Harriers dominate Virtual Mullingar Half Marathon

After being postponed just days before it was due to be held on its traditional date of St Patrick’s Day, the Mullingar Half Marathon eventually became a virtual event due to the Covid-19 social restrictions, so runners could run the 21.1km distance any day last week, time themselves with a GPS device and submit proof of their times online.

A group of Mullingar Harriers AC athletes ran the half marathon distance last Saturday morning to coincide with the virtual event, covering much of the original race course.

Leading the Harriers home were James Keegan in 1:19:19, Eddie Newman with 1:19:39 and Gerard Gavin, who ran 1:21:21. Those times were also the three fastest times entered in the overall virtual event giving the club full occupancy of the podium.

Shortly behind the leading men was Áine O’Reilly in 1:28:04, the fastest time for a lady and so she leads the female standings.

In the group of 26 Harriers who ran the virtual event, a total of seven ran personal bests for the half marathon distance. Alan Crowley just missed a top three finish with 1:22:27, while Amy Mahony also had a very strong run, finishing in 1:36:43.

Other Harriers recording personal bests were Emer O'Hanlon (1:41:21), Mary Stuart (1:41:35), Máirtín Savage (1:41:39), Siobhan Farry (1:42:45) and Caroline Mullen (1:52:08).

During the week a number of Harriers ran the 21.1km distance on their own, taking the total number of Harriers completing the virtual event to 32.

Among those solo runs was Jenny Algar, who ran 1:33:40 and Enda Seery, who also recorded a personal best time of 1:29:20. Jenny’s effort was the second quickest recorded by a female runner and with Amy Mahony’s run the third fastest, the Harriers ladies also dominated the virtual podium.

While the road race calendar remains empty, the dedication of the Harriers towards their training is commendable. With so few targets to aim for the work rate of the club’s athletes is still paying off with personal improvements and great achievements.

If it wasn’t for Covid-19, the cross country course in Belvedere would have been constructed and ready for the Westmeath schools cross country this Wednesday, which would have given many of our underage members an ideal warm up for the Star of the Sea AC open cross country in County Meath, an event that has marked the opening cross country fixture for the club for many years.

Of course, both events are cancelled but we can still look forward to the Westmeath cross country championships over two days in Belvedere on Sundays October 4 and 11, which will be used as trials for team selections for the Leinsters. These are open races, so anyone can take part and you don’t need to be a member of a club.

Both Leinster cross country events are scheduled to take place on Saturdays this year. The Leinster junior, novice and juvenile even ages will take place on Saturday October 24 and the Leinster senior and juvenile uneven ages will take place on Saturday November 7.

Further ahead, the All-Ireland senior, junior and juvenile even ages will be held in Santry Demesne on Sunday November 22 and the All-Ireland novice and juvenile uneven ages will be held in Gowran, Co. Kilkenny on Sunday December 6.

The Westmeath, Leinster and All-Ireland events will be held in strict compliance with Covid-19 hygiene and health requirements, so they will feel quite different to previous years with limits on spectators, everyone leaving straight after their race and no staying to watch later races, event start times might be earlier and races spread out over a longer day to ensure the limit on numbers allowed to attend an outdoor event are met.

Many members have not raced since early March and we’re encouraging everyone to support the events as best as they can, safe in the knowledge that the health of athletes, officials and spectators will be central to the organisation of the events.

For the latest news, results and details of fixtures check the club’s Facebook page or the website at www.mullingarharriers.com.