Large Harriers representation at Star of the Sea AC Open Cross Country

A big squad of over 80 Mullingar athletes travelled to Meath last Sunday for the Star of the Sea AC Open Cross Country, the traditional season-opener for Mullingar for many years. Conditions were perfect on the day, and though the hilly course proved testing, the Mullingar athletes gave great accounts. The top 6 in each juvenile race received individual medals, just 3 athletes were required for team scores, and by the end of the day, Mullingar athletes won 27 individual juvenile medals, including 6 gold, 12 juvenile teams won medals, and Conor Sherwin finished third in the men’s race, leading the men’s team to victory.

The first race of the day was the u/9 girls 500m where Tara Coyne raced to victory, and with Alana Spain finishing fast in fourth place, and with Laila Morgan, Mary Byrne, Aoibhin Noone, Ciara Baker and Shauna Nohilly providing great support, the team placed first Club to put Mullingar on the medal board. It was success too for Mullingar in the u/9 boys 500m where Tiernan Clinton raced hard to third place, and with great team packing and support from Evan Clifford in sixth, Timmy Munnelly in seventh, unlucky to just miss a top-6 medal in a photo finish, Senan Byrne, Joe Hickey and Padraig Savage, the boys were delighted to finish second Club.

We had a very big team in the u/10 girls 500m race, led home by Cara Hickey in seconds, ahead of Mia Barry third, Meabh Doyle fourth and Adele Bertolo fifth to secure gold medals for first Club. Also running well in support was Mary-Kate Davitt, Sophie Whitelaw, Madison Bell Lynch, Cliodhna Fitzpatrick, Ciara O’Shea, Grace Tallon, Fodhla Hughes, Sarah O’Connell, Isobel O’Brien, Roisin Bourke, Ali Hennessy and Sara Pietrzak. Shay Gavigan placed second in the u/10 boys 500m to lead the big Mullingar team of Liam McLoughlin, Senan Whelehan, Matteo Fitzpatrick, Cian Clifford, Kealan Morahan, Rory Grehan, Conor Kiernan and Eanna O’Carolan to second Club.

Not to be outdone by her younger sister, Emily Rose Coyne was just too strong and swept to victory in the u/11 girls race, and with great support from Maisie Walsh, Heather Kelly, Rachel Robinson, Elsie Hegarty, Shona Rice, Aoibhinn Baker, Madeleine O’Brien and Rosie O’Brien, there was no surprise when the girls finished first Club to keep the team medals coming Mullingar’s way. On to the u/11 boys 1,000m where even though Emmet Walsh, Liam Byrne, Eddie Collins and Eoghan Savage didn’t win individual medals, thanks to their fine efforts and a good example of how cross country is all about the team, the boys finished third Club and were delighted with their team bronze medals.

Helen McGrath showed the opposition a clean pair of heels in the u/12 girls 1,500m and battling well behind her on the tough hills and finishing strong was Caitlin McCormack, Roisin Keane, Rose Harte, Kate Horohoe, Aoibheann Lynam, Eimear Nohilly and Ciara O’Carolan, securing well deserved medals for first Club. We had another quality team in the u/12 boys 1,500m where Olly Wright (second), Donagh Bourke (third) and Ethan Byrne (fourth) and Jamie Hoey made it look easy and finished first Club.

We had no team in the u/13 girls 1,800m but top marks to Caoimhe Lynam and Abigail Nohilly for running so well on the tough hilly course and we’ll see these girls in action again in the coming weeks. Normal team medal winning business resumed in the u/13 boys 1,800m where we had three in the top 6 to ensure first Club, thanks to Cillian Gavin (fourth), Aaron Robinson (fifth), Conor Gavin (sixth), well supported by Darragh Evan.

In the u/14 girls 2,000m race, Amelie G Kelly finished third, with Clodagh Keane close behind in fourth, and with Liadan Gavin providing the important third score in seventh place, just outside the individual medals, this ensured Mullingar placed first Club. The u/14 boys 2,200m saw Harry Flanagan and John McManus at the front of the race until 600m to go when the eventual winner made a break, but Harry secured individual silver for second place and John bronze for third. Rian Gavin made sure Mullingar had the first three scorers home and brought the team home as first Club.

Lily Walsh had a dominant win in the u/15 girls 2,500m, leaving the rest of the field trailing behind. Clodagh Doran was our only other athlete in this race and if we had a third girl to simply crossed the finish line, in any position, a team prize was definitely there for the taking. Oisin Clarke and Antonio Bertolo worked together to drop the rest of the field early in the u/15 boys 2,500m race, and after opening a large gap early in the race fought it out for first and second, with Oisin working his way to victory. Once again we were missing that important third scorer and with a 1-2 from Oisin and Antonio, team gold medals were certainly left behind.

With no u/16 race, Cormac McGrath, Daniel Horohoe and Evan Nohilly stepped up to race in the u/17 boys 4,500m to join Conor Walsh. After sitting on the early race leader's heels for the first 3k, Conor made a move on a steep climb and once he opened a gap he pushed on for victory. Cormac and Daniel had a great run together with Cormac finishing fourth to Daniel’s fifth, securing first Club. Evan Nohilly played his part mixing with the third scorers from other teams and finished well up.

The final race of the day was the men’s 6,000m, which was a combined race for u/20, senior and master men. Due to Leaving Cert exam commitments in June, Conor Sherwin had his first race in a long time but was undeterred by having to negotiate four laps of the very tough course. He went with the early pace and even though he couldn’t stay with the eventual first and second place men, he continued to run strong and was rewarded with a fine third place finish, delighted with his performance so early in the season after a long break. Following Conor home was Mark McAdden who placed third in his master category, and with Tommy Byrne and JP O’Brien putting in great shifts, the men were delighted to finish first Club.

We showed at Star of the Sea that we have a strong squad, but teams can only be successful if the team has scorers. In Leinster we’ll need 4 to score and we need our athletes to represent us, so please come along to Belvedere over the next two Sundays so we can make up teams for the Leinsters. Quite a few fourth scorers could find themselves with a Leinster medal around their neck, but they need to run first.

This was an excellent opening fixture for Mullingar Harriers and everyone that took part will gain from the experience and bring it into the season ahead, especially our younger ages for which was their first real taste of cross country racing with the Club. Thanks very much to the coaches that attended to look after the juvenile athletes, but especially the parents for bringing their children to the event [CW/GD].

Sun shines for Westmeath Schools Cross Country

The Westmeath Schools Cross Country took place in Belvedere last Wednesday on a beautiful dry warm sunny day. As expected, the grounds in Belvedere looked beautiful and underfoot conditions were perfect for running. Thanks to the hard work put in by volunteers from the Club in setting up the course, everything was ready on the day. As always, we are indebted to the many volunteers, members and friends of Mullingar Harriers, who turn up in big numbers to help when the call goes out, and this time was no exception and we had lots of help to make the day a success. It was great to see such enthusiasm in the competitors from the young first class pupils to the older secondary school students, cheered on by a big crowd of teachers and parents. The event remains one of the most popular of the year and the feedback from teachers and parents was very positive, so we look forward to continued support in future years. Sincere thanks to Westmeath Civil Defence who attended to look after any first aid needs with their customary calm professionalism. The management and staff at Belvedere House and Gardens were also of great help in organising the day at a venue that is absolutely ideal for hosting such an event.

Thanks also to An Garda Siochana for their invaluable assistance monitoring and controlling traffic on the N52, as cars and buses entered and exited Belvedere.

Finally, our thanks to the teachers and schools for competing and ensuring that the event continues to be one of the most eagerly awaited sporting events on the calendar for those of school going age in Westmeath.

The Primary school top 20 individual finishers and team scores and the Secondary schools top 10 individual finishers are available on the Club’s website www.mullingarharriers.com. Congratulations to all who took part and as usual, the standard of competition was extremely high and medals were hard won for all the competitors.

Team medals will be distributed to the schools in the coming days [GD].

Loughrea Grey Lake 10k

Loughrea AC hosted its Loughrea Grey Lake 10k last Sunday afternoon. Conditions were good for running as nearly 200 competitors took on the very hilly course around Lough Rea. Among them was Linda Cunningham, battling the relentless hills for the first 5k and with some good downhills in the second half of the race, she took the prize for second woman overall, happy with a time of 45:48 for the course, an improvement of 2 minutes on her time two years ago on the same course [LC].

Fit 4 Life

The first night of the current Fit 4 Like programme took place on Monday evening this week. There is still time to register and to do so, come along next Monday evening at 6:45pm to register to join in with the group from 7pm.

Athletics Westmeath Cross Country

Everyone who took part in the schools cross country last week is very welcome to compete in the Athletics Westmeath Cross Country Championships. The first round this coming Sunday morning in Belvedere at 11am is for boys and girls under 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and a combined race for women and men under 18, 19 and 20 years and novice, senior and masters.

The second round will be the following Sunday morning and will be for boys and girls under 9, 11, 13, 15 and 17 years. Boys and girls can run in their own age group on one day and move up an age on the other day to get in some race practice.

Juvenile Club and County teams for the Leinster Championships will be picked after both rounds. There are two weeks between the Leinster Championships, so juvenile athletes run in their own age-group and can also move up an age-group to make up teams. We expect all juveniles will compete in both rounds of the Westmeath Championships or they might not be selected for teams. Remember, the Athletics Westmeath Cross Country is an open competition and you don’t have to be a member of a Club to take part.

Road Safety

With the evenings now starting to draw in, all Club members are reminded that they must wear reflective clothing when running on the road at night. That includes all who use our Club grounds and who run from the Clubhouse on training nights. Safety is a must at all times.

October Committee Meeting

The October meeting of the committee will be held next Tuesday, October 7, in the Clubhouse at 8.20pm after training. There’s a full agenda and a full attendance is requested.

Sympathy

Finally, the executive and members of Mullingar Harriers wish to express sincere sympathy to John Shaw and the Shaw family on the recent death of his brother, Tom, in Dublin. Also, sincere sympathy to Helen Glennon and the Glennon family on the recent death of her mother, Helen Smith RIP, grandmother to Kevin, Edel, Rachel, Sarah, Susan, Matthew, Andrew, John, Daniel and Gareth Glennon, all of whom are either current members or have competed with the Club in the past.

May Tom and Helen rest in peace.