Week ending Saturday 8th November
Magnificent Marathon Medal Haul for Mullingar Harriers
The recent Dublin City Marathon incorporated the National and Leinster Marathon Championships, and for the first time, the Westmeath Marathon Championships too. The results for all three Championships have now been confirmed and we’re delighted to note that Club members recorded a massive medal haul of 35 across the three Championships, with 17 more won by members of the other Clubs in Westmeath, a fine return of 52 for the County.
In the National championships, there was individual gold for Mary Stuart in her master category, and she also teamed up with Criona Reid and Aisling Corcoran to capture the club team gold in their master category. Timmy Murphy and Eddie Newman captured silver medals in their respective master categories.
In the Leinster championships, it was individual gold in their respective master categories for Timmy Murphy, Mary Stuart and Eddie Newman, while Criona Reid captured bronze in her master category. The team of Criona Reid, Mary Stuart and Aisling Corcoran added to their club national gold with victory in the Leinster championship.
The Westmeath marathon proved a rich vein in medals for the Club. The gold silver and bronze medals for senior men went to Timmy Murphy, James Keegan and Alan Crowley and for senior women went to Ciara Foy, Joan Flynn and Criona Reid. The master men o/35 gold was won by Kedagh Geoghegan, silver by Stephen Bracken (Coralstown Kinnegad AC) and bronze by Athlone AC’s Leonard Kneafsey. In the corresponding master women o/35 category, the winner was Sinead Whelehan (Coralstown Kinnegad AC), silver went to her club colleague Agnieszka Bujok, with Mullingar’s Jessica Crowley taking bronze.
The master men o/40 gold went to Paulius Patackas, silver to Thomas Gilligan and bronze to Ger Feerick. In the master women o/40 race, Mary McCormack (Coralstown Kinnegad AC) took gold, silver went to Laura Fitzpatrick and bronze to Rebecca Rushe (Athlone AC). The master men o/45 gold went to Ken Whitelaw, silver to Enda O’Carolan and bronze to Robert Downes. In the master women o/45 race, Athlone’s Theresa Hughes took the victory, with second place for Aeilish McGovern and third for Orla Gillespie.
Athlone AC’s David Watson took gold in the master men o/50 category, silver went to his club colleague Paddy Hamilton and bronze to Garret McCormack of Coralstown Kinnegad AC. The master women o/50 category saw Aisling Corcoran victorious followed by Lisa O’Rourke of Athlone and her club colleague Triona Kinane took third spot. In the master men o/55 category, victory went to Andrew Bracken of Coralstown Kinnegad and his club colleague Martin Downes took second place. Gold in the master women o/55 category was won by Emer O’Hanlon with Athlone AC’s Rosarii Dunne taking the silver medal. In the master men o/60 category, Eddie Newman led the category, with Mel Leahy of North Westmeath taking silver, ahead of Michael Purdue taking bronze. Mary Stuart added to her gold medal collection with top honours in the master women o/60 category and Padraig Irwin of Athlone AC took gold in the master men o/65 category.
New York City Marathon
Coming from 150 countries, a huge entry of 55,000 runners took to the streets of the Big Apple last Sunday morning, for the TCS New York City Marathon that wound its way from Staten Island, through all five boroughs, before finishing in Central Park. It was dry sunny and with a light wind, so conditions were ideal for running.
For Orla Gillespie it was a case of two marathons in a week, having completed Dublin only the previous Sunday. Mark Bennet who had trained with the Mullingar group over the past few months was our second runner. Both set out with pre-race plans and got into their pace from an early stage. With such a large field of runners there was always company throughout the course. It is said that the last 3 miles in New York, while spectacular with the support, entry into Central Park and all the flags of the competing nations to take in, there are several short rolling hills to test the endurance and stamina. Mark was very satisfied with his finishing time of 3:45:19 and Orla who travelled with some friends was happy with a second marathon in just 8 days and completed the course in 3:50:49 [MO’S].
All roads lead to Kilbeggan
This coming Saturday, a huge squad of nearly 120 Mullingar athletes have been entered for the second round of the Leinster cross country that will be held in Kilbeggan Racecourse, all chasing Leinster cross country glory and looking to qualify for the National Finals in December. Mullingar Harriers is hosting the event and we’re appealing to adult members, parents and friends of the Club to please volunteer to help out on the day, even if only for a few hours if you can’t stay for the whole day. It’s a huge responsibility for the Club to host such an event and we need all the help we can muster. Don’t worry if you’ve never helped at an event like this before, we won’t give you a difficult job, it might be just helping in the car park for a while, or manning a gap or crossing on the course, or patrolling the horse track to make sure nobody runs on it to warm up, as it’s strictly out of bounds.
We have athletes in every race from under 11 years to senior. Just over half of the girls and boys on the u/11 teams moved up to run u/12 in Gowran, but for the rest of them, this will be their first experience of Leinster Championship racing and we wish them well and encourage them that no matter what, it’s only a race and they should do their best to enjoy the experience. Club officials will be on hand to provide encouragement and to settle any last minute nerves if necessary. Parents and supporters are asked to get behind all our athletes and encourage them as usual, especially our young under 11 teams.
We’re holding non-Championship races for girls u/9 at 11am and for boys u/9 at 11.10am. There is no entry fee, simply go to the start line when the race is called. The first Championship race will be the girls u/11 at 11.30am, followed by the boys u/11 and the rest of the programme in succession. If for any reason you can’t compete in Kilbeggan, please let Club officials know as soon as possible so we can arrange a substitute.
The timetable for the day is on the Athletics Leinster website and Facebook page. Don’t think just because it’s nearby that you can leave it to the last minute to go. Please allow extra time for traffic delays entering the venue in order to arrive on time and get to know the course. Aim to be at the course at least one hour before your race and head for the Club tent and flags to collect your race number. Bring a change of clothes, a packed lunch, water or sports drink, rain gear, Club vest, four safety pins for your race number (most forgot the pins last time) and check that you have the correct length of spikes. Parents and adults are advised to bring rain gear and proper footwear. Newcomers in particular are reminded that they must wear a Club vest (buy one at training or borrow one).
Dressing for the cold
We’re starting to get a reminder lately of how cold it can get at training, so it’s a good time to remind all athletes that they should wear appropriate running gear for the cold weather. Warm clothing is essential and that includes going to and from training and competition. A pair of lightweight gloves, a woolen hat and a few layers of warm clothing is all it takes. Having a warm sweat shirt, fleece or jacket for after training is especially important. Parents of younger juveniles should insist that they wear the proper clothing. Also, lightweight running tights or leggings are recommended and will give much needed protection against the cold. Athletes not properly dressed against the cold weather will not perform to their best.
50th Anniversary Book
Some copies of our 50th anniversary book are still available. You can order online from our website or thorough any of the committee. Alternatively, the book is stocked at “Just Books” on Pearse Street.
Road Safety
Now that the clocks have changed to winter time the evenings are dark very early, so all Club members must wear reflective clothing when running on the road. That includes all who use our Club grounds and who run from the Clubhouse on training nights. Safety is a must at all times.
Club Vests
A reminder to all athletes representing the Club in competition, that they must wear the Club colours. Club vests can be purchased any evening at training.
Check the Club’s website at www.mullingarharriers.com or its Facebook page for all the latest news.
PRO
