Q2, 2024 News & Reports – April to June

JUNE

National Senior T&F

It was cold wet and miserable in Santry on Saturday morning 29th June on Day 1 of the National Senior T&F Championships. First event on the track was the men 10,000m race walk where Oisin Lane went out hard and led from the gun, settling quickly into his rhythm. He had hoped to break the u/23 record but a few early warnings and a red card meant he had to be very careful and temper his effort but he was still more then quick enough to win comfortably with over a lap to spare to win his first outdoor Senior title in a new personal best of 40:25.99, just 10 seconds off the u/23 record. Matthew Glennon raced hard behind and was rewarded for his efforts with third place in 43:41.02 and the bronze medal, followed home by Andrew Glennon finishing strong in 4th place in 43:55.94, a huge personal best.

There was no living with the early pace of Kate Veale (West Waterford AC), the eventual winner of the women 5,000m race walk, but Aisling Lane took control of the chasing group and when the time to push for home in the closing laps she pulled away smoothly and went on to finish in 24:30.51 and win the silver medal.

Eoin Quinn and Conor Liston were drawn in the same heat of the men 800m, where only the first two plus the next two fastest times over the four heats would advance to Sunday’s final, so competition was fierce. Eoin used all his experience to time his finish perfectly, surging through the pack on the home straight to move into second place by the finish line and earn a place in the final. This was Conor’s first time competing in a National Senior T&F Championships where he looked very much at home but despite a great effort in the closing stages he finished out of the qualification places but will take a great deal from the experience.

With only to first four in each of the four heats of the men 1,500m to advance to Sunday’s final, it was always going to be very tough. Colin P Smith kept himself right up with the leading group in his heat, a very tactical heat, and was rewarded with fourth place and a place in the final. Colin D Smith was very unlucky to be drawn in the fastest heat and though he was always in contention, was run out of the automatic qualification places on the home straight, finishing in sixth place in a time that would have easily won the first two heats.

There were five heats of the men 400m, with only the winners of each heat and the next three fastest times advancing to Sunday’s final. Patrick Leydon ran an excellent race and powered strongly to third place in his heat, unfortunately not quick enough to advance to the final but he was still delighted to record a new personal best of 48.88 seconds.

It was great to see three Mullingar men in the 5,000m A final. The pace was very steady up to the 3k mark but two surges at the front in relatively quick succession broke the field up. Keeping with the breaks, Cormac Dalton stayed with the leading group of three, with Jack O’Leary close to the front of the chasing pack, and Vinny Connolly not far behind. A furious burn up over the final kilometre, especially over the final lap, sorted the medal places and Cormac had to settle for third (13:55.01) but a National bronze medal was a fine reward for his efforts. Jack finished strong in 14:11.00, followed by Vinny in 14:33.75, not far off his personal best for 5k on the track, so a very solid performance.

There was a significant improvement in conditions for Day 2 on Sunday 30th June as overnight rain gave way to clear skies and lovely warm conditions. After a slow opening lap of the men 800m final, Eoin Quinn found himself at the back of the field going through the bell, which meant he was a bit of touch when an injection of pace on the back straight left him an awful lot to do. Eoin battled hard to get back on terms, running wide on the home straight to make up ground but the line came too soon and he crossed in 7th place in 1:52.01.

The men 1,500m final started at a very cagey pace and the big field was still quite bunched coming up to the final lap, with Colin P Smith in an awkward place in against the kerb. A serious burn up over the final 400m quickly split the field but Colin dug deep and continued to work hard, finishing down the field, but in a respectable 3:50.61, and the experience of competing in a Senior final will stand to him.

We finished the day with the women 5,000m where Mullingar eyes were on Claire Fagan. Going out fast from the gun, the field quickly spread out and the pace began to hurt and several dropped out between 2k and 3k, but Claire stuck patiently to her own race plan and wasn’t drawn into the fast early pace, running steadily in the second of two chasing groups. With two laps to go, Claire made her move and earlier patience paid off as she had lots in reserve to move steadily through the field and make up a lot of ground to finish an excellent 5th place in 16:12.26 [GD].

Northern Ireland Masters T&F

The Northern Ireland Masters T&F took place in beautiful sunny conditions at the Mary Peters Track in Belfast on Saturday 29th June. Aidan O’Donoghue was very happy to run sub-30 seconds for the 200m for the first time, finishing in a new personal best of 29.16 seconds to place 4th, narrowly beaten on the line for bronze. Aidan had no problem in the High Jump though where he won gold, and likewise he won gold in the 100m Hurdles, and he rounded off a terrific day with bronze in the Javelin [AO’D].

Roscommon 10 Mile

Roscommon Harriers AC staged the annual Roscommon 10 Mile on Saturday morning 29th June. The race took place on the outskirts of Roscommon Town on a fast, flat scenic route. Wet conditions didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of nearly 450 participants. With exceptional hospitality not only in terms of the post-event food but also local support encouraging runners along the route, the difficult conditions were overcome, with some exceptional times. In the mix were a number of Mullingar Harriers athletes. Susan Glennon was the first of our finishers, placing well up overall and 6th woman in 65:54. She was followed by Jacintha Reilly (68:47) returning to her hometown for the event. Next was Padraig Beglin (70:03) and just behind him came the fast-finishing Criona Reid (70:31), winning her master category. Paul Purdy (81:43) was fourth in his master category and happy to get back to competition after a recent lay off due to injury [MO’S].

St. Coca’s AC 5k

St. Coca’s AC welcomed over 500 athletes to the streets of Kilcock on Friday evening 28th June for their annual St. Coca’s AC 5k. Recognised as a fast and flat course, there was Mullingar Harriers interest and some fine running. Conor Sherwin placed fourth place overall, 1st u/20 man in 15:07, followed by James Keegan (15:49), Stephen Campbell (16:39), and our three Mullingar women finishing well up in the women’s race, Glenda Shaw (18:16), Ann Hall (18:33) and Joan Flynn (18:46). There were no team prizes for the Mullingar contingent but everyone was satisfied with excellent times on the evening [MO’S].

Clonee 10k

Among more than 400 finishers at the Clonee 10k on Thursday evening 27th June was Enda Seery, crossing the line in 38:45. Organised by Dunboyne AC as part of their track re-development fund raising, the event was very well supported by athletes from Co. Meath in particular. It was a stiff course with a number of challenging inclines. Enda was happy with his run and he now turns his attention towards preparing for the Dublin City Marathon later in the year [MO’S].

National Children’s Games and u/12 T&F

It was very hot and sunny on Sunday 23rd June in Tullamore, where the National Children’s Games and u/12 T&F Finals were held. Temperatures reached 24degC in the afternoon, making conditions very difficult for middle distance athletes in particular.

Daniel Cummins competed in the 600m u/12 and despite putting in a great effort he was unable to find the form that took him to third in Leinster only three weeks before but he never gave up and battled all the way to the finish and though he finished out of the medals, it wasn’t for the lack of effort.

Showing that sprinters love the heat, Cara Hickey blasted from the start of the 300m u/9 and after a terrific race crossed the line in 4th place, nearly 3 seconds faster than she covered the 300m in the Leinsters, with Zoe O’Donoghue running out of her skin and making up several places on the home straight to finish very close behind in 7th place. This age competes as a team of 2 (or “pair”), so all eyes were on the combined times of the two girls to see how they fared. Unfortunately, there were IT problems with the results system and the final results have been held over to be confirmed during the week, but it looks like Cara and Zoe finished a brilliant 4th place, just outside the medals, but they can be very proud of how they ran in an All-Ireland final [GD].

National 5 Mile Championships

The Irish Runner 5 Mile, incorporating the AAI National 5 Mile Championships, took place on Sunday morning 23rd June in the Phoenix Park. With this being the second instalment of the Athletics Ireland Race Series, the race attracted a large number of over 1,600 finishers. An early morning race, the athletes were glad to be finished and on the way home before the day really heated up. Eddie Newman had the honour of leading the Mullingar squad home in 29 minutes 27 seconds, placing 2nd in his master category and bringing home a National silver medal. He was closely followed in by Gerard Gavin (29:35), Patrick Muldoon (32:19), Liam McGlynn (34:15) and Linda Cunningham (36:43), placing her a very creditable 8th place in her master category. Indeed, all of our athletes placed well up in their age categories. The team of Eddie, Gerard and Liam finished 6th Club in their master category and were happy with their placing in a National race. Attention will now turn to the final event of the series, the Irish Runner 10 Mile race to take place in late July, also in the Phoenix Park [LC].

Derravaragh 5 & 10 Mile

Ballinafid-Multyfarnham Community Services held their annual 5 Mile on Sunday morning 23rd June, and this year incorporated a new 10 Mile option. Warm and very humid weather conditions were faced by all the runners. The races started just outside the village of Multyfarnham, at the Derravaragh Holiday Park, with a stiff and hilly course to be tackled. In the 10 mile race, Steven Underwood came home 2nd of the 42 finishers in 1:03:34, with Eoin Clarke having ran the Dunshaughlin 10k the evening before, delighted to take 3rd in 1:08:38. They were followed in by Kieran Dodrill, also a Dunshaughlin participant, in 1:27:08 and Michael Purdue came home in 1:28:36.

In the 5 mile race, Andrew Nevin came home 1st of nearly 100 finishers in 27:47, none the worse of his exertions in Dunshaughlin the previous evening, as was Evan McCormack who secured 2nd place in 30:02, Mick Fagan was 4th (31:40), Emer Savage (42:53) and Declan Costello (44:36) in a good field of nearly 100 runners [MO’S].

Dunshaughlin 10k

The annual Dunshaughlin 10k is well known to attract the top road runners over the distance from across Leinster and beyond. 2024 was no different and on a fine warm evening on Saturday 22nd June, the County Meath town was thronged with over 960 athletes eager to take on a largely flat course that starts and finishes on the main street taking in a looped course into the countryside, with some occasional sharp inclines to keep everyone on their toes.

Thirty three athletes from Mullingar Harriers took part and with excellent bunching, they finished 2nd Club in the mixed team as part of the Peugeot Race Series, with Ray Hynes (31:58) first in his master category, Vinny Connolly (32:33), Andrew Nevin (32:53) finishing well up in the men race, and Elizabeth Carr (35:28) finishing an excellent fifth place in the women race, followed by Glenda Shaw (37:58) second in her master category, and Ann Hall (39:16) third in her master category to complete the team. The women team was 3rd Club, with Elizabeth, Glenda and Ann making up the scoring three, while the men finished 2nd Club with the quartet of Ray, Vinny, Andrew and James Keegan (33:10).

There was also excellent running from our other participants, Ian McCormack (33:17), Eoin Clarke (35:45), Tony Doran (36:02), Alan Crowley (36:40), Evan McCormack (38:08), Joan Flynn (39:19), Susan Glennon (39:41), Aine O’Reilly (39:48), James Cribben (40:25), Darren Carroll (40:30), Mary Stuart (40:43) first in her master category, Padraig Beglin (40:55), Tommy Byrne (40:55), Jacintha Reilly (41:30), Kieran Dodrill (41:50), Mark Geoghegan (41:28), Criona Reid (41:54) first in her master category, Aelish McGovern (42:09), Aisling Corcoran (42:50), Therese Glynn (43:42), John McNamara (44:17), Paul Ginnell (45:40), Shaun Mills (46:25), Richie Kelly (46:50), Gemma Kelly (47:08) and Andy Boyhan (48:13) [MO’S].

Tailteann Inter-Provincial Schools T&F – International Selection for John Glennon

The Tailteann Inter-Provincial Schools T&F held in Santry on Saturday 22nd June was the trial event to select Irish teams for the SIAB Schools T&F International to be held in Wales in July. Having placed second in the recent All-Ireland Schools in the 3,000m race walk, the target for John Glennon (St. Finian’s College) was to finish in the top two again and earn selection. After an excellent effort in hot sunny conditions he finished in 2nd place, comfortably clear of third place and this result should see him selected on the Irish schools team. For John, this will be his International debut, which is a great honour for him, his family, his school, and of course for the Club.

John’s older siblings, sisters Edel, Rachel and Sarah and brothers Matthew and Andrew have also represented Ireland, all making their debuts in race walk at the SIAB Schools International too, so this will be the sixth Glennon to represent Ireland in International competition in the same event, which is an extraordinary record of success from one family in Mullingar Harriers. Congratulations to John from everyone at the Club [GD].

UCD Athletics Meet

UNREPORTED

Wednesday 19th June

Conor Liston 800m – A Race – 7th of 10 (1:56.50)

Leinster Juvenile T&F

The Leinster Juvenile T&F took place in Tullamore on Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th June where conditions were cool but dry and sunny at times, so excellent for competition. Mullingar athletes had some great successes over the two days, winning 8 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze medals, two of them set new Championship Records, one finished in fourth place, and others recorded personal bests, but most importantly, everyone competed to the very best of their abilities and can take satisfaction from that. Pride of place though has to go to Lily Walsh and Conor Sherwin who recorded double successes, winning two Leinster titles each over the two days.

First on the track on Saturday morning was the walks and given Mullingar’s enviable reputation in the event, it was no surprise that our three athletes excelled in their events. It was gold for John Glennon (u/18 boys 3,000m walk), gold for Daniel Glennon (u/16 boys 3,000m walk) and in his first competitive Championship in the walk, it was gold for Gareth Glennon (u/13 boys 1,200m walk) in an extremely close finish. Gareth won in 6:06.46 and as this is a new event this year, his winning time is now the Championship Record.

Aoibhe Martyn won her heat of the u/14 girls 80m and even though she ran quicker in the final she finished out of the medals, but has to be happy to have reached the Leinster final. Cian Hyland, Andrew Lillis and Aaron Conroy contested the u/16 boys 100m but didn’t advance from the very competitive heats. Finn Roddy had no problem in the u/17 boys 100m heats where he cruised to second place to qualify automatically for the final. Unfortunately a poor start in the final cost him dearly and he finished out of the medal places on this occasion.

In the field events the Mullingar athletes competed with enthusiasm but there were no medals for Chloe Bell (u/13 long jump), Aaron Coroy and Cian Hyland (u/16 long jump), or Cadhla Guilfoyle (u/13 javelin).

Lily Walsh ran with real intent right from the start of the u/14 girls 1,500m and with a very dominant display of running she pulled well clear to win in a fantastic 4:47.45, which is a new Championship Record by over 3 seconds, improving on the previous record that was set back in 2019. Antonio Bertolo took a fall about 200m into the u/14 boys 1,500m but he got back on his feet quickly and worked his way back in to the race and was delighted to finish in third place despite the earlier fall. Also competing strongly was Oisin Clarke who gave a spirited performance to finish strongly and well up but out of the medal places. On to the u/15 girls 1,500m where Lisa O’Brien ran well but finished out of the medals. Scott Cogan was right up with the leaders in the early laps of the u/15 boys 1,500m but unfortunately injury forced him out of the race going into the final lap. We wish him well in his recovery. Conor Walsh raced hard in the u/16 boys 1,500m but despite his efforts he had to settle for a place out of the medals. We got back in the medals again thanks to Jessica Cunningham who worked hard throughout the u/19 girls 1,500m and was rewarded with a well-deserved silver medal for her efforts. The early laps of the u/19 boys 1,500m were quite slow and the lead group was quite bunched but Conor Sherwin and Pablo Lozano kept out of trouble but with 200m to go, Conor surged to the front followed closely by Pablo. Sprinting hard up the home straight they held their positions and Conor crossed the line first with Pablo on his heels in second.

Cian Hyland and Aaron Conroy returned to the track for the u/16 boys 400m but didn’t advance from the very tough heats. In the u/18 boys 400m Kyle Faherty was right up with the leaders for most of the race but coming into the home straight the leaders pulled clear and he finished out of the medals. Aonghus O’Reilly had a straight final in the u/14 boys 300m, competing well but finishing out of the medals.

The final race with a Mullingar interest was the u/18 girls 2,000m steeplechase where Ailbhe O’Farrell put in a great shift, negotiating the tough wooden barriers and water jumps, to finish strong in third place and was delighted to win the Leinster bronze medal.

In a busy weekend, Lily Walsh returned to action on Sunday morning where she won her heat of the u/14 girls 800m to qualify for the final. In the final later in the day, Lily tracked the early leader all the way and looked very strong and smooth but with 120m to go she made her move and charged to the front and the race was on for the gold. Not to be beaten, Lily held her form and crossed the line in 2:19.38, a big personal best by 3 seconds and she was absolutely delighted to win her second Leinster title.

There was 4 heats of the u/14 girls 200m, so competition was fierce. Clodagh Doran ran well but didn’t advance from her heat to join Aoibhe Martyn who was second in her heat and qualified for the final where she competed really well but finished out of the medal places, though she has to take satisfaction from reaching another Leinster sprint final, which is good progress. Finn Roddy qualified from his heat of the u/17 boys 200m but was drawn in the inside lane for the final, which is tight and therefore a difficult lane and though he battled well he finished out of the medals.

Clodagh Doran was busy in the field events and though she finished out of the medals in the u/14 girls long jump, she was very happy to jump a personal best of 3.37m. Clodagh also competed in the u/14 girls shot where she finished out of the medals but thoroughly enjoyed the competition.

We finished the day with the 3,000m which proved a rich vein for medals. Conor Walsh put in a great effort in the u/16 boys 3,000m and deserved more out of the race, but even though he finished just out of the medals in fourth place, he still qualifies for the All-Irelands finals. We had two in the u/17 boys 3,000m where Matthew Molloy worked very hard and making most of the running he built up a lead that was impossible to close and he was rewarded for his efforts with a solid victory and the Leinster title, followed in by the fast finishing Oisin Kehoe to take third place and the bronze medal. Despite running the 1,500m only the day before, Conor Sherwin and Pablo Lozano toed the line for the u/19 boys 3,000m with medals on their minds. The first half of the race was a relatively slow and cagey affair but as the pace increased in the closing laps, Conor and Pablo were right up with the leading pack and when Conor made his final push for home on the final bend, he hit the front and despite pressure from behind he held his form and sprinted clear to win, with Pablo on his heels also sprinting hard to the line to finish in second place and take the silver medal to round off a strong Championship for Mullingar [GD].

British Milers Club (Belfast)

UNREPORTED

Saturday 15th June

Eoin Quinn 800m (Race A) 1:49.37

Conor Liston 800m (Race E) 1:54.50

Colin P Smith Mile (Race B) 4:10.80

Jack O’Leary 3,000m (Race A) 8:12.00

Dublin Graded T&F Meeting #5 of 8

UNREPORTED

Saturday 15th June

Stephen Campbell 3,000m, 18th of 18 (9:41.24)

Connacht Outdoor T&F

UNREPORTED

Saturday 15th June

Ramona Carey

Master Women Shot 3rd in category (7.46m), Master Women Discus 1st in category (24.17m)

Braveheart 5k

The “Braveheart 5k” organised by Trim AC took place on a very warm evening on Friday 14th June in the Porchfields in Trim. This race is noted for its scenic route along the banks of the River Boyne and as the over 500 runners progressed through the course they could take in the sights of one of the finest collections of medieval monuments in Ireland. We had three athletes taking the notably challenging off-road terrain in their stride. First home for Mullingar was Susan Glennon, determined to take the win and this she did in style, crossing the finish line in a fantastic 19 minutes 21 seconds. Next home was Linda Cunningham in 22:24 and Michelle O’Halloran completed the group in 23:47, delighted to be awarded a prize for second place in her master category [LC].

Daingean 5k

Round 6 of the Offaly 5k Series, the Daingean 5k, was held on Friday evening 14th June. A very large field of 364 athletes competed in the event. Organised and excellently staged by the local Naomh Mhuire AC, it attracted a huge contingent from the other Offaly clubs, who have been magnificent in each of their respective towns and villages putting on a well stewarded even. Mullingar Harriers were very well represented with 23 taking part.

On a perfect evening for running, bright sunshine and a stiff breeze were the conditions on a looped course that ran parallel to the canal and intersected the main street before moving through a series of country roads to the finish just off the main street. Kevin Moore was always mixing it with the leaders before having to settle for a close fourth place in a season’s best of 15 minutes 52 second. With support from Eoin Clarke (17:34), Evan McCormack (18:07) and Eddie Newman (18:09), winning his master category comfortably, the team placed 3rd Club.

Our women went even better by capturing the 1st Club place, thanks to Glenda Shaw running 18 minutes 30 seconds to finish 3rd woman and 1st in her master category, Joan Flynn (18:54) 3rd in her master category, Ann Hall (19:01) 4th in her master category, and Mary Stuart (19:53) winning her master category, combining to comfortably head the women team placings.

Others to complete the 5k were Dara O’Shea (19:16), Mark Geoghegan (19:30), Padraig Beglin (19:52), Orlaith Flanagan (20:24), Conleth Mullen (22:33) second u/20 man, Gemma Kelly (22:29), Michael O’Sullivan (23:23), Brigid McCabe (23:29) second in her master category, Claire Lennon (23:39), Catherine Gavin (23:41), Joel Kelly (24:07) second u/15 boy, Martin Mullen (24:14), Michael Purdue (24:19), Ray Smyth (24:24) and Kelly Dunne (24:54) [MO’S].

Leinster Juvenile Relays

The Leinster Juvenile Relays were held in a cool and windy Tullamore on Sunday 9th June, where Mullingar had just the one team in action, but what a team. Even though they are all u/18, they elected to run in the 4 x 400m u/19 Relay early in the morning, as the timing of the morning race suited them better than the time for the u/18 relay late in the afternoon. Kyle Faherty took the lead leg and running a good strong leg he handed over in second place to Luke O’Leary. Luke gave chase and slowly closed down the lead but coming up to the 200m mark he simply swept effortlessly into the lead, and opened a sizeable gap to hand over well clear to Conor Liston. Conor kept up the pressure and increased the lead even further with an excellent leg to hand over to Jamie Wallace with a lead that was simply too much for the chasing teams and Jamie had the luxury of being able to ease off on the home straight to bring the team home comfortably clear to win the Leinster title [GD].

Bohermeen 5k

A large group of Mullingar Harriers athletes made the trip to Bohermeen, Co. Meath on Saturday evening 8th June for the 38th Bohermeen 5k. On a warm but windy summer evening there was a great atmosphere as a large turnout of 341 athletes from many parts of the country descended on Bohermeen AC for one of the most popular and competitive events of the summer racing calendar.

It was the Mullingar women who turned out in force in this event, and with excellent performances by Glenda Shaw (18:47), Ann Hall (19:03), Mary Stuart (19:59), Aisling Corcoran (20:05), Aeilish McGovern (20:10), Criona Reid (20:24) and Meabh Killalea (20:31) who all ran really strongly and packing well together they were rewarded with individual category and team prizes. The team of Glenda, Ann, Mary and Aisling were delighted to finish 1st Club and were presented with the Mallon Cup. Meanwhile Mary won her masters category while Criona was second in her master category.

We also had a men team who competed for the Paddy Murtagh Cup and Enda Seery (18:50), Tommy Byrne (19:08), Patrick Muldoon (19:43), James Lally (20:10), Joseph Doherty (21:29) and Philip Burke (21:30) were all very happy with their performances and they finished a respectable 9th Club in this competition.

After the race there was a very enjoyable social barbeque with live music on the infield of the Bohermeen AC track, followed by the presentation of prizes. Many of the Mullingar athletes stayed to enjoy the excellent hospitality of the host club and were delighted to join in the well-deserved celebrations for the great achievements of our ladies squad faring so well [PM].

Excellent performance by Oisin Lane at European Championships

In tough hot conditions in Rome on Saturday evening 8th June, Oisin Lane turned in a terrific performance in the 20k Road Walk at the European T&F Championships to finish a fantastic 23rd place in 1 hour 25 minutes 2 seconds, less than 2 minutes outside his personal best set only 3 weeks ago. Oisin finished better than his pre-race ranking would predict and in doing so he gained very valuable Senior Championship experience.

We’ll have a full report after Cormac Dalton competes in the 10,000m on Wednesday evening 12th June [GD].

Leinster Combined Events

The Leinster Combined Events were held in Tullamore on Saturday 8th June where cloudy conditions in the morning cleared to give a sunny but breezy day. Mullingar had three athletes in action, Daniel Cummins and Aaron Robinson in the u/12 Triathlon (long jump, shot put and 200m) and Aidan O’Donoghue in the Master Pentathlon (long jump, javelin, 200m, discus and 1,500m).

Daniel started his campaign with three consistent long jumps, his best of 3.96m coming in the final round, while Aaron also recorded three good jumps, with a best of 3.47m. Both were again very competitive in the shot put where they executed three good efforts each. Aaron’s best throw of 6.80m came in the final round, as did Daniel’s 6.19m, to earn them valuable points leading into the final event, the 200m. Aaron raced hard in the first of two heats and was delighted to finish in third place in a time of 33.43 seconds into a headwind. Daniel ran a blistering race in heat two, stopping the clock at 30.23 seconds into a stiff headwind. When the points over the three events were added, Daniel finished just 26 points outside the medals in 5th place with a total of 851 points in a very tight competition, while Aaron finished in a very creditable 8th place on 636 points. Both boys should be very satisfied with their performances and it won’t be long before they stand on the podium.

Aidan opened with the long jump, his best effort of 3.67m coming in the first round to place fourth. A best of 33.83m in the javelin was enough to win and the points earned moved him to second place after two events. Third place in the 200m into a very strong headwind saw Aidan drop back to third after three events, but comfortably winning the discus with 26.83m moved Aidan up the first place going into the final event, the 1,500m run, which is always dreaded after a long tough day of competition. Despite giving every ounce of effort, Aidan finished third in the 1,500m and when the points were finally tallied, Aidan scored 2,175 points and was happy with the bronze medal [AO’D/GD].

Killarney 10k

The annual Killarney 10k on Saturday morning 8th June gave the nearly 1,150 competitors the chance to run one of the world’s most scenic routes and among the very big entry of nearly 1,150 was Vinny Connolly who was on holiday in Kerry and decided to take in the race. The route took the big field through some beautiful scenic areas including Muckross Park and Gardens and up some very challenging hills near Torc waterfall. Vinny was very strong throughout and continuing his recent good form he was delighted with his run and was very happy to take the win for the third year in a row in a very impressive 31 minutes 2 seconds, nicely clear of second place, and nearly a minute and a half faster that his winning time in the same race last year, proving he’s in excellent condition (IMcC/GD].

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

The Leinster Children’s Games and u/12 & u/13 T&F were held in Tullamore on Sunday 2nd June. The day started cool and fresh but the when sun broke through it was lovely and warm, ideal for athletes and spectators alike. 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 but all our young athletes competed to the very best of their ability and they thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Track action got underway with the u/12 girls 600m where Penny Bohan and Katie Bohan ran very well in their heats but were unlucky not to advance to the final. In the u/12 boys 600m heats, Conor Gavin and Cillian Gavin finished well up in their heats but not enough to join Daniel Cummins in the final who won his heat in style. In the final later in the day, Daniel ran an excellent race, keeping in contention for a medal all the way and was rewarded for his efforts by finishing a close third place by just hundredths of a second, diving over the line to win the bronze medal. Mullingar had five girls in the u/13 girls 600m where Liadan Gavin and Alice Hyland were unlucky not to advance from their heats and join Amelie Kelly, Chloe Bell and Clodagh Keane who qualified for the final from their heats. Giving their best in the later final, the girls ran extremely well but finished out of the medal places.

Roisin Keane, Kate Horohoe and Ellen Cummins ran very well in the u/11 girls 600m, as did Mel Bohan, Noah Morgan, Donagh Bourke, Olly Wright and Andrew Bradley in the u/11 boys 600m but finished out of the medal places. It was similar for Cara Hickey, Mia Barry, Sarah Cummins and Robyn Bradley in the u/9 girls 300m where all four of them gave accounts in their races. We finished with the u/10 girls 500m where Emily Rose Coyne, Maisie Walsh, Heather Kelly and Rachel Robinson ran brilliantly, with Emily and Maisie just missing medals by a mere seven hundredths of a second, a very close finish.

Moving to the sprints, Mia Barry, Cara Hickey and Robyn Bradley blasted down the track in the u/9 girls 60m but finished out of the medals. Daniel Cummins and Aaron Robinson advanced from their heats to the semi-finals of the u/12 boys 60m but unfortunately Cillian Gavin and Conor Gavin were unlucky not to advance from their heats to join them. Aaron and Daniel were very competitive in their semi-finals and unlucky not to reach the final. Another semi-finalist was Clodagh Keane in the u/13 girls 80m, where Liadan Gavin was unlucky not to advance from her heat. Blasting from gun in the semi-final, Clodagh finished 4th, just missing a place in the final, but top marks for effort. Donnacha Doyle sprinted to a fine 4th place in his heat of the u/13 boys 80m but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to advance to the semi-final.

In the u/11 girls 60m races, Lucy O’Connor won her heat, Roisin Keane finished 3rd in hers, and Ellen Cummins finished well up but no medals were won. Emily Rose Coyne won her u/10 girls 60m race where her time was one of the fastest of all the races but it was a pity she didn’t have another Mullingar girl to “pair” with or they might have won medals. The sprints finished with the u/11 boys 60m where Mel Bohan and Andrew Bradley sprinted well but finished out of the medals places.

It wasn’t all track of course and Mullingar athletes were very busy in the field events too. Aaron Robinson finished 5th in the u/12 boys shot, only 0.11m off fourth place, which would have been enough to qualify for the All-Ireland finals. Donnacha Doyle also came close in the u/13 boys high jump, finishing an excellent 6th place. Also competing in the field events, where despite not winning medals they thoroughly enjoyed the competitions, was Maisie Walsh, Heather Kelly and Rachel Robinson (u/10 girls long jump), Kate Horohoe (u/11 girls turbo javelin), Alice Hyland (u/13 girls high jump & shot), Donagh Bourke and Gearoid Doyle (u/11 boys long jump), and Sarah Cummins (u/9 girls turbo javelin).

The day finished with the excitement of the Inter-County sprint relays where Mullingar fielded two teams. Amelie Kelly, Liadan Gavin, Chloe Bell and Clodagh Keane were brilliant in their heat of the u/13 girls 4x100m relay where they finished third but with the medals decided on the times over two heats, the girls were unlucky to finish out of the medals. Conor Gavin, Daniel Cummins, Cillian Gavin and Aaron Robinson are all u/12 but moved up an age for the u/13 boys 4x100m relay where they battled well but finished out of the medals, but the experience will stand to them [GD].

British Masters National Combined Events

In Connah Quay, North Wales on the June Bank Holiday week-end (1st and 2nd  June), Aidan O’Donoghue competed in the British Masters National Combined Events Championships. It also incorporated County Championships for the North West of England and Noth Wales, so there was a large field of athletes competing, as u/15, u/17, u/20, Senior and Masters competitions ran side-by-side for both men and women. Aidan competed in the Masters Decathlon and had some great results over the 10 events and was locked in a 3-way battle for the gold medal with the lead changing hands throughout the competition. As it happened, the result would be decided on the final event, the 1,500m. A very fast 5:09 from Ian martin (York) was enough for him to leap frog Aidan and Glyn Price (Swansea) into first place. The battle remained for silver and bronze. Aidan had to finish 16 seconds faster than the Swansea athlete to take silver, which he achieved and was delighted to win the silver medal in such a close contest [AO’D].

Ballyskenach 5k

UNREPORTED

Sunday 2nd June

432 finishers; 2 from MHAC

Eddie Newman 34th (18:02) 1st in master category

Susan Glennon 64th (19:09) 3rd woman

All-Ireland Schools T&F

Regarded as one of the toughest underage T&F Championships in Ireland, the All-Ireland Schools T&F took place on Friday evening 31st May & all day Saturday 1st June, continuing an innovation begun last year to reduce an overly long programme on Saturday by holding some events on the evening before. Friday’s programme included the race walks, where three Mullingar Harriers were competing for their Colleges.

Daniel Glennon (St. Finian’s College) had qualified from a very tough Leinster and lined up for the Junior boys 1,200m walk as a medal favourite. Straight from the gun the best walkers took off at a frantic pace and within one lap the race was down to a two-man battle. Throughout the second and into the third lap Daniel stuck firmly to the leading walker as the two fought hard but with 250m to go Daniel upped the pace into a hard focused sprint and took the lead, which he then held all the way to the finish for a superb victory in the terrific time of 5:25.85. In the Intermediate boys 2,000m walk, the leader went well clear from early on but John Glennon (St. Finian’s College) stayed with the chasing group of four. Over the longer 2,000m distance, focus and perseverance along with good, safe technique means that the best prevail, and the opposition gradually fell back to leave John in second place coming into the home straight but still under pressure from third. However, he drove hard for the line and crossed it in second place in 9:09.84. The timetable then moved on to the Senior girls 3,000m walk. Aisling Lane (Mercy Ballymahon) had won all the schools’ age-groups titles over the years and was determined to complete a full set of wins. This was evident right from the start as by the end of the first lap she was already comfortably leading. Lap by lap she continued to increase her lead until she crossed the finish line to win over 300m ahead of the next finisher and happy to achieve a new personal best of 14:18.44, an excellent time for a solo effort and completing her Irish School athletics career undefeated in all racewalking competitions at all levels.

The next day, Saturday, Grace Byrne (Loreto College) contested the Senior 3,000m where she kept in close contact with the leading group for most of the race but as the pace wound up for the final laps she struggled to hold on to the group. Fighting all the way to the finish though, she finished strong in a very creditable seventh place. The Senior boys 800m went out at a furious pace, but Conor Liston (Colaiste Mhuire) held his nerve and ran his own race. Going down the back straight for the final time, Conor began to move through the field but though he worked very hard the gap to the front was too big and he crossed the line in sixth place. His time of 1:56.56 was not far off his personal best showing that he ran as best a race as he could, so he has to take some consolation from that [ML/GD].

MAY

European T&F  – Cormac Dalton & Oisin Lane selected (30th May)

On Thursday 30th May, Athletics Ireland announced the final team selection for the European T&F Championships to be held in Rome, starting Friday 7th June. Among the big squad is Cormac Dalton (10,000m) and Oisin Lane (20k race walk). We’re used to multiple representation from Mullingar Harriers at European Cross Country, but this is the first time that Mullingar Harriers will have two members competing in a European T&F Championship, so it’s an historic moment for the Club. Adding to the occasion for the Lane family in particular is that Oisin’s father and coach, Michael, competed in the same 20k race walk event at the European T&F held in Split (Croatia) back in 1990. Congratulations to Cormac and Oisin and everyone at Mullingar Harriers wishes them the very best of luck [GD].

Coralstown NS 5k

The Coralstown NS 5k was held on Wednesday 29th May on a perfect summer evening. A record 260 took part, among them 60 from Mullingar Harriers. The in-form Vinny Connolly battled hard right up the closing stage but the effects of running a huge personal best for 5,000m only days before in Brussels were still in his legs and he had to concede and finished 2nd in 15 minutes 24.08 seconds, ahead of Matthew Glennon (3rd) in 15:49.19. Mullingar took the top three places in the women’s race, with Susan Glennon 1st (18 minutes 52.47 seconds), Aine O’Reilly 2nd (18:59.50) and Joan Flynn 3rd (19:35.86). Mullingar athletes were prominent in the results, filling 6 of the top 10 places, 9 of the top 20, and winning category prizes from junior to master men and women.

Also competing was Paul Forristal (17:14.82), Andrew Glennon (17:31.15), Conor Walsh (17:45.01), Enda O’Carolan (17:47.23), Gareth Glennon (17:57.60), Darren Carroll (18:36.37), Mick Fagan (19:02.39), Enda Seery (19:18.84), Tommy Byrne (19:33.18), Brian Collentine (19:37.57), Mary Stuart (19:53.40), Jacintha Reilly (19:54.68), Aisling Corcoran (20:07.14), Jason McKevitt (20:08.03), Kieran Dodrill (20:08.75), Padraig Beglin (20:12.35), Orla McLaughlin (20:20.16), Lee Bracken (20:20.73), Criona Reid (20:25.49), Aeilish McGovern (20:37.30), Robin Jackson (20:38.00), Orlaith Flanagan (20:50.24), John McNamara (20:55.78), Conor Gavin (21:07.70), Mark Dunne (21:11.15), Paul Plunkett (21:16.68), Cillian Gavin (21:18.77), John Long (21:19.63), Julie McLaughlin (21:21.36), Mairtin Savage (21:25.39), Conleth Mullen (21:26.82), Claire Ross (21:30.77), Marie Louise Johnston (21:45.60), Philip Burke (21:52.08), Aisling Farrell (21:55.11), Shaun Mills (22:02.78), Gemma Kelly (22:14.21), Catherine Gavin (23:26.43), Avril Keane (23:27.42), Terri Greene (23:29.71), Michelle O’Halloran (23:41.94), Shaynah Mitchell (23:42.60), Liadan Gavin (23:43.24), Michael O’Sullivan (23:53.25), Claire Gavin (23:56.99), Olivia Cronin (23:59.06), Martin Mullen (24:03.71), Gerard Heraty (24:09.95), Ray Smyth (24:51.61), Bridget McCabe (25:12.04), Niala Moran (25:14.28), Kevin O Brien (25:26.11), Anna Martin (25:42.03), Pauline Troy (26:05.11), Patricia Broderick (27:26.37) [GD].

Leinster u/20, Senior & Masters T&F

The Leinster u/20, Senior & Masters T&F took place on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th May in SETU Carlow. Saturday was cold and windy but thankfully remained dry for the day. Aidan O’Donoghue had a very busy schedule and opened his campaign with the 100m Hurdles where he finished third in his master category and earned his first medal of the day. Moving to the 1,500m u/20, Jessica Cunningham ran an excellent race, keeping in contention throughout, and was rewarded for her efforts with a silver medal. Following her in was Ailbhe O’Farrell who also put in a great effort and finished a very creditable sixth place. Ailbhe is eligible for two more years, so will benefit greatly from the experience. In the Master 1,500m Brigid McCabe was never troubled and won her master category with ease.

Odhran Cully contested the Senior 100m where he ran well but didn’t advance from the very competitive heats. Aidan O’Donoghue finished out of the medal places in his Master 100m, but Tom Walsh got us back in the medals again by taking silver in his Master 100m. Patrick Leydon was simply too strong for the opposition in the Senior 400m and was always in control, coming home comfortably clear to win in 49.74, a new personal best for the distance. Tom Walsh returned to action in his event of choice, the Master 28 pound Weight for Distance, and showed why he holds the Irish record for his age group with a dominant display to win with a fine 7.65m effort, his second medal of the day. Aidan O’Donoghue made up for earlier sprint disappointment with victory in the Master Pole Vault and silver in the Master Javelin to round off a busy but very rewarding day one for him and for Mullingar.

Sunday was a much better day for athletics as the wind was gone and conditions were very calm, though on and off showers in the afternoon disrupted proceedings a bit. The Mullingar race walkers were in excellent form and made a clean sweep of the Men 5,000m Walk Titles – Matthew Glennon (senior), Andrew Glennon (u/20) and Colm Walsh (master). For Colm it was a particularly satisfying result as his time of 25 minutes 50.73 seconds was his fastest time for two years and took nearly a minute off the Championship Record for his master category that he set last year. Odhran Cully powered to a fine third place finish in the Senior 200m and was very pleased to secure a Leinster senior bronze medal. In the field events, Paddy Boyhan was in excellent form and won his master category in the Triple Jump and High Jump.

Eleven Mullingar athletes competed in 17 events across the two days and won a total of 14 medals between them, which are excellent results [GD].

IFAM (International Flanders Athletic Meeting)

Normally held in Oordegem, Belgium, due to track resurfacing works, the IFAM (International Flanders Athletic Meeting) had to move to Brussels on Saturday 25th May. This was a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meeting, so it attracted some of the best athletes to compete in the prestigious event. It was great to see Jack O’Leary back racing after some time out and in the 5,000m he recorded an impressive time of 14 minutes 12.65 seconds. Vinny Connolly was always very competitive and worked extremely hard to stay with the pack and was rewarded with a massive track personal best by 13 seconds when he finished in 14 minutes 27.19 seconds. It’s still early in the season and both men will be looking to run faster times during the summer [IMcC].

Newry Half Marathon

Taking the early lead in the Newry Half Marathon on Sunday morning 26th May, Andrew Nevin was very strong throughout and was delighted to record his second fastest time for the distance on Irish soil when finishing in 1 hour 11 minutes 18 seconds to win with distance to spare [IMcC].

Pat Finnerty Memorial 5k League – Round 3 (22nd May)

At the conclusion of the final round of the Pat Finnerty Memorial 5k series on Wednesday evening 22nd May, Mullingar Harriers James Keegan and Sinead Whitelaw emerged victorious in the men and women races and were worthy recipients of the Pat Finnerty Memorial Trophies.

In contrast to the early rounds, it was cool and wet for the final night, which made it tough for spectators and officials but it better suited the runners. With more entries taken on the night, overall numbers were up again on previous weeks. Well over 200 registered to run over the three evenings, so the event continues to grow. Over the three nights we saw that entries were nearly evenly split between men and women, about two thirds came from Westmeath but a third came from neighbouring and nearby Counties including Longford, Cavan, Offaly, Meath, Kildare, Laois and Roscommon, and from further afield, adding an International flavour, were two visitors from France taking part. It’s great to see such interest far and wide in the event.

Just running the final night and therefore not eligible for the overall prize, Diarmuid Fagan raced to victory in 15 minutes 43 seconds, an impressive time on the tough Belvedere course. Following him in was James Keegan (16:10) in second and Timmy Murphy (16:36) in third. With the best two of three times to score in the league, Sinead Whitelaw could rest for the final night confident that she couldn’t be caught in the league, so we had a new first woman for the final night, Aine O’Reilly in 19 minutes 41 seconds, which guaranteed her a senior prize, followed by Jenny Algar (19:49) in second and Susan Glennon (19:53) on her heels in third. All through the field there were great battles for category prizes, so everyone raced hard for every place right to the finish. Full results of the race and final results in the league are available on www.myrunresults.com. After the race, everyone gathered in the Courtyard Café in Belvedere for some very welcome refreshments and lovely fresh food and the all-important prize giving.

The top three men in the league were James Keegan (Mullingar Harriers AC), Dan Morriss and John Whitelaw (Mullingar Harriers AC) and the top three women were Sinead Whitelaw (Mullingar Harriers AC), Emily Grennan (Tullamore Harriers AC) and Aine O’Reilly (Mullingar Harriers AC). The perpetual trophy for first man and for first woman were presented by Susan Finnerty to James Keegan and Sinead Whitelaw. This year the proceeds from the league will go to Tanzanian Heavenly Homes, a local non-profit charity organisation founded by John McCauley and before the presentations, John was invited to outline the origins of the charity and how the funds raised will be used to improve conditions for local people in Tanzania. As a thank you, John presented a beautiful photograph of the very large group from Mullingar Harriers AC that had participated in the Mullingar Half Marathon back in March, and the photograph will be displayed in a prominent place in the Clubhouse.

Sincere thanks to everyone who gave up their free time and helped out with car parking, registrations, course building, stewarding, start officials, finish line officials, Richard Ferris and Siobhan Farry who shared leading the race on a bike over the series to make sure no one went astray, Declan Costello for his photographs, most importantly to everyone who took part in the series, and finally, a big thank you to Westmeath Civil Defence for providing first aid and ambulance cover, to the Staff of Belvedere House and Gardens, to Susan Finnerty for presenting the trophies, and finally to the Courtyard Café in Belvedere for hosting the prize giving.

The category prize winners were:

Senior Women – 1. Sinead Whitelaw, 2. Emily Grennan (Tullamore Harriers AC), 3. Aine O’Reilly; Senior Men – 1. James Keegan, 2. Dan Morriss, 3. John Whitelaw; Junior Men – 1. Luke Greene; women o/40 – 1. Charlotte Kearney (Donadea AC), 2. Aeilish McGovern, 3. Aisling Corcoran; men o/40 – 1. Alan Crowley, 2. Eoin Clarke, 3. Enda O’Carolan; women o/50 – 1. Mary Stuart, 2. Criona Reid, 3. Caroline Mullen; men o/50 – 1. Gerard Gavin, Damien Hillard (Bohermeen AC), 3. Mick Fagan; women o/60 – 1. Vera McCool, 2. Pauline Troy, Irene Lynam (Na Fianna AC); men o/60 – 1. Mel Leahy (North Westmeath AC), 2. Jack O’Connell (Tullamore Harriers AC), 3. Brian O’Reilly (Laragh AC); women o/70 – 1. Breda McDonnell; men o/70 – 1. Michael Smith (Laragh AC), 2. John Waldron, 3. Sean Kelly.

Bob Heffernan & Mary Hanly 5k

The annual Na Fianna AC Bob Heffernan & Mary Hanly 5k took place on Tuesday evening 21st May. On a warm, clammy evening the fast course around the country roads adjacent to Johnstownbridge village were filled with 743 athletes. This was the fourth race in the Peugeot Series and Mullingar Harriers was again well represented for all the team and individual categories.

Our mixed team came home 3rd Club, led by James Keegan in 15 minutes 34 seconds, followed by Ian McCormack (15:37), Kedagh Geoghegan (16:32), then Sinead Whitelaw in 18 minutes 4 seconds, Glenda Shaw (18:27) second in her master category and Joan Flynn (18:39). Our women’s team finished 4th Club with Sinead, Glenda and Joan making up the scoring three, while the men’s team of James, Ian and Kedagh finished 5th Club.

Mary Stuart was a master age category winner with a time of 19:46. Strong running also from Alan Crowley (16:43), Paul Forristal (17:04), Stephen Campbell (17:14), Enda O’Carolan (17:27), Susan Glennon (18:58), Dara O’Shea (19:00), Robin Jackson (19:57), Aelish McGovern (20:15), Padraig Beglin (20:19), Rachel Killalea (20:53), Niamh Doherty (21:36), Joe Doherty (21:37), Joan Hickson (21:41), Gemma Kelly (21:52), Mairtin Savage (21:56) and Colm Garvey (26:00) [SW].

European Masters Athletics Championships Non Stadia

Sean McMullin travelled as part of a 9-strong Irish masters team to the Portuguese island of Porto Santo, north of Madeira, to compete at the European Masters Athletics Non Stadia Championships. The events include the road, or “non stadium”, events of 10k, half marathon, cross country relay and race walking, with Sean entered in the race walks.

In warm but tolerable conditions on Friday morning 17th May, Sean competed in the 10k Walk. Despite being hampered with a niggling problem in his right knee, he was still good enough to finish third, though he would normally beat the Italian man who came second by over a minute, but Sean was still satisfied to win the European bronze medal in his master category. Returning for the longer 20k Walk on Sunday morning 19th May, Sean had to fight fatigue from the 10k only two days before and dig deep as the temperatures climbed and maintain his form and focus under the watchful eyes of the judges but despite an early warning from the judges, he prevailed to win and claim the European title, a wonderful result for a dedicated master athlete [GD].

National Senior May Open T&F

In near perfect conditions despite a light swirling wind on Sunday 19th May at the National Senior May Open T&F in Santry, Patrick Leydon made his debut in an outdoor individual 400m and was delighted to dip under 50 seconds, finishing strong in 49.86 seconds. Patrick looked like he had plenty more in the tank, so this performance will give him great confidence for the season ahead. Later in the afternoon, Odhran Cully opened his outdoor season in the 200m and can look forward to sharpening up further for the season ahead [GD].

Fast Lane Half Marathon

The Fast Lane Half Marathon took place on Sunday morning 19th May. The course was along the scenic settings of the Grand Canal and around the perimeter of Grange Castle Business Park in Clondalkin, Co. Dublin and though it was on the edge of the city, it had a country feeling. A very flat course with long straights, the route had an elevation gain of only 27m over each of two loops, so it was guaranteed to be quite fast. Among the 1,555 runners taking part was James Cribbin and he was pleased to come home under 1 hour 30 minutes, recording 1:29:14 and third in his master category, following on from a fine run in the National 5k in the Phoenix Park the day before [MO’S].

Ashling Murphy 4 Mile

Tullamore Harriers AC hosted the third staging of the Ashling Murphy 4 Mile race on a sun drenched morning on Sunday 19th May. Over 700 athletes took to the roads around the town centre and adjoining Business Park for the event. The opening 600m was a steady rise bringing runners past O’Connor Park GAA Ground. The course levelled off and took a left into the Sragh Industrial Estate, reaching 1 mile. It was flat running through the Business Park, on to the 2 mile mark, and beyond with a little downhill bringing the runners to a roundabout on the 3 mile mark where they were welcomed by a traditional music group entertaining everyone in the bright sunshine. A stiff climb past the railway station tested the fitness levels before turning left towards the town centre and then a welcome downhill for the remaining 400m.

Mullingar Harriers was well represented by 13 runners. Kevin Moore continued his recent good form with an excellent twelfth place in 21 minutes 5 seconds, with Niamh McEntegart finishing 5th woman on 24 minutes 37 seconds and leading the women team that included Aisling Corcoran (25:59 and 4th in her master category), Jacintha Reilly (26:12) and Orlaith Flanagan (27:03) making up the quartet. This race is part of the Peugeot Series and our mixed team finished 5th with Niamh, Kevin, Aisling, Jacintha and Evan McCormack in a fine 23:52, despite being upended accidentally at the start of the race, and Darren Carroll in (24:43) completing the team.

Our men’s team of Kevin Moore, Evan McCormack, Darren Carroll and Jason McKevitt (25:28) finished 6th Club. Maura Dervin ran a very impressive 27:13 to win her master category, and also competing was Therese Glynn (27:19), John McNamara (28:22), John Long (29:10) and Michael O’Sullivan (31:06) [MO’S].

La Coruna Racewalking Competition

The Northwest of Spain saw weather conditions on Saturday 18th May very similar to those in Ireland. This was much to the delight of Oisin Lane who one of the more than 130 entrants for the Senior Men 20k Walk in the famous La Coruna Racewalking Elite Competition, a World Racewalking Tour Gold Event. It was the most competitive of the World Tour Gold events held this year so far, with 5 continents represented and very big teams from the racewalking superpowers of China, Japan, Mexico and Spain itself.

With his mind set on achieving a significant personal best, Oisin set off in determined pursuit of that target from the gun. With 10k reached in 40:58 he had to dig deep and battle hard for the second 10k and a final time of 83 minutes 14 seconds, a huge improvement of almost a minute on his previous best performance and a time which takes him nearer to World level standards. With limited time left in the qualification window he must now wait patiently to see if this performance will rank him among Europe’s elite who will be invited to Rome for this year’s European Senior T&F Championships to be held in early June [ML].

Highgate Night of 10,000m PBs

UNREPORTED

Saturday 18th May

Claire Fagan 34 minutes 21.54 seconds, a new PB by 25 seconds

National 5k

The National 5k was held in the picturesque Phoenix Park on Saturday morning 18th May in calm and dry conditions with close to 1,700 finishers. This race is the first instalment of the Athletics Ireland 2024 race series. Leading the Mullingar Harriers home through the demanding course was Andrew Nevin with a fine nineteenth place finish in 15 minutes 41 seconds. Next to finish was Gerard Gavin with a strong run in 17:30 followed by Eddie Newman (17:50) winning a National bronze medal in his master category, then Pauric Brady (18:42), with James Cribbin close behind (18:55). Battling hard for the women’s team was Mary Stuart leading them home in 20 minutes 10 seconds, earning her a silver medal in her master category and close behind her was a determined Criona Reid (20.31) delighted to take the bronze medal for third in her master category. Also running well was Padraig Beglin (20.48), Linda Cunningham (21.58), Brigid McCabe (23.09) sticking to her pre-race plan and winning the National title and gold medal in her master category, and Aidan O’Donoghue (24:59) completed the Mullingar squad. The Master Women o/50 team of Mary, Criona and Brigid finished 2nd Club, adding to the medal tally for the day. Well done to our athletes who all gave their very best in a very successful National race [LC].

Leinster Schools T&F

Mullingar Harriers will have four athletes in the All-Ireland Schools T&F in two weeks following some excellent performances at the Leinster Schools T&F held in Santry on Wednesday 15th and Saturday 18th May.

Grace Byrne (Loreto Mullingar) finished an agonising 4th place in the Senior 1,500m but made up for her disappointment later in the day when she showed her class in the Senior 3,000m run with a convincing win in a new PB of 10:10.85 to book her place in the All-Ireland Finals. Conor Liston (Colaiste Mhuire) continues to improve and made another big step in the Senior 800m where he finished 2nd in a new PB of 1:55.74. Our race walkers were also in excellent form, with Daniel Glennon (St. Finian’s College) taking silver in the Junior 1,200m walk and John Glennon (St. Finian’s College) winning the Intermediate 2,000m walk.

Other performances of note included Ailbhe O’Farrell (St. Finian’s College) who was fifth in the  Intermediate 1,500m steeplechase, Louise Callaghan (Loreto College) Senior 1,500m steeplechase fourth, Jessica Cunningham (Loreto College) Senior 3,000m fifth, Kyle Faherty (Colaiste Mhuire) Intermediate 400m fourth, Luke O’Leary (Clongowes Wood College) Senior 400m fifth, Oisin Kehoe (St. Finian’s College) u/16 Mile fifth, Philip McCartan (Clongowes Wood College) ran a new PB of 2:01.74 in the Senior 800m, Matthew Molloy (St. Finian’s College) Intermediate 1,500m, and finally Conor Liston, Jamie Wallace and Pablo Lozano were members of the Colaiste Mhuire Senior 4 x 400m relay team [GD].

Midland Inter-County Juvenile T&F Match

There aren’t many opportunities for our younger members to take part in competition but on Friday evening 17th May a huge squad of over 80 girls and boys from Mullingar Harriers AC aged 8 to 13 years competed at the Midland Inter-County Juvenile T&F Match between Laois, Offaly, Westmeath and Longford in Tullamore. The event drew a big entry of over 400 girls and boys from across the midland counties and while it was overcast, it was mild and it stayed dry for the entire event, which is always a bonus. For most of the Mullingar squad, 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 is always a very popular event and we were delighted to see so many compete for Mullingar, in fact in some events, we had 8 or 9, so maroon and white was very prominent throughout the evening. The young Mullingar athletes certainly enjoyed it and gave great accounts with lots of them visiting the medal podium during the evening, some more than once, winning a total of 24 medals between them. This was a small step up from the event we held at our own track in April that was confined to our own members, but the emphasis was still very much on fun and participation and just having a go at different events such as sprint, middle distance, shot put and javelin, though the standard of competition was very high. 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.

Among the medal winners from Mullingar were Conor Kiernan (60m u/9), Mia Barry (60m and 300m u/9), Emily Rose Coyne (60m and 500m u/10), Clodagh Keane (80m u/13), Joel Kelly (100m u/14), Aoibhe Martyn (100m u/14), Mel Bohan (600m u/11), Lauryn Smith (600m u/11), Adam O’Donoghue (600m u/12), Chloe Bell (600m u/13), Antonio Bertolo (800m and shot u/14), Lily Walsh (800m u/14), Rian O’Donoghue (u/9 turbo javelin), Ryan Corroon (u/9 turbo javelin), Ella McManus (u/9 turbo javelin), Andrew Bradley (u/11 long jump), Chloe Bell (u/13 long jump), Aoibhe Martyn (u/14 long jump), Saoirse Peters (u/12 shot), Seth Walsh (u/14 shot), Alice Hyland (u/14 shot).

We hope it encourages everyone to compete in the Leinster T&F in Tullamore in early June [GD].

Pat Finnerty Memorial 5k League – Round 2 (15th May)

Round 2 of the Pat Finnerty Memorial 5k League took place in Belvedere on Wednesday evening 15th May. Not everyone will take part in all three races, knowing that the best two times of three are all that’s needed to score in the overall results for prizes, so some skipped Round 2 but others registered for the first time, so the total number registered for the event continues to grow. It was another beautiful warm sunny evening, just like the first night, perfect for racing.

The winner of Round 1, James Keegan (Mullingar Harriers AC) led the charge from the start and slowly built a commanding lead. Coming out of the woods before the final uphill stretch towards Belvedere House around the 4k mark, James still had a good lead and using the final downhill sections to maximum advantage he stayed in front and went on to win in 15 minutes 17 seconds, a second faster that round one, showing great consistency. Dan Morriss (16:59) followed James home, ahead of Kedagh Geoghegan (Mullingar Harriers AC) third in 17:22, running significantly quicker than in Round 1.

Fiona Gettings (Longford AC) was one of those who didn’t run in round two, so we were guaranteed a new 1-2-3 in the women’s race and a new first woman, a place filled by Sinead Whitelaw (Mullingar Harriers AC) in 18 minutes 47 seconds, ahead of Emily Grennan (Tullamore Harriers AC) in 19:05, with Aine O’Reilly (Mullingar Harriers AC) running for the first time taking third in 19:40.

As in Round 1, there was great competition right through the field in the various master categories. Full results of the race are available on www.myrunresults.com. The final round on Wednesday evening 22nd May will be very interesting and while James Keegan looks to have the men’s race wrapped up, the battle is still on for second and third. In the women’s race, Sinead Whitelaw has the lead and only Fiona Gettings (Longford AC) who won the first round but didn’t run the second round can challenge her, but only if Fiona runs the final round. We expect to see another big crowd and we’re appealing for participants to come early, especially those looking to run just the single race. As always, many thanks to everyone who gave up their free time and helped out last week and we appeal to everyone who can spare a couple of hours to help out again this week. Thanks also to Westmeath Civil Defence for providing first aid and ambulance cover and to the ever obliging and helpful staff of Belvedere House and Gardens.

With two rounds over, it’s too late to enter the series but individual entries for the final night are very welcome, either online or on the night in the Courtyard Café. Finally, it’s really important to remember to bring your number with the timing chip for Round 3 or your place and time will not be recorded.

Brigid McCabe – member of World Record o/65 Women 4 x 800m Relay Team (12th May)

An initiative of the Irish Masters Athletic Association, Brigid McCabe was selected to be part of a six strong squad of master women to target the World record for the o/65 women 4 x 800m Relay, held by the USA since July 2022. Trials were held and Brigid’s time was fast enough to be selected to be part of the racing four with Mary Browne (Mayo AC), Noreen Bonner (Finn Valley AC) and Pauline Moran (Mayo AC). Thanks to Dublin Athletics, a 4 x 800m relay race was added to the programme at the Dublin Graded Meeting in Santry on Sunday afternoon 12th May where conditions were perfect for the World record attempt. Running the third leg, thanks to a great team effort, when Brigid handed the baton over to the final runner, the Irish women were well ahead of schedule and finished in 12 minutes 59.94 seconds, a new World Record, taking a whopping 1 minute 49 seconds off the previous record. It’s not often we have a World record holder in our midst and congratulations to Brigid and the Irish team on setting a new master’s World record.

Ferbane 5k

Ferbane AC hosted the fourth round of the Offaly 5k series on Sunday morning 12th May. The annual Hugo Smith Memorial 5k attracted 351 runners on an overcast but warm morning with little breeze to cool the runners. The course was a challenging one of constant rolling hills for the first 4k before a final flat last kilometre through the Business Park. Excellently marshalled with road closures along the country roads on the eastern side of the town, Mullingar Harriers had 3 participants.

Kevin Moore was always in contention with a lead group of 6, the other 5 being Tullamore Harriers athletes. At the 4k mark, a trio of the Tullamore group opened a gap and held that over a frantic last 800m to the finish line. Kevin led the chasing group and was very pleased to hold his 4th place position to cross the line in 16 minutes 14 seconds. Eddie Newman continued his good form winning his category with a time of 18:01, with Michael O’Sullivan coming home in 23:45.

Pat Finnerty Memorial 5k League – Round 1 (8th May)

We couldn’t have asked for a better evening on Wednesday 8th May for Round 1 of the Pat Finnerty Memorial 5k League in Belvedere with sunny, warm and calm conditions enjoyed by the runners, officials and spectators alike. Strong pre-race online entries were boosted significantly with new registrations on the night, and no doubt many were attracted by the lovely evening, ideal for a 5k through the beautiful woodland trails in Belvedere. Entries were well up on the corresponding opening round last year and the runners were taken on some familiar paths but also some new interesting paths through the woods showing Belvedere off at its very best.

The event was well supported by our own members and it was great to welcome many newcomers, and of course to welcome back many familiar faces. We know from experience that numbers will grow in the coming two weeks. Thanks to the chip timing system the results were posted shortly after the race on the My Run Results website. We know not everyone can enter for the full series, but if you can only run one or two nights, online entries are open again and of course we’ll also accept individual entries on any night. All proceeds will go to Tanzanian Heavenly Homes, a Mullingar-based non-profit organisation founded by John McCauley, so we’re asking everyone to sign up and support this very worthy cause. We’ll also take donations on the night for anyone that wants to give more.

Just after 8pm, the race got underway and it wasn’t long before a small breakaway group forged ahead, led by James Keegan (Mullingar Harriers) with plenty of Mullingar club mates for company. Between 3k and 4k, James began to pull clear of John Whitelaw (Mullingar Harriers) who continued to chase him but over the final 800m the gap ultimately proved impossible to close. James finished in 16 minutes 18 seconds, ahead of John Whitelaw (16:37) and Dan Morris (16:53). First woman to finish was Fiona Gettings (Longford AC) in 17 minutes 53 seconds, and in a terrific battle behind, Sinead Whitelaw (Mullingar Harriers) held a slender lead in the closing stages to finish in 18:32, just ahead of Emily Grennan (Tullamore Harriers AC) in 18:35. First three men and women aside, there was great competition right through the field in the various master categories too. Full results of the race are available on www.myrunresults.com. With the best two of three races to count, there’s still time to enter the league, either online or on the night in the Courtyard Café.

Round 2 on 15th May should see another good entry and we’re appealing for participants to come early, especially those who will be registering for the first time and those looking to run just the single race. Many thanks to everyone who gave up their free time and helped out on the first night taking entries, organizing car parking, helping as stewards on the course etc, and we appeal to everyone who can spare a couple of hours to help out again this week. Thanks also to the staff of Belvedere House and of course to Westmeath Civil Defence for their invaluable input providing first aid and ambulance cover.

Finally, it’s really important to remember to bring your number with the timing chip for Round 2 or your place and time will not be recorded.

Kilkenny Racewalking Grand Prix

Before the main T&F season gets underway, most of the Mullingar Harriers racewalkers made the long trip down to the Sunny South East on Sunday 5th May for a day of open races hosted by St. Joesph’s AC, the Kilkenny Racewalking Grand Prix in Pink Rock, in south Kilkenny, just across the river from New Ross.

First on the road was Matthew Glennon attempting a pacing exercise over 20k. The effort of winning the Leinster Novice Road Championships the day before took it’s inevitable toll on his technique and so led to him being promptly disqualified. The honour of being first Harrier home went to the ever-young Colm Walsh with a quite easy victory in the Masters 5k.  Next home, was Andrew Glennon who completed the longer 10k. He finished 2nd senior overall and easily the 1st u/20 man across the line. Aisling Lane too was at her ease in comfortably winning the Open 10k by a substantial margin.

While the u/20, Senior and Master athletes were competing over the longer distance, a series of Juvenile races took place. Doing his first ever 2k race was the very young Gareth Glennon. Not daunted by the distance, he paced himself well and so destroyed the rest of the field for a special debut victory. Finally, it was the turn of Daniel Glennon. With an eye to the future, rather than race his own u/16 distance of 3k, Daniel decided to do the 5k race instead, which is usually for older walkers. While many would be scared of such a challenge, not Daniel. He walked with calm control to finish unstressed and only just outside of the medals. All in all a very pleasant experience in scenic surroundings with nice sunshine – a perfect competitive way to enjoy a bank holiday weekend [ML].

West of Ireland Women’s Mini Marathon 10k

Ballina town hosted the West of Ireland Women’s Mini Marathon 10k for the second year running on Sunday 5th May and the sun shone down on the 1,500 runners taking part in this annual 10km road race. The course started and finished in the town centre, with athletes enjoying spectacular views of the beautiful River Moy and Belleek Woods along the race route.

Mullingar Harriers was well represented by Mayo and Ballina native, Sinead Whitelaw, who ran a good race to finish strongly in 2nd place, clocking 38 minutes 47 seconds. The race was won by Ellen Moran representing Galway City Harriers, and Serena Tuffy of Dundrum South Dublin was third. Sophie Whitelaw also ran in the children’s “Mini Mini-Marathon”, a lovely run for national school children over a 2k distance through the town streets [SW].

Great Limerick Run Marathon

In warm conditions, the Great Limerick Run Marathon wound its way through the streets of Limerick city on Sunday morning 5th May. Joan Flynn kept well up with the early pace and her dedicated training programme proved invaluable with some rolling hills to encounter in the mid-section of the race. Joan came home 2nd woman in a very good time of 3 hours 3 minutes 22 seconds, and that also saw her finish 60th overall in a big field of just over 800 runners [MO’S].

Toronto Marathon

The Toronto Marathon is one of the premier spring marathons in Ontario, Canada, attracting runners from all over the World to a fast, mostly downhill course with a winding tour of some the city’s best sights. For Amy Mahony, who is currently residing in Canada, it proved to be a great outing on Sunday morning 5th May, as she came home in an excellent 3 hours 16 minutes 41 seconds [MO’S].

Dublin Graded T&F Meeting #1 of 8

UNREPORTED

Sunday 5th May

Ailbhe O’Farrell 2,000m Steeplechase, 5th of 5 (8:34.10)

Leinster Novice & Masters Road Championships

A decision taken after last year’s Leinster Novice & Masters Road Championships to target the event this year saw Mullingar nearly double the number competing, with a very big squad of 39 descending on Gowran, Co. Kilkenny on Saturday afternoon 4th May. After four excellent competitive races, Mullingar amassed 5 individual master medals, 4 sets of Club team medals and 4 sets of County team medals, but the icing on the cake came in the final race of the afternoon, when Matthew Glennon won the novice men title, with James Keegan on his heels in second place. A great feature of the day was the way the Mullingar squad gathered in a large group near the finish area to cheer their Club mates on in every race.

The course in Gowran comprises 1,500m laps, with a downhill start followed by a gradual long climb, an excellent course for a Championship. Gowran AC again proved excellent hosts for the event with every facility provided, including a large hall for registration, bag drop and medal presentation, toilets, public address, lead car, lots of race marshals and stewards, and plenty of refreshments after.

First race was the Master Women 3,000m, covering two laps. Finishing well up overall to lead the Mullingar women home was Aine O’Reilly (3rd in her category), followed in by Mary Stuart (1st in her category), Criona Reid (just missing a medal , with 4th place in her category), Claire Ross, Caroline Mullen, Linda Cunningham, Emer O’Hanlon (4th in her category), Michelle O’Halloran, Brigid McCabe (1st in her category), Terri Greene and Pauline Troy (2nd in her category). The o/35 team finished a very respectable 6th Club and 6th County, but top marks to the o/50 team of Mary, Criona and Caroline, with great support from Emer, Michelle, Brigid and Pauline, who finished 1st Club and 1st County.

Nearly 100 men lined up for the largest race of the afternoon, the Master Men 6,000m. With 4 laps of the course, everyone got plenty of encouragement as they passed the finish area. Having the honour of leading the big Mullingar squad of 17 men home was Alan Crowley in a terrific 14th place overall (4th in his category, very unlucky to miss an individual medal by a mere two seconds). Following Alan in was Eoin Clarke, Eddie Newman (1st in his category), Gerard Gavin, Evan McCormack, Steven Underwood, Ollie Geoghegan, James Cribbin, Tom McGrath, Darren Carroll, Jason McKevitt, Mark Geoghegan, Liam McGlynn, Paul Ginnell, Brendan Rice, Aidan O’Donoghue and Martin Mullen. The o/35 team placed 4th Club, very unlucky to miss team bronze by just six points, and a very creditable 6th County, but no trouble for the o/50 team of Eddie, Gerard and James, with great support from Tom, Mark, Liam, Paul, Aidan and Martin, who finished 1st Club by a distance and also took team bronze medals for 3rd County.

We knew we had a very strong team in the Novice Women 3,000m race and were quietly confident of team success. Always in touch with the leading group throughout, the two lap race seemed to fly by very quickly and Niamh McEntegart stormed to an terrific 5th place finish, with Susan Glennon on her heels in 6th. Attention then turned to Jacintha Reilly and Aisling Farrell to complete the team. Cheered excitedly to the finish, Jacintha finished very strong and with Aisling providing the vital fourth score, the team finished 2nd Club, an agonising one point behind the gold medal winners. The Mullingar team also finished 2nd County to add to the Mullingar medal haul.

The final race of the afternoon was the Novice Men 6,000m where Mullingar was always to the fore throughout the four lap race. The lead group gradually reduced to six men, four of them from Mullingar. Matthew Glennon timed his final push to perfection, pulling clear in the final sprint to win the Novice title, but pushed all the way by James Keegan in 2nd place. Seeing Ian McCormack finish 4th and John Whitelaw 6th, it was no surprise that the Mullingar men finished 1st Club by a huge margin. With great team support and packing from Stephen Campbell, Kedagh Geoghegan and Robert Yorke, the men finished 2nd County, only four points away from gold, nicely capping off the very considerable medal haul for Mullingar, and leaving everyone in high spirits for the journey home [GD].

APRIL

National Road Relays

Absent since 2017, Mullingar Harriers was delighted to have a men team competing at the National Road Relays on Sunday afternoon 28th April in Raheny. The standard of competition in this event is of the highest level and attracts the very best athletes from clubs across Ireland, so the Mullingar men can be very happy with their 11th place finish out of 32 teams.

Ray Hynes led the team out on the first leg and mixed it with the best on the road circuit to finish the 2 mile leg in 9:48. Ray then handed over to John Whitelaw who ran a solid mile (4:48) and can be happy with his effort. Vinny Connolly took over and ran a very good 3 mile leg, though it was difficult at times as he was running on his own, but he attacked the end of section and was delighted to finish in 14:53, catching two people on the run in, which gave Kevin Moore something to fight for on the final leg, 2 miles. Kevin is only getting back to full fitness and was delighted to get another race under his belt, bringing the team home in 10:12, to earn them a very creditable 11th place. All in all the men were delighted and it was great to see them flying the flag for Mullingar in a quality National event [IMcC].

Wahiawa Pineapple 10k (Hawaii)

Congratulations to Kris Foster who took on the Wahiawa Pineapple 10k race in Honolulu on Saturday 27th April while on his honeymoon in Hawaii. All finishers received a fresh pineapple with the overall winner taking home an exclusive golden pineapple. The race set off just before 7am to avoid high temperatures. Almost 800 runners made their way around the hilly but scenic route, surrounded by fields of pineapples along the way. Given the wet and humid conditions, Kris was delighted to finish 3rd overall in a time of 36 minutes 54 seconds [KF].

Connemara Ultramarathon

UNREPORTED

Sunday 21st April

Brendan Rice 132nd of 176 finishers in 7:47:36 [39.3 miles]

Clara 5k

The third event in the Offaly 5k series took place in Clara on Sunday morning 21st April. With sun drenched conditions, the well organised race saw all access roads to the town closed off for the duration. Well, marshalled and with a few rolling hills to keep all 340 runners on their toes, it was an enjoyable run around the town and its surroundings. Mullingar Harriers  had 12 runners who completed the race.

For our women it was a rewarding outing. Finishing 2nd team with Ann Hall (3rd woman overall in an excellent 18:55), Aisling Corcoran (19:57), Mary Stuart (20:22), winning her category, as she had done only 24 hours earlier in Longford over 10k, and Orlaith Flanagan (21:47) made up the scoring four.

Eddie Newman had led the Mullingar group home in 17:41, winning his master category, and Declan Claffey (19:49), Gemma Kelly (22:32), Caroline Mullen (22:38), Brigid McCabe (23:17), Martin Mullen (24:09), Nuala Moran (24:31) and Kelly Dunne (24:51) also competed, and all were delighted with the fine spread of refreshments at the end of the race, well needed after competing in the heat of the day [MO’S].

Maynooth 5k

UNREPORTED

Sunday 21st April

Michelle O’Halloran – 65th of 415 finishers in 23:32, winning her master category by nearly 3 minutes

Royal Canal Run Longford

Saturday 20th April saw a series of races along the greenway at Longford. An ultra marathon, marathon, half marathon and a 10k were hosted over varying loops near the town of Longford. A light breeze had a welcome cooling effect for the runners in the different events.

Three Mullingar Harriers made the short trip. Dara O’Shea was delighted to record a personal best in the Half Marathon and also broke the 1:30 mark, coming home in 1:29:42, an excellent 14th overall of more than 200 finishers. In the 10k event, which was very well supported with over 350 finishers,  training partners Mary Stuart and Joan Hickson competed, Mary winning her category with a very fine 42:10, and Joan finishing 4th in her master category with 46:23, just missing a prize by only three seconds [MO’S].

Roscommon Harriers 5k Series – Rounds 3 & 4

UNREPORTED

Round 3 – Friday 19th April

Colm Garvey – 46th of 129 finishers in 24:43

Round 4 – Friday 26th April

Maura Dervin – 25th of 163 finishers in 20:34, second in her master category

Mullingar Harriers Juvenile Spring T&F Meeting

The second edition of the Mullingar Harriers Juvenile Spring T&F Meeting took place on Sunday 14th April and gave our younger members aged 8 to 15 years an opportunity to compete in a sprint, middle distance, long jump, standing jump, shot put and javelin, covering the essential run-jump-throw skills needed by developing athletes. The younger 8, 9 and 10 year olds finished off with a novel obstacle relay, which was a very entertaining spectacle and a huge hit with them all. We also had an u/16 girls mile and u/16 boys mile, with trophies to be won, which should give our younger members something to aspire to competing for in the years ahead.

Nearly 120 youngsters aged 8 to 15 competed. From the 6pm groups alone, nearly two thirds of them took part, well up on last year, which is a positive improvement. With nearly 60 events on the programme, it was a big undertaking but we were delighted that a big team of coaches and parents assisted on the day to make it all happen. Medals won or not, the juvenile members had fun and will have learned a lot about T&F competitions, which we hope will encourage them to compete over the coming season. Sincere thanks to those that brought buns, cakes and other goodies and of course those that manned the tables to distribute tea, coffee, hot chocolate and goodies, and apart from satisfying the hunger of parents, the athletes were delighted to be able to take some snacks and refuel in between their events [GD].

Great Ireland Run

The Great Ireland Run took place in cold dry and windy conditions on Sunday morning 14th April in the Phoenix Park. For the first time in many years, the event didn’t include the National 10k, but that didn’t detract from the big entry of quality athletes that competed, with just over 2,000 completing the race. Clare Fagan went out hard from the gun and stayed up close to the front with the men. After an excellent run she finished 1st woman, eighth place overall in 34 minutes 44 seconds, and had more than three and a half minutes to spare over the second placed woman. Joan Hickson also competed and was very happy to finish in 47:38, recording a fine 5th place finish in her master category [MO’S].

Seefin Challenge

As a result of their top finishes at the All-Ireland Schools Cross Country in March, Grace Byrne and Louise Callaghan received an invite from the Irish Mountain Running Association to participate in the “Seefin Challenge” on Sunday morning 14th April, which was used as the trials for the European Off Road Trail Running Championships to be held in France in June. Seefin Mountain is in south east Limerick, near the Cork border and the Seefin Challenge takes the runners on a 7.5k loop up and down the mountain, with a total uphill climb of 370m, so it was definitely not for the faint-hearted!

Before that, Louise competed in the shorter “Seefin Uphill Race” on Friday morning, which was a 4k uphill race with a 370m climb to the top. Louise finished an excellent eighth overall, fifth u/20 athlete. On Sunday morning, Louise joined Grace for the 7.5k Seefin Challenge. It was a very tough race but both girls gave excellent accounts, Grace finishing 7th overall, 4th u/20, and Louise was 11th overall, 7th u/20 (with results to be confirmed). Both girls found it tough but enjoyable and have gained huge experience [AD/GD].

Westport Half Marathon

Two Mullingar Harriers made the long journey west on Saturday morning 13th April to take part in the Westport Half Marathon. There were plenty of rolling hills and a strong swirling wind to add to the challenge for the nearly 1,200 finishers. Andrew Nevin kept right in the mix with the chasing pack on the early two leaders and was delighted to drive on and finish third in a close finish in 1 hour 12 minutes 53 seconds, an excellent result given the tough course and tough conditions. Kieran Dodrill was competing under the Mullingar Harriers name for the first time and was very happy with his overall race and finished strongly in 1:38:33 [MO’S].

Clongowes Run

The Clongowes Run took part in the College grounds on Saturday morning 13th April, which was a fundraiser for Crumlin Children’s Hospital. Running over a variety of surfaces including tarmac, forest track and grass, keeping right up with the leading group ahead of nearly 180 runners in the 5k run was a number of Mullingar athletes, led home by Philip McCartan in third place in 18 minutes 32 seconds, ahead of Luke Greene fourth (18:38), Luke O’Leary fifth (19:35) and Padraig Beglin seventh (20:54). Also competing was Michael O’Leary, placing second in his master category, and Nuala Moran and Terri Greene. The longer 10k run attracted nearly 60 runners and Olivia Cooney was very pleased to finish well up in 53:02, second place in her master category [GD].

Roscommon Harriers 5k Series – Rounds 1 & 2

Taking part on the four Friday evenings in April, the Roscommon Harriers 5k Series started on Friday 5th April, fortunately just getting ahead of Storm Kathleen, which hit the next day. Among the more than 130 finishers for Round 1 was Colm Garvey, finishing well up in 22 minutes 49 seconds. Round 2 on Friday 12th April saw numbers taking park increase to over 150, with Colm again having a strong run, improving his time by over a half a minute to 22 minutes 17 seconds [GD].

National Juvenile Indoors – Days 2 & 3

The indoor season concluded on Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th April at Days 2 and 3 of the National Juvenile Indoors in Athlone. First into action early on Saturday morning was Kyle Faherty in the u/18 boys 400m heats where he ran a solid race in the first of three extremely competitive heats to finish third, unfortunate to narrowly miss a place in the final.

We had two middle distance athletes in action. Aimee Wallace was the pre-race favourite in the u/19 girls 1,500m, as she is the fastest Irish u/20 athlete this season. From the outset, Aimee took control of the race and produced a dominant display, leading from start to finish. Her winning time of 4 minutes 36.8 seconds was a new Championship Record, breaking the previous best time by a large margin of four seconds. Previous winners of this race include the current Irish champions over 1500m (Carla Sweeney) and 800m (Louise Shanahan, an Olympian and a European finalist, highlighting the quality of Aimee’s performance. Philip McCartan was in the first heat of u/19 boys 1,500m and ran a strong race to finish sixth in 4:27.7. Philip is an athlete returning to this level of competition  and can look forward to further improvement as the season progresses.

Mullingar has a very proud record in race walking, so there was little surprise when Daniel Glennon cruised to victory in the u/16 boys 1,500m Walk, well clear of second place, while his older brother John Glennon placed third in the u/18 boys 1,500m Walk after a very competitive and close race.

Sunday belonged to our 800m athletes. Lily Walsh kept close to the lead girls in her heat of the u/14 girls 800m and put in a long sprint finish to pass the top 3 and win in a photo finish to claim a place in the final in a new personal best of 2 minutes 22.20 seconds. The pace was quicker again in the final, and with the lead trio pulling ahead, Lily battled hard in the chasing pack. Coming into the last lap she got spiked by the girl behind her but still put in a strong sprint to cross the line in another photo finish for fourth, fifth and sixth, all finishing in 2:22, but Lily was judged sixth by mere hundredths of a second, disappointed to be out of the medals but happy with a great day of racing.

Cillian Galvin took command in his heat of the u/14 boys 800m and led from gun to the tape winning in a personal best of 2 minutes 14.39 seconds. The final was a step up in competitiveness, and although taking charge of the race after a fast start he was pushed all the way through the first 3 laps. Passed on the back straight of the final lap, Cillian chased the new race leader, finishing a close second to win a National silver medal and pick up another personal best of 2 minutes 11.21 seconds.

Having broken the 2 minute barrier in the Leinster Indoors in March, Conor Liston was full of confidence ahead of the u/18 boys 800m but such is the cruelty of sport, Conor just couldn’t settle into his usual free running style and despite every effort finished out of the automatic qualifying places in his extremely competitive heat, narrowly missing a place in the final [JR/CW/GD].

Athy Half Marathon

Even though Storm Kathleen had hit Ireland the day before and the worst of the winds were passed, the winds were still very strong on Sunday 7th April in Athy and made conditions extremely tough for the 260 runners that toed the line for the Athy Half Marathon. Ian McCormack was the sole representative from Mullingar Harriers but despite the conditions, which he described as the worst he has ever experienced, he still turned in a great performance to finish third in an excellent time of 1 hour 14 minutes 37 seconds. This performance will give him huge confidence ahead of his next race [MO’S].

Banagher 5k

On Sunday morning 7th April, Banagher AC hosted the second race in this year’s Offaly series, the Banagher 5k. The picturesque village on the Shannon looked resplendent on a dry sunny but windy morning. Expertly marshalled with full road closures around the village and local roads, 453 runners took part on a course that had some nice little climbs to balance downhill running along the main street. Always in contention in a lead group of four runners was Kevin Moore. The final 500m coming out of Shannon Harbour Business Park, home to many of the boats and cruisers on the Shannon, was a great battle to the finish, with Kevin crossing the line in 4th place in 15 minutes 51 seconds. Eddie Newman was next home for Mullingar, and won his master category with an excellent 17:46. Training partners Glenda Shaw and Ann Hall put in huge performances, with Glenda first scorer on the women’s team with an excellent 18:56 followed closely home by Ann in 19:04. Siobhan Farry (23:08) and Nuala Moran (24:44) completed the team and Mullingar women team finished 1st non-Offaly Club and was just 30 points off 3rd team overall on the day, so with six races to go in the series, Mullingar has a real chance of making the top 3 team places in 2024. Also flying the flag for Mullingar was Michael O’Sullivan (24:34), Kelly Dunne (25:11) and Claire Lennon (26:34) [MO’S].

National 20k Race Walk

In line with the elite trend of combining National Championships with major International events in order to raise the overall competitive standards, this year’s National 20k race Walk Championships was held in conjunction with the World Tour Gold event held in Podebrady, Czech Republic on Saturday 6th April. The best of the current crop of Irish Senior racewalkers toed the line with the elite of 37 countries from five continents in unusually warm conditions for this venue. This heat took its toll with almost a third of the field failing to finish, an incredible drop-out rate. With two recent Irish Olympians entered, on paper, Oisin Lane would have been considered a reasonable prospect for a bronze medal in the Irish Championships, but needing to be on top form to achieve this. Walking to his own plan, Oisin set about his task with focus and soon moved into the silver medal position but with 3 other Irish athletes all in close contention. While the heat began to curtail his pacing around 8k he still reached 10k in 41 minutes 50 seconds and chasing the leading Irish walker. By 12k he moved into first place but had to hold off strong challenges all the way to the finish line, which he reached in 84 minutes 12 seconds, a new personal best by a mere one second. While Oisin indeed had hoped for a faster finishing time, his overall position was 27th, which was satisfying for an athlete who was one of the youngest in this global event.

Also representing the Club in the Championships was young Matthew Glennon who likewise made the long journey to the Czech Republic. He was initially moving at a pace well inside his personal best but as the heat affected his form, it also had an adverse impact on his technique. With the World level judges present showing no mercy, he had to endure the hardship of being one of those to face the red disc and disqualification. However, with youth on his side, especially as he is still eligible for European u/23 Championships next year, he has the time to build for the unique challenges of the global stage [ML].

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

The “Battle of Clontarf” 10 mile took place on Easter Monday (1st April) in St. Anne’s Park, Raheny. This race incorporated the Athletics Leinster 10 Mile Championship, adding a very competitive atmosphere on the day. With the host club Raheny Shamrock AC ensuring the open park was well manned with stewards around the course, it was a very enjoyable event for athletes and onlookers alike. The weather was ideal for racing, remaining cool for the morning and a little drizzle even appeared to keep the athletes refreshed.

The course has some tricky parts, with twists and turns aplenty, but our Mullingar athletes were unfazed and all turned in stellar performances. Nine athletes from Mullingar made their way alongside 350 other competitors through the course. Gerard Gavin, back to the racing scene, led Mullingar home in 62 minutes 41 seconds, placing him 3rd in his master category. Patrick Muldoon was next to finish (67:16) and James Cribbin (77:07) provided the third score for the men’s team, placing them 3rd master men Club.

Mullingar had six women in action and were targeting team honours. With great determination Mary Stuart led the Mullingar women home in 68 minutes 46 seconds to win her master category and with great support and team packing from Aisling Corcoran (69:28) 1st in her master category, Gemma Kelly (76:33), Emer O’ Hanlon (77:03), Linda Cunningham (78:21) and Kelly Dunne making her 10 mile debut to finish in 89:10, the master women team of Mary, Aisling and Gemma finished 1st Club, and when the scores from all six members of the team were combined they finished a magnificent 3rd Senior women County team, so they all earned Leinster medals for their efforts. Congratulations to all our athletes on their performances, returning home with 15 Championship medals between them, in what was an excellent Leinster Championship race [LC].

Moynalty 4 Mile

The annual Easter Monday (1st Apr) Moynalty 4 Mile road race was held this year in dry but windy conditions. Starting in the grounds of Moynalty Threshing field, the race is a 4 mile loop along the quiet country scenic roads that surround Moynalty before returning to the Threshing Field for the finish. As in the Mullingar Half Marathon, Andrew Nevin was the only athlete in the field of 300 runners to give chase to Peter Somba. The Kenyan native again proved too strong for the Mullingar man along some testing hills on the looped course, coming home first 33 seconds ahead of Andrew who was satisfied with his performance and a time of 21 minutes 15 seconds. Also making the trip to the Royal County on the day from Mullingar Harriers we had Enda O’Carolan finishing strongly in seventh place with a time of 23:37 and Padraig Beglin who is just back training after an extended lay off was satisfied with his run, finishing in 26:16 [MO’S].