The final event of the Midland Running League last Wednesday (May 30th) saw a very good turn out for an exciting climax to the series at Belvedere House, Mullingar. Being the last in the 5-race series, this was the final opportunity to make a mark and get amongst the prizes. While conditions might not have been perfect for officials, the light shower that fell during the race went largely unnoticed by the athletes due to the great shelter provided by the trees in the trails around Belvedere. As in previous nights, the venue and organisation came in for great praise and many looked forward to competing again next year. The League proved to be a great fun and social way to keep fit. One of the main aims of the event was to encourage women’s participation in sport and judging by the high number of women that took part, it certainly was very successful in this respect. Indeed the event was a fun way for the entire family to participate in sport with children aged 12 and over also taking part.

When the event was finished, everyone retired to the visitor centre for welcome refreshments and the presentation of prizes. In her speech before the prize giving, Sonja Statham of Westmeath Sports Partnership congratulated everyone for seeing the series to the end and thanked the organising committee, the Management and Staff of Belvedere House and Gardens, Westmeath County Council and Westmeath Civil Defence, without whose support and assistance the league could not have taken place. She concluded by thanking all the officials who did a superb job marshalling the course, taking entries, recording and processing results and to anyone who supported the event in any way. As the overall male and female winners were to receive the Pat Finnerty Perpetual Trophy to commemorate Pat Finnerty (RIP) past Chairperson of Mullingar Harriers, in his speech, Greg Duggan (Club Secretary) gave the assembled crowd some insights into who Pat Finnerty was and why he is so fondly remembered by the members of the Club, from the youngest to the oldest. With the speech formalities concluded, it was down to the main business of the evening, the prize giving. The Pat Finnerty Perpetual Trophy was presented by Pat’s widow, Susan Finnerty, to the overall male winner (our own Noel Kelly) and the overall female winner, Pauline Curley from Tullamore Harriers. There were very many other categories of prizes for participants who took part in three out of the five events and a host of spot prizes were also presented to acknowledge participation in the league, especially under the Women in Sport Initiative.

The Midland Running League was a joint initiative between Mullingar Harriers and Westmeath Sports Partnership, supported by the Irish Sports Council under the Women in Sport Programme. The Westmeath Sports Partnership supported the Midland Running League as a Participation in Sport Initiative under the Westmeath Sports Strategy. The 2007 League has been an unprecedented success with almost 300 registered participants, making it one of the most successful Participation in Sport Initiatives organised at local level.