Week ending Saturday 17th August
Mullingar masters on the hunt for National half marathon medals
The Rock ‘n’ Roll Dublin Half Marathon last Sunday morning had an entry of nearly 5,500 and as the race incorporated the AAI National Half Marathon Championship, among the entry was over 800 looking for National honours, an impressive entry for a National Championship. Starting at Fitzwilliam Square and heading on a relatively flat course for the first 10k to Chapelizod, the runners then climbed sharply over the next 4k into the Phoenix Park and after taking effectively a lap of the Phoenix Park with some downhill sections but also another 3k of hills, the race ended on the main road in the Park. It was a testing course, and adding to the difficulty, there was also a stiff wind for good measure.
Proving his mettle it was no surprise that first home for Mullingar was Eddie Newman in 1:24:41, followed by Breda Daly in 1:43:11, followed by Des Walsh and Geraldine Walsh, the Mullingar quartet trio running very well given the windy conditions and hilly sections on the route. Unfortunately the results of the National Half were not available to meet the publication deadline, so we’ll hold these over to next week.
Recent road races
The Rathowen 5k road race made a welcome return to the road race calendar last Wednesday evening with an entry of nearly one hundred. Mullingar featured strongly in the results with Kieran Nolan winning the men’s race in 17:58, Barry McDonald finishing third in 19:00 just ahead of Enda Seery fourth in 19:07, while Sinead Whitelaw (fifth overall) won the ladies race in 19:23 with Michelle Bohan close behind in 19:38 to finish third woman, followed by Linda Cunningham eighth woman in 23:00. These are great results for Mullingar, so congratulations to them all.
Despite the rain, the Streets of Athboy 5k last Friday evening drew a very big entry of nearly four hundred and fifty, attracted no doubt by the very flat course and excellent organisation by Fr. Murphy AC. Mullingar was well represented by Alan Sherwin, finishing in 21:59 and Michelle Kavanagh finishing strongly in 25:59 and placing third in her master category. The weather really took a turn for the worse in Galway last Saturday evening but didn’t deter a massive entry of over two thousand five hundred for the Streets of Galway 8k where Mullingar’s sole entrant Hans de Raeymaeker was pleased to continue his return to racing and finished well up in 32:43. Finally, Andrew Nevin was delighted with his strong finish to secure third place in 56:17 at the Monaghan 10 mile last Saturday morning, leaving nearly four hundred and fifty others in his wake as he raced an excellent course in near perfect conditions.
All roads lead to Castlepollard this week
This Wednesday evening all roads lead to Castlepollard for the Castlepollard 5k Road Race organized by North Westmeath AC, which starts at 8pm. As it’s so close, we expect a large number of Club members will run to support this very popular local fixture. Please wear your Club colours too, so we know that you are there. There will be a commemorative medal for all finishers, as always the prizes on offer are very attractive, and Mullingar athletes should feature strongly in the individual and team prizes.
Also this year there will be a 2k race for boys and girls under 16 years on part of the 5k route starting at 7.30 sharp and there will be races for boys and girls under 6, 8, 10 and 12 years on the square in the village, beginning at 7pm.
Track & field action this weekend
The competitive outdoor T&F season concludes this week-end when a number of the Club’s younger members will be competing for Westmeath at the Community Games National T&F Finals in the University of Limerick and some of our older members will be competing at the AAI Masters T&F in Tullamore. We wish them all the very best of luck.
Summer Training
It’s good to see many juvenile members taking a well earned break from training over the past few weeks, which for some is a complete stop and for others is a total change in pace with some easy relaxed running for a change. Enjoy the break while you can and just to whet your appetites, bear in mind that the first cross country fixture of the autumn season is only six weeks away. For the sprinters and field event athletes, the focus is further ahead but they’ll return to winter training soon too to prepare for the indoor season in the New Year.
For the latest results, news and details of all upcoming fixtures check the Club’s website at www.mullingarharriers.com. You can also follow what is happening at the Club on our Facebook page.
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