Week ending Saturday 1st October

Encouraging start to the cross country season

Cancelled for two years due to Covid, it was great to return to Co. Meath last Sunday for the Star of the Sea AC open cross country, an event that marked the opening fixture of the season for Mullingar for many years. It took a while to get Mullingar on the team scoreboard, but when we did, the team medals came thick and fast and by the end of the day we had amassed a total of 6 sets of juvenile team medals and our adult women and men teams were victorious in their races. Conor Sherwin won the u/17 boys race and was presented with the Sean Higgins Memorial Perpetual Trophy, Chloe Bell and Cillian Galvin won their races and we had plenty of other top six places for individual medals too, so it was an encouraging start to the season for Mullingar.

The first race of the day was the u/9 girls 500m where Helen McGrath stormed to seventh place in a very close finish just missing an individual medal and with support from Roisin Keane and Rose Harte running very well, the girls finished fourth Club, just missing team medals by only two points. Mel Bohan gave it all in the u/9 boys 500m and was rewarded with a medal for fourth place and despite great efforts by Senan Clinton, Bradley Duffy and Callum Downes, the team finished out of the medal places but fifth Club was a very respectable result for these young boys.

Penny Bohan, Katie Bohan, Amelie Downes, Melody Kelly and Grace Farry ran really well in the u/10 girls 500m and were unlucky to finish fourth Club, just out of the medal places but top marks for effort. We saw our second individual medal in the u/10 boys 500m where Conor Gavin raced to fourth and a place on the podium but even though Cillian Gavin, Fintan Harte and Peter Fitzpatrick finished strong and fast, it was another fourth place finish for Mullingar and these boys deserved something for their efforts.

Chloe Bell went out hard from the start of the u/11 girls 1,000m and built a lead that was never going to be closed and she ran to a resounding victory by a big margin, followed in by Clodagh Keane (sixth), Liadan Gavin, Aoife Gouldsbury and Maria Gouldsbury packing well in support to see the team finish second Club, winning Mullingar’s first team medals of the day. Charging up the finish straight and full of running to take sixth place, Harry Flanagan was delighted to win an individual medal in the u/11 boys 1,000m race, and with Donnacha Doyle also having a great race and finishing fast in tenth, with two boys in the top 10 places, if we only had a third runner to make up a team, Mullingar would definitely have been in the mix for team medals.

On to the u/12 girls 1,500m where Lily Walsh put in an excellent performance to finish third and led the team of Emily Tully, Aaliyah Downes and Lucy Mulvany all running really well to third Club, adding to Mullingar’s team medal haul. Our second individual victory came from Cillian Galvin in the u/12 boys 1,500m and with Antonio Bertolo in second and Aonghus O’Reilly providing the vital third score, the boys finished first Club by a very comfortable margin and richly deserved their gold medals, Mullingar’s first and what would transpire to be its only set of juvenile team gold medals of the day.

Beibhinn O’Reilly led the Mullingar team home with an excellent fifth place in the u/13 girls 1,500m and with Lisa O’Brien having a great race and finishing fast and Chloe Duggan close on her heels having passed two others in the finish straight to provide the vital third score, the girls richly deserved their medals for second Club. By now, Mullingar was on a roll and Greg McDonnell kept it going in the u/13 boys 1,800m with an excellent finish in fifth place, and with Zack O’Leary and Cormac McGrath finishing strongly in support, the boys were delighted with their silver medals for second Club.

Tianna O’Leary left nothing behind on the track in the u/14 girls 2,000m crossing in second place and will be one to watch in Leinster. With great support and team effort from Sadhbh Carey and Blathnaid Peters, the team finished third Club in a close contest. We had no team in the u/14 boys 2,200m where Conor Walsh ran a very determined race and after a great battle finished in second place and will be another to watch in Leinster.

Siofra O’Reilly was our sole representative in the u/15 girls 2,200m where she competed well but finished out of the medal places. No team either in the u/15 boys 2,500m where Matthew Molloy worked hard all the way and was rewarded with a medal for third place and shows signs of returning to form. Conor Mulvany also ran well in his cross country debut for Mullingar and the experience will stand to him.

The final underage race with a Mullingar interest was the u/17 boys 4,500m where Conor Sherwin looked very smooth and kept in touch with the leading group for the first two laps and on the third and final lap, suddenly upped the pace to pull quickly clear and win by a margin to win the race and the Sean Higgins Memorial Perpetual Trophy. Following him home was Donagh Carey in fourth place who had a fantastic race despite giving away a year, as he’s still only under 16 and this race will give him great confidence ahead of the Leinsters.

The women 3k race was for junior, senior and master women where Aine O’Reilly showed her class with and excellent fifth place finish overall, first in her master category and with Michelle Bohan and Aeilish McGovern running brilliantly in support it was great to see them rewarded for their efforts with the prize for first Club. The final race of the day was the men 6k race, four laps of the tough hilly course. Keeping with the leading group into the third lap, Vinny Connolly looked full of running and it was only going into the final lap that a gap opened on the first two and Vinny fell back into third but continuing to work hard he finished very strong and fast in third place, and with John Whitelaw making up a lot of ground on the final lap to move into fifth place, and Ian McCormack making up the trio and providing the vital third score, the Mullingar men were delighted to win the prize for first Club and end an excellent day of cross country in Co. Meath.

Help needed for Westmeath Schools Cross Country

Many of our younger members that competed at the Star of the Sea cross country will run again this week at the Westmeath Schools Cross Country in Belvedere. The programme commences at 11am for the secondary schools, followed at 12 noon for the primary schools. This is an eagerly awaited event for many school children in Westmeath and as in previous years we expect very large numbers, especially in the primary schools races.

It will get very busy near start time, so we’re advising everyone attending to come early. A big turnout is expected, so if any Club members or friends can spare a few hours from 10am to help out, it would be greatly appreciated. Everything will done and dusted and the last race will be well over by 2pm.

Strong performance by Euan Lagan in Rathfarnham 5k

The Rathfarnham 5k took place last Sunday morning where nearly 900 runners toed the line.  The first and final 1.2k are downhill and fast, the middle section along by Terenure College is flat and fast, and there is only one short 400m uphill section from Rathfarnham to Terenure, so this is one of the fastest 5k courses in the country and with a strong field of club runners, most can look forward to being dragged along to fast times. This was certainly the case for Euan Lagan who ran to an excellent ninth place in a swift 14 minutes 49 seconds, which he was delighted with, and Andrew Nevin also had an excellent race to finish just outside the top twenty in a fast 15:33, proving that that the Rathfarnham course is very quick.

Eddie Newman in Berlin

The headline performance from the Berlin Marathon last Sunday morning was the World record set by race winner Eliud Kipchoge, lowering his own record set on the same course in 2018 by 30 seconds to 2 hours 1 minute and 9 seconds. However, there was nearly 35,000 others in the race, including our own Eddie Newman who in excellent running conditions and reveling in the big field raced to an excellent 2 hours 48 minutes 44 seconds finish, his seventeenth consecutive sub-3 hour marathon and his seventh time to run sub-2:50, which is quite an achievement.

Elsewhere on the road

Taking on the hilly course around the perimeter of Lough Rea for the Loughrea AC “Grey Lake” 10km last Sunday morning was Linda Cunningham and she was delighted to finish fourth woman and take first prize in the master woman category.

Organised by North Cork AC, the popular Charleville Half Marathon attracted a big entry of nearly 750 last Sunday morning and in excellent running conditions on a reasonably flat and therefore fast course, Stephen Shanahan was delighted to record a new personal best time of 1 hour 22 minutes 27 seconds, which is very encouraging ahead of any marathons he is planning to compete in.

Athletics Westmeath Cross Country

Everyone who takes part in the Schools cross country is very welcome to compete in the Athletics Westmeath Cross Country Championships. The first round this Sunday morning in Belvedere at 11am is for boys and girls under 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 years. The second round will be the following Sunday morning and will be for boys and girls under 9, 11, 13, 15, 17 and 19 years, and for men and women junior, senior, novice and master. Boys and girls can run in their own age group on one day and move up an age on the other day to get in some race practice.

Juvenile Club and County teams for the Leinster Championships will be picked after both rounds. There are two weeks between the Leinster Championships, so juvenile athletes run in their own age-group and can also move up an age-group to make up teams. We expect all juveniles will compete in both rounds of the Westmeath Championships or they might not be selected for teams. Remember, the Athletics Westmeath Cross Country is an open competition and you don’t have to be a member of a Club to take part.

Fit4Life returns next week

A new Fit4Life programme begins next Monday evening at 7pm at the Club grounds and runs for 10 weeks at a cost of €40 per person. Fit4Life is an Athletics Ireland programme for all runners, whether a complete beginner or a regular jogger or runner. The programme helps participants to achieve improved levels of fitness and wellness within the Club structure in a fun and sociable environment. Fit4Life is for all abilities and participants will be grouped by ability for training sessions, allowing runners and walkers to train at an appropriate level. There is progression from walking to jogging to running and no previous experience is needed. Registration will be taken on the first night and don’t worry if you can’t make the first night, you can join up any Monday after then too. Check the Club’s website www.mullingarharriers.com or e-mail info@mullingarharriers.com for further details.

Road Safety

A reminder, that with the evenings now starting to draw in, 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.

Sympathies

Finally, the Executive and members of Mullingar Harriers wish to express sincere sympathy to Eve (McMorrow) Byrne and her children Grace and Sean and the entire Byrne family on the sudden death last Sunday of her husband, Michael. May he rest in peace.

Check the Club’s website at www.mullingarharriers.com or its Facebook page for all the latest news.

PRO