.

The first three in the pairs events and the first four in the u/12 and u/13 events (except the 600m where it’s the first three) qualify for the All-Ireland Finals. Therefore, Mullingar supporters will have plenty to cheer about at the AAI Juvenile Games in Tullamore on Sunday 1st July, which is the All-Ireland for the u/9, 10 and 11 pairs. The All-Ireland for the u/12 and u/13 field events will also take place at the Juvenile Games but the All-Ireland for their track events will take place with the older juveniles in Tullamore on 14th and 15th July.

IMRA Ultra Marathon Trail Championships

As if a marathon wasn’t tough enough, or even a 50k or 100k race, how about a 127km race on the Wicklow Way from Clonegal in Co. Carlow to Marlay Park in Dublin starting at midnight? The course has 3,000m of climbs, the event difficulty is categorised at 10 (“extreme”), and why not pick one of the hottest days of the year to do it, just to add a bit of spice? Not put off by the fact that one of the Aid Stations along the route is called “The Dying Cow”, that’s what David Fagan undertook on Saturday 9th June when he competed in the IMRA (Irish Mountain Running Association) Ultra Marathon Trail Championships. Among the required equipment he had to bring with him was waterproof jacket and waterproof trousers (not needed of course!), mobile phone, head light and spare batteries, reflective upper outer layer, map of route and compass, food and drink, whistle, gloves and hat, a foil blanket and a tracker. Lugging that load along with him, it took him 16 hours and 34 minutes to complete the course, enduring temperatures in the mid-twenties Celsius at times, and finished an incredible 11th overall of 110 finishers, placing second in his master category. Now that’s some serious endurance!

Bohermeen 5k

The “Patrick Bell 5k” hosted by Bohermeen AC attracted a large crowd to the sun-drenched County Meath village on Friday evening 8th June. This is not just a running event but is widely known for its post-race barbeque and refreshments and the sunny weather gave it a real summer festival feel as the participants enjoyed traditional music and plenty of burgers. Many local clubs attended as well as athletes from the neighbouring counties of Dublin, Kildare, Louth, Westmeath, Wicklow and Cavan, among them an excellent group of 20from Mullingar Harriers among the nearly 400 entrants.

The course was good and flat, leading to some fine performances and positions were hotly contested with age category and team prizes up for grabs. The race was won by Peter Somba, the winner of the Pat Finnerty Memorial 5k in May, and leading the Mullingar group in behind him with an excellent 15th place finish in 16:49 was Gerry Gavin to finish 3rd in his master age category. Following in was James Keegan (17:48), Kieran Nolan (17:52), Aine O’Reilly (18:08) 3rd woman, Liam McGlynn (19:28), Robin Jackson (20:03), Mervyn Kennedy (20:24), Michael O’Sullivan (20:36), Philip Burke (20:29), Colm Walsh (21:09), Gordon Ward (21:10), Jane Creevy (21:38), Michelle O’Halloran (21:56), Emer O’Hanlon (22:35), Joanna Tyrrell (22:36), Criona Reid (23:03), Linda Cunningham (24:06), Eamonn O’Reilly (24:29), Michelle Kavanagh (26:40) and PJ Ballesty. The team of Aine, Jane, Michelle and Emer finished 4th Club, the team of Gerry, James, Kieran and Liam finished 6th Club, and the team of Gerry, James, Kieran, Liam, Robin and Mervyn finished a very creditable 5th Club in the contest for the Murtagh Cup. Very well done to the Mullingar group for flying the flag in Bohermeen.

Leinster Senior & Masters T&F

A number of our members were in action in the Leinster Senior and Masters Track & Field Championships in Tullamore on Sunday June 3rd. There were some excellent performances but pride of place goes to the Senior ladies 4 x 100m relay team who successfully defended their title and smashed the championship record they established last year. The team of Awa Fane, Vicky Harris, Eve Wallace and Maimouna Fane dominated the race to win in a time of 49.67 seconds, which was a huge improvement on their time of 51.43 seconds set last year.

There were individual medal winning performances from Gerry Gavin who won silver in the Masters 5,000m, Pauric Brady bronze in the Masters 1,500m, Andy Nevin bronze in the Senior 5,000m, Paddy Kelly silver in the Masters 800m, Tom Walsh gold in the Masters weight for distance with a new Championship Best Performance of 8.39m and bronze in the Masters discus, and silver for Rachel Glennon in the Senior 3,000m walk and silver for Vicky Harris in the 100m u/23.

All-Ireland Schools T&F

The All-Ireland Schools T&F Championships took place in ideal conditions in Tullamore on Saturday June 2nd. Such is the level of competition that a mere four per cent of competitors make it from the district championships through to the provincials and onto the All-Ireland finals. It is widely regarded as one of the best day’s athletics on the calendar and this year’s edition certainly lived up to expectation for our Mullingar Harriers athletes.

Our walkers were first into action and got the day off to a great start. Oisin Lane (Mercy Ballymahon) was an emphatic winner of the Intermediate boys 2,000m walk in a time of 8:57.84. Oisin provided a great display of race walking and had almost a minute to spare over his club mate, Matthew Glennon (St. Finian’s) who walked a fine race to secure the silver medal in a time of 9:55.73. Sarah Glennon (St. Finian’s) produced an excellent performance in the Senior girls 3,000m walk to take the silver medal with a time of 14:34.32.

In the Junior boys 1,200m walk Andrew Glennon (St Finian’s) was in contention throughout but had to settle for fourth place in 6:27.38, missing a medal by just a quarter of a second. Undoubtedly, he will make amends before the season ends. Jennifer Fidgeon (Loreto Mullingar) finished just outside the medals in seventh in a competitive Intermediate girls 2,000m walk with a time of 10:25.08.

Mullingar has a proud middle distance tradition and this was further enhanced by Caoimhe O’Brien (Loreto) finishing second in the Intermediate girls 800m in a time of 2:17.08. Caoimhe was narrowly beaten in a sprint finish but can be well satisfied with the silver medal in a personal best time. Jamie Battle (Colaiste Mhuire) was in action in the Senior boys 5,000m in his final schools race and produced a storming last lap to take the bronze medal in a time of 15:35.84.

In the Junior boys 1,500m Lorcan Mullen (Cistercian, Roscrea) was in the leading group throughout and finished in sixth place in a time of 4:35.2 while Eoin Quinn (Colaiste Mhuire) was also run narrowly out of the medals in the final stages of the Intermediate boys 800m race in a time of 2:04.72. Bea Drummond (Athlone Community College) was in action in the Junior girls 1,500m and battled all the way to the line and like Lorcan and Eoin, was just outside the medals on this occasion.

Awa Fane (Loreto) has been making a real name for herself over the past year but on this occasion, she was in the very unfavourable lane one for the Senior girls 200m final. This was simply too much of a barrier and Awa finished just outside the medals in 25.03 seconds. However, she can look forward to the remainder of the season as it was an excellent performance from a very unfavourable lane draw. Her training partner Shauna Leydon (Loreto) produced a fine effort in the final round of the Intermediate girls triple jump but fell just short of a medal winning performance.

May

Community Games Cross Country Finals

The Club was well represented at the Community Games Cross Country Finals in the University of Limerick on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th May. The u/12 girls team just failed to make the final but will have learned much from the experience and Morgan Corcoran, Ellen Daly, Orla Manning and Jayne Charles can be proud of their performance.

The u/12 mixed distance relay (400m & 600m) have some very experienced and talented young athletes. This was evident in the heat on Saturday where a decisive victory was recorded. The boys were optimistic before Sunday’s final and the team of Conor Liston, Criostoir Ormsby, Jamie Wallace, James Flynn, Darragh Weblin and Alex Lynch were convincing winners taking the gold medal in great style.

The u/13 mixed team of Callum Costello, Jessica Cunningham, Adele Geoghegan, Leah Geoghegan, Caoimhe Kilmurray, Brian Ronan and  John Ryan ran excellently to win their heat on Saturday and secure second place for the silver medals in Sunday’s final. There was more to celebrate as Aimee Wallace won a bronze medal in the individual girl’s 1,200m race and Ross Killalea and Philip McCartan secured the silver and bronze medals respectively in the individual boy’s 1,200m race.

Celtic Universities T&F International Match

Vicky Harris, a student at Athlone IT, had the honour of captaining the Irish University T&F team to victory in their annual Celtic Universities T&F International Match against Scottish Universities on Saturday 26th May in Grangemouth, Falkirk. Vicky participated in the 100m where she placed 3rd and played a vital role in the Irish team’s victory in the 4 x 100m relay where she ran a fantastic race. At the end of all events, the points were tallied and Ireland had recorded the overall victory. Well done to Vicky and her Irish Universities teammates.

IFAM (International Flanders Athletic Meeting)

Padraig Moran was in action at the IFAM (International Flanders Athletics Meeting) in Oordegem, Belgium on Saturday 26th May over 5,000m. This is a renowned festival of athletics, which year after year produces some excellent performances. This year proved no exception and Padraig Moran secured a PB of 14:43.37 to win his 5,000m heat. This was a fine run by Padraig and the first time that he broke the 15 minutes barrier for the 5,000m distance. This marks an excellent start to the track season for Padraig. Indeed, the 5,000m distance has proved very successful this track season for club athletes with Jack O’Leary recording a PB of 14:24.5 and Jamie Battle running 14:55 to also break the 15 minutes barrier.

Leinster Juvenile Relays

This year the Leinster Juvenile Relays were held at a new venue, The Hub in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, which meant a longer than usual journey for Mullingar athletes on Sunday 20th May to compete in a track event. First into action were the girls 4x100m u/13 team of Aimee Wallace, Shauna Traynor, Luck Donnelly and Grace Byrne who qualified from a very competitive heat and in the final gave a spirited performance and despite some excellent baton passing, finished just out of the medals in fifth place. Conor Liston, Luke O’Leary, Jamie Wallace and Daire McDonald qualified comfortably from their 4x100m u/13 heat and in the final ran even quicker to finish second and earn Leinster silver medals. Buoyed up by this success, the Junior Women 4x100m team of Awa Fane, Whitney Imafidon, Eve Wallace and Shauna Leydon put on a fine display of sprinting talent, leading from start to finish to win with ease. This same quartet returned to the track later in the afternoon for the 4x100m u/18 where they finished second in a close race but were still delighted to claim their second set of Leinster medals of the day. Criostoir Ormsby, Conor Liston, Jamie Wallace and Kyle Faherty showed why they are the current Leinster and All-Ireland indoor 4x100m u/12 Champions by winning their heat with ease in 55.24 seconds, which is a new Championship Record, breaking the record set in 2001. The final was really a foregone conclusion, barring accidents, and thankfully there were none, and they ran out easy victors to take the Leinster title and now look forward to adding the All-Ireland outdoor title too. Mullingar might have had only a few teams competing in Enniscorthy, but they really made their mark with some fine individual and team performances.

Leinster Combined Events

Despite suffering from a heavy head cold, Shane Ormsby competed in the Leinster u/14 Combined Events in Kilkenny on Saturday 19th May. The competition was a pentathlon, where the faster you run, the longer you jump or throw, and the higher you jump, the more points you get. Shane started his campaign in the 75m hurdles where he finished third in a very close race. A fourth place in the long jump into a very strong wind kept him just off the medal places but a massive 10.40m effort to win the shot by over 3m to spare on the competition put him firmly in the driving seat. The strong wind played havoc with the high jump bar, which had to be changed to a heavier one and the officials even had to keep a finger on each side to keep it from blowing off between jumps, but a good performance in a new event for him kept him in contention. He finished with the 800m, never a favourite for multi-event athletes, and though he finished fourth in the race and thought he was out of the reckoning, when the points were totaled across the five events, Shane emerged as the winner to claim the Leinster title, much to his delight. This was a great start for Shane in a new event and he is sure to build on this success.

European Masters Athletics Championships Non-Stadia

Despite picking up a niggling injury a few weeks ago, Sean McMullin had committed to competing in the 30km road walk at the European Masters Athletics Championships Non-Stadia (EMACNS) in Alicante, Spain on Saturday 19th May. The injury naturally put paid to individual honours in his age category, but he was still the third score on the Irish team that finished third in the team competition behind Latvia and Spain to earn a European bronze to add to his collection of International honours.

Leinster Schools T&F

On Wednesday 16th and Saturday 19th May, a number of the Club’s underage athletes competed for their Schools and Colleges in the Leinster Schools T&F, which was the final step to the All-Ireland Schools T&F Finals in June. Competition was fierce as every event was a straight final and only the top two in the sprints and top three in the longer track races and top three in the field events would advance to the All-Ireland Finals.

Twelve of the Club’s athletes earned qualification from Leinster across a range of events, which is an excellent representation from the Club. The Glennon siblings are synonymous with race walking excellence and the St. Finian’s trio of Sarah Glennon (senior 3,000m race walk), Matthew Glennon (intermediate 2,000m race walk) and Andrew Glennon (junior 1,200m race walk) all won their respective events with ease to advance to the All-Ireland Finals. There was a winning performance too from Caoimhe O’Brien (Loreto) in the intermediate 800m. Winning silver medals were Awa Fane (Loreto) senior 200m, Eoin Quinn (Colaiste Mhuire) intermediate 800m and Lorcan Mullen (Cistercian Loughrea) junior 1,500m. They will be joined by bronze medal winners Jamie Battle (Colaiste Mhuire) senior 5,000m, Jennifer Fidgeon (Loreto) intermediate 2,000m race walk, Shauna Leydon (Loreto) intermediate triple jump, Amy Geoghegan (Mercy Kilbeggan) minor 1,100m, and Diarmuid Fagan (Colaiste Mhuire) minor 1,100m.

Also competing but missing out on qualification was Shannon Liston (Loreto) minor shot and discus, Phoebe Bate (Loreto) junior 1,500m, Patrick Leydon (St. Finian’s) senior 200m and Colin Smith (Oaklands CC) senior 800m, who was very unlucky to finish fourth, just missing third and qualification by just one hundredth of a second. For the record, Shauna Leydon (Loreto) also competed in the intermediate 80m hurdles and Awa Fane (Loreto) in the senior 100m but they just missed qualification in these events but can focus on their triple jump and 200m respectively in the All-Ireland Finals.

It was a great day too for our near neighbours, North Westmeath AC, and congratulations to Niamh Fogarty (St. Joseph’s Rochfortbridge) who won the senior discus with a record throw of 49.31m, which is also a “B” standard for the World Junior T&F Championships this summer.

Midland Inter-County Juvenile T&F Match

We received very short notice of the Midland Inter-County Juvenile T&F Match on Friday evening 18th May in Tullamore, so numbers taking part from the Club were down on previous years. Competition was for boys and girls aged 8 to 13 years, and the Mullingar athletes represented Westmeath against athletes from Counties Offaly, Laois and Longford. The weather was absolutely glorious and conditions were perfect for competition, which added hugely to the enjoyment of this popular event by the young athletes and their parents and coaches. Despite the few in number from the Club, they made their presence felt with plenty of them visiting the podium to receive medals, including Charlotte Ripley (u/9 turbo javelin silver), Megan Charles (60m u/9 bronze), Joshua Scahill (60m u/9 silver), Cathal Kilmurray (u/9 turbo javelin silver), Jack Geoghegan (300m u/9 silver), Greg McDonnell (60m and 300m u/9 bronze), Oliver Lynch (500m u/10 gold), Matthew Webb (60m u/10 silver), Lydia McDonnell (u/11 long jump silver), Katie Kilmurray (600m u/11 silver), Jayne Charles (u/11 turbo javelin bronze), Cian Corcoran (600m u/11 silver), Eoin Donohue (u/11 long jump bronze), Morgan Corcoran (600m and shot u/12 gold), Orla Manning (600m u/12 silver), Jamie Wallace (60m and 600m u/12 gold), Caoimhe Donohue (u/13 shot gold), Adele Geoghegan (600m u/13 silver), David Burke (600m u/13 silver) and Alex Lynch (600m u/12 bronze).

Navan AC 6k

Well done to Eddie Newman on his 7th place finish of over 900 entrants for the Navan AC “Simon Cumbers & Paddy Hyland” 6k on a glorious sun soaked evening on Friday 18th May. His time of 20:42 saw him win his master age category comfortably, with nearly a minute to spare. Kieran Nolan (22:17) finished 24th overall, 4th in his master age category and missing 3rd place by only a few seconds. Close behind was Enda Seery in 22:53 to finish an excellent 31st and well up in the senior men rankings. With their racing done, the Mullingar trio settled into enjoying the customary excellent hospitality and post-race refreshments provided by Navan AC.

Vicky Harris to captain Irish Universities Team

Congratulations to sprinter Vicky Harris (Athlone IT) who has been selected to captain the Irish Universities women’s team against the Scottish Universities at the Celtic Universities T&F International Match in Grangemouth, Falkirk (Scotland) on Saturday 29th May. Vicky’s selection is in recognition of her tremendous commitment to University athletics over the past four years. Vicky will compete in the 100m and 200m and everyone at the Club wishes her the very best of luck.

Tullamore AC 5k

A bit of decent weather on Sunday 13th May drew a great turn-out of 310 people from far and wide to the Tullamore AC 5k. Of course, as it was so close, Mullingar was well represented among the entrants, and leading the Mullingar group home was Eddie Newman in 17:09, 14th overall and 2nd in his master age category, just ahead of Mark Carroll who finished right on Eddie’s heels in 17:10, then came Alan Crowley (17:54), Mervyn Kennedy (20:16), Michelle O’Halloran (21:19) and Gordon Ward (21:43) making up the half dozen flying the flag for Mullingar.

Leinster Road Race Championships

It’s been a long time since Mullingar fielded teams in the Leinster Road Race Championships, so it was great to see a Mullingar team in both the master men over 35 and over 50 categories on Monday 7th May in Gowran, Co. Kilkenny. It was very warm, but with a race distance of only 6k, it was manageable and the Mullingar men gave very good accounts of themselves.

First home for Mullingar was Gerard Gavin (20:42) 16th overall and 4th in his category, just missing an individual medal by a few seconds, followed closely by Eddie Newman (20:52) finishing 3rd in his category, then Evan McCormack (21:19) making his competitive debut for Mullingar with a fine performance, ahead of Patrick Muldoon Junior (22:05), Pauric Brady (22:41), Liam McGlynn (23:40), Paul Ginnell (24:26) and Michael O’Sullivan (25:14) finishing fourth in his category. When the team scores were reckoned after the race, the team of Gerard, Evan, Patrick and Pauric finished 8th Club and a very creditable 5th County. It was better news for Eddie, Liam, Paul and Michael who were delighted to finish 1st Club and a very competitive 5th County. Congratulations to our master men.

MAAC T&F

Competing for Iona College in the MAAC T&F (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) on Sunday 6th May at Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, Jack O’Leary took out the early pace before settling in with the 3-man leading group from Iona that worked together as a team until the final kilometre when they began to separate, but by then the top places were secured and it finished 1-2-3 for Iona, with Jack claiming 3rd place in 14:36.74, including a strong 66 second final lap to put down a marker for the season ahead.

West of Ireland Women’s Mini Marathon

It wouldn’t do to get stuck behind nearly 1,400 women runners, joggers and walkers at the West of Ireland Women’s Mini Marathon in a warm Castlebar, Co. Mayo on Sunday 6th May, but someone of Sinead Whitelaw’s calibre was rightly given a place on the front row with the elite athletes and so was able to quickly get into her running from the start. While most of the entrants were happy to walk or jog and just cover the 10k distance, up front there was a great battle among the top half dozen or so women, including Sinead who stayed right in the mix and was very happy to come home in 2nd place in 38:56.

Drogheda 10k

Temperatures were very high on Sunday afternoon 6th May when nearly 1,200 runners, walkers and joggers took to the streets for the Drogheda 10k, among them Kieran Nolan and Hans de Raeymaeker. Kieran finished well up in 19th place overall, 6th in his master age category with 38:23 and Hans in 40th place, also well up in his master category, with 40:13, so plenty to be happy with when they crossed the line and glad to be able to get out of the sun and tuck into the post-race refreshments laid on by race host Drogheda & District AC.

Greystones AC / IMC Meeting

The Irish Milers Club held their first meeting of the summer at a warm and sunny Greystones on Saturday 5th May. As always, it was organised very efficiently and competition was very strong for a season opening event.

Jamie Battle produced an excellent performance in the 5,000m race to finish in a PB of 14:55.58. This was a PB by a huge 32 seconds and confirms Jamie’s status as one of the leading u/20 endurance athletes in Ireland. Padraig Moran also had a fine race in his 5,000m to record a PB of 15:04.63 seconds. He looks set to dip under the 15 minute barrier at the next opportunity.

Colin Smith was in action in the A 800m and finished fourth in a time of 1:53.96, which is marginally outside his PB. Oisin Quinn has been targeting the 2 minute barrier for some time and availed of a well paced race to finish strongly and record a PB of 1:59.63.

Cormac Dalton used the 1,500m race as an opportunity to prepare for 3,000m and 5,000m races in the months ahead and finished strongly in a time of 4:06.73, just outside his PB for the distance.

Pat Finnerty Memorial 5k

The course for the Pat Finnerty Memorial 5k on Wednesday evening 2nd May was a straight point to point starting near the Cloghan Inn on the Delvin Road, straight through the Crazy Corner, and finishing at Donnelly’s Cross on the Castlepollard Road. The course was mostly flat or downhill and it certainly lived up to its prediction of being fast as the winner of both the men’s and women’s race recorded very fast times and earned bonus prizes in addition to their prizes for first place and the award of the Pat Finnerty Memorial Trophy to each of them.

While the runners in the 5k warmed up and made their way to the start either by jogging there or taking the courtesy shuttle bus, there was a 1,500m race for boys and girls u/16 on a very quiet side road beside Clonkill Hurling Club, which was the excellent location for Race HQ. A simple out and back course meant no one could go astray and first to finish was Philip McCartan (4:30), followed by Callum Costello (14:37) and Conor Liston (4:55). Fifth overall and first girl to finish was Grace Byrne (5:09), with Orla Manning (5:24) second just ahead of Eva Farrell (5:25) a very close third. Once all 41 youngsters had finished and the trophies for the first three boys and girls were awarded and everyone received their finisher medals, they returned to the Clonkill Hurling Club for some well-earned refreshments. Juvenile results HERE.

Kenyan-born Peter Somba (Dunboyne AC) set off hard from the start of the 5k with clear intent and by the first kilometre mark had established a good lead. Coming through the Crazy Corner just past the half way mark he was well ahead and racing against the clock from there to the finish, which he reached in an excellent 14:56, inside the 15 minute mark that earned him a bonus prize and setting a course record that will be difficult to better. This was a marvellous exhibition of top class front running at its best. Shane Healy (MSB AC) took second place with 15:49 and Mick Fogarty (Ferbane AC) third in 16:07 in the men’s race.

Emma Mitchell (Queen’s University Belfast AC) is not long back from the Commonwealth Games in Queensland, Australia where she smashed her own Northern Ireland record on her International Championship debut in the 10,000 metres final, finishing fifteenth in 32:49.91 seconds, so clearly a woman in top form. Emma finished fourth overall against some very well regarded male Club runners, coming home in 16:23, inside the 16:30 mark that also earned her a bonus prize and setting a course record in the women’s race that should stand for a very long time. Behind Emma in the women’s race was the Mullingar Harriers duo Aine O’Reilly (18:12) and Sinead Whitelaw (18:35).

Right through the field of runners there was competition in the junior races and in the various master categories, with some very close finishes in some cases. The Prize Winners are in the table below and full results are available on the MyRunResults website. After the race, there were plenty of refreshments for everyone in the Clonkill Hurling Club and the prizes were presented to the various category winners including the Pat Finnerty Memorial Trophies for first man and first woman presented to Peter Somba and Emma Mitchell. Full results HERE.

This concluded a successful first staging of a new 5k race on a new fast course with good numbers registering for the event. The success of the race is due to the very many volunteers who gave up their free time. These are the people who took registrations, helped Clonkill officials with car parking, stewarded the course, organized prizes, and did all the other tasks required.

Finally, many thanks to the Committee of Clonkill Hurling Club, in particular Declan Leonard, for the generous use of their excellent facilities. Many present were seeing the clubhouse and sports hall for the first time, which they were told could be hired for all manner of events. Also thanks to My Run Results for looking after results in a professional manner, the Westmeath Civil Defence for providing first aid and ambulance cover, to Hyundai Mullingar for their generous sponsorship of the event, but especially to everyone who took part. The next big event for the Club will be the Mullingar 10 Mile road race in July.

April

Wexford Half Marathon

The Wexford Half Marathon on Sunday 29th April was the second of a three race half marathon series, which started in Wicklow in March and will finish in Clontarf in July. An interesting idea is that the finishers medals for each race will form a unique interlocking “Trilogy” medal. Tommy Archbold completed the tough hilly Wicklow race and joined nearly 900 others in Wexford which was run in perfect running conditions, being warm and dry, and Tommy was very happy to finish in 1:52:01, placing him fourth in his master category. That makes 2 down and 1 to go and Tommy now has his sights set on Clontarf in July.

Run with Catherina 10k

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Catherina McKiernan’s victory in the London Marathon in April 1998, the fifth edition of the annual “Run with Catherina” 10k in Cavan Town moved from its usual October date to Saturday 28th April. A regular participant in previous years, Eddie Newman toed the line with 200 others and after a very good race was very pleased to finish an excellent 13th overall in 35:20 to easily win his master age category.

Coralstown 5k

There was a glimpse of summer on Friday evening 27th April when nearly 220 runner, joggers and walkers took part in the Coralstown 5k in glorious cool but sunny conditions. Starting and finishing at Coralstown National School, the course was a mixture of well marshaled quiet country roads and long stretches of the Royal Canal tow path, so was very safe for everyone. Being so local to Mullingar, there were plenty from the Club taking part and they dominated by taking 1-2-3 in both the men’s and women’s races.

Racing to the front from the start and winning comfortably by a good margin was Kevin Baker (16:08), with Andy Nevin (16:43) in second and John Whitelaw (17:13) in third. Finishing fourteenth overall and first woman to finish was Sinead Whitelaw (18:16), with Laura Whitelaw (19:48) second woman and Susan Glennon (20:51) third woman. Also competing was Euan Lagan (17:30) fifth, Alan Crowley (17:53) ninth, Kieran Nolan (18:11) finishing strongly despite developing a painful knee in the closing stages, Enda Seery with a personal best time (18:29), Liam Woods (18:40), Justin Murtagh (19:00), Mervyn Kennedy (19:57), Aidan Rafferty (21:37), John Bannon (22:04), Sarah Glennon (22:27), Robin Jackson (25:14), Jude Lagan, Christy Creagh and Cora Macken. Among the younger finishers were Matthew Glennon, Andrew Glennon, Jessica Cunningham, Eve Jackson, Katie Dalton, John Glennon, Rose Macken, Síofra Ní Mhuirí, Lila Dalton and Molly Glennon.

The rain held off until the very end for most and there was the customary fine spread of food and refreshments afterwards in the school hall where the prizes were presented.

Penn Relays

On the opening day of the prestigious World famous Penn Relays in Philadelphia on Thursday evening 26th April, Jack O’Leary ran his first outdoor 5,000m for Iona College, where he is on an athletics scholarship. It’s not all relays and dotted among the events are some individual distance races, including the 5,000m. Running in the top seeded first race of three, Jack took full advantage of running with some top class opposition and sticking to his race plan he was delighted to finish in 14:24.50, a new PB for him and a great early season marker of better to come and he looks set to have a very strong track season.

AAI Road Relays

In what many commentators deemed was the most competitive event for many years, Mullingar fielded a senior men’s team in the AAI Road Relays on Sunday 22nd April in Raheny, Dublin. Despite their relative youth, the Mullingar team of Andy Nevin, Stephen Campbell, Padraig Moran and Michael Moran gave an excellent account and finished well up in the team placings against some really top class senior opposition. Andy Nevin ran a good opening two mile leg (10:39) and handed over to Stephen Campbell who also ran well on the tough one mile leg (5:06) to hand over to Padraig Moran for the longest leg, the three miles. Running an excellent 15:07, one of the quickest times of the day, Padraig pulled back several places, and handed over to Michael Moran for the final two mile leg, which he completed in 10:31 to bring the team home in a very creditable 12th place. This was a very good performance by a young team and one to build on in for the future.

Royal Canal Ultra, Marathon, Half Marathon & 10k

The Royal Canal Ultra, Marathon, Half & 10k runs took place on a flat fast 5.2km loop of the Royal Canal in Longford on Saturday 21st April in very warm conditions. Mullingar had two members in action among the 225 that completed the half marathon, Nollaig McEntegart finishing an excellent 7th place in a fine 1:29:03 and John Bannon (1:52:07) pleased with his race. We had two also in the 10k race where nearly 280 finished, among them Declan Costello (50:10) and Tommy Archbold (52:51), both glad to finish strongly despite the very warm conditions.

Great Ireland Run (incorporating the AAI National 10k)

The Great Ireland Run, incorporating the AAI National 10k Championships, took place in a very windy and wet Phoenix Park on Sunday morning 15th April. This is a challenging hilly course, where the first 5km is always fast because it is mostly downhill before the runners get to the hillier section, including the Furry Glen, in the second half of the course.

The way the Great Ireland results are presented, it is impossible to search through the thousands and thousands of finishers looking for Club members, but we know the Club members that were entered in the AAI 10k and can search those results easily and record their performances, so apologies to any others that were missed.

First from Mullingar Harriers to finish was Tom McGrath (35:46) followed in by Eddie Newman (35:51) and Gerard Gavin (36:10), Pauric Brady (38:17), Paul Ginnell (41:30), Colm Walsh (44:23) and Michael O’Sullivan (44:31). Our first woman to finish was Maura Dervin (45:16), followed closely by Jane Creevy (45:21) and then Patricia Broderick (48:18), Eileen Kenny (48:22) 3rd in her master age category and Linda Cunningham (51:19). Completing the Mullingar contingent was Christy Creagh (60:39) 2nd in his master age category and delighted to be still participating and winning medals in National 10k Championships. When the team scores were calculated it was very close for Maura, Patricia and Eileen but they finished 4th Club in their master category, just out of the medals, but it was better news for Tom, Eddie, Paul and Michael who finished 2nd Club in their master category.

Before the 10k race, there were races for boys and girls where they had the chance to show their talents before the very large crowd that gathered for the 10k race. Mullingar athletes usually feature on the podium after the junior races and this year it was no different thanks to Colin Smith who won the Junior Boys 12 to 15 years race.

Irish Universities T&F

Hosted by Queen’s University Belfast, the Irish Universities T&F Championships at the Mary Peters Track in Belfast on Friday 13th and Saturday 14th April were held in cool but excellent conditions for competition.

On Friday afternoon, Declan Brady (GMIT) contested the heats of the 800m but despite a good performance didn’t advance to Saturday’s final. Padraig Moran (DCU) had an excellent run in the 5,000m where he was always part of the leading group and was very unlucky to finish just out of the medals in 4th place in a close finish, but earned valuable points to help DCU retain the men’s team trophy. Making short work of the heats of the 100m and 200m on Friday, Vicky Harris (AIT) cruised to victory in her heats to qualify for Saturday’s finals as a favourite to finish in the medals. As expected, the 1,500m was a tactical affair where Claire Fagan (DCU) ran a fine race and finished well up to earn valuable points to help DCU retain the women’s team trophy.

On Saturday, Rachel Glennon (DCU) competed well in the 1,500m race walk and despite the very short distance for her, she raced well to finish 4th and earn team points for DCU. Saturday was a very busy day for Vicky Harris where she took silver in the 100m, bronze in the 200m, bronze in the 4x100m relay, helping AIT set a new College relay record into the bargain and helped in good measure by the points total amassed by Vicky, the AIT women finished 2nd in the women’s team placings behind DCU, their best ever placing in Inter Varsity T&F.

Manchester Marathon

Billed as the flattest and fastest marathon course in the UK, the Manchester Marathon on Sunday 8th April attracted a huge entry and among the nearly 20,400 finishers was Kevin Baker. Kevin wisely started conservatively in around 100th place and by maintaining a very consistent pace he slowly worked his way through the field up to the 30k point when he had to ease back slightly, which cost him a few places, but he rallied again in the closing stages and was delighted to finish so well up in 26th place overall in 2 hours 37 minutes and 44 seconds, placing him sixth in his master category. Congratulations to Kevin on a great performance.

Rome Marathon

On Sunday 8th April Patrick Muldoon took part in the Rome Marathon. It was the third consecutive year that he ran in the marathon in Rome and was delighted to run a steady pace and finish in 259th place in 3:05:09. Patrick reported that it was a great experience to once again run around a course that includes almost all the important monuments, streets and squares of Rome and the beautiful weather and great spectator support throughout the 42km event made it a special experience and memory for him.

AAI Juvenile Indoors – day 3

The domestic indoor season drew to a close on Saturday 7th April at the final day of the AAI Juvenile Indoors in Athlone IT and the Mullingar u/12 boys 4x100m team certainly ended their season in style!

Having carried the baton across the finish line and secure victory for the Mullingar team in the Leinster relays some weeks ago in a new Championship Record, it was very disappointing that Kyle Faherty was unable to run with his team mates in the All-Ireland finals because he had been very ill during the week and was still recovering. However, that didn’t stop him being in Athlone to support the team and see James Flynn anchor the team in his place. An added incentive was that if the team won medals, Kyle would get one too, as he had been on the original team entry.

The Mullingar team of Criostoir Ormsby, Conor Liston, Jamie Wallace and James Flynn made short work of the heats, winning theirs in the fastest time of the three heats and lined up in the final as favourites in the coveted outside lane. Any notion that it was going to be a close run race was soon dispelled as Criostoir, Conor and Jamie put in tremendous performances, leading all the way and when Jamie broke lane coming off the third bend he had a clear lead of over five metres, which increased further thanks to a flawless final changeover with James. Once he had the baton safely in his hand we knew it was all over and there was no catching James who sprinted furiously around the final bend and into the home straight to win. This was a brilliant team effort and it was great to see all five boys – Criostoir, Conor, Jamie, James and Kyle – mount the top of the podium to receive their All-Ireland gold medals.

Poděbrady Race Walking Festival

The Poděbrady Race Walking Festival in the Czech Republic on Saturday 7th April included the Czech National Championships, an International match and was a European Athletics Grand Prix meeting. Among the contingent from Ireland under the watchful eye of our own Michael Lane and getting a flavour of International competition was Rachel Glennon and Jennifer Fidgeon. Competing against top quality opposition and despite racing in very warm 17degC conditions, which was very testing for the girls, they both recorded personal best times in their races.

Rachel competed in the gruelling Senior Women 20k race and put in a very good performance to finish in 1:59:40, her first time under the two hour mark and a big PB for her. Jennifer started well and kept in close contact with the leading group throughout the Youth Women (u/18) 5k, and found a little extra over the final kilometre to finish strongly in a fantastic 7th place in 25:14, a new PB for her but much more importantly is inside the qualifying standard of 25:30 set by AAI for the European Youth (u/18) T&F in Hungary in July. Jennifer continues to improve in race walking and this race marked a real breakthrough performance for her.

Leinster 10 Mile

The “Battle of Clontarf” 10 Mile Road Race hosted by Raheny Shamrocks AC in a cold, wet and windy St. Anne’s Park on Easter Monday 2nd April incorporated the Leinster 10 Mile Championship. There were 381 finishers in the Leinster race and first to finish for Mullingar was Eddie Newman in 18th place overall (58:58), easily winning his master age category by over 8 minutes. Close behind came Gerry Gavin 20th overall (59:19), also winning his master age category but by a much closer 6 second margin. Finishing very strongly in 34th place overall was Pauric Brady (61:01), providing the vital 3rd team score to see Mullingar finish 1st Club in the master men over 35 race. Congratulations to Eddie, Gerry and Pauric on their excellent individual and team performances.

Lough Boora Half Marathon

In cool fresh but running-friendly conditions, the inaugural Lough Boora Half Marathon hosted by Ferbane AC in Offaly on Sunday 1st April was a big success. This was a popular 10k and 5k event in previous years but the current trend among runners is for longer distances, so the organisers switched to a half marathon this year but included a 5k fun run. The half marathon attracted strong local support but also many runners from surrounding Counties and further afield with 317 taking part. The half marathon was won by David Murray (Tullamore Harriers) in 1:15:04 and first lady was Pauline Curley (Tullamore Harriers) in 1:23:18. Representing Mullingar was Enda Seery finishing in an excellent 1:35:05, Garrett O’Brien finishing in 1:52:17 and PJ Ballesty.