A: Grange, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, Ireland | E: info@mullingarharriers.com

Q3, 2018 News & Reports – July to September

 

September

 

Rathfarnham 5k

The Rathfarnham 5k on Sunday morning 30th September took place around the streets of Rathfarnham and Terenure in Dublin. The first 1.2k is a fast downhill section followed by a climb for about 700m, which leads on to a flat section of the course and as the course is a full loop, the runners get a nice downhill finish over the final kilometre or so. The course is fast and attracted nearly 950 to the start line. The race was won by Kevin Dooney (Raheny Shamrocks) in 14:29, comfortably clear of second, third and fourth place, and then came a group of four including Padraig Moran who had a fierce battle in the final sprint to the line, Padraig crossing in seventh place in an excellent 15:03.

Castletown-Geoghegan 5k

After a number of years away from the racing scene, Linda Conroy made a winning return at the Castletown-Geoghegan 5k on Sunday morning 30th September where she finished fifth overall in 19:07, the first woman to finish. Linda Cunningham finished strongly in 23:15 to take the prize for third woman. First man and overall race winner was Gerry Gavin (17:19), ahead of Kieran Nolan second (17:56), Kedagh Geoghegan fourth (18:59) and Ken Whitelaw sixth (19:08) who did a brilliant job pacing Linda to victory. It has been several years since a 5k was held in Castletown-Geoghegan but this year was a successful return of the race to the fixtures calendar and if repeated, is sure to grow in popularity in the years ahead.

Leinster Schools Indoor Combined Events

Competing for Loreto Mullingar in the Intermediate Girls Pentathlon at the Leinster Schools Indoor Combined Events in the National Indoor Arena in Abbotstown on Thursday 27th September, Shauna Leydon got off to a great start with a new personal best of 9.62 seconds in the opening event, the 60m hurdles. She then added to her points score in the shot putt and long jump but a clearance of 1.50m in the high jump, which was also a new personal best, was good enough to move her into second place overall just 9 points behind the leader heading into the final event, the 800m. Despite the rigours of a long day of competition and knowing that 9 points equates to less than half a second over 800m, Shauna dug deep and found the strength to pull clear in the final stages and win the 800m with distance to spare and increase her points total enough to put her into first place and win the Leinster title.

Westmeath Schools Cross Country

In contrast to the wet and cold day for the same event last year, the Westmeath Schools Cross Country took place in perfect overcast but mild and dry conditions in Belvedere on Wednesday 26th September. As always, the grounds in Belvedere looked beautiful and as the grass was cut very recently, underfoot conditions were absolutely perfect for running. The hard work put in by volunteers from the Club in setting up the course meant that everything was ready on the day. Numbers taking part were well up on last year thanks to the fine day that attracted very big numbers across all ages, particularly in the primary schools races and it was great to see such enthusiasm in the competitors from the youngest first class pupil to the eldest sixth year student, cheered on by a big crowd of teachers and parents. The event continues to be very popular and we hope that competitors and schools will continue to support this excellent event in future years. We are indebted to the many volunteers, members and friends of Mullingar Harriers, who turned up to help officiate and make the day a success.

The Primary School top 20 individual finishers and Team Scores and the Secondary Schools top finishers are available HERE

Thanks to Aine O’Reilly and James Carton who put in Trojan shifts taking turns running as the “rabbit” in the primary schools races, giving all the young competitors a clear person to chase so no one got confused or lost on the course.

Sincere thanks also to the Westmeath Civil Defence who were on hand in good numbers to look after any first aid needs with their customary cool calm professionalism. The Management & Staff at Belvedere House and Gardens were also of great help in organising the day at a venue that is ideal for hosting such an event and the grounds came in for particular praise from the many parents that attended to watch. Finally, our thanks to the teachers & schools for competing in great numbers to ensure that the event continues to be one of the most eagerly awaited sporting events on the calendar for those of school going age in Westmeath.

Congratulations to all who took part and as usual, the standard of competition was extremely high and medals were hard won for all the competitors. Team medals will be distributed to the schools during the week. If anyone that competed in Belvedere has been bitten by the running bug, they might like to compete in the Westmeath AAI Cross Country Championship at the same Belvedere venue on the first two Sundays in October. Day one is for ages u/8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 years starting at 11am. Day two the following Sunday is for ages u/9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19 and 18 and adult novice, senior and master, and everyone can run on both days if they wish, in their right age one day and moving up an age on the other day. The event is open to everyone in Westmeath and you don’t have to be a member of any Club to take part, so why not come along and give it a try?

Star of the Sea AC Open Cross Country

The Star of the Sea AC Open Cross Country has been the traditional opening fixture of the cross country season for Mullingar. In contrast to the very low numbers that attended last year, on Sunday 23rd September a good group of nearly forty made the journey to Stamullen, Co. Meath where our underage athletes recorded 18 top-ten finish places, including three winners, and they won 7 sets of team medals to finish second juvenile Club overall on the day. While the number of underage athletes was well up on last year, there was a very disappointing representation from our adult members and only three took part.

Jack Geoghegan fought very hard in the closing stages of the u/9 boys 500m and was rewarded with a 6th place and an individual medal. With great support from Cathal Kilmurray (10th), Blaise Drummond, Zack O’Leary and Cillian Grennan, the boys finished 2nd Club and earned valuable team points for Mullingar. Finishing an excellent 5th place in a very close u/10 girls 500m race, Tianna O’Leary led the Mullingar team of Eleanor Mulligan, Aiveen Lynch and Rachel Goldsberry to team bronze to add to the Mullingar score. We had only one boy in the u/10 boys 500m where Oliver Lynch looked very strong as he finished in 5th place to win an individual medal.

Also running solo was Katie Kilmurray in the u/11 girls 1,000m and she put down an early marker of a good season ahead by finishing very strongly in 4th place. Our first win of the day came from Matthew Molloy as he dominated the u/11 boys 1,000m to win comfortably and with Luke Greene (10th) and Arthur Drummond (11th) finishing strongly in support led the team to second place. On to the u/12 girls 1,500m where Morgan Corcoran was only narrowly beaten into 2nd place and with Orla Manning (10th) finishing very fast, it was a pity we hadn’t a third girl or team medals would have been a certainty.Conor Liston won the u/12 boys 1,500m and with Jamie Wallace (2nd), Luke O’Leary (5th), James Flynn (6th), Criostoir Ormsby (11th), Alex Lynch (12th) and Hugh Carey packing brilliantly in support, it was no surprise that Mullingar finished first and second team. This is a group of boys to watch in the Leinster Championships.

The Mullingar team of Adele Geoghegan (6th), Leah Geoghegan (10th) and Aimee Wallace (11th) looked impressive in the u/13 girls 1,500m to finish second team. Only for the want of a third boy, with excellent performances by Callum Costello (2nd) and David Burke (13th) they would have collected team medals in the u/13 boys 1,800m. Ross Killalea simply ran away from the opposition to win the u/14 boys 2,200m and led the team of Sonny Drummond, Shane Ormsby and Matt O’Leary to third place and valuable team points for Mullingar.

Aoife McGouran ran a spirited race in the u/15 girls 2,200m but finished out of the medal places. Mullingar had no teams in the u/15 or u/17 races, so we never really had any chance of winning the trophy for best overall juvenile Club, but a second place was still a very good result. With the conclusion of the juvenile programme, attention turned to the women’s 3,000m, which was a combined race for junior, senior and master athletes where Mullingar’s sole representative was Linda Cunningham who battled well over the two laps of the tough hilly course, leaving nothing behind and was very happy with her race. The final race of the day was the junior, senior and master men’s 6,000m race where John Whitelaw (junior) and Garry Gavin (master) competed well over four laps, finishing strongly but out of the prizes.

We saw some great individual performances in Stamullen, especially from some of our newcomers in the younger ages, which we hope will translate into success in the upcoming Leinster Championships. Thanks to the parents and other supporters who travelled to Meath to support and cheer on our athletes.

Dublin Half Marathon

After the change in venue to Donabate last year proved to be a complete disaster, the Dublin Half Marathon returned to the Phoenix Park on Saturday morning 22nd September. The cool but good running conditions gave the more than 6,650 that took part a good chance to gauge how their training is progressing for the Dublin City Marathon at the end of October. Among the big entry was three from Mullingar, led home by Ollie Gaffney (1:35:18), followed closely by Lisa Duffy having a particularly good run (1:36:19) and Stephen Bell (1:44:40). These were good performances by the Mullingar trio and will give them a boost of confidence ahead of their big test in October.

Lough Sheelin Challenge

On a fine autumn morning ideal for long-distance running, the Lough Sheelin Challenge on Sunday 16th September attracted 127 entrants for the 16 mile race around Lough Sheelin, passing through three Counties on the way, Cavan, Longford and Westmeath. Clearly up for the challenge was Nollaig McEntegart who finished 14th overall in an excellent 1:53:43 and easily winning his master category. Geraldine Walsh also won her master category and PJ Ballesty took part also and enjoyed the race.

St. Brigid’s AC, the host Club, also provided a 10k race where Enda Seery was very happy with his finish time of 42:13, which placed him 5th of the 72 finishers, with Des Walsh also taking part in the 10k race.

World Masters T&F

Even though it’s a track and field Championships, the programme for the World Masters T&F Championships in Málaga (Spain) includes road races, road walks and even cross country races. Among the big 128 strong Irish team competing in Spain against the best masters athletes in the World was Eileen Kenny, Sean McMullin and Paddy Kelly. The Championships were based across several venues. Most of the track events took place in the Málaga Athletics Stadium, the road walks and road races took place on the roads near the Stadium, and a few track events were held in the nearby Málaga University Sports Centre. The cross country races took place in a pine forest beside the Torremolinos Athletics Track, only a few minute by train down the coast from Málaga.

Competing for the first time in a World Championships, Eileen Kenny came very close to a World medal in the 8k Cross Country in Torremolinos Park on Wednesday morning (5th Sept), finishing fourth, missing bronze by just 5 seconds at the end of nearly 39 minutes running in warm and sunny 25degC conditions. It was a pity to miss a medal by so little but this was a brilliant result nevertheless. Buoyed up by her terrific performance in the cross country, Eileen lined up for the 10k road race on Sunday morning (9th Sept) in Málaga full of confidence of a good performance. Only 400m into the race, disaster struck when Eileen took a nasty fall but once helped back on her feet again she showed great resolve to get back into the race and over the course of the next few kilometres got back in the medal places and came through to finish third and win her first World Masters medal. This was a terrific result for Eileen, after the disappointment of just missing a medal in the cross country and having to come back from a fall in the 10k.

No stranger to competing at this level, and ranked third fastest on times and a pre-race favourite to take a medal, Sean McMullin was still slightly hampered by a hamstring injury he sustained earlier in the summer and unfortunately he was unable to give his best in the 5,000m track walk on Tuesday evening (4th Sept). Though he competed as best as he could in the circumstances, Sean had to settle for a place out of the medals in seventh place. The pace of the 5k was probably too quick given his hamstring problem but Sean hoped that the longer 10k road walk on Monday morning (10th Sept) would be more in his favour. However, it was evident from early into the 10k that he was in trouble and while on paper he was more than capable of competing for at least a silver medal, he had to ease back and finished some seven minutes off his pace and out of the medal places. This has been a disappointing Championships for Sean but he knows you have to be in tip top shape at this level and wisely opted not to compete in the 20k road walk on Friday morning (14th Sept) and to concentrate on recovering from his injury instead.

Also competing for the first time in a World Championships and positively itching all week to get going, Paddy Kelly finally had his chance in the 800m heats on Sunday evening (9th Sept). Drawn in the second of five heats, with the first two in each heat guaranteed a place in the semi-finals, along with a number of next fastest times also qualifying, Paddy finished fifth in his heat in 2:03.27 and had to wait anxiously until all the heats were over to see if his time was fast enough. Happily, it was and Paddy lined out in the first of two semi-finals on Monday evening (10th Sept) where he ran a season’s best of 2:00.93 but just missed a place in the final by a narrow margin. Paddy came right into form at the perfect time and can be very proud of his performance competing for the first time at World level.

Ratoath Half Marathon

The hard work and effort put into preparation by Ratoath AC for the inaugural Ratoath Half Marathon on Saturday morning 8th September, paid off handsomely as the event attracted a huge entry of 660, making it a great success. Starting and finishing at Fairyhouse Racecourse, facilities were ideal for such a large number of entrants and the cool damp weather on the day was equally ideal.

Using the race to gauge how his training is progressing for the Dublin City Marathon in October, Eoin Clarke started near the front of the large field and sticking carefully to his pre-race plan, was rewarded with a 25th place finish in 1:25:31, which augurs well for a sub-3 hour finish in October. Also using the race as part of his preparations for Dublin, Sean Liston was just as pleased with his race, judging his pace well to finish well up in 80th place in 1:33:45, which will give Sean great confidence too for the Dublin City Marathon in October.

Kerry Way Ultra Trail Marathon

Imagine running a 200km loop starting in Killarney at 6am on Friday morning and finishing back again in Killarney on Saturday, with cut-off times at Waterville and Kenmare along the way just to keep everyone moving along! That’s nearly 5 marathons back to back. Also, throw in 6,000m of climbing along the way for good measure.

That’s what David Fagan faced on Friday morning 7th September at the Kerry Way Ultra Trail Marathon. Just to reinforce the message that this was no ordinary race, the list of items that David had to carry included a waterproof jacket and trousers, a head torch and spare batteries, route map, fully charged mobile phone, survival bag, whistle, first aid kit, gloves, hat, water and spare food. The Kerry Way is a mixture of mountain passes, trails, boggy ground, wire-covered sleepers, country roads and a minimum of main road. While there are markers along the route, they are for walkers and for use in daylight, so competitors had to be aware of the route and look out for the markers, fine in the day, but an ability to navigate helped, especially at night. To prove the point, the night time section of the route was in the south-west section and this area was recently awarded a Gold Tier Award by the International Dark Sky Association and is now officially the darkest part of the entire Northern Hemisphere, thus the need to carry a good torch!

Everyone taking part had to be completely self-sufficient, so there are no water stations, but the organisers arranged bag drops for the competitors, so at least David was able to split his considerable burden along the very long route. How did he get on? Of the sixty that started on Friday morning, more than half never finished the race, but we’re glad to report that David is made of very stern stuff and finished none the worse for wear in 33 hours. Well done David on surviving this ultimate experience of the loneliness of the long distance runner.

Dingle Half Marathon

Given her current form, Aine O’Reilly was quietly confident of a good performance at the Dingle Half Marathon on Saturday 1st September, looking to win the event for the second year in a row, and she certainly didn’t disappoint! Regarded as one of the most scenic half marathons in Ireland, which is hardly surprising as the “point to point” course starts at Dingle and finishes in Dunquin and the runners can take in the spectacular views of the Blasket Islands along the way. The race finishes outside the doors of a pub, where the runners could take the opportunity to enjoy well deserved refreshments before being taken by bus back to Dingle to continue the celebrations. Any wonder the race won the “Half Marathon of the Year” award in 2015, 2016 and 2017 in the Running in Ireland Race Awards and continues to grow in popularity, this year attracting just over 2,000 finishers.

No surprise that the best of the dedicated group of eight from Mullingar was Aine O’Reilly with a fantastic twelfth place finish overall in 1:26:18, the first woman to finish and winning the women’s race for the second year in a row. Next in was Joanna Tyrrell (1:51:42), Eamonn O’Reilly (1:55:19), Ger Langtry (2:02:02), Dearbhail Gibney (2:03:59), Marna Groenewald (2:10:49), Michelle Kavanagh (2:14:14) and David McDonnell (2:16:48).

August

 

England Athletics u/17 and u/15 T& F Championships

Formerly known as and still often referred to as the AAAs, day 2 of the England Athletics u/17 and u/15 T&F Championships took place on Sunday 26th August in a very cold, wet and miserable Bedford but the conditions didn’t stop stand-out performances by Jennifer Fidgeon and Matthew Glennon who simply dominated their respective race walk events. Such was her dominance from the start, Jennifer could afford to relax midway through the race and still won the girls 5,000m u/17 walk three minutes clear of second place and Matthew Glennon was equally impressive in the boys 3,000m u/15 walk to win in 15:31.19. Congratulations to them both on these terrific performances.

Tullamore Half Marathon

Between runners, walkers and relay entrants, the Tullamore Half Marathon was a sell-out on Saturday morning 25th August with nearly 1,000 taking part, over 800 runners alone, which added a real feel of carnival to the assembly area and it was quite a sight to see so many people fill the road for a long distance. Tullamore Harriers AC, the host Club, left no stone unturned in preparation and on the day the tremendous effort paid off and thanks to excellent attention to detail with plenty of marshals, water stations, closed roads and post-race refreshments, everyone was very well looked after. The event incorporated the Leinster Half Marathon Championships, where there were nearly 330 athletes entered, giving added incentive to the 23 Mullingar athletes that competed. The course was testing and the warm weather was also a challenge. Runners finished by entering the track at the Tullamore Harriers grounds and completing a lap to the finish line.

First finisher for Mullingar was the in-form Andy Nevin, finishing twelfth overall in 1:14:20, out of the individual and team medal places, but just as well because by not wearing his Club colours in the Leinster Championship, he would have been disqualified anyway, along with any Club team. Next in and finishing very strongly was Gerard Gavin (1:20:30), first in his Leinster master category and delighted to add another Leinster title to his collection. Following in was Pauric Brady (1:25:38), Alan Crowley (1:25:38) and Eddie Newman (1:28:15) unfortunately suffering an injury that robbed him of his best or he would certainly have taken Leinster individual honours. Then came Nollaig McEntegart (1:29:16) second in his Leinster master category, Sean Liston (1:33:00), Stephen Naughton (1:34:28), Robin Jackson (1:35:25), Paul Ginnell (1:36:39), Ollie Gaffney (1:37:26), Mervyn Kennedy (1:37:59), Aidan Rafferty (1:40:37) and Stephen Olwell (1:41:41). Jane Creevy was our first woman to finish in 1:42:39, third in her Leinster master category. Jane was followed in by Emer O’Hanlon (1:42:57), thrilled to finish second in her Leinster master category and win the silver medal, then Lisa Duffy (1:44:15), Joan Hickson (1:46:01), Declan Costello (1:46:21), Jude Whelehan (1:53:31), Emer O’Hanlon (2:17:04), Anna Redmond (2:19:09) and PJ Ballesty.

After the race when the team scores were calculated, the Mullingar women team of Jane Creevy, Emer O’Hanlon and Lisa Duffy placed third Club overall, adding to Jane and Emer’s individual medals. Very happy to make up for missing an individual medal was Eddie Newman, as along with Nollaig McEntegart and Stephen Naughton the Mullingar men finished first second Club in their Leinster master category. It was great to see Mullingar so well represented in Tullamore and to achieve some memorable results in the Leinster Championships.

Longford Marathon

Starting on the main street in Longford Town, the nice flat course for the Longford Marathon on Sunday 19th August took the 180 entrants through parts of Counties Longford, Roscommon and Leitrim beside the River Shannon before finishing again in Longford Town. Though the weather was dull and overcast, it was also very mild and humid, which is not always ideal for long distance running. Coping well though, Kieran Nolan was very happy with his run in 3 hours 8 minutes and 54 seconds. Further back, Willie Ahearne seemed to struggle a bit in the closing miles and finished in 4 hours 39 minutes and 55 seconds but was glad to have endured to complete the distance. The marathon was part of a festival that included a 5k, half marathon and ultra marathon and among the half marathon runners we spotted Aine O’Reilly on pace-making duties, guiding a group to 1 hour 45 minutes, which for someone of her class and ability, was really just an easy Sunday run!

Kilcock 10 Mile

The first running of a 10 mile road race in Kilcock on Sunday 19th August organised by St. Coca’s AC had nearly 500 finishers, which is extremely impressive for an inaugural event. The event was billed as the Kilcock “10 from 10” as it was a 10 mile race held 10 weeks away from the Dublin City Marathon in late October.

Eddie Newman used the race as a training run and finished just under the hour with 59:59 to place 28th overall and take third prize in his master category. Hans de Raeymaeker was next (64:15), followed by Nollaig McEntegart (67:27) winning his master category, then came Stephen Naughton (72:01) and Brian Boyle (85:08) to complete the Mullingar group.

AAI Masters T&F

Five Mullingar athletes were entered for the AAI Masters T&F in Tullamore on Saturday 18th August and each of them came away with an All-Ireland medal for their efforts. Tom Walsh was the first to put Mullingar on the medal board with a fine bronze medal in his category of the 28 pounds weight for distance event. Sean McMullin did what he does best and comfortably won his category of the 5,000m race walk, which sets him up nicely for the World Masters T&F in Malaga, Spain in two weeks time. Another man bound for Malaga is Paddy Kelly and he was very satisfied to take the silver medal in his category of the 800m; Paddy also competed in the 400m later in the day but the 800m-400m is a tough double-act and though he finished just out of the medals in the 400m was nevertheless still happy with his performance. In the 5,000m run, after a very exciting race, Garry Gavin was delighted to win his category and National Champion title, while Christy Creagh finished second in his category to round off a memorable day for Mullingar’s mighty masters!

British Miler’s Club Grand Prix

Well done Colin Smith on a personal best of 1:53.45 for 800m at the British Miler’s Club Grand Prix at Stretford, Manchester on Saturday 18th August. This was a very positive finish to the season for Colin who is now firmly established as one of the best Junior 800m athletes in the Country.

Castlepollard 5k

Thanks to the tireless work put in for many months by the organising committee at North Westmeath AC, the ever-popular Castlepollard 5k on Wednesday 15th August proved a great success, with nearly 320 finishers completing the course that started and finished near the square in the village and took in the fabulous grounds of Tullynally Castle. Even the weather behaved and the rain that was forecast didn’t materialise until long after everyone was well finished and on the way home after the prize giving and customary fine spread of refreshments, a hallmark feature of the event.

As expected, Mullingar was out in force and nearly 40 Club members took part, winning 18 individual prizes and taking the men and women team titles too. After the races for boys and girls under 6, 8, 10 and 12 years of age on the grass in the village square, and then a 2k out and back race on part of the 5k course for boys and girls under 16 years of age, the 5k main event started right on time at 8pm.

It was only in the final kilometre that the top four broke up and the race winner in 15:49 was Sean Doran (Clonliffe Harriers AC), closely followed by Stephen Cannoy (Celbridge AC) in 15:52, just ahead of Peter Mooney (Inverse) in 15:54, and in 4th place was Mullingar’s first finisher, Andy Nevin (16:05). With great team support from Ian McCormack (16:49) in 5th to win an individual senior prize and Gerard Gavin (17:02) in 7th overall and 1st in his master category, the Mullingar men finished 1st Club. Following them in was John Whitelaw (17:08) 1st junior man, Eddie Newman (17:17) 1st in his master category, Euan Lagan (17:22), James Keegan (17:37), Kieran Nolan (17:41) 1st in his master category and Alan Crowley (17:50) 2nd in his master category.

Aine O’Reilly finished in 20th place overall in 17:53, narrowly beaten by just a few seconds into 2nd place in the women’s race, and with Emer O’Hanlon (22:03) 1st in her master category and Ciara Dillon (22:06) 2nd in her master category providing excellent team support, the Mullingar women finished 1st Club. Also competing was Brian Martin (18:52), Enda Seery (19:16), Bernard Groenewald (19:25), Philip Burke (19:35), Nollaig McEntegart (20:02) 1st in his master category, Robin Jackson (20:26), Andrew Glennon (20:39), Ollie Gaffney (20:54), Michael O’Sullivan (20:54) 2nd in his master category, Tommy Conroy (21:01) and Kevin O’Brien (21:50). Emer O’Hanlon and Ciara Dillon were next in, followed quickly by Joanna Tyrrell (22:26) 2nd in her master category, Gordon Ward (22:29), Terri Greene (22:47) 2nd in her master category, Criona Reid (22:57) 3rd in her master category, Linda Cunningham (23:04) 3rd in her master category, Eamonn O’Reilly, Kevin Martin, Anna Redmond, Noeleen Bourke, Marna Groenewald, Michael Greene, Christy Creagh (3rd in his master category), Des Walsh, Geraldine Walsh (2nd in her master category) and PJ Ballesty.

AAI Half Marathon

Held in conjunction with the Rock ‘n’ Roll Dublin Half Marathon on Sunday 12th August, the AAI Half Marathon Championships attracted an entry of nearly 800 among the huge entry for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Dublin Half, which is an impressive entry for a National Championships by any measure. Starting and finishing near the historic Royal Hospital Kilmainham, the course was relatively flat throughout but two difficult climbs, the long brutal Knockmaroon Hill at 8k and the shorter but just as sharp hill near the Angler’s Rest at 16k really tested the mettle of the runners but the group from Mullingar acquitted themselves very well.

Enjoying the excellent conditions for running, if not the tough hills, first to finish for Mullingar was Eddie Newman in an impressive 1:18:03 to place 3rd in his master category and earn an individual bronze medal. With terrific team support from David Fagan (1:32:18) and Stephen Naughton (1:37:17), the Mullingar master men placed 2nd Club to win the silver medals. In among them was Kieran Nolan, very pleased with his fine 1:22:46 performance. There were National medals too for Geraldine Walsh (gold for 1st in her master category) and Des Walsh (bronze for 3rd in his master category), so it was certainly an excellent day for Mullingar’s master athletes.

Streets of Galway 8k

Billed as the jewel in the crown of road races in the West, expertly organised by Galway City Harriers AC, the “Streets of Galway 8k” in a mild but wet Galway on Saturday morning 11th August attracted over 2,500 entrants. The race started in Galway city and the route took in many of the sights of Galway, including the Spanish Arch, Eyre Square, Galway Cathedral and NUI Galway, before heading out towards Salthill and then back in the promenade along the famous Galway Bay for a fast section into the finish at Claddagh. Finishing as well up as they did, which shows that they raced it hard all the way, we doubt the Mullingar duo that took part were able to enjoy the scenery too much, but we do know that Patrick Muldoon was delighted to finish strongly in 29:33, followed by Hans de Raeymaeker in 30:17 to finish an excellent 4th place in his master category.

Streets of Athboy 5k

A fine clear dry evening made for perfect conditions on Friday 10th August for the Fr. Murphy AC “Streets of Athboy 5k”, an ever-growing popular event that attracted 343 finishers. Running strongly to finish 6th overall and 4th senior man, was Ian McCormack in 16:46, followed by Kieran Nolan in 17:21 to place 3rd in his master category, with Stephen Naughton in 19:31 making up the Mullingar trio.

Celtic International T&F

Awa Fane made her International debut for Ireland at the Celtic International T&F in Grangemouth (Scotland) on Saturday afternoon 4th August against teams from Scotland and Wales. Awa ran the third leg of the 4x100m relay, which Wales narrowly won, just beating Ireland into second place by a mere four hundredths of a second, with Scotland in third. Despite the loss, Awa and the Irish team were still delighted to win the silver medals after such a close run race and earn valuable points to add to the team score that saw Ireland finish second overall to Scotland in the match between Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

Congratulations to Awa on this great performance in the Irish vest and now that she has competed for Ireland, her name will be added to the Roll of Honour in the Clubhouse, bringing the total so far up to 105 since the Club was founded in 1975. Congratulations to Awa from everyone at the Club.

Birr 5k

The final race of this summer’s Offaly 5k race series, the Birr 5k on Friday evening 3rd August attracted nearly 300 entrants on what was a lovely evening for running. Among the prizewinners was our own Eileen Kenny finishing well up in 22:35 to finish 1st in her master category by a long way and Christy Creagh taking 3rd prize in his master category.

Clonard 4 Mile

The rain from earlier in the day on Wednesday 1st August had cleared to give a mild dry evening with a slight breeze and reasonably good conditions for the Clonard 4 Mile road race. Among the over 240 finishers was a group of 16 from Mullingar, led home by Gerard Gavin in 5th place (22:21) to win his master category, just ahead of Eddie Newman in 6th (22:35) also winning his master category. Next in was Kieran Nolan (23:11) 2nd in his master category, then Joan Flynn (24:51) 2nd woman overall, Enda Seery (25:22), Susan Glennon (29:07) 1st junior woman, Joanna Tyrrell (30:08) 3rd in her master category, Criona Reid (30:20) and Sarah Glennon (30:36) 2nd junior woman. Also competing was Linda Cunningham (32:10), Ger Langtry (33:16), Marna Groenewald (33:38), Anna Redmond (34:10), Geraldine Walsh (49:02), Des Walsh (49:02) and PJ Ballesty. Congratulations to them all for representing the Club so well.

July

 

AAI Senior T&F

Sarah Glennon is one of Ireland’s leading lights in juvenile race walking but on Saturday morning 28th July she made a big step when she competed at the AAI Senior T&F Championships in the 5,000m walk. Competing alongside her sister Rachel Glennon, Sarah put in a brilliant performance to finish second and win her first National Senior T&F medal. Rachel also performed very well and finished a very creditable fifth. In the afternoon, Cormac Dalton also made a step up in Senior competition when he competed in the 5,000m heats where he finished in 15:17.54, a new PB and only missing qualification for the final by a narrow margin. Saturday finished with Mullingar in the medals again thanks to Awa Fane, Vicky Harris, Eve Wallace and Maimouna Fane who successfully defended their 4x100m relay title and are already planning to make it three-in-a-row next year.

The Sunday afternoon 29th July programme opened with a novel mixed relay event and Mullingar was represented in the 4x100m u/12 mixed relay by Kyle Faherty, Katie Kilmurray, Jamie Wallace and Jayne Charles who finished fourth but only for a mishap with one of the baton changes, it might have a medal winning performance for this very talented quartet but they were still delighted to have competed as part of the Senior programme. Oisin Quinn competed well in the extremely competitive 800m heat where he finished strongly in 2:02.57 but didn’t advance to the final. The heats of the 1,500m were just as competitive where Padraig Moran finished well up in 4:02.13 but missed qualification for the final by just one place.

Mullingar 10 Mile

Less than a week before the Mullingar 10 on Saturday morning 28th July the organising committee were debating moving the start time an hour earlier to avoid the worst of the summer heat in the interest of safety of the runners. However, heavy rain on Friday night and more rain on the morning, right up to thirty minutes before the race meant that, in contrast to the oppressive heat and humidity of the days and weeks before, conditions on the day were perfect for running. A huge amount of work by the organizing committee went into preparation for the race in the weeks and months before the race and it paid off with a great event that built on the success of last year. While they obviously couldn’t take credit for the opportune break in the weather on the day, the organising committee certainly welcomed it anyway.

The Club really got behind the event, so there was plenty of help at registration, plenty of water stations, plenty of marshals out on the course and at junctions, and lots of food and refreshments for the runners after the race on the quiet country roads around Dalystown. A 10 mile road race in late July fits perfectly into the schedule of those training for the Dublin City Marathon in October, so, attracted by the chance to run a quality race on quiet country roads, the event drew entrants from Clubs, running groups and keep fit groups in Counties near and far. There was representation from Offaly, Longford, Meath, Kildare, Laois, Dublin, Mayo, Galway, Louth, Roscommon, Cavan, Leitrim, Wexford, Tipperary, Cork and Fermanagh, as well as a huge number from Westmeath of course, including 36 from the Club alone, to give a total of 314 finishers, proving the growing popularity of the fixture.

Last year’s winner, Freddy Sittuk (Raheny Shamrocks AC), returned and won again in 54:49, but the margin of victory was a much closer three seconds this year and in second place was his club mate, Michael McMahon in 54:52. Paddy O’Toole (Westport AC) was third with 55:15, just getting the better by only two seconds in a sprint finish with first local man Andy Nevin (Mullingar Harriers AC) who had a terrific race and kept himself right in contention up to the final stages. First woman to finish was Jane-Ann Meehan (Athenry AC) in 61:09, Aine O’Reilly (Mullingar Harriers AC) was second in 62:53 and Alma Hanevy (Crusaders AC) was third in 66:51.

Apart from Aine O’Reilly and Andy Nevin, other Club members that won prizes were Eddie Newman (57:57) first in master category, Gerry Duffy (62:19), second in master category), Nollaig McEntegart (67:54) first in master category, Michael O’Sullivan (second in master category), Breda Daly (third in master category), Christy Creagh (second in master category) and Sean McMullin, who race walked the distance (third in master category).

Also running well was Patrick Muldoon (60:55), James Keegan (61:37), Alan Crowley (63:26), Eoin Clarke (66:49), Brian Collentine (68:02), Paul Ginnell (68:09), Joan Flynn (69:30), Gerard Gavin (69:57) and Enda Seery (70:42), Ollie Gaffney, Mervyn Kennedy, Robin Jackson, Emer O’Hanlon, Aidan Rafferty, Liam McGlynn, Ann McDonnell, Declan Costello, Criona Reid, Lisa Duffy, Eamonn O’Reilly, Kevin O’Brien, Jude Whelehan, Ger Langtry, John Bannon, Marna Groenewald, Anna Redmond, and PJ Ballesty. Full results are available HERE.

The rain cleared just in time for the race, so spectators could enjoy it and cheer the runners on to the finish at Wallace’s Pub in Dalystown, where they could take water on board and when sufficiently recovered to tuck into the refreshments, which could be enjoyed outdoors thanks to the fine day. Thanks to the many friends of the Club that dropped food from early morning and there was more than enough food and treats to be eaten and enjoyed.

An event that caters for such large numbers doesn’t just happen and special thanks is due to the army of volunteers who helped on the day with parking, registration, stewarding, water stations, post-race refreshments and all the other components needed to help make a success of the event. First aid cover was provided by Westmeath Civil Defence to whom we are very grateful. We’re very grateful too to our sponsors, including Irish Tar, David Smyth Catering, McDonnell Property Partners, Outdoor Escape, Wallace’s Pub, Westmeath County Council, Doyle’s Lawnmowers, Allied Irish Bank, Grange Motors and O’Brien’s Centra. Of course, the greatest thanks are due to everyone who took part and we hope they’ll return again next year and help make the event an even bigger one.

Post-race feed-back has been very positive and many are already looking forward to making a return journey next year. Coming in for particular praise were the facilities at Wallace’s Pub and at Dalystown NS, which provided great bases for the event and Wallace’s in particular was perfect for the post-race refreshments. Many thanks from the Club to Paul Fox of Wallaces’s Pub and to Dympna Alford and the Board of Management of Dalystown NS for allowing us the use of their excellent facilities.

International selection for Awa Fane

On Saturday 4th August, Awa Fane will make her International debut when she competes for Ireland in the 4x100m relay against teams from Scotland and Wales at the Celtic International T&F in Grangemouth Stadium, Scotland. Awa has had a tremendous year, winning the 200m u/18 indoor and outdoor titles, and narrowly missing the 100m u/18 outdoor title by a very narrow margin. Awa’s selection is a just reward for her dedication to the sport and is a tremendous honour for her, her family and of course the Club and everyone at the Club wishes her the very best.

Killarney 10k

While many Club members were competing in the Mullingar 10 mile on Saturday 28th July, Kieran Nolan was in Killarney and while there, he took the opportunity to compete in the Killarney 10k. The race route took the nearly 1,200 runners through Muckross House and Killarney National Park, making this one of the most scenic races in Ireland. Kieran was very pleased to finish well up in 12th place overall in 37:25, which placed him 3rd in his master category to make the long journey to Kerry very worthwhile.

AAI Juvenile u/12 to u/19 T&F – day 3

The third and final day of the AAI Juvenile u/12 to u/19 T&F Finals in a very warm and humid Tullamore on Sunday 22nd July marked the conclusion of the domestic underage season. From a Mullingar perspective, focus was on the 200m and 1,500m events.

The only 1,500m age group that required heats was the boys 1,500m u/17 where Eoin Quinn bided his time until the final lap and then moved quickly through the field with ease to finish fifth and qualify for the later final. However, Eoin is not long over a recent illness and not wanting to overdo it, wisely decided not to run in the final. Phoebe Bate started well in the girls 1,500m u/15 final and was right with the pace to the mid-way mark but a bout of recent illness clearly robbed her of her best on the day and she had to settle for a place down the field on this occasion. The boys 1,500m u/16 final was a very tactical affair and the early slow pace followed by a big burn up didn’t suit Colin Smith and he finished out of the medal places, though he ran very well and finished strongly. Better recognised as a top class 3,000m athlete, Jamie Battle dropped down to the boys 1,500m u/19 final where he took the early lead looking for a fast time. However, it wasn’t to be this time and as the race unfolded, he paid for the early pace and finished out of the medal places.

Easily winning her heat of the girls 200m u/18 in the morning in the fastest time marked Awa Fane as the favourite to win the final in the afternoon. Blasting from the blocks in the final, she powered around the bend and though trailing slightly in second place coming into the straight, knowing that she gets stronger towards the end, she kept her form and focus and took the lead in the dying stages to win the race, adding the outdoor 200m title to her indoor 200m title. This was to be the only medal won by a Mullingar athlete on the final day, but when added to the five gold and seven silver All-Ireland medals won on previous days (1st, 14th & 15th July), the total medal tally means this has been one of the best underage T&F seasons for the Club in a long time.

Edenderry 10 Mile

Despite admitting afterwards that it was extremely hard work maintaining his pace in very warm and extremely humid conditions at the Edenderry 10 mile Road Race on Sunday 22nd July, and even very nearly hitting “the wall” in the process, Eddie Newman managed to finish in an impressive 58:53 to place 6th overall and 1st in his master category. Also performing really well in the challenging conditions was Joan Flynn (67:17), 2nd woman to finish, closely followed by Nollaig McEntegart (67:36), 2nd in his master category and Michelle O’Halloran (78:01). They were certainly glad to get over the finish line and avail of the refreshments, especially liquid, on offer after the race, courtesy of hosts Edenderry AC.

SIAB Schools International T&F

Jennifer Fidgeon and Matthew Glennon have good reason to remember Saturday 21st July for a very long time, as that was when they made their International debuts for Ireland at the Schools International T&F in Grangemouth, Scotland. In perfect conditions for competition, Jennifer put in a terrific performance in the girls 3,000m walk to finish second and earn a silver medal in her first International competition. In the boys 3,000m walk, Oisin Lane showed his class to win comfortably but behind him finishing strongly in third and also earning a medal on his International debut was Matthew Glennon. These great performances added to the team points to place Ireland second overall behind England and ahead of Wales and Scotland. Congratulations to Jennifer and Matthew on these great performances in the Irish vest and now that they have competed for Ireland, their names will be added to the Roll of Honour in the Clubhouse, bringing the total so far up to 104 since the Club was founded in 1975. Congratulations to them both from everyone at the Club.

AAI Juvenile u/12 to u/19 T&F – days 1 & 2

The first two days of the AAI Juvenile u/12 to u/19 T&F took place in a Tullamore on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th July and Mullingar athletes were well to the fore, as expected.

First into action on Saturday morning in very warm and sunny conditions was Shauna Leydon who put together a consistent set of jumps in the girls u/17 long jump, but finished out of the medals on this occasion. Moving to the girls u/17 discus, Shauna again showed good consistency and finished in fifth place, not far off the bronze medal place. In the boys u/14 shot putt, Shane Ormsby threw his best effort in the last round but had to settle for a place out of the medals in fourth place, just missing a medal by a small margin.

On the track, Conor Liston and Jamie Wallace attacked right from the gun in the boys 600m u/12 and followed the early leader through the bell leaving the rest of the field in their wake. Tracking the leader down the back straight, as Jamie moved on to Conor’s shoulder with 200m to go that seemed to be the signal for Conor to wind up the effort and the Mullingar pair closed on the leader, coming into the home straight effectively locked together. Conor had more in reserve though and took the lead with 80m to go and with one last effort, Jamie hauled himself into second place just before the line, giving Mullingar a terrific 1-2 and the best possible start to the day.

Aimee Wallace showed great racing savvy in the girls 600m u/13 and running her own race, slowly closed back on the early leading group of four and with 200m to go, effortlessly moved up a gear and around the final bend went into second place. Brilliantly holding her form on the finish straight, she crossed the line in second place to win the silver medal, like her younger brother, Jamie, in the previous race.

On to the boys 600m u/13 where Philip McCartan put in a great effort and with 200m to go, was in the medal places. Around the final bend though, he was passed and dropped into fourth place and unfortunately, despite every effort, he just couldn’t get back on terms and crossed the line in fourth place, but deserves every credit for effort.

Last event with a Mullingar interest was the girls 800m u/18 where Aoife Darby went with the leading group of four but at the bell drifted to the back of the group and though she battled well, she just couldn’t get back on terms and finished just out of the medals in fourth place.

It was still quite warm on Sunday morning, but in contrast to Saturday, it was very wet but that didn’t bother our race walkers who blazed the medal trail with great success. Andrew Glennon made short work of the u/14 boys 2,000m walk and won with ease, comfortably clear of second place. Jennifer Fidgeon was the picture of consistency in the u/17 girls 3,000m walk to take second place and the silver medal. Matthew Glennon was just too good for the opposition in the u/16 boys 3,000m walk and took gold. Fresh from her exploits at the European u/18 T&F in Hungary, Sarah Glennon lost no time stamping her mark on the u/18 girls 3,000m walk and was a comfortable winner by a long way to make three out of three for the Glennon siblings. Another Euro T&F star, Oisin Lane was also in another class and romped to victory in the u/17 boys 3,000m walk in a new Championship Best Performance of 13:35.74. With four gold and one silver All-Ireland medals won, is it any wonder Mullingar is the envy of others when it comes to race walking?

By the third round of the girls u/17 triple jump, Shauna Leydon was comfortably in second place, which was her cue to throw caution to the wind and attack the board. In her final two jumps, she set new PBs, the longest being 10.68m set with her final jump to make sure of the silver medal and round off her season on the medal podium.

The rain cleared in time for the 3,000m races and Colin Smith was full of running in the early stages of the boys 3,000m u/16 but as the pace ramped up in the closing laps, he had to drop back and despite a strong finish, he finished out of the medal in sixth place. Lorcan Mullen also started alongside Colin but as a recent foot injury flared up again, he wisely stopped to avoid further aggravating it. For Aoife Darby in the girls 3,000m u/18, it just wasn’t her day, and despite a strong showing in the opening laps, she had to drop off the pace and though she rallied in the end, she finished out of the medals in sixth place.

Earlier in the day in the worst of the rain, Kyle Faherty and Criostoir Ormsby qualified comfortably from their heats of the boys 60m u/12, as did Awa Fane in her heat of the girls 100m u/18. After the 3,000m races, attention turned to the final races of the day, the sprint finals. In the boys 60m u/12 Kyle and Criostoir got away really well and in an extremely close finish that took the photo finish camera to decide the winner, Kyle placed second, missing gold by just one hundredth of a second, to win his first individual All-Ireland sprint medal. Meanwhile Criostoir was also running a blinder, considerably faster than in the heats, to finish an excellent sixth place in a tight finish. Though she got away well in the girls 100m u/18 final, Awa was always chasing the early leader and while she was closing in very fast over the final ten metres, she simply ran out of track and finished second but was still very pleased with her race.

After two long days of competition, Mullingar athletes had won 5 gold medals and 6 silver medals, in addition to recording three 4th place finishes, a PB and a CBP, making this a memorable Championship. It’s not over just yet though, as the 1,500m and 200m events on the final day gives an opportunity to add to the medal tally. Apart from the few in action on the final day or selected to run in the Schools or Celtic International T&F, for most, the season is now over. They now need to take a break for several weeks and come back refreshed towards the end of August to rebuild again for the autumn cross country season or the indoors in the New Year.

Irish Miler’s Club Meeting

The final Irish Milers Club Meeting of the year was held at Irishtown, Dublin on Saturday 14th July in close to ideal conditions. The 3,000m was an excellent race with Jamie Battle, Cormac Dalton and Padraig Moran featuring. All three were involved in the leading group throughout what was a very competitive race. In the end, Jamie finished in third place with a time of 8:27.53 to improve his PB by fourteen seconds. This is an excellent time for an eighteen year old and places Jamie in the top twelve on the Irish senior rankings for 2018. Cormac Dalton produced an excellent last lap and was rewarded with a PB of 8:29.07, which is an improvement of seventeen seconds on his previous best and reflects the consistency of his training over the past number of months. Padraig Moran was right behind with 8:37.41, which was a season’s best time.

In the men’s 800m A race Colin Smith raced for the first time since his Leaving Cert exams and ran a time of 1:53.71, just marginally off his PB. Paddy Kelly was also in action over 800m and finished well in a time of 2:07.12, which will give him plenty of confidence ahead of the All-Ireland Masters T&F in August.

Irish Runner 10 Mile

In a sweltering sunny Phoenix Park on Saturday morning 14th July among the nearly 1,200 finishers of the Irish Runner 10 Mile was Dublin-based Patrick Muldoon Junior who finished an excellent 40th overall in an impressive 62:19, finishing well up in his master category.

Clara AC 5k

Stephen Campbell and Kieran Nolan competed in the Clara AC 5k on Friday 13th July and even though it was Friday the 13th they and the nearly 240 others that ran clearly didn’t allow any superstitious nonsense prevent them enjoying a good race on a terrific summer evening. Stephen was pleased with his 10th place finish in 16:54, with Kieran only a few places behind him in 17:36, also very satisfied with his race.

Oldcastle 5k

Opting for a race a little further away, a group from Mullingar Harriers was among the over 170 finishers on Wednesday evening 11th July at the St. Brigid’s AC Oldcastle 5k, competing on a tough course in warm conditions. Seventh overall was Eddie Newman in a very good 17:45 to win his master category. Also running well and finishing strongly was newcomer Kedagh Geoghegan (19:13), followed by Evan McCormack (19:47), Stephen Naughton (20:18), Philip Burke (20:27) and Paul Ginnell (20:32).

Kinnegad 5k

Being conveniently local, a big group of 17 Club members competed on Wednesday evening 11th July in the Kinnegad 5k, where over two hundred runners, joggers and walkers could enjoy the excellent course on a beautiful summer evening. Andy Nevin was best of the Mullingar group, coming home an excellent 4th place in 16:09, followed closely by Aidan Daly in 5th place (16:26), then Gerry Gavin 8th (17:08), Eoghan Bracken (17:32), Euan Lagan (17:36), Michael O’Sullivan (20:58) 1st in his master category, Gordon Ward (21:11), Aidan Rafferty (21:32). Then came our first woman finisher Michelle O’Halloran (21:36), followed by Emer O’Hanlon (21:49), Terri Greene (22:39) 1st in her master category, Criona Reid (23:03), Elysia Greene (23:56), Linda Cunningham (24:09), Christy Creagh (27:55) 1st in his master category, Geraldine Walsh (38:50) 1st in her master category and Des Walsh (39:42) 2nd in his master category. Well done to the Mullingar group who featured strongly in the results and prizes.

AAI Juvenile “B” T&F and All-Ireland Juvenile Relays

The weather was hot in Tullamore on Saturday 7th July and so were the performances from the small group of Mullingar athletes taking part in the AAI Juvenile “B” T&F and All-Ireland Juvenile Relays. Shannon Liston put together a very consistent set of throws in the u/15 “B” shot putt to place third and earn the bronze medal and round off her season in style. Ellen Daly and Orla Manning competed in the “B” 600m u/12 and Lucy Donnelly in the “B” 600m u/13 and even though they finished out of the medal places, they can take satisfaction from running well against top class competition.

Even though they won their heat of the 4x100m u/12 with ease, the Mullingar team of Criostoir Ormsby, Conor Liston, Jamie Wallace and Kyle Faherty knew they were going to have to step it up a gear in the final to win and that they certainly did! Criostoir got the team off to a great start, handing over to Conor marginally down in second place. Flying down the long back straight, suffering a touch of leg cramp, Conor lost a bit of ground and handed over to Jamie in third place but the team was still very much in contention. Jamie absolutely tore around the bend, making up a lot of ground and handed over to Kyle with the team in second place, only a few metres down on the leader. Kyle showed why he is the current Leinster sprint silver medallist and with a storming run, he overhauled the leader after eighty metres to bring Mullingar in front, and then pulled clear to win with nearly five metres to spare. This added the All-Ireland outdoor relay title to the All-Indoor indoor relay title won by this u/12 squad and sent the Mullingar athletes and supporters home on an absolute high.

Roscommon 10 Mile

The course might have been billed as very flat for the Roscommon 10 Mile on Saturday 7th July, but the heat and humidity of the day didn’t make it any easier for the 540 participants, among them Eddie Newman finishing 11th overall in 58:08, winning his master category with ease. Following Eddie in only a few places behind was Gerry Gavin (59:31), then Evan McCormack (59:54), Alan Crowley (66:02), Nollaig McEntegart (67:30) winning his master category by a distance, Mervyn Kennedy (71:59), Ollie Gaffney (74:30), Michelle O’Halloran (74:45) 3rd in her master category and Eileen Kenny (81:07) 2nd in her master category.

Achill Half Marathon

Competing in very hot and humid conditions on the west coast, the Achill Half Marathon on Saturday 7th July attracted over 430 participants in the boiling heat. JP O’Brien completed the tough hilly 21.1km course in 1:42:25, followed by Michael O’Sullivan who despite complaining that the hills nearly did for him was very satisfied to finish just outside the top 100 in 1:47:52, which earned him a prize for second place in his master category.

Clontarf Half Marathon

Tommy Archbold joined nearly 1,400 others for the Clontarf Half Marathon on Saturday 7th July, one of the flattest and most popular in the Country, and despite the nearly unbearable heat was very pleased to finish well up in 2:00:06, 5th in his master category. Tommy also collected the final piece of the “Trilogy Medal” made up of the interlocking medals from the Wicklow, Wexford and Clontarf Half Marathons.

European u/18 T&F Championships

Sarah Glennon and Oisin Lane stepped up to the big time when they competed at the European u/18 T&F Championships in Gyor, Hungary. On Thursday morning 5th July, despite acknowledging in her post-race interview that she was an underdog in the 5,000m race walk and competing against the very best walkers in Europe, Sarah clearly didn’t let that faze her. Sticking to her race plan, she kept her head in the boiling hot stadium where temperatures reached 30degC and with a polished performance finished a brilliant 12th place in 25:36.73.

It was very hot and humid on Friday morning 6th July when Oisin Lane competed in the 10,000m race walk. With a very consistent pace and keeping rigidly to the pre-race plan carefully worked out between himself and coach, Michael Lane, despite suffering leg cramps in the later stages he was delighted to finish well up in 13th place in 47:00.13, a new Irish u/18 record.

These are brilliant performances against the best race walkers in Europe and they deserve huge credit for giving such good accounts, and of course, we mustn’t forget the invaluable work put in by Michael Lane who has guided and assisted them all the way.

International Selection for Matthew Glennon & Jennifer Fidgeon

Given the brilliant performances of the Club’s race walkers in recent years under the expert tutelage of coach Michael Lane, it is very fitting that the latest members of the Club selected to represent Ireland in International competition are two of our rising race walking stars, Matthew Glennon and Jennifer Fidgeon.

After their silver medal winning performances in race walk at the recent Schools Inter-Provincial T&F, Matthew (representing St. Finian’s College) and Jennifer (representing Loreto Mullingar), they are selected to represent Ireland against teams from England, Scotland and Wales at the Schools International T&F in two weeks time in Scotland.

For Matthew and Jennifer, selection is a just reward for their dedication to the sport and is a tremendous honour for them, their families, and their schools, and of course the Club. Oisin Lane will join them on the Irish team and will bring with him his previous experience as an International athlete, not least of course his experience at the European u/18 T&F in Hungary.

AAI Pairs T&F and u/12 & u/13 Field Finals

There was a huge attendance in a very hot and sunny Tullamore on Sunday 1st July for the AAI Pairs T&F and u/12 & u/13 Field Finals where children from across the Country competed in the u/9, 10, and 11 Pairs events and the u/12 and u/13 athletes had their field event finals.

Katie Kilmurray and Norah Garry competed in the 60m u/11 Pairs where they both ran extremely well but adding their times together after their races, they finished out of the medal places but were still happy to have competed in an All-Ireland final. The fastest boy in the 600m u/11 was Matthew Molloy, timing his drive to the front on the home straight with perfection and winning his race in a very close finish. Luke Greene ran very well and finished well up in his race and despite both boys running quicker than in the Leinster finals, they finished out of the medals in fifth place, but this is an excellent result in an All-Ireland final and they can be very pleased with their efforts.

Criostoir Ormsby put together a great series of jumps in the u/12 long jump, his best of 4.53m good enough for the silver medal to put him on the podium. Later in the day, Criostoir competed in the u/12 high jump but just couldn’t reproduce the form that won him the Leinster title. His best effort was 1.30m and he finished out of the medal places. Criostoir is very new to the event and still learning, so we can expect to see a lot of improvement in the coming years.