Mullingar athletes impress at Dublin Marathon

Mullingar Harriers club notes

The Irish Life Dublin Marathon had its 43rd staging around the streets of the capital last Sunday morning. Nearly 20% of the 22,500 that registered and paid their entry fee didn’t actually take to the start line, but for the nearly 18,000 that did, a bright overcast morning welcomed them.

With a light breeze and temperature at 10degC, it was decent running conditions for all, including the 47 athletes from Mullingar Harriers, though stiffening winds and rain came for those who were still on the course at 12.30pm and later.

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 marathon started at Leeson Street Lower and, over five waves, athletes started between 8.40am and 9.45am. Overall, the event went off without any hitches and all our athletes were complimentary of the race organisation, highlighting plenty of feeding stations and good stewarding at all the junctions. A good number of Mullingar Harriers that weren’t competing gave excellent support throughout the course for their club mates taking part, which was greatly appreciated by all our runners, so well done to all those that travelled to lend vocal support, it really does help.

Eight Mullingar athletes finished in under 3 hours, another 18 under 3 hours 30 minutes, another two under 3 hours 40 minutes, five under 3 hours 50 minutes, and five just under 4 hours.

Among all the performances are several personal best times, some with significant improvements. Times aside, however, congratulations to everyone that finished and it’s testament to the hard work put in over many months. We don’t have the results for national or Leinster individual or team awards yet, but we’ll get them during the week and hope to include them in next week’s notes.

Leading the big Mullingar squad home was Alan Crowley in an impressive 2 hours 48 minutes 6 seconds, followed by Eoin Clarke in 2:48:46 and Eddie Newman in 2:50:35. Our first woman to finish was Ciara Foy in a terrific 2 hours 57 minutes 49 seconds, followed by Susan Glennon in a great 3:06:34 on her debut for the distance, and Mary Stuart in 3:11:03, which is impressive considering she ran 3:14 in Amsterdam only a week before.

Also competing was Paul Forrestal (2:52:42), Griffin Kearney (2:52:58), Ollie Geoghegan (2:56:33), Robert Downes (2:58:57), Evan McCormack (3:05:20), James Cribbin (3:08:24), Murty Hanly (3:08:30), Tommy Byrne (3:08:50), Darren Carroll (3:10:46), Jacintha Reilly (3:11:15), Enda Seery (3:12:14), Tony Doran (3:14:23), Joan Flynn (3:14:38), Brian Collentine (3:14:57), Mick Fagan (3:15:26), Dara O’Shea (3:18:33), Criona Reid (3:19:05), Aeilish McGovern (3:20:53), Kieran Dodrill (3:21:06), Mark Geoghegan (3:29:42), Orla Gillespie (3:30:14), Paul Byrne (3:36:46), Mark Dunne (3:46:53), Colm Brennan (3:47:01), Gemma Kelly (3:47:03), Marie Louise Johnston (3:47:20), Conor Corcoran (3:47:37), Linda Cunnigham (3:51:30), Eithne Spellman (3:52:31), Leona Behan (3:55:09), Shaun Mills (3:56:41), John Madden (3:57:24), Joe Fagan (4:03:34), Aisling Farrell (4:07:50), Aisling Corcoran (4:07:50), Stephen Olwell (4:08:31), Ray Smyth (4:27:56), Gerard Heraty, (4:35:22), Lorraine Claffey (4:38:53), Anna Redmond (4:44:18) and Martin Mullen (4:48:21).

No training at Halloween

This Thursday is Halloween, so there will be no training at the club and the grounds will not be open. Enjoy the break and stay safe!

Cross country

This coming Saturday, a squad of more than 110 Mullingar athletes are entered for the second round of the Leinster cross country that will be held in Tinahely, County Wicklow, all chasing Leinster cross country glory and looking to qualify for the national finals in December.

We have teams in every race from under 11 years to senior. About half of the girls and boys on the U11 teams moved up to run U12 in Dunboyne, but for the rest of them, this will be their first experience of Leinster championship racing and we wish them well and encourage 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 our young under 11 teams.

Athletics Wicklow will hold non-championship races for girls U9 at 11am and for boys U9 at 11.10am. There is no entry fee, simply go to the start line when the race is called, and there will be medals for the top 12 finishers in each race.

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. If for any reason you can’t compete in Tinahely, please let club officials know as soon as possible so we can 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 tent and flags 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 the correct length of 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 is all it takes.

Having a warm sweat shirt, 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 against 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 our club grounds and who run from the Clubhouse on training nights. Safety is a must at all times.

Check the club website at mullingarharriers.com or the Facebook page for updates.