Week ending Saturday 19th October
Great showing by Mullingar Harriers at Autumn Open
It was cold but dry in Dublin last Sunday for the first big cross country fixture of the season, the Autumn Open International Cross Country Festival, which was held at the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown where the dry firm underfoot conditions were absolutely perfect for running.
The day started with the National Juvenile Cross Country Relays where Mullingar fielded a very strong team in the u/13 girls 4 x 500m. Amelie Kelly took the lead leg and racing hard from the gun she quickly moved into second place and tracked the leader before handing over to Chloe Bell only a few metres down on first place. Chloe lost no time catching the leader and moved quickly to the front, continuing to race hard and opened a good gap to second place. Kate O’Donoghue took the baton in the lead and with a spirited run kept Mullingar in front before handing over to Clodagh Keane. Clodagh ran a brilliant leg and really gave the opposition a tough challenge to catch her, but she was slowly caught and passed with about 200m to go and dropped back to second place. Continuing to race hard she was terribly unlucky to be pipped right on the line to finish a very close third, but third place in a National final in a near photo finish is a brilliant result for these four very talented girls.
The adult races commenced directly after the juvenile relays and the athletes enjoyed competitive races over the fast cross-country course in Abbotstown. All the master women and the older master men over 65 years ran 6,000m and the younger master men ran 8,000m. Mullingar Harriers was well represented in the master races. The Autumn Open was a trial race for selection for the Irish team to compete in the British and Irish Masters International Cross Country, which will be held in Belfast in November.
In the 6,000m race, Sinead Whitelaw ran a strong race to finish a very creditable fifth in her master category but with only the top four guaranteed selection on the Irish team, unfortunately she is unlikely to be selected. Maura Dervin had a fast finish to see her take second place in her master category, guaranteeing her spot on the Irish team. She was closely followed home by Brigid McCabe who put in a great performance to also finish second place in her master category, guaranteeing her selection on the Irish team. Good to see another Westmeath athlete perform strongly, Anna-Marie O’Dowd (Athlone AC) who placed fourth in her master category to also earn selection. Sean McMullin backed up his previous strong masters performances earlier this year and he finished third in his master category to guarantee his selection on the Irish team. In the 8,000m race, Eddie Newman ran a very good race to finish fourth in his master category and that should be enough to seal his place on his Irish team, but Eddie Lynch just one place behind in fifth just misses out on automatic selection.
Overall, this was a very successful day for Mullingar, with bronze for our u/13 girls relay team and a number of our master athletes can look forward to wearing green Ireland singlets in November in Belfast [SW/GD].
Excellent 10k by Elizabeth Carr
The An Cosantóir 10k was held in the Phoenix Park last Wednesday afternoon. An Cosantóir is the official magazine of the Defence Forces. Open to all ranks of the Permanent and Reserve Defence Forces, staff from the Department of Defence, and retired and invited personnel, the race attracted a huge entry of over 450. Finishing well up in seventeenth place overall, and first woman with over a minute and a half to spare, was Elizabeth Carr in 38 minutes 08 seconds, a very good on the very tough course in the Park. Well done to Elizabeth on a very good performance and showing that it’s possible to mix a busy military career with competitive racing [GD].
Attention turns to Leinster Cross Country
This coming Sunday, the Leinster Novice, under 20 and Juvenile Even Ages Cross Country Championships take place in Dunboyne, Co. Meath. Mullingar will have athletes in every one of the twelve races on the programme, in fact we’ll have Club and County teams in every age group except one. We’ve entered a huge squad of nearly 100 Club members, ranging from eleven years of age right up to novice.
Juveniles can only move one age group in cross country, so under 11 can run under 12, but under 10 cannot run under12. The under 10 athletes will get their first taste of Leinster Championship racing in the under 11 race in Tinahely, Co. Wicklow in three weeks. If for any reason you cannot compete in Dunboyne, please let Club officials know as soon as possible. This is the first major fixture of the season and a big crowd is expected. Newcomers in particular are reminded that as this is a Championship they must wear a Club vest (buy one at training this week or borrow one). Please bring a change of clothes, a packed lunch, water or sports drink, four safety pins for your race number and check that you have at least 9mm spikes in your running shoes. Dunboyne AC and Athletics Meath are the hosts for the Championships and before the main events, there will be 800m races for girls and boys under 10, so younger siblings can also run if they wish; there is no need to pre-register for the races, just turn up on the line ready to run. The girls race will be at 11am, followed by the boys race at 11.15am. The first Championship race proper, the girls under 12, will start promptly at 11.30am, followed by the rest of the underage races in quick succession and the programme will conclude with the novice races.
There will be a very large attendance from all across Leinster and in order to arrive in time to get to know the course and do a proper warm up, you are advised to allow extra time for traffic delays and the long walk from the car parks. We’d advise aiming to get to the course by 10.30am at the latest. When at the course, head straight for the Club tent and flags to collect your race number.
Club Vests
A reminder to all athletes representing the Club in competition, that they must wear the Club colours. Club vests can be purchased any evening at training.
Road Safety
A reminder, that with the evenings now drawing in very quickly, all Club members must wear reflective clothing when running on the road. That includes all who use our Club grounds and who run from the Clubhouse on training nights. Safety is a must at all times.
Check the Club’s website at www.mullingarharriers.com or its Facebook page for all the latest news.
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