Mullingar Harriers gear up for new cross country season

The first important cross country fixture of the new season is the annual Westmeath Schools Cross Country, which will be held as usual in the grounds of Belvedere House on Wednesday September 28. The programme will commence at 11am with the secondary schools, followed at 12 noon by the primary schools. All schools should receive notification and full details in the coming week.All Club officials should keep that day free if at possible to help out.Also, it has been confirmed that the date for the Leinster Cross Country Championship in Belvedere is Sunday October 30. We will require a large number of helpers and volunteers on the day, so another date for the diary.The large numbers turning up for training indicates that we will be quite strong in both adult and underage competitions this cross country season, with our first competition in just two weeks time at the Star of the Sea AC open cross country fixture on Sunday 25th September.Road SafetyWith the evenings now getting shorter, all Club members are reminded that they 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.'Fit 4 Life' is backThe 'Fit 4 Life' group is back at the Club grounds on Wednesday evenings at 7pm.Bohermeen 5 MileThis coming Sunday, a large contingent of our senior and master athletes will be taking part in the annual Bohermeen AC 5 mile road race, where there will be both individual and team prizes on offer. Given recent results on the road race circuit, Mullingar athletes are sure to feature in the prizes.Also this coming Sunday morning, we hope to see a large turn-out of all our underage athletes in Belvedere at 11am.They will get to know the course for all the forthcoming events, as well as having a good training and coaching session.We will be training on either the cross country course or on the trail run, depending on weather conditions. Also, our sprinters will be continuing their winter conditioning training programme. Now is the time to start getting in the hard sessions.London 2012 draws nearerThe recent World Athletics Championships in Daegu were compulsive viewing over the 10 days, with emerging young stars from around the World giving us a taste of what we can expect to see at the Olympic Games in London next August. What a thrill there is in store for all those that intend to travel to London for the Games to see at close quarters all the top athletes and World record holders. More on that trip later.Recent Road Race ResultsDingle sure is a long way to go for a race, but last Saturday a small group from Mullingar was among the estimated 1,400 that took to the line for the Dingle Half Marathon. Despite a tough hilly course, Paddy Kelly paced himself nicely, happy to keep in third place until mile 12 when he moved into second place but just couldn't run down the strong finishing winner in the closing stages but was still delighted to finish second overall in a new personal best time of 1:17:58.Also competing and enjoying the experience and running well in Dingle were Enda O'Carolan, Mick Murtagh, Miriam Walsh and Brian Maguire.Also last Saturday, nearly 700 took part in the AAI National Half Marathon in Waterford, where Eddie Newman clearly enjoyed and made the most of the excellent course to finish in a terrific time of 1:19:08, with Christy Creagh also running extremely well to finish in 1:44:09, placing him third in his master age-category.Nearer to home, last Sunday in very wet conditions, the inaugural Lough Rynn Castle 10km road race in Mohill, Co. Leitrim attracted 200 athletes, which is an excellent entry for a new race.Starting and finishing in Lough Rynn Estate and running over closed County roads with plenty of hills, Martin Lyons and Maura Dervin were simply too strong for the opposition in the men's and women's races and came home victorious.Well done to all our road race athletes on these fine performances last week-end.FixturesSeptember 7 Roscommon 5km Series (Round 2 of 4), BoyleSeptember 10 Kilmore AC 10km Road Race, Kilmore, Co. WexfordSeptember 10 The Lakes 10km, Blessington, Co. WicklowSeptember 11 Bohermeen AC 5 Mile Road RaceTrainingTraining continues each Tuesday and Thursday from the Clubhouse in Grange at 7pm and Belvedere at 11am on Sunday morning.For the latest results, news and details of all upcoming fixtures check the Club's website at www.mullingarharriers.com.