Q2, 2022 News & Reports – April to June

JUNE

AAI National Senior T&F Championships

The 150th consecutive AAI National Senior T&F Championships continued an illustrious history as the 2022 edition was held in Santry on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th June. The first national athletics championships were organised in Trinity College Dublin in 1873 and the Championships have been held every year since then, despite two World Wars, the War of Independence, the Civil War, and two Global pandemics (Spanish Flu and Covid-19), making the Irish national championships the longest running consecutive national senior championships in the world. To mark the occasion, every athletics club in Ireland was invited to send an Ambassador to Santry on Sunday afternoon, and wearing their club colours, to run 150m. The Mullingar Harriers Ambassador was Lauryn Smith, one of our youngest members, and she was delighted to be part of the occasion and after her 150m run she was presented with a commemorative 150th Anniversary tee shirt. Well done to Lauryn on being such an excellent Ambassador for Mullingar Harriers!

All the Mullingar athletes competed on Sunday, in cool and windy and at times absolutely soaking wet conditions. First into action in the 10,000m race walk was Oisin Lane and Matthew Glennon. Oisin had planned to help Matthew to the World Junior standard and was on track at 5k but the conditions just weren’t in their favour and unfortunately that plan had to be abandoned. Oisin went on to finish an excellent fourth place behind three World class race walkers, in a time just outside his personal best with Matthew finishing a very creditable seventh in his first National Senior outdoor final.

Charles Okafor lined up in the fourth of seven heats of the 100m where he finished fourth in a time that would have won some of the other heats or placed second in most. Though it was fourth, it was still quick enough to qualify for the semi-finals. Conditions deteriorated and were simply awful for the semi-finals, and running in the third of three semis, Charles placed fourth again into a ferocious headwind of 5.1m/s, but his time wasn’t quick enough to advance to the fiercely competitive final, but top marks for effort.

There were three races over 5,000m and in the B Race, Jack Moran and Vinny Connolly competed for Mullingar. There was an early breakaway by four athletes, leaving Vinny and Jack to lead the chasing group. With just over five laps to go, Jack put in a significant injection of pace to close the gap on the leaders and quickly moved into second place. He continued to work hard to close the gap on the leader but the effort took its toll and Jack was closed down and caught in the closing stages to finish fifth in 15:02.74, just outside his personal best, with Vinny finishing fast in eighth place in 15:12.79, a new personal best by 20 seconds. Jack O’Leary and Jamie Battle ran in the A Race, which was run at a fast pace from the outset with Jack keeping in contention and Jamie not far off the pace. However, as the race progressed and the pace increased, Jack and Jamie had to ease back and though both finished strong, Jack well up in the large field, with Jamie behind, it wasn’t to be their day.

Northern Ireland Masters T&F

It was bright and sunny but very blustery at the Mary Peters Track in Belfast on Saturday 25th June where Aidan O’Donoghue was competing in the Northern Ireland Masters T&F. After a long day of competition in three events, Aidan finished second in the High Jump, second in the Shot Putt and third in the Javelin in his age category, a fine collection of medals for his efforts.

St. Coca’s AC 5k

The St. Coca’s AC 5k in Kilcock on Friday evening 24th June attracted a big entry and among the 486 finishers in a quality field was 8 from Mullingar. The race’s reputation as a fast one is well founded and leading the Mullingar group home was James Keegan in a good 15 minutes 42 seconds, and following in quick succession was Ian McCormack (15:57), Andrew Nevin (16:09), John Whitelaw (16:25), Alan Crowley (16:40), Eddie Newman (17:19) third in his master category, Glenda Shaw (19:25) and Gemma Kelly (22:09) a new best time for her for 5k on the road. Well done to St. Cocas AC for hosting such a great race.

Tailteann Inter-Provincial T&F

In addition to the honour of representing their schools and Province at the Tailteann Inter-Provincial T&F in Tullamore on Friday afternoon 24th June, at stake for three Mullingar athletes was selection for the Irish Schools team that will compete against England, Scotland and Wales in Belfast in July.

Conditions were very changeable with heavy downpours throughout the afternoon but this proved no problem for Aisling Lane (Mercy Ballymahon) who showed her class with a dominant display in the Intermediate girls 3,000m race walk, and under the scrutiny of the ever vigilant judges gave a polished performance to win comfortably by well over half a lap in 14 minutes 54.91 seconds, a new personal best time for the distance, to secure her place on the Irish Schools team.

All-Ireland Schools Champion for the u/16 girls mile, Grace Byrne (Loreto Mullingar) stepped up an age for the Intermediate girls 1,500m. The field was very competitive and the race was stretched out after one lap, and though Grace worked very hard to stay in contention, it wasn’t her day. Also stepping up an age group, Conor Sherwin (Colaiste Mhuire Mullingar) contested the Intermediate boys 1,500m where he was up in the leading group for the first 600m but an injection of pace stretched the field and he did his best for the remainder of the race to just score for the Leinster team in the Inter-Provincial competition. Grace and Conor will be underage for Intermediate again next year, so this was good experience gained.

Clonee 10k

Taking place on a beautiful summer evening, Stephen Naughton was very happy to finish well up in 19th place of the 229 finishers at the Dunboyne AC Clonee 10k on Thursday evening 23rd June when his time of 39 minutes 28 seconds was good enough to place him second in his master category and earn him a well-deserved prize.

European u/18 T&F Selections Confirmed (21st June)

On Tuesday 21st June, Athletics Ireland announced the final team selection for the European u/18 T&F Championships to take place in Jerusalem from 4th to 7th July. Among the team of twenty is three from Mullingar Harriers, the largest from any one Club; in fact, Mullingar is the only Club to have more than one member on the team. Aisling Lane will compete in the 5k race walk, Andrew Glennon in the 10k race walk and Diarmuid Fagan in the 1,500m. Following their participation in Jerusalem, Mullingar will have had athletes compete at European u/18, u/20, u/23 and Senior level in the past 12 months – a first for the Club! Congratulations to Aisling, Andrew and Diarmuid, and to their coaches Michael Lane (walks) and Joe Ryan (1,500m).

Leinster Juvenile T&F

The final Leinster T&F fixture of the season took place on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th June in Tullamore when the Leinster Juvenile T&F was held. Competition was mainly for under 14 to under 19 but there were also some under 12 and under 13 hurdles and field events held over from their T&F a few weeks ago.

The Mullingar race walkers were out in force and as expected they simply dominated in their events, with a clean sweep of gold medals thanks to John Glennon (u/16 boys 3,000m walk), Aisling Lane (u/18 girls 3,000m walk), Andrew Glennon (u/18 boys 3,000m walk) and Daniel Glennon (u/14 boys 2,000m walk). Four gold medals are brilliant results for an extremely dedicated group that trains diligently under the expert eye of their coach, Michael Lane.

The action then turned to the short sprints where the Mullingar sprinters put in good efforts in very competitive heats where qualification for finals was very difficult. Emma Lagan and Sadhbh Carey contested the u/14 girls 80m, Aaron Conroy and Cian Hyland the u/14 boys 80m, Amy Crowley and Rosie O’Grady the u/16 girls 100m, and Barry Walsh and Kyle Faherty the u/16 boys 100m. Only Kyle advanced from his heat to the final where he put in a very strong effort but is not long recovered from injury and had to settle for a place out of the medals.

Mullingar had a good number of 1,500m athletes in action across the age groups. Blathnaid Peters ran very well in the u/14 girls 1,500m but finished out of the medal places. Conor Walsh came close with a fourth place finish in the u/14 boys 1,500m after a great race where he was always in contention for honours and deserved more. Finishing behind Conor was Darragh Ryan and Dylan Byrne who also ran well. Lydia McDonnell (u/15 girls), Matthew Molloy (u/15 boys) and Ailbhe O’Farrell (u/16 girls) battled well in their races but finished out of the medals. Jamie Wallace finally broke into the medals in the u/16 boys 1,500m after a thrilling race where he was always in the thick of the action and with a very fast last lap was rewarded with an excellent second place finish, with Donagh Carey finishing fast behind but out of the medals. On to the u/17 girls 1,500m where Mullingar had three in action, Grace Byrne, Aimee Wallace and Jessica Cunningham with the three girls staying in the pack in the early stages. On the back straight of the final lap, Aimee burst to the front, closely followed by Grace and they pulled away quickly opening a gap on the field leaving it to the two girls to fight it out for victory. Grace just had the edge in the final sprint finish to win, closely followed home by Aimee in second place, and Jessica also running well to the finish but out of the medals. Conor Sherwin and Pablo Lozano worked hard in the u/17 boys 1,500m and kept in contention throughout. At the bell, it was down to three, with Conor at the rear but he never gave up and kept his form down the back straight and around the final bend and with a final burst he found another gear in the closing stages to move into second place just before the finish line, with Pablo finishing fast behind but out of the medals. The final 1,500m with a Mullingar interest was the u/18 boys 1,500m where Conleth Mullen put in a good effort but finished out of the medal places, though top marks for effort.

In the field events, Dylan Byrne competed in the u/14 boys long jump and u/14 boys javelin, Aaron Conroy in the u/14 boys long jump and Greg McDonnell in the u/13 boys long jump, where despite not winning any silverware, they enjoyed the competitions. We finished with the u/14 girls 300m, a new event in Leinster, where Blathnaid Peters worked hard but being such a short distance, the pace was a bit too quick for her liking and she didn’t feature in the medals, but will have taken a lot from the experience. That concluded Saturday for the Mullingar athletes, with five gold medals, three silvers, one fourth place finish, and lots of determined effort.

Sunday began with the 800m where Emma Lagan ran well in the u/14 girls 800m but unfortunately didn’t advance from the very competitive heats. No problem for Conor Walsh in the u/14 boys 800m, advancing safely to the final, but unfortunately Darragh Ryan didn’t advance from his heat to join Conor in the final. The final was run at a fierce pace from the gun and though he gave it everything, unfortunately Conor finished out of the medal places. Conor Mulvaney battled hard in his heat of the u/15 boys 800m but didn’t advance to join Matthew Molloy who qualified comfortably from his heat and in the final was very unlucky to get run out of the medal places in a close finish. Aimee Wallace took it out hard in the u/17 girls 800m and the race quickly came down to a straight head to head sprint finish over the closing stages, with Aimee narrowly beaten into second place, her second silver medal of the weekend. It was great to see Philip McCartan and Pablo Lozano being so competitive in the u/17 boys 800m, both right in the mix at the bell, but as the pace wound up, it was Philip who had the better finish to place fourth, with Pablo finishing fast close behind. In the u/18 boys 800m Conleth Mullen gave a spirited performance but finished out of the medals.

As expected, the 200m heats were very competitive and despite running very well in their heats, unfortunately Sadhbh Carey (u/14), Amy Crowley (u/16) and Barry Walsh (u/16) didn’t qualify for their finals. In contrast, Kyle Faherty won his heat of the u/16 boys 200m with ease and in the final blasted from the blocks and after a terrific bend, led into the home straight, and was only passed near the finish and narrowly beaten into second place, but was delighted to win a Leinster medal and qualify for the All-Ireland finals.

We had two in the u/16 boys 3,000m where Jamie Wallace was always in contention and with a great performance and fast finish crossed the line in second place for his second medal of the weekend, with Donagh Carey finishing fast but out of the medal places. Caoimhe Kilmurray always looked very comfortable in the u/17 girls 3,000m but as the pace increased in the final kilometre she began to feel the pressure but remained in the medal places and it was only in the final 200m that she was relegated to fourth place and finished out of the medals, but as the top four qualify for the All-Ireland finals, Caoimhe will get another chance. David Burke was full of running and simply cruised with ease in the u/17 boys 3,000m, leading for much of the race and it was only in the final lap or so that he had to surrender his lead but was still very pleased with his Leinster silver medal.

We finished the day with the u/13 girls 60m hurdles where Chloe Duggan and Lisa O’Brien competed very well over the barriers but didn’t qualify from the very competitive heats. That concluded the Leinster juvenile T&F season but with a total of five gold and seven silver medals won, and three fourth place finishes, Mullingar will be well represented in the All-Ireland Finals in July.

Dunshaughlin 10k

It was cool and dry in Dunshaughlin on Saturday 18th June, perfect conditions for the 825 participants in the ever popular Dunshaughlin 10k, one of the best 10k races on the fixture list that draws the very best road race runners from across the Country eager to race on a fast course that is guaranteed to give fast times. Finishing well up just outside the top thirty and continuing to enjoy a great run of form was James Keegan in a new PB of 32 minutes 33 seconds, followed by Eddie Newman (35:15) first in his master category, Eoin Clarke (35:28) a new PB, Maurice Looby (35:31) making a very welcome return to racing, Evan McCormack (35:31), Alan Crowley (36:10), Johnny Morrissey (37:00), Sinead Whitelaw (37:05) twelfth woman, Aine O’Reilly (37:33) second in her master category, Pauric Brady (38:19), Stephen Naughton (38:26) fourth in his master category, Kieran Nolan (38:32), Enda Seery (38:58), Michelle Bohan (39:29), Amy Mahony (39:45), Glenda Shaw (40:56), Ann Hall (42:48), Robin Jackson (43:25) and Aidan O’Donoghue (53:56). With individual prizes for Eddie Newman and Aine O’Reilly only, it was great to learn that the women team of Sinead Whitelaw, Aine O’Reilly and Michelle Bohan finished 3rd Club and they were delighted to take home a well deserved prize for their efforts.

Leevale AC T&F Meeting – 1,500m Euro u/18 Standard for Diarmuid Fagan

The Leevale AC Track & Field Meeting took place at MTU in Cork in windy conditions on Sunday 12th June. For Diarmuid Fagan it was a day to remember, as he ran an eight second personal best to record a win in the 1,500m in 3 minutes 54.25 seconds. Most importantly, this secured a qualification standard for the European Under 18 T&F Championships, which will be held in Jerusalem in July.

Diarmuid showed great maturity to sit behind the pacemaker and some of his more experienced rivals on the opening laps before confidently moving up as the race progressed. His reputation as a fast last lap finisher is growing and once again, he produced a huge effort to win in a time that had him almost three seconds inside the European Under 18 qualification mark.

It’s been a breakthrough few weeks for Diarmuid, who last weekend won the Irish Schools 5,000m. Diarmuid is a very talented young athlete who has shown great commitment and dedication to the sport all year. He can look forward to going from strength to strength as the season continues.

Irish Runner 5 Mile (incorp. National 5 Mile Championships)

The Irish Runner 5 Mile, incorporating the AAI National 5 Mile Championships, took place on Sunday morning 12th June in the Phoenix Park. This was the second instalment of the Athletics Ireland Race Series. The weather was very mixed in the days leading up to the day and it was no surprise that just as the more than 760 competitors took to the start line, a fresh shower of rain fell, but it failed to dampen the spirits of those taking on the tough Phoenix Park hilly course. Thankfully, conditions improved during the race and the weather changed to shine by the finish and overall, conditions were better than expected given the recent weather.

Among the big entry was a number of Mullingar’s finest master athletes, led home by Eddie Newman finishing well up in a terrific forty third place overall in 28:25, winning the National bronze medal in his master category. Eddie was followed by Stephen Naughton (30:48), Pauric Brady (31:12), Linda Cunningham (36:27) a very creditable fifth in her master category, Emer O’Hanlon (36:40), Caroline Mullen (37:38), Brigid McCabe (37:44) winning the gold medal in her master category, Avril Keane (38:42) and Nicky McCabe (38:46) winning the silver in his master category. Of note is that medal winners aside, all the Mullingar athletes placed very well in their respective master categories, all in the top twenty, and in fact, most in the top ten, so these were fantastic performances in a National Championship. Reflecting the strong individual performances, the team of Emer, Caroline and Brigid were delighted to place 2nd master women o/50 Club and the master men placed a very creditable 6th Club.

All eyes now turn to the final instalment of the 2022 Athletics Ireland Race Series, with the Irish Runner 10 Mile Race, incorporating the National Championships, taking place on July 10 in the Phoenix Park.

Leinster Juvenile Relays

Not an event that Mullingar teams generally compete in, but on Sunday 12th June we had one team in action at the Leinster Juvenile Relays, which were held in a blustery and at times showery Le Cheile AC grounds in Leixlip. With three heats of the u/13 girls 4x100m, qualification for the final was always going to be difficult. Drawn in the outside lane 8 of the third and final heat, the Mullingar team of Chloe Duggan, Aobh Smith, Beibhinn O’Reilly and Casey O’Sullivan gave a spirited performance and while they didn’t advance to the final, can hold their heads high on a job well done and there’s no doubt but we’ll see these girls double down in training eager to have another shot in a relay as soon as they can.

Braveheart 5k

Taking place on Friday evening 10th June, the Trim AC “Braveheart 5k” at the Porchfields in Trim attracted an excellent 400 runners to the start line of a race along the banks of the historic River Boyne, taking the runners among one of the finest collections of medieval monuments in Ireland. This is not an easy course, and the blustery conditions didn’t help, but displaying no difficulty with it and finishing well up in fifth place was Gerard Gavin in 17:35 to win his master age category, followed by Susan Glennon in 19:41, fourth woman finisher, then Callum Costello in 20:38, third junior man, easing back to racing after a long layoff due to injury and happy with his race, then Linda Cunningham in 23:02, with Declan Costello in 26:28 completing the Mullingar group.

Daingean 5k (Ambrose Hickey Memorial)

The thunderstorms in the Midlands earlier in the day on Friday 10th June cleared by the evening, no doubt to the relief of Naomh Mhuire AC who organised the Daingean 5k (Ambrose Hickey Memorial) and to the big entry of nearly 300 runners that signed up to race. It turned out a fine evening for running and everyone avoided the heavy showers during the race. James Keegan came through very strong to finish third in an impressive 15:47, with Kedagh Geoghegan finishing in tenth place in 16:42, both expressing satisfaction afterwards with their results, which will set them up nicely for the “Michael Manning Memorial” Dunshaughlin 10k, one of the highlight races on the road race calendar.

Leinster Children’s Games and u/12 and u/13 T&F

Over 300 children gathered in an unseasonably cool overcast and at times drizzly Tullamore on Sunday 5th June for the Leinster Children’s Games and u/12 and u/13 T&F. The younger under 9, 10 and 11 year olds competed as a “pair”, meaning their times in a race or throws in the turbo javelin or shot putt or jumps in the long jump were added together to give a team total or score, while the older under 12 and under 13 year olds competed as individuals. The level of competition was fierce and medals were very hard to win, in fact we won only two medals, but all our athletes competed to the very best of their ability and they thoroughly enjoyed the day.

On the track, proceedings got underway with the 600m races. Orla O’Connell ran well in her heat of the u/12 girls 600m but didn’t advance to the final to join Lily Walsh who was second in her heat. In a very fast final later in the day, Lily ran extremely well and was very unlucky to finish just out of the medal places. Beibhinn O’Reilly and Aobh Smith contested the u/13 girls 600m heats, where Aobh just missed a place in the final but Beibhinn qualified from her heat and in the later final ran a fantastic race to finish third and give Mullingar its first medal of the day. On to the u/12 boys 600m heats where Cillian Galvin won his heat, just ahead of Antonio Bertolo to give us two in the final, but unfortunately Aonghus O’Reilly didn’t advance from his heat despite a good run. The later final was run at a furious pace from the gun, with Cillian always in contention and Antonio keeping close contact too. It came down to a sprint finish and Cillian prevailed to win the gold medal, Mullingar’s second medal of the day, with Antonio finishing strong but out of the medals. We finished with the u/11 girls 600m where Chloe Bell, Clodagh Keane, Liadan Gavin and Amelie Kelly ran their hearts out and were unlucky to win no medals for their efforts, Chloe and Clodagh coming so close in fourth place, missing the bronze by less than half a second.

Dropping down to 500m, Lucy O’Connor, Lauryn Smith and Kate Horohoe ran very well in the u/9 girls 300m but there were no medals won, though Lucy and Lauren came very close in fourth place, missing the bronze by just under half a second. Penny Bohan and Katie Bohan contested the longer u/10 girls 500m, finishing well up in their races but out of the medal places. We had four in the u/10 boys 500m but though Conor Gavin, Cillian Gavin, David Canning and Fintan Harte ran very well, they didn’t win any medals, but Conor and Cillian came close in fourth place.

Over at the field events, Katie Bohan and Penny Bohan were in action in the u/10 girls long jump where they jumped well but finished out of the medal places. Antonino Bertolo competed in the u/12 boys shot putt and u/12 boys high jump, enjoying the competition but not finishing in the medal place. No medals either for Daniel Horohoe in the u/13 boys shot putt or Aoibhe Martyn in the u/12 girls shot putt, but both competed well. We had four in the u/10 boys turbo javelin, Cillian Martyn, Ruairi Horohoe, Josh McDonnell and Tom O’Connell but though they all threw well and enjoyed the competition, they too finished out of the medals. We came close in the u/11 boys turbo javelin where Donnacha Doyle and Luke Somers threw really well and were unlucky to finish just out of the medals in fifth place.

Back on the track for the sprints, the numbers taking part were absolutely huge, giving ten heats in some events, so the competition was fierce. Lucy O’Connor, Lauryn Smith, Rose Harte and Kate Horohoe (u/9 girls 60m), Josh McDonnell, Fintan Harte, Tom O’Connell and David Canning (u/10 boys 60m), Aoibhe Martyn and Orla O’Connell (u/12 girls 60m), Daniel Horohoe (u/13 boys 80m) all competed strongly but such was the level of competition, they didn’t finish in the medals. Liadan Gavin, Amelie Kelly, Chloe Bell and Clodagh Keane ran in the u/11 girls 60m, all running very well and Chloe and Clodagh came close to winning medals, finishing in fifth place. Aonghus O’Reilly and Adam O’Connor (u/12 boys 60m) tried very hard, but only Adam managed to advance to the semi-final but his involvement ended there. Getting out of the heats proved extremely difficult, such was the standard, but Chloe Duggan and Aobh Smith managed it in the u/13 girls 80m, advancing to the semi-finals though a place in the final eluded them, while Beibhinn O’Reilly didn’t qualify from her 80m heat, though her legs had to be tired as she had run two 600m races in the morning to win a Leinster medal and that was bound to have taken its toll.

Whether they won medals or not, or got places in semi-finals and finals or not, all the Mullingar athletes did their very best and competed with great enthusiasm and as they moved between events, they always seemed to have happy smiles on their faces and we can ask no more than that.

Cork City Marathon & Half Marathon

The Cork City Marathon & Half Marathon took place on Sunday morning 5th June. Over 1,700 toed the line for the marathon, attracted by the fact that it is billed as a fast and flat course, but also perhaps because it is an official Boston Marathon qualifier. This was a true “city” marathon, bringing the race to as much of the city as was possible. Mary Stuart was very happy to finish well up overall in 3:20:07, placing second in her master age category, and also happy was Joan Hickson with her 3:51:26 time. Both were personal best times, and looking at the split times, it’s interesting to see that both of them slowly increased their pace throughout the race, which meant they were improving their position and passing people all the time, giving a welcome boost when things get tougher, physically but especially mentally, in the latter stages of a marathon. The half marathon attracted a huge entry of over 5,400 and finishing strongly and well up was Stephen Shanahan in an excellent 1:24:07. Very well done to Mary, Joan and Stephen.

VHI Women’s Mini Marathon

Boasting an entry of more than 20,000 women, the VHI Women’s Mini Marathon took place on Sunday 5th June around the streets of Dublin. Placing herself well up in the first waves of runners, Linda Cunningham attacked the 10k course with determination and was delighted to finish the race in 45 minutes 46 seconds, which is a new best time for Linda for the 10k distance.

All-Ireland Schools T&F Finals

Nine members of Mullingar Harriers were competing for their schools and colleges at the All-Ireland Schools T&F finals in a warm sunny but breezy Tullamore on Saturday 4th June. Having to qualify from sub-Region Zones and then the Provincial Regions put the cream of underage athletics talent on show in what is rightly regarded as one of the very best athletics competitions on the fixture list.

Always a rich vein for Mullingar, the race walkers didn’t disappoint and won three gold and one bronze medal. In the Junior boys 1,200m race walk, John Glennon (St. Finian’s Mullingar) got caught up in a very fast race from the start, but by not panicking and sticking to his race plan, John was rewarded for his excellent efforts with a bronze medal. Having qualified for the European Youths (u/18) T&F in Israel next month, Aisling Lane (Mercy Ballymahon) was never going to be troubled in the Intermediate girls 2,000m race walk and that’s exactly how it transpired. Going straight to the front from the gun, Aisling cruised easily to victory by a big margin of nearly 100m. Another athlete heading to the European Youths, Andrew Glennon (St. Finian’s) was equally untroubled in the Intermediate boys 2,000m race walk and dominated from the start with another gun to tape victory. Showing his class right from the gun, Matthew Glennon (St. Finian’s) wasted no time stamping his authority in the Senior boys 3,000m race walk and with great purpose he took the lead from the gun, and as the laps unfolded the opposition had no response as Matthew controlled the race to win by a very big margin of nearly 200m. Four medals from four race walks is a real testament to all the hard work put in by our talented walkers under the expert eye of our walks coach, Michael Lane, a real day to remember.

For the middle distance group, it was also a day to remember. Five athletes were in action and they also delivered an impressive three gold and one bronze medal. In the under 16 girls mile, Grace Byrne (Loreto Mullingar) was always in medal contention. She moved onto the leader’s shoulder with 400m to go and made a decisive move with 250m to go to take the lead that she never looked likely to relinquish. It was Grace’s first National title in a time of 5 minutes 16.04 seconds and will provide this talented and rapidly improving young athlete with great confidence.

Jamie Wallace (Colaiste Mhuire Mullingar) was one of the pre-race favourites in the Junior boys 1,500m having won the Leinster title two weeks earlier. Like Grace, he ran a very confident race covering all the breaks before racing to a commanding lead over the final lap. This was a well deserved first National title for Jamie in a time of 4 minutes 18.52 seconds. Jamie also secured a piece of family history, as this victory means that he and his sister Aimee (Junior Schools 800m champion in 2019) join a short list of brothers and sisters who have won Irish Schools titles.

In the under 16 boys mile, Conor Sherwin (Colaiste Mhuire) ran a tactically astute race to take an excellent bronze medal in a high quality field. Conor was always prominent and broke clear with two other competitors with a lap to go and raced extremely well to secure the bronze medal in a time of 4 minutes 34.65 seconds. This was Conor’s first National individual medal and it’s a fitting reward for his dedication over the past year.

Ross Killilea (Colaiste Mhuire) was in action in the Intermediate boys 3,000m where he ran a brave race. Ross was in medal contention for much of the race but despite his best efforts on the last lap, he finished outside the medals on this occasion in a time of 9 minutes 12.32 seconds.

In the final individual event of the day, the Senior boys 5,000m, Diarmuid Fagan (Colaiste Mhuire) was our representative. This is an event that had previously been won on four occasions by Mullingar Harriers athletes: Ian Mullen (1987), Cormac Finnerty (1988), Jake Byrne (2011) and Jack O’Leary (2016). Despite placing third at the Leinster Championships  and being the youngest competitor in the field, Diarmuid was determined to add his name to that list. With a tactically astute performance, Diarmuid remained in the pack for most of the race waiting patiently to deliver his move. He raced into the lead with 400m to go and despite being passed by two of his rivals with 200m to go, Diarmuid responded with a superb turn of speed to sprint clear and take his first National title in a time of 15 minutes 18.10 seconds. As the winner of the Senior boys 5,000m, Diarmuid was also presented with the Darcy Chillingworth Memorial Trophy.

An added bonus to the day was Aisling Lane being presented with the Award for Best Connacht Schools Athlete for 2022 – across all ages and all events, a very worthy recipient of the honour. This capped off what has to be the best results by Mullingar athletes in an All-Ireland Schools T&F finals, great testament to all their hard work, and that of their coaches, in training.

Bohermeen 5k

Always a popular event with Club runners and locals, the Bohermeen 5k took place on a lovely bright summer Friday evening 3rd June. Like previous years, this year the race attracted some fine athletes and the strong tradition of the Club always brings some big guns out to race. Among the 271 finishers was four from Mullingar Harriers, led home by Euan Lagan in seventh place in 15:10, followed closely by Timmy Murphy in ninth (15:25), then Alan Crowley (16:52) and Stephen Naughton (18:40) fourth in his master age category, missing a prize by only a few seconds, completing the Mullingar quartet that was delighted to finish 2nd Club.

A major draw to the event is the famous barbeque that takes place after the race, so the Mullingar men could enjoy some refreshments and cooked food and post-race chat after their cool downs. Well done to Bohermeen AC who made this a very enjoyable evening.

Coralstown NS 5k

Full results HERE

Talking advantage of a beautiful sunny summer evening, nearly sixty members of Mullingar Harriers made the short journey to Coralstown on Wednesday 1st June to compete in the Coralstown National School 5k. This is an important fundraiser for the school and was sadly missed for two years due to the Covid pandemic, so it was great to see the event back on the fixture list again and getting such great support from Mullingar Harriers, adding big numbers to the over 200 that finished the race, ensuring it was a great success for the school.

Given how many runners there were from Mullingar, it was surprise that the they filled all but one of the top ten places in the men’s race, led home by race winner Vinny Connolly in a comfortable 15 minutes 49 seconds, with James Keegan second in 15:53 and Peter Mooney from Meath third in 16:00. In the women’s race, Aine O’Reilly won in 18 minutes 15 seconds, Michelle Bohan was second in 18:52, and Amy Mahony was third in 18:58. John Glennon was first juvenile boy (20:29) and Jessica Cunningham was first juvenile girl (20:51).

MAY

Leinster Junior, Senior & Masters T&F

The Leinster Junior, Senior and Masters T&F Championships were held in a sun-soaked Carlow on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th May where eleven Mullingar athletes amassed seventeen medals between them, including two Senior titles, one Junior title and seven Masters titles, making this a very rewarding week-end for Mullingar.

Mullingar got off to a flying start on Saturday morning in the master women 1,500m where the Mullingar women contested very strongly and after an excellent race, Linda Cunningham was rewarded with a silver medal in her category, Caroline Mullen took bronze in hers and Brigid McCabe took the gold and Leinster title in her category. On to the corresponding master men 1,500m where Gerard Gavin put in a great effort but had to settle for a place out of the medals in fifth place in his category but a great consolation was a new personal best of 4:44.16. Also running very well and finishing strongly was Aidan O’Donoghue to take earn the silver medal in his category, as did Nicky McCabe who also won silver in his category.

Charles Okafor would normally have several races under his belt by this time of year, but he had to delay the start to his outdoor season and finally got it underway in the junior men 100m where a second place finish in his heat earned him a place in final where he ran quicker again but finished just out of the medals in fourth place in a very close race. His time in the final was 11.06 seconds into a headwind, the fastest he has run in the first race of a season, which augers very well for the season ahead. Charles rounded off the day by running the anchor leg for the Irish junior men 4x100m relay, taking the baton in the lead and powering down the home straight to win in a very good 41.42 seconds.

Staying with the track, Paddy Boyhan tried a new event for him, the master men 400m and after negotiating the one lap sprint, was delighted to finish third in his category and win the bronze medal.

Over in the field events, Aidan O’Donoghue was having a busy day, winning his category and the Leinster title in the master men shot putt by a considerable margin, his best coming in the second of four attempts. Aidan then moved to the master men javelin where he won his second Leinster title, his best throw in the second round was good enough to put daylight between him and second place. In the master men shot putt, Paddy Boyhan took a while to get his rhythm but his best effort came in the last of four attempts to earn him another Leinster bronze medal. In the master men weight for distance, throwing the heavy 28 pound weight with one hand, Tom Walsh put together an excellent series to win the gold medal and Leinster title in his category. To put Tom’s performance in context, how many people in the Club could throw a 12kg weight nearly 8m using one hand? That’s throwing a 2 stone bag of potatoes the length of a good sized sitting room, with one hand.

The walks dominated the attention of the Mullingar athletes on Sunday morning where Andrew Glennon was untroubled and cruised to victory and the Leinster title in the junior men 5,000m walk and this was followed up with an excellent performance by Colm Walsh winning the senior men 5,000m walk giving Mullingar a senior Leinster title.

Meanwhile, at the field events, Aidan O’Donoghue leaped to gold in his category of the master men high jump, to win his fourth medal of the week-end and his third Leinster master title, while Paddy Boyhan jumped to victory in his category of the master men triple jump, a new event for Paddy, to win his third medal of the week-end, his second Leinster master title, adding another title when he won the master men long jump.

In the master men 5,000m run, Gerard Gavin showed little sign of fatigue after his personal best over 1,500m only the day before, and with a terrific display of determination and focus, accelerated hard at the bell and pushing strongly all the way to the line, was very pleased to finish second in his category and win the silver medal. The day finished with the senior men 5,000m run, where Vinny Connolly was running his first track race in ten years. Vinny transferred his excellent recent form on the road race circuit to the track and going off strong from the gun, settled into his running and with consummate ease kept up the pressure in the leading group which had reduced to just two going into the final kilometre. Accelerating hard at the bell, Vinny quickly opened a gap that increased with every stride to come home well clear and win the Leinster senior title in style to round off a terrific week-end of track and field action for Mullingar Harriers.

Cantones de La Coruña International Athletics Grand Prix

Still a relative newcomer to the 20k race walk distance, Oisin Lane competed on Saturday 28th May in the Gran Premio Cantones de La Coruña, a World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold event, held in the city of La Coruña in north east Spain, near Santiago de Compostela. It was very warm, with temperature of 30degC at the start, 27degC at 10k and down to 24degC at the finish, which are very challenging conditions for such a long race, but Oisin worked and fought hard very hard to finish in 86 minutes 45 seconds, a personal best by 21 seconds, placing an excellent 46th out of 105 participants in an elite field of World class senior athletes with all continents represented.

European 10,000m Cup

Jack O’Leary was in action in the European 10,000m Cup in Pacé, France on Saturday evening 28th May, finishing in a time of 30 minutes 9 seconds. This was Jack’s first appearance on an Irish senior international team, having competed at schools, u/ 20 and u/ 23 level previously. Jack can now look forward to a strong track season, which will include the National Senior Championships on June 25th and 26th.

Aisling Murphy 4 Mile Road Race

The inaugural Aisling Murphy 4 Mile Road Race took place in Tullamore on Sunday morning 22nd May, hosted by the Tullamore Harriers AC. The race was organised as a celebration of Aisling’s life and although it was an event tinged with much sadness, Tullamore town centre had a carnival type atmosphere from early morning. There was huge support from all the midland clubs and indeed from athletes around the country who travelled to run in this special event to bring a total of over 530 to the start line.

The race started and finished in the centre of the town, and local musicians were playing at various sections of the route. Four Mullingar ladies raced, with Sinéad Whitelaw leading them home in second place with a time of 23 minutes 36 seconds. Sinead was followed closely behind by Joan Flynn (24:29) who won her master age category, Aisling Corcoran (25:55) and Laura Geoghegan (28:42).

The winner of the ladies race, Lizzie Lee (Leevale AC) was presented with the Aisling Murphy Perpetual Trophy. The winner of the men’s race was Peter Somba (Dunboyne AC).

Leinster Schools & Connacht Schools T&F Finals

A number of the Club’s underage athletes competed for their Schools and Colleges at the Leinster Schools T&F Finals in Santry on Wednesday 18th May and Saturday 21st May and at the Connacht Schools T&F Finals in Athlone on Thursday 19th May. This was the final step to the All-Ireland Schools T&F Finals in June. Every event was a straight final, only the top two in the sprints and top three in the longer track races (top four in the mile) would advance to the All-Ireland Finals, so the competition was fierce.

Ten of the Club’s athletes earned qualification, a bit down on previous years but still a good showing from the Club. At the Connacht finals, Aisling Lane (Mercy Ballymahon) was simply in a different class in the Inter 2,000m walk and qualified with ease for the All-Ireland finals. At the Leinster finals, equally unchallenged in the race walks was John Glennon (St. Finian’s) Junior 1,200m walk, Andrew Glennon (St. Finian’s) Inter 2,000m walk and Matthew Glennon (St. Finian’s) Senior 3,000m walk who simply stormed to very easy wins to put the three Glennon boys in the All-Ireland finals. Other qualifiers were Jamie Wallace (Colaiste Mhuire) Junior 1,500m, Grace Byrne (Loreto Mullingar) u/16 mile, Conor Sherwin (Colaiste Mhuire) u/16 mile, Ross Killalea (Colaiste Mhuire) Inter 3,000m, Diarmuid Fagan (Colaiste Mhuire) Senior 5,000m and Colin Smith (Colaiste Mhuire) Senior 800m.

Kyle Faherty (Colaiste Mhuire) was unlucky and just missed out when he finished third in his Junior 100m (he also finished fourth in the Junior 200m). Fourth place too and missing a place was Caoimhe Kilmurray (Loreto) Inter 3,000m and Ross Killalea (Colaiste Mhuire) Inter 1,500m.

Also competing but missing qualification was Donagh Carey (St. Finian’s) Junior 1,500m, Conor Liston (Colaiste Mhuire) u/16 mile, Aimee Wallace (St. Finian’s) Inter 800m, Grace Byrne (Loreto) Inter 3,000m, Lorcan Mullen (Cistercian Roscrea) Senior 5,000m and Matthew Glennon (St. Finian’s) Senior 5,000m.

Midland Inter-County Juvenile T&F Match

There are limited opportunities for our younger members to take part in competition but on Friday evening 20th May nearly 60 boys and girls from Mullingar Harriers aged 8 to 13 years competed at the Midland Inter-County Juvenile T&F Match between Laois, Offaly and Westmeath in Tullamore Harriers Stadium. The weather was mild and a bit windy and it stayed mostly dry, but even the odd short shower didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of our youngsters that competed alongside a few athletes from Athlone AC. For most of the Mullingar boys and girls, this was their first time to compete in Tullamore, where we hope many will return in June to compete in the Leinster Juvenile T&F.

This has always been a very popular event and we were delighted to see it return after an absence of two years due to Covid. The young Mullingar athletes certainly enjoyed it and lots of them visited the medal podium during the evening, some more than once. This was a little step up from the event we held at our own track a few weeks ago confined to our own members, but the emphasis was still very much on fun and participation and just having a go at different events, and less on competition. We don’t have all the results yet, so we’ll hold over the details until later. Thanks to the Offaly County Board and to Tullamore Harriers AC for organising and hosting the event, and to the parents and coaches that attended to ensure our youngsters could take part and enjoy themselves.

Na Fianna AC 5k

Cancelled for the last two years due to Covid, the Na Fianna AC 5k, made a very welcome return on Tuesday evening 17th May. Nearly 800 runners converged on the village of Johnstownbridge, Enfield to run in this popular race that commemorates the memories of Bob Heffernan and Mary Hanley, Club stalwarts that were members of Na Fianna AC from the start. The Enfield course is flat and has a reputation for being fast, ideal for runners looking to test themselves and hoping to run personal best times. Mullingar Harriers athletes was out in force, with twenty two members competing, on what was a brilliant evening for running.

This was race three of the 2022 Kia race series and again it attracted the top athletes with the winner coming home in an impressive time of 14 minutes. Not far behind the winner was one of our own who is flying ever since his return to training, Vinny Connolly, in a very impressive 14:56, a personal best. Next home was Timmy Murphy (15:35) in his first 5k in a while as he has been concentrating on longer distances. Timmy was followed home by John Whitelaw who ran a strong time of 15:40 to follow up his strong run in Kilkenny in race 2 of this series, and following John was the ever-consistent James Keegan (15:41) to secure 3rd Club for the Mullingar men. Andrew Nevin (16:08) was very happy with his run, then came Ian Mc Cormack (16:34), Kedagh Geoghegan (16:38), followed by his training partner Alan Crowley who ran a strong time of 16:45, followed very closely by Evan McCormack (16:53). Eoin Clarke came very close to breaking 17 minutes, finishing in 17:01, ahead of Eddie Newman (17:12), 2nd in his master category and very satisfied with his time as it was his second 5k race in 2 days. Next home was Sinead Whitelaw placing twelfth woman in the women’s race with an excellent 17 minutes 40 seconds, followed by Aine O’Reilly (17:49) 2nd in her master category, Enda O’Carolan in a strong 17:57 and it was good to see Enda back racing as he had been injured for a couple of months. Next and having a good battle was Stephen Naughton (18:31), Michelle Bohan (18:34) a personal best, and Enda Seery (18:38) very happy with his time. Then came Amy Mahony (18:59) a personal best, Glenda Shaw (19:52) a personal best, Ann Hall (20:15), Emer O’Hanlon (21:26) and John Bannon (21:36) completed the group. The Mullingar women finished 4th Club, but when the best three men and women from each Club was calculated, the Mullingar men and women finished 3rd Club.

Mullingar Harriers was very well represented in what was a very competitive race and some excellent performances and times were recorded. Well done to all club members involved.

European Masters Non-Stadia Championships

Two International debuts, a European title, an individual silver medal, two team silver medals and a fourth place team made for an extremely memorable few days in Italy for three of Mullingar’s master athletes.

The European Masters Non-Stadia Championships got underway in Grosseto, Italy on Friday morning 13th May where Sean McMullin and Colm Walsh competed in the 10k race walks, which were held in Sandro Pertini Park over five laps of a 2k looped flat course that had long sweeping bends, so with no sharp turns it was more like racing on a track and was therefore very fast.

First into action in hot sunny mid-twenties Celsius conditions was Sean McMullin who lined up in his race with over seventy men across several age categories, but Sean is used to competing at European and World level, so knew who his opposition was in his own age group and remained focussed on them. He gave his customary polished performance to finish second and add another European masters race walk medal to his collection, reinforcing his formidable reputation in the event.

By mid-morning when Colm Walsh took to the line in a very big field of over forty men across several age categories, the 28degC heat was intense and posed a real challenge. This was new territory for Colm, being used to much smaller fields in Ireland and much cooler conditions but settling in superbly, he stayed focussed and concentrated on his own race. He went out hard for the first 5k but the water stations only had cups of water, which are difficult to manage when moving at pace, so he couldn’t keep hydrated too well and had to ease back on the second 5k as the heat began to take its toll. He battled on with great determination to the end though and any disappointment he felt on a relatively slow time was put aside when he learned that he had finished a terrific fifth in his age category, and even better that he was second finisher on the Ireland team that placed second, earning him a silver medal in his first International masters competition, a brilliant medal-winning International debut.

Saturday morning 14th May dawned just as warm as Friday when Aidan O’Donoghue competed in the 5k run at the same Sandro Pertini Park venue as used for the race walks. Nearly one hundred men across three age groups toed the line in sweltering conditions and even though Aidan ran as best as he could he didn’t feature in the individual results, but was delighted to learn that he was third finisher for the Ireland team that placed a very creditable fourth team behind Italy, Germany and Romania. Aidan was delighted to have made his International debut in his first European Masters competition and is looking forward to further opportunities.

The final event of the Championships took place on a warm sunny Sunday afternoon 15th May, where Sean McMullin competed in the gruelling 30k race walk, but at least it was late in the afternoon and had cooled a little, but still tough conditions for such a long distance. Doubling up the start with the women 20k race walk saw over ninety athletes setting off from the gun, making it very busy in the early stages until things settled but Sean has considerable experience in such events and it didn’t faze him in the slightest. Drawing on all his physical and mental reserves Sean kept his focus and settled into his race and maintained excellent technique under the vigilant eyes of the judges. As the fifteen laps of Sandro Pertini Park counted down, he slowly pulled clear of his rivals, holding off a late challenge, to win and clinch the European title. To add to the celebrations, Sean combined with two others to secure the silver team medals for Ireland. An individual gold and a team silver are very well deserved awards for such an accomplished and dedicated master athlete.

Sean of course is no stranger to International competition but for Colm and Aidan this was their first time to compete at this level. They both gave great accounts and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and now that they have made their International debuts their names will be added to the International Roll of Honour in the Clubhouse, bringing the total to 122 members of Mullingar Harriers AC that have represented Ireland since the Club was founded in 1975.

Irish Runner 5k (incorp. National 5k Championships)

The Irish Runner 5k, which incorporated the National 5k Road Championships, took place in a warm and sunny Phoenix Park on Sunday morning 15th May. This was the first instalment of the Athletics Ireland 2022 race series and it attracted 775 runners, joggers and walkers. Given the numbers, the starts were divided into waves based on predicted finish times and prominent in the early waves was the group from Mullingar Harriers. The Park isn’t the easiest course, not helped by the heat of the morning, but first home for Mullingar based on chip time was Tony Doran in 17:21, just ahead of Eddie Newman (17:22) who finished fourth in his master category, missing bronze by an agonising three seconds. Next in was Stephen Shanahan (17:55), Pauric Brady (18:37), and Stephen Naughton (18:53) showing no effects from running 6k in Navan only two days earlier, in fact running the 5k in the Park at a faster pace, then Mullingar’s first woman finisher Aisling Corcoran (19:53) fourth in her master category, followed by Linda Cunningham (22:23), then Brigid McCabe (22:54) 2nd in her master category and Nicky McCabe (24:16) 2nd in his master category. In the team event, the master women team of Aisling, Linda and Brigid finished 3rd Club and were delighted to receive their National medals. Very well done to the Mullingar athletes on competing so well in a National competition.

Navan AC 6k

The annual Simon Cumbers Navan AC 6k took place on a glorious summer’s evening on Friday 13th May. A long established race with a great 6k route on the outskirts of Navan Town, as is the norm in Meath, this was another great high quality race that attracted over 300 to the start line, among them Stephen Naughton, the sole representative from Mullingar Harriers. Clearly enjoying the course and the competition, Stephen raced to a fine thirtieth place finish overall in a swift 23:21, placing a very creditable sixth place in his master category, not far off the prizes.

European 10,000m Cup – Jack O’Leary selected (5th May)

Jack O’Leary has been named in the Irish team to compete at the European 10,000m Cup to be held in Pacé, France on 28th May. Jack has been laid off with injury for too long and is really looking forward to the chance to compete at this level once again and everyone at the Club wishes him the very best.

Mayo 10km Women’s Mini-Marathon

Mayo Day is always celebrated on 1st May and this year it was well celebrated in Castlebar when the town hosted a 10km Women’s Mini-Marathon on Sunday morning 1st May with 695 participants. Although it is a notoriously hilly route, the crowds of spectators along the start and finish area make for a wonderful race atmosphere and one that every athlete enjoys. Sinéad Whitelaw had a strong start to the race, leading it out with eventual winner Ellen Moran from Galway City Harriers. Ellen pulled away at around 5km but Sinéad put in another solid 5km to finish second in a time of 37 minutes 48 seconds. It was a lovely family day as her daughter Sophie also took part in the “mini-mini” event for National School children.

Limerick Half Marathon

The Limerick Half Marathon took place on Sunday morning 1st May in cool conditions, which great for racing. Starting near the city centre, the runners headed south to the Raheen area, completed a big loop and returned to the city centre where they crossed over Sarsfield Bridge to the west side of the Shannon. After two loops on the west side, they returned to Sarsfield Bridge again, crossed the Shannon once more and finished on O’Connell Street. While there lots of long straight stretches, the course also had lots of small twists and turns to keep everyone on their toes. Mary Stuart negotiated the course with ease and finished in an excellent 1 hour 32 minutes 42 seconds, followed by Joan Hickson (1:43:06), Criona Reid (1:44:19), Siobhan Farry (1:45:19), Siobhan McCarthy (1:46:59) and Joe Fagan (1:48:29), all running strong and delighted with the performances.

APRIL

Leinster Novice & Masters Road Race Championships

Gowran AC hosted the Leinster Novice and Masters Road Race Championships on Saturday afternoon 30th April in Gowran, Co. Kilkenny. Usually held on the May Bank Holiday Monday, this year it was changed to the Saturday afternoon in the hope it would make it easier for athletes and for Clubs to field teams and free up their bank holiday weekend. Entries were well up on previous years, though the numbers that competed on the day were on a par with previous years, with several not competing due to Covid, so it’s too early to know if the change of day made much difference in numbers participating but maybe next year will see numbers increasing if we can finally get past the Covid pandemic.

The first race of the afternoon was the Master Women 3k, which was two laps of the 1,500m course that started on a slight downhill into the village before returning on a long gradual uphill loop back to the start again. Working hard all the way and keeping prominent throughout was the Mullingar team, led home by Aisling Corcoran in an excellent 12th place overall but 2nd in her master category, followed by Maura Dervin, 1st in her master category, Caroline Mullen, 3rd in her master category, Brigid McCabe, 1st in her master category and Pauline Troy, 2nd in her master category, giving all the women an individual medal but to add to their delight, the team of  Maura, Caroline, Brigid and Pauline placed 1st Club and 1st County, great results for our dedicated master women. The Master Men 6k followed and among the big field of nearly ninety runners was a very experienced trio from Mullingar. First from Mullingar to finish was Eddie Newman, 2nd in his master category, followed by Stephen Naughton, placing a very creditable 6th in his master category and Nicky McCabe, 4th in his master category, just missing a medal by a narrow margin. In the team event, the Mullingar men finished 4th Club and 4th County and were very unlucky to miss the medals by a narrow margin but they know they ran well and were satisfied with their efforts.

On paper, the Mullingar team in the Novice Men 6k looked to be the ones to beat and they didn’t disappoint. Staying up at the business end of the race throughout, the five Mullingar men looked strong and always in contention. Going into the final lap Vinny Connolly shared the lead and John Whitelaw kept close behind staying with the lead group. With 1k to go Vinny felt the race was his to win but in the final 800m there was a sudden surge in pace that he couldn’t match and a gap opened that despite his best effort he couldn’t close and he ran through for 2nd place, with John finishing strong and fast to take 4th place. All eyes were then on the others in the team and with Andrew Nevin, Gerard Gavin and Ian McCormack all finishing strong and well up, it was no surprise that the Mullingar men finished 1st Club, and only for a sixth runner would have challenged for first County too but they were still very pleased with their Club medals.

Well done to Gowran AC for being excellent hosts for the event and to all the Mullingar athletes on their excellent performances.

World Schools Cross Country

Very well done to the Colaiste Mhuire team that finished sixth of thirteen teams at the World Schools Cross Country Championships held in Štrbské Pleso, Slovakia on Sunday morning 24th April. Due to a change in local weather conditions, the planned cross country course was deemed unsafe, so the boys swapped spikes for runners and ran 5k on trails that were a mix of gravel and asphalt paths, not unlike the woodland trails in Belvedere, so familiar terrain for the Mullingar boys. However, Štrbské Pleso is 1,370m above sea level and it was very cold, below freezing, but the boys coped extremely well in the challenging conditions. Having a storming race, Diarmuid Fagan led the Colaiste Mhuire team home in a terrific eighteenth place, followed closely by Ross Killalea, then with Conor Sherwin, Pablo Lozano and Tadhg Sheridan running strongly and packing well in support, the team finished sixth, behind the teams from Turkey, England, Mexico, France and Morocco. Meanwhile, Conor Liston was deemed underage for the main race and ran in a separate selection race, where he ran well and finished well up. This was definitely an absolutely wonderful opportunity and experience for the Colaiste Mhuire team.

Mullingar Harriers Juvenile Spring T&F Meeting

The weather was absolutely fabulous on Sunday morning 24th April when we held the Mullingar Harriers Juvenile Spring T&F Meeting at the Club grounds under clear blue skies. Competition was for 8 to 14 years of age across four events per age group – sprint, middle distance, long jump and turbo javelin – and most of the youngsters took part in all four events, many of them getting a chance to try a new event for the first time, especially the field events, something which is a bit of a novelty to many of them. Best of all, there was a different podium in the age groups for all four events, which means many of the boys and girls who rarely get medals for running picked up something for their effort. Medals won or not, everyone enjoyed the event where the focus was very much on fun and it was great to see the various groups moving between events enjoying the chance to spend more time to chat together than they can at training.

Many thanks to all the Club officials and coaches and parents that turned up in great number to set up the grounds in advance, to help with warm ups, starts, finish judging, measuring long jump and javelin, recording results, presenting medals, manning the refreshments tables and all the other jobs needed to hold such an event. It was great to see so many Club members and extended family come out to help on the day and having so many parents mingling together helps create Club community too.

Thanks to all the boys and girls that took part and to their parents for bringing them. Thanks also for the generous donations of buns, cakes, soft drinks, tea and coffee, especially to Stephen Bell of Bell Lane Coffee Limited.

Given the success, this is an event that we plan to repeat again, so watch this space!

“Battle of Clontarf” 10 Mile 2022 (incorp. Leinster 10 Mile)

Always a firm favourite on the road race calendar, last held in 2019 and cancelled since then due to Covid, the Raheny Shamrock AC “Battle of Clontarf” 10 Mile returned on Easter Monday 18th April to St. Anne’s Park in Raheny where more than 300 runners toed the line under clear blue skies, ideal conditions for running. The race incorporated the Leinster 10 Mile Championship, adding to the interest and competitive edge of the race. The course was two laps of the park, which remained open to other users, but Raheny Shamrock AC made sure there were plenty of stewards around the course to keep the course clear for the runners and in fact many runners remarked after that the casual users of the park made excellent spectators as they cheered the runners along, adding to the atmosphere.

While the course in the park was flat, there were lots of corners and tight bends to negotiate, making it tougher than expected, or “very technical”, as described by Pauric Brady, to borrow a favourite description from the World of cycling. That said, all the Mullingar athletes turned in solid performances, the men finishing 3rd Senior Club and four of them also winning individual medals in their master categories.

Eddie Newman and Gerard Gavin raced each other all the way and it was only in the final stages that Eddie managed to pull clear and finish in 58:48, sixteenth overall and first in his master category, just ahead of Gerard one place behind in 59:04, taking the bronze for third in his master category. Next home was Alan Crowley in 60:49, and while initially disappointed not to break the sixty minute mark, was delighted to learn that he had finished third in his master category and with Eddie and Gerard, the Mullingar men finished 3rd Senior Club. Finishing strong and fast and leaving nothing behind was Pauric Brady (62:17), Patrick Muldoon (64:30), Stephen Naughton (65:11) delighted to place third in his master category, Enda Seery with a personal best of 66:29, Liam McGlynn (70:18) also making a careful return to racing after an absence due to injury, Siobhan Farry (76:40) and Gemma Kelly (80:03). The master team of Pauric, Patrick and Enda finished a very creditable fifth Club.

Congratulations to all the Mullingar athletes on their efforts in what was an excellent Leinster Championship race.

Kilmovee 10k

Sinéad Whitelaw was back on the roads again on Easter Saturday 16th April, this time in in the annual Kilmovee 10k in her home county of Mayo. The race is a fundraiser for the Mayo-Roscommon Hospice and has donated over €100,000 to the charity in recent years. Sinéad was in a class of her own as she led the ladies race from the start and finished first in a time of 38:25, placing eighth overall of the nearly 300 men and women finishers.

A Saturday morning training session with a difference! (16th Apr)

Looking for something different to do on an Easter Saturday, many of the adult group ran in the Mullingar Park Run last Saturday morning. They met up at the Club, ran the short distance to the course as a warm up, ran the 5k, then ran back to the Club  again as a cool down before heading off into town for some well-earned coffee. All in a morning’s work! Leading the Mullingar group home over the 5k run was James Keegan in an excellent 16 minutes 10 seconds. Well done to all the Mullingar group.

Streets of Kilkenny 5k

On Holy Thursday evening 14th April, Vinny Connolly, John Whitelaw, James Cribbin and Emer O’Hanlon took part in the Streets of Kilkenny 5k on a fast paced course centred around Kilkenny’s Medieval City centre and the banks of the river Nore that attracted over 700 entrants. Hosted by Kilkenny City Harriers, the race was round two of the Kia Race Series and attracted a very strong entry as a result. Vinny Connolly impressed with a fine 18th place finish in 15:05, followed in by John Whitelaw only a few places behind in 15:26, his quickest time on the road for 5k. Expertly paced by James Cribbin who ran with her and crossed the line alongside, Emer O’Hanlon was delighted to finish in 21:29, third in her master age category, and a big personal best for her. All four could then retire to the comfort of the Langton House Hotel for the post-race refreshments and reflect on their fine performances.

Great Ireland Run (incorp. AAI National 10k)

The Great Ireland Run made a very welcome return to the Phoenix Park on Saturday 9th April on a great morning for racing with crisp calm conditions and clear blue skies. The race incorporated the AAI National 10k Road Championships, adding a bit more spice to the race. Clubs from all over the country attended, on the hunt for National honours, including sixteen members of Mullingar Harriers among the more than 1,300 entered, though the day belonged to the Mullingar women.

Team results were 4 to score for men in the open race and 3 for women. However, the AAI Championship teams were scored differently leading to a possible difference in the team results in comparison to the open team results. AAI teams were based on the top 4 men and 3 women across the line, just like the open race teams, but because of master teams, which could be declared in advance, once 3 athletes were declared for a master age category, they could not move down and score on a senior team or have another athlete fill their place. It all sounds very confusing, but when the numbers were crunched after the Race, the Mullingar senior women came out on top to retain the title they won the last time the race was held. Great news for our master women as they were victorious too, making it double National success for the Mullingar women. Several Mullingar athletes also won individual medals, adding to the success of the day.

National 10k contestants were in the first wave of runners and the Mullingar athletes were among the big number in this first group. In the women’s race, leading a strong Mullingar team and having a terrific race to finish seventh woman was Elizabeth Carr in 36:53, and with Sinead Whitelaw (37:45) twelfth woman (third in her master category) and Aine O’Reilly (38:35) fourteenth woman (first in her master category), the team finished 1st Club to the delight of all. Following close behind was Michelle Bohan in 39:42, a personal best time, Amy Mahony making an excellent return to racing following injury by recording a new personal best of 40:27, Aisling Corcoran (42:32), Maura Dervin (42:36), third in her master category, Emer O’Hanlon with a strong performance (45:49) and Ciara Dillon (48:42) all racing hard to the finish. The team of Michelle Bohan, Aisling Corcoran and Maura Dervin combined to finish 1st Club in the master women category. A great day for Mullingar women with two National team titles, three masters individual medals and a number of personal bests.

Always prominent throughout and having a great run in the men’s race to come home well up overall and third in his master category was Eddie Newman in an excellent 36:01, followed home by Tony Doran (37:44), Stephen Shanahan (38:04), Pauric Brady (38:23), Stephen Naughton (39:19), Liam McGlynn (42:05) and John Bannon (45:30), all satisfied with their efforts. Eddie Newman, Stephen Naughton and Liam McGlynn combined to finish fourth Club in the master men category, just missing medals.

Irish Universities T&F

A number of Mullingar Harriers athletes competed at the Irish Universities T&F Championships in IT Carlow on Friday 8th and Saturday 9th April where, as expected, the standard was very high and the competition was fierce. The format of the two day competition was most heats were held on Friday afternoon and the finals on Saturday.

On a busy Friday, Charles Okafor (DCU) finished third in his 100m heat to advance to the semi-final, where he finished fourth to advance to Saturday’s final. He rounded off Friday evening by helping the DCU 4x100m relay team to victory in their heat and a place in Saturday’s final. Better known as a sprinter, Odhran Cully (TCD) took on the challenge of the long jump where he finished a very creditable eighth place in an unfamiliar event. Colin Smith (DCU) won his heat of the 1,500m with ease to advance to Saturday’s final. Shauna Leydon (UCD) qualified comfortably from her heat of the 800m to book her place in Saturday’s final.

On Saturday, Charles battled hard in the 100m final but finished out of the medals. He struck gold later in the day when he helped DCU to comfortably win the 4x100m final and earn an Inter-Varsity gold medal. In a very competitive 1,500m final, Colin kept in contention throughout to place third in a very close finish. Unfortunately, Shauna was unwell in the 800m final and was unable to finish.

Oisin Lane (UL) put in a polished performance in the 3,000m race walk to finish in second place and win an Inter-varsity silver medal and in the same race, Euan Lagan (DCU) finished fifth to earn valuable points for DCU. Sarah Glennon (DCU) was just too strong in the 1,500m race walk, winning easily to take the Inter-Varsity title. The final race of the day with a Mullingar interest was the 5,000m where Jamie Battle (DCU) put in a very strong performance and has to be pleased with his third place finish.

By the end of the competition, the fruits of the Mullingar athletes’ labours were seen in the team scores with DCU first and UCD third in the women’s competition, and UL first and DCU second in the men’s, and overall DCU was first, UL was second and UCD third, great team results aided by the performances of the Mullingar athletes.

Berlin Half Marathon

The iconic Berlin Half Marathon on Sunday 3rd April attracted a massive entry of over 45,000 contestants and right in the middle of the throng was Ray Smyth and Martin Mullen, proudly flying the flag for Mullingar Harriers. They ran nearly neck and neck throughout, only seconds separating them at any time and running progressively faster 5k splits as the race unfolded. Ray was delighted to just dip under the two hour mark with 1:59:56, followed very closely by Martin in 2:00:02, just missing the two hour mark by the tiniest of margins, but still very pleased with his effort.

Maynooth 5k & 10k

On a dry bright cool Sunday morning 3rd April, the Maynooth 5k & 10k took place, and finishing well up in sixth place of the nearly 200 finishers in the 5k race, Stephen Naughton was happy with his time of 18:38. The longer 10k race attracted a bigger entry of just over 300 and despite the challenge posed over the final 2k of having to dodge around the back-markers from the 5k, Enda Seery expressed satisfaction with his race, especially a strong final kilometre, finishing twenty third in 39:40.

European Racewalking Grand Prix and International, Poděbrady

It was a great weekend for the upcoming racewalkers of Mullingar Harriers at the Czech Republic’s European Racewalking Grand Prix and International in Poděbrady, which is part of World Athletic’s World Tour Gold Series of top international competitions. First on the start line on Saturday 2nd April was Aisling Lane in the Youth (u/18) Women 5k. The bitterly cold morning with traces of sleet are normally not conducive for fast times but speed was all that was on Aisling’s mind as she powered her way to a new big personal best time of 25:04 and more importantly inside the Athletics Ireland qualifying standard for the European u/18 Championships in Jerusalem in July. With a fourth place finish in a field of 28, Aisling can now look forward to going head-to-head again this Summer with many of these same competitors in Jerusalem.

As Andrew Glennon is already qualified for the European u/18 Championships over 10,000m he therefore opted for the shorter Youth Men 5k and what a blistering  performance he produced to cross the line in 23:11, a 90 second personal best, to finish an excellent second place, well clear of third place and the rest of the field. It was fantastic to hear the fanfare as Andrew climbed onto the podium to hard earned applause. He can now focus his training on reproducing the same form in the 10,000m in Jerusalem.

Later in the afternoon it was the turn of the 74 elite senior men to toe the line in the star studded Senior Men 20k. With top athletes from five continents, this competition rightly claims its World Gold Tour status. Totally at ease in their company was Oisín Lane attempting his second ever 20k race walk and his first as a senior athlete. As a newcomer to this distance, Oisin carefully tested this new challenge with 5k splits of 22:04 and 21:56 to go through the 10k mark in exactly 44 minutes. He then followed this with ever increasing pace and splits of 21:48 and 21:18 and a final time of 87:06. His second 10k of 43:06 was effectively a personal best for 10k and incorporated a final kilometre of 4:07, a major confidence builder, and while finishing with relatively fresh legs, confirming that he has found his true racing distance for now. Well done to all three Harriers athletes for whom the club can feel rightly proud as they take on Europe and the World.