Week ending Saturday 27th October
Action-packed week-end ahead for Mullingar Harriers
This Saturday, over 120 Club members ranging from eleven years of age up to adult will compete in the Leinster Cross Country Championships at Navan Racecourse and on Sunday, twenty adult members will compete in the AAI National Marathon Championships, which takes place in conjunction with the Dublin City Marathon. Of course, there will be many more entered in just the Dublin Marathon but not the AAI Championships. We wish everyone competing this weekend the very best of luck, especially the marathon runners as they face into their endurance challenge but they have worked hard and should be ready for it. The forecast is for cold but dry weather, good for the runners but spectators will need to wrap up well.
In Navan, we’ll have Club and County teams in every underage race for boys and girls under 12, 14, 16 and 18 years, and in the junior and novice men and women races too. The Mullingar underage athletes will be joined on some of the Westmeath teams by athletes from Athlone IT AC and North Westmeath AC and, as in previous years, we’re confident that they’ll make a valuable contribution to the County team scores.
The names of those entered on teams are on the notice board in the Clubhouse. Juveniles can only move one age group in cross country, so u/11 can run u/12, but u/10 cannot run u/12. The u/10 athletes will get their first taste of Leinster Championship racing in the u/11 race in Wexford in three weeks time. If for any reason you cannot compete in Navan, please let Club officials know as soon as possible. This is the first major fixture of the season and a huge crowd will attend. Newcomers in particular are reminded that as this is a Championship they must wear a Club vest (buy one at training 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.
Obviously, Mullingar athletes will travel by car but don’t be fooled into thinking that because it’s at Navan Racecourse you can get there in no time; there will be a very large attendance from all across Leinster and you are advised to allow extra time for traffic delays entering the venue in order to arrive early and get to know the course. We’d advise aiming to get to Navan Racecourse by 11am at the latest. While the forecast is good and even if it rains between now and then, the ground will still be firm but it might be damp early in the morning, so parents and adults are advised to wear suitable footwear. The first Championship race, the girl’s u/12, will start at 12 noon, followed by the rest of the underage races in quick succession and the programme will conclude with the novice races.
Excellent early season form on show at AAI Autumn Open Cross Country
The purpose built cross country course at the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown, Dublin is well regarded as a fast one, and with the recent prolonged spell of good weather, it was in fantastic condition last Sunday afternoon for the AAI Autumn Open International Cross Country Festival. The event provided an early season test for athletes from junior level right up to the masters along with a selection of international runners and Mullingar Harriers was represented in each age category.
Jamie Battle further enhanced his growing reputation over cross country with an excellent third place in the junior 6,000m competition. He featured prominently throughout and delivered a strong finish to secure a podium position. He looks set for a strong cross country season. Euan Lagan also ran a fine race among the best junior athletes in Ireland to finish strongly. Cormac Dalton was having his first senior cross country race at this level and looked very comfortable throughout, finishing an excellent fifteenth overall and the fourth u/23 finisher. This was a very strong performance considering that Ireland’s leading senior cross country athletes were all participating. Padraig Moran also stuck to his task in a very competitive field, finishing closely behind Cormac.
Run in conjunction with the races were the trials for the British and Irish Masters Cross Country to take place in Wales in November, giving added incentive for good performances by master athletes. Running strongly in the master women’s 6,000m race both Breda Daly and Maura Dervin ran strong races and finished eighth in their respective categories, which is unfortunately out of the reckoning for places on the Irish masters team. It was better news for Eileen Kenny in her master women’s 4,500m race, where an excellent second place finish assures her of selection on the Irish team for Wales.
Gerard Gavin and Eddie Newman also ran fine races in a very competitive master men’s 7,500m race and even though they both finished out of the places that would see them in the reckoning for selection on the Irish masters team, they can feel very pleased with their performances.
Mullingar athletes to the fore at Longwood 5k and 10k
The early morning misty rain last Sunday morning cleared to give dry calm conditions, which were perfect for the Longwood 5k and 10k road races and clearly suited the small group from Mullingar that took part. Among the 171 finishers of the 5k race, Kedagh Geoghegan was delighted to finish third in 19:01 and win an individual prize, followed closely by Philip Burke in sixth place in 19:50 to win his master category and Paul Ginnell ninth in 20:28 to win his master category too, so a very happy trio from Mullingar all getting prizes. There were 191 finishers in the longer 10k race, where first home for Mullingar was Kieran Nolan in thirteenth place in 38:50, ahead of Joan Flynn in 39:41, seventeenth overall and first woman to finish.
Road Safety
We must remind Club members to wear reflective clothing when running on the road at night. That includes all who use our Club grounds and who run from the Clubhouse on training nights.
Club Vests
Athletes must wear a Club vest in the Leinster Championships, so newcomers in particular are encouraged to buy their own vest any night at training.
For the latest results, news and details of all upcoming fixtures check the Club’s website at www.mullingarharriers.com.
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