Week ending Saturday 13th June
Fortune and misfortune at Leinster Juvenile Relays
The Leinster Juvenile Inter-Club Relays took place in SETU Carlow last Saturday and it was great to have three teams travel down to represent Mullingar Harriers at the event. The heavy rain didn’t deter our young Mullingar athletes and they all enjoyed this opportunity to practice their relay skills, though it was certainly as day of mixed fortunes, with disappointment in the morning and celebration in the afternoon.
We had two teams in the u/11 girls 4x100m relay heats in the morning session. The first team to compete was Cara Hickey, Meabh Doyle, Fodhla Hughes and Mia Barry. The girls put in a fantastic performance and despite finishing second in their heat unfortunately they were disqualified for passing the baton outside the zone on one of the changes, which is always a risk in relay racing. Our second team was Cliodhna Fitzpatrick, Sophie Whitelaw, Hannah-Mae Ledwith and Aoibheann Dixon. The girls worked very well together as a team and put in a great performance for their first relay event but didn’t advance from the very competitive heats.
In the afternoon session, we had a very strong team in the u/10 girls 4x100m relay with Tara Coyne, Laila Morgan, Alana Spain and Eibhlinn Reihill. The team ran a very strong race to win their heat comfortably and qualify for the final where they ran even faster to claim second place in a thrilling and very close race and bring the Leinster silver medals home to Mullingar.
This was a great achievement for a young team who now qualify for the National finals in Tullamore in two weeks and they can hopefully keep working together to achieve more success [SW/GD].
Leinster Combined Events
Well done to Chloe Bell who made her debut in the pentathlon at the Leinster Combined Events in SETU Carlow last Sunday, finishing an excellent sixth in the u/15 girls pentathlon. Taking on five events in one day, Chloe had wins in the long jump and 800m, helping her secure a large points tally of 2,145. She also competed in the high jump, shot put and 80m hurdles.
The day didn’t start well at all when Chloe fell in the first event, the hurdles, but ever the competitor, Chloe reset and in the high jump and shot put she gained valuable points, but the win in the long jump was a big points boost going into the 800m where her win improved her points total significantly to see her finish sixth overall, only 43 points away from a medal which is just over a half a second in the hurdles, showing how costly the fall was but how good Chloe could be in the event.
Chloe only turned her attention to the multi-events in the last few weeks and in fact only the day before the competition was her first serious session over the hurdles, so definitely plenty of improvement to come. A brilliant result, and possibly a new calling for Chloe in the world of Athletics?
Also competing in Carlow and making his debut in the combined events too was Paddy Boyhan in the master men pentathlon where he competed in long jump, javelin, 200m, discus and finished with the 1,500m to win gold, so well done Paddy too [CW/GD].
Irish Milers Club
The Irish Milers Meeting in Irishtown Stadium in Dublin last Saturday was held in far from ideal wet and windy conditions but the three Mullingar Harriers in action didn’t let that faze them.
Running in the 400m A race, Patrick Leydon stormed to fourth place in 48.62 seconds, a new personal best. Eoin Quinn ran his first race of the season when he toed the line for the 800m A race and was happy to finish fifth in 1:51.32, a good season-opener for him. Conor Sherwin had been hoping to better his performance from Belfast two weeks before but the conditions weren’t conducive for fast running in the 1,500m B race but still finished strong in second place in 4:00.14, good running in the conditions [AS/GD].
Bohermeen 5k
The 40th annual Patrick Bell & Nicky Philips Memorial Bohermeen 5k took place in wet and windy conditions around the local roads of Bohermeen near Navan last Saturday morning. 460 took part on a course that was described as consisting of several rolling hills with a number of long flat stretches. A head wind and some driving rain showers tested the runners that included six from Mullingar Harriers. Vinny Connolly was always in contention at the front of the race before having to settle for third place in a furious race to the line over the last 600m, recording a time of 15:29. Paul O’Reilly was next in from Mullingar with a time of 17:00, followed by Joe Doherty running 18:48, then John Long in 20:16, followed closely by Orla Gillespie in 20:29, which earned her third place in her master category. The Mullingar group was completed by Niamh Doherty who came home in 21:40. After the race, the runners were treated to a plenty of refreshments and expressed their satisfaction with a well organised event by Bohermeen AC [MO’S].
Portumna Ultra & Half Marathon
Despite taking place in a forest, there was no escaping the weather last Saturday in Portumna Forest in Co. Galway where runners had a choice of 10k, half marathon, marathon or 50k ultramarathon. Whatever the distance, it was a very difficult course with lots of tight U-turns at cones but that didn’t prevent Mark Darby winning the half marathon in 1:20:49, pulling clear in the closing stages to win by just over 30 seconds, leaving nearly 200 others in his wake. Among the 85 that chose the 50k ultramarathon was Susan Glennon who dug deep to finish an excellent fourth overall in 3:41:30, the first woman to finish. Very well done to Mark and Susan [GD].
Ballyskenach 5k
Ballyskenach AC hosted the Ballyskenach 5k, the latest in the Healthy Offaly 5k series two weeks ago, on Friday evening 29 May. In warm humid conditions, 370 competed on a circular course that brought them through the grounds of the Cistercian College in Roscrea, and along a mainly country road network with a combination of flat stretches and a number of steep climbs. Two Mullingar Harriers took part, with Kevin Moore who was always in contention with the lead group finishing fourth in 16:03, and Eddie Lynch finishing in 18:23 and continuing his successful performances in the Offaly series by again winning his master category [MO’S].
Moylagh JFK 50 Mile Challenge
A large group of ultra runners and walkers tackled the annual Moylagh 50 Mile Challenge last Saturday morning in very difficult wet and windy weather conditions around roads that covered parts of Westmeath, Meath and Cavan.
The JFK 50 Mile was first held in the spring of 1963. It was held as part of President John F. Kennedy’s push to bring the USA back to physical fitness. The event has become a global one and in Moylagh it has embraced the work of Cancer Services in Ireland, raising funds from the sponsorship obtained by participants in the event.
Two members of the club took on the challenge and walked the entire distance in a very creditable time of 13 hours and 54 minutes. Well done to Ger Langtry and Joanna Tyrrell on their endeavours. Both expressed their delight at the support and encouragement received along the way, including from some club members who travelled up from Mullingar [MO’S].
Leinster Juvenile T&F
This coming week-end is the big one for our underage athletes with the Leinster Juvenile T&F taking place in Tullamore. We have athletes entered across a wide range of events over the two days hoping to win Regional honours and qualify for the National finals. We wish them all the very best of luck.
June Committee Meeting – new date
The June meeting of the committee has been postponed to Tuesday 16 June in the Clubhouse at 8.15pm after training. There’s a full agenda and a full attendance is requested.
Check the Club’s website at www.mullingarharriers.com or its Facebook page for all the latest news.
PRO
