O’Leary and Dalton impress in Valencia 10k

Mullingar Harriers notes

The Valencia 10k last Sunday morning attracted a huge entry of over 16,000 including three in-form athletes from Mullingar Harriers. Given their class, the three were given elite numbers, so avoided the scrum at the start, critical in a race that attracts top quality athletes.

The headline from an Irish perspective was Efrem Gidey’s excellent twelfth place finish in 27:38, a new Irish record for 10k, five seconds off his previous best set in the same race last year.

The race won by Andreas Almgren (Sweden) in a European record time of 26:44, so it was a very fast course. Taking full advantage of the fast course and top quality opposition, the Mullingar trio was led home by Jack O’Leary in 27:41, a new personal best by a whopping 32 seconds, also inside the previous Irish record, followed by Cormac Dalton in 28:03, also a personal best, and the trio was completed by Jamie Battle pleased with his finish time of 28:49. Jack’s time is inside the qualification standard for the European T&F in Birmingham, England in August and there’s little doubt Cormac will close in that time too very soon. These are fantastic performances and a great start to 2026 [GD].

New Year new start

Last Saturday we held the open day to take registrations of the younger members age 9, 10, 11 and 12 years that train at 6pm and they will return to training this week, so it will get very busy again at the Club on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from now on. As expected, we filled the groups very quickly and membership is now closed for these age groups.

Another group to start this week is the Fit 4 Life group for adults that start a 10 week programme to get them into the new year on the right foot. If you missed the first evening, don’t worry, you can still register next Monday evening.

For all other members, the online membership system is open to renew membership for 2026. It’s important to renew as soon as possible so you are insured to train at the Club and of course to enter competitions.

Khon Kaen International Marathon

The Khon Kaen International Marathon, held every January, is one of Thailand’s most celebrated distance races. Now in its 21st year, the 2026 event saw just short of 40,000 runners take part. With elite athletes from Kenya, Ethiopia, Laos, and Taiwan, to Thai recreational runners and first-timers, with a sprinkling of runners from across the globe having it on their bucket list, the race is a showcase of international talent and local energy. The course winds through central Khon Kaen on smooth roads with gentle terrain and on-course support.

Among the participants very early last Sunday morning was Matt Creagh from Mullingar Harriers. Matt has his own story of how he came to be on the start line for a marathon. Joining the Fit 4 Life programme in October 2024, Matt had the ambition to lose a bit of weight and get fit. Encouraged by how the 10 week programme went, Matt joined our adult group in January 2025 and progressed very well. He took part in some 5k races and then after making it through the Mullingar Half Marathon took to training for the Dublin City Marathon. It didn’t quite work out for Matt, with an injury giving him considerable difficulty in the lead-up to the marathon, but Matt prevailed and with courage and determination got to finish the marathon.

Encouraged, he continued with his training and took in the Khon Karen marathon during a planned trip to Thailand over the New Year period. The race started at 3am local time to provide runners with cooler temperatures given that they rise to 27degC by mid-afternoon. Matt described the start as a bit dark despite streetlights. It was cool with a slight breeze that helped for the marathon runners. The course included some long rolling hills. The support with people all through the course cheering and playing music was described as inspirational by Matt. He was very pleased to complete the course in 4 hours 29 minutes 9 seconds [MO’S].

Donadea World Festival Half Marathon

Donadea AC hosted a festival of half marathons and marathons last week-end. John Long took part in a half marathon over a difficult and challenging course at midday last Saturday morning. He was very pleased to finish second in his master category from an overall field of 170 runners. John’s finishing time was 1 hour 34 minutes 53 seconds [MO’S].

Notice of Annual General Meeting

The Club’s Annual General Meeting takes place on Friday evening 23 January in the Annebrook House Hotel. We hope to see all our adult members attend and the parents of the many underage athletes who receive training, coaching and guidance throughout the year. The meeting will take about an hour and a half and we urge everyone to show your appreciation of the work done at the Club by attending the AGM.