Week ending Saturday 16th July
Tortuous journey to Jerusalem for Euro Under 18 T&F
Getting to the start line in Jerusalem for the European Under 18 T&F Championships proved a real Crusade for the Irish team. Their flight from Dublin was delayed, resulting in the team being diverted from Switzerland to Turkey, and they eventually arrived into Tel Aviv more than a day late with precious preparation time lost, along with all of their luggage. The lost luggage included all the valuable materials needed to deal with and counteract the intense arid heat of the Middle East, a far from ideal start for the team.
First in action was Diarmuid Fagan in the 1,500m heats last Monday evening in very warm conditions. With only four from each of the two heats qualifying automatically to the final, along with the next four fastest non-automatic qualifiers, securing a place in the final was very tough, but running in the second heat Diarmuid knew what had to be done. Keeping in the top four places to the halfway mark, Diarmuid was full of running. As the pace surged, Diarmuid drifted back to sixth by the bell but was still running strongly. However, despite giving himself every chance, it wasn’t to be and he finished in eighth place, an excellent finish in his first Major Championship, only two places off qualification and he can be very proud of his performance at this level.
With an early start on Thursday morning, Andrew Glennon bravely faced the starters gun for the 10k race walk as the thermometer crept upwards. Andrew stayed on pace until after the halfway mark and then with determined focus kept fighting to finish an excellent fourteenth place overall. An example of the heat intensity is that his Irish team mate collapsed on the track with heat exhaustion before the 3km mark.
Not long after Andrew finished, Aisling Lane took on the challenge of dealing with the red track and a thermometer edging further and further into the red for the 5k race walk. Under the circumstances Aisling had the prudence to revise her race plans and put the focus on primarily getting to the finish line. With the necessity of moving out to lane 6 on every single lap to take on the limited supply of water provided, Aisling kept to her task and achieved her goal of finishing a major underage championship, even managing to beat other athletes more used to such hot conditions. Afterwards, a cold shower and cool ice-cream were soon relished with religious pleasure! Well done Andrew and Aisling.
Medals and personal bests at National Juvenile T&F
After some very mixed weather in June and into early July, the weather improved just in time for days 2 and 3 of the AAI National Juvenile T&F last weekend. It was cloudy but very warm on Saturday, where the focus for Mullingar was on the race walks and the 3,000m events and on Sunday it was clear blue skies for the 200m and the 1,500m events. In all, Mullingar athletes won two gold, one silver and four bronze medals, had two fourth place finishes and ran six personal best times.
Despite being home just a day from competing at the European u/18 T&F in Jerusalem, Aisling Lane lost no time stamping her authority on the u/18 girls 3,000m race walk on Saturday morning and with a dominant display from gun to tape, recorded a fine victory and another National title in a season’s best of 14:41.60. On to the u/14 boys 2,000m race walk where Daniel Glennon put in a determined effort and was rewarded with second place and a well-deserved silver medal. John Glennon found conditions very tough in the u/16 boys 3,000m race walk as the oppressive heat took its toll but he pushed on to the end, finishing in fourth place, just out of the medals. We ended the walks as we started, with another outstanding performance from another athlete just returned from International duty in Jerusalem. Andrew Glennon waited until the final 2k of the u/18 boys 5,000m race walk to increase his effort and pace to slowly close down the early leaders and with a faultless display, took the lead to win by a distance in 23:45.92 and secure another gold medal for Mullingar.
In the u/16 boys 3,000m Jamie Wallace ran a very controlled race to remain in the leading pack throughout the race. The pace rapidly increased over the final lap and Jamie secured an excellent bronze medal in a time of 9:13.45, which was a personal best by twelve seconds and is excellent running for that age group. Next up were Conor Sherwin and David Burke in the u/17 boys 3,000m. Conor immediately moved into the medal positions at the start of the race and like Jamie in the previous race, stayed focused on his target and was also rewarded with third place and a bronze medal in a personal best time of 9:03.78. David Burke was competing in his first All-Ireland track and finished an excellent ninth place. Ross Killalea ran an excellent race in the u/18 boys 3,000m, contesting a medal right up to the final lap. In the end he had to settle for sixth place but had the satisfaction of breaking 9 minutes for the first time, finishing in 8:57.33, a new personal best time. Grace Byrne had a superb race in the u/17 girls 3,000m to finish fourth in a personal best time of 10:21.78. The first five athletes in the race were under the previous Championship Best, highlighting the quality of athletes in this age group.
Sunday was an absolute scorcher of a day, and by lunchtime the mercury was hitting 27degC in Tullamore under clear blue skies. Kyle Faherty safely negotiated the heats of the u/16 boys 200m to take his place in the final but he’s had a difficult year with injury and had to settle for a place out of the medals but can take some satisfaction from still being good enough to reach an All-Ireland final despite not being at his best.
Conor Walsh contested the u/14 boys 1,500m where he ran well in a very competitive race and though he finished out of the medals, the experience of competing in a National final will stand to him. Jamie Wallace ran a brave race in the u/16 boys 1,500m but his medal winning efforts over 3,000m the day before took their toll and he finished just outside the medals in sixth place, concluding an excellent season. Grace Byrne was back determined to get among the medals in the u/17 girls 1,500m. She ran a tactically astute race and produced her usual strong finish to take third place and a well-deserved bronze medal. Her time of 4:41.64 was again a huge breakthrough personal best time on a weekend where she confirmed her position as one of the leading juvenile middle distance athletes in Ireland. Conor Sherwin adopted brave front-running tactics in the u/17 boys 1,500m and was rewarded with a bronze medal in another personal best time of 4:09.59. This was his second National medal of the weekend and is a fitting reward for a rapidly improving athlete. Ross Killalea ran a really strong race in the u/18 boys 1,500m running close to his best but finished outside the medals in eighth place.
All our juvenile athletes will now take a well-earned break after a fantastic season where they represented Mullingar Harriers with distinction at both provincial and National level.
Mullingar 10 Mile Draws Near
It’s great to see so many members of Mullingar Harriers competing in road races near and far but we’ll remind them the Mullingar 10 mile is only two weeks away and we expect them to support the event by either tasking part or by helping out on the day. We don’t ask too much of our members, but it’s their Club and they need to put something back in. We’re appealing to those not running to volunteer to help on the day with registration, parking, marshalling along the course, water stations etc. If you can spare a few hours, please let a Club official know. For those planning to run, you can still enter on-line at www.myrunresults.com. This is an important fundraiser for the Club and we’re asking everyone to row in behind the event and give a helping hand if not running.
National 10 Mile Honours
The Irish Runner 10 mile took place on a scorcher of a day in the Phoenix Park last Sunday morning. This was the final race in the series and it was also the National 10 Mile Championship, adding to the competitive edge for the nearly 650 finishers. In very hot conditions, Eddie Newman led the Mullingar group home in a fine time of 59 minutes 20 seconds to win his master category. With terrific support from Stephen Naughton (65:00) and Liam McGlynn (74:28), the Mullingar men finished third master men Club in their category. Next in was Patrick Muldoon (66:08), followed by Mary Stuart (69:09) first in her master category, who combined with Emer O’Hanlon (78:14) fourth in her master category, just missing an individual National medal, and Criona Reid (82:50), to see the Mullingar women place first master women Club in their category. Also competing and having an excellent race was Paul Byrne (76:11). Congratulations to Eddie and Mary on their National individual gold medals and to our master teams on their medal-winning success too.
Elsewhere on the road
Five members of Mullingar Harriers made the long trip to Achill last Saturday week, (2 July), to compete in the Achill Half Marathon, probably one of the most scenic events in Ireland. On a warm day, Jenny Alger was first Harrier home and finished second woman on the day in a time of 1 hour 33 minutes 41 seconds. Next home was Tommy Byrne with a personal best of 1:37:11, followed by Lee Anne Maye making a very welcome return from injury with 1:50:04. John McNamara also eased back into competitive action after injury with 1:53:37 and Sharon O’Dowd completed her first half marathon on a testing course in 2:06:12. Well done to all.
On an excellent but tough testing course, St. Brigid’s AC hosted the Oldcastle 5k last Wednesday evening, an event that drew a good attendance of 160 participants. Peter Somba (Dunboyne AC) and Conan McCaughey (North Belfast Harriers AC) duked it out in a fierce battle up front, Peter winning in 14:48 and Conan second in 14:50. Wisely staying clear of that battle, Matthew Glennon and James Keegan fought their own battle and in a close finish, Matthew was third in 15:55, with James on his heels in fourth in 15:56. Coming in behind for Mullingar was Stephen Naughton (18:53) first in his master category, Enda Seery (19:09), Paul Byrne (21:50) and John Bannon (22:24), all pleased with their performances on a tough course.
Mullingar Harriers was well represented at the Edenderry 10 mile race last Sunday morning, with 11 athletes competing. Euan Lagan made his debut at the 10 mile distance, and he made it in style, finishing fifth in a top class field with a time of 54 minutes 54 seconds. James Keegan and Andrew Nevin were also both in great form clocking 56:47 and 57:17 respectively. The mixed team of six athletes (3 men and 3 women) finished third team overall. This team was made of up Euan, James and Andrew along with Michelle Bohan who led the women home with a new personal best of 68:16, Sinéad Whitelaw (70:35) and Aisling Corcoran who also ran a new personal best of 70:53. Alan Crowley was delighted to finish sub-60 with a time of 59:53 and he was followed home by Kedagh Geoghegan (61:51) and Kieran Nolan (64:06). There was also a relay aspect to the race with each participant completing 5 miles and the Harriers sister-brother duo of Linda Cunningham and Gerard Gavin finished in second place in a time of 66:02.
This 10 mile race was the sixth race in the KIA Race Series and the Mullingar Harriers mixed team is in third place in the series, behind strong teams from Leevale AC and Dundrum South Dublin, with just one race remaining, which is another 10 mile race to take place in August in Cork City.
Bon Voyage
Finally, it is with some sadness that we wish bon voyage to Amy Mahony who heads to Canada this week, initially for a year. Amy is a popular member of Mullingar Harriers and a valuable member of our senior road and cross country teams, and she even started coaching the younger juveniles this summer, so she’ll be sorely missed by a big cross-section of the Club, but everyone at Mullingar Harriers wishes Amy the very best on what we know will be an exciting new venture for her!
Check the Club’s website at www.mullingarharriers.com or its Facebook page for all the latest news.
PRO
