Maurice Looby and Colm Walsh delighted with Barcelona Marathon

The Barcelona marathon boasts many fine landmarks along the course, including the Camp Nou (home of Barcelona FC) and the Cathedral of Sagrada Familia but it is safe to assume that Maurice Looby and Colm Walsh were taking little notice of the scenery last Sunday (7th March) as they made their way along the course that is advertised to be flat, but judging by their self-confessed shattered state at the finish, both will testify that it is most certainly not flat. Despite the gruelling test, and what marathon does not push an athlete to the limit, both were absolutely delighted with their finish times - Maurice in 2:39:42 and Colm in 2:57:11.Maurice collapsed over the line but refused the stretcher and Colm was just as exhausted but the satisfaction of breaking his pre-race goal kept him on his feet. To put Maurice's time in perspective, it will now qualify him for an elite runner number in most of the big city marathons, which is terrific. These are tremendous performances and the post-race message from Maurice bests sums up the marathon experience - "I went through an entire life during the race: excited like a baby at the start; felt strong like a man in his prime in the middle; felt dead at the end." Sentiments familiar to most marathon runners!Excellent performance by Mark Christie in Antrim Road RaceAnother Club man in sparkling form lately is Mark Christie who posted a fantastic 14:00.05 at the Armagh International 5km Road Race on Thursday 25th February last. Mark was in top class company, with race winner Nick McCormick from England in first, David McCarthy in second, Ben Bruce of the USA in third and Mark in fourth, leaving many well regarded British, Polish and USA runners in his wake.In this form, Mark should have an excellent season ahead of him this year.Rás na hÉireannWhile much of the Club's attention was on the Leinster Indoors in Nenagh recently, some of the Club's younger athletes that were too young to compete in Nenagh headed to Oldbridge Estate in Drogheda on Sunday 28th February to compete in the Rás na hÉireann, where they enjoyed the competition and many won prizes.Aoife Darby was 6th in the girls under 11 and won an individual prize, followed by Maolíosa NíLéannacháin in 10th. In the u/11 boys race, Conor McHugh finished 4th to win an individual prize, as did Jack Moran (6th), and John Whitelaw and Ronan McHugh running so well, the boys finished 2nd team and were delighted with their team prizes. Claire Fagan was 5th in the girls u/13, just ahead of Laura Whitelaw in 6th and Emma Glynn in 7th and if only they had one more runner, they would surely have won a team prize too.Well done to all on their fine performances.Mullingar Road League and Rathowen Road RaceAs indicated back in January, we can now confirm that it's all systems go for this year's Mullingar "Pat Finnerty Memorial" Road League on the four Wednesdays of May.This year we'll have a new course, though the focal point will still be the beautiful woodland setting of the Earl's Trail in Belvedere; it's just the start that will be quite different. More details in the coming weeks. Following on the many requests last year to have more 5km races after the Road League ends, this year marks the welcome return of the Rathowen 5km Road Race, which will take place a week later, on the first Wednesday in June. These races will be of particular interest to the growing number of "meet and train" athletes that run at the Club grounds on Wednesday evenings.If you want to test yourself before the Road League in May, our near neighbours in Athboy, Fr. Murphy's AC, will be holding their annual 5 mile road race in Ballivor on St. Patrick's Day. This has proved to be a very popular race with many of the Club's athletes over the years, and this year should be no exception and we expect many from Mullingar to make the short trip to Ballivor to support the event.Schools Cross CountryFinally, we wish Club members Linda Conroy, Ciara Hewson, Lorraine Daly, Padraig Moran, Ryan Blundell, Shane Fitzsimons, Thomas Lynn, Jake Byrne, Vincent Connolly, Robert Yorke, Thomas Fagan and Rachel Yorke the very best of luck as they compete for their Schools and Colleges at the All-Ireland Schools cross country in Cork IT this Saturday.Fixtures13th Irish Schools & Irish Universities Cross Country, Cork IT14th Craughwell AC Road Race, Co. Galway14th St. Patrick's Festival Road Race, Dublin17th Meath 5 mile Road Race, Ballivor, Co. MeathTraining continues each Tuesday and Thursday from the Clubhouse in Grange at 7pm and at Belvedere on Sunday mornings at 11am. Check the Club's website <>at www.mullingarharriers.com for results, news and details of all upcoming fixtures.