Bobbie Begley and Joe Ryan of Mullingar Harriers with the poster for the Joe Dolan 5k.

You could win a pair of one-day tickets to the 2012 Olympic Games in London - if you enter the inaugural Joe Dolan Memorial 5k run.

Organised by Mullingar Harriers Athletic Club, the event is on Saturday April 21 at noon.

All entrants will be included in the draw for the Olympic tickets.

This will be the first ever official race over the Joe Dolan Bridge and is expected to be the largest road race ever seen in Mullingar.

Race organisers, Bobbie Begley and Joe Ryan said the run is the day after the My Brother Joe Show in The Greville Arms Hotel.

"It ties in nicely with the tribute show to Joe," said Bobbie, "and I'm sure his legion of fans will make a weekend of it and come out to see the bridge named in Joe's honour.

"The race will be started by Joe's brother Ben close to his home on the Lynn Road and the finish is at Tri and Run at the Topaz Filling Station on the Lynn Road," he said.

"This is ideal preparation for ladies doing the mini-marathon in June, Fit4Life and Meet 'n' Train groups, as it will be a leisurely, non-competitive race," Bobbie added.

"Equally it would be suitable for total beginners who are just starting out on the fitness trail."

To that end Joe Ryan has devised a simple four-week training programme designed to prepare novices to running.

"It is a very easy to follow schedule, centred on light exercise such as walking, combined with jogging and stretching," said Joe.

It is at www.mullingarharriers.com - the first part is also on our Fit page, P22 of the current issue of the Westmeath Examiner.

Entries for the event, which it is hoped will be annual, are available online at the Harriers website or on www.precisiontiming.com, which will be chip-timing all the entrants.

The entry fee is €10 or €15 on the day.