Week ending Saturday 26th July
International Duty for Glennon brothers
It was an eventful weekend of International competition for Mullingar Harriers brothers Daniel Glennon and Matthew Glennon.
First into action early on Saturday morning was Daniel Glennon representing Ireland in the 3,000m race walk at the annual SIAB Schools T&F International held at Moorways Stadium in Derby (England). Even though this was his international debut, Daniel was definitely not overawed and is the seventh sibling of the Glennon family to have racewalked for Ireland in this International underage event and he went about his business with determination and a reassuring confidence in his excellent technique in this highly technical event. The end result was a comfortable second place finish in 14:39.22 and an International silver medal to add to the large Glennon trophy collection from this event. Now that Daniel has made his International debut for Ireland, his name will be added to the Roll of Honour in the Clubhouse, bringing the total so far up to 132 since the Club was founded in 1975. Congratulations to Daniel from everyone at the Club.
Almost exactly 24 hours later, his older brother Matthew Glennon lined up with the top up and coming racewalking talent in Europe at the European u/23 T&F in Bergen (Norway) last Sunday morning, competing in the 10,000m race walk. In very warm conditions with no protection from the approaching midday sun, Matthew had to rely on his pre-planned and well-rehearsed cooling strategy perfected in training sessions in the weeks leading up to the Championships. Taking the opening laps cautiously helped him to cope and maintain a controlled pacing strategy well into the race, and this strategy also kept his technique up to the high standards demanded by the top International judges. However, in the latter stages as the tough conditions took their toll on him, Matthew fought to maintain focus and battled on bravely to reach the finish line in twenty fifth place out of the 33 athletes competing, in a time of 44:47.96, a season’s best time and a time that many would be proud to be able to even run. While Matthew would have aimed for higher, it was nonetheless a very brave performance in tough conditions rarely encountered at home and he will have learned much as he aims for elite level Senior Championships. What a memorable weekend for the Glennon family [ML].
National 10 Mile Honours
The final race of the Athletics Ireland Race Series, the Irish Runner 10 Mile that incorporated the National 10 Mile Championship, took place last Sunday morning in the Phoenix Park in very wet conditions. Among the 1,800 finishers was a strong squad of 14 athletes from Mullingar Harriers. Dan Morris had the honour of leading them home in 55:02, a close fourth in his master category, followed by Kris Foster (57:49) and Ian McCormack (57:56). Also running well was Eddie Newman (1:04:42) to win the gold medal and National title in his master category, and James Cribbin (1:06:11). A determined Mary Stuart led the Mullingar women home in 1:07:53 to win the gold medal and National title in her master category. Sharon O’Dowd ran her first 10 mile race and was very pleased to finish in 1:08:34. She placed fifth in her master category on the day but with two women ahead of her winning Senior medals and you can only be awarded medals in one category, they’ll receive the Senior medals and Sharon moves up to the Bronze medal position, a great result in her 10 mile debut. Next to finish was Gerard Gavin (1:11:16) and Criona Reid (1:11:41) placing third in her master category and winning the National bronze medal. Also racing well was Marie Louise Johnston (1:14:16) fourth in her master category, Emer O’Hanlon (1:16:13), Linda Cunningham (1:16:29), Liam McGlynn (1:16:56) and Lisa McEntee (1:41:06).
Winning three individual masters medals was a great result, but of course there were team medals to be won too. In the team competition, the team of Sharon, Emer and Linda finished third master women o/35 Club, and the team of Eddie, James and Gerard placed third master men o/50 Club. Coming close was the team of Dan, Kris and Ian who finished fourth senior men Club. However, top marks to the team of Mary, Criona and Marie Louise who took the gold medals for first master women o/50 Club, achieving a hat trick of success in the series, with various team members combining to win the National 5k (Aisling Corcoran, Mary Stuart, Criona Reid), National 5 mile (Mary Stuart, Criona Reid, Maura Dervin) and now National 10 mile master women o/50 Club titles for 2025. Months in the planning, this was a wonderful achievement by such a talented and dedicated group of women and we congratulate them all on their strong performances at National level [LC].
Dublin Race Walking Summer Challenge
Taking a break from the current track racing season, three Mullingar Harriers race walkers opted to do the new road event called the Dublin Race Walking Summer Challenge that took place in a boiling hot St. Anne’s Park, Raheny last Sunday week (13 July). Due to weather warnings of temperature to reach 30degC, the programme was brought back from an 11am start to several hours earlier. While the main event was a 35k and seemed to be an attraction for International athletes, the preference for the Mullingar athletes was to use the event as a speed workout over shorter distances.
First up was Oisin Lane at 8.30am for the 10k. With limited competition he walked a season’s best of 41:54 as he prepares for bigger meets abroad. Next at 9:30am was Aisling Lane and Sean McMullin attempting the 5k. With a substantial field and close competition Aisling had to be at her best and so it was as she set a new personal best of 23:56 to complete a clean sweep of club records for female racewalking. Sean came through to finish seven places further back and can be content that his preparations are going well for upcoming International master’s competitions [ML].
Check the Club’s website at www.mullingarharriers.com or its Facebook page for all the latest news.
PRO
