Newtownforbes 5km Road Race

The annual Newtownforbes 5km Road Race on St. Stephen's Day attracted a fine turnout of over 200 athletes, including naturally a large contingent from Mullingar, with most of them getting among the prizes in the various categories.

Once again, Vinny Connolly had a fine run, finishing in 2nd place, which was great running considering that he was just back after a few weeks break. Next from Mullingar to finish was Matt Glennon (1st in his master category), followed by Padraig Moran. Next to finish were Ben Vaitkevichius, John O’Reilly and Mel Carthy, all winning their categories.

Other prize winners included Sean McMullin, Seamus Moran, Maura Dervin with a tremendous run to finish 5th woman overall, Nuala Moran, Brigid McCabe and Breda McDonnell. Others in action included Edel Glennon, Michael Moran, Kevin Glennon, Nicky McCabe, Sinead Marshall, Martha Marshall, Rachel Glennon, Susan Glennon, Sarah Glennon, PJ Ballesty, Geraldine Carthy and Natasha Mescall.

Fields of Athenry 10km Road Race
Choosing to run in the Fields of Athenry 10km Road Race with over 1,000 others on St. Stephen’s Day proved a good choice for Eddie Newman and Aron Fahey as they returned memorable performances. Eddie finished 36th overall in 38:13, which is a good time considering the very windy conditions, winning his master age category for the second year in a row. Aron also had a good run at his first race over this distance, finishing just two places behind in 38.24. Well done to Eddie and Aron.

Leinster Star Award winners for 2011 announced
Athletics Leinster announced the winners of the Leinster Star Awards for 2011 on 21 December and Paddy Kelly, Padraig Moran and Linda Conroy are the Westmeath recipients and Edel Glennon has won the new Race Walking Category, which is awarded to the best race walker in the Region. Paddy had a successful track season and was a member of the winning Leinster Novice Men cross country team. Padraig was selected for his excellent performances in Leinster, recording excellent wins in both cross country and on the track. Linda secured the girls Award when recording convincing wins in the girls u/16 and u/17 Leinster Cross Country Championships. Edel is the worthy recipient of the Race Walking Award, as she won the Leinster Indoor and Outdoor race walking titles for her age. The Awards will be presented at a Gala Dinner in the Seven Oaks Hotel in Carlow on 7th January 2012.

Solid performance by Jake Byrne in European Cross Country

Despite having to travel back and forth from the USA to compete at the Inter County Championships only two weeks before, Jake Byrne crossed the Atlantic once again to compete at the European Cross Country Championships in Slovakia on Sunday 11th December. Showing no signs of jet-lag, Jake turned in a solid performance and remained firmly in contention in the main group to finish 23rd in the Junior Men race, the first man to finish on the Ireland team. Jake certainly justified his selection and he can be well satisfied with a very good performance. The highlight of the Europeans of course was the magnificent win in convincing style by Fionnuala Britton in the Senior Women race, a victory that is sure to inspire many young athletes that it is realistic to dream of success on the International stage. Congratulation to Fionnuala from everyone at Mullingar Harriers.

AAI National XC - Day 2 - Novice & Juvenile Uneven Ages (Curragh)

Mullingar reinforces reputation in Cross Country Read more

Jake Byrne to lead Ireland Junior Men team in European XC

Having won the Junior Inter-County title in great style in Sligo recently, the honour falls to Jake Byrne to lead the Ireland Junior men team at the European Cross Country Championships in Slovakia on Sunday 11th December. Jake will return from New York where he is on an athletic scholarship at Iona University and will be joined in Slovakia by Kevin Dooney (Raheny AC), Liam Brady (Tullamore AC), Sean Tobin (Clonmel AC) and Ruairi Finnegan (Letterkenny AC). Everyone at the Club wishes Jake and the entire team the very best of luck.

AAI National XC - Day 1 - Inter-County & Juvenile Even Ages (Sligo)
Brilliant win by Jake Byrne in Junior race is icing on the cake
Plenty of National medals won by Mullingar teams Read more

British & Irish Masters Cross Country Championships

On Saturday 26th November, in Bellahouston Park, Glasgow, the wind, rain, pools of muddy water and two very steep hills made conditions extremely challenging for the competitors at the British and Irish Masters Cross Country Championships. Competing with pride in an Ireland vest for the first time, Pat Muldoon thoroughly enjoyed the experience and he was first to finish on the Ireland team in his category. Though no team medals were won, valuable points were gained to help Ireland finish second to England in the men’s competition, and second overall in the combined men and women competition. Congratulations to Pat on an excellent debut.

Unfortunately, Sean McMullin had travelled to Scotland to compete but fell ill the night before and was unable to take part. We wish him a speedy recovery.

Dr. Ursula O'Neill Magic Mile

The Dr. Ursula O’Neill Magic Mile in aid of South Westmeath Hospice was held at the all-weather track in Athlone IT on Saturday 26th November. Conditions were far from ideal with very high winds buffeting the runners but Paddy Kelly made the best of it with a good win in 4:46, which is quite good considering the awful wind and having to run the race from the front all the way. Well done to Paddy.

USATF New England Association Cross Country Championships

Jake Byrne continues to settle extremely well into College life in the USA, where he is on an athletics scholarship at Iona University, New York. At the USATF New England Association Cross Country Championships in Franklin Park, Boston on Sunday 6th November, Jake proved to be at his very best with an impressive 10th place finish in 31:15, the youngest finisher in the top-12. Given the weather recently in that part of the US, it’s no surprise that the course was described as soft with some mud but that was no problem for Jake who never let a bit of mud worry him when he ran at home in Ireland.

We’ll continue to keep an eye and report on Jake’s exploits in the US.

Dublin City Marathon

Updated 11 Nov - AAI Championship results published
Tom McGrath 3rd in master category
Mullingar Master Men Team (Tom McGrath, Eddie Newman, Mel Carthy) 5th Club

Among the record number of participants in the Dublin City Marathon on Bank Holiday Monday, 31st October was a strong contingent from Mullingar.

First to finish for Mullingar was Tom McGrath in an excellent 2:39:32, which was good enough for a 49th overall finish place and 4th in his master category. Next in was Mark Carroll in 2:52:20, which was a whopping 5 minutes improvement in his personal best time and a fine reward for all the hard work Mark has put in at training over the past number of months. Close behind was Colm Walsh with a fine 2:53:04 performance, followed by Eddie Newman, just squeezing under the 3 hour mark with 2:58:45, the fifth time in succession he has run under 3 hours. Our first woman to finish was Sarah Lowry with a very good 3:14:54, which placed her a fantastic 29th senior woman overall. Also competing and soaking up the atmosphere was Aidan Gorry (3:01:56), Mel Carthy (3:07:39), Ollie Donnelly (3:10:29), Aron Fahey (3:12:01), Enda O’Carolan (3:12:09), Darragh Thornton (3:13:42), Kieran Nolan (3:17:00), Mickey Dan Murtagh completing his first marathon in 3:25:43, well inside his pre-race target of 3:30, helped along every step of the way and crossing the line beside Ironman Gerry Duffy, no stranger to the marathon distance (!), Keith Gorry (3:35:30), and finally Hannah Buchanan finishing in 4:35:21 and clearly delighted to have completed this most gruelling of athletic endurance events.

Spare a thought for Kevin Baker who was on target for a 2:45 finish but tragedy struck at the 25 mile mark when he was just unable to carry on and was advised by medical staff to withdraw. A sad end to his race but we know he will be looking forward to running the distance again when he has fully recovered.

Everyone at the Club salutes the great performances of each and every one of these Mullingar athletes.

Leinster Cross Country - Day 1 (Belvedere)
Huge medal haul reinforces Mullingar's reputation in XC Read more

International selection for Pat Muldoon

Based on the results of the masters trials that were incorporated in the Gerry Farnan Cross Country in the Phoenix Park, the Ireland teams to compete at the British and Irish Masters International Cross Country in Glasgow on 26th November have been finalised and we’re delighted to announce that Mary Scully, Sean McMullin and Pat Muldoon Senior have all been selected on Ireland teams, and Matt Glennon and Geraldine Walsh have been named as reserves.

Mary and Sean have run for Ireland before, but this is the first time for Pat to be selected to represent Ireland, so the "International Roll of Honour" plaque in the Clubhouse will have to be updated again and Pat’s name will join his son Patrick, who was first selected to run for Ireland in 2002. Of note is that this is the first father and son entry in the Roll of Honour. This is a great honour for Pat and reflects the terrific form he has shown in road and cross country competition this year. Congratulations to Pat and the Muldoon family.

Gerry Farnan XC & Masters Trials

The annual Gerry Farnan Cross Country in the Phoenix Park on Sunday 23rd October was an open race but as usual incorporated the trials for the Ireland teams to compete at the British and Irish Masters International Cross Country, which this year will be held in Glasgow on 26th November, so a number of the Club’s master athletes competed last Sunday looking to secure places on the Ireland teams. Very heavy rain and strong winds made things tough on the open flat course.

The master men ran with the senior men over 5 miles, which was run at a very fast pace from the start. Matt Glennon, Pat Muldoon and Sean McMullin battled well against the conditions and were very pleased with their performances and all finished well up in their master categories, with Pat and Sean both finishing 3rd in their respective categories, but must await the decision of the selectors to find out if they will make the Ireland teams.

In the corresponding women’s race where seniors and masters ran together over 3 miles, Mary Scully showed her class with a terrific 2nd place finish in her category to secure automatic selection on the Ireland team, making this three years in a row. Also running well was Ciara Dillon and she was satisfied with her run in the senior grade. Geraldine Walsh completed the Mullingar team with a good performance but must await the outcome of the selection meeting to see if she makes the Ireland team.

Well done to all who braved the conditions last Sunday, once again showing that it isn’t just the Club’s underage athletes that have all the success.

Donadea Forest 10km

There was a very large entry of over 700 for the Donadea AC "Donadea Forest 10km" in Staplestown, Co. Kildare on Saturday 15th October, despite the cold and wet day. The course was partly on the road and partly on forest trails, with the rain softening the trails and making underfoot conditions less than ideal for those parts of the course. Despite that difficulty, Colm Walsh surpassed his expectations and was very pleased to finish 8th overall in 36:14, which is an improvement on his personal best time for the distance by nearly one minute. This is particularly satisfying as Colm is preparing for the Dublin City Marathon at the end of the month and dropped to the short 10km distance as a blow-out to see how his training is going. Another Club man having an excellent run was Pat Muldoon Senior who finished well under 40 minutes and won a well deserved prize for third master to continue his recent run of excellent racing form.

Chicago Marathon

Martin Fagan will be surely hoping that he won’t have to endure too many marathons like the Chicago Marathon on Sunday 9th October. Martin looked set to secure qualification for the London Olympics when he passed the 40km mark in 2:04:21, which would have seen him finish well within the 2:15 qualifying standard, but at 41km with only a little more than 1km to go he was forced to stop due to what he described as “heat issues”. This is a very cruel piece of bad luck for Martin considering that he was in 7th place at 35km with an estimated finish time of 2:11 having run a very even paced race up to then and even though he dropped a minute in the 5km up to 40km, must still have believed he would manage to finish but Martin is an extremely experienced athlete and knew it just wasn’t possible on this occasion. Everyone at the Club is very disappointed for Martin and wishes him well as he regroups for another attempt at achieving the Olympic standard.

Eindhoven Marathon

Navan AC Open Sports

Lisa Cooke rounded off her track season in style at the Navan AC Open T&F Sports on Sunday 18th September when she placed a close 2nd in the 100m and followed this up later in the afternoon with a great win in the 200m.

Dublin Half Marathon

A record number 8,500 runners, joggers and walkers took to the Phoenix Park early on Saturday 17th September morning for the 2011 Dublin Half Marathon, the final race in the series building up to the Dublin City Marathon in October. The rain held off for the duration of the race but a strong wind and a tough hilly course challenged the runners throughout the 13.1 mile course. It didn’t seem to affect the pace of some of the Mullingar athletes though, who recorded excellent times, with personal best performances for some, so the race proved an excellent test of how their training is progressing for the marathon in October.

First to finish for Mullingar in an excellent 14th place overall was Tom McGrath in 1:13:47 to finish 2nd in his master category. Next in was Kevin Baker with a new personal best time of 1:16:28, followed by Mark Carroll also with a new PB of 1:17:32. Also competing and running well in the huge crowd were Enda O’Carolan, Mel Carthy, Ollie Donnelly, Pat Muldoon Senior (3rd in his master category), Sarah Lowry, Mickey Dan Murtagh, John Bannon, Aron Fahey, Ray Daly, Hannah Buchanan, Terri Greene, Gerardine Martin and Paula Kilmurray. Congratulations to all the Mullingar athletes and we wish them well as they continue their training for the marathon in October.

Brother John "Paddy" Doyle Iona Meet of Champions

Jake Byrne made a very promising start to his US Collegiate career when finishing 13th place in the annual Brother John "Paddy" Doyle Iona Meet of Champions held in Van Cortlandt Park, New York on Saturday 17th September. Such a fine run shows that Jake has settled very well into his new surroundings in Iona University. This annual competition is used by a large number of Universities to provide an early season race in preparation for the NCAA National Collegiate Cross Country finals later in the year. It was an excellent result for Jake considering that the field contained over 270 athletes representing a total of 24 Colleges from all over USA. Jake's performance helped Iona to comprehensively win the team title and puts them in a strong position for their upcoming races. We look forward to tracking Jake’s progress over the months ahead and hope for news of further success.

Lough Rynn Castle 10km Road Race
Near to home on Sunday 4th September in very wet conditions, the inaugural Lough Rynn Castle 10km Road Race in Mohill, Co. Leitrim attracted 200 athletes, which is an excellent entry for a new race. Starting and finishing in Lough Rynn Estate and running over closed County roads with plenty of hills, Martin Lyons and Maura Dervin were simply too strong for the opposition in the men’s and women’s races and came home victorious.

Dingle Half Marathon

Dingle sure is a long way to go for a race, but on Saturday 3rd September a small group from Mullingar was among the estimated 1,400 that took to the line for the Dingle Half Marathon. Despite a tough hilly course, Paddy Kelly paced himself nicely, happy to keep in third place until mile 12 when he moved into second place but just couldn’t run down the strong finishing winner in the closing stages but was still delighted to finish 2nd overall in a new personal best time of 1:17:58. Also competing and enjoying the experience and running well in Dingle were Enda O’Carolan, Mick Murtagh, Miriam Walsh and Brian Maguire.

AAI National Half Marathon Championship
Amended 6 Sept - revision of results by AAI - Christy Creagh 4th in master category
On Saturday 3rd September, nearly 700 took part in the AAI National Half Marathon Championship in Waterford, where Eddie Newman clearly enjoyed and made the most of the excellent course to finish in a terrific time of 1:19:08, with Christy Creagh also running extremely well to finish in 1:44:09, placing him third fourth in his master age-category.

August

Longford Marathon and Half Marathon

Conditions weren’t ideal on Sunday 28th August for the Longford Marathon and Half Marathon, with showers and strong winds to contend with. However, Colm Walsh didn’t let a bit of weather bother him as he turned in a great performance in the half marathon where he finished in 1:21:58, a new personal best for the distance. John Bannon and Ciara Dillon also competed and were pleased with their performances too.

"Croghan Hill Challenge"

AAI Masters T&F Championships

Rathowen Festival 5km Road Race
Organised as part of the Rathowen Summer Festival, the 5km road race in Rathowen on Friday 5th August attracted a very good entry of over 100. As it was so close, it’s no surprise that a large number of competitors came from Mullingar, with many more familiar faces from surrounding Counties also competing. Vinny Connolly controlled the race from the front, leading the early breakaway group and holding off several challenges for the lead and was just too strong in the finish, winning comfortably followed by Martin Lyons and Kevin Baker to make it a 1-2-3 for Mullingar. The women’s race also saw an emphatic victory from Mary Scully, with Sinead Nolan (Annalee AC) in second, with Michelle O’Halloran finishing very strongly on her heels in third.

First local man was Paul Flynn and first local woman was Marian Hurley. The prizes for junior men and women all went to Mullingar athletes, to Oisin Quinn and Declan Brady, and to Lorraine Daly and Victoria Harris. Everyone gathered in Feerick’s Hotel after the race where the prizes in the various categories from junior to senior to local to masters were presented, with a great spread of food and refreshments provided by John Feerick, which was very well received and appreciated by all. All the income from race entries was returned in prizes, making this race a very popular one on the road race circuit. Many thanks to everyone who helped on the night taking entries, stewarding the course, distributing medals and water and recording everyone at the finish, and in particular to the local Festival Committee for their work leading up to the event and on the night and to John Feerick for his generous sponsorship of water at the finish and the food and refreshments after. Prize Winners & Results

AAI National "B" T&F Championships

The final juvenile outdoor T&F Championships of 2011, the AAI National "B" T&F Championships, were held in Tullamore on Sunday 31st July where Lisa Cooke stormed to a well deserved victory in the 100m u/15 and Lorna Moody also ended her track season with a medal winning performance, taking bronze in the 800m u/16. Patrick Leydon qualified comfortably from his heat of the 80m u/13 but finished just out of the medals in the hotly contested final. He was unlucky to finish just out of the medals too in the long jump, but took consolation from a new personal best jump to end his season on a positive note. Congratulations to Lisa, Lorna and Patrick.

AAI National Combined Events Finals

It’s hard to credit that Luke Lenehan has only been a member of the Club for a few months, judging by his brilliant performance at the AAI National Combined Events in Tullamore on Saturday 30th July, where he won bronze in the under 14 Pentathlon.

Since he won silver at the Leinsters a few weeks ago, Luke has been training hard for the Nationals, especially in the hurdles and shot putt. The hard work paid off with a fast time to finish 4th in the 75m hurdles. He followed this up with a strong performance in the long jump where he finished 3rd, to consolidate his overall place. A massive win in the shot putt by over 1m clear of his nearest rival, pushed him up the table to 2nd place overall. A good 3rd place finish in the high jump kept him in 2nd place overall going into the final event, the 800m. Despite the tiredness of completing 4 events Luke drew on every last ounce of effort he could muster and finished 3rd, which was enough to earn him the bronze medal for third overall in the pentathlon.

While it would obviously have been nice to have kept in the silver medal position, Luke knows bronze is a great result in his first National final at a new event and he’s looking forward to competing again next year and trying to improve on his points total.

Daingean Festival 5km Road Race

Conditions were ideal on Friday evening 29th July for the annual Daingean Festival 5km Road Race, run over 4 laps of the village. A relatively small entry was balanced by quality, and Mullingar athletes were among the starters. Kevin Baker made a break on the final lap to pass Martin Lyons and finish 5th in a new personal best time of 16:23, followed by Martin in 9th place in 16:35. Also competing were Mark Carroll, Matt Glennon, Mel Carthy (2nd in his master age-category), Michael O'Sullivan, Christy Creagh (2nd in his master age-category) and Christy Cleary. Well done to them all.

St. Brigid's AC 5km Road Race
Wednesday 20th July was a lovely evening for running and St. Brigid’s AC had laid out a terrific course for their 5km Road Race in Ballinacree, Oldcastle with some nice downhill sections, some tough uphill sections and a final 300m uphill run to the finish line to contend with. First home for Mullingar was the ever-improving Kevin Baker who made a break with a group at 3km and was in 3rd place going into the final stretch but was just caught on the last hill to finish 4th in 16:30. Next in was Mark Carroll in 17:20, followed by Matt Glennon (3rd in his master category), then Mel Carty, Christy Creagh (3rd in his master category), Geraldine Carty and Natasha Miskell. Well done to the Mullingar contingent.

Longford Half Marathon

At the Leinster Combined Events on Thursday 14th July, Luke Lenehan competed in the u/14 Pentathlon and got off to a good start with a 3rd place finish in the 75m Hurdles, which placed him only 49 points behind the leader. Winning the shot by over 1m put him into 1st place overall, 45 points clear. In the long jump he jumped well and finished 3rd, which put him back into 2nd overall, but only 14 points behind the leader. A joint 2nd place finish in the high jump kept him in 2nd place overall, now 36 points behind the leader. The final event, the 800m, is where Luke really showed his class with a great win, closing the gap but not quite enough and he finished 2nd overall to win the silver medal, only 23 points behind the gold medal winner. A fantastic result.

To put 23 points in perspective, this is equivalent to 0.14 seconds in the hurdles, 0.37m in the shot, 0.14m in the long jump, 3cm in the high jump or just 1.8 seconds in the 800m, so a very tight finish between gold and silver. Of interest is that Luke’s performances in the hurdles, high jump and shot would have been good enough for 4th place in the individual Leinster T&F Championships in June, proving what an excellent all-round athlete he is. Luke now qualifies for the AAI National Combined Events Finals on 31st July.

There were over 360 finishers of the Kinnegad 5km Road Race around the byroads of the town, organised by Kinnegad/Coralstown GAA on Wednesday evening 13th July. Race winner in a new course record of 14:39 was Barry Minnock (Rathfarnham AC), followed by Paddy Hamilton (Annadale Striders AC) in 14:46 and Colin Costelloe (Star of the Sea AC) in 14:57. Coming in 4th overall in 15:45, Vinny Connolly led the Mullingar men team to 1st place. Finishing just behind in 5th place was Martin Lyons, with Kevin Baker in 12th and then Mark Carroll in 17th with the vital fourth team score.

There was 35 members of the Club competing, many picking up prizes in their categories, including JP O’Brien, Matt Glennon (1st in his master category), Colm Walsh, Jonathan Daly, Mel Carthy (3rd in his master category), Aidan Gorry, Enda Finnerty, Declan Brady (3rd boy u/16), Michelle O’Halloran, Michael O’Sullivan, Aisling Moody (1st girl u/16), Vera McCool (2nd in her master category), Lorna Moody (2nd girl u/16), Niamh Quinn (1st girl u/12), Christy Creagh (3rd in his master category), Terri Greene, Ann Marie Corroon, Caoimhe Gaffney (2nd girl u/12), Louise Gaffney, Marie Martin, Breda Walsh, Susan Finnerty, Caitriona Corcoran, Elysia Greene (3rd girl u/12), Ann Carton, Teresa Booker, Natasha Miskell and Geraldine Carthy.

This was an excellent local race and it was great to see it so well supported by the Club.

Clonliffe 125 T&F Grand Prix
In the Irish Miler’s Club 800m race at the Clonliffe 125 T&F Grand Prix 2011 on Friday 8th July, Robert Yorke lowered his PB to 1:51.87, bettering his previous by 2 seconds and he edges closer to the European Junior Qualifying Standard.

Achill Half Marathon & Mount Bolus 10km

Tailteann Schools Inter-Provincial T&F

On Saturday 25th June, in Santry for the Tailteann Schools Inter-provincial T&F, competing for St. Finian’s Mullingar, Edel Glennon finished an excellent second place in the under 17 girls 3,000m race walk and in doing so secured a place on the Irish Schools team at the Home Countries International in Cardiff next month to become the latest International athlete from the Club. Edel has performed excellently over the past year and is eligible for this event for two more years. This international selection should be the first of many for Edel over the coming years. Ciara Fogarty continued her recent progress with an excellent series of throws to finish in third place in the girls shot putt. Ciara Hewson (Maynooth PPS) made a welcome return to competition after her recent exams and joined Lorraine Daly (Mercy Kilbeggan) in the girls 3000m. Both girls showed signs of a return to form and finished just outside the medals.

Some of the Club’s youngest athletes and stars of the future were in action on Saturday 25th June in Templemore at the AAI National Pairs T&F. Jennifer Fidgeon and Ellie O’Brien were competing at their first National Finals and ran really well in the 500m for under 10 and were very unlucky to finish just out of the medals in 5th place but were on hand to cheer Nicola Groenewald and Shauna Leydon as they jumped to the bronze medal place in the long jump for under 10 and later in the day were unlucky to finish just out of the medals in 5th in the 60m. Medals or not, all four girls thoroughly enjoyed themselves in Templemore and are already planning for next year.

Dunshaughlin AC 10km Road Race

At the very competitive "Michael Manning" 10km Road Race organised by Dunshaughlin AC on a very warm and humid on Saturday evening 25th June, Eddie Newman was very pleased to record a new personal best time of 36:01, as did Colm Walsh with 37:04, with Ian McCormack also taking part and winning second prize in the junior men race. Well done to them all.

British Road Walking Title for Sean McMullin

Sean McMullin has competed at every British Masters Athletic Federation 5km Road Race Championships, which includes race-walking, since the event was first held at Horwich, near Bolton, and this year was no exception. Competing in the 5,000m road race walk over three laps of the Town Centre on Sunday 19th June, Sean finished 39 seconds faster then last year and this helped him to win his master age-category. A new award was introduced this year for the first three overall on age-related basis and Sean was very pleased to take second. Congratulations to Sean on winning this British title.

Crusaders AC/Irish Milers Club T&F

At the Crusaders AC/Irish Milers Club T&F Meeting in Irishtown Stadium on Saturday 18th June, Shane Fitzsimons put the pressure of examinations aside and really pulled it all together with the assistance of some good pace-making provided by the host Club to run an excellent 1,500m race to win in 3:55.7, with a 61 second last lap. More important than the win however was that the time is inside the qualifying standard for the World Youths in France in early July. Congratulations to Shane on achieving this goal and hopefully he'll be selected and we can look forward to following his participation at the World Youths with great interest.

Trim AC "Braveheart" 5km Trail Run

On a lovely warm summer evening, the 500 or so athletes in the Trim AC "Braveheart" 5km Trail Run on Friday evening 17th June were given a rousing pre-race pep-talk by "William Wallace", dressed in full regalia and face painted blue, just like in the film Braveheart. Suitably riled up, when the claxon sounded, the leaders took off at a fast pace, among them Mark Carroll who finished an excellent 13th overall, followed by Eddie Newman 18th overall (5th in his master age-category), James Carton and Anne Carton who thoroughly enjoyed the race on the lovely trails along the banks of the River Boyne, overlooked by the impressive Trim Castle. After the exertions of the race, the participants were treated to some post-race refreshments and entertainment, courtesy of Trim AC.

Longford 10 Mile Road Race

Taking to the line for the Longford 10 Mile Road Race on Sunday 12th June, the third in a series of races organised by Longford AC, Martin Lyons and Maurice Looby faced blustery wet conditions over a tough hilly course and knew they had a challenge ahead of them. After a cautious opening 5 miles run at a good tempo, Martin and Maurice went through the 5 mile mark in 28:50 and were part of a three man chasing group about one minute behind the early leader. Martin then decided to take matters into his own hands and took after the leader, battling hard though the second half of the race, which had plenty of hills, sharper turns and the wind was stronger. At 8 miles, after a tough uphill section, Martin caught the leader and took to the front and pushed on for home to win in 56:59, about 50 seconds clear of second place. Martin was very pleased to have run the second half faster than the first and this gives him a good boost of confidence ahead of the Achill Half Marathon on 2nd July. Maurice meanwhile found the conditions tough but stuck to his task and was still very content with his time of 59:02, which placed him 4th overall. Well done to Martin and Maurice.

Bohermeen AC "Patrick Bell Memorial" 5km Road Race

There must have been over 700 taking part in the Bohermeen AC "Patrick Bell Memorial" 5km Road Race on Saturday 11th June, so with such a massive crowd it was very difficult to be sure who was there from Mullingar. Definitely there was Vinny Connolly who led the Mullingar men team of Paddy Kelly, Eddie Newman and Colm Walsh to 4th team place, missing third by just one point. Also competing was Mel Carthy who finished 3rd in his master age category, and Aaron Fahey, Sean Fallon, Kieran Nolan and PJ Ballesty. Apologies to anyone else from the Club who took part and we missed, but it was impossible to make everyone out.

Cork City Marathon & Half Marathon
Mary Scully made her marathon debut at the Cork City Marathon on June Bank Holiday Monday 6th, where she finished 31st overall, which was good enough to finish second woman and first in her master category. This is a brilliant result on her first outing over the challenging classic marathon distance.

Kevin Baker, Mark Carroll and Matt Glennon ran with Mary from the start, going through the half way point in about 1:26 and things were looking good for a 2:52 finish time but at about the 16 mile mark, chief pace-maker Matt had to slow down with stomach cramps, leaving Mary with the difficult decision to either go the pace with Kevin or slow down slightly and she opted for the latter. Kevin pushed on and was very pleased to finish 21st overall in a terrific time of 2:50:17, followed by Mary in 31st in 2:57:11, slower than she had hoped for when setting off but she felt so good afterwards that she now knows she can more than stay the course and can plan accordingly for the next time. Mark stayed with Mary and finished just behind her in 2:57:31 (a PB), ahead of Keith Gorry in 3:08:20 (a PB), followed by Aaron Fahey in 3:13:35 (a PB), and by Matt who managed to get running again and finished in 3:15:53.

There was also a Half Marathon race in Cork and first home for Mullingar was Pat Muldoon Senior in 1:27:03, to finish 1st in his master category, followed by Michelle O'Halloran with a brilliant 1:31:40 (1st in master category), Patricia Broderick in 1:42:31 (4th in master category), Siobhan Moore in 1:42:35 (4th in master category), Kieran Nolan in 1:44:23 and Gerri Fagan with a personal best time of 1:59:36.

A marathon is a big undertaking for any athlete, and the best marathons are where others take charge behind the scenes to ease the burden on the athletes. A large group travelled to Cork in support, which was greatly appreciated by the athletes, but particular thanks JP O'Brien who took charge of the all-important water stations and to Alwyn Kinane who looked after the physiotherapy needs of the Mullingar athletes. Well done to everyone that took part in Cork – either running or behind the scenes.

Leinster Senior & Master T&F Championships

We had four athletes at the Leinster Senior and Master T&F Championships at Tullamore on Sunday 5th June, but between them they won an impressive tally of two gold and three silver medals. The weather took a while to improve from initially quite cool wind and drizzle to eventually lovely warm sunshine that had everyone throwing off the raingear and folding the umbrellas, but unfortunately for the Mullingar athletes, they had finished competing long before the sun appeared. First into action was Sean McMullin who took no notice of the less than ideal conditions for the 3,000m race-walk and was pleased to win gold in his master category, adding another title to his growing collection. The rain was making conditions very difficult for the shot putters particularly, but Richard Fogarty was more than up to the challenge and was delighted to win the master shot putt with a new personal best. In the senior competition, Paddy Kelly used the opportunity to try two new events, the long jump, where he was delighted to jump a personal best and win a silver medal, adding another silver medal later in the day in the 3,000m steeplechase where he used his height to great effect negotiating the three foot barriers with ease to finish second. Aoife Hogan made a welcome return to competition in the senior 800m where she finished very strongly in second place to win a silver medal, her first senior individual medal, which certainly will not be her last. Well done to all four for representing the Club so well.

All-Ireland Schools T&F Finals
Fresh from setting a new course record in Belvedere at the final night of the Mullingar Road League the previous week, Jake Byrne was back in action again over 5,000m this time at the All-Ireland Schools T&F Finals in Tullamore on Saturday 4th June, where warm sunshine and light winds made conditions perfect for competition. Competing for St. Joseph’s, Rochfortbridge in the senior 5,000m Jake ran the perfect race, covering all the breaks and staying right up with the pace before unleashing a terrific 58 second last lap to pull well clear and win in 15:07.85, a clear 6 seconds ahead of second place. This senior title is a really well deserved reward for all the hard work put in by Jake at training over the last few months and reinforces his reputation as one of the best junior middle-distance athletes to emerge in recent years.

Jake’s was the only title won by our Club athletes at the Schools Finals, but others won silver and bronze medals and others came very close with some spirited performances. Robert Yorke (St. Mel’s Longford) took silver in a very competitive senior 800m, where Adam Daly (Colaiste Mhuire Mullingar) also ran an excellent race in his first Schools Finals and ran close to his personal best. It was silver too for Edel Glennon (St. Finian’s, Mullingar) in the junior 1,200m race walk, and for Linda Conroy (Mercy Kilbeggan) in the under 16 mile. Shane Fitzsimons (St. Joseph’s) took bronze in the intermediate 3,000m, with Thomas Lynn (St. Finian’s, Mullingar) just edged into 5th in the closing stages after a particularly good race. Jack Reid (St. Joseph’s) also won bronze in the junior 1,500m and in the intermediate shot putt, Ciara Fogarty (Loreto Mullingar) threw the same distance as the girl in second place, so using their next best throws to separate them, Ciara was awarded bronze; you can’t get closer than that!

Thomas Fagan (Moate CC) was delighted with his personal best time in the senior 2,000m steeplechase where he finished 5th. Liam O’Reilly (St. Joseph’s) led the field out in the junior 800m and despite a fine race was edged into 5th near the finish. Ryan Blundell (Colaiste Mhuire) has really taken to the steeplechase and in the intermediate 1,500m steeplechase ran a fine race, as did Padraig Moran (Colaiste Mhuire) in the under 16 mile, and both were unlucky to finish out of the medal places. Well done to each and every one of them, and some are underage again next year.

Finally, we must record the gold medal winning performance of Paul Collins from North Westmeath AC, competing for St. Finian’s in the intermediate discus where he won by some distance. Another fine win by this most talented discus thrower.

May

"Heart of Ireland" 10km Road Race

The inaugural running of the "Heart of Ireland" 10km Road Race and Fun Run in Moate on Sunday 29th May attracted a good entry from across the Country. This was a well organised race by a committed team of workers anxious to please everyone. The race started and finished on the Main Street in Moate and the course took the runners through winding country roads, crossing the M6 motorway twice along the way, and was very windy in parts but dry and mild. As this is a new fixture on the local road race calendar, it deserved as much support as possible, and several Club members took part with good success.

The race was won by Andrew Ledwith (Fr. Murphy AC), with Sergiu Ciobanu (Clonliffe Harriers AC) in 2nd and Paul McNamara (Athenry AC) 3rd, all very notable athletes attracted by the excellent organisation and generous prize fund on offer. First to finish for Mullingar was Eddie Newman (1st in his master category), followed by Thomas Fagan (2nd Junior), Pat Muldoon Senior (2nd in his master category) and Michael O’Sullivan making up the Mullingar team that took first prize. In the women’s race, Donna Kenny was very pleased to finish 5th senior woman, with Deirdre Fallon also running well and enjoying the experience. This was a very good race and numbers taking part will surely grow and grow in the coming years as word spreads. Well done to all connected with the event.

Leinster u/9 - 12 T&F Championships

Updated 3 June
Some of the Club’s younger athletes competed on Saturday 28th May in Navan at the Leinster T&F Championships for under 9 to 12 years. The under 12 athletes competed as individuals and the younger ones competed in "pairs".

Shauna Leydon and Nicola Groenewald paired up in the u/10 long jump and 60m sprint and their combined jumps and times won them silver in both events and they’ll now compete at the National Pairs Finals in June. Jennifer Fidgeon and newcomer Ellie O'Brien paired up in the u/10 ball throw and 500m to win bronze in the 500m and also qualify for the National Pairs Finals, but finished out of the medal places in the ball throw.

The strong wind made conditions difficult for the shot putters but Sarah Sheridan still put in a great series in the u/12 shot putt and was delighted with her silver medal finish with a new personal best performance of 7.26m and will take her place in the National T&F Finals in July as a serious medal prospect.

Daria Fidgeon ran very well in the 60m hurdles u/12 but didn’t advance to the final from the extremely competitive heats. Similarly in the 600m heat where she battled well and finished strongly but just missed out on a place in the final. Better fortune for Alisha Martin in her heat of the 600m u/12 where she finished second to qualify for the final, which was run at a strong pace from the gun but Alisha competed well and stayed with the leading group to the latter stages and only lost out in the final sprint to finish 8th, but knows she ran well and will benefit from the experience. She also competed in the 60m but with 5 heats, qualification was very difficult and she was unlucky not to qualify for the final. Jack Moran qualified easily from his heat of the 600m u/12 and in the final ran a very good race, staying right with the leaders until the final bend and despite a strong finish had to settle for 7th place, outside the medal places.

Despite it being the eve of the last round of the Mullingar Road League, a number of Mullingar athletes headed to Enfield on Tuesday evening, 24th May for the Na Fianna "Bob Heffernan" 5km Road Race, one of a series of top-class road races organized in Meath over the summer months. It was a lovely evening for running, with only a slight breeze on what proved to be a very flat and lightning fast course, just waiting for personal bests to be broken. Going with the good strong pace right from the start, first in for Mullingar was Vinny Connolly, 11th overall, in a new PB of 15:38, and taking a prize for 2nd junior. Following closely behind was Martin Lyons (15th) in 15:44, also a new PB, then Gavin Doran (16th) in 15:47, a new PB too and good enough to finish 3rd junior. Next in for Mullingar and running well was Paddy Kelly (20th) in 16:01, followed by Maurice Looby (28th) in 16:27, Pat Muldoon in 18:11 (1st in his master category), Aidan Daly in 19:43 and pleased to also set a new PB, and Richie O'Donoghue in 21:18 finishing well up in his master category. The Mullingar men's team finished 3rd team, clearly benefiting from the race experience of the Mullingar Road League and able to make the most of the fast course. Our two representatives in the women's race, Laura Egan and Deirdre Raleigh finished close together in 24:18 and 24:22 respectively and were very pleased with their races.

Martin Fagan has been announced as the Crowne Plaza Athlete of the Month for April following his excellent performance in finishing second in 46:39 at the Broad Street 10 mile Run in Philadelphia on 1st May. Martin's time is the second fastest ever by an Irishman over this distance; John Treacy holds the fastest time of 46:25.
Link to AAI website for report

European Masters Non-Stadia Championships

On Friday 13th May at the European Masters Non-Stadia Championships in Thionville-Lutz, in northeast France, Sean McMullin turned in a good performance in the 10km road race walk where he finished a very creditable 7th and won a silver medal with the Ireland team. Just two days later, on Sunday, he had to compete in the gruelling 30km road race walk but showed no ill effects from Friday’s race and finished in 2nd place to earn an individual European silver medal. Congratulations to Sean on yet more terrific performances in the Ireland vest.

AAI T&F Games

On Sunday 15th May, some of our older juveniles were in action at the AAI Track and Field Games in Santry. Robert Yorke finished 4th in the 800m with a new personal best time of 1:53.69, which is an excellent time, but he is sure that the best is yet to come and he looks forward to running even faster as the season progresses. In the second 800m race, Adam Daly also ran well in the windy conditions and finished just outside his personal best, which he is sure to also improve on this season. Conditions were very windy for the 3,000m but Jake Byrne and Shane Fitzsimons still ran well and were pleased with their performances, a good season opener for Jake and a good solid run by Shane early in the season. Ciara Fogarty used the shot putt competition to fine-tune her technique ahead of the Leinster Schools this week and finished 5th with a series of good confidence-boosting throws.

Kildare Marathon & Half Marathon

Mullingar athletes were busy at a variety of venues on Sunday 15th May - in Athlone, Santry, France and in Kildare for the Kildare Marathon and Half Marathon, billed as very flat and very fast courses. Both races started and finished at the Curragh Racecourse, taking different routes early on but joining at the 3.5 mile mark of the Half Marathon and both races continued the last 9.5 miles together. Competing among nearly 300 others in the Marathon, Sean Fallon was pleased to finish in 3:42:58 while Colin Clarke finished just outside the 4 hour mark in 4:05:11. Also taking part was PJ Ballesty who race-walked the gruelling 26 mile distance. In the Half Marathon nearly 1,000 athletes took part and Kieran Nolan finished an excellent 33rd place in 1:27:22. Also competing was Caroline Duffy (1:56:48) and Deirdre Fallon (2:05:17), who were pleased with their performances.

Dundalk Half Marathon

At the second Dublin Graded Meeting of 2011, held at Irishtown Stadium on Wednesday 4th May, the Club was represented in force in the Men’s 1,500m. Competing in the Development Race, which had the benefit of experienced pace-makers, the Mullingar athletes put in tremendous performance with Jake Byrne first in for Mullingar and lowered his PB by over 4 seconds, closely followed by Shane Fitzsimons just outside his PB, with Robert Yorke completing the Mullingar trio with a new PB too. In the second 1,500m we saw spirited performances from Thomas Lynn and Adam Daly and they too were rewarded with new PBs. It’s only early May and with plenty of time to fine tune with more speed sessions, these performances bode well for the season ahead.

Listening to the US National Weather Service issue a "Particularly Dangerous Situation" tornado watch for Alabama for Friday 15th April and being there for the worst tornados to hit the south eastern US for over 25 years couldn’t have been the best preparation for Mark Christie ahead of the "War Eagle" Invitational Meeting 5,000m race at Auburn University, Alabama. However, the next day was a case of the calm after the storm and competing in clear warm conditions, Mark finished a very good second in a time of 13:45.97 behind winner Ben Cheruiyot from Kenya, a student at Auburn, who won in 13:41.80, reversing the result in 2010 when Mark beat Ben with a PB of 13:41.79. This is a solid start to the outdoor track season for Mark.

Longford AC 5km Road Race
Organized by Longford AC, the first race in a series leading up to the Longford Marathon in August took place on Sunday 17th April in Longford Town. Each race in the series will be longer than the one before and the first race was a 5km run on a nice course with only a slight climb at 4km. Weather was perfect, being sunny but not too hot and nearly 80 athletes took to the line, among them Martin Lyons. Starting in the town and heading out to the by-pass and back, Martin controlled the race from the front and was first to cross the finish line in a very good 16:24, which will see him being very competitive in the Mullingar Road League in Belvedere in May, looking to get among the prizes.

Lining up alongside over 37,000 others in tough 25degC and sunny conditions in the Paris Marathon on Sunday 10th April doesn’t seem to have bothered Kevin Baker too much. Beginning from the Arc de Triomphe and clearly ignoring all the other magnificent sights and landmarks along the City centre route that might have distracted him, Kevin stuck meticulously to his pre-race plan to finish a fantastic 240th overall. Chief among the many enemies of the marathon runner is to go off too fast from the start, only to suffer terribly in the later stages, but Kevin displayed an almost "metronome" rhythm with near perfect even-paced 5km splits that took him through the half-way mark in 1:24:07, to finish in 2:48:12. This is a new personal best time for Kevin, a massive improvement on his previous best of 3:06 and a great reward for all the hard work in at training during the past months. An odd feature of the Paris marathon is the free red wine and cheese handed at the 35km mark, which judging by the splits around there, it looks like Kevin wisely chose to ignore! Well done to Kevin on his fantastic performance in Paris.

Congratulations to Vinny Connolly on receiving the AIT "Athletics Sports Star of the Year" Award for 2011. Vinny, on a Sports Scholarship in AIT, made his International debut only recently and has been in magnificent form of late and was presented with his well-deserved Award at the Sheraton Hotel on Thursday 7th April, where the guest speaker was Olympian Paul Hession.

Athlone IT "South Westmeath Hospice" 5km Run
After his exploits with the Ireland team at the International cross country in Antrim the previous week, it was back to the road and a lot nearer home for Vinny Connolly as he competed alongside Paddy Kelly on Sunday 3rd April at the South Westmeath Hospice 5km Run, organised by Athlone IT Athletic Club. Starting and finishing in the grounds of Athlone IT, the course took the athletes to the outskirts of Athlone and back again and while the sun was nice, the athletes had to cope with strong winds and some tough hilly sections along the 5km route. Race winner was Noel Kelly (Tullamore Harriers) with Vinny in 2nd place, just ahead of Paddy in 3rd and finishing strongly as always. Both expressed satisfaction after with their performances. Well done Vinny and Paddy and no doubt they’ll continue to feature in road race results in the coming months.

AAI National Juvenile Indoors 2011 - Day 3
Two gold, one silver, one bronze, two PBs, everyone competing so well
Terrific conclusion to Juvenile indoor season Read more

March

Schools & Home Countries International Cross Country
Jack Reid, Linda Conroy, Shane Fitzsimons and Vinny Connolly
compete for Ireland Read more

AAI National Juvenile Indoors 2011 - Days 1 & 2
6 medals, 5 PBs, great performances all around by Club's Juveniles Read more

European Master Indoor Championships

Irish eyes were certainly smiling at the Topsporthal in Gent, Belgium on St. Patrick’s Day for day 2 of the European Masters Indoor Championships as Ireland athletes took gold and silver in the master men 3,000m race walk, the silver medal going to our own Sean McMullin. Sean was ranked third on personal best time going into the race but rose to the challenge and really drew on all his experience to put in a tremendous performance and take the silver medal by a close margin, with less than one second separating Sean from the British athlete in third. The winner was Bobbie King from St. Coca's AC who had set a new World record in Nenagh in January, so Sean knew he had top class opposition in the race and clearly was in top form. This was Sean’s first European Master Indoor medal and he couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Congratulations to Sean from everyone at the Club.

Even though it's an Indoor Championships there’s still an outdoor 5km road race-walk and on Sunday morning in a very close race, Sean took silver again, finishing only seconds behind Bobbie King to give Ireland another gold and silver podium finish and to put the icing on the cake, the team won silver too, putting Sean’s European medal tally at a fantastic three. This has been a remarkable Championship for Sean and everyone at the Club congratulates his performances.

St. Patrick's Festival 5km Road Race
Mark Christie was the headline act for the St. Patrick’s Festival 5km Road Race in Dublin on Sunday 20th March, organized by Metro St. Brigid’s AC and he certainly produced the goods on the day with yet another excellent performance to win in 14:19, just outside the course record (14:12) he set last year, which shows he is in terrific shape at the moment. Paddy Kelly used the race as a good "blow out" and a test of his form ahead of the AAI National 10km Road Race Championship that will be run in conjunction with the Great Ireland Run in three weeks time and was very pleased to finish in the top-30 in 16:49. Also competing well and enjoying the festive feel to the race was Kieran Nolan. Well done to Mark, Paddy and Kieran and it's good to see them keeping Mullingar to the fore on the road race circuit.

Craughwell AC 10 Mile Road Race

A large Mullingar contingent competed on Sunday 20th March at the Craughwell AC 10 Mile Road Race, which was run over a very hilly course. Kevin Baker, Matt Glennon, Mark Carroll and Eddie Newman were very pleased to finish under 59 minutes, with Kevin and Matt bringing Mary Scully to the 9 mile mark. Mary led the women’s race all the way to the last 600m when she was passed by Pauline Curley of Tullamore Harriers who won in a new course record, with Mary finishing second woman 10 seconds behind in 59:10. Coming in behind Mary was Mel Carthy, Aaron Fahy and Ollie Donnolly all under 70 minutes, followed by Maura Dervin (2nd in her master category). Everyone except Matt Glennon recorded a personal best time for 10 miles, so a very happy Mullingar crew was in celebratory mood after the race.

Streets of Portlaoise 5km Road Race

Martin Lyons and Breda Daly were the Club’s sole representatives at the Streets of Portlaoise 5km Road Race on St. Patrick’s morning, where they faced three and a half laps of a tight narrow course on a crisp dry bright morning. The start was very congested and Martin was hampered by the crowd and couldn’t get into his full running and wasn’t striding out as he wanted to. After one mile he knew it wasn’t going to be his best run but he plugged on anyway to finish 18th overall in a respectable 16:32, which was quite good considering the obstacles he faced. Breda was more content with her performance and used the race more as a training tempo run than as a race and was happy to go through 3km in 15 minutes. She finished strongly and was more than happy with her overall performance. Well done to Martin and Breda.

Also on St. Patrick’s Day, but a bit nearer to home, Fr. Murphy AC held their annual 5 Mile Road Race in Kildalkey in Co. Meath where close to 200 participants enjoyed good running conditions on quiet country roads and some bog trail, just for good measure! Tom McGrath finished 8th overall in 26:48, to finish first in his master category and lead the Mullingar team of Vinny Connolly (13th in 27:51), Eddie Newman (18th in 28:28, third in master category) and Maurice Looby (20th in 28:35) to second team. Well done the Mullingar men.

Well done to all the members of the Club that competed in number among over 3,300 others at the annual  Ballycotton 10 Mile Road Race in Cork on Sunday 6th March, which has a well-deserved reputation as probably the best organized and best value for money road race anywhere. It’s a long way to run, but at least the weather was kind, being dull and with only a light breeze, and every little bit helps when facing into a tough 10 mile race. Martin Lyons was running very strongly and went through 6 miles in just over 33 minutes and on target to break 56 minutes but he developed a leg cramp at 8 miles, just before the dreaded hill well known to veterans of the race and had to ease back slightly but still finished 38th overall in 56:20, which is a new personal best for him.

Following in after Martin and very pleased to break the hour barrier was Aidan Gorry (59:30) and Eddie Newman (59:44). Also competing for Mullingar was Keith Gorry, Patrick Muldoon Junior, Pat Muldoon Senior, Enda Mimnagh, Enda O’Carolan, Ciara Dillon, Aidan Daly, Nicky McCabe, Frank Dillon, Tony Keegan, Paul McCool, Shane O’Grady, Sinead Muldoon, Paula Kilmurray, Breda McDonnell (2nd in her master category), Breda Daly, Aine O’Grady, Geraldine Walsh (1st in her master category), Des Walsh and Sinead Marshall. There was plenty of much needed support from the large group from Mullingar that travelled in support, which was well appreciated by the runners. Well done to everyone for representing the Club so well.

The AAI National Inter-Club Cross Country Championships held at blustery Santry on Saturday 26th February saw the last major cross country fixture of the season (except for the All-Ireland Schools on 12th March). As usual, all the top Clubs and individuals were in action, so it was a super achievement on the part of our Junior Men team to finish in second place and take the silver medals, just a mere eight points behind the winners. Each and every one of the team ran their hearts out over the tough 8,000m course.

The team was led home by Jake Byrne with a fine run to finish 5th overall. Next home was Vinny Connolly having his best race of the winter season, followed by newcomer Gavin Doran having his first race in the Mullingar colours, and right on his heels was Thomas Lynn who unfortunately took a fall on the first lap. Completing the team was Thomas Fagan, Stephen Nea, Adam Daly, Ryan Blundell and Jonathan Daly. With the exception of Jake and Vinny, the team will be underage again next year and this result shows that we have a fine crop of athletes coming through and the future looks very secure.