Week ending Saturday 31st May
Aisling Lane makes her Senior International debut
The bi-annual European Team Racewalking Championships were held in the beautiful spa town of Podebrady, close to Prague in Czechia last Sunday week (18 May).
Starting at 7am with the Senior 35k, it was a long day of non-stop racewalking with the elite of Europe pushing to the limit with one eye on World Championship qualification in September. In the Senior Men 35k we witnessed the unique experience of a new World record and in the Senior Women equivalent there was a great battle between the current Champion and a previous Champion.
Aisling Lane made her Senior International debut in the Senior Women 20k. At 19 years old of age, Aisling was facing the tough challenge of competing in an event where athletes tend to reach their peak from their mid-twenties onwards. Aisling competed hard and held a very respectable pace to 5k. At 10k she still had several International athletes behind her but found the going extremely tough from there on. However, she showed true determination and battled on to the finish and had the satisfaction of finishing 31st of 34 starters. In this, the 50th anniversary year of Mullingar Harriers, Aisling has the satisfaction of becoming the seventh female club member to progress all the way up to Senior International level, having worn the green of Ireland multiple times at underage level. Once she has recovered from this almost twelve and half mile ordeal, she can then focus on completing her qualification for the European u/23 Championships in Norway in July.
The Senior Men 20k included the youthful but experienced Matthew Glennon. Matthew held a consistent pace through 5k and on to 10k, which he reached in a little over 45 minutes. However, recent hamstring trouble came back to haunt him and so his technique suffered. The top tier International judges noted this and unfortunately this resulted in him being shown the feared red disc and he was forced to retire. Being positive, Matthew has immediately turned his attention to getting this problem cleared so that he too can focus on achieving the second qualification time that he needs for the European u/23 Championships at 10k.
In addition to the Team Championship races, the day before there was a series of open support events also held on the same course. At his own expense Matthew’s younger brother Andrew made the long journey to Podebrady under his own steam; a great example of commitment and dedication. Despite having some recent injury setbacks, Andrew gave a great account of himself and finished well up in sixth place in the u/23 Men 10k in a time of 45:50 and was delighted to also get the all clear from the judges. Well done Andrew [ML].
Naas 5 Mile
The Naas 5 mile took place last Friday evening. The course consisted of two laps with the start and finish at Naas Racecourse. It was described as consisting of rolling hills and a few drags, but what went up came down. Very heavy rain before the start cooled temperatures but left the road surface greasy after the recent long dry spell. The finishing straight came past the main stand, which added to the post-race atmosphere with plenty of refreshments for the 340 finishers at the prize presentation in the main function room afterwards. Three athletes from Mullingar Harriers made the trip. The ever-consistent Mary Stuart had another accomplished run, winning her category by several minutes in a very good time of 33:06. Marie Louise Johnston had a very competitive race in her category, holding off stiff opposition to come home first in her category with a time of 37:03. Joan Hickson used the race as a tempo run, helping her preparation for a number of longer races in the next few months, and was pleased with a finishing time of 37:53 [MO’S].
Bob Heffernan and Mary Hanley 5k
The annual Bob Heffernan & Mary Hanley 5k road race took place last Tuesday week (May 20), on a warm but wet evening over a fast flat course on roads around the Kildare village of Johnstownbridge. This race always attracts a quality field and this year was no exception as nearly 700 athletes chased fast times. Mullingar Harriers had 20 participants in the race and they were led home by Vinny Connolly who was always in contention throughout the race, finishing in sixth place overall with a time of 14:49.
Dan Morris and Ian McCormack were the next two Mullingar athletes home, both running strongly to finish in 15:29 and 15:37, respectively. They were followed by James Keegan who clocked 16:00, Kris Foster (16:06), Kedagh Geoghegan (16:43) and Enda Seery (17:40).
Sinead Whitelaw was Mullingar’s first woman, finishing in 18:04. Thomas Gilligan (19:12), Dara O’Shea (19:23), Tom Byrne (19:37), Padraig Beglin (19:46) and Dean Keogh (19:49) all ran well throughout the course to finish in under 20 minutes. Other Mullingar athletes who ran on the evening included Aeilish McGovern (20:11), Fiona Fagan (21:11), Niamh Doherty (21:12), Joseph Doherty (21:13), Conor Corcoran (21:22), Linda Cunningham (21:23) and Laura Fitzpatrick (21:45) [SW].
Sean McMullin wins in Munster
Using it as a warm-up for the upcoming Leinster Masters and the National Masters later in the summer, Sean McMullin competed in the 3,000m race walk at the Munster T&F in Templemore last Saturday morning. Conditions were good, not too warm, and luckily the rain held off until after his race. Sean won his master category in 19:25.82, which he was satisfied with for the time of year [SMcM/GD].
All-Ireland Schools T&F Finals
This Saturday, one of the very best fixtures on the athletics calendar, the All-Ireland Schools Track & Field Championships, takes place in Tullamore. Anyone with even a passing interest in athletics should make the effort to attend and see athletic competition at its very best. This is always a great day of athletics as every event is a final. Medals will be keenly contested but good luck to the Mullingar Harriers athletes in action. The Club will see eight of its members competing and we wish the very best of luck to Ailbhe O’Farrell (St. Finian’s College) Senior 1,500m steeplechase, Conor Walsh (Colaiste Mhuire) Intermediate 3,000m, Gareth Glennon (St. Finian’s College) Junior 1,200m walk, Daniel Glennon (St. Finian’s College) Intermediate 2,000m walk, John Glennon (St. Finian’s College) Senior 3,000m walk, Oisin Clarke (Colaiste Mhuire) Junior 800m, Lily Walsh (Loreto College) Junior 1,500m, Eleanor Kiernan (Ursuline Thurles) u/16 mile who will be in action representing their Schools and Colleges. Spectators attending should get there in good time and be prepared for a long but hugely entertaining and exciting day.
Warning, don’t miss the closing dates for Leinster T&F
Entries for the u/20, Senior and Masters T&F close this coming Friday (May 30) and entries for juveniles under 14 to 19 T&F close next week (June 6). Don’t leave it too late to submit your entry in case you have problems with the online entry system. The link to entries and the relevant competition reference number can be found on the Club website. There are no late entries, so don’t miss the deadline and as always, if anyone has any difficulty submitting their entries, please don’t hesitate to contact Greg.
June Committee Meeting
The June meeting of the committee will be held next Tuesday, June 3, in the Clubhouse at 8.20pm after training. There’s a full agenda and a full attendance is requested.
Sympathy
Finally, the Executive and members of Mullingar Harriers wish to extend sincere sympathy to Alan and Aaron Crowley and his family on the recent death of Alan’s mother, Veronica, grandmother to Aaron. May she rest in peace.
Check the Club’s website at www.mullingarharriers.com or its Facebook page for all the latest news.
PRO
