St Colmcille's pupils enjoy runner's high with Cormac

Excitement is an understatement for the energy in St Colmcille’s National School, Gainstown last Tuesday when Cormac Dalton, former student and silver medallist in the 2025 European Cross Country Championships, stopped by to chat students.

The sports star was welcomed with a huge cheer from the pupils assembled in the sports hall. Dotted through the crowd and hoisted as high as they could reach were hand made posters showing the phrase, ‘Welcome Back Cormac’.

Many are members of the Mullingar Harriers, Cormac athletics club, and running is popular at the school – pupils regularly participate in the Westmeath Schools Cross Country Championships at Belvedere, and many had their own medals hanging proudly round their necks.

“It’s kind of surreal,” said Cormac of the warm welcome.

“They’re a really great bunch of kids and it’s cool to see them enjoying the sport that I enjoy and inspiring them in that way.”

Cormac has some great support behind him and it’s clear that he values it, he admits he has yet to get used to the idea of having fans.

“I kind of don’t really take it in that much, it’s cool when they are all looking for high fives and signatures but it’s mad to think back even a few years ago to where I was in my running career.”

As an elite athlete, Cormac has a packed schedule, and between working in Dublin, training and travelling to international competitions, he has limited free time.

“I only got home from Valencia yesterday morning. It was one of the biggest 10k road races in the world, and one of the fastest.

“I went in with the goal of getting the European A Standard, which is 27.50, but I actually wasn’t feeling great last week and just didn’t pull it off.

“I was still a 1 second PB so 28.03. It’s a B standard but I’ll still have to run a little bit quicker this year if I want to qualify for the Europeans.

“Overall, I’m quite new to the roads and it was a cool experience.”

The St Colmcille’s students asked Cormac questions about his running career, and one that stood out was whether he would try to qualify for the 2028 Olympics. He confirmed that was the goal.

Later on, he went into further detail about how he was preparing for the Everest that lay before him.

“I suppose we have a lot of procedures in place already. We are part of the endurance group with Athletics Ireland and we have our strength and conditioning coaches, we have our psychology coaches, and we have our nutrition coaches.

“I’m just trying to do everything to the best of my ability, every day.

“I’m hoping that it will click over the next few years and help me qualify and run the times that I need to these days.”

Cormac comes from a family of athletes, his mother was a runner, as was her father. “I think he won a Leinster cross country back when he was younger.

“They came and supported me, my mam was at the race in Portugal and my brother and my girlfriend too. It was really nice to have that much of a great day with them and to be able to enjoy it with them after too.”

Cormac was on the senior men’s team who secured silver in the European Cross Country Championships in December (along with Jack O’Leary, also a member of Mullingar Harriers), the first Irish senior men’s medal in 25 years.

“I’ve been a part of that team for five years in a row. We were fourth twice. At the same time, we’re seeing a lot of younger age groups start to medal a lot.

“So as the senior men who hadn’t medalled in 25 years, it was really cool to achieve and bring home something to show for all the hard work of the last decade.”

While his schedule keeps him busy, Cormac still makes time to train and run with the Harriers.

“I’m based in north Dublin at the minute, beside the Morton Stadium. The sports institute is up there in Blanchardstown too,” said Cormac. “I come home and train sometimes at Mullingar Harriers.

“I’m still friends with the senior lads and we run together as much as we can, maybe a Sunday long run every so often and I’ll go to the club for the gym and everything when I’m at home.

“I’m still around every so often but not at every single training session.”

He went on to praise the support he receives from the team. “It’s brilliant, whenever we go to a national cross-country, we’re up in Derry but you’re on a home course because you have so many people that really stick around and support us in our race.

“It’s really cool to feel that support while we’re racing.”

Cormac has high hopes for 2026 and will do everything he can to realise them. “I’ll probably go to another altitude camp in France in April, I’m looking forward to that in terms of training.”

He also hopes to qualify once more for the European championships. “That’s what I’m looking forward to the most, qualifying for them and competing well as them, if we can.”