Week ending Saturday 13th March
Joe Ryan provides a link from Mullingar to the European Indoors
It was terrific to be able to enjoy the recent European Indoors in Toruń, Poland and congratulations to all the Irish athletes who gave great accounts across a wide range of events against some top class opposition. As a measure of the quality of the competition that the Irish athletes were exposed to, many of the European athletes will feature among the medal places at the postponed Tokyo Olympics later in the year. We must give a particular mention to Cian McPhillips (Longford AC) and John Fitzsimons (Kildare AC), two young men who competed with distinction in the 800m, John just missing a place in the semi-finals but Cian advancing and securing a brilliant fourth place finish in his semi-final. They are coached by our own Joe Ryan and have been a regular presence at Club training sessions over the past number of years and everyone who has watched them training alongside our own Mullingar athletes would have known they were very special and their performances in Poland came about after a lot of hard work and dedication to the sport, a valuable lesson that we’re sure all Mullingar members will appreciate. Congratulations to Joe for steering them to success, and we know there is a lot more to come.
Fundraiser for New All-Weather Track
Please remember to enter the Mullingar Harriers St. Patrick’s Day Virtual 10k and support the fundraising efforts to help deliver the new all-weather athletics track at the Club grounds, which is getting very close now and we expect to sign a contract very soon. We’re asking all members and friends of the Club to get behind and support the 10k. You can walk, jog or run 10k anywhere you wish within a 5k radius of home, but even if you don’t complete the race, you’re entry fee is still appreciated and welcome. To register, simply log on to the My Run Results website where you can purchase a tee shirt or a commemorative medal if you want to add it to your race entry. Every euro raised will add to the delivery of the long-awaited track.
We really had no idea what was coming
The first case of Coronavirus in Ireland was confirmed in late February 2020 but who knew this time last year that the All-Ireland Schools Cross Country Finals, the Irish Universities Cross Country and the AAI National Masters Indoors would be the final competition for so many Club members for over a year? That said, if they had to the last events it’s well they included some excellent performances and results.
At the All-Ireland Schools Cross Country in Santry Park, Dublin, the Club had eight athletes among two teams from two schools in the Minor Girls race. The Mercy Kilbeggan team included Club members Adele Geoghegan, Leah Geoghegan, Morgan Corcoran and Ellen Daly, and were joined by Emma Murphy and Emma O’Brien completing the team. Loreto Mullingar had Club members Grace Byrne, Jessica Cunningham, Síofra O’Halloran and Muireann Donohue. The race unfolded with Grace Byrne leading the charge, as she came home in a very strong third place finish for a place on the podium. The strong team running by each athlete resulted in history being made by Mercy Kilbeggan, as this was their first team to get to an All-Ireland Cross Country. To top off the day, the school won first team with Loreto Mullingar claiming the second team place.
The Junior Boys race had five boys from the Club representing Coláiste Mhuire Mullingar with Ross Killalea, Adam Brady, John Ryan, Daire McDonald and Callum Costello, joined by school mates Ben McGrath, Daire Hanna and Daniel Sweeney making up the team. Strong team running resulted in a fourth team place for Coláiste Mhuire, just outside the medals.
The Intermediate Girls race had eight from the Club. The Loreto Mullingar team was Phoebe Bate, Meabh Killalea, Aoife McGouran, Caoimhe Donohue, Lucy Donnelly and Shauna Traynor, Mercy Kilbeggan had Amy Geoghegan and Athlone CC had Bea Drummond. The race was very competitive from start to finish. Amy Geoghegan finished twelfth and had a huge race but just missed a spot on the International team, and while disappointed, was happy with her run. The Loreto Mullingar girls finished second team, thanks to Phoebe Bate leading them home in sixteenth place, Meabh Killalea storming home in twenty first, supported by Caoimhe Donohue, Lucy Donnelly, Shauna Traynor and Aoife McGouran also pushing through for the team. Bea Drummond for Athlone CC also had to dig deep and pushed through to finish in a very fast race.
The final race of the day was the Intermediate Boys, where Diarmuid Fagan was running solo for Coláiste Mhuire. Diarmuid stuck to his race plan from the start, putting himself in contention to gain a place at the Schools International Cross Country in Falkirk, Scotland. As the race unfolded, Diarmuid’s strong running throughout the race resulted in an eleventh place finish, but with four ahead of him over age, he secured a place on the Irish team but of course unfortunately the International was subsequently cancelled due to Covid-19.
University College Cork hosted the Irish Universities Cross Country where Mullingar Harriers were well represented in both races. Claire Fagan (DCU) ran an excellent race to finish second in the women race and led her team to second place. Next Club finisher was Andrea Brady in the colours of Athlone IT, closely followed by Aoife Darby for DCU. On the men side, Cormac Dalton ran a very strong and controlled race to finish sixth for DCU. His teammate, Euan Lagan also had his strongest cross country race to date and both can take great satisfaction in being part of the winning team.
The trip to the Athlone IT Indoor Arena was short but the journey to the AAI National Masters Indoors was long with many months of preparation for the Harriers who competed. Colm Walsh was the first Mullingar athlete across the finish line in the 3,000m race walk, winning his category and his first National title. Showing no sign of having raced the National Senior 20k Race Walk the day before where he finished fifth overall, Sean McMullin toed the line for the race walk in Athlone with plenty of expectations, and duly delivered, winning his category and adding to his vast collection of National titles.
Gerard Gavin was fully focussed for the 3,000m event and, keeping an eye closely on how the race unfolded, timed his finish perfectly moving in to third place with three laps to go and pushing on to take home a National bronze medal and complete the medal haul for Mullingar.
Check the Club’s website at www.mullingarharriers.com or its Facebook page for all the latest news.
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