Week ending Saturday 4th May
National Road Relays
Absent since 2017, Mullingar Harriers was delighted to have a men team competing at the National Road Relays last Sunday afternoon in Raheny. The standard of competition in this event is of the highest level and attracts the very best athletes from clubs across Ireland, so the Mullingar men can be very happy with their eleventh place finish out of 32 teams.
Ray Hynes led the team out on the first leg and mixed it with the best on the road circuit to finish the 2 mile leg in 9:48. Ray then handed over to John Whitelaw who ran a solid mile (4:48) and can be happy with his effort. Vinny Connolly took over and ran a very good 3 mile leg, though it was difficult at times as he was running on his own, but he attacked the end of section and was delighted to finish in 14:53, catching two people on the run in, which gave Kevin Moore something to fight for on the final leg. Kevin is only getting back to full fitness and was delighted to get another race under his belt, bringing the team home in 10:12, to earn them a very creditable eleventh place. All in all the men were delighted and it was great to see them flying the flag for Mullingar in a quality National event [IMcC].
Pineapple 10k (Hawaii)
Congratulations to Kris Foster on a fine third place finish in 36 minutes 54 seconds in the Pineapple 10k in Hawaii last Saturday, a race that attracted a huge entry of nearly 800. Kris is in Hawaii on honeymoon and it’s great to see him getting a race in despite being so far from home [IMcC/GD].
Pat Finnerty 5k League
The Pat Finnerty Memorial 5k League will take place in Belvedere on three consecutive Wednesdays in May, beginning next Wednesday (8 May). The best two of three times count for the league, so you only have to run two of three rounds, though we’d encourage everyone to run all three. Entry is €30 for three or two nights, but if you can only run the final night, the entry fee reduces to €20 for the single race.
All proceeds will go to Tanzanian Heavenly Homes, a Mullingar-based non-profit organisation founded by John McCauley, so we’re asking everyone to sign up and support this very worthy cause. The funds will go to help the poorest people to have beds, clothes, the basic items of life. We’ll also take donations on the night for anyone that wants to give more. There will be prizes for top 3 men and women in the league, and lots of spot prizes too. The Pat Finnerty Perpetual Trophy will be presented to the first man and the first woman in the League.
Online entries are now open and can be accessed through the Event Calendar on the top banner of the Athletics Ireland website or using the link on the homepage of the Mullingar Harriers website or on the My Run Results website.
North Leinster Schools
A number of the Club’s underage athletes were in action for their Schools and Colleges last Wednesday and Friday at the North Leinster Schools T&F in Santry. As expected, a good number of them – too many to mention by name – secured places at the Leinster Schools T&F Finals in two weeks in Santry, the next step towards the All-Ireland Schools T&F Finals in early June.
Club’s youngest athletes to compete in Tullamore
Athletics Offaly has notified us of the Midland Inter-County Juvenile T&F Match between Laois, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath to be held in Tullamore Harriers Stadium on Friday 17th May at 6pm. This is an ideal competition for our younger members to take part in and boys and girls from u/9 (born 2016) to u/14 (born 2011) can compete. Despite the title, this really is a low key very friendly competition and a chance for everyone to try several events – sprint, middle distance, long jump, turbo javelin or shot. The boys and girls from Mullingar Harriers will compete alongside athletes from other Westmeath Clubs, against athletes from Laois, Longford and Offaly. If you ran in the recent Mullingar Harriers Juvenile Spring T&F Meet, you’re in for a treat in Tullamore as it will be just as much fun.
There is no pre-selection – just turn up and compete. This is an ideal competition for our younger athletes and newcomers and we expect to see all our younger Club members take part. It’s an Inter-County competition, so wear your Club vest, so everyone knows you’re from Westmeath. Finally, just like our own new all-weather track, 5mm spikes or runners only on the track in Tullamore.
Leinster Novice & Masters Road Championships
The Leinster Novice and Masters Road Championships will be held in Gowran, Co. Kilkenny this coming Saturday afternoon. We have entered full novice and master women and men teams and we wish them all the very best of luck.
Leinster Outdoor T&F dates
Please make a note of the following important dates. Children’s Games (u/9, u/10 and u/11) and u/12 and u/13 T&F (2nd June) in Tullamore (entries close 24th May); Mixed Relays and Combined Events (8th June) in Tullamore (entries close 3rd June); sprint relays (9th June) in Tullamore (entries 3rd June); and the u/14 to u/19 T&F (15th and 16th June) in Tullamore (entries close 9th June). All entries are on-line and we’ll use the Heja groups to let parents know how to enter.
For older members, the Leinster u/20, Senior and Masters T&F takes place on 25th and 26th May in SETU Carlow. All entries are on-line and these athletes enter themselves. Entries will open soon, so keep an eye out and don’t get caught by the final closing date, which is 19th May.
May Committee Meeting
The May meeting of the committee will be held next Tuesday 7th May in the Clubhouse at 8.20pm after training. There’s a full agenda, and as it’s the eve of the first round of the Pat Finnerty Memorial 5k League it’ll be final chance to make any last minute arrangements, so a full attendance is requested.
Check the Club’s website at www.mullingarharriers.com or its Facebook page for all the latest news.
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