Week ending Saturday 6th January 2024
Happy New Year to all members and friends of Mullingar Harriers
The officers of the Club wish all Club members, former members and supporters of the Club a very happy New Year, particularly those who returned home to Mullingar. Hopefully everyone enjoyed the festive season but should now get back to training again without delay for the indoor and cross country competitions ahead.
Membership for 2024
Thanks to those that have paid their membership for 2024 already. Membership can be paid online though the Club’s website or any evening at training. The handiest way to pay is online and the online system is now open for everyone (except those aged 8, 9, 10 and 11 years of age) to pay their membership for 2024. It’s important to pay as soon as possible so you are insured to train at the Club and of course to enter upcoming events like the National Masters Indoors, the Leinster Intermediate and Masters cross country and Juvenile cross country relays, and the many road races that will take place in the coming weeks.
Membership for the youngest members will be taken at the open day on 20th January and cannot be done online. Membership for these young girls and boys will be taken on a first come first served basis and when the groups are filled, we’ll take no more. Memberships for the youngest members will only be taken at the open day and cannot be done online and they will return to training in early February.
Post-Christmas Races
As in previous years, there were plenty of races over the holiday period to give Club members the opportunity to burn off the excesses of Christmas. Some travelled a distance to run in what was perhaps a regular personal favourite while others stayed more local. Data shows that 2023 saw a significant improvement in numbers returning to racing with a big bounce back to pre-Covid levels helping to keep the road race scene a vibrant and inclusive one.
Kilbeggan 6k
A large contingent of nearly 40 Club members took part in the annual Kilbeggan 6k on St Stephen’s Day. A bright, dry and mild day with little wind greeted the more than 340 participants. Continuing his excellent form seen all year, Vinny Connolly defended his title by winning the race in a quick 18 minutes 30 seconds. Andrew Nevin was fourth (19:30) and John Ryan was sixth (19:51) with John placing first u/20 man. Chasing in closely behind was James Keegan seventh (19:55), Ian McCormack ninth (20:06) and Andy Boyhan tenth (20:13). Philip McCartan (21:25) placed second u/20 man, Enda O’Carolan (21:34) was third in his master category, followed by John Whitelaw (21:43) and Kieran Nolan (22:29). First woman from Mullingar was Joan Flynn in 22 minutes 56 seconds, the third woman overall to finish and second in her master category, ahead of Conor Walsh (23:09) placing third u/20 man to give Mullingar a clean sweep 1-2-3 in the u/20 men race. Lily Walsh finished first u/20 woman with a brilliant 23:10. Others competing were Paddy Daly (23:15), James Cribbin (23:48), Dara O’Shea (24:15), Amy Mahony (24:22) home from Canada for Christmas, Ann Hall (24:27) third in her master category, Declan Claffey (24:47), Murty Hanly (24:59), Orlaith Flanagan (25:21), Isabel Tynan Daly (25:27), Conor Gavin (25:35), Caroline Mullen (27:15) first in her master category, Cillian Gavin (27:39), Thomas Tynan Daly (27:53), Aidan O’Donoghue (28:46), Aaron Robinson (28:50), Claire Lennon (28:57), Liadan Gavin (28:59), Martin Mullen (29:47), Raymond Smyth (29:55), Cadhla Smyth (29:55), Tiernan Smyth, Aoibhinn Smyth, Kelly Dunne, Isabelle Smyth, Harry Flanagan and Geraldine Walsh first in her master category. The race is a fundraiser for the Crumlin Children’s Medical and Research Foundation and it was great to see members of Mullingar Harriers out in good numbers to support a local race and support a great cause, as they worked off the Christmas excesses in Kilbeggan.
Cavan Christmas 5k Dash
Also on St. Stephen’s Day, Kris Foster and Pauric Brady joined nearly 500 others for the Cavan Christmas 5k, helping to raise funds for Cavan Cuan Cancer Care. Kris was making a welcome return to racing after a lay off due to injury and he was very happy to finish well up in thirteenth place in 17 minutes 55 seconds, one place ahead of Pauric who has to be very happy to finish strong in 18 minutes 14 seconds.
Newtownforbes 5k
A regular favourite of Mullingar athletes and a great way to run off the Christmas turkey and pudding, the annual “Shane Brennan 5k” in Newtownforbes, Co. Longford on St. Stephen’s Day, attracted an excellent entry of nearly 340 runners, joggers and walkers. Ably representing Mullingar was Patrick Muldoon finishing in 18 minutes 42 seconds to place a very creditable fifth in his master category and Brigid McCabe in 23 minutes 58 seconds to easily win her master category by over 6 minutes.
Fields of Athenry 10k
Very much a personal favourite of his, Eddie Newman ran his eleventh consecutive “Fields of Athenry” 10k on St. Stephen’s Day, an annual and very popular event organised by Athenry AC that is widely regarded as one of the top road races in the country, attracting a huge entry of nearly 1,500, the largest entry since the inaugural event in 2002. Eddie was very pleased to finish in 36 minutes 21 seconds, well up in fifty third place overall and easily winning his master category. Also competing and enjoying the race in Athenry was Patricia Broderick (55:26).
Navan AC “Robbie & Rita 5k”
It was cold and windy and the clouds were heavy and dark and very threatening over Navan last Wednesday morning as nearly 450 toed the line for the extremely popular annual Navan AC “Robbie & Rita 5k”. The Mullingar men team was led home by Conor Sherwin, finishing fourth in an excellent 15 minutes 30 seconds, and with great support from Ross Killalea seventh (16:14) and Enda Seery (18:29), the men were delighted to finish second Club and win a prize. Alex Sheridan had a very good race to finish in 20:54, well up in the u/20 category but outside the prizes this time. All were very happy to finish just in time to avoid the downpour of rain and they could enjoy the post-race goodies and treats as they sheltered in the hall out of the rain.
Heptathlon 2023
An end of year modified heptathlon took place at the club grounds last Saturday morning. Early morning heavy rain eased off and participants had dry but blustery conditions to contend with. Teams of 2 participated over the 7 events of paired baton 800m, standing long jump, foam javelin, standing high jump, 600m relay, speed bounce and a “beep” test.
The paired baton 800m on the track was very competitive with little separating the teams. The standing long jump was an evenly matched event with still nothing separating the teams. On the third event, the foam javelin, all teams took advantage of a strong following wind to reach out to some very impressive distances. The standing high jump was next up and again it was impossible to separate the teams with all performing very well. It was in the 600m relay that the top 3 teams started to open a gap on the rest of the field. The speed bounce was a very tactical event and it proved an important element in separating the teams. In the final event, the “beep” test, Eoin Clarke proved the fittest to finish first and this result combined with a competitive effort from his team colleague, Therese Glynn, proved crucial as they took top honours. While their winning margin was 6 points, the remaining teams were separated by just 15 points overall.
Following the final event there was a very enjoyable get together in the Clubhouse with plenty of home baking and goodies for all to savour. It was a first such event to be organised by the club for the masters group and the feedback leaves us to consider a repeat of the event in the future.
Ardagh 10 Mile
Over 140 took on the challenging hilly course in the Ardagh 10 mile around the picturesque Longford village last Saturday morning. The course included a significant very tough uphill climb at the 2 mile mark that stretched for over a half mile, followed by some fast downhills before another uphill climb to the finish. It certainly wasn’t a course for the faint-hearted but up for the challenge was Enda O’Carolan who finished an excellent third place in 61 minutes 55 seconds. He was followed home by Enda Seery in twelfth place (66:24), first in his master category and Mark Dunne (78:32) battled all the way to finish well up the field of runners. In the women’s race, Mullingar Harriers had excellent performances from Maura Dervin, fourth woman (72:32), first in her master category and Michelle Bohan (73:33) fifth woman,, also first in her master category.
Fit 4 Life
The New Year brings a new Fit 4 Life programme to the Club grounds. A 10-week programme commences next Monday evening (8 Jan). Registration is on Monday evening from 6.45pm at the Clubhouse. Our all-weather track will be the focus over the next 10 Monday evenings, with participants, many starting out or just returning to running, having the encouragement and support of our trained coaches each night.
Eddie Willams RIP
We were shocked and saddened to learn just before Christmas of the sudden death of Eddie Williams in Vancouver Island, Canada. Eddie was a member of Mullingar Harriers from 1975 until he emigrated to Canada in 1980. He was one of the first Club members to gain International selection, making his debut for Ireland in a triangular match against Scotland and Denmark in 1979. Eddie was an accomplished all-rounder and won National titles in high jump, triple jump and high hurdles, but his speciality was the decathlon where he won several National senior titles during his athletics career.
Hailing from Milltown, Rathconrath, where he still has family connections, Eddie was a frequent visitor back to Ireland over the years and always made a point of contacting people he knew from his Harriers days. His last visit was in September, which happily coincided with the official opening of the new track and he was delighted to attend and see how the Club has transformed since his day and to chat with many past and present members on that occasion.
The Executive and members of Mullingar Harriers wish to express sincere sympathy to his wife Wendy and the entire Williams family. May Eddie rest in peace.
Check the Club’s website at www.mullingarharriers.com or its Facebook page for all the latest news.
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