Week ending Saturday 25th August
Masterful All-Ireland displays by Mullingar Master Athletes
Five Mullingar athletes were entered for the AAI Masters T&F in Tullamore last Saturday and each of them came away with an All-Ireland medal for their efforts. Tom Walsh was the first to put Mullingar on the medal board with a fine bronze medal in his category of the 28 pounds weight for distance event. Sean McMullin did what he does best and comfortably won his category of the 5,000m race walk, which sets him up nicely for the World Masters T&F in Malaga, Spain in two weeks time. Another man bound for Malaga is Paddy Kelly and he was very satisfied to take the silver medal in his category of the 800m; Paddy also competed in the 400m later in the day but the 800m-400m is a tough double-act and though he finished just out of the medals in the 400m was nevertheless still happy with his performance. In the 5,000m run, after a very exciting race, Garry Gavin was delighted to win his category and National Champion title, while Christy Creagh finished second in his category to round off a memorable day for Mullingar’s mighty masters!
Mullingar dominates at Castlepollard 5k
Thanks to the tireless work put in for many months by the organising committee at North Westmeath AC, the ever-popular Castlepollard 5k last Wednesday proved a great success, with nearly 320 finishers completing the course that started and finished near the square in the village and took in the fabulous grounds of Tullynally Castle. Even the weather behaved and the rain that was forecast didn’t materialise until long after everyone was well finished and on the way home after the prize giving and customary fine spread of refreshments, a hallmark feature of the event.
As expected, Mullingar was out in force and nearly 40 Club members took part, winning 18 individual prizes and taking the men and women team titles too. After the races for boys and girls under 6, 8, 10 and 12 years of age on the grass in the village square, and then a 2k out and back race on part of the 5k course for boys and girls under 16 years of age, the 5k main event started right on time at 8pm.
It was only in the final kilometre that the top four broke up and the race winner in 15:49 was Sean Doran (Clonliffe Harriers AC), closely followed by Stephen Cannoy (Celbridge AC) in 15:52, just ahead of Peter Mooney (Inverse) in 15:54, and in fourth place was Mullingar’s first finisher, Andy Nevin (16:05). With great team support from Ian McCormack (16:49) in fifth to win an individual senior prize and Gerard Gavin (17:02) in seventh overall and first in his master category, the Mullingar men finished first Club. Following them in was John Whitelaw (17:08) first junior man, Eddie Newman (17:17) first in his master category, Euan Lagan (17:22), James Keegan (17:37), Kieran Nolan (17:41) first in his master category and Alan Crowley (17:50) second in his master category.
Aine O’Reilly finished in twentieth place overall in 17:53, narrowly beaten by just a few seconds into second place in the women’s race, and with Emer O’Hanlon (22:03) first in her master category and Ciara Dillon (22:06) second in her master category providing excellent team support, the Mullingar women finished first Club. Also competing was Brian Martin (18:52), Enda Seery (19:16), Bernard Groenewald (19:25), Philip Burke (19:35), Nollaig McEntegart (20:02) first in his master category, Robin Jackson (20:26), Andrew Glennon (20:39), Ollie Gaffney (20:54), Michael O’Sullivan (20:54) second in his master category, Tommy Conroy (21:01) and Kevin O’Brien (21:50). Emer O’Hanlon and Ciara Dillon were next in, followed quickly by Joanna Tyrrell (22:26) second in her master category, Gordon Ward (22:29), Terri Greene (22:47) second in her master category, Criona Reid (22:57) third in her master category, Linda Cunningham (23:04) third in her master category, Eamonn O’Reilly, Kevin Martin, Anna Redmond, Noeleen Bourke, Marna Groenewald, Michael Greene, Christy Creagh (third in his master category), Des Walsh, Geraldine Walsh (second in her master category) and PJ Ballesty.
800m PB for Colin Smith
Well done Colin Smith on a personal best of 1 minute 53.45 seconds for 800m at the British Miler’s Club Grand Prix at Stretford, Manchester last Saturday. This was a very positive finish to the season for Colin who is now firmly established as one of the best junior 800m athletes in the Country.
St. Coca’s AC “Kilcock 10 Mile”
The first running of a 10 mile road race in Kilcock last Sunday organised by St. Coca’s AC had nearly 500 finishers, which is extremely impressive for an inaugural event. The event was billed as the Kilcock “10 from 10” as it was a 10 mile race held 10 weeks away from the Dublin City Marathon in late October.
Eddie Newman used the race as a training run and finished just under the hour with 59:59 to place twenty eighth overall and take third prize in his master category. Hans de Raeymaeker was next (64:15), followed by Nollaig McEntegart (67:27) winning his master category, then came Stephen Naughton (72:01) and Brian Boyle (85:08) to complete the Mullingar group.
Community Games T&F Finals
A big number of the Club’s underage members were in action last weekend representing Westmeath at the Community Games National T&F Finals at the University of Limerick. As expected, there were rewards for those who trained for their events, as they recorded good performances and congratulations to those who won medals, reached finals or competed up to the standard they expected to achieve. There were too many excellent performances to report on but there are details in the Community Games report elsewhere in this paper. Congratulations to them all.
Leaving Certificate Results
Congratulations to the many Club members who received their Leaving Certificate results last week, many with particularly good results proving yet again that you can mix study and sport if you plan it right. Many will now be considering their options and if that includes a third level course, we wish them well but advise them to keep in touch with the Club and to keep training, as physical activity will definitely complement their studies. If living away from home, ask Club coaches for advice on training schedules to follow.
Tullamore Half Marathon
This Saturday, the Tullamore Half Marathon takes place and it’s heading for a sell out fixture. Among the entrants is a good number from Mullingar and like last year, an added incentive is that the event incorporates the Leinster Half Marathon Championships, so there are Regional individual and team honours up for grabs. We wish the very best of luck to those that will be taking part.
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 just under five 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.
September Committee Meeting
An early reminder that the September meeting of the committee will take place in two weeks time, Tuesday 4th September in the Club house at 8.20pm after training. As there was no meeting in August, there’s a big agenda including arrangements for the Westmeath Schools Cross Country to get through, so a full attendance is required.
For the latest results, news and details of all upcoming fixtures check the Club’s website at www.mullingarharriers.com.
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