National title for Lily, silver medals for Donnacha and Matthew

In a warm, showery and blustery windy Tullamore last Saturday and Sunday, days 1 and 2 of the National Juvenile T&F were held. Mullingar Harriers was represented by 14 athletes competing in 17 events, each giving their best on the National stage. We started Saturday with a podium finish in the first race, and started and finished Sunday with two more podium finishes, with lots of great competition by everyone else in between.

In the first race on Saturday morning, Lily Walsh lined out in the U16 girls 3,000m. There was a strong, blustery wind blowing across the track all weekend, resulting in few fast times but a lot of tactical races, and it was tactics that delivered Lily her second National title of 2026. Front running from the start of the race, Lily used the tail wind on the home straight to push the pace and eased off into the headwind on the back straight. This fast-slow tempo eventually shook off all bar one of her competitors, but a strong kick inside the last 200m saw Lily pull clear to comfortably win the 3,000m National title.

In the U16 boys 3,000m Oisin Clarke sensibly sat on the heels of the leaders for the majority of the race. With 400m to go the race exploded into a furious battle to the finish line. Three runners gradually moved clear of Oisin, but he held on for a fantastic fourth place finish.

Morgan Isdell was in action in the U17 Boys 3,000m but with the runners quickly strung out, he had nowhere to shelter from the strong winds. Despite that, a good run from Morgan had him finishing just outside the top 10.

It was a similar experience for Eleanor Kiernan in the U18 girls 3,000m and for Conor Walsh in the corresponding U18 boys 3,000m where they gave good accounts in difficult conditions, each finishing very creditable eighth place in their races. Matthew Molloy battled hard in the U19 boys 3,000m to finish a very respectable tenth place.

After the 3,000m races, attention moved to the 400m sprinters. Scott Cogan is still new to the event, so drawn in lane 3 of his U17 boys 400m heat was ideal, and though he competed well he finished fifth in his heat, only a fraction off his best for the distance, not enough to advance to the final but the experience of competing at National level will stand to him.

In the field events, Alice Hyland competed in the U15 girls shot put where she threw the 2.72kg ball out to 9.08m for a very respectable eleventh place at a National Championships.

We started Sunday with the U15 boys triple jump. The swirling, blustery wind didn’t help the technical field events but Donnacha Doyle made the most of the day to hop, skip and jump his way to silver. A distance of 10.06m in his final attempt secured second place and the National silver medal.

Chloe Bell’s U15 girls long jump in Leinster was cut short by injury, but recovered for the Nationals, she leapt back into action to claim a brilliant fifth place finish. Chloe’s final jump of 5.10m was a personal best and moved her just short of a podium position. Hannah Dunne made her All-Ireland Championship debut competing in the U16 girls high jump.

The strong winds played havoc for the jumpers, and while she didn’t clear the heights reached at the Leinsters, Hannah should be encouraged by her performance on the National stage.

On the track, John McManus raced in the second of two heats of the U15 boys 800m. John was unfortunately boxed in after the start and having to chase the breakaway leaders was just too much for John who unfortunately missed out on a place in the final. Oisin Clarke was back on the track in the U16 boys 800m. The exertions of the previous day’s 3,000m were still in Oisin’s legs and when it came down to the sprint for places in the final, Oisin was narrowly edged out of the last qualifying places.

The steeplechase is regarded as one of the toughest events on the track so having to race laps with 5 barriers per lap wasn’t helped by the swirling winds. Tianna O’Leary put in a really great effort in the U18 girls 2,000m steeplechase, working hard to keep in touch with the leaders, negotiating the barriers and the tricky water jump with great skill to finish an excellent fifth place in 7:32.88, out of the medals but has the consolation of a personal best time for the distance.

A strong run by Daniel Horohoe in the U17 boys 2,000m steeplechase provided him with a very respectable eighth place finish, out of the medals but a personal best of 7:22.10 is some reward. Conor Walsh also gave a spirited performance in the U18 boys 2,000m steeplechase where he raced to a fine fifth place close to his best time for the distance.

We had our final podium place in the U19 boys 3,000m steeplechase where Matthew Molloy bravely went with the pre-race favourite for the first half of the race, and though he had to let the chase go in the closing laps, he continued to race hard and was too far ahead to be challenged and finished in second place, delighted to win the silver medal in his final National juvenile T&F competition.

A great weekend for Mullingar and well done to all who represented the Club at the National Championships [CW/GD].

Colin P Smith breaks the Mile Club Record

The Copenhagen Athletics Games is a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze event and took place last Monday week (22 June) in the newly renovated Østerbro Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark. Having smashed his personal best for 1,500m in setting a new Club record only a little over a week before, Colin P Smith lined up for the mile full of confidence for another great performance and he didn’t disappoint.

Staying in close contact throughout the race and with his trademark fast finish coming to good effect once more, Colin raced home to a fifth place finish in 3:57.62, a personal best and a new Club record, surpassing the 21 year old previous of 3:58.99 set by Mark Christie in 2005. A measure of the quality of the race and opposition is that every finisher ran a personal best, so it was an ideal race to be in. A fabulous result for a clearly in-form Colin [GD].

St Coca’s AC Kilcock 5k

As the heatwave of last week began to ease, St. Coca’s AC played host to over 500 runners for their annual St. Coca’s AC 5k race around Kilcock last Friday evening. Conditions were dry but humid with a slight breeze. The first kilometre was described as crowded, as runners tried to get a good position while weaving in and out through narrow streets.

Mullingar Harriers had five athletes competing. Euan Lagan led them home in a time of 15:41. Kedagh Geoghegan was next of the Mullingar contingent, recording a time of 16:53. Our sole woman representative on the evening, Ciara Foy, was our next in on 17:21, which earned her a fine ninth place in a very competitive women’s race. Enda Seery raced to a time of 17:45 and John Long was satisfied with another sub-20 minute run over the distance, finishing in 19:54 [MO’S].

Roscommon 10

Roscommon Harriers staged their annual Roscommon 10 mile road race in dry and humid conditions last Saturday morning. Over 500 athletes, including 4 from Mullingar Harriers, completed a challenging course around the outskirts of the town.

Dan Morris was always in contention at the head of the race and came home with a time of 56:13 in seventh place overall, winning his master category. Niamh McEntegart was also in the mix for the women’s prize and finished third woman in the race in a time of 1:05:03. Jacintha Reilly finished in1 :10:09, with Darren Caroll completing the course in 1:16:58 [MO’S].

Recent Road Race Round-up

We missed reporting on a three road races that took place in recent weeks, so now is a good time to catch up.

Organised by Kilcormac Killoughey AC in Offaly, the annual Jack Cox Memorial 10k last Saturday week (20 June), saw 270 runners take part on a warm humid evening. The course was largely flat and a light breeze was a welcome relief in the humid conditions. In the women’s race, Orlaith Flanagan led all the way and had over 3 minutes to spare on the next runner, finishing in a time of 41:30 [MO’S].

Held on the same Saturday evening was the annual Michael Manning Dunshaughlin 10k, always a highlight on the road racing circuit. Another high-class field with 1,200 runners, including 13 athletes from Mullingar Harriers, took part on a warm and humid evening.

First home for Mullingar Harriers was Kris Foster in 33:50, followed by Enda Seery with a time of 37:42, and Joe Doherty close behind him dipping under the 40-minute barrier with a time of 39:44. Conor Corcoran was the next club finisher (41:06), followed by Tom Byrne (42:03), with Orla Gillespie our first woman home with a time of 43:22. Barry White completed the course in 44:16, Niamh Doherty finished in 44:36, Colm Brennan ran 45:53, with Zane Smukste home in 46:11. She was followed closely by Laura Fitzpatrick in 46:35, with Emer O’Hanlon running 48:06 and Ciara Dillon running 50:30 [MO’S].

Finally, on the longest day of the year (Sunday 21 June), 5 mile and 10 mile races were held in the Collinstown area near the shores of Lake Derravaragh. The 5 mile race had a field of 73 runners and Paul O’Reilly was second in a time of 29:39. Sharon O’Dowd finished fifth overall, second woman, in 33:18. Following in was Robert Whelan (34:15), Timmy Mescall (36:02), with Declan Costello completing the Mullingar interest with a time of 46:58.

In the 10 mile run, Mick Fagan came home in 1:11.12, ahead of Tommy Byrne in 1:13.05 and Michael Purdue in 1:24.48. Avril Keane finished in 1:33.26, with John Keane home in 1:38.34. Kevin O’Brien ran 1:40.14 and Catherine Gavin 1:42.32. A total of 76 runners took part [MO’S].

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