The running man

Jim Langan has been running for 53 years and has no intention of hanging up his trainers. While the Tullamore Harrier admits that he likes to come as close to the front of the pack as he can when competing.But winning isn"t the ultimate thrill, the reason that Jim keeps going is love for the sport, plain and simple.The father of eight - and grandfather of eight more - retired last year and now runs not once but twice every day, when most people at his age would be putting their feet up with a good book.Jim, although born and bred in Kilbeggan became a Tullamore Harrier as it is closer to the town than Mullingar.'No. I don"t want to stop,' said Jim. 'I have only had one injury in all these years, when my hamstring went for about six or seven months. 'Apart from that I have always been in good health and I don"t drink and I don"t smoke. I eat fairly plain food, no special diets or anything. Just meat, potatoes and vegetables.'Whatever Jim"s secret is, it"s still working, as he continues to take first place at Masters competitions across the country at the grand age of 66.This January he took three gold medals at the Irish Masters indoors championship and came in seventh at the national cross country championships. He followed those successes by taking gold at Enniscorthy last month.'I was actually favourite to take gold at the cross country as well but ended up coming in seventh. I have never let not winning get me down in all the years I"ve been running. My motto is: never say die and so when it came to Enniscorthy I just started over again and took the gold.'I think that running against 18-year-olds and almost never winning when I was a youngster was great training for me. Back then there were no under 14s and so I hardly ever took a medal but still I kept going.'It"s sort of like boxing. A boxing might get beaten but it doesn"t stop him coming back for the next fight.'Jim still runs an average of 60 miles a week and is currently in training for the Leinster Masters amongst other things.'My aim when I run isn"t about medals or anything like that. I just want to come as close to the front of the pack as I can and if I don"t I will just train harder for the next race.'I can still remember the first time I ever ran in a competition. In 1956 there was a one mile run around the race track in Kilbeggan and I came third. From then on I had the bug but of course running is in my family and my uncles Ned and Tom were well known in the county back as far as 1910 or so. My father was a sportsman too but he preferred football and took a senior championship medal with Kilbeggan Shamrocks in 1919.'It"s nice to see some of the young ones doing well. Linda Conroy and Jake Byrne from Mullingar Harriers are doing very well and I like to keep an eye for them as they rise through the ranks,' said Jim.Road improvementsget underwayThe Kilbeggan area has been given a total of €3,568,600 for road maintenance and improvement for the coming year. The figure represents an overall increase of 5.8 per cent in funding allocation for the area which has been given by both the Department of Transport and Westmeath County Council.The biggest boost to the area will come in the form of a €400,000 allocation for the Clara/Comagh Road Link which is to get underway in the next few weeks, weather permitting.'This will make a huge improvement to the area and we will no longer have to suffer heavy goods vehicles holding up traffic on the Clara Road,' Fianna Fail councillor Paul Daly.'We have been pushing for this link road for a long time and are delighted to see it come to fruition.'The area is to have a general face lift with footpath repairs planned throughout the town. The footpaths the Comagh Road junction on the Main Street will be repaired, as will the concrete road at St Mary"s.There will also be new footpaths and drainage work at Moyvore and 200 metres of drainage and footpaths from the existing path at McCawleys and from McCawleys to the West Side of the village.Ballinagore (Killinalahan) will have flooding relief works done, Castletown Geoghan will have school safety flashing lights fitted and there will be improving sight lines painted at Ballynacarrow north if Loughnavalley.Surface dressing works will also commence in the coming weeks at Kilcumeragh through to Rosemount, Rahugh to Mountrath, at Gorhy and Corey"s Cross in Castletown Geoghan and at Stonehouse farm at the Demesne Road in Kilbeggan.'It"s great to see that these works are going ahead despite the tough economic times were are facing,' said councillor Daly.SWEETS notesOccupational First Aid Course: This is a four-day Occupational First Aid course, delivered in 2 training modules, which meets the requirements of the Health and Safety Regulations. Successful candidates will receive FETAC Level 5 Certification. Course fees are €175 including FETAC certification. Courses will be run at SWEETS training centre, Kilbeggan, County Westmeath.Module 1: Tuesday and Wednesday, March 10th & 11th 9.30a.m. to 4.30pm. Module 2. Thursday and Friday, March 19th & 20th, 9.30a.m. to 4.30pm. For further information contact SWEETS on 0579332030 or e-mail info@sweets.ieGo Kilbeggan!Please note also that Scoil an Chlochair will play their first semi final in thirty years in Cumann na mBunscoil competition next Tuesday March 10th. in Milltown GAA at 4.30pm.This is truly a historic occasion.Beidh Seachtain na Gaeilge ar siúl idir 2-17 Márta sa Scoil. Beidh Ceolshoirm, Tráth na g Ceist agus Céilí ar siúl i rith na seachtaineSt Joseph"s meetingThere will be a meeting of Kilbeggan / St. Joseph"s junior GAA football club on Friday March 13 at 8.15pm at Streamstown Clubhouse.Under 12 and fourteens began training in Kilbeggan last Saturday March 7 and will continue next week. A great attendance was reported on a very wet morning.