Week ending Saturday 15th January
Big 1,500m personal best for Colin D Smith
The 2022 Indoor season commenced last Sunday at the National Indoor Arena in Abbotstown, Dublin with the first round of the AAI National Indoor League, which included a number of guest events for athletes of Clubs that didn’t enter teams. Colin D Smith and Colin P Smith both competed in the high quality open 1,500m A race, which featured three athletes who represented Ireland at last season’s European under 23 Track Championships.
Colin D Smith finished an excellent third place in a time of 3 minutes 48.95 seconds, which was an improvement of nine seconds on his previous best. This is a huge progression from Colin and firmly establishes him now as one of the leading under 23 middle distance runners in Ireland. Over the coming weeks Colin will return to race 800m, which has always been his preferred event and we hope to see further improvement there also.
Colin P Smith was one of the youngest athletes in the field and he opened his season with a fifth place finish in a time of 4 minutes 01.73 seconds. He will also benefit greatly from the experience and can look forward to the remainder of the indoor season with confidence.
Master athlete Aidan O’Donoghue used the open long jump to get in some early season competition ahead of the National Masters Indoors at the end of January and was very happy to improve on his personal best for the event.
Fit 4 Life
A new Fit 4 Life programme commences at Mullingar Harriers next Monday (17th January) at 7pm. This will be a structured 10 week programme giving people an opportunity to be instructed by qualified coaches and build up their running capabilities. The objective is to have everyone up to a level of fitness to complete a 5k timed run on our new all-weather track at the end of the 10 week programme. The registration fee is €40 and can be paid on registration night next Monday at the Mullingar Harriers grounds in Grange.
The final night of the current Fit 4 Life programme took place last Monday night and it was really encouraging to see all 56 who had commenced the programme back at the end of October, completing the full 5k distance on the track. Some very good times were returned and we hope to see some of those who have been involved progress to full club membership with our senior / masters group.
Leinster Cross Country
This Saturday, the first Leinster cross country fixture of the New Year takes place in Dunboyne. Co. Meath. Competition is for Intermediate and Masters men and women and cross country relays for boys and girls. Mullingar has entered men and women master teams, men and women individual Intermediate athletes, and a number of relay teams too, and we wish everyone tsking part the very best of luck.
Notice of Annual General Meeting
The Club’s Annual General Meeting is normally held in late January but obviously with the current Covid restrictions, indoor gatherings are not allowed, and it doesn’t look like the restrictions on indoor gatherings will be relaxed any time soon. Therefore, like last year, this year the AGM will be a “virtual” event and it will take place on Friday 28th January. Details of how to register, submit motions etc will be announced on the Club’s website, Facebook pages and WhatsApp groups in the coming weeks.
Membership for 2022
Members are asked to please renew their membership as soon as they can. If you’re not registered, you’re not insured and can’t train at the Club or take part in competition. Membership can be paid online though the Club’s website. Rates are unchanged from last year.
A new requirement this year is that our underage members must compete for the Club in at least one event during the year, or they may be refused membership in 2023. There are several relatively low key events throughout the year to choose from, including the Midland Inter County T&F in May, the Westmeath T&F, the Westmeath Cross Country, as well as the more challenging Leinster competitions.
Check the Club’s website at www.mullingarharriers.com or its Facebook page for all the latest news.
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