Great showing by Mullingar athletes in Dublin Marathon

Twenty five members of Mullingar Harriers completed the 42nd running of the Dublin Marathon on Sunday. Held in ideal weather conditions with a light wind and temperature of 12degC, a field of just over 20,000 took to the start line in different waves. The event incorporated the national marathon and the Athletics Leinster marathon, and with individual and team medals to be won in both, competition was keen across all age categories.

The results from the different categories and teams will not be known for a number of days, but in the meantime, we can record the individual performances of our own members in the race. Five finished in under 3 hours (one in a personal best time), another seven under 3 hours 30 minutes (all in personal bests), another four under 3 hours 40 minutes (all in personal bests too), two under 3 hours 50 minutes (one in a personal best), five just under 4 hours (two of them in personal bests), and finally two more making their debuts over the distance so their times can count as personal bests too.

Including the debut runners, that’s a total of 17 personal best times from 25 members, a brilliant day’s work and testament to the hard work put in by all of them over many months.

First to finish from Mullingar was Ray Hynes in an excellent 2 hours 26 minutes 42 seconds, the fastest time for a marathon by a member of Mullingar Harriers for many years. Following him in was Johnny Morrissey (2:42:27, a personal best), Ken Whitelaw (2:50:45), Eddie Newman (2:52:29) and Kieran Nolan (2:53:05) completing the quintet of sub-three hour men.

The first woman Harriers finisher was Niamh McEntegart in a fine 3 hours 11 minutes 49 seconds, a best time by more than 30 minutes, then Mary Stuart (3:12:03, an improvement on her best by 6 minutes), Tommy Byrne (3:13:04, an improvement of 20 minutes), then Jacintha Reilly (3:16:21), Paul Byrne (3:26:20), Dara O’Shea (3:29:01) and Criona Reid (3:29:25) all in personal best times.

Also running personal bests were Aisling Corcoran (3:30:24), Darren Carroll (3:30:30), Aeilish McGovern (3:32:49) and John Meehan (3:39:50). Also delighted to cover the distance in excellent times were Joan Hickson (3:44:40), Maria Doherty (3:45:54), Gemma Kelly (3:55:45), Jane Creevy (3:56:41), John Keane (3:58:14), Marie Louise Johnston (3:58:26), Cormac Murray (3:58:40), and two making their marathon debuts, Ray Smyth (4:29:32) and Martin Mullen (4:36:55) completing the Mullingar group.

Mullingar chases further cross country glory

This coming Saturday, more than 90 underage and over 20 adult Mullingar athletes will make the relatively short journey to Dunboyne for the second round of the Leinster cross country, looking for further cross country glory and qualification for the All-Ireland Finals in December.

We have teams in every race from U11 to Senior. For many on our U11 teams, this will be their first experience of Leinster Championship racing and we wish them well and remind them that no matter what, it’s only a race and they should do their best to enjoy the experience.

Club officials will be on hand to provide encouragement and to settle any last minute nerves if necessary. Parents and supporters are asked to get behind all our athletes and encourage them as usual, but particularly the younger teams.

There will be non-championship races for girls U9 before the championship races proper, and runners simply go to the start line when the race is called. The first championship race will be the girls U11 at 11.30am, followed by the boys U11 and the rest of the programmes in succession. A number of underage athletes did not show up in Kilkenny two weeks ago, which is disappointing given the cost of entries and the negative impact it had on some team results, so if for any reason you can’t compete in Dunboyne, please let club officials know as soon as possible so we can try to arrange a substitute.

The timetable for the day is on the Athletics Leinster website and Facebook page. When planning your journey, please allow extra time for traffic delays entering the venue in order to arrive on time and get to know the course. Aim to be at the course at least one hour before your race and head for the club banners to collect your race number.

Bring a change of clothes, a packed lunch, water or sports drink, rain gear, club vest, four safety pins for your race number (most forgot the pins last time) and check that you have suitably long spikes. Parents and adults are advised to bring rain gear and proper footwear. Newcomers in particular are reminded that they must wear a club vest (buy one at training or borrow one).

Dressing for the cold

We’re starting to get a reminder lately of how cold it can get at training, so it’s a good time to remind all athletes that they should wear appropriate running gear for the cold weather. Warm clothing is essential and that includes going to and from training and competition. A pair of lightweight gloves, a woolen hat and a few layers of warm clothing are all it takes. Having a warm sweatshirt, fleece or jacket for after training is especially important.

Parents of younger juveniles should insist that they wear the proper clothing. Also, lightweight running tights or leggings are recommended and will give much needed protection against the cold. Athletes not properly dressed for the cold weather will not perform to their best.

Road safety

Now that the clocks have changed to winter time, the evenings are dark early, so all club members must wear reflective clothing when running on the road. That includes all who use the club grounds and who run from the clubhouse on training nights. Safety is a must at all times.

Check the club website at www.mullingarharriers.com or Facebook page for all the latest news.