Mixed fortunes for Mullingar young guns in Athlone

There were no complaints about the weather and facilities in Athlone IT last week-end for the Community Games National athletics finals where everyone was treated to very pleasant conditions that added to the enjoyment of the excellent track and field athletics finals in which several members of the Club battled to give of their best representing their local areas and County Westmeath.Adeola Ojomo-Amaka (under 12) and Mairead Sayeh (under 16) qualified easily from their heats and semi-finals of the 100m but in the finals despite some great sprinting, they were unlucky to finish out of the medals. Anthony Moran (under 8 boys 80m) and Jack Moran (under 10 boys 200m) qualified from their sprint heats but didn’t advance to the final from the extremely competitive semi-finals. Race-walker Declan Brady finished 3rd in his semi-final of the under 13 boys event, but couldn’t find the vital extra edge to put himself into the medal positions in the final, but top marks for effort.In the under 12 boys 600m semi-final, Cormac Dalton looked quite comfortable as he qualified for the final, but just finished out of the medals in the final. Meabh McNulty also qualified well from her semi-final of the under 12 girls 600m, but in the final disaster struck when she took a nasty fall that put paid to her medal chances. It was a case of déjà vu in the final of the under 14 girls 800m where Edel Glennon also took a fall and despite getting quickly back on her feet, finished out of the medals, which was a real shame given her very comfortable 2nd place finish in the semi-final that showed she was serious medal prospect.No such misfortune for Linda Conroy in the under 16 girls 1,500m where despite giving away a year finished in the silver medal position to give Westmeath a well deserved medal. In the under 14 boys 800m, Glen Gaffney qualified well from the semi-final but found the early pace of the final a little too quick for his liking and though he ran extremely well, finished out of the medals.In the girls 7km marathon, the Club had three athletes in action, Ciara Hewson, Lorraine Daly and Lorna Moody. Not long back in training after a painful knee injury that sidelined her for most of the summer, Ciara looked full of running and was delighted to win gold, though running for her native Kildare we can’t claim the medal for Westmeath, but thanks to some fast finishing by Lorraine, her 4th place finish put Westmeath on the podium, with Lorna also having an excellent race in the National Finals. It was also a 4th place finish for Thomas Lynn in the boys 7km marathon, which was run in difficult hot and humid conditions. Ryan Blundell also had a great run and finished strongly to record a good finish place to round off the week-end in Athlone IT. Our apologies if we missed recording the performance of anyone but we’ll try to note it in next week’s paper.Well done to one and all and after a well earned short break for some, we’ll see them back in training again very soon in preparation for the upcoming cross country season for the middle-distance runners and the indoors for the sprinters.Frank Duffy10 mile road raceWherever there’s a road race, Mullingar athletes are sure to be found, and last Saturday morning at the Frank Duffy 10 mile road race in the Phoenix Park was no exception. The 10 mile course through the Phoenix Park is not an easy one, with a few difficult hills to negotiate, but Eddie Newman was very pleased to break the hour mark, finishing in 59:40 and leading the Mullingar contingent home in 56th place overall out of over 6,000 competitors, and was 6th in his master age-category.Following closely behind was Patrick Muldoon (Junior) in 61:16, then Mark Carroll in 61:58, with Pat Muldoon (Senior) next in 64:35. JP O’Brien was pleased with his time of 67:28 and also competing and enjoying the atmosphere generated by such a large number of athletes running on a beautiful sunny Saturday morning was Marie-Louise Johnston.This 10 mile race was the second in a series building up to the Dublin City Marathon in October and no doubt we’ll see Mullingar athletes in action in the third race in the series, a half marathon on 18th September.Longford MarathonThis coming Sunday, we expect that quite a number of Club athletes will be heading to Longford to take part in either the Marathon or Half Marathon to support this excellent and firmly established fixture that draws competitors from far and wide.A novel feature of the Longford Marathon is the Marathon relay, which Mullingar won last year in 2:32:10, a new team record, courtesy of John O’Reilly, Paddy Kelly, Tom McGrath and Matt Glennon. Will we see an attempt to retain the title in 2010?Return to trainingIt’s only about a month to the first cross country race of this season, which for some will be the Star of the Sea AC fixture in Co. Meath and for others the Ballyfin Junior Cross Country in Co. Laois, so now is the time to get back into training in preparation. It’s good to see that many juveniles and others are already back in training at the Club on Tuesday and Thursday nights and in Belvedere on Sunday mornings, but the others need to start back now. Returning to school usually sees a big increase in numbers returning to training too. Why delay any longer?Leaving Certificate ResultsWell done to Club members who received their Leaving certificate results recently. Many will now be considering their options for third level and we wish them well but advise them to keep in touch with the Club and to keep training, as physical activity will complement their studies extremely well.If living away from home, ask Club coaches for advice on training schedules to follow.Fixtures27th Tara AC 5km Road Race, Skryne (near Navan), Co. Meath28th Longford AC Children’s Sports Day, St. Mel’s College28th Rockford Roof tile 4 Mile Road Race, Tinryland, Co. Carlow29th Leinster Combined Event Championship, Claremont Stadium, Navan29th Longford MarathonTraining continues each Tuesday and Thursday from the Clubhouse in Grange at 7pm and at Belvedere on Sunday mornings at 11am. For results, news and details of all upcoming fixtures check the Club’s website <>at www.mullingarharriers.com.