Q2, 2020 News & Reports – April to June

JUNE

Phased return to training of all members (28th June)

From Monday 29th June, Ireland begins phase 3 of the Government’s revised roadmap for reopening society and business. This phase will allow groups of up to 200 people to train outdoors and for children aged 12 years and younger to return to the Club, though we will be phasing in their return, starting with those born in 2008 and 2009 from this week, and then moving on to those born in 2010, 2011 and 2012 hopefully in a few weeks time. Athletics Ireland, working with Sport Ireland, has developed guidelines for athletics clubs, coaches and athletes to assist in their return to training and these are available to view on www.athleticsireland.ie and on the Club’s website. Of particular relevance to athletes and parents is the “Athlete’s Guide”, which is a short document, and we’re asking everyone to please read it and make themselves familiar with its contents.

Many health and social safety measures will be in place during this phase. To best adhere to these measures, the Club is temporarily changing the training times for what has been the “6.30pm group” up to now. To avoid congestion when entering and exiting the Club, we have to stagger the arrival and departure times of the various groups. From Tuesday June 30th, boys and girls born in 2008 and 2009 (under 13 and under 12) will train from 6pm to 6.45pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays until further notice. We understand that the change from the usual training time might be inconvenient for some but given the circumstances it is the best option available to ensure the Club can accommodate this group of athletes. A word of caution though, you cannot just turn up at 6pm and expect to train – you have to book the session in advance or you will be turned away.

All sports clubs are required to electronically record everyone attending training. This is essential to comply with the “contact tracing” element of the guidelines. The Club has created an online training registration form to fulfil this requirement. A link to the registration form will be emailed to all current members in the relevant age groups. The form must be completed for EACH session that an athlete wishes to attend. In addition to registering their intention to train, attendance of all Club members at sessions will be recorded. Once again, this will be done electronically. It is very important that Club members report to the main doors of the clubhouse and inform a coach of their presence. Athletes must not join a training session until their attendance at the Club has been recorded.

Unfortunately, for now the Club is not in a position to bring our youngest members born in 2010, 2011 and 2012 back to training just yet. The Club is short on coaches and volunteers and unfortunately cannot accommodate the large number of juveniles in these age groups to the required safety standards. We hope to recommence training for these age groups from the week beginning 13th July if we can ensure we have sufficient supervision and the appropriate number of coaches available. If any parent or guardian is in a position to volunteer during training, either in a coaching or supervisory role, please send an e-mail to info@mullingarharriers.com. Many of our coaches and volunteers are parents just like you and had little or no experience before their first day helping. Supervision may simply mean an extra pair of eyes and you will be attending alongside an experienced coach who will lead the session.

Phase 3 also allows for the use of clubhouses and indoor facilities provided they are cleaned to a high standard. Mullingar Harriers does not currently use any professional cleaning services and lacks the volunteers willing to carry out such a service. The Club will therefore not be opening the changing facilities, the hall, or the gym during this phase and all members are asked to turn up ready to train. There will be access to toilets during training sessions if necessary.

Positive news on reopening of the Club (19th June)

On Friday 19th June, the Government announced a revised roadmap for reopening society and business. Included in the revised schedule is the resumption of all sports from 29th June, but with spectator numbers limited to 50 indoors and 200 outdoors. This will increase to 100 indoors and 500 outdoors from 20th July. It’s possible that we can increase numbers training at the Club from the end of June, but each sport’s National Governing Body must decide when their sport will reopen, and at what pace, so we must await Athletics Ireland’s plans, which will hopefully be announced this week. In the meantime, the current restriction of groups of 15 shall continue to apply.

No indication was given as to when the 500 limit might be increased but the Taoiseach said that no event of 5,000 or more would be permitted before the end of September. It is possible that 500 might increase to 5,000 in phases between July and September, but we’ll have to wait and see. The 500 limit is important, because last week we said that among the provisional National T&F fixtures planned for August was one for juveniles from under 14 to under 19 but an important caveat was that all dates were contingent on meeting Government guidelines. In light of the restriction of 500 on outdoor numbers, Athletics Ireland has decided not to include National finals for u/14 to u/16. This is disappointing news, but it’s understandable, as these are the age groups that will generate the greatest number of entrants, and they are always accompanied by many more parents and possibly siblings and other family members than the older age groups, so the limit of 500 might be impossible to comply with.

Since Clubs have been allowed to reopen, we’ve successfully embraced the new “normal”. We’ve increased from groups of 4 to groups of 15, and fully complied with the protocols set by Athletics Ireland including appointment of a Covid-19 Compliance Officer, preparation of risk assessments, a pre-booking system, an attendance recording system when arriving at the Club, and carefully monitoring social distancing, hygiene and sneeze and cough etiquette. Therefore, we believe we’re well placed to increase activity at the Club, if we’re given the go ahead by Athletics Ireland.

AAI “Virtual” National 5k Championships

In early May 2019, Mullingar Harriers women featured very strongly in the individual and team medals at the Irish Runner 5k, which incorporated the AAI National 5k Championships. This year, a month later than planned due to Covid-19, the event was held, but it was a virtual event, and like our own “social distancing league”, contestants could run 5k on their own anywhere within 20k of their homes any day between Monday 8th and Sunday 14th June, record their run on a GPS watch and submit their time online, though unlike our own league, there was no age grading. Finishing well up overall was Evan McCormack in 17:03. Also running was Joan Hickson (21:32), Linda Cunningham (22:49), Michael O’Sullivan (23:12), Mary Stuart (23:14) and Patricia Broderick (28:01). It’s good to see Mullingar athletes embracing the “new normal” with such enthusiasm.

A chink of light on competition fixtures (12th June)

In an update from Athletics Ireland on Friday 12th June, among the FAQs about Phase 2 of the Government’s roadmap for reopening society and business was one very close to everyone’s heart; will there be any T&F competition this year? In response, Athletics Ireland confirms that the Juvenile and Competition Committees are meeting regularly to plan a return to competition within Government guidelines. Provisional dates in August and September are planned for Seniors and u/23, Masters, Juniors, and Juveniles from u/14 to u/19 and the dates will be published when confirmed. An important caveat though, is that all dates will be contingent on meeting Government guidelines. There is disappointment though for our younger members, with the confirmation that there will be no T&F competition for u/9, 10, 11, 12 or 13 years of age. In addition, there will be no relays or All-Ireland “B” T&F.

For now, training at the Club is confined to members who are or will be 13 years of age this year (u/14), live within 20k of the Club or in Westmeath, whichever is further. Training must be pre-booked in groups of 15 (a coach plus 14 athletes), there can be several groups training at the Club at the same time, but social distancing must be adhered to within and between groups. Pre-booking includes a mandatory health screening questionnaire. If an athlete doesn’t pre-book a session, they will not be allowed to train and everyone attending sessions must record their attendance electronically. Apart from social distancing, hygiene and sneeze and cough etiquette is closely watched. Changing rooms and toilets are not available in the current Phase and the Clubhouse is only open so coaches can have access to training equipment.

So far, we’ve had a full week of the increased numbers of 15 in a group and several groups training at the same time, on the grass track, on the gravel track, and on the sprint lanes, and so far everything is working well. Sessions are observed by our Covid-19 Compliance Officer, but of course everyone is expected to take responsibility for their own behaviour.

Close finishes in the Social Distance League (6th June)

Round 3 on Saturday 6th June concluded a successful Social Distance League where club members timed themselves for a 5k or 10k distance over three weekends. Results were submitted each week and a league table was produced based on graded times. Maurice Looby took a clean sweep in the 5k competition with three impressive solo runs. Evan McCormack was second fastest man in the previous rounds but a stellar run by Liam McGlynn saw his graded time just pip Evan at the post for second in round 3. Pauric Brady was back on form and pushed hard to ensure he was in contention for a place on the league podium.

Race leader in the 5k league, Brigid McCabe, took on the 10k distance this week giving her competitors a chance to make up some much needed scores. Sinéad Whitelaw took advantage of the opportunity with her fastest run of the league but missed out ever so slightly on claiming the position of first woman, falling victim to Áine O’Reilly’s graded time. Michelle O’Halloran ran her race of the season so far jumping up the table to finish third woman, ensuring the final results were far from being decided.

It was no surprise that Maurice Looby was declared winner of the 5k league after he set the standard in round 1, but few would be familiar enough with the grading process to realize the competition was wide open. The fact that Brigid McCabe finished second overall shows just how talented she is and what great form she is showing. After a scare in round 3 for Evan McCormack, he held on to second place on the men’s podium with Liam McGlynn, an athlete who shows he can switch to competition mode when necessary, third man.

Áine O’Reilly had to watch Brigid McCabe claim the 5k title in the women’s race but held on to secure second spot in a closely run event. Sinéad Whitelaw’s return to form helped her leap ahead of Patricia Broderick and Michelle O’Halloran to take bronze in the 5k league.

Tom McGrath and Eddie Newman traded places in the 10k with Eddie the victor in round 3, just ahead of Tom. Alan Crowley continued to improve and another personal best for the distance saw him home as third man last Saturday. But it was the ever impressive Brigid McCabe who really mixed up the scoring for the 10k competition with a run that put her among the race leaders, taking valuable points from the chasing pack. Behind her Mary Stuart and Terri Greene continued to challenge for the top woman spot. Both women recorded their best performances of the competition but Mary came out on top this week. After sampling the 5k distance last week, Criona Reid was back running 10k and ensured a very impressive Amy Mahony wouldn’t have it all her own way in claiming a podium finish.

Taking turns at the top of the table meant Tom McGrath and Eddie Newman shared the spoils as victors for the 10k competition. Amazingly three athletes, Alan Crowley, James Cribbin and Stephen Naughton had equal scores after three rounds and they finished in joint second. James Keegan, who has won many of the recent club leagues fell victim to grading this time around but still managed to get on the podium in third place. There was no social distancing for our lead women where Mary Stuart and Terri Greene both accumulated the same score to be declared league winners. Amy Mahony’s streak of personal bests leaped her ahead of Criona Reid and after a closely fought league the two women finished second and third.

The Social Distance League has proved to be of great benefit to club members in a time when no public races are currently scheduled. Fifty Harriers took part over three weeks and donated almost €700, which will be returned to the local economy in the form of vouchers for many businesses closed due to the Covid-19 restrictions.

The beginning of a return to general training at the Club (5th June)

Like all athletics clubs, we were delighted with the news announced by Government on Friday 5th June that increased the size of outdoor training groups from 4 to 15 and extended the distance we can travel to train from 5k to 20k. From 8th June, everyone in the Club can potentially return to training. We say potentially, because there are still age restrictions of no younger than 13 and no older than 70, and the limit of group size to 15 (one coach and 14 athletes) and even a limit on the number of groups at the Club at the same time, means we can’t have hundreds training at the Club at the same time like we were used to before Covid-19. Recent trial sessions with groups of 4 worked well and we’re NOW going to try sessions with a few groups of 15 and see how it works. It’s going to be challenging getting everyone eligible back to training at the Club and we’re going to have to do things differently for some time, so we’re asking everyone to remain patient for now.

Part of the Athletics Ireland protocols we must follow is robust contact tracing. This means everyone that is going to train at the Club must pre-register for each session and their attendance recorded when they arrive. The link to pre-register is e-mailed to members, so it’s vital that we have the correct e-mail address. If the Club coaches don’t have your mobile number and e-mail, they won’t be able to contact you and invite you to sessions. The response to the request to update contact details remains patchy, a little over one third have submitted their up to date details, so we’ll repeat it. All Club members, or their parents or guardians, need to send an e-mail to info@mullingarharriers.com, using “contact” as the subject, with phone number, e-mail address and home address (with Eircode, if known). This request applies to everyone in the Club. When reviewing the responses so far, of interest is that quite a few e-mail addresses are different to what the Club had on record. How can we e-mail you the link to pre-register for training if we don’t have your correct e-mail address? Without confirming these contact details, you will not be allowed to attend training sessions at the club grounds. In fact, you won’t even be contacted and invited in the first place, so it’s up to you.

MAY

No immediate return to general training at the Club (31st May)

Last week we held trial sessions at the club grounds with a small number of invited athletes to test our new pre-booking and attendance systems. It was also an opportunity to see how social distancing might work in practice. It went well, but numbers were small (three groups of three athletes with one coach each), so it was quite straightforward and we know it will be very different with much larger numbers at training. At the moment, under phase 1, the Athletics Ireland guidelines restrict numbers attending training to groups of four, three athletes with one coach, but from next week, that will change and larger groups will be able to attend training. It’s phrased as “small group team sport training”, which is vague and this week we expect Athletics Ireland to put a number on the size of the groups. If the group sizes are much larger than four, we may be able to recommence group training. The increase in travel distance to 20km will also see all our coaches return to training, which will be a huge help. However, it’s too early to throw open the gates just yet, so we’re asking members to continue to be patient while we work thorough the fine details. With a bit of luck we’ll all be back training at the club soon, but it all depends on the details released for phase 2. In the meantime, keep on running yourselves from home.

Social Distance League – Round 2 (30th May)

The wild winds of the previous weekend had eased by round 2 of the Social Distance League on Saturday 30th May but participants had to battle temperatures rising into the mid 20s. Nevertheless, 41 Harriers took on the challenge of running either 5k or 10k on their own over a course of their choosing.

Once again it was Maurice Looby who ran the quickest 5k of the week, securing his position as league leader. Club stalwarts Nollaig McEntegart and Nicky McCabe benefitted from the grading scores to put the heat on Evan McCormack to see who will complete the top three next week. Brigid McCabe repeated her fine performance from round 1, establishing her position as leader in the 5k league.

In the 10k competition, a superb run by Alan Crowley saw him leap ahead of the leaders from round 1, but it was a new entrant to the league, Tom McGrath, who put in the best performance of the weekend and finished top of the table. The women’s competition will also have to wait until round 3 before the victor is decided, as Mary Stuart finished ahead of Terri Greene this week, giving each athlete a turn at the top of the leader board.

The league is taking place over three consecutive Saturdays with the final round on Saturday 6th June. All participants are tasked with racing solo and recording their run on a GPS watch on race day. The results are then submitted to the race referee for validation. Athletes are free to choose their own race route, so long as they stay within the 5km limit from their homes. While giving club members something to focus on during a period when all competitions are cancelled, the league will also benefit local business with all registration fees being returned as prizes in the form of vouchers for businesses closed during the recent social restrictions.

Generous additional benefit to Harriers membership at Belvedere (26th May)

Mullingar Harriers is an annual ticket holder at Belvedere, which up to last week allowed members to run on the woodland trails on Saturday and Sunday mornings up to 12 noon. This changed to our advantage last week when Westmeath County Council told us that our members can now visit Belvedere any two mornings over the course of the week, rather than just Saturday and Sunday. Members can now choose whatever two mornings suits them better and visit Belvedere up to 12 noon. The limit remains two mornings per week, but it’s an open choice.

Members must adhere to Government guidelines on travel distance, meet in groups of no more than four, maintain 2m social distance at all times, and when approaching other users to give them as wide a berth as possible when passing. We can also use the cross country course at any time, but the use of the woodland trails during the week is a brilliant extra resource for members, so sincere thanks to the Council and the Management and Staff at Belvedere for extending us this generous offer.

URGENT: all Club members must confirm their contact details (24th May)

We know it sounds like the opening line of every spam e-mail ever sent, but we need every member to confirm their contact details, so the Club’s records are up to date.

Sports Ireland has given Athletics Ireland permission for all athletics Clubs to return to limited activity, but only if Clubs can meet specific guidelines, among them being physical distancing, hygiene and contact tracing. The last one, contact tracing, is absolutely key and one of the many changes we need to introduce is the mandatory pre-booking and recording of all those who attend sessions at the Club. An online system will be used to assist with this process, but to ensure the Club has all the required information about our members we need everyone to verify their contact details.

Therefore, we request all Club members, or their parents or guardians, to please send a phone number, e-mail address and home address (with Eircode, if known) to info@mullingarharriers.com, using “contact” as the subject. For families, one e-mail will suffice, rather than multiple ones with the same details.

Without confirming these contact details, you will not be allowed to attend further training sessions at the Club grounds. This request applies to everyone in the Club, including those that paid or renewed membership online this year and therefore their details were captured at the time; phone numbers and e-mail addresses can change, so we need to be sure we have everything up to date. Anyone not on e-mail can phone any member of the Committee or ask another member to do it for them.

Update on reopening of the Club (24th May)

It’s still very early days and while some Clubs have reopened, many have not because of the very strict limitations in the guidelines, like the 5k distance from the club, athletes can be no younger than 13 years of age, and groups can be no larger than four, which includes the coach. For many Clubs with a large juvenile membership that can mean really no activity for them yet. A fifth of our membership is too young, only about a third lives within 5k, so that limits our numbers immediately in this first phase, but we can have more than one group at the Club at a time, so that helps, though with only a few coaches living within 5k, that limits the number of groups.

However, we’re continuing to work towards reopening the Club for training. Covid-19 signage has been put in place and surface markings put down, much of which will be familiar to everyone at this stage, but we need to be absolutely sure that we can control movements around the car park and on the grass track and gravel track. A lot has been done but we’re not quite there yet, so we can’t announce a reopening of the Club just yet. The safety and well being of our athletes, parents and coaches is paramount, so this work cannot be rushed. Like many other Clubs, we are being very conservative, but it’s the right thing to do. We want to make sure that we have good systems and structures in place because it’s all about containing Covid-19. We don’t want to spread it and need to be very sensible, taking this first phase slowly, assessing how it goes, and hoping we can grow from there.

We plan to hold a few pilot sessions with a small number of athletes to test our procedures. This will be a trial process for our new pre-booking and attendance systems. The athletes involved will be notified directly, but unfortunately this does not mean the Club has opened to all members. Subject to everything going to plan the Club will reopen to general training, within government limitations, at a later date.

The club grounds and clubhouse continue to remain closed for now. Our website www.mullingarharriers.com and Facebook page will have updates. We need to continue to do what is asked of all us all to keep our communities safe, so stay home and stay safe.

Social Distance League – Round 1 (23rd May)

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

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

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

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

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

Can the Club reopen soon for training? (17th May)

The long-awaited phase 1 of the Government’s roadmap to opening up society and the economy starts on Monday 18th May. In accordance with specific Government guidelines, Sports Ireland has given Athletics Ireland permission to allow all athletics clubs to return to limited activity from 18th May. For any club to reopen and resume training at their grounds, they must first carry out risk assessments, prepare a plan to resume operations, develop protocols and then strictly adhere to the guidelines. The club committee is currently studying the guidelines carefully and hopes to make a decision soon on whether or not it is possible for the club to meet all the requirements and reopen the club grounds for training.

However, before everyone gets too excited about the prospect of returning to training at the club soon, it should be noted that only the grounds (tracks) can be used and the clubhouse (and gym and toilets) must remain closed, you must live within 5km of the club, be no younger than 13 years of age (or older than 70), only groups of four are allowed – that’s one coach and three athletes, and 2m social distancing must be adhered to at all times, including when actually running in the little group of three athletes. Looking at the current paid up registered membership, two thirds of our members live beyond 5km, one in five is under 13 years of age, eleven are over 70 years of age, and altogether less than ninety members out of the entire membership lives near enough and is the right age to use the club grounds in phase 1. A further limitation is that a club coach must be present and only three of our coaches live within 5km, so apart from very few members being eligible to train at the club, we have very few coaches to take the sessions, so the numbers at any training session will be extremely small, perhaps as low as ten? A lot of work is needed in advance to make sure we can meet the guidelines in full. Is it worth the effort for so few? Looking ahead to the next phase of the roadmap on 8th June, when travel distance is extended to 20km and “small group team training” is allowed, perhaps it would be more practical and useful to wait until then before we return to training at the club grounds? We’ll await the decision of the club committee and will advise members through social media and the club website in due course.

We continue to urge members to do their best to stay fit by training at home in the meantime to keep in physical shape. When training outdoors, please remember to train alone (unless with others from your household) and follow the guidelines on travel, cough etiquette, social distance and keeping well apart from other walkers or runners you might meet on your run.

Senior International athletes from Mullingar remembered

A list of athletes who have represented Ireland at senor level in official Internationals from 1876 to 2020 has been published on the Athletics Ireland website (see HERE). Since Mullingar Harriers was founded in 1975, over 100 athletes have gained International honours at senior, under-23, junior, masters, and underage levels, but only 18 have gained the ultimate honour of a senior vest, including two Olympians. They are 14 men: Eddie Williams, Louis Kenny, Kevin Atkinson, Nollaig McEntegart, Michael Lane, Pat Ryan, Robert Berry, Cormac Finnerty, David Burke, John Burke, Tom McGrath, Martin Fagan, Mark Christie, Brendan Marshall, and 4 women: Mary Walsh (née Gallagher), Caroline Mullen, Catherine Boland and Vicky Harris.

It is interesting to note that with 25 senior caps, Kevin Atkinson is the 10th most capped Irish man on the list and that David and John Burke are part of a small select sub-group, as they are among only 32 brothers awarded senior caps for Ireland since 1876.

Another three Mullingar-born athletes began their athletic careers with the old NACA Mullingar Athletic Club, namely John Ross RIP (UCD), Ruth Algar (Crusaders AC) and Kingston Mills (Civil Service AC), giving a total of twenty one athletes.

The list on the AAI website is headed with a quote from President Michael D. Higgins when remembering the innocent civilians killed in the 1916 Rising “To be forgotten … is to die twice”, so with that in mind, if anyone knows of any other athlete from Mullingar who in years gone by represented Ireland at senior level and in what particular event, we would be delighted to include them.

Happy birthday to George Bell (7th May)

We don’t normally note member’s birthdays, but of course we’re not in normal times at the moment, so we’ll make an exception for one of the Club’s longest serving and faithful members. George Bell won’t mind everyone knowing he is the oldest member of Mullingar Harriers, and on Thursday 7th May he celebrated his 83rd birthday. Being one of the founder members, an honorary Life Vice-President and someone who has been at every event – athletic and social – organised by the Club since it was founded in 1975, we could not let the occasion pass by without marking it. Because of the current restrictions due to COVID-19, a birthday “drive by” was organised by members of the Club in association with our friends in the Midland Tri Club, Lakeside Wheelers and the “Kit-Kat” Club, with whom George also has strong links. Faithfully recorded by Tom Shaw for posterity and posted on Facebook for all to see, it is clear that those who took part in the cavalcade enjoyed doing it and there’s no doubt that George himself thoroughly enjoyed it too and was delighted to sit at the gate to his home on a beautiful sunny May evening and greet so many friends out to wish him a very happy birthday. When this awful pandemic is over, George is looking forward to celebrating his birthday in a more traditional manner! Everyone at Mullingar Harriers AC wishes George a very happy birthday.

When can we return to training & competition? (7th May)

In a press release on Thursday 7th May from Hamish Adams (Athletics Ireland CEO) and Georgina Drumm (Athletics Ireland President), it was confirmed that all National events that were to be held in May, June and July have been postponed until after 1st August. Athletics Ireland is liaising with Sport Ireland and the relevant Government authorities to determine the specific implications for athletics clubs and athletes with regard to the guidelines on relaxing restrictions in a phased manner in the coming weeks and months. Athletics Ireland is actively considering new dates for competitions and events that are feasible to host after 1st August and will communicate these decisions to Clubs as soon as possible. Among the core principles informing how competitive athletics can return, are following all Government guidelines on any transition back to activity, with the aim of ensuring the continued safety and well-being of the athletics and wider community; ensuring all competition and events are safe and focus on the well-being of athletes; awareness that a lead-in training time is required for athletes in clubs before any competition can resume; the need for innovation around athletic competition and events if restrictions on social distancing remain; and producing guidelines to mitigate risk to enable competition within Government guidelines.

It is still very uncertain when or even if we will have any T&F competitions this year or when road races can be held again, but we continue to urge members to do their best to stay fit by training at home to keep in physical shape. When training outdoors, please remember to train alone (unless with others from your household) and follow the guidelines on travel, social distance and keeping well apart from other walkers or runners you might meet on your run.

Restrictions to be relaxed, but we’re not out of the woods yet (3rd May)

The Government plan released on Friday 1st May to relax the restrictions on movement in five phases between now and early August is welcome and we can begin to be more optimistic about training together again and resuming athletics competitions. However, it is still possible that there will be no track and field competitions in 2020, but hopefully the autumn cross country season is safe and can take place. However, we’re not out of the woods yet and normal as we used to know it is still some way off but at least we can see the road ahead.

Before anyone starts packing their gear bag and heading for the Club, we need to look at the five phases in detail, as they impact on athletics. This week we can travel up to 5k. From 18th May we can train in groups of no more than four, but still need to observe social distancing, so obviously the Club must remain closed. From 8th June, we can travel up to 20k and small group team training is allowed, but we still need to observe social distancing, so a glimmer of hope, but is it enough to reopen the Club? Will coaches and parents be comfortable attending training sessions? From 29th June, sports can take place behind closed doors, though the 20k travel limit won’t help athletics competitions. It’s only from 20th July that travel restrictions are lifted and competitions can resume, but spectator numbers will be limited and social distancing must still be observed, so it’s hard to see what sort of athletics competitions could be held; perhaps road races, where there are less spectators, though registration and the customary post-race refreshments would be a logistic nightmare. Even finding first aid and ambulance cover could be a problem. If social distancing only applies to spectators, that’s one thing, but obviously social distancing in a race is impossible. It’s only in the final phase from 10th August that we begin to see some semblance of normality resuming, but spectator numbers will still be limited, though not specified, and social distancing must still be observed.

So, we need to wait a bit longer and see what advice issues from Athletics Ireland on the finer details of the lifting of restrictions and how best Clubs can manage a phased return to training and eventually to competition, but at least we’re on the road. In the meantime, even though the Club Grounds remain closed, maintenance has to go on and the track was cut last week and looks fantastic – all that’s missing is some athletes running around it!

In the meantime, all we can do is our best to stay fit by continuing to train at home to keep in physical shape. Apart from quiet roads, footpaths, fields, open spaces in housing estate, Royal Canal towpath and the Old Rail Trail, there is plenty that can be done indoors or in gardens too, so keep checking the Athletics Ireland website or Facebook page for ideas on running drills, exercise routines, strength and conditioning exercises etc. finally, when training outdoors, please remember to train alone (unless with others from your household) and follow the guidelines on travel, social distance and keeping well apart from other walkers or runners you might meet on your run.

For now, the club grounds and clubhouse remain closed until we hear that we can relax controls and life can begin to get back to normal again. Our website www.mullingarharriers.com and Facebook page will have updates. We need to continue to do what is asked of all us all to keep our communities safe, so stay home and stay safe.

APRIL

The light at the end of tunnel has dimmed … for the moment (26th April)

Despite the great National effort in staying home that has worked extremely well to “flatten the curve” and prevent the health system from being overwhelmed, the faint glimpse of light we thought we could see at the end of the tunnel last week has dimmed and it doesn’t look like we’re going to see any great relaxation in restrictions on movements any time soon. Was it simply a mirage caused by the recent spell of fine sunny weather? No, it’s just that the tunnel is longer than we thought. We might be over the worst, unless there is a second wave of infections, but we’re not there yet.

Given the rate of attrition on the fixture list, it is no surprise that Athletics Leinster has taken the difficult decision to postpone all of its scheduled outdoor T&F competitions in May and June until further notice. If circumstances and dates allow, it may be possible to host a limited competition later in the summer. No matter what happens this coming week-end when announcements will be made on what restrictions, if any, can be lifted, the rules on social distancing by at least two metres and the limit on outdoor gatherings to no more than 500 people will surely still be there, which makes it impossible to hold athletics events. We’ll watch with interest what Athletics Ireland decides to do with National fixtures, which would dictate when any Leinster fixtures could be re-scheduled, but a summer without any athletics fixtures is looking more and more likely with every passing week. We won’t even think about the autumn cross country season just yet!

For now, all we can do is our best to stay fit by training at home to keep in physical shape and also combat any “cabin fever” caused by being confined indoors for long periods of time and not seeing friends or wider family. There is plenty that can be done indoors or in gardens, so check the club and the Athletics Ireland website or Facebook pages for ideas on exercise routines, strength and conditioning exercises etc. When training outdoors, remember that you must keep within 2km of home, train alone (unless with other household members) and please remember to follow the guidelines on travel, social distance and keeping well apart from other walkers or runners you might meet on your run.

A faint glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel (19th April)

Is saying “the curve is flattening, we can start lifting restrictions now”, like a sky diver saying “the parachute has slowed my rate of descent, I can take it off now”? Anyone thinking that restrictions could be lifted quickly only has to think, having jumped from a plane at one thousand feet would you remove your parachute while still a hundred feet from the ground? Didn’t think so; that’s what we’re faced with when it comes to lifting restrictions. There’s still a bit to go yet. It’s all in the timing. However, despite the continuing tragic loss of life due to COVID-19, there’s a faint glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel and the discussion has moved to the next stage and how to start lifting restrictions. However, it has to be accepted that any changes will be very slow and steady, so we won’t be rushing back to training together and competing again any day soon. We’re not there yet but there is definitely reason to be hopeful that we might be over the worst.

In the meantime, we continue to encourage all our members to stay fit by training from or at home – it will help you keep in physical shape and also relieve any stress you might feel at being confined indoors for long periods of time and not seeing your friends or wider family. Don’t be getting overly concerned about having to cut back on training; research shows that you don’t loss fitness that much or too quickly just because you have to ease back in training for a while. Your general endurance levels will remain quite good and it’s really only top end speed that might suffer in the short term, but that’s also the quickest to recover. Your coach can advise how you can address that if you’re concerned; it might be as simple as doing a shorter faster interval-type session now and again. With no competition for the foreseeable, everyone should be in maintenance mode now and that will be enough to keep everything ticking over until we get as better picture on when we can compete again. There might be a temptation to sit back and do little or nothing now because resumption of competition seems so far away, but if you thought you could be competing again in August perhaps, would that change you’re thinking?

At least athletes can train alone, as long as it’s not too far from home at the moment and not for too long either. There is also plenty that can be done indoors or in gardens, so check the club and the Athletics Ireland website or Facebook pages for ideas on exercise routines, strength and conditioning exercises etc. When training outdoors, remember that you must keep within 2km of home, train alone (unless with other household members) and please remember to respect the social distancing guidelines and keep well apart from other walkers or runners you might meet on your run.

It’s looking like we’re in for a long haul on restrictions (11th April)

As we approach the end of five weeks of restrictions on movements due to the Coronavirus pandemic, it’s looking like we’re in for the long haul and are still a long way off a return to normal. The restrictions have now been extended to after the May bank holiday, but even if loosened then, it will not mean a return to competition or even necessarily training in groups again for quite some time. A sudden lifting of restrictions would in all likelihood cause a second wave of infections, undoing all the good work achieved to date. The leaving certificate exams are rescheduled to late July or early August, and allowing for the call by teachers to have students back in the classrooms at least two weeks before the exams, marks mid July as a date to watch. Is this an indicator of how the health authorities view any possibility of a lifting of restrictions? If so, May and June could be wiped off the fixture list, and possibly July too? All we can do is keep watching for updates.

Unlike team sports, where interaction with others in training is vital, at least athletes can train alone, as long as it’s not too far from home at the moment and not for too long either. There is also plenty that can be done indoors or in gardens, so check the club and the Athletics Ireland website or Facebook pages for ideas on exercise routines, strength and conditioning exercises etc. If training outdoors, remember that you must keep within 2km of home, train alone (unless with other household members) and please remember to respect the social distancing guidelines and keep well apart from other walkers or runners you might meet on your run, at least two metres but more if possible, as research shows that when running hard, breathing out is faster and stronger and droplets travel further.

No end in sight for current restrictions (4th April)

It’s looking more and more likely that the advice to stay home and restrictions on movements will remain in place for several more weeks, possibly for the entire month of April, and who knows how far beyond? What we do know is that the athletics fixture list is blank for April, and some fixtures in early May are already being postponed or cancelled, with others under careful review, so we’re in for the long haul when it comes to absence from competition, and probably training together too. At least most of us can still get out for a run now and then, as long as it’s not too far from home and not for too long either. Everyone needs to be careful not to suddenly start running every day if they haven’t been doing so up to now because you risk injury and there’ll be nowhere to go for treatment. Now is a good time to work on your running drills, core strength, stretching, foam rolling, and all the other ancillary things we know we should do but too often sideline or neglect.

For anyone tempted to bemoan the fact that they can’t move around freely, seeing the tragedies unfold in Italy and Spain, with the mounting daily death toll, it was sobering to learn last week that based on our relative population, if Ireland was in a similar state, we should have one thousand dead and not the hundred recorded last week, though one hundred is still too many lives lost. It shows that the measures we’re taking are proving effective in slowing the spread of the virus and we need to continue taking them, no matter how difficult many are finding it. By its nature, athletics is a solitary sport and athletes are conditioned to the self discipline that comes with that, so now is the time to demonstrate it and be disciplined enough to continue to do what is asked of all us all to keep our communities safe. Stay home, stay safe.

With all competition still on pause, it’s good to look back to this time last year and see what was in the news for Mullingar Harriers. Matthew Glennon and Oisin Lane were in brilliant form in the junior men 10k race walk at the Poděbrady Race Walking Festival in the Czech Republic where Oisin finished inside the standard for the European Youth (u/18) Olympics Festival (EYOF), the European Race Walking Cup and the European Junior T&F, and Matthew finished inside the standard for the EYOF too. On the final day of the All-Ireland Juvenile Indoors in Athlone IT, the Mullingar u/13 boys 4x200m relay squad of Matthew Molloy, Conor Liston, Jamie Wallace, Kyle Faherty and Criostoir Ormsby won by a distance to take gold. At the same Athlone venue, but on the outdoor track, the outdoor season was underway with the Irish University T&F where some of Mullingar’s third level student members were competing for their Colleges and Universities. Claire Fagan (DCU) used her trademark fast finish on the final lap of a tactical 5,000m to pull well clear and win and Vicky Harris helped the AIT team to third place in the 4x100m relay.

On the road, Kedagh Geoghegan (1:33:14) and John Kilroy (1:41:44) were happy to finish well up among a very big entry at the Omagh Half Marathon in Co. Tyrone and at the well attended Lough Boora Half Marathon in Co. Offaly, Joan Flynn finished in an impressive 1:30:26, the second woman to finish. An interesting feature was the half marathon relay where sister and brother, Linda Cunningham and Gerard Gavin, paired up as “Team Gavin” and finished in 1:31:29, the second of thirty teams.

The club grounds and clubhouse remain closed until we hear that we can relax controls and life can begin to get back to normal again. Our website www.mullingarharriers.com and Facebook page will have updates. There is also plenty that can be done indoors, so check the club and the Athletics Ireland website or Facebook pages for ideas on indoor exercises, strength and conditioning routines etc. If training outdoors, remember that you must now keep within 2km of home, train alone (unless with other household members) and please remember to respect the social distancing guidelines and keep at least two metres apart from other walkers or runners you might meet on your run.

“Escape” (3rd April)

Age is no obstacle to active involvement in athletics. The age range of members of Mullingar Harriers goes from 8 years of age to over 70 years, so in keeping with current advice, some of its older members are “cocooning” and foregoing the simple pleasure of escaping the house in these strange times and going for a quick run. Among them is Geraldine Walsh, who has been an active member of Mullingar Harriers for over 35 years, wearing the maroon of white of Mullingar at races all over Ireland, and the green and white of Ireland at home and abroad, even as far away as Brisbane, Australia. Geraldine has penned a poem “Escape”, which captures the thoughts of a runner who despite the distractions brought about by keeping busy, still feels trapped in the house and just wants to escape for a quick run.

ESCAPE

Lockdown has come, over 70s stay home

Ring your sister, get on the phone

Write a letter, you’ll feel better

Don’t lie in bed, make some bread

Clean the silver, wash the floor,

Do the ironing, there’s always more

Read a book, relearn how to cook.

Have some wine, you’ll be fine.

I’ve done it all, I’m wide awake

I lie in bed and in my head

5k around town, I’m wide awake.

21k St. Patrick’s Day, I’m wide awake.

Camino in Spain, 800k, I’m wide awake.

I go to the kitchen to make some tea

I look out the window and I see

The moon is bright, the stars alight

5k around town, how long would it take? I’m wide awake

I slip on the shoes and sneak out the gate

5k around town, how long would it take? I’m wide awake

The cool night air, the wind in my hair

5k around town, how long would it take? I’m wide awake

No people, no cars, no singing in bars

5k around town, how long will it take? I’m wide awake

The shops are all shuttered

I feel my heart break

5k around town, how long will it take? I’m wide awake

Houses are dark, don’t go through the park

5k around town, how long does it take? I’m wide awake

Now it’s not dark, do I hear a lark?

5k around town, how long did it take? I’m not wide awake

Good morning my town,

I need to lie down.

Q2, 2020 News & Reports – April to June

JUNE

MAY

APRIL

Links

Clubs

Clubs

Clubs

Associations

County Boards