Mullingar set to host Leinster Cross Country

Mullingar Harriers is delighted to announce that the Leinster Cross Country Championship for Novice men and women, Master men and women, and for boys and girls under 12, 14, 16 and 18 years has been fixed for Belvedere on Sunday 24th October. There will also be non-Championship races for boys and girls under 10 years. Belvedere last hosted a Leinster Cross Country back in 2006, when the course and facilities were met with universal approval, so the return to Belvedere in 2010 will be welcomed by all athletes across the Province. This will be a huge undertaking for the Club, as almost two thousand athletes will be taking part and thousands of spectators expected to attend the event. Teams will be selected to represent the Club and Westmeath from the forthcoming Westmeath Cross Country Championships in early October. Further details will follow in the coming weeks.Outstanding results for Mullingar at Ballyfin Junior Cross CountryThe cross country season commenced last Saturday (18th Sept) for junior athletes and a small number of juveniles at the excellent grounds of Emo Court in Co. Laois, where there was a truly superb course laid out for the Ballyfin Junior Cross Country, and we saw some really outstanding performances from all the Mullingar athletes who traveled to compete.The heavy rain cleared just in time for the first race (under 11 girls 600m) where young Aoife Darby ran a fine race to finish in second place, just a few metres behind the winner. Next up was Eoin Quinn who was the youngest runner in the 600m race for under 11 boys where he ran very well for fourth place. The under 13 girls 1,000m saw Niamh Quinn come with a late sprint, showing fine speed in the final 200m to win a very competitive race. In the under 15 boys 1,600m it was a clean sweep for Mullingar with Padraig Moran running a well controlled race to win confidently from the vastly improved Liam O’Reilly in second with Oisin Quinn winning the sprint to the line to nail third place. This was a great result for these young athletes.In the 2,600m junior ladies race, Ciara Hewson was having her first race in junior competition and clearly relished the opportunity to race against athletes older than her. Ciara led from the start and increased her advantage with every stride on the last lap to record a convincing victory and win a handsome first prize. Having missed much of the track season she is clearly back to her very best again.Mullingar had a strong contingent in action in the 4,000m junior men race where it was great to see Jake Byrne continue his recent good form when winning easily. He also took control from the outset and significantly increased his lead on the final lap. Jake can confidently look forward to the cross country season and can add to his number of International appearances over the course of the season. Excellent support was provided by the hugely improved Robert Yorke who had his best cross country race for some time to finish in fourth place, just a few metres ahead of Thomas Fagan in fifth, looking very sharp and fit in his first race for some time. They were closely followed by Adam Daly, who ran a very solid race and was full of running at the finish to secure an excellent team win for Mullingar.Dublin Half MarathonThere was a record entry of over 8,000 competitors, including runners, joggers and walkers, for the 2010 Dublin Half Marathon in the Phoenix Park last Saturday morning (18th Sept). The rain started to fall as most of the runners were passing the five mile mark, but it didn’t seem to affect the pace. The final few miles in the heavier rain were not nice, as everyone was running right into it, but it could have been a lot worse. For a lot of the runners, this was a big test of how their legs would hold up for the Dublin City Marathon on 25th October.As always, Mullingar was well represented among the very large entry, most notably by Eddie Newman who finished 63rd overall (5th in his master age-category) with a fine 79:04 performance, which is yet another half marathon personal best time for Eddie, shaving a few more seconds off the PB he set in the AAI National Half Marathon in Laois just two weeks ago. Also competing and running very well in the thronging crowd were Mark Carroll (82:17), JP O’Brien (88:32), Justin Murtagh (89:16) and Ciara Dillon (93:03). Ciara’s performance earned her a very credible 21st senior lady placing. Congratulations to them all and we wish them well in their training towards the Marathon in October.Martin Fagan confirms his World class credentialsIn Newcastle, England on Sunday last (19th Sept), Martin Fagan took his rightful place among the elite men on the start line for the massively popular BUPA Great North Run, which with an entry of 54,000 is the biggest half marathon in the World. Martin was wearing number 6 for the race, and with athletes of the calibre of Haile Gebrsellassie (Ethiopia), Kiplimo Kimutai (Kenya), Jaouad Gharib (Morocco) and Dathan Ritzenhein (USA) joining him on the front line, this is proof positive if any is needed of how well regarded Martin is on the International road race circuit.Martin wisely ignored the early break by four athletes after one mile and remained with the chasing group, which slowly closed the gap down over the next 12 miles but in the end there was no great surprise that victory went to Gebrsellassie.For Martin to have won would have meant significantly improving on his Irish record for the distance but he was still very pleased with his 7th place finish in 63:24, the second European to finish, over a distance that is dominated by African athletes. With performances like this Martin, continues to demonstrate why he is regarded as one of a select group of truly World class athletes to emerge from Ireland.Clonkill 5km Road RaceLast Sunday (19th Sept) saw the first running of the Clonkill 5km Road Race, organized as a fund-raiser by Clonkill GAA. The organizers laid out a testing course with plenty of sharp hills, ensuring that personal best times for 5km were extremely unlikely.Weather was reasonably kind with mist and a few light showers, but not much wind thankfully. Martin Lyons continued his good road race form of late with a good win in the inaugural event in a time of 16:50, followed by Tom McGrath in second place and taking the prize for first local man too.Another local man, Christy Creagh was very pleased with his top 10 finish.The ladies race was won by Vera McCool with an excellent run, followed by Tricia Broderick in second place. Well done to Clonkill GAA on their initiative.Cross country season begins in earnestThis coming Sunday, the annual Star of the Sea AC cross country meeting takes place at Greenanstown, near Stamullen, Co. Meath. For the past five years Mullingar has won the perpetual trophy for best all-round Club and hopefully we will retain the trophy this year. But, to do that, we must have all our athletes turn out. There is a large programme of races, including senior, junior and master men and women, plus all the juvenile races for boys and girls from under 9 years up to under 17 years. We expect to have full teams in every age-group. This is an ideal fixture for newcomers, especially all those who have been training at the Club recently.With the first race at 11am, an early start is a must, and transport will leave from O’Brien’s Topaz filling station on the Lynn Road at 9am sharp. It will be the first cross country race for several of our newcomers. All are reminded to bring a packed lunch and a change of clothing, depending on the weather conditions. Also parents are advised to bring appropriate clothing and footwear, such as Wellington boots. Full details at training on Thursday night.Westmeath Schools Cross CountryThe ever popular Westmeath Schools Cross Country will be held in Belvedere next Wednesday (29th Sept), with the secondary schools races starting at 11am, followed by the primary schools at 12 noon. We’re advising everyone attending to come early, as it will get very busy near the start time. A big turnout is expected, so if you can spare a few hours from 11am to help out, it would be greatly appreciated.The Star of the Sea AC and the Westmeath Schools cross country fixtures will be good preparation for the Westmeath Cross Country championships on 4th and 11th October when Club and County teams will be selected for the forthcoming Leinster cross country championships.Fixtures26th Midlands Mini Marathon 10km Road Race, Annebrook House Hotel, Mullingar26th Star of the Sea AC Open Cross Country, Stamullin, Co. Meath26th Rathfarnham 5km Road Race 29th Westmeath Schools Cross Country, Belvedere3rd Oct. Westmeath AAI Cross Country (even ages), Belvedere10th Westmeath AAI Cross Country (uneven, Novice, Senior, Master), BelvedereTrainingTraining continues each Tuesday and Thursday from the Clubhouse in Grange at 7pm and at Belvedere on Sunday mornings at 11am. For results, news and details of all upcoming fixtures check the Club’s website <>at www.mullingarharriers.com..com.