Week ending Saturday 29th June
Matthew Glennon excels at Schools Inter-Provincial T&F
In addition to the honour of representing their schools and Province at the Tailteann Inter-Provincial T&F in a warm and sunny Santry last Saturday, at stake for four Club athletes was selection for the Irish Schools team that will compete against England, Scotland and Wales in Swansea in July.
Matthew Glennon (St. Finian’s) simply dominated the boys 3,000m race walk from the gun and under the scrutiny of the ever vigilant judges gave a polished performance in this very technical event to win comfortably by quite a distance. Charles Okafor (St. Finian’s) blasted to a fine second place in the 100m and later in the afternoon also finished second in the 200m in a close race. Charles finished the day with a third silver medal when he anchored the Leinster 4x100m relay team to second place. Normally, the first two in each event are selected on the Irish team but we’ll await the formal decision of the selectors before we announce if Matthew and Charles have been selected, which for Charles would be his debut International.
Also competing were Bea Drummond (Athlone CC) in the girls 3,000m run and Lorcan Mullen (Cistercian Roscrea) in the boys 3,000m run. They were a bit off their best and finished out of the medal places but this was a huge learning experience against top quality competition.
Vicky Harris in action in Minsk
At the European Games in Minsk (Belarus) last Sunday evening, Ireland competed in match 3 of the qualification round against Belarus, Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland in eight T&F events – men 100m, women long jump, women 100m, women javelin, mixed 4x400m relay, men 110m hurdles, men high jump and women 100m hurdles – spread across two hours. The points after each event accumulated were turned into a time gap for the final event, the mixed medley relay (called “The Hunt”) comprising male 800m, female 600m, male 400m and female 200m, with our own Vicky Harris running the 200m leg. Ireland was placed third going into the medley relay and finished fifth, and will now compete in the quarter finals on Tuesday. Everyone wishes Vicky and the rest of the Irish team the very best of luck in the next round.
Strong performances by Mullingar at Irish Miler’s Club Meeting
The Club was well represented at the Irish Milers Club Meeting at the Mary Peters Track in Belfast last Saturday. Shane Fitzsimons was representing the Irish Milers Club in a 1,500m challenge against the British Milers Club. Running a really aggressive race, Shane was always involved at the business end of the race. Despite feeling under the weather for the twenty four hours leading up to the race, he posted a time of 3:45.18 to lead the Irish team home. In the same race Padraig Moran raced very well to finish in 3:56.93, with Jamie Battle right behind him in 3:57.84. Cormac Dalton also dipped under the four minute mark with 3:59.07. This was the first time Jamie and Cormac have broken four minutes for 1,500m so it was great to have four Club members reach this standard at the same meeting.
Eoin Quinn recorded a personal best of 4:01.04 for 1,500m and surely it only a matter of time before he dips under the four minute barrier too. Eoin has improved his 1,500m time by a huge margin of 18 seconds this season and is the fastest Mullingar Harriers youth over the distance since Shane Fitzsimons in 2012. Finally, Colin Smith ran very well in a competitive 800m to finish just outside his personal best in 1:54.48.
Recent road races
The fine summer weather last Friday evening in Offaly drew an impressive entry of over 350 to the Daingean 5k, including Eileen Kenny who was very happy to finish well up in 22:20 and win first prize in her master category, and Christy Creagh finishing in 33:13 to take third prize in his master category.
Kieran Nolan had an early 9am start along with nearly 1,000 others for the Waterford Half Marathon last Saturday morning but it was worth it because he turned in a fine performance to finish fifteenth overall in 1:23:01, fourth in his master category and missing a prize by only a small margin. The WIT Sports Arena provided an ideal location for the finish line and for refreshments and music entertainment after the race, which created a terrific atmosphere.
Now in its fortieth year, the ever-popular Dunshaughlin 10k took place last Saturday evening and the fantastic entry of nearly 1,000 is testament to the sheer hard work put in by everyone at Dunshaughlin AC in organising such a great event that attracts repeat participants year after year. Finishing strongly and well up in twenty seventh overall was Andrew Nevin (33:25), followed by the ever-improving Evan McCormack (34:31), closely followed by Eddie Newman (35:46), taking third prize in his master category and Alan Crowley (37:10), then came Michelle Bohan (40:31), Amy Mahony (43:50) and Linda O’Driscoll (47:47), all pleased with their races and finish times, which for some were the fastest they had run a 10k on the road, which is always very satisfying.
On the track this week-end
This Saturday the first of the underage All-Ireland finals takes place in Tullamore when Matthew Molloy (600m u/12), Conor Liston and Jamie Wallace (600m u/13), Kyle Faherty (80m u/13) and the Mullingar u/13 boys 4x100m relay team will compete for National honours and we wish them all the very best of luck too. Check the timetable on the notice board in the Clubhouse for the time of your event to be sure to arrive in Tullamore in plenty of time to collect your number and check in for your event. Remember to bring your Club vest. Also, watch the weather forecast and be prepared with plenty of water and sun screen.
All-Ireland “B” T&F
Anyone from u/12 to u/16 who competed in the recent Leinster Juvenile T&F and did not qualify for the All-Ireland finals in any event is eligible to compete in the “B” All-Ireland finals on Sunday 21st July in Tullamore. The events are sprint, middle distance, long jump, high jump and shot and athletes may enter two events. Entries close in two weeks time and if you want to be entered let Greg know at training.
For the latest results, news and details of all upcoming fixtures check the Club’s website at www.mullingarharriers.com. You can also follow what is happening at the Club on our Facebook page.
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