Harriers to mark 50 years with book launch social event at Bloomfield House Hotel

On the 1 December 1975, 18 people attended a meeting at St Mary’s CBS, Mullingar. The purpose of that meeting was to form Mullingar Harriers and Athletic Club. 50 years later, to mark this milestone, the club is launching a book that traces the events and activities that have shaped its evolution from those early days to the current time.

With contributions from members past and present, it is a journey through the life of athletics in Mullingar and further afield over the last half century. A gallery of photos through the years brings further visual life to the experiences of those who have been and who continue to enjoy the club’s activities.

On Wednesday 24 September, at Bloomfield House Hotel, past and present members of Mullingar Harriers will come together for the launch of the book, which celebrates 50 years of success 1975-2025. Club members and anyone interested can pre-order the book from the club’s website [MO’S].

Her Outdoors

“Bring your Mum for a run” was a unique event that took place at Mullingar Harriers last Tuesday evening (19 Aug) when juvenile athletes were encouraged to bring their mother, granny, aunt or any other significant adult female to join them for a training session. The event was held as part of the National “HER Outdoors Week”, a Sport Ireland initiative, which aimed to encourage more females to get out and enjoy the benefits of the outdoors.

More than 50 ladies arrived to take part with their child, with many participating in a fun training session, which included trying the long jump, high jump, javelin, hurdles and sprints. Others volunteered to help out, as there was lots to be organised and refreshments to be served after the training session. All participants received a free Mullingar Harriers branded gear bag, kindly funded by Athletics Ireland and HER Outdoors Week [SW].

Celbridge 5k

Celbridge AC held their annual 5k race starting from their clubhouse, running around the town and finishing with 1 lap of their track. On a beautiful evening last Thursday, Jamie Wallace and Andy Nevin toed the line along with 680 other competitors. Jamie competing in his second ever 5k was the first Mullingar Harrier home, finishing in eighth place overall in a time of 15:22, which was good enough to win the u/20 race. Andy has been running longer races in preparation for this coming marathon season and finished in tenth place overall in a time of 15:25, a new personal best for him [TW].

Longford Half Marathon

With a festival of races in Longford last Sunday, including an Ultra Marathon, Marathon, Half Marathon and 5k options, some athletes from Mullingar Harriers took the opportunity to test their training progress over the half marathon distance as they target events later in the autumn. Evan McCormack and Eoin Clarke paced the 1:30 runners, while similarly Eithne Spellman and Joan Hickson tracked the 1:50 pace

group. Among the nearly 490 competitors proper, Joan Mulvihill and Matt Johnston worked together and were pleased to come home well inside their sub-2 hour target, both recording times of 1:57:30 while Aine Kane was very happy to finish in 2:01:37. Conditions were described as warm and humid, especially in the latter part of the race, with the relatively flat opening 16k giving way to a more up and down terrain for the closing 5k [MO’S].

Strandhill Warriors Run

Strandhill is 8k west of Sligo Town. Nestled at the foot of Knocknarea Mountain, where at its summit at 1,070 feet sits the megalithic cairn where Maeve, the legendary Queen of Connaught, is reputedly buried. Each year runners converge on Strandhill to follow in the footsteps of her ancient warriors. The Warriors Strandhill Run, a 15k race from the beachfront in Strandhill makes its way up to Queen Maeve’s cairn and back to the beachfront. This year 1,200 took part last Saturday afternoon, including Matt Creagh and Declan Costello from Mullingar Harriers. Both completed the distance in under 1 hour 45 minutes. It was warm and humid during the event and the steep incline up to the summit tested everyone to their limits. Well done Matt and Declan on completing such a challenge, helping their preparation for the Dublin Marathon in October [MO’S].

St Coca’s AC Kilcock 10 Mile

Last Sunday week (17 Aug), St. Coca’s AC staged the Kilcock 10 Mile. A tough and challenging course taking in country roads mainly to the west of the town, it was an opportunity for those training for upcoming half marathons and indeed the Dublin marathon to test their level of fitness and stamina. The just over 450 finishers included 3 from Mullingar Harriers. First home was Alan Crowley, happy to dip under the one hour mark in a fine time of 59:33. Fergus Nugent is in his first year with the club, having soldiered as he says himself as the lonely long-distance runner for many years. He is certainly enjoying the structure of meeting up with fellow athletes for regular training and was pleased with a finishing time of 1:05:24. Maura Dervin ran a very fine 1:14:48, comfortably winning her master category, and is very happy with her training for the Tullamore Half Marathon this coming Saturday morning [MO’S].

Cross country season on the horizon

The cross country season is close. Now is the time to slowly begin the build up to the end of September for the Star of the Sea AC Open Cross Country and the Westmeath Schools Cross Country, before the Westmeath and Leinster cross countries in October.

Sympathy

The executive and members of Mullingar Harriers wish to express sincere sympathy to the Daly family on the recent death of Jack Daly (Rathconnell, Mullingar). All his sons John, Mark and Ray, and his grandsons Jonathan and Andrew were club members for many years. May Jack rest in peace.