Week ending Saturday 14th November

No prospect of a reduction in timeline for level 5 restrictions

It became apparent last week that despite good reductions in the number of daily cases and improvement in the all-important R-number, there is no prospect of a reduction in the six weeks timeline for the current level 5 restrictions, so we won’t know until later this month what level we drop back to in early December. We know that anything above level 2 means there will be no athletics competitions, but banking on level 2 would be very optimistic indeed and the fear is that relaxations in early December might see numbers increasing again and the prospect of a return to tighter restrictions, so no competition until the New Year remains very likely. In the meantime, we need to continue to train as best as we can in order to be ready for when competition returns.

Last Friday, Athletics Ireland published frequently asked questions about level 5, so there is no doubt what is and what isn’t allowed. Adults may not train collectively in groups and only individual training for adults is allowed; elite athletes, of which there are a number in the Club and some that train at the Club, and school going children and young people aged 18 years or below can attend Club training; Club training is restricted to outdoors only, socially distanced and following good hygiene etiquette, in pods of 15 including the coaches and multiple pods can train where space allows for social distancing; travel beyond 5k is allowed for athletes and coaches to attend training, even if that means crossing County boundaries; indoor facilities remain closed under level 5; we must continue to pre-book every session, which includes a health questionnaire, before every training session; we must record the attendance of everyone at training; and finally, we must continue to sanitise all equipment such as cones and mini hurdles before and after use.

What was in the news this time last year?

Normally we’d have the second day of the Leinster cross country behind us by now and be looking forward with anticipation to the first of the National finals at the end of this month but of course, nothing is normal this year since March. This time last year, Claire Fagan continued her excellent run of form with a fine second place finish in the Leinster senior cross country. Claire was one of four of a dominant Mullingar women team to finish in the top twelve, along with Aine O’Reilly (seventh), Sinead Whitelaw (tenth), Elizabeth Carr (twelfth), and with terrific support from Michelle Bohan, Jennifer Algar, Anna Broderick and Amy Mahony the team finished first Club by a distance to end a nearly 25 year drought since a Mullingar women team had last won the Leinster Club title.

The only Leinster cross country team title never won by Mullingar is the senior men, and our senior men team of Padraig Moran (fourth), Andrew Nevin (twelfth), James Keegan, Gerard Gavin, Patrick Muldoon and Eoin Lynch came very close but fell short by only a few points to finish second Club, the closest that Mullingar has ever come to winning the senior men Club title.

Of course, the Mullingar underage teams were in dominant form too, winning medals in every underage race from u/11 to u/19 that we had teams in, a total of nine sets of Club team medals from ten underage races. Our star individual of the day was Diarmuid Fagan who was the runaway winner of the u/15 race and another sixteen Mullingar athletes won individual medals by finishing in the top twelve places to consolidate Mullingar as the premier juvenile cross country Club in Leinster by a distance.

Also in the news this time last year were our master athletes Eileen Kenny, Brigid McCabe, Aine O’Reilly and Gerard Gavin as they looked forward to heading to Aintree, Liverpool to represent Ireland at the British and Irish Masters International Cross Country. Eileen, Brigid and Aine had represented Ireland before, but this was to be Gerard’s International debut, a tremendous honour for him, his family and the Club.

For the latest news, results and details of fixtures check the Club’s Facebook page or the website at www.mullingarharriers.com.

PRO