Week ending Saturday 30th November

Storm Bert fails to halt Leinster cross country

Last month we were very lucky to get day 3 of the Leinster cross country finished and we were safely home just before Storm Ashley unleashed its worst. Last Saturday we were lucky again, as the worst of Storm Bert was behind us for day 4 of the Leinster cross country. Dodging two storms in three weeks must be some sort of record.

Fortunately, the worst of Storm Bert blew itself out overnight and didn’t have too much impact on the Leinster “B” Cross Country and Mixed Cross Country Relays held in Stradbally Hall, Co. Laois. While very strong winds overnight pulled down parts of the course, thanks to the early morning Trojan work by officials from Oughaval AC, the hosts for the event, repairs were completed in good time for the first race. The very heavy overnight rain had cleared by early morning but it left its impact on the course with soft underfoot conditions in some places, though it was the wind that came in for mention more by athletes rather than the soft ground, and while it was windy, the day was generally dry with only the occasional light brief shower, so we definitely dodged a bullet and weren’t affected too much by the storm or its after effects.

The day started with the mixed relays, which were an “A” Championship event, so competition was fierce in every race. Mullingar fielded a team in the 4 x 250m u/11 mixed relay, where Kate Horohoe, Olly Wright, Laura Buckley and Noah Morgan gave it their all, finishing well up but out of the medal places. The Mullingar team in the 4 x 250m u/13 mixed relay was Liadan Gavin, Cillian Gavin, Mina Sheridan and Donnacha Doyle and with terrific determination and team effort they raced to an excellent fifth place finish in a very close race. All our relay runners used the relays as a warm-up for their later “B” cross country races, a testament to their fitness.

Moving to the “B” Championships, Kate Horohoe led the Mullingar team home in the u/11 girls 1,000m and despite great support and team effort by Heather Kelly, Lyla Lennon Currill, Laura Buckley and Madeleine O’Brien, the girls finished out of the team medal places but top marks for effort. With Olly Wright in fifth place and Noah Morgan in tenth place in the u/11 boys 1,000m backed up brilliantly by Emmet Walsh and Senan Clinton finishing well up, there was little surprise when it was announced that the Mullingar boys finished first Club to win the team gold medals.

Liadan Gavin, Aoife Dunne, Lily McDonald and Mina Sheridan contested the u/13 girls 1,500m where they finished strong and packed really well to finish a brilliant fourth Club, very unlucky to just miss winning Leinster medals. We hadn’t a team in the u/13 boys 1,500m but Cillian Gavin and Donnacha Doyle worked hard and produced great performances, finishing strong and fast in a very competitive race. The final race with a Mullingar interest was the u/15 girls 2,500m where Amelie R Kelly had a great race, sprinting hard up the finish straight to the line, crossing in thirteenth place, very unlucky to just miss an individual top-12 medal by the closest of margins. Muirin Dunne was close behind running very impressively, having stepped up an age.

Events like the Leinster “B” competitions are ideal opportunities for Club members who either don’t make teams in the “A” competitions, or are new to the sport, or are anxious or nervous about racing. We would like to see many more of our athletes take part in these events and we need the support of parents to bring the juvenile members to competitions. This is how athletes develop.

National Senior Cross Country update

Last week we noted that our Senior Women team finished a very creditable eighth Club at the National Senior Cross Country in Enniskillen. They also finished a very good sixth County, but even better, they were first “B” County, so it’s National gold medals for Claire Fagan, Susan Glennon, Ciara Foy, Sinead Whitelaw and Orlaith Flanagan.

Mullingar goes on the hunt for National Cross Country glory

After the excitement of day one of the National cross country in Enniskillen two weeks ago, where we were delighted to see Lily Walsh take individual silver in the u/14 girls race, and Cormac Dalton take third place in the senior men race and secure his place on the Irish team to compete at the European Cross Country in Turkey next month, we’re off to Tramore for day two this Sunday on the hunt for more National glory. This time, competition will be for novice women and men and for juvenile uneven age girls and boys. Mullingar will have novice women and men teams, teams in seven of the ten juvenile races and individual competitors in the other three juvenile races. In total, we’ve entered over 20 adults and nearly 50 juvenile athletes, so the Mullingar colours will be very prominent in Tramore.

Our underage athletes didn’t win any Club team medals in Enniskillen, though three of them did win medals with Leinster teams, but many were running out of age and it’ll be a different story in Tramore when they drop down to their own age and if they can build on the experience gained in Enniskillen and match the performances we saw there, they’ll do very well and many have real prospects of winning National medals.

In addition to representing Mullingar and Westmeath, seventeen of our juvenile athletes will also be on Leinster teams, the largest number by far from any Club in Leinster. Everyone has been training hard in recent weeks, at the Club and in Belvedere, and should reap their rewards on Sunday when we hope many of them will return with National medals. If for any reason you cannot compete, please let Club officials know as soon as possible.

The first race is at 11.30am and as the crowd at an All-Ireland is much larger than at Leinster, leave in plenty of time, allow extra time for traffic and parking delays entering the venue, and head straight for the Club flags to collect your race number. It will take longer to collect and sort race numbers, so you need to be at the course by 10.30am at the latest.

You must wear your Club vest in a Championship. Please bring water or sports drink and a light snack, wet gear and a change of clothes, suitably long spikes, and of course four safety pins for your race number. Spectators should watch the weather forecast and dress appropriately.

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

PRO