Pictured are Mullingar athletes who took part in the Dublin City Marathon. Standing, from left, Matt Glennon, Mark Carroll, Justin Murtagh, Gerry Duffy, Eddie Newman. Kneeling in front JP O’Brien, Aidan Gorry. Missing from photo: Andrew Kinane).

National Marathon medals for Mullingar Masters

Published: Wed 3 Nov 2010, 4:30 PM

It was a record-breaking Dublin City Marathon on Bank Holiday Monday, October 25 for many reasons, including a new course record of 2:08:58 set by Moses Kibet, the fastest marathon ever run in Ireland, a new record number of over 13,000 participants, and for Mullingar the first National Marathon Championship team medals won by our master men.The Dublin City Marathon incorporated the AAI National Marathon Championships and Mullingar had entered a strong master team. Setting off from the city centre at the early hour of 9am, Matt Glennon took charge of the Mullingar team and made sure the early pace was kept under control with the aim of getting everyone under the three hour mark by the end of the 26.2 mile test.The trio went through the half way mark bang on schedule in exactly 90 minutes and kept closely together until about the 23 mile mark when the group began to break up and it inevitably became a matter of every man for himself to try and finish as best as he could.Running in the senior men category, first home for Mullingar was Andrew Kinane to finish in an excellent 2:51:56. Next to finish was the first of the master men team, led by Eddie Newman in 2:55:59, then Matt Glennon in 2:58:06, with Gerry Duffy close behind in 2:58:18. On the combined times of the trio, they finished 3rd master team in their category by just 3 seconds, proving it pays to keep the effort going right to the finish line.Also competing in the senior men category were Mark Carroll (2:59:06), Aidan Gorry (2:59:47), JP O’Brien (3:25:20) and Justin Murtagh (3:26:07) who all expressed great satisfaction with completing this gruelling challenge within their individual target times.Congratulations to all the Mullingar athletes on their performances, particularly the master men team of Eddie Newman, Matt Glennon and Gerry Duffy on their National medal success.Large Mullingar squad to compete in Leinster Cross CountryWe expect over 90 club athletes to be in action this coming Sunday, November 7 in the second round of the Leinster Cross Country Championships in Adamstown, near Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, with the first race at 11.30am. That’s right, 11.30am and not the usual 12 noon start time, which is due to the longer distances in the juvenile races.We’ll have Club and County teams in nearly every age group from boys and girls under 11 years to under 19 years, and Intermediate men. The juvenile teams that qualify from Sunday will go forward to the All-Ireland Championships in Tullamore on December 19.The names of those entered on teams for Wexford are on the notice board in the Clubhouse. Please let Club officials know if you want to travel on the team bus or by car. If for any reason you can’t compete, please let Club officials know as soon as possible so a substitute can be arranged.The first race will be the girls under 11, followed by the rest of the underage races in succession and will start at 11.30am, which is 30 minutes earlier than normal, so please account for this when calculating your journey time.A bus will be leaving from O’Brien’s (Topaz) Filling Station on the Lynn Road, Mullingar at 7.45am sharp. We can’t wait for latecomers, so please don’t be late.Please bring a change of clothes, a packed lunch, water or sports drink, rain gear, four safety pins for your race number and check that you have at least 9mm spikes in your spiked running shoes and that you’ve packed your singlet. Parents and adults are advised to bring rain gear and proper footwear. Those travelling by car are advised to leave in plenty of time and allow extra time for traffic delays entering the venue in order to arrive early and get to know the course.Newcomers in particular are reminded that they must wear a Club vest in Championships (available for purchase at the Club on any training night).Road safety/reflective clothingPlease note that for insurance purposes athletes running from the Club house on the roads on Tuesday and Thursday nights must wear reflective clothing. No reflective vest, no road running.On the matter of reflective clothing, if you still have one of the orange Stewards bibs used at the Leinster cross country in Belvedere recently, can we ask you to please return it to the Club as soon as you can?SympathySincere sympathy is extended to Patrick and Claire Fagan and the Fagan family on the recent death of Paul Fagan. May he rest in peace.CongratulationsOn a happier note, congratulations to Joe Ryan on his recent marriage to Aoife O’Regan and everyone associated with the club wishes the new Mr. and Mrs. Ryan every happiness for the future.Important fixtures7th Nov. Leinster Cross Country (uneven ages, Intermediate) Adamstown, Co. Wexford14th Masters Home Countries Cross Country, Santry28th AAI Cross Country (even ages, Inter-Counties) Derry19th December. AAI Cross Country (uneven ages, Novice) Tullamore.TrainingTraining continues each Tuesday and Thursday from the Clubhouse in Grange at 7pm and of course the all important Sunday morning session in Belvedere at 11am when not at competition, especially for those who have qualified for Derry. For the latest results, news and details of all upcoming fixtures check the Club’s website <>at www.mullingarharriers.com.