Success at Leinster Road Championships

The Athletics Leinster Novice and Masters Road Championships took place in a sunny Gowran, Kilkenny last Saturday, where Mullingar Harriers won three sets of club team medals, two sets of county team medals and three individual medals. Entries were up on previous years and the fine day allowed those who had finished to stay on and cheer subsequent races and enjoy refreshments.

The first race was the master women 3,000m where Mary Stuart won her master category and an individual gold, and with support from Caroline Mullen and Joanna Tyrrell racing hard to the end, the Mullingar team finished second club and county. Alan Crowley led the Mullingar team home in the master men 6,000m with a strong performance. With Eoin Clarke and Evan McCormack on his heels, and Eddie Newman only a few places behind, winning his master category, Mullingar finished second club. Completing the team were Enda O’Carolan, Patrick Muldoon and Nicky McCabe, helping the team to finish fourth county in a close contest.

Susan Glennon was Mullingar’s sole representative in the novice women 3,000m. At halfway, Susan was in a tight battle for third and though she fought hard in the second half of the race, she just couldn’t find the little extra needed and came home strongly in fourth. Top marks for determined effort; Susan is surely one to watch. In the novice men 6,000m race (Vinny Connolly was not on the team, as he finished second last year, and as an individual medal winner is no longer eligible to compete as a novice), Mullingar were determined. Vinny was in Gowran to cheer them on and share his insights for success over the 6k. Andrew Nevin ran a tactical race and was rewarded with third and individual bronze, and with the next three Mullingar men in the top 12 thanks – James Keegan (fifth), Ian McCormack (ninth) and Tony Doran (12th) – the team finished first club, retaining the title they won last year. Great packing and support from Kris Foster, Stephen Campbell, Andy Boyhan, Brian Martin and Padraig Beglin, meant the team bettered last year’s results by finishing first county too.

Well done to Gowran AC for being excellent hosts, and to all the Mullingar athletes on their performances.

Pat Finnerty 5k League begins this week

Round one of the Pat Finnerty Memorial 5k League is at Belvedere this Wednesday at 8pm, and the following two Wednesdays. The best two times count for the league, though we’d encourage everyone to run all three. Entry is €25 for three or two nights, but if you can only run the final night, entry is €15 for that race.

All proceeds go to North Westmeath Hospice. There is an option to donate to the Hospice when submitting your entry and we’ll also take donations on the night for anyone that wants to give more. There are prizes for top 3 men and women in the league, and first place master prizes in the usual categories, and spot prizes. The Pat Finnerty Perpetual Trophy will be presented to the first man and the first woman in the League.

Online entries are open at the Event Calendar on the top banner of the Athletics Ireland website or via the Mullingar Harriers website, we’ll take entries on the night from 6.30pm.

Mayo Women’s Mini-Marathon

As part of the Ballina 2023 celebrations, the Mayo Women’s 10k Mini Marathon in Ballina last Sunday morning had 1,600 finishers, a huge number in a 10k. A regular contestant in the event, Sinéad Whitelaw made her customary strong start, going with the leading group from the gun. Despite putting in a strong first 5k, a gap was developing on the eventual winner but with an equally strong second 5k, Sinéad consolidated her second place and established a good lead on third and finished in 37 minutes 49 seconds.

Throws Pentathlon success for Aidan O’Donoghue

At the Templemore AC Throws Weekend, Aidan O’Donoghue competed last Saturday in the master men throws pentathlon of hammer, shot putt, discus, weight throw and javelin. After a long day of close competition, Aidan emerged victorious in his age category, and the individual javelin event.

Great Limerick Run

The Great Limerick Run last Sunday morning included a choice of race distances. Joan Flynn ran the marathon, which started near the city centre and took the runners east towards the Castletroy area before doubling back to the city centre and heading south to the Raheen area, completing a big loop and returning to the city centre again, where they crossed Sarsfield Bridge to the west side of the Shannon. After two loops on the west side, they returned to Sarsfield Bridge again, crossed the Shannon once more and finished on O’Connell Street. While there lots of long straights, the course also had lots of twists and turns, so everyone had to keep on their toes and carefully follow the instructions of the stewards. Joan endured warm conditions in the second half, to finish second woman in 3hrs, 3min 22s. Running the half marathon, Paul Byrne finished in 1hr 35min 16s. That will give him confidence that with further training a sub-3 hour marathon can’t be far off.

Drogheda 10k

The Drogheda 10k last Sunday afternoon attracted 1,260 finishers, including Kieran Nolan. The race starts and finishes in the town centre, which creates an great atmosphere and runs along the banks of the Boyne. The race is hosted by Drogheda and District AC and raises for development of the club. Kieran was happy with his race and he finished in 38min 36s, well up in 42nd place overall, and in his master category.

North and South Leinster Schools

A number of the club underage athletes were in action last Wednesday for their schools and colleges at the North Leinster Schools T&F in Tullamore. As expected, a great many of them – too many to mention by name – secured places at the Leinster Schools T&F Finals in two weeks in Tullamore. This week, more underage members will be competing at the South Leinster Schools T&F in SETU Carlow, also looking to qualify for the Leinster Schools, the next step towards the All-Ireland Schools T&F Finals in early June.

Club’s youngest athletes to compete in Tullamore

Athletics Offaly has notified us of the Midland Inter-County Juvenile T&F Match between Laois, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath, in Tullamore Harriers Stadium on Friday May 19 at 6pm. Boys and girls from U9 (born 2015) to U14 (born 2010) can compete. Despite the title, this is a low-key, friendly competition and a chance for everyone to try several events – sprint, middle distance, long jump, turbo javelin or shot. If you competed in the recent Mullingar Harriers Juvenile Spring T&F Meet, you’re in for a treat in Tullamore as it will be just as much fun.

There is no pre-selection – just turn up and compete. This is an ideal competition for younger athletes and newcomers and we hope all our younger club members take part. It’s an inter-county competition, so wear your club vest, so everyone knows you’re from Westmeath. Remember 5mm spikes or runners only on the track in Tullamore.

Leinster T&F outdoor dates

The dates for the Leinster T&F have been published and are on the club and the Athletics Leinster websites. Important Juvenile fixtures and dates are Children’s Games (U9, U10 and U11) and U12 and U13 T&F (4 June) in Tullamore, entries close May 24; Combined Events (June 10) at a venue to be confirmed, entries close May 31; sprint relays (June 11) at a venue to be confirmed, entries close May 31; and the U14 to U19 T&F (June 17 and 18) in Tullamore, entries close June 7. All entries are on-line and we’ll use the Heja groups to let parents know how to enter.

The Leinster Junior, Senior and Masters T&F are on May 27 and 28 in SETU Carlow. All entries are online and athletes enter themselves. Entries open soon; the final closing date is May 17.

Road race catch-up

The Royal Canal Run two weeks ago included 10k and half marathon and was held in cool, damp conditions on the loop around Longford. Almost 300 ran the 10k, where Andrew Nevin raced to the front from the gun, and was never challenged to win in 34min 16s. Jacintha Reilly joined over 230 others for the half marathon and after an excellent run finished in 27th overall, in 1hr 32min 1s, fourth woman. The St Andrews AC 10k also two weeks ago took place in Ashbourne. The entry was small, at 68, but Enda Seery reports that he had a decent run on a course with a good few twists and turns and was happy to finish fifth in 39min 49s.

Further update on National 10k results

Last week we were able to confirm that Eddie Newman, Mary Stuart and Maura Dervin would receive their master category individual medals from the National 10k, run in conjunction with the Great Ireland Run, and this week we’re pleased to confirm that the master women team of Mary Stuart, Maura Dervin and Emer O’Hanlon were confirmed in second place and the master men team of Eddie Newman, James Cribbin and Paul Byrne were confirmed in third place and will receive national team medals.

Bon Voyage to Lt Ian McCormack

Finally, everyone at the club wishes the best to our men’s captain, Lt Ian McCormack as he heads to the Lebanon this week for a tour of duty with UNIFIL. We wish Ian a safe and successful tour of duty and look forward to welcoming him home at the end of the year.

• mullingarharriers.com or Facebook for more news.