Mullingar Harriers Athletic Club

Record turn-out for first night of the Mullingar Road League.Despite the awful cold windy and wet weather and the attraction of Chelsea v Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final on TV.There was still a fantastic turn out of 296 participants for the opening night of the 2009 Mullingar Road League over the 5km trail through the woods of Belvedere on Wednesday evening last. This is a big increase on numbers in 2008, which would have brought a satisfied smile to the face of the late Pat Finnerty, who gave enormous service to the Club over many years and in whose memory the League is run. If the League continues to grow at this rate, we"ll have to consider capping the numbers competing! That"s something for next year perhaps.The huge turnout, which was a record for an individual round of the event, attracted athletes from many surrounding Counties and as in previous years, there was great praise for the safe traffic-free course. The rain stopped just before the start and though the course was a bit mucky, which might have slowed finish times a bit, everyone seemed to really enjoy the event and after a very closely fought race with the lead changing a few times, first to finish was Ger Heery (St. Brigid"s AC, Co. Meath) in 16:17, followed closely by last year"s overall fourth place finisher Peter Mooney (Na Fianna AC, Co. Meath) in 16:18 and Derek Creal (Bohermeen AC, Co. Meath) in 16:23. The first woman was Maire Triona Keane (Tullamore Harriers AC) in 18:40, with Mary Waters (Navan AC) second in 20:34, and Paula Murray (Mullingar Harriers) only 1 second behind in third. No great surprise that first junior man was Shane Fitzsimons (17:09) and first junior woman was Ciara Hewson (19:23), both of Mullingar Harriers.The League continues every Wednesday in May and even if you missed last week, you can register this week by just turning up at from 7pm with €20 in hand to register and collect your race number for the 8pm start. IIrrespective of your ability, or your perceived lack of it, there"ll always be someone to run or walk along with. Give it a go and you"ll be very glad that you did. We can confidently expect another large turnout for the remaining Wednesday evenings in May at 8pm. It will be interesting to see if all those who took part will improve on their time of last week.Many thanks to the Management and Staff of Belvedere House, Gardens & Park for making the grounds available for the League, to Westmeath Civil Defence for providing first aid cover, to all the officials and stewards, but especially to all those who took part. The League continues this Wednesday at 8pm and we expect even more people out to take part. Come on and give it a go.Leinster Novice and Master Road ChampionshipsIt"s been a while since Mullingar and Westmeath fielded Novice teams in the Leinster Road Race Championships, but confidence was high among the Mullingar contingent leading into the event on Bank Holiday Monday last (4th May) in Gowran, Co. Kilkenny and by day"s end that confidence was proved well founded, judging by the terrific results, and our senior athletes showed that it"s not just the underage athletes in the Club that have all the success.The day really got off to the best start when in the combined 3,000m for Novice and Master Women, Mary Scully found top form and was only very narrowly beaten into 2nd place overall, finishing in 10:53, a mere 2 seconds behind the overall race winner, but this was more than enough to take gold for 1st Novice woman and she led the Club and County team of Alwyn Kinane, Eva Ross and Patricia Broderick to win the Club and County team titles, to the delight of the Mullingar supporters.In the 6,000m race for Novice Men, first home for Mullingar was Maurice Looby in an excellent 12th place, followed closely by Matt Glennon and Aidan Gorry in 14th and 15th with Justin Murtagh in 17th providing the vital 4th score to ensure the team finished 2nd Club. Having terrific races and packing close behind, were Colm Walsh and Darragh Thornton making up the Westmeath team, which finished 2nd County. This was a terrific spirited team effort by all.In the final race, the 6,000m for Master Men, Ben Vaitkavichius was 4th overall in 20:19 and won his age category with a comfortable 5 seconds to spare over his nearest rival, reinforcing his formidable reputation as a master athlete.Le Cheile AC 5km Road RaceWith lashing rain showers and wild and freezing cold wind, no sane person should have stepped outdoors last Saturday morning (9th May), let alone try to run a 5km Road Race, but poor weather (or even fear of being branded insane!) can"t be allowed get in the way of a race and that"s exactly what must have been in the minds of Martin Lyons and Justin Murtagh as they travelled to Leixlip for the Le Chile AC 5km Road Race.Martin and Justin were very pleased with their performances in this very well organised race, which attracted about 150 athletes, a very big increase on last year, and is sure to establish itself as a favourite on the Road Race Calendar.Schools Regional ChampionshipsGood luck to the many Club members who will be competing for their schools and colleges in the Leinster Schools T&F Championships in Santry this Wednesday and Saturday and in the Connaught Schools T&F Championships in Athlone IT, also this Wednesday, as they seek qualification to the All-Ireland Schools finals on 30th May.Inter-County MatchThis coming Friday 15th will be the Annual Inter-County track and field match between Laois, Offaly and Westmeath for boys and girls from under 9 (born in 2001) to under 14 (born in 1996), starting at 6.30pm in Tullamore Harriers. This event is ideal for all our young newcomers, especially those that turn up to training each Tuesday and Thursday. This event has proved extremely popular in the past and gives everyone a chance to compete in a number of different events, so parents are particularly urged to make the effort and bring their children to Tullamore for what has always been a fun competition for our younger members. It"s assumed that most will travel by car to Tullamore themselves, but anyone needing a lift should be at O"Brien"s Topaz Filling Station on the Lynn Road by 5.45pm on Friday.Upcoming Fixtures13th Mullingar Road League, Round 2, Belvedere House and Gardens13th Connaught Schools T&F, Athlone IT13th/16th Leinster Schools T&F, Santry15th Juvenile (u/9 to u/14) Inter-County T&F Match (Offaly, Laois, Westmeath), Tullamore 6.30pm15th Navan AC 'Simon Cumbers Memorial' 4 mile Road Race, Navan17th AAI Games & Track Relays, AthloneTraining continues each Tuesday and Thursday from the Clubhouse in Grange at 7pm and at Belvedere on Sunday mornings at 11am. Check the Club"s website at www.mullingarharriers.com for results, news and details of all upcoming fixtures.