Q1, 2022 News & Reports – January to March

MARCH

Dunboyne 10k

The Dunboyne 10k took place on Sunday morning 27th March and it was a very successful event for the Mullingar Harriers athletes who travelled up to race it. The Mullingar ladies won the team event and retained the trophy that they won three years ago, as there has not been a race since 2019 due to Covid-19. There were many personal bests set along this route, which was a nice rolling course, albeit a little challenging on the day due to temperatures in the high teens, so it was tough going for the nearly 570 finishers. Sinéad Whitelaw led the Mullingar ladies home, fifth woman, finishing just outside her personal best in 37:09. Michelle Bohan ran a great race to finish in a new PB of 39:53, and Glenda Shaw and Aisling Corcoran also ran new PBs of 43:20 and 44:22 respectively to help the team finish strongly. Next to finish was Emer O’Hanlon, third in her master category, in 46:39 and Gemma Kelly in 48:25. In the men’s race, James Keegan continued to show his great racing form and finished fast in a fantastic new PB of 33:16. He was followed home by Alan Crowley (35:59), Kieran Nolan (37:43) and Stephen Naughton (39:10), third in his master category, and the men’s team finished in a very creditable fifth place.

Leinster Junior, Senior & Masters Indoors

At the final indoor competition of the season, the Leinster Junior, Senior and Masters Indoors held in Athlone on Saturday 26th March, eight master members of Mullingar Harriers competed and all eight of them won medals, some more than one, to yield a great haul of twelve medals over a very wide range of events from 60m to 3,000m and including jumps and throws, showing that there is more to athletics than just long distance road racing. More of our master members really should try track and field competition in the outdoor season ahead where they might just surprise themselves!

We had no junior members in action and only one senior, Shauna Leydon, who competed in a the senior 800m where she ran very well in what was a very tactical race to finish fourth, and very unlucky to miss a medal by a very narrow margin.

The first of our masters into action was Pat Boyhan in the master 60m where he was delighted to finish third in his category and win the bronze medal. Staying on the track, Pat took on the challenge of the master 3,000m race walk, a first time for him in the event, and was delighted to win his category and secure a gold medal. He wasn’t finished though, and in the master long jump, with his best jump in the third of four rounds, Pat took the gold medal to finish the day with two gold and a bronze medal. Another very busy man was Aidan O’Donoghue, who demonstrated his prowess as a multi-eventer. Starting with a third place finish in the master 60m hurdles, he then took to the master pole vault, a new event for him, and jumped to silver, and finally rounded off his day with a personal best of 1.50m in the master high jump, where there was a tie for gold and silver, with Aidan awarded the silver on count-back by virtue of more failures at lower heights, an extremely close contest. An added bonus for Aidan is that both men broke the previous Championship record. A great day’s work for Aidan.

Admitting it was always on her “bucket list” to run a 1,500m on the track, Pauline Troy was just happy to be competing in the master 1,500m but after a great performance, she was absolutely delighted to win her category and the Leinster gold medal in her first track race. No doubt, now that the bug has bitten, she’ll be keen to add to her medals in the outdoor season. Also delighted with his master 1,500m was Pauric Brady who raced hard in a very competitive race to win a well deserved silver medal.

Sean McMullin showed why he is the double European indoor master Champion with a flawless display in the master 3,000m race walk to win and secure another Leinster title. Over at the master weight for distance, Tom Walsh put together an excellent and consistent series of attempts to win his category and add to his collection of Leinster medals, and Mullingar’s growing medal haul on the day.

Gerard Gavin drew on all his track experience in the master 3,000m where he worked hard to stay with the pace set by younger master men in the mixed-age race and he was rewarded with a convincing victory in his own age category, with a new personal best of 9:54.03, an improvement by 0.74 seconds. The day ended in the medals again with Linda Cunningham in the master 400m where with a spirited performance and sticking to her task she was rewarded with a fine second place finish in her category and a Leinster silver medal.

SIAB Schools International Cross Country

It was a fabulous day at Pembrey County Park in South Wales on Saturday morning 26th March where the SIAB Schools International Cross Country took place. The best Irish schools athletes were up against the best from England, Scotland and Wales running on a mixture of very flat firm turf and undulating sand dunes, making it a very fast course and with temperatures in the mid-twenties, it certainly wouldn’t be what cross country runners would be used to. The focus of attention for Mullingar was Jamie Wallace making his International debut and Caoimhe Kilmurray in her second outing in an Irish vest. Two great athletes reaping the rewards of hard work and dedication in training.

Jamie Wallace competed in the Junior Boys 4,000m, where he got off to a great start and was up with the pace early on, mixing it with the best of the English, Welsh and Scottish runners, but just as the race was starting to develop Jamie took a tumbling fall on the twisting downhill part of the course and it looked like he was out of the race. However, as this International race was also a team event, after gathering himself together, he set off again trying to finish as far up the field as he could in order to help the Irish team score. Initially disappointed to finish further back than he was capable of, when the scores were added after the race, he was delighted to learn that the Irish team finished in second place, to win the silver team medals, a great result for Jamie on his International debut.

Caoimhe Kilmurray ran in the Intermediate Mixed 4×1,500m relay, a firm favourite at the SIAB Schools International Cross Country. This was the first time Caoimhe ran this type of race but that didn’t stop her from putting in an outstanding performance. The running order was girl-boy-girl-boy and Caoimhe ran the first leg. After a three way battle between the Welsh and Scottish runners, Caoimhe came out on top and handed over to her Irish teammate in second place, just behind the English team. At the change-over, Caoimhe collapsed over the line having given every ounce of effort; true team spirit, leaving nothing behind! From there on, the Irish team held second place and it was another team silver for Ireland and Caoimhe was delighted to have played an essential part in the team performance.

It was a fantastic achievement for two Mullingar Harriers to represent their country on the International stage, and furthermore, to win two silver medals to take back to the Club. These medals don’t come easy and all their training partners and group members can take a lot of pride in the help and encouragement given in the last few weeks, as can their coaches.

Now that Jamie has made his International debut for Ireland, his name will be added to the International Roll of Honour in the Clubhouse, the one hundred and twentieth name on the marble wall plaque.

Fit 4 Life – Spring 2022 Programme concludes

Our spring Fit 4 Life programme concluded on Monday night 21st March at our all-weather track in Grange. Over a 10-week period, participants received coaching from Club members to enable them to run a timed 5k. The majority of the participants would not have done any running in many years, if ever, and were seeking to get back to a level of fitness so they could enjoy regular exercise.

The Club had run a similar programme before Christmas and 11 participants returned again for this latest programme. It was noticeable that all of them achieved an improvement in their times for the 5k this time, compared to their first efforts only a few months previously in January. In the pre-Christmas programme, participants completed the 5k in times between 24 and 42 minutes. On this occasion that range was 24 to 37 minutes.

Full results of the 5k in March and in January are HERE.

The feedback from participants was very positive with universal satisfaction with the programme and a stated desire to continue with running activity. Some are planning to join the Club’s senior/masters section and increase their level of participation, while others committed to keeping up with regular weekly activity.

Given the undoubted success of the Fit 4 Life programme, the club plans to continue with Fit 4 Life classes in the Autumn 2022 again and another 10-week programme will be launched in late September.

AAI National Juvenile Indoors

Cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid pandemic, the last AAI National Juvenile Indoors was way back in 2019 but it made a very welcome return to Athlone after a three year absence on Saturday 19th and and Sunday 20th March. Mullingar had seven athletes entered but with Jamie Wallace and Caoimhe Kilmurray on International duty in Wales on Saturday 27th March, they naturally did not compete in Athlone and saved their efforts for Wales. That left us with five athletes to watch for.

Things got off to a great start on Saturday morning with the race walks where young Daniel Glennon competed in his first All-Ireland final when he took to the start line of the u/14 boys 1,000m race walk. Completely unfazed by the occasion, Daniel put in a solid performance to finish third and was delighted to win his first All-Ireland medal. His older brother, John Glennon competed in the u/16 boys 1,500m race walk and also put in a solid performance in this very technical event, always under the scrutiny of the vigilant judges, to finish third and win his first All-Ireland medal too. The Glennon family is legendary in race walking circles, and it’s great to see the younger siblings coming through. On to the sprints, where Kyle Faherty powered from the blocks in his heat of the 60m u/16 but was very unlucky to miss a place in the final by the narrowest of margins.

Kyle was up again first thing on Sunday morning and despite a terrific run from the favoured lane 6 in his heat of the 200m u/16, he finished third and narrowly missed a place in the final, but knows he gave it his best effort and can ask no more than that. Still very new to 800m indoor running, Grace Byrne gave an excellent account in the final of the 800m u/17. The pace was fast from the gun and Grace kept in touch for three of the four laps, but an extra injection of pace at the bell saw her drop back but she continued to work hard and though she finished out of the medal places she ran very close to her personal best for the distance, so has to be happy with that. We finished the day with Aaron Wallace in the 60m hurdles u/13 and with a terrific race in the heat qualified for the final where he ran even quicker and even though he finished out of the medals, he was delighted to be competing in his first All-Ireland final and is looking forward to doing it all again in the outdoor season ahead.

National Star Award for Outstanding Performance in Walks in 2021 – AISLING LANE

At a break in the programme during the AAI National Juvenile Indoors in Athlone on Saturday 19th March, John Cronin, the President of Athletics Ireland, presented Aisling Lane with the National Star Award for Outstanding Performance in Walks during 2021. In a memorable 2021 for Aisling, during which she made her International debut at the Franconville International u/18 T&F in Paris, winning bronze in the 3,000m race walk, on the home front Aisling won the National u/17 girls 3,000m race walk and was second in the National Junior 3,000m race walk. A worthy recipient of this Award.

Mullingar Half Marathon and Fleadh 5k

Cancelled in 2020 and then moved to September in 2021, the Mullingar Half Marathon finally returned to its traditional St. Patrick’s Day date this year when a great entry saw nearly 1,200 finish an excellent race in lovely mild weather, though it was a bit breezy in places, especially along parts of the Royal Canal. Being local, needless to say that Mullingar Harriers was well represented with over forty taking part, delighted to be able to put all the hard work over months in training to good use. The race has a great reputation and continues to grow and attract huge interest from far and wide. The event was a fundraiser for TEAM (Temporary Emergency Accommodation Mullingar), a very deserving local cause. It was quite a sight to see so many runners fill the main street of Mullingar and it took some time for everyone to clear the town and head out into the countryside before returning  again to finish in the town park. While the half marathon is a charity event, and for most the event was simply a chance to run the distance in company, a race is still a race and the more competitive runners ran hard from the start looking to record a good time on a fast mostly flat course.

Timmy Murphy was first Mullingar man home in a very strong time of 1 hour 11 minutes 47 seconds, which placed him third overall, and the first women home was Mullingar Harriers Elizabeth Carr in an excellent 1 hour 19 minutes 56 seconds, an impressive twenty fourth place overall. Following Timmy in was James Keegan sixth (1:14:42), Eddie Newman (1:18:33) first in his master category, Kedagh Geoghegan (1:20:42), Alan Crowley (1:22:24), Tony Doran (1:24:21), Johnny Morrissey (1:24:22), Kieran Nolan (1:24:44), Stephen Shanahan (1:24:46), Tom McGrath (1:29:10), Stephen Naughton (1:29:22), Mary Stuart (1:32:13) first in her master category, Rachel Glennon (1:36:33), Máirtín Savage (1:38:32), Eva McMorrow (1:41:33), Colm Walsh (1:41:32), Tommy Byrne (1:41:54), Joan Hickson (1:42:05), Stephen Olwell (1:43:22), Ciara Dillon (1:44:35), Criona Reid (1:46:34), Andy Quinn (1:49:26), Orla Ginnell (1:49:40), Caroline Mullen (1:49:42), John McNamara (1:50:04), Jane Creevy (1:50:21), Doug Bates (1:51:05), Gemma Kelly (1:51:37) a big six minute improvement for the distance, Terri Greene (1:52:20), John Bannon (1:52:25), Eithne Spellman (1:55:09), Garrett O’Brien (1:55:29), Kevin O’Brien (1:56:36), Linda O’Driscoll (1:57:22), Richie Kelly (1:59:26), Aidan O’Donoghue (1:59:30), Marna Groenewald (2:01:14), Ray Smyth (2:01:17), Martin Mullen (2:09:55) and Geraldine Walsh (2:21:57).

An event like this of course needs good pacemakers, and a good number of Mullingar Harriers members fulfilled this vital role, including Evan McCormack, Susan Glennon, Philip Burke, Joanna Tyrrell, Jason McCabe, Pauline Faulkner-Troy and Ger Langtry. Apologies if we missed anyone in the crowd!

This year there was also a 5k race on offer, with the proceeds going towards the cost of hosting the Fleadh in Mullingar this summer. The half marathon race started first, followed by the 5k a few minutes after and it finished in the town park where everyone could wait to welcome the half marathon runners back in, which contributed great entertainment to fill the gap in time while the half marathon runners went out into the countryside. The 5k attracted nearly 250 runners, fourteen from Mullingar Harriers, led home by Matthew Glennon in first place in 16 minutes 59 seconds, followed by Andrew Glennon fourth (19:18), Michelle Bohan fifth (19:26) second woman, Amy Mahony sixth (20:14) third woman, Aisling Corcoran eighth (20:39) fourth woman, Callum Costello (23:03), Bernard Groenewald (23:38), Brigid McCabe (25:15), Vera McCool (25:41), Nicky McCabe (26:10), Sean Liston (26:23), Declan Costello (26:24), Paul McCool (29:09) and Liam McGlynn (34:11).

Streets of Portlaoise 5k

It was a family affair in Portlaoise on St Patrick’s Day where John Whitelaw and Sinéad Whitelaw represented Mullingar Harriers in the Streets of Portlaoise 5k. This 5k was the first race of the 2022 Kia Race Series and it attracted a very competitive core group of athletes among the over 550 entrants from all over the country. These athletes, combined with a good race route, made for some fast running conditions with both the male and female course records broken on the day. John ran an impressive race and clocked his fastest 5k time ever, crossing the line in 16:01, taking 11 seconds off his previous best time. Sinéad was delighted to finish in 17:50, her fastest 5k in a few years. Both athletes left Portlaoise happy and they are now looking forward to more 5k races in the coming months.

Colaiste Mhuire to compete at World Schools XC (16th Mar)

Ross Killalea will lead the Colaiste Mhuire Intermediate Team that will represent Ireland at the World Schools Cross Country Championships to be held in Štrbské Pleso, Slovakia from 22nd to 27th April. On the team of nine with Ross will be five other members of Mullingar Harriers, namely Diarmuid Fagan, Conor Liston, Pablo Lozano, Tadhg Sheridan and Conor Sherwin.

They qualified for these prestigious Championships after winning the Intermediate Boys team title at the All-Ireland Schools Cross Country in Belfast in March. They will spend a week in Slovakia and in addition to the Championship race on Sunday 24th April, various other events have been organised, including a cultural day, a nations night and a friendship 4×1,500m relay where four of them will be selected to run.

Teams entered for the event include squads from Afghanistan, Uganda, Mexico, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium, England, France and Spain, so it should prove an absolutely wonderful opportunity and experience for the Colaiste Mhuire team.

Bohermeen Half Marathon

One of the last road races to take place before Covid-19 health restrictions ended all sporting activities in early 2020, the Bohermeen Half Marathon made a very welcome return on Sunday morning 13th March when nearly 1,400 runners took part on a cool dry bright morning, perfect for long distance racing. With most Mullingar Harriers members intending to run the Mullingar Half Marathon on St. Patrick’s Day, just three Club members took part in Bohermeen. James Cribbin finished well up in 1 hour 25 minutes 2 seconds, followed by Enda Seery in 1 hour 33 minutes 11 seconds and Emer O’Hanlon in 1 hour 42 minutes 34 seconds.

AAI National Junior and u/23 Indoors

The AAI National Junior and u/23 Indoors took place in Athlone on Saturday 13th March where Mullingar had a select group in action, including a strong group of race walkers who all had podium finishes.

There were four heats of the Junior Men 60m, so only the winner of each heat and the next four fastest times would advance to the final. Charles Okafor finished second in his heat and was unlucky to miss a place in the final by just one hundredth of a second. The u/23 Women 800m was a straight final where Shauna Leydon put in a really good effort, maintaining a consistent strong pace. Staying with the leading group though 500m a sudden injection of pace saw Shauna drift off the back into fourth, but she drove on and it was only in the closing stages that she was relegated to fifth place but her time of 2:22.66, barely half a second outside her personal best, will give her reason to be very satisfied with her performance in a very competitive National final.

One kilometre into the Junior Women 3,000m Race Walk, Aisling Lane put in a significant injection of pace to pull clear with ease. Maintaining perfect rhythm and form, she kept up the pressure to increase her lead with every lap and cruised to victory and the National title by a huge margin. Aisling in underage for two more years, making her victory all the more noteworthy. In the corresponding u/23 Women 3,000m Race Walk, Sarah Glennon showed her class and with an equally polished performance, pulled clear in the closing stages to win well and secure the National title. Matthew Glennon stamped his authority right from the start of the Junior Men 3,000m Race Walk and showing all his class he powered to victory in a time only marginally outside his personal best for the distance, to take Mullingar’s third race walk title of the day. Following in behind with an excellent performance was his younger brother, Andrew Glennon, taking third place and the bronze medal in 13:37.99, which is a new personal best by over ten seconds. Andrew is underage for two more years, so will be targeting the National title in the next two years. Four race walkers and four medals demonstrated Mullingar’s dominance in the event, great rewards for the time and effort put in by them all under the expert eye of their coach, Michael Lane.

Colin (P) Smith made it look easy in his heat of the Junior Men 800m and with the minimum of effort and saving as much energy as possible cruised home comfortably in second place to advance automatically to the final as a firm medal favourite. The final was run at a furious pace from the gun but Colin moved effortlessly through the field to take his place in the leading group of three. Through the bell in second place, Colin drew on all his reserves in the final lap but just couldn’t close the gap on the leader and finished a close second place in a time only marginally outside his best for the distance, so spared nothing and was rewarded with a National silver medal. This ended a terrific day for Mullingar with another podium finish, making it five medals won altogether.

All-Ireland Schools Cross Country

The All-Ireland Schools Cross Country finals were held at the Mallusk Playing Fields outside Belfast on Saturday 12th March and among the highlights was the second place finish by Jamie Wallace in the junior boys race that earns him selection on the Irish team to compete at the SIAB Schools International Cross Country against the best cross country runners from England, Scotland and Wales in Wales at the end of March. This is a fantastic honour for Jamie, his family, his school Colaiste Mhuire, and of course for Mullingar Harriers.

Wet weather in the weeks and days leading up to the event, particularly very heavy rain the day before, meant the ground was very soft and muddy and made running difficult in places. The first race with a Mullingar interest was the Junior boys with Jamie Wallace, Luke Greene and Niall Brady (Colaiste Mhuire) and Donagh Carey and Matthew Molloy (St. Finian’s) taking to the start line. This was the first time for these boys to represent their school at All-Ireland level, and they didn’t disappoint. In a very competitive field, Leinster schools champion Jamie Wallace was right up at the front from the very start, followed closely by Donagh, Luke and Niall, with Matthew a bit back after getting almost knocked over in the first 100m. It was clear from early on that the pace was going to be frantic. After the first 1,000m, a group of eight including Jamie had broken away from the main pack. Donagh, Luke and Niall were battling hard to keep in the top thirty and Matthew was making steady progress through the field. By the half way mark, the leading group was down to six, with Jamie still sitting with the leaders. Going into the last lap, Jamie surged to the front on an uphill section and the quick injection of pace reduced the leading group to just three, eventually reducing to two as Jamie continued to race to the finish. The lead changed hands several time in the closing 500m and it was only in the final 100m that the eventual winner got ahead of Jamie for the final time and Jamie crossed the finish in second place. This was a fantastic result considering that he had been ill during the week. As Jamie finished, attention turned to the other Mullingar athletes. Digging deep over the final 1,000m Donagh held on to nineteenth place, closely followed by Matthew who made up a lot of ground, then Luke and Niall finishing strongly for Colaiste Mhuire to provide vital scores that helped Colaiste Mhuire to finish 2nd team.

Following the excitement of the junior boys race, the Intermediate girls took to the start line. Representing Loreto Mullingar, Caoimhe Kilmurray put in a terrific performance to finish strongly in twelfth place, and with great support from Grace Byrne, Jessica Cunningham, Síofra O’Halloran and Muireann Donohue, the Loreto girls team finished a very creditable 4th place, not far off the bronze team medals. This is a young team and most of them will be underage again next year.

Pre-race favourites for team honours in the Intermediate boys race, the Colaiste Mhuire team was led home by Ross Killalea racing brilliantly to a fantastic twelfth place finish, and with Conor Sherwin, Pablo Lozano and Conor Liston putting in great efforts, the boys were delighted to finish 1st team and win All-Ireland medals. Also having a great race was David Burke (St. Finian’s) who finished well up the field, finishing not far behind Conor.

Representing Loreto Mullingar in the Senior girls race, Meabh Killalea and Phoebe Bate had very strong races and finished well up and should be very proud of their performances. The final race of the day was the Senior boys and by now the course was had really deteriorated and was extremely testing but Lorcan Mullen, representing Cistercian College Roscrea put in a strong performance over the testing course to round off an excellent day for the Mullingar athletes who represented their schools with distinction.

Leinster Juvenile Indoor Relays

The final Leinster juvenile indoor event of the season, the Leinster Juvenile Indoor Relays, took place in Athlone on Saturday 12th March and even though none of the Mullingar teams took home any medals, they all gave one hundred percent effort and we can’t ask any more than that. Some athletes ran in their own age group and also moved up an age group to make up teams, which shows great team spirit. Well done all our athletes for competing with spirit against top class competition.

The morning session was for the uneven ages where Chloe Duggan, Lisa O’Brien, Tara Lynch and Lily Walsh (u/13 girls 4x200m), Matthew Byrne, Cormac McGrath, Shane Canning and Aaron Wallace (u/13 boys 4x200m), and Eve Medforth, Lydia McDonnell, Siofra O’Reilly and Muireann Reihill (u/15 girls 4x200m) competed with great determination and ran very well in what were very competitive heats but they didn’t advance to the finals.

The afternoon session was for the even ages. In the u/12 girls 4x200m, the team of Chloe Bell, Ruby Brennan, Isla Brennen and Lily Walsh finished second in their heat but with only the winners and next two fastest times qualifying for the final, the girls missed a place in the final by just one place, the narrowest of margins. Our second team of Orla O’Connell, Aaliyah Downes, Martha Eivers and Aoibhe Martyn put in a great effort in their heat but finished out of the qualification places. Oliver Sloane, Donagh Andrews, Louis Kiernan and Antonio Bertolo battled hard in the u/12 boys 4x200m but didn’t advance to the final.

We had two teams in the u/14 girls 4x200m where the team of Emma Lagan, Blathnaid Peters, Eleanor Corcoran and Eleanor Kiernan and the team of Evie Kilmurray, Rachael Gouldsbury, Chloe Duggan and Sadhbh Carey competed well but didn’t advance from the heats. The u/14 boys 4x200m team of Darragh Ryan, Aaron Conroy, Cian Hyland and Conor Walsh were the unluckiest on the day. With two heats, qualification was the top two plus the next two fastest times. Mullingar ran in what was by far the quicker heat and finished out of the qualification places, but if they had been in the other heat, they would have finished second with ease and advanced to the final. Such are the vagaries of sport!

Naas 10 Mile

After a sell-out success in 2020, but cancelled in 2021 due to Covid health restrictions, the Naas 10 Mile returned on Sunday morning 6th March and a big entry of nearly 480 enjoyed a well organised event by Brendan’s Running Club in Naas on a crisp dry but cool morning. Mary Stuart and Joan Hickson took full advantage of the flat and fast route that was mainly on footpaths and very quiet roads, and even some stretches along the canal, as Mary finished in 70 minutes 32 seconds, an improvement of 32 seconds on her previous best for the distance, and Joan in 76 minutes 11 seconds.

Run For Ukraine

The Sanctuary Runners in association with Athletics Ireland organised a global “Run For Ukraine” on Saturday 5th March with people taking part across the World. The Sanctuary Runners is an Irish-founded solidarity-through-sport initiative, which uses running, jogging and walking to bring asylum seekers, refugees, migrants and those in host communities together in solidarity, friendship and respect. Those taking part were asked to run, jog or walk together or alone, over any distance, wearing anything that is blue and yellow and to consider donating to the Irish Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal at redcross.ie. Mullingar Harriers was happy to play its part and on Saturday morning the adult members assembled at the club grounds for their normal Saturday morning run, but to coincide with the Run For Ukraine event, everyone wore blue and yellow. Well  done everyone, and in particular to Michelle Kavanagh for providing the eye-catching Ukraine flag.

FEBRUARY

AAI Senior Indoors

Looking to challenge himself ahead of the Leinster Masters Indoors in three weeks, Colm Walsh competed in the 5,000m Race Walk at the AAI Senior Indoors in the National Indoor Arena on Saturday morning 26th February. It’s a big step up in level, but top marks to Colm who stuck to his task and came home in fifth place in a time not far off his pre-race target, which will inspire him for his next race.

The entry for the 200m was so big, there were twelve heats and Charles Okafor drew the favoured outside lane in his heat, which like the others, was extremely competitive. However, it wasn’t to be his day and despite a good effort, he didn’t advance to the final. On to the 3,000m where there were two seeded heats with the medals decided on the fastest times over the two heats. Jamie Battle unfortunately took  a fall early in his heat. He got back on his feet again quickly and ran on a for a few laps but was clearly troubled and eventually was forced to limp off with a sore calf. Thankfully nothing too serious, just a bit of bruising, so he’ll be fine again in no time. Euan Lagan battled hard all the way in his heat and though didn’t get in the medals, relished the competition and was rewarded with a new personal best of 8:51.16.

Shauna Leydon dug deep in her heat of the 800m, working hard to keep in touch, and even though she finished out of the qualification places for the final she was happy with her time of 2:21.97, which is a new personal best by 4 seconds. Shauna returned to the track later in the day in her more favoured event, the 400m, where her strength showed with a third place finish in her heat, out of the qualification places, but she was happy to be so competitive.

Staying focussed and with a polished run in his heat of the 1,500m, Colin D Smith cruised home in second place with ease to book his place in Sunday’s final. Sunday’s final was a race of two parts. Luke McCann (UCD AC) raced from the gun and quickly opened a huge gap on the pack, going on to win by nearly nine seconds. The chasing group however didn’t chase, opting instead for a very tactical race to decide the minor medals. Colin was right in the mix most of the way but when the charge for the finish finally came he was outpaced and finished out of the medal places in a messy race that he wasn’t happy with but he has to take some consolation from making a National indoor final.

Adare 10k

Andrew Nevin made the long journey to Limerick on Sunday morning 27th February to compete in the Adare 10k, which turned out to be a very competitive race. Andy stayed with the leaders for a long part of the race, and even though he was tiring towards the end as the leading group reduced to four, he led the chasing group and can be very pleased with his fifth place finish in 34:02. Andy will be hoping to run many more races on the road in coming months and we all wish him well.

Mullaghmeen 10k

In dry conditions on Sunday morning 27th February, six Mullingar Harriers took to the hills of Mullaghmeen for a 10k race that took in Westmeath’s highest point. Coming home in an excellent third place was James Keegan followed by James Tierney (tenth), Kedagh Geoghegan (eleventh), Michelle Bohan (twenty third), Stephen Naughton and Anna Broderick. Following the testing uphill and downhill route, everyone appreciated the refreshments of host club St. Brigid’s AC afterwards.

European Masters Indoors

Ireland had a big team of 100 athletes, including Sean McMullin, among the nearly 2,400 entrants for the European Masters Indoors in Braga, Portugal. Sean was entered in the 3,000m race walk on Monday afternoon 21st February and the 5k road walk on Saturday morning 26th February.

While all around him in the 3,000m indoor walk at the magnificent Altice Forum Indoor Stadium on Monday afternoon many were receiving warnings, and there was even a disqualification, Sean kept his composure and with a faultless display and great determination he stuck firmly to his race plan to slowly increase his lead lap after lap, pulling well clear to win with a big margin of nearly a half lap and taking the European Title. After the medal ceremony, Sean could relax and recover for the 5k road walk on Saturday morning.

Even though it was an indoor Championship, there were still road walks on the programme, and showing no sign of fatigue from his victory over 3,000m on the track five days earlier, Sean lined up early on Saturday morning in Picoto Park only a few minutes from the stadium for the 5k road walk. With another faultless display, Sean raced to victory with a huge margin of over two minutes to win his second European Masters title in a week. A fantastic reward for the all the hard work in training over a long time preparing for these Championships.

Ardagh Challenge 10 Mile & 5k

The Ardagh Challenge 10 Mile & 5k normally takes place at Christmas but due to Covid was postponed to Saturday morning 26th February when seven Harriers athletes competed. The 10 Mile had challenging hills and wind but all the entrants, including four from Mullingar, were just happy to have races back, regardless. Eoin Clarke was very happy to finish 4th in the excellent time of 61:31, having raced the Turgesius 10 Mile only a week earlier. Next in for Mullingar was Joan Flynn in 12th place overall and 2nd woman in 64:54, with John Bannon (81:09) and Martin Hickey (90:35) making up the Mullingar quartet. Three Mullingar athletes ran the 5km race and leading them home in second place was Alan Crowley in 17:22, then Linda Cunningham (22:50) and Aidan O’Donoghue (23:33). Excellent running by all so early in the year.

Turgesius Island 10 Mile

North Westmeath AC hosted the second edition of the Turgesius Island 10 Mile in Collinstown Village on Sunday 20th February. The starting line was in Collinstown, the course ran along the scenic county roads around North Westmeath, and the finish line was on the shore of Lough Lene, overlooking Turgesius Island. In contrast to the first holding of the event on a hot sunny morning in June 2021, the weather this year couldn’t be more different. Despite yellow wind warnings for Storm Franklin that was on the way, the organisers saw no reason to cancel the event, and neither did the more than 230 that took part in cold, wet and windy conditions. Braving the elements and leading the group of ten from Mullingar Harriers home in tenth place was Kedagh Geoghegan in 60:31, a fine performance in tough conditions. Also running very well was Eoin Clarke (60:38), Johnny Morrissey (63:36), Tony Doran (64:14) and Enda O’Carolan (65:55). First woman finisher from Mullingar Harriers was Siobhan Farry (75:43), who was followed home by Eva McMorrow (80:10), Brian Boyle (88:27), Caroline Boyle (93:47) and Kevin Reihill (97:43). It takes a certain breed to run a 10 miles race, but an altogether tougher breed in such inclement weather and well done to them all. Well done too to the organizers from North Westmeath AC who persevered and saw the fixture completed despite the challenges of the day.

Rás na hÉireann Cross Country

Hosted by Dunleer AC, the final cross country fixture of the season for most, the Rás na hÉireann Cross Country, took place on Sunday 20th February at a rain lashed and windswept “Battle of the Boyne” site in the stately grounds of Oldbridge House, near Drogheda, Co. Meath. The course was relatively flat but of course heavy rain made it very mucky and the high winds, an early sign of the arrival of Storm Franklin later in the day, were a real test suited only to real cross country die-hards. First into battle was Linda Cunningham who opted for the shorter Open 3,000m event where she finished in second place. Gerard Gavin ran the longer Men 6,000m race, finishing well up in nineteenth place, second in his master category. Weather aside, it was a beautiful setting but no doubt Linda and Gerard were just glad to finish and get out of the elements and head home without delay and straight into nice hot showers.

MPSF Championships (Washington, USA)

Having set a new personal best for 3,000m only a month ago, Claire Fagan was clearly in excellent form going into the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championships in Spokane, Washington on Saturday 19th February. Competing for the University of Portland (Oregan) in a very competitive 3,000m where many of the 21 finishers recorded personal bests or season’s bests, after a fast opening lap, the pace settled a little but not too much, which suited Claire and unleashing her customary fast finish on the last lap she crossed the line third in a close finish in 9:36.96, knocking just over nine seconds off her personal best, a massive improvement equating to nearly 50m over the distance. The US Collegiate T&F circuit is certainly suiting Claire!

Annual General Meeting

Delighted to be able meet again in-person, the 2022 Annual General Meeting was held on Friday evening 18th February in the Annebrook House Hotel, Mullingar. The numbers attending were similar to pre-Covid times, which is excellent and shows the interest among members on how the Club is managed and organised on their behalf.

Chairperson, Margaret Daly opened the meeting by welcoming everyone and introduced the Secretary’s report by Colm Walsh, the Treasurer’s report by Joanna Tyrrell and Competition Report by Greg Duggan. These were followed by Margaret’s own Chairperson’s Address. Like every Club in Ireland, membership is increasing again as we emerge from the Covid pandemic and the foundations in Mullingar Harriers are strong and membership will continue to grow as things get back to normal. Despite the completion of the new all-weather track, the largest project ever undertaken by the Club, the Club’s finances are in a healthy state. The financial report showed the tremendous part played by members and friends in supporting the various fund raising activities, without which we could not have completed the work. The invaluable financial support of the Sports Capital Grant and the tremendous private financial support from members and friends of the Club was also acknowledged.

The Club faces challenges in managing the increase in membership, due in no small measure to the completion of the new track and a call was made for more help for coaches, particularly with the younger underage members. A new position of Juvenile Training Officer was created to co-ordinate efforts in recruiting parents and others to assist coaches at training and identify those that might wish to coach field events.

Because of the surge in Covid infections around Christmas 2020 that resulted in a prolonged lockdown until late April 2021, all Clubs were closed for the period and the indoor season was cancelled. Thankfully there was an outdoor season in 2021 for all but the youngest members. By the time the autumn came around, there was light at the end of the long Covid tunnel and there was a full cross country season, and the 2022 indoor season is currently underway as normal. No doubt, 2021 was a tough year for the Club, but when members could compete, they turned in some outstanding performances.

One of the two stand-out highlights of 2021 was four Mullingar athletes competing at the European u/20 T&F Championships in Estonia – Eoin Quinn (800m), Oisin Lane and Matthew Glennon (10k walk) and Charles Okafor (4x100m relay) with a special mention for Oisin Lane who finished a fantastic sixth place in the 10k walk with a new personal best. The other stand-out highlight was of course Jamie Battle and Cormac Dalton competing at the European Cross County in Dublin, where Jamie finished fifth man for the Irish u/23 team that won team gold and Cormac finished a terrific twenty eighth place in the senior race, the third finisher for the Ireland team that placed fourth.

The following were elected as officers and committee members for the coming year:

Sean McMullin (President), Breda McDonnell (Vice-President), Margaret Daly (Chairperson), Greg Duggan (Vice-Chairperson, and will take on the roles of PRO coordinator, Registrar and Competition entries), Joanna Tyrrell (Treasurer), Colm Walsh (Secretary), Philip Burke (Assistant Secretary & Juvenile Training Officer), Tom McGrath (Minute Secretary), Pauline Quinn, Margaret Daly and Greg Duggan (Child Officers), Cormac Finnerty, Pat Muldoon Senior, Vera McCool and John Shaw (Trustees). The officers and trustees are automatically on the new committee, as are Life Vice-presidents Seamus Gibney, Cormac Finnerty, Martin Fagan, Bobbie Begley, John Mulvihill, George Bell (RIP) and Christy Creagh, and will be joined by James Carton, Declan Costello, Amanda Dalton, Catriona Duffy, Paul Ginnell, Sean Liston, Joe Ryan, Alan Sherwin, Tom Wallace and Sinead Whitelaw who were elected to the committee, and by Club Captains Aine O’Reilly and Ian McCormack.

Concluding the meeting, Margaret Daly thanked all present for their attendance and input and closed a successful AGM.

NIA Live

Competing on the third night of the series of four NIA Live events at the National Indoor Arena on Wednesday 16th February was a number of Mullingar athletes using the event to help their preparations for the upcoming National Senior Indoors. Shauna Leydon competed in the 60m. Blasting from the blocks she quickly settled into her running to finish second in 8.21 seconds, a new personal best. Being a multi-eventer, Shauna returned to the track later in the evening for the 800m where she finished fifth in an extremely competitive race in 2:25.45, a good time for a multi-eventer that will give her encouragement for future multi-event competitions. Charles Okafor also competed in the 60m, which was a very keenly contested race from gun to tape and in a close finish he was narrowly beaten into second place. His time of 7.07 seconds was the second fastest time of the evening and though it was outside his best, was a satisfying performance nonetheless. Last on the track was Colin D Smith in the 800m where he was very competitive up to 600m but had to ease off the pressure a little in the closing stages but still ran a good race.

Leinster Schools Cross Country

Despite Storm Dudley in full swing, as with all cross country events barring a red weather warning, the Leinster Schools Cross Country went ahead in Santry Demesne on Wednesday 16th February, where the weather conditions proved a test for all runners on the day. The organisers and the team of volunteers can be commended on preparing and running the event in the most challenging of conditions.

Ailbhe O’Farrell (St. Finian’s) was up first in the Junior Girls 2,000m. This was only her second cross country race, having made her debut in the North Leinster two weeks previously where she raced into the top 15 to qualify for Leinster. Ailbhe got out strong at the start in a top 30 spot and worked her way up through the field in the second lap to finish in nineteenth place, only a few seconds outside the automatic top 15 qualifying places. A great result for Ailbhe and she will have gained very valuable experience.

The Junior Boys 3,000m started just as the wind and rain began to worsen. The early pace was very conservative but as the race unfolded and the downhill muddy areas were met, the leading group began to split up and soon the Colaiste Mhuire pair of Jamie Wallace and Luke Greene found themselves in the front group of about ten and Donagh Carey and Matthew Molloy (St. Finian’s) and Niall Brady (Colaiste Mhuire) in the chasing group. An injection of pace going into the second lap quickly broke the field and the lead was down to two, including Jamie, well clear of the rest. With 500m to go it was clear the race was going to be between the two and with 100m left, Jamie struck for home, pulling clear to win his first Leinster Schools Cross Country title in style. With Luke finishing a fantastic 11th place and Niall finishing strong, they helped the Colaiste Mhuire team to 2nd place. Matthew and Donagh had kept in contention throughout and running strongly to the finish, placed 7th and 12th respectively to secure their places in the All-Ireland.

The Intermediate Girls 3,500m included several club members, representing Loreto Mullingar and Mercy Kilbeggan. Both schools had entered strong teams and were set for a battle like they had in 2020. Unfortunately, the Kilbeggan team was struck down with illness and a couple of team members missed the event, while Adele Geoghegan and Leah Geoghegan fell ill in the week leading up to event but bravely got stuck in to race on the day. Torrential rain and the windswept course made running conditions difficult. All the girls got out to the front from the start with Caoimhe Kilmurray (Loreto), Adele Geoghegan (Mercy) and Grace Byrne (Loreto) prominent, and the rest of the girls packing well behind. In the second half of the race, Caoimhe was in the top group of three and Grace in the chasing group. Caoimhe held strong and powered through to take 2nd place, with Grace finishing fast for 10th place. For Loreto, Caoimhe Donohue held her place well, as did Siofra O’Halloran having a cracking run, and Jessica Cunningham and Muireann Donohue finished well to help Loreto to 2nd team. The recent illness unfortunately took its toll on Mercy’s Adele Geoghegan and Leah Geoghegan, and  Adele wasn’t helped by falling a couple of times during the race because of the dreadful  underfoot conditions. Both were understandably very disappointed but can write off the event and look forward to next year. The majority of the Loreto and Mercy girls are underage again next year, making for an exciting prospect in next year’s schools cross country where Loreto Mullingar and Mercy Kilbeggan can battle it out once again.

The weather continued to deteriorate as the runners toed the line for the Intermediate Boys 4,500m. Leading the Colaiste Mhuire team home was Ross Killelea in a fantastic individual bronze medal position, a just reward for all his diligent training at the club. Among the large team following Ross in was club members Conor Sherwin (10th), Pablo Lozano and Conor Liston to give team victory by a large margin and were presented with the Intermediate Cup. Not to have it all to themselves, a great run by David Burke (St. Finian’s) finishing 14th also secured individual qualification for the All Ireland. Philip McCartan, representing Clongowes Wood College, continued his return to full fitness with a strong run in difficult conditions.

Meabh Killelea, Phoebe Bate and Annie Kilmurray competed for Loreto Mullingar in the Senior Girls 3,000m and were looking to build on the second team place in North Leinster. Due to the weather conditions, the event organisers made a health and safety decision on the start line to reduce the race distance to just 1,500m and coupled with a false start mix up, the girls had a lot to do to work through from the back of the pack. The Loreto girls were very disheartened and disappointed with the results, which due to the reduced distance and the upset of being notified of the change only on the start line, were well short of where they expected to finish.

Moving to the Senior Boys 6,000m, Lorcan Mullen (Cistercian College, Roscrea) took to the start of what was supposed to be a 4 lap race, but it was reduced by one lap to just 4,500m. After confusion at the start of the race that resulted in a false start that wasn’t recalled, Lorcan fought bravely to get himself back into contention and ran strongly over the muddy conditions to finish well up the field in 19th place, outside the automatic qualification places, but he lodged an appeal, which was successful, so he’ll get a bye and can compete in the All-Ireland finals in Belfast.

In addition to the Intermediate Cup, when the results of all the boys were combined, Colaiste Mhuire was also presented with the Boys Overall Cup. Well done to all who represented the club and their schools with distinction and Mullingar Harriers will have a strong interest at the All-Ireland in Mallusk, Belfast in March.

Streets of Clane 5k

The inaugural Streets of Clane 5k was held on a wet miserable windy Tuesday evening 15th February There were two races on the night, the Open 5k and the Elite 5k, and proving that runners are hardy people, the dreadful conditions weren’t enough to deter the 152 runners that ran in the Elite Race or the nearly 400 that ran in the Open Race, each three laps around the Streets of Clane, Co. Kildare on a fast flat course. Running his first 5k in over 6 years was Vinny Connolly who was very satisfied with his 15:48 time in the Elite 5k and is looking forward to his next race. Joan Flynn also ran in the Elite race, finishing in 18:32, which was good enough to win her master category. Among those running in the Open 5k was Gordon Ward (22:45), Muireann Reihill (22:54), second Junior girl, and Kevin Reihill (26:45) bravely battling the elements and no doubt happy to finish and get out of the wind and rain and back to shelter again.

Matthew Glennon selected for World Race Walking Team Championships

In a Press Release of 14th February, Athletics Ireland announced that Matthew Glennon will represent Ireland in the u/20 Men 10k Race Walk at the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships to be held in Muscat, Oman on 4th and 5th March. Matthew will compete on Friday morning, 4th March.

Coached by Michael Lane, who will travel as Team Leader, Matthew is a rising star in the Irish race walking scene. Having represented Ireland at the European Athletics u/20 Championships in Tallinn in 2021 with a 22nd place finish, Matthew will be one to watch at these games.

AAI National Intermediate & Masters XC

Looking to build on success in Leinster cross country, a strong team of master men and women from Mullingar Harriers travelled to Castlelyons, near Fermoy in Co. Cork where the AAI National Intermediate and Masters Cross Country was held on Sunday 13th February. First race on the card was the Master Women 4,000m, which included the Master Men o/65 years of age running alongside the women over the same 4,000m distance.

As she had done in Leinster in January, Aine O’Reilly led the Mullingar women home with a terrific 17th place overall finish of 141 finishers, placing a very creditable 6th place in her master category. Following in behind only a few places behind Aine and finishing very strongly was Michelle Bohan and Sinead Whitelaw, followed in by Aisling Corcoran, Caroline Mullen, Joanna Tyrrell, Linda Cunningham, Emer O’Hanlon, Terri Greene and Brigid McCabe, who finished just out of the medals in 4th place in her master category. Aine, Michelle, Sinead, Aisling and Linda combined to finish 4th Club but a brilliant third County to win well deserved All-Ireland medals in their master category. Caroline, Joanna, Emer, Terri and Brigid finished a very creditable 6th Club and 6th County in their master category.

We had no team in the Master Men o/65 years race but Sean McMullin and Nicky McCabe put in very strong and spirited efforts to finish well up in the field of 43 master men athletes, with Sean placing second in his master category and Nicky seventh in his category, excellent performances in a National final.

We finished the day with the largest race on the programme, the Master Men 7,000m and it was quite a magnificent sight to see 211 men charge from the start, among them Gerard Gavin. Keeping well up with the action, Gerard ran a very fine race and even though finished out of the medal places, has to be very pleased with a 42nd place overall and a very creditable 7th in his master category against the very best master cross country men in Ireland.

AAI Indoor Games

The AAI Indoor Games were held at the National Indoor Arena in Abbotstown on Saturday 12th February and Mullingar Harriers was well represented with four athletes in action.

Colin D Smith was in the 800m and raced aggressively to stay in contact in what was a very fast race from the gun, and came home in 1:53.15, a bit off his best for the distance but can progress further throughout the indoor season. Better suited and more focussed on the longer 5k and 10k distance, Jamie Battle raced in the 3,000m which was a very competitive and fast race from the start. Jamie went with the pace and settled well for a long time but in the closing stages the effort began to take its toll and he had to ease off but still finished a very good fifth in 8:19.24, not far off his best time over the distance last year, so he’s coming into form. In the second race, Lorcan Mullen finished in 9:29.61 but it’s early in the season and he can look forward to improving his time with more races. Shauna Leydon competed in the 400m where she finished second in her race in 61.43 seconds, a bit slower than her last race over the distance three weeks ago, but it’s still a new event for her and as her confidence grows in the event, a more aggressive opening lap will see her dip well under 60 seconds.

Husky Classic

Having set a PB for 3,000m on the unusual indoor 300m flat track at the Dempsey Indoor Arena in Seattle (Washington) four weeks previously, Claire Fagan (Portland University) returned to same Seattle venue for the Husky Classic on Saturday 12th February to run over the longer 5,000m distance. Leading for most of the last two kilometres, Claire raced hard to the finish to place a close second in 16:32.08, a new personal best time.

Windy City Invite

After an excellent cross country season with the University of Tulsa, Cormac Dalton moved indoors to compete over 3,000m at the Windy City Invite in Chicago on Saturday 12th February, placing fifth in 7 minutes 59.73 seconds, a time that puts him in the Irish indoor top 10 times for this season so far.

Tulsa’s and Cormac’s attention now turns to the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Alabama at the end of February.

Donadea 50k

Hosted by Donadea Running Club, the Donadea 50k on Saturday morning 12th February incorporated the Irish 50k Championships. Ten laps of Donadea Forest Park in Co. Kildare faced the 260 entrants and by the end of ten gruelling laps, just under 200 mud soaked runners had survived the ordeal, among them Jenny Algar flying the flag for Mullingar Harriers. Imagine running a marathon and then be told at the end that you still have 5 miles to go? That’s what Jenny faced, so it took an awful lot of mental strength and determination to maintain concentration and focus as the laps unwound. Jenny ran a very consistent pace for 6 laps, then the pressure began to be felt and she had to reduce her pace a little over the remaining laps but dug deep to finish the 50k run in 4 hours 5 minutes and 4 seconds, the 10th woman overall, which is a terrific result.

Leinster Juvenile Indoors – days 1 & 2

The last time the Leinster Juvenile Indoors took place was way back in late February 2020, just before the first Covid pandemic lockdown. It’s been a long time coming, but after a gap of two years that surely felt much longer, our underage athletes finally got to compete indoors again when the Leinster Juvenile Indoors were held in Athlone on Saturday 5th & Sunday 6th February. For some it was a welcome return, but for many it was their first time to compete in the magnificent Indoor Arena at the re-branded Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) in front of a near capacity crowd each day. The packed stand and the very large number of athletes entered on both days created a fantastic atmosphere in the arena and the roar of the crowd shouting on the athletes in the races was fantastic to hear after so long away from indoor competition. Among the very large number of athletes competing was seventy boys and girls from Mullingar Harriers.

Mullingar’s reputation in race walking was reinforced first thing on Saturday morning when young Daniel Glennon took to the track for the u/14 boys 1,000m walk and was delighted to finish second and earn his first Leinster medal. His older brother, John Glennon, contested the u/16 boys 1,500m and was just too strong and came home the winner and earn a Leinster gold medal.

The action then moved to the 1,500m. Muireann O’Donoghue contested the u/16 girls 1,500m but despite a good race, finished out of the medals. The u/16 boys 1,500m was run as a time trial, with two races, and the medals decided on the fastest times. Jamie Wallace ran in the first race, which set out at a relatively slow pace but came down to a furious sprint finish with Jamie emerging the winner of the race. However, the second race was marginally quicker and the winner of that race took the gold, with Jamie finishing in second place overall to win the silver medal. Donagh Carey finished an excellent third place in the second race but overall finished out of the medals, though he enjoyed his first indoor racing experience.

The u/17 girls 1,500m was also run as a time trial, with two races, and Mullingar had four girls in the first and faster race. Caoimhe Kilmurray made no mistake and came home the race winner in a close finish to win the Leinster title. Grace Byrne, Caoimhe Donohue and Jessica Cunningham also ran extremely well but had to settle for places outside the medals. Philip McCartan had a straight final in the u/17 boys 1,500m and after a spirited run was unlucky to finish fifth, out of the medal places. We finished with the u/19 boys 1,500m where Ross Killalea kept himself in contention throughout but was unlucky to be run out of the medal places on the final lap and finished in fourth place.

Over at the long jump pit, Hui Fen Bartley (u/13), Greg McDonnell (u/13) and Katie Kilmurray (u/15) all jumped well, improving with each attempt but finishing out of the medal places.

It was then on the 60m sprints, where the number of competitors in the younger ages meant there were a lot of heats and the competition was absolutely fierce. There were seven heats of the u/12 girls 60m but Aoibhe Martyn, Grace Murphy and Lucy Kilmurray didn’t advance from the extremely competitive heats. Seven heats too of the u/12 boys 60m but Antonio Bertolo and Adam O’Connor qualified from their heats and advanced to the semi-finals but even though they put in great efforts, running quicker than in the heats, they didn’t advance to the final. Mullingar had eight girls in the u/13 girls 60m, which needed nine heats to accommodate the massive entry for the event. Beibhinn O’Reilly, Chloe Duggan, Casey O’Sullivan, Mia Brennan, Hui Fen Bartley, Molly Thornton-Sleator, Aisling Kilmurray and Kate Thornton-Sleator gave their best but none advanced from the hotly contested heats. Scott Cogan qualified from his heat of the u/13 boys 60m, but James O’Connor was unlucky not to. Scott ran faster in the semi-final but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to advance to the final but he has to take a lot of positives from the experience.

It took seven heats to run off the u/14 girls 60m. Katie Glennon, Evie Kilmurray, Emma Lagan and Blathnaid Peters were very competitive in their heats but such was the standard of competition, they didn’t advance to the final. It was a similar fate for Aaron Conroy and Cian Hyland in the u/14 boys 60m where both ran very well but didn’t qualify from their heats. Katie Kilmurray finally broke the run of bad luck when she qualified comfortably from her heat of the u/15 girls 60m but her involvement ended at the semi-finals, where despite a strong performance, she didn’t reach the final. Quyen Bartley and Fodhla Corroon gave good accounts in the heats of the u/16 girls 60m but didn’t qualify for the final. Kyle Faherty made it look easy in his heat of the u/16 boys 60m, advancing to the final with a comfortable second place. Not so fortunate for Barry Walsh who ran well in his heat but didn’t advance to the final to join Kyle. In the final, Kyle powered from the blocks to third place and the Leinster bronze medal, the final medal to be won after a long day of indoor action.

Five medals won on the first day and lots of excellent performances set Mullingar up for an exciting day two on Sunday and first on the track on Sunday morning was Fodhla Corroon in the u/16 girls 200m, negotiating the tight indoor bends in her first indoor 200m to finish fourth in her heat, but with six heats of girls, qualification was extremely difficult and she didn’t advance to the final. No problem for Kyle Faherty in the u/16 boys 200m, winning his heat with ease to advance to the final where he blasted around the tight bends to finish second and win his second medal of the week-end.

There were six heats of the u/12 girls 600m and Mullingar had seven girls in action. Lily Walsh qualified comfortably from her heat but unfortunately wasn’t to be joined by Aoibhe Martyn, Orla O’Connell, Lucy Kilmurray, Emily Collentine, Aaliyah Downes or Lily-Rose Rock who gave spirited performances in their heats but didn’t advance. The final was run at a fierce pace from the gun but Lily kept right in contention with the leaders. It all came down to a fierce sprint finish and Lily was very unlucky to be run out of the medals in a very close finish, crossing the line in fourth placed. On to the u/12 boys 600m where Antonio Bertolo, Louis Kiernan and Aonghus O’Reilly competed but only Antionio made it out of the tough heats and in the final ran very well but finished out of the medal places.

Roisin Flynn, Lisa O’Brien and Beibhinn O’Reilly competed in the u/13 girls 600m and were unlucky not to qualify for the final, especially Beibhinn who finished third in her heat and missed qualifying for the final by a very small margin. Mullingar had four in the u/13 boys 600m but Aaron Wallace, Scott Cogan and Greg McDonnell were unlucky not to advance from the heats and join Darren Corcoran who finished third in his heat to qualify for the final. In the final, Darren ran a very strong race and has to be satisfied with his sixth place finish in a very competitive race.

Tianna O’Leary ran an excellent race in her heat of the u/14 girls 800m to advance to the final, but Eleanor Kiernan was very unlucky with her third place in her heat and just missed a place in the final by a small margin. Sadhbh Carey, Emma Lagan and Blathnaid Peters gave good performances in their heats but didn’t advance to the final. Unfortunately Tianna took ill during the final and was unable to finish; thankfully nothing too serious and she recovered well afterwards. Conor Walsh made it safely through his heat of the u/14 boys 800m, but Jake Bell, Fionn Carey and Conor Geoghegan weren’t as fortunate and didn’t make it out of their heats. Conor ran a very strong race in the final but finished out of the medals on this occasion, but will have learned a lot from the experience for the future.

Lydia McDonnell, Siofra O’Reilly and Muireann Reihill were unlucky not to advance from the heats of the u/15 girls 800m but top marks for effort. Mullingar had five boys competing in the u/15 boys 800m, where Cian Corcoran, Matthew Molloy, Luke Greene and Niall Brady made it through the heats, but unfortunately we couldn’t make it five in the final despite the best efforts of Txema Lozano in his heat. Best of the four in the final was Cian who stormed through with a very late rush to finish just out of the medals in fourth place, with Matthew, Luke and Niall filling the minor places behind him.

Newcomer Ailbhe O’Farrell missed a place in the final of the u/16 girls 800m by just one place so didn’t join Muireann Donohue who qualified from her heat and in the final put in a great effort but finished out of the medals. It was great to see Conor Liston advance to the final of the u/16 boys 800m and running much quicker in the final, kept right with the action for most of the way but was run out of the medal places in a furious sprint over the final lap, but a sixth place finish was still a very good result. Grace Byrne and Caoimhe Donohue could keep a bit in reserve when qualifying for the final of the u/17 girls 800m and were joined by Caoimhe Kilmurray from her heat, but unfortunately Shauna Traynor missed a place in the final to join her three team mates. The final was a faster affair, which suited the Mullingar girls who kept in touch throughout but as the pace increased in the closing stages, Caoimhe Donohue was forced to drop back but Grace and Caoimhe Kilmurray pushed on to finish second and third in a very close finish. Callum Costello and Pablo Lozano competed in the u/17 boys 800m but the tight bends and the fast pace of indoor racing didn’t suit Callum on this occasion and he didn’t advance to the final to join Pablo who negotiated his heat safely and in the final competed with determination but finished out of the medal places.

Over at the long jump, Emily Collentine (u/12) and Aaron Conroy (u/14) enjoyed their competitions but didn’t get in the medals. Antonio Bertolo made his best jump in the third round of the u/12 long jump to make it to the final and three more jumps but was very unlucky to miss a medal by only a few centimetres and finished a very creditable fifth place in an exciting competition.

It must be a bonus of the new all-weather track, but it was great to see so many 60m sprint hurdlers from Mullingar Harriers compete in Athlone. Lucy Kilmurray, Aoibhe Martyn and Aaliyah Downes (u/12), and Chloe Duggan and Hui Fen Bartley (u/13) had no trouble negotiating the barriers and despite not reaching their finals, they still thoroughly enjoyed their races. Quyen Bartley (u/16) was unlucky to miss a place in her final by just one spot but also enjoyed competing over the short sprint hurdle distance. Adam O’Connor (u/12) stormed through his heat to make the final where he put in another terrific performance to finish fifth, a great result in his first 60m hurdles competition. Aaron Wallace and Greg McDonnell (u/13) made it safely through the heats and placed fourth and sixth respectively in the final, which are excellent results in a Leinster final.

Overall, it was a great two days of competition and finals reached or medals won or not, it was great to see the enjoyment of the Mullingar boys and girls that competed with such enthusiasm. The medal winners now qualify for the All-Ireland finals in Athlone in March.

National Juvenile Star Award for 2021 – Charles Okafor

Normally held at a Gala Function, a large indoor gathering was not possible due to the Covid health regulations in place at the time of planning the event, so the format for the presentation of the National Juvenile Star Awards for 2021 was changed this year and it was decided to present the Awards at the Regional indoors. Therefore, the Award winners for the Counties in Leinster were presented with their Awards at the Leinster Juvenile Indoors in Athlone on Sunday afternoon 6th February. Based on his performances in 2021, the winner for Westmeath was Charles Okafor, his second time to receive the honour, having also won it in 2020. Charles won the All-Ireland 200m outdoor title in 2021 but the real highlight for Charles was competing at the European u/20 T&F Championships in Estonia as part of the 4x100m sprint relay team. A rising star in Irish sprinting, congratulations to Charles on this recognition of his outstanding achievements in 2021.

Trim 10 Mile

While many from the Club were staying indoors and keeping warm and dry in Athlone at the Leinster Juvenile Indoors, a large group of 27 adult members were among the more than 1,500 hardy folk that braved the elements at the Trim 10 Mile road race on Saturday 6th February. It was cool and very gusty, so not ideal for such a long race, but buoyed up by the pent up enthusiasm at being able to run such a race after so long away, any negative thoughts were quickly put to the back of everyone’s mind before the start. This race continues to go from strength to strength and has become a favourite race fixture for runners of all abilities. All the Mullingar group performed brilliantly, winning individual and team prizes, and some running best times for the distance.

Leading them home was the very much in-form James Keegan in 18th place with an excellent 56:27. Following him in was Eddie Newman (58:40) 1st in his master category, then came Alan Crowley (60:24), Evan McCormack (61:14), James Cribbin (63:36), James Tierney (63:39), Joan Flynn (63:57) 14th woman overall, Susan Glennon (64:23), Kieran Nolan (65:52), Richard Ferris (69:14) with a big improvement, Mary Stuart (69:17) 2nd in her master category, Martin Fitzpatrick (74:22), Anna Broderick (75:33), Emer O’Hanlon (76:15), Tommy Byrne (77:14), Siobhan McCarthy (77:44), Criona Reid (77:50), Shaun Mills (78:42), John McNamara (78:43), Nuala Moran (81:14), Gordon Ward (82:07), Gemma Kelly (83:08), Terri Greene (85:08), Richie Kelly (87:08), Mervyn Kennedy (87:38), Marna Groenewald (90:53) and Ger Langtry (92:01), all pleased with their efforts.

In the team standings, Joan, Susan, Mary and Anna combined to place 2nd women Club and James, Eddie, Alan and Evan were 3rd men Club. It was great to see so many from the Club competing and running so well, giving everyone plenty to cheer about.

Leinster Indoor Combined Events

Taking place in conjunction with the  juvenile programme in Athlone on Saturday 5th February was the Leinster Indoor Combined Events and Aidan O’Donoghue was the sole representative from Mullingar Harriers. Aidan competed in the master men pentathlon and started the day with the 60m hurdles where he placed third to get his points tally off to a good start. A fourth place finish in the long jump saw him drop back, but he bounced right back with fine wins in the shot putt and high jump, and finished the day with the 1,000m run, where he finished third. When the points were totalled, Aidan had added over 300 points to his personal best and finished second, only 32 points behind the winner. Congratulations to Aidan on winning the Leinster silver medal after a long day of competition.

England Athletics Winter Race Walks Championships

At the UK National Endurance Centre track in Headingley, Leeds on Saturday 5th February, three Mullingar Harriers athletes were part of a large Irish group who travelled to compete in the England Athletics Winter Race Walks Championships over 5,000m and 10,000m. This was a special qualification event in the UK for the Commonwealth Games, the World Juniors, the World Cup and the European Youths, however the onset of an storm overnight put paid to the qualification dreams of all present except for one brave young Irishman.

First to compete was Aisling Lane in the Senior 5,000m race walk where she finished third overall against the best of the UK across all age groups. While fighting the high winds, she stayed on pace for the European Youth Standard for two thirds of the race but the storm eventually blew her off target. However, she still finished with a big personal best by over two minutes of 25:38.8.

Next was the Senior 10,000m race walk, where Oisín Lane finished an excellent second overall in a windswept 44:26.7, leaving several more senior and experienced athletes in his wake. However, the standout hero of the day was Andrew Glennon, finishing in seventh place despite easily being the youngest participant in this mainly senior 10,000m race. Andrew stayed focussed and absolutely determined to stick to his pacing plan throughout this 25 lap challenge. He showed committed bravery as every time the ongoing gusts lost him valuable seconds, he toughly fought back to repeatedly regain any lost time while maintaining flawless technique. Pushing to the limits of endurance in every sense he crossed the finish line in 47:49.5 and a big personal best by over a minute, but more importantly, just over ten seconds inside the qualification standard, which books his seat on the plane for the European Youths (u/18) T&F Championships to be held in Jerusalem, Israel in July. Well done Andrew on a very brave and hard-fought performance in exceptionally tough conditions.

JANUARY

Raheny 5 Mile

Always one of the most eagerly awaited and popular events on the athletics calendar, unprecedented pent up demand generated by the Covid-19 public health restrictions saw the Raheny 5 Mile on Sunday afternoon 30th January sell out early. In cool but good weather for running and thanks to the customary high standard of organisation by Raheny Shamrocks AC, the race drew just over 3,000 runners, joggers and walkers to the roads around Raheny in Dublin. The race always attracts some of the top runners in Ireland but what has made the Raheny 5 so popular over the years is that it caters for runners, joggers and walkers of all abilities.

Among the serious runners were a few from Mullingar Harriers, led home by Padraig Moran making a welcome return to competition after a long absence to finish in 13th place in an excellent time of 25:53. Following in behind Padraig was Eddie Newman (30:00) 2nd in his master category, Alan Crowley (30:01), Joan Flynn (31:51) 3rd in her master category, Michelle Bohan (32:56), Mary Stuart (35:16) 1st in her master category, Ann Hall (35:56), Linda Cunningham (38:40), Avril Keane (39:22) and Shaun Mills (40:06). An added bonus was a team prize for Joan, Mary and Ann as they combined to finish 2nd master women Club.

AAI National Masters Indoors

A big entry across all events and no restrictions on spectator numbers indoors for the first time in two years, made for an exciting atmosphere at the AAI National Masters Indoors in Athlone on Sunday 30th January, and as expected, Mullingar athletes were to the fore in their events.

Pauric Brady contested the 1,500m and despite putting in a great effort in a very fast race, had to settle for a place out of the medals, in fifth, but top marks for effort. Mullingar had two very experienced athletes in the 3,000m Race Walk where Colm Walsh left nothing on the track in this very technical event to finish second overall but winning his age category to put Mullingar on the medal board. Showing his class too under the ever vigilant eyes of the judges was Sean McMullin who also comfortably won his age category to give Mullingar its second gold medal of the day, finishing faster than men ten years his junior, such is his prowess in the event.

While the walks were underway, Aidan O’Donoghue was competing in the High Jump where he was delighted to win by a narrow margin to add a National gold medal to his growing collection of master medals. Aidan also competed in the Shot Putt and while satisfied with his efforts, finished out of the medal places on this occasion. Sean McMullin was back on the track later in the day for the 3,000m run where he showed little sign of fatigue after his race walk victory in the morning and digging deep he finished strongly to win gold in his age category, his second gold of the day.

Irish Universities Indoor T&F

Cancelled for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Intervarsity T&F returned on Saturday 29th January when the Irish Universities Indoors took place in Athlone and among the very big entry were several student athletes from Mullingar Harriers competing for their Universities and Colleges.

First into action was Sarah Glennon (DCU) who won the 1,500m walk with ease, finishing nearly half a lap ahead of second place to add another Intervarsity medal to her growing collection. Shauna Leydon (UCD) made her Intervarsity debut in the 200m where she finished second in her heat but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to advance to the final such was the standard of competition. With six heats of the men 200m, qualification for the final was the six fastest times, so they were extremely competitive. Odhran Cully (TCD) placed third in his heat but unfortunately his time wasn’t enough to advance to the final. Making his Intervarsity indoor debut, Charles Okafor (DCU) lined up in the sixth heat and placed second in an extremely fast race but unfortunately just missed a placed in the final by a very narrow margin.

Colin D Smith (DCU) advanced safely from his heat of the 800m and in the final was right up with the pace through the bell but in a frantic sprint finish to the line, he was very unlucky to be run out of the medals and crossed in fourth place. Oisin Lane (UL) competed in the 2,000m walk in his first time competing for UL and with a polished performance finished second to win his first Intervarsity medal. The 1,500m was run at a fierce pace from the start. Jamie Battle (DCU) led the chasing pack, going through 800m in just over two minutes, which is quick. He paid somewhat for the early effort in the closing stages and had to settle for a seventh place finish but has to be satisfied to have been so competitive for much of the race in his first indoor race of the season.

A long day ended with the 4 x 200m relays where the medals were decided on times in the heats. Shauna Leydon took the lead leg for UCD and made a valuable contribution to  a good team performance that saw the UCD  women finish second in their heat but it wasn’t fast enough to challenge for medals though they finished a very creditable fifth place. In the corresponding men’s event, Odhran Cully played his part for the TCD team that finished third in their heat, but their time was not fast enough to challenge for medals. Taking the baton in front on the third leg for DCU, Charles Okafor powered around the tight indoor bends, increasing the lead and handing the baton over with a big lead and DCU ran home heat winners but were narrowly beaten into second place overall on time, to give Charles his first Intervarsity medal and round off an exciting day of indoor athletics where Mullingar athletes won individual gold and silver and relay team silver medals.

AAI Inter-Club Indoor League – Open Guest Events

Round 2 of the AAI Inter-Club Indoor League took place in Athlone on Sunday 23rd January and as in Round 1, there were Open Guest Events on the programme to give some much needed early season competition. Taking advantage was a number of athletes from Mullingar.

The 800m was a fast and furious race and was exactly what the two Mullingar Colin Smiths needed and they took full advantage. Working hard to keep in touch with the leading group Colin D Smith was very pleased with his time of 1:52.49 time, not far off his indoor personal best, but Colin P Smith hung on his shoulder and was absolutely delighted to finish in 1:52.69, which is a huge personal best by over two seconds and a massive step forward for him.

Charles Okafor opened his indoor season with two races over 60m. He was narrowly beaten in his heat in the first series but his best time of 7.04 seconds is only marginally outside his PB, so this was a strong opening race for Charles. He won his heat in the second series in 7.08 seconds, so is showing some good early season form and consistency.

Lorcan Mullen will be satisfied to place third in his heat of the 3,000m in 9:15.94 and it gives him a good gauge of where he is in training for the season ahead.

Shauna Leydon has been training very well over the winter and competed in the 400m. Despite a cautious first lap, Shauna still won her heat very easily in 60.83 seconds but knows that a more aggressive opening lap will see her dip well under 60 seconds and she will benefit from more races over the distance.

Celtic Cross Country

A sizeable number of Mullingar Harriers athletes make the trip to Belfast on Saturday 22nd January to compete in the Northern Ireland International Cross Country held at the Billy Neill MBE Country Park, Dundonald. The event incorporated the Celtic Cross Country with teams from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales taking part. Among the Ireland teams were Caoimhe Kilmurray and Conor Sherwin who were making their International debuts. Years of hard work and sacrifice paid off for Caoimhe and Conor as they proudly wore the green singlet of Ireland in their respective u/17 races.

Unlike the trip to Sterling, Scotland in 2020 for a similar event where running conditions were atrocious, both the weather and underfoot conditions in Belfast were perfect for running. Strong bonds were formed during the three-day trip to Sterling two years ago and it was great to see the majority of these athletes competing again in Belfast, despite an exceedingly difficult two years with limited championship racing and far from ideal training conditions, as dictated by Government regulations. Huge praise must go to the coaches in the club for giving up their time to keep the athletes fit and focused during this difficult and prolonged period of time.

There were 13 races in total to be contested and the first Mullingar competitors of the day were out in the u/15 girls 3,000m. With perfect ground conditions, the race started at a fast pace and the three Mullingar girls were well positioned as they headed out on the second lap. Adele Geoghegan ran very strong from the gun and took up a  very good position sticking with the leading group of six or seven girls. The eventual winner from Devon in the UK upped the pace  after 1,000m and stretched out the field  and was a comfortable winner in the end. Grace Byrne (18th) and Leah Geoghegan (21st) worked off each other and finished the race strong in very respectable positions. Adele finished 8th in a group of three with only one second separating fifth to eighth. The Mullingar girls finished 4th Club in the team event. Consistent training over the last few years paid off for these three girls.

Next up was the u/15 boys  who also ran over 3,000m. Six Mullingar athletes contested this race with David Burke unfortunately having to withdraw mid-week and everyone wishes him a speedy recovery. An extremely fast start by the leading group set the tone for the race. The hotly fancied UK athlete from Norwich raced to the front, but with Jamie Wallace drawing on all his experience, he let him do the hard work for the first half of the race and sat on his shoulder. A twisting, hilly course similar to what our athletes encounter on their training runs in Belvedere suited all the Mullingar athletes today. Jamie tracked every move of the UK athlete and with 700m to go Jamie made his decisive move and quickly opened a gap and broke away to win in style. Pablo Lozano, getting stronger with every race he has run this winter, was in fifth position for a lot of the race and can only be delighted with his 10th place finish. With Donagh Carey (13th), Luke Greene (16th), Matthew Molloy (19th) and Niall Brady (21st) all finishing very strong, the boys finished 2nd Club. This was an outstanding performance from this group of boys competing against some very strong International competition. Well done to Jamie on a fantastic victory and he oozed confidence and maturity in his TV interview afterwards.

Illness and injury hit our under 17 girls team, so Mullingar had only three athletes in the u/17 girls 4,000m. Caoimhe Kilmurray was competing in her first ever race as an Irish International. Caoimhe is a multi-talented sports person and huge congratulations to her on achieving her first International honour. A large field took to the line as the under 17 and under 20 girls ran in a combined race. From the off, Caoimhe took up a good position in the middle of the pack and was mindful to identify and keep an eye on the under 17 girls. Like all the previous races, a fast pace was set from the gun by a strong international field. The tough fast undulating course suited Caoimhe as she sat in the top 20 group. A strong finish gave Caoimhe 18th place in her age category and she was delighted with her performance in her first taste of International competition. Caoimhe Donohue (24th) and Jessica Cunningham (26th) ran very well and should be immensely proud of their performances.

Following a fantastic victory by Jamie Wallace and a very strong performance from Caoimhe Kilmurray in her first race as an Irish International, Conor Sherwin took to the line of the u/17 boys 6,000m race that was run in conjunction with the under 20 race. Conor has really thrived over the last 2 years. Never one to miss training and fully committed to his training schedule, he got his just reward in selection for the Irish under 17 Development team after a magnificent performance at the National Cross Country Championships in Santry last November. A large field took to the line and with a tight bottleneck 80m after starting, a good start was vital and with Conor gaining experience with every race he has run, he was nicely positioned as the initial sprint start settled into a good lively pace. Tracking all the under 17 athletes in this combined race, Conor ran a very steady race over the 4 laps. Rarely missing a training session on the hills at Belvedere was great preparation for Conor and it was no surprise that he ran one of his best races ever to finish 10th in his age group and also led the Ireland Development Team home. This was a fantastic performance and hopefully will be the first of many performances in an Ireland vest from him. Conor will be the first to acknowledge the contribution of his teammates Ross Killalea and Conleth Mullen, who also competed today. Ross picked up a niggle mid-race and rightly eased up the pace and finished comfortably in the middle of the pack. Conleth as always, gave it his all, and was incredibly happy with his performance against some very strong international runners.

The final race of the day was the Senior Men 10,000m where Jamie Battle was leading the charge for the Ireland u/23 team. Sticking right in the thick of the action, Jamie worked hard all the way and drawing from his well of experience at National and European level, he was rewarded with a fantastic 8th place finish overall, the first u/23 man and leading the Ireland u/23 team to gold. A terrific result for a dedicated athlete.

We witnessed some great performances from all the Mullingar athletes, showing that adhering to the training plans is paying off. An event like today does not happen without detailed planning from our coaches. Thanks to all who train our athletes every week and it is very much appreciated. With Covid restrictions on indoor dining etc relaxed on the day, it was terrific that everyone could stop off on the journey home as a group, and the club treated all the athletes to some well-earned food and refreshments.

Now that Caoimhe and Conor have made their International debuts for Ireland, their names will be added to the International Roll of Honour in the Clubhouse, to bring the total to 119.

Leinster Inter & Masters XC and Juvenile XC Relays

The first Leinster cross country fixture of 2022 took place in Dunboyne. Co. Meath on Saturday 15th January where from a Mullingar perspective, the day definitely belonged to the Mullingar women, winning many individual and team medals. Competition was for Intermediate & Masters men and women and cross country relays for boys and girls. Mullingar had relay teams in each race and a big number of adults entered in the Intermediate and Masters races, the master women in particular, and their numbers were bolstered by members of North Westmeath AC that were on the Westmeath County team. The event was hosted by Dunboyne AC whose volunteers did a fantastic job in the week leading up to the event building the course and were there in big numbers on the day stewarding on the course and at the car parks and approach roads. These events don’t happen without Clubs and volunteers generously giving up their time. The day was cold but dry, so the course stayed in great condition throughout the programme of races giving good underfoot conditions, a real bonus for the athletes and spectators. A minutes silence was held before both the master women race and the master men race in memory of Ashling Murphy RIP who died tragically during the week while out running near her home outside Tullamore.

Before the adults races, we had the Juvenile Cross Country Relay Races that always provide great excitement and fun. It was a great start to the year for boys and girls to get out and run with their club mates over the shorter relay distances. Mullingar has a massive reputation in cross country, but the relay distances are much shorter, too short perhaps for some but that didn’t stop them giving one hundred percent effort and coming away happy after each race. The u/12 girls 4 x 250m saw Lily Walsh, Chloe Bell, Lucy Kilmurray and Grace Murphy put in a great team effort but unfortunately they finished out of the medals. The team of Cillian Galvin, Aonghus O’Reilly, Oisin Clarke and Louis Kiernan came close in the u/12 boys 4 x 250m but finished fourth, just out of the medals but gave themselves every chance. The distance increased for the following races, but the medal drought continued in the u/14 girls 4 x 500m where Tianna O’Leary, Muireann Galvin, Blathnaid Peters and Emma Lagan worked hard but just couldn’t get among the medal places. We came close in the u/14 boys 4 x 500m but despite a great team effort by Conor Walsh, Conor Geoghegan, Greg McDonnell and Jake Bell the team finished an agonising fourth place, just out of the medals. There was no luck either in the u/16 girls 4 x 500m for Muireann Donohue, Lydia McDonnell, Siofra O’Reilly and Muireann Reihill as the team finished out of the medals. Keeping in contention throughout the u/16 boys 4 x 500m, Niall Brady, Luke Greene, Matthew Molloy and Donagh Carey put in great shifts and though they were finishing fast, just couldn’t close the gap on the medal places and finished in fourth place. Medals or not, it was a great experience for our young athletes ahead of the indoor season.

The relays whetted our appetites for the adult races, with the Master Women 4,000m on first. The race included the master men o/65 years of age and they raced alongside the women over the same 4,000m distance. Competition was fierce and leading the Mullingar women home in a fantastic fifth place was Aine O’Reilly, placing second in her master category and with Michelle Bohan only a few places behind (fourth in her master category, missing a medal by just 5 seconds), then Sinead Whitelaw, followed by the North Westmeath pair Treasa Gibney and Marie Masterson, then Maura Dervin (winning her master category), Aisling Corcoran, Michelle O’Halloran, Caroline Mullen, Emer O’Hanlon, North Westmeath AC’s Karen Crean, Joanna Tyrrell making her debut in master cross country, Caroline Boyle, Terri Greene, Patricia Broderick and Brigid McCabe (second in her master category). When the various age categories were sorted, the o/35 team of Aine, Michelle Bohan, Sinead, Treasa, Marie, Aisling, Michelle O’Halloran, Karen and Caroline Boyle finished 3rd Club and 2nd County and the o/50 team of Maura, Caroline Mullen, Emer, Joanna, Terri, Patricia and Brigid finished 2nd Club and 2nd County, so there was much for the very large contingent from Mullingar and Westmeath to celebrate. It was also great to see a team from North Westmeath in the Club team results table. In the Master Men o/65 race, Sean McMullin finished fourth in his master category, missing a medal by just one second, and finishing close behind was Nicky McCabe, both pleased with their efforts.

Moving on to the Master Men 6,000m first to finish for Mullingar was Evan McCormack, followed home by Eddie Newman, Eoin Clarke, Pauric Brady, James Cribbin, Stephen Naughton and James Carton. Such is the standard, there were fierce battles for age category, Club and County awards and unfortunately the Mullingar men didn’t secure any individual or team medals this time, but not for the lack of effort.

Seeing Jenny Algar, Anna Broderick and Amy Mahony finishing well up in quick succession with top 20 places in the extremely competitive Intermediate Women 4,000m all eyes were on Linda Cunningham. Finishing strongly with North Westmeath AC’s Meabh O’Hagan not far behind, Linda didn’t disappoint and provided the vital fourth team score to secure the bronze medals for 3rd County. The Mullingar team also finished a very creditable 5th Club. James Keegan was Mullingar’s sole representative in the Intermediate Men 8,000m where he ran an excellent race with great determination and grit to finish in eighth place, an excellent result in an extremely competitive race.

That finished the day’s racing, where the honours belonged to our women athletes, securing three master category individual medals and five sets of team medals between Masters and Intermediate, making it a very memorable day for the Mullingar women.

Washington Indoor Preview

Claire Fagan competed for the first time in the purple and white colours of the University of Portland (Oregan) at the Washington Indoor Preview at the Dempsey Indoor Arena in Seattle (Washington) on Saturday 15th January. The events are a series of timed races and Claire sat with the leaders for the early laps of her heat of the 3,000m but then burst to the front and quickly pulled ahead to win comfortably in a new PB of 9:46.00. Claire is just back from injury, so this a very encouraging performance in a very competitive race and will give her a great boost of confidence for the Collegiate indoor season ahead.

AAI National Indoor League – Round 1

The 2022 Indoor season commenced on Sunday 9th January at the National Indoor Arena in Abbotstown, Dublin with the first round of the AAI National Indoor League, which included a number of guest events for athletes of Clubs that didn’t enter teams. Colin D Smith and Colin P Smith both competed in the high quality open 1,500m A race, which featured three athletes who represented Ireland at last season’s European u/23 Track Championships.

Colin D Smith finished an excellent third place in a time of 3:48.95, which was an improvement of nine seconds on his previous best. This is a huge progression from Colin and firmly establishes him now as one of the leading u/23 middle distance runners in Ireland. Over the coming weeks Colin will return to race 800m, which has always been his preferred event and we hope to see further improvement there also.

Colin P Smith was one of the youngest athletes in the field and he opened his season with a fifth place finish in a time of 4:01.73. He will also benefit greatly from the experience and can look forward to the remainder of the indoor season with confidence.

Master athlete Aidan O’Donoghue used the open long jump to get in some early season competition ahead of the National Masters Indoors at the end of January and was very happy to improve on his personal best for the event.

Tom Brennan 5k

The annual Liffey Valley AC “Tom Brennan 5k” in the Phoenix Park on New Year’s Day attracted an impressive entry of over 640, though, perhaps due to the rapidly growing number of Covid cases, on the day just under 490 took part, which is still a very impressive number. The weather was very unseasonal, more like a lovely spring morning with temperatures hitting 14 degrees for the 12 noon start, though it was quite blustery. This was the first big race of the year and delighted to be part of the highly competitive event were three from Mullingar Harriers. Andrew Nevin got his 2022 season off to a very good start with an excellent 18th place finish in 16:16. Next in was Michelle O’Halloran in 21:46, finishing well up in her master age category, and the trio was completed by Gordon Ward who was pleased with his 23:47 time and also a strong finish in his master age category.

Navan 5k Park Run

Enda Seery used the Navan 5k Park Run on New year’s Day to get himself into the swing of racing for 2022 and was more than satisfied to finish first in 19 minutes 17 seconds in windy conditions and is already planning his next competitive outing.