Q2, 2021 News & Reports – April to June

JUNE

AAI National Senior T&F

In the 10,000m on the final day of the AAI National Senior T&F Championships in Santry on Sunday 27th June, Cormac Dalton and Jamie Battle lined up for this gruelling twenty five lap event in warm conditions. Cormac and Jamie featured prominently in the early stages and were very much involved in instigating a breakaway group of the leading athletes in the first half of the race. Over the final 4km, Cormac was involved in a real battle for the medals and used his trademark strong finish to take third place in a time of 30:01.90. This is Cormac’s first medal at senior level. Jamie finished in seventh place in 31:05.57, which was an excellent result in his first National Senior Championship and in his debut race over 10,000m. This was also Cormac’s final race of the track season before he departs for Tulsa University in August and it rounded off an excellent season where he significantly improved his personal bests in all distances from 1,500m to 10,000m and represented Ireland for the first time at Senior level.

The first of our middle distance athletes were in action in the 800m heats on Friday evening. Colin (D) Smith was in the second heat and faced a tough task with only the first three advancing to the final. However Colin ran a very positive race and comfortably qualified in third position. Eoin Quinn was a decisive winner of the Irish u/20 title the week before and transitioned with ease to Senior Championship racing, also securing automatic qualification for the final. On Saturday, Eoin and Colin lined up for their first National Senior final and both performed very well. Eoin finished ninth in a time of 1:52.50, with Colin directly behind him in a personal best time of 1:53. 36. Claire Fagan raced the 5,000m in which there was a very large entry. Claire positioned herself well in the leading pack for the first half of the race and battled hard to finish in tenth place. Her time of 16:49.09 was just six seconds outside her personal best. Euan Lagan raced the 5,000m and despite a recent injury niggle he had a solid run to finish in 16:17.50.

Though it’s a Senior Championship, there is also an u/20 men 3,000m and we had two juvenile athletes racing to gain experience at this level. Ross Killalea finished in a time of 9:08.43, closely followed by Diarmuid Fagan in 9:13.20. This was very strong running by both of them and now they can turn their attention to their age group Championships over the coming weeks.

After her fantastic exploits over 3,000m race walk at the National u/20 T&F the week before, Aisling Lane made the last minute decision to try a 5,000m race walk on Sunday afternoon for the first time, as she looks to the future. However, very warm and humid conditions with a strong breeze in the home straight do not assist fast times, so she had to settle for sixth place amongst the vastly experienced senior walkers. Next up was Colm Walsh taking on the challenge of 25 laps in the demanding 10,000m race walk. Walking with determination Colm stuck to the task and fought the conditions bravely to finish a highly commendable fourth and making him the clear favourite for the National Masters Championships later in the season.

Northern Ireland Masters T&F

With no meaningful competition in his 3,000m race walk at the Northern Ireland Masters T&F at the Mary Peters Track in Belfast on Saturday 26th June, Sean McMullin decided to make it a time trial and try to break 18 minutes for the distance. Just under 18 minutes later, in fact 17 minutes 59 seconds later, Sean crossed the line the easy winner and setting a new Irish record in his master category into the bargain. This was excellent preparation for Sean for the Leinster masters and National masters T&F to come this season.

St. Coca’s AC 5k

After a very long time away because of the public health restrictions required due to the Covid pandemic, live road racing made an eagerly awaited return on Friday evening 25th June when the St. Coca’s AC 5k was held in Kilcock, Co. Kildare. Despite clashing with the National Senior T&F Championships taking place over the week-end, the demand for places was very high and the 200 places were snapped up within minutes of the event opening for entries. Among the lucky entrants was a number of Mullingar athletes delighted to be making a return to proper road racing.

The Kilcock course has a reputation as a fast one, and this was confirmed as after a fiercely contested race, the winner was Evan Fitzgerald (Clonmel AC) in 14:53, Mick Fogarty (Ferbane AC) second in 14:59, and Neil Wiktorski (Bray Runners) third in 15:02. The women’s race was won by Lizzie Lee (Leevale AC) in 15:53, ahead of Maria McCambridge (Dundrum South Dublin) second in 17:05 and Noreen Brouder (Sportsworld) third in 17:09. Best of the Mullingar group was Andrew Nevin (16:14), followed in by Alan Crowley (16:40), Eddie Newman (17:03) 3rd in his master category, Sinead Whitelaw (18:00), Michelle Bohan (19:07) and Amy Mahony (19:42).

AAI National u/20 and u/23 T&F Championships

The AAI National u/20 and u/23 T&F Championships took place on Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th June in a sunny and warm, albeit a bit windy at times, Santry Stadium where the Mullingar athletes put in terrific performances across a range of events, many bringing home medals.

Eoin Quinn continued his excellent season with a convincing win in the u/20 men 800m on Saturday. In the morning heats, Eoin won his heat in a very comfortable manner. Colin (P) Smith was fourth in his heat in a time of 2:01.39, missing a place in the final by an agonising one hundredth of a second. In the final, Eoin quickly moved into a prominent position and within 200m he was in second place. Running a tactically astute race, Eoin took the lead after 500m and remained in complete control, powering away from the field and extending his advantage right to the line. Eoin’s winning time of 1:51.89 was very impressive in a Championship race. This National u/20 title was well deserved for Eoin, who is now well established as one of Irelands leading up and coming middle distance talents.

It was a very tactical race in the u/23 men 800m where Colin (D) Smith and Brian Martin were in action. Colin ran a very positive race to put himself in a medal position on the first lap. However, he was passed over the final 200m and had to be content with a fourth place finish in 1:55.47. Brian Martin was having his first race of the season and ran a solid race to finish fifth in 1:59.73. In the u/20 men 5,000m Lorcan Mullen was in action and produced a very strong run. His time of 16:13.11 was a new PB, improving on his previous by an impressive 10 seconds.

The u/20 women 400m hurdles was a straight final where Shauna Leydon was drawn in the difficult outside lane. Starting strongly and rising to the first hurdle with the leaders, Shauna kept composed and controlled, staying in contention throughout, and entered the home straight in third place looking strong. Her superior hurdling technique came to the fore over the final two hurdles, moving into second place off the final hurdle and holding it to the line to win a National u/20 silver medal in only her second race over the distance. She ended the day running the anchor leg for the Ireland “B” 4x400m relay team against the “A” u/20 and u/23 teams that were trying to secure the European qualification standards.

Given his recent form, it was no surprise that Charles Okafor won his heat of the u/20 men 200m with ease to qualify for the final. Getting away to a terrific start in the final he came into the home straight in third place fighting hard but unable to close the gap and finished in third place. Any tinge of disappointment at not retaining the title he won last year quickly evaporated when he learned his time was 21.75 seconds in near calm conditions. This is a new PB, an improvement of 0.29 seconds, which is a huge improvement for a sprinter.

Shauna Leydon had an early start on Sunday morning in the u/20 women 400m heats. Despite still feeling the effects of running two 400m races the previous day she gave a good account but didn’t advance from the extremely competitive heats. Charles Okafor made short work of his heat of the u/20 men 100m and lined up in the final as a medal favourite. Blasting from the blocks he was always in contention in a very fast race and finished third to win his second medal of the week-end. His time of 10.84 seconds with zero wind was a new PB, his second of the week-end.

The first race walk on Sunday afternoon was the combined u/20 and u/23 women 3,000m. The race soon divided into two main groups, with the leading group including the very youthful Aisling Lane. Following these and walking conservatively according to plan was Sarah Glennon. The front group was soon reduced to three with Aisling working hard with consistent focused effort throughout to finish in an excellent second place in the u/20 category, on her debut at this level of competition. Sarah’s early pace control paid dividends and with excellent technique she glided though the field to comfortably earn the silver medal in the u/23 category. The u/20 men 5,000m followed and when the gun went, so did Matthew Glennon, producing a strong untouchable solo effort to win well clear of his rivals. His younger brother, Andrew Glennon, kept in touch with the silver position for the majority of the race but had to settle for bronze in a satisfying personal best. Well done to the Glennon family who between them won a full set of National medals – gold, silver and bronze – a unique achievement. Add in Aisling Lane’s silver medal and Mullingar Harriers was clearly the dominant Club in the race walk events.

Colin (P) Smith rounded off the Mullingar interest when he was back in action late on Sunday afternoon in the u/20 men 1,500m where he was in the leading group throughout the race and despite a brave effort he was just run out of the medals on the last lap. He finished sixth in a time of 4:02.19.

AAI Games

The AAI Games took place in very good conditions in Morton Stadium, Santry on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th June. In the senior men 800m, Eoin Quinn’s recent improvements saw him compete in the A race, giving a very good account of himself finishing in fifth place in 1:52.74. Colin D Smith (u/23) was having his first race of the season and finished closely behind Eoin in a time of 1:54.34. In the next heat, Colin P Smith (u/20) stepped down in distance from 1,500m to 800m and produced a really strong finish to win his race in 1:54.78. This was a PB by three seconds and another big step forward for Colin.

In the men 3,000m A race, Cormac Dalton was always prominent in the leading group as was Jamie Battle, who was racing for the first time in eighteen months. Cormac finished second in a thrilling sprint finish to record a time of 8:11.68, which was a PB by over fifteen seconds. Jamie Battle also finished strongly in 8:16.48, also a PB by over ten seconds. Euan Lagan dipped under the nine minute barrier for the first time with 8:56.85, while Lorcan Mullen finished well for a time of 9:16.51.

Claire Fagan, who usually races over 5,000m and 10,000m, stepped down in distance and raced over 1,500m for the first time in two years. She was rewarded with a seventh place finish in a PB of 4:30.66. Phoebe Bate and Meabh Killalea are both juvenile athletes but bravely stepped up into senior competition, competing in the 800m and 3,000m respectively. This was the first opportunity for the girls to race in almost a year and both performed very well. They can now focus on their upcoming juvenile Leinster and National championships in the weeks ahead. Diarmuid Fagan and Ross Killalea also used the 1,500m to sharpen up for the underage championships. While both were marginally outside their personal bests set two weeks ago, it was a great experience to race against senior athletes and will set them up very well for the rest of the track season.

Charles Okafor lined up late on Saturday afternoon for his first 200m race in nine months. Drawn in lane 3 in a tough race against a high quality field, he powered to third place in an excellent 22.15 seconds with a tail wind only slightly over the legal limit, so it was a very good first race over the distance this year. Charles was back on track early on Sunday morning for the 100m where he responded well to the pressure of top quality opposition and was very pleased to run 11.01 seconds in near calm conditions, quicker than in Belfast two weeks earlier. An hour later he lined up in the second series of 100m races where he improved again to 10.82 seconds, which only for the tail wind being slightly over the legal limit, would have been a big PB, but he’s improving with every race and knows that further improvements will come.

AAI National 20k Race Walk Championships & Supporting Events

The AAI National 20k Race Walk Championships & Supporting Events were held in mild but very humid conditions in the lovely grounds of St. Jarlath’s College, Tuam, Co. Galway on Saturday morning 12th June. The Open 10k was held in conjunction with the 20k Championships and so was judged by the panel of mainly International race walking judges, which was a great experience and test of technique for all the 10k competitors. The course was very demanding and included a 160m long steep gradient, which had to be overcome on each of the 17 laps in the 10k.

Oisin Lane took all of this in his stride, coming home first in 44:39, over a minute inside the European Junior qualifying standard and is the second time he has achieved the standard during the qualifying period. Saturday was Oisin’s birthday and the performance puts him in line for team selection, an ideal birthday present! Matthew Glennon, who has also already achieved the European Junior qualifying standard, was matching Oisin stride for stride but unfortunately, the steep incline began to affect his hamstrings, so as a precautionary measure, he withdrew just after the half way mark to avoid an injury. Aisling Lane had planned to attempt the longer distance but instead settled for a new PB for 3km. Andrew Glennon too attempted the 10km for the first time and was very happy with his third place finish in 51:39, an excellent performance for a youth athlete, and was a good confidence booster for him ahead of the National Junior Championships. It was good to also see Sarah Glennon back in a distance race again and she was pleased to be the first woman home. This is good preparation for the upcoming AAI National under 23 Championships.

The Club’s master race walkers have been flying the flag at home and abroad and Colm Walsh showed why he is the current Irish National Masters Champion with a clear gun to tape victory over all competitors and age groups in a fast 25:41 in the Open 5km. Our seasoned competitor Sean McMullin walked strong and solid throughout to finish fifth overall leaving behind several others who are a fraction of his years. So, on a day of distance race walking, the maroon and white of Mullingar Harriers was clearly to the fore.

NCAA T&F Finals

The NCAA T&F Finals are the pinnacle of College athletics in the USA and this year were held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Competing for Iona College in the 10,000m on Wednesday evening 9th June, Jack O’Leary knew that had to be on the top of his game and fortunately given his current rich form that was no problem. NCAA finals are legendary for their quality and this race was no exception, with the winner breaking the meeting record that has stood for over 40 years and 15 others recording personal best performances, among them a terrific 28:29.39 PB by Jack, a nearly 8 second improvement on his previous best set in early April, to finish strongly in 16th place. This is a brilliant result at this level and it earned Jack All-America honours. Jack’s time also puts him the second fastest over an outdoor 10,000m in Iona history. Jack has had an outstanding cross country season and now an outstanding track season in the USA and we look forward to seeing him when he comes home for the summer.

MTU Athletics Track Night #1

At the first MTU Athletics Track Night at the Munster Technological University in Cork on Tuesday evening 8th June, Lorcan Mullen was the easy winner of his 5,000m race with a new PB of 16:23.60, a 6 second improvement on his previous best. It was a shame that the pace runner didn’t stay in the race for longer and that there was no one to run with for much of the race, so Lorcan had to do all the work himself at the front, but he battled on despite hurting over the final stages and was delighted with the win and PB and is confident there is better to come in the right race with better opposition to run against. Lorcan has his sights set on the National Juvenile T&F in August and this race in Cork was the latest building block along the way.

Turgesius Island 10 Mile

The Turgesius Island 10 Mile race was originally scheduled for February but postponed due to the extended lockdown. Adhering to Covid-19 regulations, the event was held on Sunday morning 6th June with an altered format consisting of wave starts with 15 athletes per group and the starting order was based on estimated finish times submitted before the event.

On a hot, sunny morning four waves of participants lined up in Collinstown with a number of Mullingar Harriers among the socially distanced crowd. At 9am the first wave, consisting of the quicker male runners set off, followed shortly after by an “elite” women wave, and eventually the remaining entrants. Mullingar men were straight to the front of the race with James Keegan and Andrew Nevin setting the early pace with long-time friend of the Club, Peter Mooney, completing the lead trio.

James took the lead in to the second half of the race but following a good battle between the race leaders, it was Peter Mooney who took the spoils, crossing the finish line beside Lough Lene just seconds ahead of James in 2nd place who set a 10 mile PB of 56:30. Andrew was a comfortable 3rd and was followed by Eoin Clarke in 4th running a big PB of 60:50 and Alan Crowley in 5th place, fighting through a tough day to still pick up a 10 mile PB of 62:36. Evan McCormack was on pacing duties and used the event as a good workout, Michael Clinton knocked a large chunk off his PB and Paul Ginnell took advantage of the day to help with his comeback from injury.

In the women’s race, Michelle Bohan and Amy Mahony were in contention for a place on the podium all the way to the end but were unlucky to finish just outside the prizes in 4th and 6th place respectively in a closely fought contest. Colm Walsh, Nollaig McEntegart and Jason McCabe also took advantage of the day to test the legs after a long lockdown away from organized events.

Although the event did not consist of the full race format it was a welcome return to competitive running and race day atmosphere, and a good chance for all to re-familiarise themselves with the race day routine, something that’s been missing for many months now. Well done to the organizers from North Westmeath AC and hopefully the positive experience will ensure the race returns on an annual basis.

European 10,000m Cup

Cormac Dalton made his Senior International debut at the European 10,000m Cup in Birmingham, England on Saturday evening 5th June. In a very competitive race, Cormac featured in the lead group for the first five kilometres. Unfortunately, he suffered from a severe blister, which forced him to stop shortly after 7km. Cormac can take consolation however from the fact that he was on pace to finish well inside his personal best for the distance at that point. It’s been a real breakthrough season on the track for Cormac, the blister will heal, and he can look forward to more strong performances in the next few weeks.

Construction of new track well underway (Fri 4th June)

Construction of our new all-weather track got underway on Monday 31st May and thanks to fine weather all week, by the end of the first week, Midland Sport Surfaces, the Main Contractor engaged on the works, has made great progress and the outline of the track is beginning to take shape. The weather forecast is for more good weather on week two, which will greatly help in making even more progress.

MAY

Belfast Irish Milers Club Meet

As Northern Ireland is a bit further down the road to post-Covid normality, there was no limit on spectators at the Mary Peters Track on Saturday 29th May for the Belfast Irish Milers Club Meet. Spectators always add to the atmosphere of an event and as Ireland starts to reopen more and more in the coming weeks and months, it’s something we can look forward to again at events nearer to home. Conditions on the day were perfect for running, sunny and warm, which really added to the enjoyment of the event and definitely brought the very best out of all the Mullingar athletes, particularly Eoin Quinn in the 800m.

The day began with the junior races and Mullingar athletes were very much to the fore. The Junior Girls 1,000m included five girls from Mullingar Harriers. It’s been over a year since these girls last raced, so they were bound to be feeling rusty but despite this, they really stepped up to the challenge and put in terrific performances, led home by Leah Geoghegan finishing fast in 2nd place, followed closely by Grace Byrne (4th), Adele Geoghegan (7th), Caoimhe Byrne and Caoimhe Donohue. In the Junior Boys 1,000m, Jamie Wallace took the lead from the start and set a good strong pace, with Conor Sherwin and Conor Liston following close behind. With 250m to go, Jamie was passed but kept running hard to the finish to place 4th, followed by Conor Sherwin (6th), just ahead of Conor Liston (7th). Now that our juvenile athletes have had their first race in a very long time, judging on these fine performances, they can look forward with great confidence to their next racing opportunities.

Moving to the senior programme, Charles Okafor had his first race since last September, running in the 100m against some of the best senior sprinters in Ireland. Charles was unfazed by the quality of the opposition, powering from the start and despite finishing down the field, was happy to run 11.10 seconds, the fastest he has run in the first race of a season, which augers very well for the season ahead.

The Club’s middle distance athletes were out in force and it was a memorable occasion for most, with personal bests the order of the day. For Eoin Quinn it was a real breakthrough. Eoin finished 2nd in his 800m race in a time of 1:50.45, an outstanding time for an u/20 athlete. He ran a very confident race and was in the leading group from the start and actually took the lead on the home straight before having to settle for second place in a dash for the finish line. Eoin was rewarded with a PB and this was inside the qualification standard for the upcoming European u/20 T&F Championships. Eoin will be looking to repeat this level of performance over the coming weeks in an attempt to secure selection on the Irish team.

In the 5,000m races, Euan Lagan was first into action. Making the most of the favourable weather conditions, Euan finished strongly in 6th place in his heat in a time of 15:41.52. This was an improvement of over 35 seconds on his previous best time. In the women’s 5,000m race, Claire Fagan was always prominent and finished strongly to secure 3rd place in a time of 16:49.10. This was marginally outside her PB, which she recorded at the same venue three weeks ago, but was another very strong performance.

The 1,500m races saw three of our juvenile members step up and compete in senior competition. Last week Colin Smith broke 4 minutes for 1,500m for the first time and he was determined to build on that performance. Colin was always in contention and finished 6th in his race in a fantastic time of 3:53.86. This is a huge improvement for Colin and now establishes him as one of the leading middle distance athletes in Ireland in his age group.

Diarmuid Fagan also had a fine run to finish in 8th place in his heat with a PB of 4:04.13. This was also his second PB in the space of a week and further evidence of his development as an athlete with great potential. Ross Killalea ran a very patient and well controlled race to improve his best time by a huge margin of 12 seconds finishing in a time of 4:10.20. Ross can be very satisfied with this time, as he is one of the most improved young athletes around.

In the final event of the day, Cormac Dalton took part in the 1,500m A race. Cormac is better known as a 5,000m and 10,000m athlete but his current form is such that he is comfortable over shorter distances too. Cormac finished in an excellent 2nd place in the race and recorded a PB by 9 seconds with a time of 3:46.50. This was a very good confidence boost for Cormac, as he competes in the European 10,000m Cup in Birmingham, England on coming Saturday 5th June. It was a fitting end to a really strong series of performances from Mullingar Harriers athletes.

NCAA East Preliminaries

Competing for Iona College in the 10,000m at the NCAA East Preliminaries at Hodges Stadium on the campus of the University of North Florida in Jacksonville on Wednesday evening 26th May, Jack O’Leary had a place in the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon in early June foremost in his mind. Keeping with the leading group from the start and always in contention throughout, Jack worked hard and maintained a very consistent pace, covering every move, and had enough in reserve to put in a fast 65 second final lap to finish in eleventh place with a time 29:01.42, inside the top twelve places and therefore qualifying for a spot in NCAA finals, the pinnacle of Collegiate track and field competition in the USA.

City of Lisburn AC Track Meeting

The City of Lisburn AC Track Meeting on Saturday 22nd May at the Mary Peters Track in Belfast was a very successful meeting for some of our junior athletes. First into action were Colin Smith and Diarmuid Fagan in the first of two 1,500m races. Both adopted very positive tactics and were rewarded with personal best times. For Colin it was a day to remember as he finished in a time of 3:59.60. This was a personal best by four seconds and his first time breaking the four minute barrier for 1,500m. Diarmuid finished in an impressive 4:07.86, which is an excellent time for his age group. In the second 1,500m race, Lorcan Mullen ran a strong race to record a time of 4:14.67, with Ross Killalea having a very good season opener, finishing in 4:21.83. Both Ross and Lorcan also achieved personal best times. Eoin Quinn was back on the track over 800m in his first race in two years. He ran a very positive race, tracking the leader through 400m, before confidently taking control and striding to the front. From this point, Eoin increased his lead with every stride and finished a convincing winner in 1:52.74. This was a personal best by almost 4 seconds, a huge margin at that level of 800m running. These were excellent performances by the Mullingar athletes and certainly augur well for the season ahead.

Harriers on the move … temporarily (16th May)

Knowing that construction of the new all-weather track was due to start in late May, the grass track and infield area was sprayed some weeks earlier to burn off the grass and now looks like a scorched savannah during the dry season. We were able to continue training on it for a while, but it has now been decided that it is no longer suitable and from Tuesday 18th May we have to up sticks and move for the next few months. In a gesture of sporting solidarity, Mullingar Rugby Club has generously opened its grounds to Mullingar Harriers during the rugby closed season, for which we are extremely grateful. Between the Rugby Club, Belvedere and booking sessions on the artificial tracks in Navan or Athlone, we’re confident that our members will be well prepared for the eagerly awaited return to competition in the coming months.

Athletics Ireland Micro Meet

At the Athletics Ireland Micro Meeting at Munster Technological University in Cork on Saturday 15th May, Cormac Dalton competed over the 10,000m distance for the first time and recorded an excellent win in 29 minutes 19.75 seconds. In doing so, Cormac was comfortably inside the European Cup qualification standard of 29 minutes 27.11 seconds. After the pace-maker dropped out before the midpoint of the race, Cormac confidently moved to the front before he and the other leading contenders sensibly rotated the pace-making duty. This ensured that they continued to maintain the 4 minutes 40 seconds per mile pace that was required to achieve the European Cup qualification standard. On the final lap Cormac produced his usual strong finish, covering the final 400m in 65 seconds to win the race. He now awaits confirmation of selection for the European Cup in Birmingham, England on June 5th.

UPDATE 18th May – Athletics Ireland has selected a team of 5 athletes, including Cormac Dalton, to compete at the European 10,000m Cup to be held in Birmingham, Great Britain on June 5th. AAI views the 2021 European 10,000m Cup as a Performance Development event which can provide an opportunity to foster greater depth in the distance events, an opportunity to attain qualifying standards for upcoming Championships, and can contribute to enhanced team performances at the European Cross Country Championships, which of course this December will be held in Dublin and is an event that Cormac is targeting. Though no stranger to International competition, up to now it has all been underage and this will be Cormac’s first international representation at Senior level.

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) T&F

The MAAC (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) Outdoor T&F was held at Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey where Jack O’Leary competed in the 5,000m on Sunday 9th May. Jack’s time of 28 minutes 37.03 seconds for 10,000m at the Stanford Invitational and 3 minutes 47.83 seconds for 1,500m at the Virginia Challenge in the weeks leading up to the MAAC, demonstrated that he was in excellent form and was sure to give a good account over 5,000m and he didn’t disappoint. Iona dominated the 5,000m with five of the top six finishers, including an excellent 1-2-3, only six seconds separating the medal positions. After a tactical race dominated and controlled by the Iona team members, it only really came to life with four laps to go, and came down to a furious burn up over the last 800m, with Jack producing a very strong 62 second final lap to finish third in 14 minutes 29.78 seconds and put down a clear marker for the track season ahead.

North Belfast Harriers Afternoon of 5,000m Races

Cormac Dalton and Claire Fagan made a welcome return to action in the “North Belfast Harriers Afternoon of 5,000m Races” at the Mary Peters Track in Belfast on Saturday 8th May. Both athletes made a great start to the season with personal best times. The women 5,000m was the first race of the day and Claire ran a brave race, following the pacemaker for the first 2,000m. Just after the halfway point, Claire lost contact with the eventual race winner but battled very well over the final mile and was rewarded with a personal best time of 16 minutes 43.60 seconds. This was nearly five seconds faster than she had previously run for the distance.

The 5,000m for elite men was the final race of the afternoon. Cormac made his intentions clear from the outset, always featuring in the top three athletes and taking the lead on several occasions to ensure a strong pace was maintained. With a mile to go, Cormac broke clear with one other competitor. They remained together until the bell sounded with one lap remaining and Cormac dramatically increased the pace to win by a margin of twenty metres. Cormac’s time of 13 minutes 59.05 seconds was a personal best by a huge margin of forty seven seconds. It was an excellent season opener and he can take real satisfaction from getting under the 14 minute barrier for 5,000m. This performance is all the more satisfying considering that it was his first competitive race since the European Cross Country in December 2019, eighteen months ago.

Virtual Great Limerick Marathon

Long distance virtual races are mentally much harder, with no fellow competitors and even spectators to help an athlete generate some extra adrenaline to help push them on, but Joan Flynn proved her mettle on Saturday morning 1st May when she ran the 2021 Virtual Great Limerick Marathon on country roads around Athlone. On paper, the weather was ideal for running, cool and nearly calm conditions, but midway through, the sun got very strong and it turned out to be very hot indeed. Joan finished in 2 hours 57 minutes, more than satisfied to run under the 3 hour mark during Covid times with no real races for so long and having really just ticked over for the last twelve months. Joan was very lucky to have great company though, as Maurice Looby also ran along with her, using it as a training run for his ultra training. Both were very appreciative of the great support they received from other runners they met along the way. This is not the first virtual marathon that Joan has run but she hopes it is the last and that there is a return to proper live races as soon as possible.

APRIL

Medley Road League – Round 6 – 3k

Round 6 of the Virtual Medley Road League took place on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th April and the results were compiled and the age-grading adjustments made and released on Tuesday 27th April. Apart from keeping our adult members focussed and motivated to train during lockdown, one of the purposes of the league was for everyone to chart progress over the months and the 3k run in Round 6 was an ideal opportunity to compare it to the 3k run in Round 1 in early February, 11 weeks before. Numbers taking part in Round 6 were down slightly, but still well over 50 submitted a time. Nearly nine out of ten who ran both Rounds 1 and 6 improved in Round 6, which is really good. There was also about 10 best times recorded in Round 6, some improving significantly. For those who fell off the wagon and dropped out of the league, we hope they can get back on board again as soon as possible, as group training is now back and we can look forward to the return of real races in the coming months.

Eddie Newman’s 3k time in Round 6, when age-graded, stands as a “World class” performance, which is the second highest ranking in the Masters Athletics Age-Graded Calculator. Well done Eddie! No surprise therefore, that Eddie Newman was best of the men in round 6, ahead of Alan Crowley and Evan McCormack who turned in excellent performances too. Also with excellent results, Mary Stuart, Brigid McCabe and Aisling Corcoran were the best of the women. All in all, there were some great times posted and when compared to the last Leinster T&F Championship 3,000m, Mullingar ladies would have won medals across all master age groups and also at senior level. In fact, three of our senior women ran times fast enough to win a bronze in 2019 and 2018. Two of our master women would have run a Championship Best Performance at Leinster, so don’t simply write off or ignore Leinster T&F just because it’s not road running or cross country and you’re not familiar with it. Remember, it’s the same people you’d be running against whether it’s track or road or cross country.

Construction of new track only weeks away (25th Apr)

We’re delighted to announce that after a long tender process, we have concluded negotiations with a Contractor to construct our new all weather track. Subject to suitable weather and prevailing public health restrictions allowing construction activity, Midland Sport Surfaces of Killucan, Co. Westmeath will begin construction in the coming weeks. This is the latest and largest and probably the most exciting development at the Club Grounds since the Club first laid out a grass track in 1985. It has come after a lot of planning and effort by Club officials, ably assisted by local firm ORS Consulting Engineers who were engaged to prepare the final design and contract documents so the work could go to tender. The project will receive grant aid through the Sports Capital Programme of the Department of Sport and of course a significant amount of money has to be raised by the Club itself to meet the final cost. We are delighted that a local Engineering Consultancy firm was involved in the design and also delighted that a local Contractor will be carrying out the work.

We always knew that when work started we would have to relocate from the Club and train elsewhere for several months but thanks to our friends in Mullingar Rugby Club, they have generously allowed us to train at their grounds while construction takes place. We’ll announce more details of this nearer the time.

New Athletics Ireland President elected at Congress

At the Athletics Ireland Virtual Congress held on Saturday 24th April, delegates elected John Cronin of Tullamore Harriers AC as the President of Athletics Ireland for the next two years. John is a familiar face to many in Mullingar Harriers who have attended competitions in Tullamore over the years. A native of Co. Donegal, John moved to Tullamore in 1983 and over a long career in athletics administration served on numerous committees from Club to National level. John was elected as an IAAF (now World Athletics) International Technical Official in 2013, elected onto the World Athletics Technical Committee in 2015, has officiated at many European and International athletics events since then, and more recently was appointed to the Jury of Appeal and will officiate at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo in July, the first Olympics he will officiate at. John is held in the highest esteem in the athletics community, both in Ireland and abroad. His constant good humour and generosity with his time and knowledge are well known and make him a perfect ambassador for the sport. Congratulations to John from everyone at Mullingar Harriers and we wish him well as he takes the helm for the next two years.

Another person well known to Mullingar Harriers, Ciarán O’Catháin, was honoured for services to athletics and made an Honorary Life Vice President. Ciarán served two terms as President but is best known locally as the man behind the construction of the magnificent Athlone International Indoor Arena. Congratulations to Ciarán.

Finally, congratulations to Catriona Duffy who will be the Athletics Leinster representative on the National Juvenile Competition Committee and to Greg Duggan who will be the Athletics Leinster representative on the Board of Athletics Ireland, both positions being confirmed at Congress.

Preparations well advanced for return to training at the Club (18th Apr)

It’s all systems go for a welcome return to group training for our underage athletes on Tuesday evening 27th April. Despite being closed since Christmas, thanks to the Trojan work over the last few months by our hardworking grounds man, Dave, the grounds are in fantastic condition. Before everyone gets too excited about the return though, it’s really important that everyone training at the Club has paid their membership, so they are registered with Athletics Ireland and are covered by its insurance. Membership is due every January, so if you haven’t paid this year yet, please do so this week so you can receive the link to pre-register for training. Remember, you can’t just turn up to training, everyone has to pre-register, including the coaches, and once there, everyone also has to be checked in.

Virginia Challenge – big 1,500m PB for Jack O’Leary

Coming quickly on the back of a great 45 second personal best for 10,000m at the Stanford Invitational just two weeks before, Jack O’Leary continued his very impressive start to the 2021 outdoor T&F season when competing for Iona College at the Virginia Challenge in Lannigan Field, Charlottesville on Friday 16th April where he ran 3 minutes 47.83 seconds for 1,500m, a fantastic 9 second improvement in his personal best for the distance.

Medley Road League – Round 5 – 5k

Round five of the Virtual Medley Road League took place over the Easter week-end. It was originally scheduled for Easter Monday, but because the forecast on Monday was for very windy cold weather, many ran their 5k on Saturday or Sunday instead when conditions were much more favourable for running. At least that was the excuse given and not that they were fearful of the effects of overindulgence in Easter eggs if they left it to Monday! To allow time for the usual age-grading adjustments to be made and just in case anyone decided to brave the elements on Monday, the results weren’t finalised until the Tuesday morning.

Fewer took part this time, 55 submitting a result, but that didn’t detract from the quality of the performances. Eddie Newman, Maurice Looby and Alan Crowley led the men home and Mary Stuart, Brigid McCabe and Sinead Whitelaw led the women. There were a number of massive improvements and some very fast times too, and we also saw nearly double figures in the amount of personal bests that were recorded. There were standout performances by James Keegan who impressed with a fine unadjusted 16:08, as did Sinead Whitelaw who ran a very swift 18:07, also unadjusted.

The plan for the final round was a 6k group run in Belvedere at the end of April but with Belvedere closed until then and adults still unable to meet up for group training or runs, it has been decided to change round six to a 3k solo run on the last week-end in April. This way everyone can compare their times to round one eleven weeks ago and see how much they have progressed since the league started. If a change to Covid restrictions allows adult group training before round six happens, a seventh round will be added, which will be a 6k race over two laps of Belvedere on the first Sunday morning after the changes come into force.

Stanford Invitational – big 10,000m PB for Jack O’Leary

Competing in the Iona College colours, Jack O’Leary got his outdoor track season off to the best possible start with a fantastic 45 second PB for 10,000m at the Stanford Invitational in California on Friday evening 2nd April. Jack ran the opening 5k very consistently with an average of 69 seconds per lap but when the pressure came at the front midway through the race, he responded with an increase in pace to an average of 67 seconds per lap, and with a fast 65 second final lap, finished sixth in 28:37.03, the third fastest all-time in Iona history and it puts him currently inside the top-10 in the Northeast of the USA. Coming on the back of a hugely successful run three weeks earlier at the rescheduled NCAA Cross Country Championship, this performance will give him huge confidence for the track season ahead.

Virtual Table Quiz proves a big hit (2nd Apr)

Thanks to everyone who supported our fundraising Virtual Table Quiz on Friday night 2nd April, which was conducted using Zoom. Fifty teams had entered but some doubled up on the night thanks to the wonders of modern technology, so nearly forty teams and groups took part, drawn from the four corners of the County and beyond, and we even had an entry from England. Congratulations to the winners, in particular Pat Muldoon’s team who scored a whopping 98 points out of 100. Special thanks to Michael O’Sullivan for his customary eclectic mix of questions that provided great entertainment as always for everyone. Doing a virtual table quiz was quite a novel experience and when the answer sheet was completed for each round, each team had only a limited time to send a photo by WhatsApp to Philip Burke and Clare O’Donnell who did Trojan work in the background checking and scoring everyone’s sheets, which was quite a task with so many sheets to check; this type of selfless support is what makes Mullingar Harriers the great Club that it is. We had so many generous donations of spot prizes that while it wasn’t quite one for everyone in the audience, we could give a spot prize to half the teams, which is always a nice bonus. The proceeds of the quiz will go towards the new all-weather track.