Q4, 2018 News & Reports – October to December

December

Ardagh 10 Mile

In contrast to the end of December 2017 when the weather was bitterly cold and very wet, conditions were perfect on Saturday 29th December for the Ardagh 10 Mile. Starting and finishing in Ardagh Village, near Edgeworthstown, Co. Longford, the first two miles of the course took the 230 participants around the village before they headed up over the mountain – a long steady testing climb – and the final half mile brought everyone running through the village again to finish at the village green. The best of the Mullingar group was Andrew Nevin finishing an excellent eighth overall in 60:22, followed by Kieran Nolan (63:51), then Joan Flynn (67:35), the second woman to finish, Paul Ginnell (1:12:46), Criona Reid (1:19:45), Michael O’Sullivan (1:19:48) first in his master category, Joan Hickson (1:21:32), Pauline Troy (1:22:42) second in her master category, Jason McCabe (1:26:44) and PJ Ballesty.

Rita & Robbie Christmas 5k

The Rita & Robbie Christmas 5k organized by Navan AC on Thursday morning 27th December attracted a large crowd of 372 who competed in very pleasant conditions. Among the big entry was Mullingar’s Enda Seery who finished well up in 19:35, so was very pleased with his race.

Kilbeggan 6k

Conditions were perfect for running for the annual Kilbeggan 6k on St. Stephen’s Day. A great entry of 373 toed the line for the event to burn off the excesses of Christmas dinner and raise money for the Crumlin Children’s Medical and Research Foundation. The race was well supported by athletic clubs both local and further afield, including Mullingar Harriers of course. As well as those just looking to enjoy the mild weather and soak up the great atmosphere, there was a competitive edge too. Race winner was Timmy Murphy (19:32), followed by Jack Moran (19:54) third, Euan Lagan (20:03) fifth, James Keegan (21:07) sixth, Andrew Daly (21:29) seventh and first junior man. Also running well and enjoying the race was Paddy Daly (22:43), first in his master category, Nollaig McEntegart (25:04) also first in his master category, Sean Liston (25:07), Ray Martin (25:44), Robin Jackson (26:15), Joe Fagan (27:03), Criona Reid (27:52), Linda Cunningham (28:38) and Caroline Mullen (29:07). It was good to see members of Mullingar Harriers out in good numbers to support a local race like this and also support a great cause.

Fields of Athenry 10k

Eddie Newman competed on St. Stephen’s Day in the Fields of Athenry 10k in Galway. Organised by local club Athenry AC this race is regarded as one of the top road races in the country and this year had 1,171 finishers. Running in perfect conditions, Eddie finished well up in twenty first in 36:35 to comfortably win his master category.

NIA Live Indoor Series Meeting

At the final NIA Live Indoor Series Meeting of 2018 on Tuesday evening 18th December, Mullingar Harriers was represented in both Juvenile and Senior races. Shane Fitzsimons and Colin Smith were in action in the Men’s 800m. Both had raced over 1,000m in previous weeks and welcomed the return to a standard distance. Shane adopted familiar front running tactics and was rewarded with a comprehensive victory in an excellent time of 1 minute 51.90 seconds, which was an excellent run in a time trial race. This was Shane’s first 800m race in eighteen months and he can now approach the 2019 season safe in the knowledge that he is back to his very best. Colin was in second place for most of the race and was just passed in the final strides and had to settle for third place but he can be pleased with a season opener of 1 minute 54.56 seconds.

Our juvenile athletes also showed that the transition from cross country to track will be smooth with Conor Liston recording a comfortable win in the 600m u/12 in 1 minute 41 seconds and Aimee Wallace winning by a big margin in the 600m u/13 in 1 minute 44 seconds. Like Shane in the senior race, both Conor and Aimee led every step of the way and produced strong front running performances. Jamie Wallace also featured prominently in his 600m u/12 race and is rapidly getting back to full fitness.

Leinster Star Awards for 2018 announced

Athletics Leinster announced the winners of the Leinster Star Awards for Westmeath for 2018 on 14th December. Based on the results in Leinster Championships in 2018, the award winners for Westmeath are Mullingar’s Vicky Harris (senior athlete), Awa Fane (juvenile girl), Eoin Quinn (juvenile boy), and Sarah Glennon who will receive the race walk Award for Leinster.

Vicky won gold in the 60m indoors and silver in the 200m outdoors; Awa won gold in the indoor 200m in a new Championship Record, and outdoors won gold in the 200m and silver in the 100m; Eoin won gold in the outdoor 800m and silver in the outdoor 1,500m; and Sarah won the indoor race walk in a new Championship Record. The Awards will be presented at a Gala Dinner in the Bridge House Hotel in Tullamore on Saturday evening 5th January 2019.

After the hugely successful cross country season when of the 18 underage races in Leinster cross country, Mullingar won team medals in 16 of them, there’s no surprise that we retained the Morrissey Cup for Best Juvenile Club in Cross Country in Leinster. This marks 18 years in a row for the Club, so congratulations to all our underage athletes that played a part in this success. The cup will also be presented in Tullamore.

AAI National Novice & Juvenile Uneven Age XC

The forecast of wet and very windy conditions was very accurate for Saturday 15th December but that didn’t take away from a magnificent day of competition at the Navan Adventure Centre for the AAI National Novice and Juvenile Uneven Age Cross Country Championships. There were concerns over the weather and warnings of strong winds and gusts but great credit has to go to the Local Organising Committee in Meath Athletics for putting everything in place for the event. We had been at the same venue for the first round of the Leinster cross country back in October, so knew it was a challenging course with long uphill sections and some tight turns and corners but despite the rain in the days leading up to the event and on the day, conditions underfoot were generally good throughout the day.

Highlights of the day were a win by Matthew Molloy in the u/11 boys 1,500m, team medals for Mullingar in 5 juvenile events, 9 underage athletes winning Leinster team medals, Club gold and County silver for our Novice Women team, and individual silver for Cormac Dalton in a very close finish to a thrilling Novice Men race. For our underage athletes, adding the 4 sets of team medals won at the All-Ireland Even Ages cross country in Abbottstown three weeks before, Mullingar Harriers is certain to retain the Kennedy Cup for best juvenile cross country Club in Ireland and is still the dominant Club in Ireland in juvenile cross country for the fourth year in a row.

On the back of his fourth place finish against older opposition in the u/12 race in Abbotstown three weeks earlier, all eyes were on Matthew Molloy in the u/11 boys 1,500m to give a good performance and he certainly didn’t disappoint. Matthew raced to the front from the start, pulling the large field in his wake and though tested by the long uphill finish into a very stiff wind he had more than enough of a lead and enough reserve in the tank to hang on comfortably to the lead and win the All-Ireland title. Followed home by Jake Bell in thirteenth, just missing an individual top-twelve finishers medal by one place, then Cian Corcoran and Luke Greene, and with great team support from Niall Brady, Sean Byrne, Brian Longe, Oliver Lynch and Eoin Donohue, the team finished 1st Club and the boys were delighted to win All-Ireland medals. The Westmeath team finished a very respectable 7th place. Matthew and Jake also won silver medals with the Leinster team in the Inter-Provincial competition.

Morgan Corcoran led the Mullingar team home in the u/13 girls 2,500m. Following her in and providing great team support was Caoimhe Kilmurray, Adele Geoghegan, Grace Byrne, Rachel Murphy, Orla McDermott, Ellen Daly, Leah Geoghegan and Orla Manning to win the team gold medals for 1st Club. This was a magnificent collective performance by the girls, despite some of them being a bit under the weather on the day. Unfortunately, Jessica Cunningham fell ill during the race and was unable to finish but was recovered enough after to celebrate victory with her team mates. Running aggressively from the start of the u/13 boys 2,500m Ryan Jenkins kept in contention for individual honours throughout, eventually coming home in a fantastic 3rd place and an individual medal. With fantastic support from Conor Liston, Callum Costello and Philip McCartan, Mullingar finished 1st Club by a huge margin. Followed home in support by Pablo Lozano, David Burke, Alex Lynch and Daire McDonald who bravely fought to the finish despite falling ill during the race, the Westmeath team was unlucky to finish out of the medals but in a very creditable 5th place. Ryan, Conor and Callum also won silver medals with the Leinster team.

Having her best race of the year and staying close to the leading group all the way, Phoebe Bate really worked hard in the u/15 girls 3,500m and was rewarded with a fantastic 8th place finish. Also running well throughout, Amy Geoghegan finished closely behind and with team support from Aoife McGouran, Annie Kilmurray and Eva Farrell, the girls were delighted to finish 3rd Club and take something from the race for their efforts. Phoebe and Amy also won gold medals with the Leinster team. Diarmuid Fagan showed real grit and determination in the u/15 boys 3,500m and worked hard to finish in 11th place and win an individual medal. Despite great effort and support from Ross Killalea, Adam Brady, Tadgh Kenny, John Ryan and Adam Smyth, the team finished 5th Club, out of the medals but an excellent result in a very competitive All-Ireland final. Diarmuid also won a gold medal with the Leinster team.

A horrendous downpour just before the start of the u/17 girls 4,000m wasn’t enough to dampen the spirits of the Mullingar team who turned in fantastic performances to win team medals. Led home by Meabh Killalea, followed by Bea Drummond, Jennifer Fidgeon, Karla Cunningham, Ciara Smith and Francesca Walshe, the girls finished wet, muddy and exhausted but had done enough to finish 2nd Club, only five points off the winners. They also finished 5th County. These girls showed great determination in challenging conditions and richly deserved their team medals. The Mullingar team in the u/17 boys 5,000 was hit hard by the absence of some key members due to illness but that didn’t stop the rest giving their best efforts. Eoin Quinn had a great race and finished 14th, just outside the individual medal places, and with great support from Colin Smith, Ciaran Luby really stepping up and showing his class when it counted, Matthew Glennon, Paul McCool and Colin McGee all working very hard and battling for every place, the team was very unlucky to finish 5th Club, not far off the medal places. They also finished a very creditable 5th County. Unfortunately, Lorcan Mullen had to stop during the race due to injury and we wish him a speedy recovery.

The wind continued to blow hard during the u/19 girls 4,000m but Aoife Darby battled hard alongside Susan Glennon, with Lisa Gavin (Athlone IT) close behind running with the Westmeath team. The pace picked up over the last kilometre and the girls kept working hard and were led home by Aoife, followed very closely by Susan, then Lisa only a few places back and with great support and team packing by Andrea Brady, Laura Shaw and Elysia Greene following in close order, the girls finished 6th Club and 6th County, which is a very creditable performance. As a measure of the standard, only three points separated the fourth, fifth and sixth Club places, so very well done to the girls. Aoife won a silver medal with the Leinster team. The final underage race was the u/19 boys 6,000m where Mullingar didn’t have a team but was ably represented by John Whitelaw and Brian Martin who worked hard on the tough course and finished well up and despite the inevitable fatigue knew they had run well to round off the cross country season and like all our underage athletes can look forward to a short break for Christmas and come back strong for the indoor season in the New Year.

The prediction by their Coach, Colm Walsh, some time ago that if the Mullingar women focused on it, they would win the National Novice Women cross country team title, proved to be accurate and as over one hundred and fifty women streamed out across the Navan course in the Novice Women 4,000m, the Mullingar singlets were prominent in the leading group. Unable to finish in Abbotstown three weeks previously due to injury and illness respectively, Claire Fagan and Linda Conroy bounced right back and led the Mullingar charge for team honours. Timing it perfectly, Claire chased hard after the leading breakaway group up the finish straight passing several to finish a fabulous 6th place, with Linda very close behind in 8th. All eyes were on the rest of the team but no problem for Aine O’Reilly, Sinead Whitelaw and Michelle O’Halloran who kept working hard and finished strongly to see the women finish 1st Club by a big margin and they also finished 2nd County, which is a huge achievement.

With over two hundred and fifty runners, the Novice Men 6,000m is probably the biggest cross country race on the domestic fixture list, bar none. With such a large field, the best place to be in is up front with the leaders out of harm’s way, and that’s exactly where Cormac Dalton positioned himself right from the gun. Looking comfortable and in control as the race unfolded, Cormac bided his time waiting for the right moment to make his move. With a little over one kilometre to go, Cormac surged to the front, opening a gap on the others and the race to the finish looked to be on. Unfortunately, the move was short lived as Cormac slipped and fell on a tight muddy corner, which allowed the group to catch up to him again but he was back on his feet very quickly and settled himself again waiting for the next opportunity. Racing hard over the closing stages, Cormac looked good and turning into the final long uphill straight into a very stiff wind, he put the foot down and sprinted hard for the finish only to lose out and finish 2nd by a very small margin to the equally fast finishing Zak Hanna (Newcastle & District AC) to end an absorbing and thrilling race. Initial disappointment at not winning will pass and on reflection Cormac will know that he has had a fantastic cross country season and can forward to next year with great anticipation. Also competing was Timmy Murphy, James Keegan, Andrew Nevin, Stephen Campbell, Gerry Gavin and Hans de Raeymaeker who battled hard all the way and expressed satisfaction with their individual performances, helping to place the team a very respectable 10th Club and 11th County out of a huge entry of 32 teams.

That rounded off a memorable day for Mullingar. Many thanks to the parents and supporters and to the coaches for their assistance and vocal support on the day from the first race right to the last. Most will now take a well earned break over the Christmas and come back refreshed for the indoor season in the New Year.

AIT Baseline Indoor T&F Meeting

A deliberately low-key event, the purpose of the AIT Baseline Indoor T&F Meeting at the Athlone International Indoor Arena on Wednesday evening 12th December was to give athletes the opportunity to test themselves in advance of the indoor season and gauge progress in training. Obviously, many athletes wouldn’t feel race fit yet, so the programme included several non-standard distances often used in training to assess fitness, such as 150m and 1,000m. The event attracted a big entry, particularly in the sprint events.

Awa Fane and Maimouna Fane had never raced each other before until they lined up in the same 60m race. Both ran extremely well, Awa finishing in 8.04 seconds, just ahead of her sister in 8.27 seconds, which are very promising times for this time of year. They returned to the track later in the evening for the 150m, though running in different races this time, but again putting in excellent performances, finishing very strongly, Awa in 19.06 seconds and Maimouna in 19.82 seconds, which this will give them great confidence for the indoor season ahead.

In the distance events, Cormac Dalton was in action over 3,000m and used the race as part of his preparations for the National Novice Cross Country Championships. In a very fast race, Cormac finished in third place in a time of 8 minutes 39.42 seconds. Shane Fitzsimons was in excellent form once again in the 1,000m where he had a very comprehensive victory in 2 minutes 25.31 seconds. Shane was greatly assisted by Colin Smith who showed great Club spirit to pace him to 600m. The time was two seconds faster than Shane’s winning time at the NIA Live Indoor Series Meeting a week previously over the same distance and he certainly looks to be getting back to his very best.

This was an excellent meeting for the Mullingar athletes, with each able to take something very positive back to the training track, as they continue to prepare for the indoor season in the New Year.

European Cross Country

While he has competed in Schools and Club Internationals over the past three years, Jamie Battle stepped up to the big-time on Sunday morning 9th December when he lined up with the Irish Junior men team at the European Cross Country in Beekse Bergen Safari Park near Tilburg in the Netherlands. Jamie was giving away a year to many others in the race and will be eligible for the Junior race again next year, so on paper it was really all about exposure to this level of competition and gaining as much valuable experience as possible. However, Jamie clearly hadn’t read the script as he turned in a quite brilliant performance on his debut at this level. The course was tough, undulating up and down, soft underfoot in places, and included a number of sharp turns and corners and a short series of log barriers for good measure. Despite a tumble on the log barriers early in the race, Jamie recovered quickly and maintained his place just outside the top twenty throughout to finish a marvellous 21st place, well above pre-race expectations and his 3rd score for Ireland helped Ireland to 5th place in the team standings. This was a big step up from juvenile competition to European level but Jamie showed that he revels in the challenge of big competition and we hope this is the beginning of a long International career at the top level for Jamie.

No stranger to European Cross Country, Jack O’Leary represented Ireland for three consecutive years at Junior level and led the Irish team home on two of those occasions, but this time he was moving up to the more senior under 23 ranks, which is a big step, even for someone of Jack’s undoubted ability and experience. By the time he got to race, the course was breaking up and was very muddy and slippery in places, and heavy rain during the race didn’t help, but Jack is tough and dug deep to finish strongly. His placing well up in 61st place was excellent on his debut at this level and helped Ireland to 6th place in the team standings. Jack is underage again next year and he will have learned a lot from this performance and will look forward to improving on it next year.

AAI National Race Walk Championships

At the AAI National Race Walk Championships in St. Anne’s Park, Raheny on Saturday morning 8th December, which was very well organised by Raheny Shamrocks AC, it came right down to the wire for third place in the Senior Women 20k race walk on the picturesque tree-lined main avenue. Battling hard and finishing fast, Rachel Glennon took third in a new personal best of 1 hour 56 minutes and 34 seconds right on the line in an extremely close finish to take a well-earned senior All-Ireland bronze medal, so congratulations to Rachel on her success.

Apart from the senior Championships, there were support races for juveniles over some non-standard distances where Aisling Lane (3rd in 2k in a very close finish), Jayne Walsh (3rd in 3k), Andrew Glennon (2nd in 3k), Matthew Glennon (1st in 5k), Sarah Glennon (1st in 7k), Jennifer Fidgeon (3rd in 7k), and Oisin Lane (1st in 7k) delivered very encouraging performances. This is testament to the great work put in by the National Event Co-ordinator, our own Michael Lane, and these performances will stand all our underage race walkers in very good stead for the year ahead.

Aware Christmas Run 10k

Competing among a big field of nearly 900 runners in the Phoenix Park on Saturday morning 8th December at the Aware Christmas Run 10k, Patrick Muldoon took it easy but was still very satisfied to finish well up in the senior ranks in 46:46.

Ballyroan 5k

Evan McCormack competed near Portlaoise on Saturday morning 8th December in the Ballyroan 5k and was very pleased to finish 3rd of nearly one hundred runners in 17:21 and win an individual prize.

NIA Live Indoor Series

The NIA Live Indoor Series continued on Tuesday evening 4th December at the National Indoor Arena in Abbotstown. Shane Fitzsimons made a welcome return to competitive action in the 1,000m and was in excellent form, winning comfortably in an excellent time of 2 minutes 27.03 seconds. Colin Smith was always in the leading pack in the race and finished strongly in third place with a time of 2 minutes 28.4 seconds. Eoin Quinn also showed good form finishing strongly in fifth place.

There was also a juvenile programme and some of our younger members availed of the opportunity to race before their competitive season commences. Conor Liston won the 600m u/12 with a strong finish in a time of 1 minute 44 seconds. Amy Wallace led every step of the way in the 600m u/13 to win easily in 1 minute 55 seconds. Jamie Wallace raced over 200m and showed great speed in a very competitive race.

Jingle Bells 5k

The Donore Harriers AC “Jingle Bells 5k” took place in the Phoenix Park on Saturday morning 1st December in mild but damp conditions, which was ideal for the nearly 1,200 participants in this ever-popular race. Keeping right up with the leading group throughout was Timmy Murphy and Michael Moran. Timmy continues to race himself back to full fitness and finished strongly in 19th place in a time of 15:40, with Michael only a few places behind in 15:49.

November

AAI Senior, Junior & Juvenile Even Ages XC

Last year, at the same event and venue, illness had robbed Jamie Battle of his best in his effort to secure selection for the European cross country. One year later, on Sunday 25th November, it was an entirely different story. This time Jamie could show his true class and he ran a superb race to finish 3rd in the Junior men 6,000m race and was rewarded with automatic selection for the Irish junior team to compete at the European cross country in the Netherlands in two weeks time. This is a just reward for his dedication to the sport, his undoubted self belief, and his trust in and the guidance of his coach, Joe Ryan.

Conditions were cold but dry last Sunday for the AAI Senior, Junior and Juvenile Even Ages Cross Country Finals at the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown, Dublin. Despite more than a week of rain, ground conditions were remarkably good and a testament to the value of the purpose built cross country course in Abbotstown.

In the eight underage races, our athletes took Club team medals in four of them, two teams finished fifth Club, and two County teams just missed medals when they finished fourth County. Four juvenile Mullingar athletes won individual medals by finishing in the top twelve places and won gold medals with Leinster teams. These are excellent results and help to maintain the Club’s formidable reputation in underage cross country.

The first race of the day was the 2,000m u/12 girls where the Mullingar girls battled well over the two laps, led home by Rachel Murphy, followed by Orla Manning, Ellen Daly, Lydia McDonnell, Muireann Donohue and Rose Macken. The team finished out of the medal places but the experience of running in an All-Ireland against the best in the Country will stand to them in the future. The pre-race favourites in 2,000m u/12 boys, everyone was watching the Mullingar team and they didn’t disappoint, turning in a dominant display. Led home by Matthew Molloy in 4th place, followed by Conor Liston in 7th, Luke O’Leary with his customary brilliant sprint finish to take 8th and James Flynn providing the vital fourth team score, the Mullingar boys easily finished 1st Club by a huge margin. With fantastic team support from Cian Corcoran, Rory McDonnell, Luke Greene, Niall Brady and Arthur Drummond, the boys finished 4th County, missing bronze by only a few points. Matthew, Conor and Luke also provided the first three scores for the Leinster team that won the Inter-Provincial race to give them another team gold medal each.

Most of the Mullingar team in the 3,000m u/14 girls will be underage again next year, so we’re always going to be challenged to get in the medals. That didn’t stop great efforts by Grace Byrne, Adele Geoghegan, Caoimhe Kilmurray, Leah Geoghegan, Jessica Cunningham, Orla McDermott, Lucy Donnelly, Ciara Glennon and Eva Farrell. Even though they finished out of the medals, they’ll learn from the experience and take it with them to the uneven age finals in three weeks time. Diarmuid Fagan wasn’t afraid to put in a hard shift in the 3,000m u/14 boys, leading the large field at times and always keeping in contention for honours. It was only late in the race that he had to let the leaders go, but he kept working hard and was rewarded with a fantastic 3rd place finish. With great support from Ross Killalea, Tadhg Sheridan, Adam Brady, Callum Costello, John Ryan, Daire McDonald, Adam Smyth, Sonny Drummond and Conleth Mullen, the Mullingar boys were delighted to finish 3rd Club and win the All-Ireland bronze medals. The team also finished an excellent 4th County. Diarmuid also won a gold medal with the Leinster team.

The Mullingar girls ran strongly in the 4,000m u/16 girls, packing well and always looking likely to take team honours. Led home by Amy Geoghegan with a very strong finish, and with Phoebe Bate, Meabh Killalea, Bea Drummond, Karla Cunningham and Francesca Walshe providing great team support, the Mullingar girls thoroughly deserved their gold medals for 1st Club and they also finished a very creditable 6th County. The Mullingar team in the 4,000m u/16 boys gave it their best and despite strong performances by Colin Smith, Lorcan Mullen, Matthew Glennon, Colin McGee and Tadhg Kenny had to settle for a place out of the Club medals, finishing 5th Club but only ten points away from bronze, a good performance in a highly competitive All-Ireland final.

The 4,000m Junior Women and u/18 girls was a combined race and athletes could declare on both teams, as well as score individually. Aoife Darby (u/18) ran an excellent race and led the Mullingar team home. Following in quickly behind was Susan Glennon (u/18), Sarah Glennon (u/18), Jennifer Fidgeon (u/18), Lisa Gavin (u/18, Athlone IT), Daria Fidgeon (junior), Ciara Smith, Andrea Brady (junior), Laura Shaw (junior) and Elysia Greene (u/18). When the junior and u/18 results were separated and calculated after the race, the Mullingar u/18 team of Aoife, Susan, Sarah, Jennifer, Ciara and Elysia finished 3rd Club, and with Lisa they finished a creditable 7th County. Adding Daria, Andrea and Laura, the junior team finished out of the team medal places but can be very proud of their collective performances.

The 6,000m Junior Men and u/18 boys was also a combined race and again athletes could declare on both teams, as well as score individually. Always keeping in the mix, working hard and covering all the breaks, Jamie Battle (junior) put in a great performance and was delighted to finish 3rd and secure an automatic place on the Irish junior team for the European cross country in two weeks time. Following Jamie in was Ciaran Nolan (junior), Jack Moran (junior), Eoin Quinn (u/18), John Whitelaw (u/18), Oisin Lane (u/18), Andrew Daly (u/18), Ciaran Luby (u/18), Rian Hogan (u/18) and Paul McCool (u/18).When the junior and u/18 results were separated and calculated after the race, the Mullingar u/18 team of Eoin, John, Oisin, Andrew, Ciaran, Rian and Paul finished a very creditable 5th Club. Adding Jamie, Ciaran and Jack, the junior Club team finished just out of the medals in 4th place, missing third place by a mere five points. Euan Lagan injured his shoulder in an unfortunate clash just after the start and though he ran on for a while, his shoulder was too sore and he was forced to stop. We can’t say for sure, but Euan might have been the difference the team needed to get in the junior team medals. A real pity, but that’s sport.

Proceedings then moved to the 8,000m for Senior and u/23 Women where Mullingar was represented by Claire Fagan and Linda Conroy, both running u/23. Linda was still not fully recovered from a bout of illness during the week and suffering with laboured breathing she had to stop with about a lap to go. Claire developed pain in her shoulder during the race and though she had completed most of the long four lap race and with a little over 200m and within sight of the finish line, Claire had to stop as her shoulder was too painful to continue.

We finished the day with the 10,000m for Senior and u/23 Men, a tough five lap race with enough hills and muddy places to sap the energy and test the very best of athletes. Cormac Dalton and Padraig Moran were competing u/23. Cormac ran a very smart race, keeping close to the leading group and digging deep over the final stages of the race to come home in 14th place overall against the very best men in the Country. Cormac was 5th in the u/23 ranks, and though it was outside the qualification places for the European cross country by just one place, he knows he turned in a fine performance and can be very proud. Padraig also worked hard and dug deep on the tough course, finishing well up in the u/23 ranks, crossing the line nearly exhausted and leaving nothing on the track, which is always the sign of a good athlete.

British and Irish Masters International Cross Country

Eileen Kenny lined out with the Irish team in Swansea, Wales on Saturday morning 17th November for the British and Irish Masters International Cross Country against some of the best master athletes from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Eileen fully justified her selection for the second year in a row with an excellent 7th place finish in her master category, the 2nd finisher for Ireland, providing a valuable contribution to the score that saw Ireland finish 3rd team behind England and Scotland and earning a bronze team medal.

It was double celebration for Eileen, as her daughter Michelle Kenny (Leevale AC) took silver with the Irish team in her master category, to make it a very memorable day for the Kenny family.

Irish University Road Relays

It was cool, windy but dry in NUI Maynooth on Saturday morning 17th November, which were ideal conditions for the Irish University Road Relays. Each college can enter multiple teams and the women competed in a four leg relay over 1-2-2-1 miles, while the men competed in a five leg relay over 1-2-3-2-1 miles.

In the women’s race, Claire Fagan ran the anchor one mile leg for the DCU “B” team and despite a swift 5:30, the third fastest of the day, and a furious sprint to the finish line, the team finished in 4th place, missing bronze by just one second. Not having a fourth runner on her team didn’t stop Sarah Glennon making her Intervarsity debut for DCU where she ran a strong third leg and no doubt, she’s looking forward to future outings in the DCU colours.

Taking the baton for the DCU “B” team in second place, Cormac Dalton really showed his class on the long three mile leg and his excellent 15:15 reinforced the team’s standing in 2nd place, which they held to the finish and Cormac won a silver medal. An excellent mile in 5:11 on the lead leg by Colin Smith put the DCU “C” team right in the mix at the handover to Jamie Battle. Running 9:42 on the two mile leg, one of the quickest of the day brought the team into 3rd place, which they held to the finish to give Colin and Jamie their first Intervarsity medals and with the DCU “A” team winning it gave DCU a unique 1-2-3 in the men’s team race.

Also competing was Michael Moran running two miles for another DCU team, and Ciaran Nolan also running two miles, though only as a training run, as NUIG didn’t have a full team.

Leinster Cross Country (Adamstown)

Even though we knew the weather forecast on Sunday 11th November was bad, nothing really prepared us for the very heavy showers, including hailstones for a while and even a bit of lightening for good measure that made conditions very tough at times for runners and spectators alike at the Leinster Senior and Juvenile Uneven Ages Cross Country in Adamstown, Co. Wexford. Despite the tough conditions, the Mullingar athletes were more than up to the challenge and of the 10 juvenile races, Mullingar won team medals in 9 of them and Westmeath teams won medals in 5 of them and another 2 teams finished just out of the medals in 4th place. We also had individual wins from Matthew Molloy (u/11) and Ryan Jenkins (u/13) and another 18 Mullingar athletes won individual medals by finishing in the top twelve places to stamp their mark on the Leinster juvenile cross country championships this season.

It wasn’t just black weather clouds in Wexford though, Mullingar had its own black cloud because while we had entered 106 athletes, only 85 competed on the day, meaning that nearly one in five didn’t run. While half of them indicated in advance that they wouldn’t be able to run for various good reasons, which is fair enough, one in ten just didn’t show up at all, despite confirming in the past week or two that they would run, which is very disappointing.

Great compliments are due to Wexford Athletics, and the local Adamstown AC, for providing an excellent venue, constructing the course the day before in heavy rain. The course held up remarkably well on the day, though got broken up in places and was sticky on some corners, but it was a proper cross country course and provided a tough but fair test for all competitors.

The day began with non-Championship races for girls and boys under 9 years of age hosted by Wexford Athletics. Mullingar had runners in both and they ran really well and enjoyed the races, so we still have youngsters coming through and we’ll see these girls and boys in the coming years racing in Championships proper.

Because many athletes in the u/19 races are third level students and need to get home early in the day to travel back to University or College, the first Championship races were the u/19 girls and boys. Aoife Darby continues to race into form and finished an excellent 5th place in the 4,000m for girls u/19. With Susan Glennon (7th), Lisa Gavin (Athlone IT) in 12th, and close packing by Andrea Brady, Laura Shaw, Daria Fidgeon and Elysia Greene, the Mullingar girls were very pleased to finish 1st Club and Westmeath finished 3rd County to get us off to a great start on the medal scoreboard. We had the just the minimum four needed for a team in the 6,000m for boys u/19, led home by Jack Moran finishing strongly in 4th place, followed by Euan Lagan (11th), John Whitelaw and Brian Martin in close order, to place Mullingar 3rd Club and Westmeath just out of the County medals in 4th place.

Some of the Mullingar team in the 1,500m for girls u/11 had moved up an age and ran in the u/12 race in Navan two weeks before, but some of them were getting their first taste of Leinster competition. They all took it in their stride and turned in strong performances, led home by Katie Kilmurray, followed by Tianna O’Leary, Lydia McDonnell, Therese Daly, Katie Glennon, Eileen Farrell, Síofra O’Reilly and Aiveen Lynch. The girls were very unlucky to finish 6th Club, tied on the same points score as 4th and 5th but placed 6th on count-back, disappointing for the girls but they are a young team with bright futures ahead of them. When Matthew Molloy made his break for home in the 1,500m for boys u/11, he quickly pulled clear and finished comfortably ahead to win the Leinster title. Joining him in the winners enclosure was Jake Bell (6th) and Cian Corcoran (7th), and with Luke Greene putting in a terrific finish just out of the individual medal places, it was Club gold for Mullingar by a big gap. With great support from Niall Brady, Arthur Drummond, Oliver Lynch, Sean Byrne, Brian Longe and Eoin Donohue, the boys also finished 1st County and will be a team to watch in the All-Ireland finals.

Caoimhe Kilmurray worked very hard in the 2,500m for girls u/13 and was rewarded with a fine 11th place finish to win an individual medal. Morgan Corcoran was unlucky to finish just out of the individual medals in 13th place but with Adele Geoghegan and Grace Byrne following her in close behind, the girls finished 3rd Club in a very close contest where only three points separated gold, silver and bronze. It was close too in the inter-County contest. Despite great team support from Orla McDermott, Jessica Cunningham, Rachel Murphy, Ellen Daly, Leah Geoghegan, Orla Manning, Lucy Donnelly, Rose Macken, Anna May Flannery, Ellen Foran, Muireann Donohue and Caoimhe Donohue, the girls were very unlucky to finish 4th County, just out of the medals, but they can be very proud of their sterling efforts. Ciara Glennon started but was unable to finish due to illness and we wish her a speedy recovery. The Mullingar boys were the clear pre-race favourites in the 2,500m for boys u/13, and with good reason. Ryan Jenkins fought hard all the way down the long finish straight to hold on to first place in a close race and win the Leinster title, the second for Mullingar. Followed by Luke O’Leary (6th), Callum Costello (7th), Conor Liston (11th), Philip McCartan just returned from injury with a strong race (12th), Pablo Lozano with the vital sixth score, and terrific team support from Alex Lynch, Daire McDonald, David Burke, Rory McDonnell and Ryan Bell, the boys finished 1st Club and 1st County by a big margin.

Amy Geoghegan battled hard in the 3,500m for girls u/15 and her reward was a great 2nd place for her efforts. Supported by Phoebe Bate (10th), Meghan Bates, Aoife McGouran and Eva Farrell, the girls finished 3rd Club, only a few points off second place to book their places in the All-Ireland finals. Diarmuid Fagan had the honour of leading the Mullingar team home in the 3,500m for boys u/15 with a fine 7th place finish. Supported by Ross Killalea, Adam Brady, Tadgh Kenny, John Ryan, Adam Smyth, Martin Foran and Andrew Glennon, the team finished 3rd Club but out of the County medals in 5th place.

Working hard throughout and with great pace in the closing stages saw Meabh Killalea finish 11th and Bea Drummond 12th place in the 4,000m for girls u/17, to set the team up well for success. With Jennifer Fidgeon, Ciara Smith, Karla Cunningham and Francesca Walshe packing very well in support, the team finished 2nd Club and 2nd County, a great reward for their efforts. Despite being hit hard by absences, the Mullingar team in the 5,000m for boys u/17 didn’t let it affect their performances. Led home by Eoin Quinn (5th), supported brilliantly by Colin Smith (12th), Rian Hogan, Lorcan Mullen, Matthew Glennon, Ciaran Luby, Paul McCool, Colin McGee and Kevin Martin, the team easily finished 1st Club and also took bronze medals for 3rd County.

We had no senior women and Mullingar’s sole representative in the Senior Men 10,000m was Andrew Nevin who battled hard with the rain and mud throughout five tough laps but came through it with a strong finish and expressed good satisfaction with his effort and race to round off an excellent day for Mullingar.

Leinster titles for Matthew Molloy (u/11) and Ryan Jenkins (u/13); another 18 top-twelve finishers, 9 Club team medals, 5 County team medals and 2 County teams in fourth place, means that Mullingar and Westmeath will have a very big presence at the All-Ireland finals in Navan in mid-December. The All-Ireland finals are a step up though and everyone that has qualified for the even ages in Abbotstown in two weeks time and for the uneven ages in Navan three weeks after that needs to continue to apply themselves fully in training, at the Club on Tuesdays and Thursdays but especially in Belvedere on Sunday morning.

North East Regional XC Championships, USA

Being upstate New York in November, on the shores of Lake Erie near Niagara Falls and the border with Canada, it was no surprise that there was snow at the University of Buffalo on Friday 9th November for the North East Regional Cross Country Championships. Competing for Iona College in his second year of an athletics scholarship, Jack O’Leary completed the 10,000m race in 33:19 to finish an excellent 14th place, the third score for Iona who finished 2nd team and booked their places in the NCAA All American finals at the University of Wisconsin on Saturday 17th November.

Leinster Marathon title for Joan Flynn

The Dublin City Marathon on Sunday 28th October incorporated both the AAI National and the Leinster Marathon Championships. Joan Flynn finished 30th woman overall, 9th in her master category overall, but in the AAI National Championship, it was bronze for Joan in her master category and in the Leinster Championship, she took gold, winning the title with just over four minutes to spare. Congratulations to Joan on her National bronze medal and on her Leinster title, making all the pain of running a marathon worth it.

October

Dublin City Marathon

Riding high on the current running-boom wave, record numbers continue to enter the Dublin City Marathon, and this year was no exception. The reported entries for Sunday morning 28th October exceeded 20,000 but as the long months of endurance training can take its toll, not everyone makes it to the start line, and this year finishers numbered just over 16,000 and among them was 25 Club members. Conditions were perfect for long distance running, starting cold but dry and sunny, and temperatures slowly rising as the race developed. The event incorporated the AAI National Marathon Championships and the Leinster Championships, so there were individual and team medals on offer but we’ll have to wait until later in the week to learn if any of the Mullingar members that finished were lucky to win any.

The marathon is one of the ultimate endurance tests and for some their race went to plan, running a personal best (PB) in some cases, but some others will have to chalk it up to experience and wait until the next time, if there is one, to achieve their goal. First for Mullingar to finish was Evan McCormack in a new personal best (PB) of 2:53:14 and our first woman home was Joan Flynn in 2:59:43, thirtieth woman to finish and ninth in her master category of all finishers. Other taking part included Kieran Nolan (2:58:05), Patrick Muldoon (3:05:34), Andrew Nevin (3:08:45), Sean Liston (3:22:07 a PB), Ollie Gaffney (3:30:11), Mervyn Kennedy (3:34:42, a PB), Eoin Clarke (3:42:42) fighting a hip injury to finish the race, Stephen Olwell (3:47:40), Jane Creevy (3:47:58), Criona Reid (3:48:18, a PB), Richard Ferris (3:49:10, a PB), Sharon Bates (3:50:23) whom we saw on the RTE news that evening looking fresh and well after the race, Joan Hickson (3:51:32, a PB), Declan Costello (3:55:26, a PB), Kevin O’Brien (4:02:56), Doug Bates (4:04:38), Joe Fagan (4:05:00), Stephen Naughton (4:11:53), Stephen Bell (4:15:35), Jude Whelehan (4:24:28), John Callaghan (4:40:54), Lisa Duffy (4:53:16) who finished despite illness and Karen McGouran (5:48:33). Congratulations to them all for flying the flag for Mullingar and apologies if we missed anyone, but it really is next to impossible to search so many results to find every Club member that finished.

Leinster Cross Country (Navan)

A very large number of athletes from Mullingar Harriers made the short trip to the Navan Adventure Sports Complex at the Navan Racecourse in Co. Meath on Sunday 27th October for the first round of the Leinster Cross Country. In contrast to last year’s fixture at the same venue, this year the ground conditions were absolutely perfect for running and the course held up beautifully from the first race to the last. Congratulations to the Meath County Board for setting out an excellent course that included some long uphill sections and corners to challenge the athletes, finishing with a testing long uphill straight to the finish line.

Competition was for boys and girls u/12, 14, 16 and 18 years and for junior and novice men and women and Mullingar had representatives in every race. Of the eight underage races, Mullingar won team medals in seven of them to dominate in the Inter-Club competition; helped by Athlone IT and North Westmeath athletes, Westmeath won team medals in five of them to feature well in the Inter-County competition too; there was also thirteen individual top twelve finish places. This means that there will be big representation from Mullingar and Westmeath in the All-Ireland finals in Abbottstown at the end of November and the Leinster teams will have a good number of Mullingar athletes too. Our adult members were in excellent form too, as the junior women and men won Club team medals, and the novice men missed bronze Club medals by just five points. We ended the day on a real high with Aine O’Reilly finishing third novice woman and a win for Cormac Dalton in the novice men race, to add to Mullingar’s significant medal haul.

The day began with non-Championship races over 1,000m for boys and girls under 10 years of age, and athletes as young as 7, 8 and 9 years of age from Clubs across Leinster competed with great enthusiasm. Mullingar had youngsters in the u/10 girls 1,000m race and the u/10 boys 1,000m race and they all ran brilliantly, with some winning medals. Some of these youngsters will be underage again next year, but we’ll see others in action again in two weeks time in Adamstown, Co. Wexford competing at u/11 and last Saturday’s race was an ideal taste of competition for them.

The excitement of the u/10 races set the tone for the day and when they were finished, it was over to the first race of the Championships, the 2,000m for girls u/12. Despite a number of no-shows, Mullingar still fielded a big team of 13 girls among the total field of over 130 runners, the biggest of the day. With a very determined finish, Rachel Murphy led the team home in an excellent 11th place to win her first Leinster medal. Following in and giving good team support was Orla Manning, Ellen Daly, Lydia McDonnell, Muireann Donohue, Rose Macken, Caitlin Graham, Orlaith Dolan (North Westmeath AC), Lauren Kavanagh (North Westmeath AC), Aideen Langtry, Eve Scally, Rosie O’Grady, Síofra O’Reilly and Eileen Farrell. Unfortunately, suffering from a viral bug that is doing the rounds, Morgan Corcoran fell ill during the race and was unable to finish. The Mullingar team finished just of the medals in 4th Club place but a team of six still qualifies for the All-Ireland finals. The Westmeath team also finished out of the medals but won’t advance to the All-Ireland finals.

The Mullingar boys were always in contention throughout the 2,000m for boys u/12 and the leading group was packed well together coming into the long finish straight. Fighting hard all the way, Matthew Molloy finished 2nd, followed closely by Conor Liston in 3rd, Luke O’Leary not giving an inch and holding on to 4th and with Cian Corcoran finishing well up, Mullingar won Club team gold by a big margin to put Mullingar on the scoreboard. With great team support from Rory McDonnell, Luke Greene, Criostoir Ormsby, Arthur Drummond, Niall Brady, John Glennon, Brian Longe, Daniel McDermott and Ryan Bell, the Westmeath team finished 2nd County, meaning a full team of ten qualifies for the All-Ireland finals. On any other day, James Flynn would have been in the mix for medals, but he was another victim to illness and had to stop during the race.

Caoimhe Kilmurray finished 10th in the 3,000m for girls u/14 and with great support from team-mates Adele Geoghegan, Grace Byrne, Leah Geoghegan, Síofra O’Halloran, Orla McDermott, Jessica Cunningham, Lucy Donnelly, Eva Farrell, Ciara Glennon, Anna May Flannery and Robyn Bates, the Mullingar girls team finished 2nd Club and 4th County to book their places in the All-Ireland finals. Except for Eva, all this team is underage again next year and is sure to feature very strongly in the u/13 race in Adamstown in two weeks time. Diarmuid Fagan ran a great race in the 3,000m for boys u/14, keeping with the leaders throughout and was delighted with his 3rd place finish. Running well in support was Ross Killalea, John Ryan, Adam Brady, Tadhg Sheridan, Callum Costello, Adam Smyth, Daire McDonald, David Burke, Sonny Drummond, Conleth Mullen and Andrew Glennon to secure the silver medals for 2nd Club and 2nd County.

Close order finishing by Amy Geoghegan (8th), Phoebe Bate (9th), Bea Drummond (12th) and Meabh Killalea just out of the individual medal places in 15th meant Mullingar comfortably finished 1st Club in the 4,000m for girls u/16. With great support from Karla Cunningham, Meghan Bates and Francesca Walshe running hard all the way and providing vital scores, the Westmeath team finished 2nd County. In the 4,000m for boys u/16, Colin Smith in sixth just had the better of Lorcan Mullen in 7th on the day, and with Matthew Glennon, Colin McGee, Tadgh Kenny, Alex Scully, Kevin Martin and Mark Langtry running strongly in support, the team finished 2nd Club, but unfortunately out of the County medal places.

The 4,000m for girls u/18 and Junior Women was a combined race where the u/18 girls could win medals in both the u/18 and Junior race. Leading the Mullingar team home in 12th place overall was Susan Glennon, followed by Aoife Darby, Sarah Glennon, Lisa Gavin (Athlone IT), Andrea Brady (Junior), Ciara Smith, Laura Shaw (Junior) and Elysia Greene. Jennifer Fidgeon took ill during the race and was unable to finish. Susan and Aoife finished 10th and 13th in the u/18 race, so Susan received an individual medal but unfortunately Aoife missed out by just one place. When the u/18 and junior results were separated, the u/18 team finished 2nd Club and 3rd County, and the Junior women team finished 2nd Club and 4th County, just out of the County medals.

The final underage race on the programme was another combined race, the 6,000m for boys u/18 and for Junior Men, where like the corresponding women’s race, medals could be won in u/18 and Junior. All except one of the Mullingar Junior team was u/18, so they were up against stiff competition in the Junior race. The Mullingar men were led home by Eoin Quinn with an excellent 15th place finish, followed closely by John Whitelaw, then Conor McHugh (Junior), Rian Hogan, Andrew Daly, Paul McCool and Ruairi Fagan packing well in support. Eoin finished 9th in the u/18 race but unfortunately John missed out on a medal by just one place. When the u/18 and Junior results were separated, the u/18 team finished 2nd Club and 3rd County and the Junior team finished 3rd Club and a very creditable 5th County.

Moving to the adult races, there was a big field for the Novice Women 4,000m but prominent throughout was Aine O’Reilly and Sinead Whitelaw, keeping right with the leading group from the start. With less than a kilometre to go, the pace began to increase and the group started to fragment but Aine held firm in third place, followed closely by Sinead. Coming into the long finish straight, Aine ran strongly to hold 3rd place to the finish with Sinead digging deep to hold off a late challenge and finish 4th. Also running well behind was Michelle O’Halloran and Alanna Bate to provide valuable team points. Though the women finished out of the Club and County medal places, they can be very satisfied with their performances.

The final race of the day was the Novice Men 6,000m, which was one of the biggest fields of the day. Cormac Dalton ran a patient race, keeping out of trouble in the lead group and watching for any moves or breaks. When he made his move to the front, he looked to be going clear only to be passed in the last few hundred metres but he was patient and held his form to take the lead once more in the finish straight, holding it to the finish to win, a win that clearly delighted him and the Mullingar supporters. Finishing strongly behind it was great to see Timmy Murphy back racing again after an absence of ten months due to injury, and with support from James Keegan, Gerard Gavin and Stephen Campbell the team was very unlucky to finish 4th Club, missing the bronze medals by just five points. Stephen bravely fought hard to the finish despite feeling very unwell but he didn’t want to disappoint the team, which is what team racing and team spirit is all about.

That rounded off an excellent day for Mullingar with lots of individual and team successes and courageous running by everyone. We usually present the underage team medals at the next training session after the competition, but as it is mid-term, some might be missing from training, so we’ll hold all the underage team medals for now and present them at a later date.

The second round, for Senior and juvenile uneven ages will take place in Adamstown, Co. Wexford in two weeks time. The juvenile even age teams that qualified from Navan will go forward to the All-Ireland Finals in Abbottstown, Dublin in four weeks time. Juvenile uneven teams for the next Leinster will now be finalized by Club officials but in the meantime it is vital that everyone continues to train hard and be in the best possible condition for the next round of the Leinsters and for the All-Ireland Finals beyond, so we expect everyone to keep in full training over the coming weeks, especially in Belvedere on Sunday morning at 11am.

AAI Autumn Open International Cross Country Festival

The purpose built cross country course at the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown, Dublin is well regarded as a fast one, and with the recent prolonged spell of good weather, it was in fantastic condition on Sunday afternoon 21st October for the AAI Autumn Open International Cross Country Festival. The event provided an early season test for athletes from junior level right up to the masters along with a selection of international runners and Mullingar Harriers was represented in each age category.

Jamie Battle further enhanced his growing reputation over cross country with an excellent third place in the Junior 6,000m competition. He featured prominently throughout and delivered a strong finish to secure a podium position. He looks set for a strong cross country season. Euan Lagan also ran a fine race among the best junior athletes in Ireland to finish strongly. Cormac Dalton was having his first Senior cross country race at this level and looked very comfortable throughout, finishing an excellent fifteenth overall and the fourth u/23 finisher. This was a very strong performance considering that Ireland’s leading senior cross country athletes were all participating. Padraig Moran also stuck to his task in a very competitive field, finishing closely behind Cormac.

Run in conjunction with the races were the trials for the British and Irish Masters Cross Country to take place in Wales in November, giving added incentive for good performances by master athletes. Running strongly in the Master Women’s 6,000m race both Breda Daly and Maura Dervin ran strong races and finished eighth in their respective categories, which is unfortunately out of the reckoning for places on the Irish masters team. It was better news for Eileen Kenny in her Master Women’s 4,500m race, where an excellent second place finish assures her of selection on the Irish team for Wales.

Gerard Gavin and Eddie Newman also ran fine races in a very competitive Master Men’s 7,500m race and even though they both finished out of the places that would see them in the reckoning for selection on the Irish masters team, they can feel very pleased with their performances.

Longwood 5k and 10k

The early morning misty rain on Sunday morning 21st October cleared to give dry calm conditions, which were perfect for the Longwood 5k and 10k road races and clearly suited the small group from Mullingar that took part. Among the 171 finishers of the 5k race, Kedagh Geoghegan was delighted to finish 3rd in 19:01 and win an individual prize, followed closely by Philip Burke in 6th place in 19:50 to win his master category and Paul Ginnell 9th in 20:28 to win his master category too, so a very happy trio from Mullingar all getting prizes. There were 191 finishers in the longer 10k race, where first home for Mullingar was Kieran Nolan in 13th place in 38:50, ahead of Joan Flynn in 39:41, 17th overall and 1st woman to finish.

Westmeath Cross Country – day 2

The terrible persistent rain of the day before cleared to beautiful blue skies on Sunday morning 14th October for day 2 of the Westmeath AAI Cross Country Championships in Belvedere, where competition was for boys and girls u/9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19 and 18 and for novice, junior, senior and master men and women. Despite the rain of the day before, after such a long and dry summer, the dry ground simply soaked up the rain and the underfoot conditions were absolutely excellent, so much so, that many dispensed with spikes and opted to run in flat running shoes. The lovely autumn morning certainly drew a good attendance and the number taking part was up on last year, boosted by a good number from Athlone IT, particularly in the younger age races.

Many of the juveniles who took part on day one the previous week were back in action again either running in their own age or moving up an age group to get in some race experience. As on day 1, the competitors on day 2 came from all across the County and included a number of welcome newcomers, with everyone keen to perform well. All the underage races were keenly contested especially the u/9 and u/11 races, and the last race of the day was a combined race for girls u/17, 18 and 19, for boys u/17, 18 and 19, and for men and women Novice, Senior and Master. All the women ran 4,000m and all the men ran 6,000m, everyone running over the same course but with different numbers of laps, so with nearly sixty runners racing out from the start, it was a great spectacle to watch the early stages of the race as the large field snaked its way around the rolling pastures of Belvedere.

Thanks to all who helped recording results and stewarding on the course, and to the many parents who came and supported the competitors, but in particular to all the athletes who competed.

The results of day two are HERE.

Selection for juvenile Club and County teams for the Leinster Championships will be based on the results from both days and on application in training. A few juveniles unavoidably missed one day or the other, or were ill, but they can still be considered for team selection if officials are happy that they are fit and able to train. The Club has a well earned reputation in underage cross country running, due in no small part to athletes running in their age group and moving up an age to support Club mates on Club and County teams and in preparation for the All-Ireland Finals. Therefore, in line with long time practice and what is effectively Club policy we expect everyone selected on teams to compete.

All-Ireland Schools Indoor Combined Events

The All-Ireland Schools Indoor Combined Events in Athlone IT on Saturday 13th October drew the very best multi-event athletes together for what promised to be a terrific competition. Being the Leinster Champion gave Shauna Leydon (Loreto Mullingar) a significant boost in confidence going into the Intermediate girls Pentathlon and a new PB of 9.55 seconds in the opening event, the 60m hurdles, got her off to a great start to place her third overall. However, an indifferent long jump and high jump by her very high standards followed by a below par performance in the shot saw her fall out of the medal places leading into the final event, the 800m. A terrific third place finish in the 800m in a new PB of 2:35.86 left her in seventh place overall, only 123 points away from the medal places, showing the depth of talent in this event. Congratulations to Shauna on a very strong performance in a hotly contested All-Ireland final.

Rosemount 10 km and Half Marathon

Despite persistent rain throughout the day, due to the final remnants of Storm Callum that had swept the Country on Thursday night, the inaugural Rosemount 10 km and Half Marathon road race took place on Saturday morning 13th October and still managed to attract a great entry to both races. While it was very mild, it was very wet but that didn’t put the hardy runners off one little bit!

The first race was the Half Marathon, which started at the GAA grounds and among the 248 finishers was a small group from Mullingar led home by the ever in-form Nollaig McEntegart in exactly 1:30, nineteenth overall and easily winning his master category by a distance. Just two places behind was Kedagh Geoghegan (1:31:48), then Enda Seery (1:37:42), Ruth Greene (2:03:53) and Karen McGouran (2:15:58) followed in and were glad to get in out of the rain and head indoors for some well-earned refreshments.

About half an hour after the start of the half marathon, the 10k race started at Rosemount NS and 235 runners were squeezed into the narrow country road for their start. Getting away to a fine start, Andy Nevin led the pack home in 34:58, comfortably clear of second place. In third place was Mark Carroll (36:29), followed by John Bannon (48:21), Declan Costello (48:35) and Aoife McGouran (48:51) and like the half marathon finishers, they wasted no time getting indoors out of the rain to tuck into the splendid array of refreshments to satisfy the wet, thirsty and hungry runners. Well done to all the Mullingar athletes that ran and very well done too to Rosemount GAA for hosting such a successful event despite the very inclement weather.

Irish Defence Forces “An Cosantóir 10k”

The Irish Defence Forces “An Cosantóir 10k” on Wednesday 10th October was another fantastic event hosted by the Irish Defence Forces in the Phoenix Park. This is an annual event open to all members of the Defence Forces for current, retired and invited personnel. McKee Barracks was the event HQ for the race and the route took the runners around the Phoenix Park and finished back at the Barracks. What’s “An Cosantóir”? It’s the official magazine of the Defence Forces; now you know!

The main 10km race was preceded by an interesting team event where different units run as a group of 25 runners. The group must finish together, the first 20 over the line counting as the unit finishing. Each group is as strong as its weakest link. This creates support and team building with all participants working together.

The main 10k road race was an individual event with age categories and team scoring similar to a Club road race and among the 280 runners was our own Stephen Campbell finishing well up in 13th place in 37:33 and not far behind was Elizabeth Carr who finished very strongly in 18th overall in 38:34, the first woman to finish by a long way. It’s great to see two Club members mixing a busy military career with competitive running.

Irish Three Quarter Marathon

Strategically placed in the fixtures calendar to attract entrants for the Dublin City Marathon in a few weeks time looking to put in a long run with company rather than face it alone, the Irish Three Quarter Marathon in Longwood, Co. Meath on Sunday morning 7th October attracted an entry of over 1,300. The Longwood course was nice and flat but cool windy conditions on the day were challenging, but good preparation for what the runners may face in the marathon in a few weeks time. Among the big entry were ten from Mullingar Harriers looking to test themselves and monitor their marathon training, led home by Patrick Muldoon in 2:19:33, which will give him great confidence of getting close to or breaking the three hour mark in Dublin. Not far behind was Joan Flynn with a very encouraging 2:20:14 to finish third senior woman. Mervyn Kennedy (2:42:25) was next, then came Ollie Gaffney (2:43:46), Stephen Bell (2:45:06), Joan Hickson (3:02:26) in her first official competitive outing for Mullingar, Sean Liston (3:03:30), Declan Costello (3:07:35) pacing Criona Reid to 3:07:38 and Rachel Davis (3:28:02) making up the Mullingar contingent. Of note is that the Mullingar group all managed to run relatively even splits, which is a major bonus when taking on the challenge of the full marathon distance. Congratulations to them all.

Westmeath Cross Country – day 1

In contrast to the lovely day for the recent Westmeath Schools Cross Country, which attracted a huge number of runners and spectators, day 1 of the Westmeath AAI Cross Country Championships in Belvedere on Sunday morning 7th October was understandably a very much quieter affair. Competition was for boys and girls u/8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 years of age. Underfoot conditions were absolutely excellent but there was a strong wind that made the day feel quite cold, so no one was inclined to hang around too long after their race. Maybe it was the weather, but numbers taking part were a little down on last year but that didn’t take from the great competition in each race and performances were very encouraging in the older age groups in particular, where the focus was on places on Club and County teams for the upcoming Leinster Cross Country Championships.

There were a good number of newcomers that had run in the Westmeath Schools Cross Country and if not members of a Club they’re strongly encouraged to join their nearest Club. The boys and girls that ran in the non-Championship u/8 and u/10 races really enjoyed themselves and were delighted with their medals, one for everyone that finished. Moving to the Championships proper, the race distances were longer than in the Westmeath Schools but that was no problem for those that have been training regularly. The course in Belvedere is a great test of cross country endurance and those that train there regularly will have no problem with the courses chosen for the Leinsters. Thanks to all who helped on day 1 recording the results and stewarding on the course and particularly to the many parents who came and supported the competitors.

There were some very good individual performances on day 1 but Championship cross country is also about team running, so everyone was being closely watched by Club officials, particularly the newcomers. The results of both days will be used to select teams to represent the Club and Westmeath in the upcoming Leinster Championships. The results of the Novice men and women races on day 2 (Sunday 14th) will also be used to select Club and County teams for the Leinster Championships, so all adult members that won’t be competing in the Dublin City Marathon but want to run in the Leinster Championships must run on day 2.

Competition on day 2 (Sunday 14th) will be for boys and girls u/9, 11, 13, 15, 17 and u/19 and 18 years, and for men and women junior, novice, senior and master. The first race will be at 11am so the younger runners should be in Belvedere before 10.30am to get ready and know where they have to run. The Westmeath AAI Cross Country is an open competition and you don’t have to be a member of a Club to take part, so everyone who took part in the schools cross country is very welcome to compete.

The Leinster Championships take place over two days, with two weeks between each, so juvenile athletes can run in their own age group and can move up an age group to make up teams. Therefore, we expect all juveniles to compete on both days of the Westmeath Championships unless ill or injured or they might be disappointed if not selected.

The results of day one are HERE