Christmas and New Year’s Day Races
Congratulations to Caroline Harney on her 5th place finish in a good time
in the senior women’s race at the Street’s of Wicklow 5km road race on St. Stephen’s Day. Fresh from victory in Newtownforbes on St. Stephen's Day, Damien Bateman was back in action again on New Year's Day in the Tom Brennan
Memorial 5km road race in the Phoenix Park.
In ideal conditions with little or no wind, Damien was content to bide his time for most of the race, but with 800m to go
he moved ahead and using his considerable speed and strength as a miler and half miler, he pulled away to win convincingly
with seven seconds to spare at the finish. Clearly Damien prefers firm footing to the snow and mud he had to contend with
in Stormont!
Newtownforbes Road Race
There was a fine turnout of Club members at the Newtownforbes 5km road race on St. Stephen’s day, which attracted
a huge entry. Damien Bateman was home for Christmas from College in Albuquerque, New Mexico and was clearly
not too concerned with the seriously cooler climate here and was a most impressive winner, leading from start to finish. Next
home for Mullingar in the men’s race was Matt Glennon, followed by Cormac Finnerty, Ben Vaitkavichius, Paddy Kelly,
Aidan Gorry, Padraig Moran, Brendan Marshall, Paul McCool, Christy Creagh and Sean McMullin.
In the ladies race, Vera McCool was top finisher and first in her master’s age-category, with Aine Devanney having
a fine run too. We hope to have a full list of finishers in next week’s notes, as all results were not to hand.
In the underage race confined to National School pupils, Michael Moran was the winner, with his brother Jack also getting among
the medals. Edel and Rachel Glennon were the top two finishers in the girl’s race.
Another
Memorable Day of Cross Country Running for Mullingar
Click PHOTOS on the toolbar to see pictures from Dungarvan
AAI National Cross Country (uneven ages), Dungarvan
Mullingar Harriers had the distinction of being the only Club in Ireland to win three team titles at the AAI
National Cross Country Championships in Dungarvan on Sunday 16th December. Taking the three Club titles together
with two Club 4th places, a County team bronze and a County team 4th place,
one individual title, and six other top-twelve finish places, this was surely one of the
best results for the Club in many years and easily eclipses the results from the Curragh three weeks previously.
Perhaps it was the three week gap between the Curragh and Dungarvan, or the
extra Saturday morning training sessions in Belvedere, or a combination of both, but whatever it was, our juvenile athletes
were firing on all cylinders in Dungarvan. After the long journey on Saturday afternoon down to the hotel in Waterford, where most of the team stayed overnight, they rested well overnight and were fresh
and ready for competition on Sunday morning.
The girls under 11 team were unfortunate to lose Aisling
Bracken to illness only hours before the race but a late substitute was nominated and a full Club and County team
took to the line. Faye Walsh had the distinction of leading the team home, and
was closely followed by a tightly packed group of Claire Fagan, Emma Glynn, Laura Whitelaw, Niamh
Quinn and Jennifer Coughlan who all ran extremely well and competed
bravely but despite great team work, the girls finished 4th Club and just out of the medals. All but
Faye will be underage again next year, so these girls will have gained valuable experience of competing on the National stage
that will stand to them next year.
Kevin Giles ran an inspired
race in the boys under 11 and finished a marvellous 15th place to lead the team of
Glen Gaffney, Oisin Quinn, Cormac Dalton, Jack Stuart, Patrick
Shaw, Michael Moran and Iarlaith Daly
to first Club and third County team and ensured that the entire team went home with a medal.
Kevin and Glen also had the added honour of representing Leinster and won silver medals with the Leinster
team. Particularly impressive was the way newcomers Cormac Dalton, Jack Stuart and Patrick Shaw seemed to take competing at
a National final in their stride. This team will achieve much more in the coming years.
Elizabeth Carr has dominated
cross country running in her age group in the past few years and was the pre-race favourite, but as often happens in sport,
there can never really be any certainties. After a thrilling race that came down to a three way battle right to the finish
line, Elizabeth was beaten by the narrowest of margin in the under 13 girls but was gracious in defeat and
will know that everyone has to lose sometime, if only to test their mettle to bounce back, which she undoubtedly will. Beth McGuire picked the right day to come right back into form and ran an excellent race and
had a very strong finish to place well up the field where she belongs. Following in behind in close support were Lorraine Daly, Linda Conroy, Lauren
Casey and Ann Marie Kennedy to finish first Club
and the girls richly deserved their gold medals for running so well as a team. Elizabeth was
also representing Leinster and led that team to silver medals.
Perhaps it was seeing Elizabeth Carr’s unexpected defeat that drove him,
but Shane Fitzsimons ran a very aggressive race in the boys under 13
where he never put a foot wrong and made no mistake with his break for home 500m from the finish that took him to a well deserved
victory with a large winning margin. Thomas Lynn ran a blinder as always and finished
4th, followed by Padraig Moran in 11th to
win individual medals. Newcomer Patrick Fagan ran an amazing race and surprised
everyone with his pace and strength to finish next, followed by Philip Giles,
Liam O’Reilly, Odhran Daly and
Alan Cox who all packed well to finish first Club and fourth
County. Shane, Thomas and Padraig were also representing Leinster and won silver
medals with that team.
We had no team in the girls under 15, but Amie Giles and Arlene Coughlan had the honour of
representing Leinster. This was a great race and both girls competed well throughout but
Amie had the edge on Arlene and finished 7th to earn an individual medal and to win a silver medal with
the Leinster team. Arlene ran very well and was unlucky to finish out of the medals.
The boys under 17 team were hopeful of medal success as they
lined up for the start and as the race unfolded over the first of the two laps, it looked like their hopes were well placed
as they were all running well and packing tightly on the team score front. However, on the second lap, as Shane
Boggs was leading the Mullingar team followed closely by Jake Byrne,
Shane seemed to hit a problem and was forced to drop out, leaving Jake Byrne to lead the team. Jake went on to finish an excellent
6th place and richly deserved his individual medal but such is the standard at this level, despite the
good support of Shane Fagan, Warren Walsh
and David Moran, without what should have been a very valuable contribution from
Shane Boggs, the team finished out of the medals.
Lee Stenson ran a very sensible
race in the boys under 19 and stayed out of trouble but always in contention throughout the three laps. The
field broke up quickly on the second lap and Lee remained with the leading group. Slowly the gaps began to open but Lee stuck
to the task and finished an excellent 9th place to the delight of the Mullingar supporters. Running
well in support were Raymond Brennan, Johannes Von
Canal and Sheng Lin Ding but the team finished 4th Club,
just out of the medals, though they thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
Overall, it was an excellent Championship for Mullingar, and one that reinforces
the Club’s formidable reputation in cross country. A word of thanks is due to the very many parents and others that
made the long journey to Dungarvan and braved the biting east wind to provide support. A special word of thanks also to those
parents that stayed in the hotel in Waterford and looked after
the younger juveniles, helping to make the experience of travel and staying overnight in unfamiliar surroundings before a
National final a memorable one for the youngsters. The Club is very fortunate to be able to draw on such great support when
required.
Mixed fortunes for Mullingar athletes at European XC
Our two athletes at the European Cross Country Championships in Toro, Spain had contrasting
results. For Martin Fagan it was a really great performance. In fact it was the highest Irish finish for the past 10 years
in the senior men’s race. Martin led the race for the first 8km with Europe’s
best strung out behind him. His seventh place finish was top class and it is only a matter of time before he makes a really
big breakthrough on the International stage. His priority now is to get the qualifying time in the marathon for the Beijing
Olympics next summer.
Mark Christie had a real “off day” in the under 23 race where before
the race he was being tipped as a potential medallist but as we all know in sport, nothing is certain. No doubt he will be
back to top form again and put this run down to experience.
Irish Universities Indoor Championships
For Kevin Duggan, looking out at the ferocious wind and rain, it was with some
relief that he was competing indoors on Sunday 9th December in the Irish Universities Indoor Championships
at the Nenagh Sports Complex. Competing for NUI Galway, where he is on an athletics scholarship, Kevin was part of the NUIG
4x200m relay team but even though the team ran well, and despite Kevin’s valiant efforts on the last leg, the team finished
in 5th place, out of the medals. Kevin took a break from his exams to compete in Nenagh and lost no time afterwards heading
straight back to Galway for an exam the next day. Such is the life of the student!
AAI National Cross Country (even ages), The Curragh
Illness and injury robbed some of our teams of medal prospects at the
AAI National Cross Country Championships on Sunday 25th November at the Curragh Camp, Co. Kildare. The course
too mightn’t have suited some of our athletes, as it was very flat and lacked the challenge of a few hills. Despite
that, there were still some great performances from the Mullingar Harriers athletes and a Championship that gave the Club
3 individual medals and 2 top-twelve places cannot be considered anything other than very
good.
The first real victims of illness were the under 12 girls where from an entry of a full Club team
of 6 athletes, we were reduced to just 3 runners. Linda Conroy was surely the
surprise of the day as she finished an amazing 14th place in a National final in her first year running,
a serious improvement on her 21st place finish in the Leinsters a month ago. Linda was followed in by Ann
Marie Kennedy and Aisling Bracken, who is barely over a recent
bout of illness. The boys under 12 had a full team and were led in by Padraig
Moran in 4th place who had a great race and was right with the leading group all the
way but was just out-sprinted in a close finish. Following behind in support were Glen Gaffney,
Jack Stuart, Oisin Quinn, Thomas Fitzgerald, Conor Duncan, Brendan
Keaveney and Iarlaith Daly. Full credit to this young team who
were unlucky to finish out of the medals, but such is the standard of competition at this level.
Elizabeth Carr really had to dig deep in the girls under 14
race and draw on her considerable experience to win out a great battle to the finish by a very narrow margin. She stayed with
the leading group for most of the race and made her break with about 300m to go but she wasn’t going to have it all
her own way as several other girls gave close chase. It looked touch and go with 100m to go but Elizabeth had one last kick
and opened up enough of a gap to win out. This is a great victory for her, especially as she is actually only under 13 and
marks her out as a class athlete, as if anyone needed reminding. Shane Fitzsimons
was also giving away a year in the boys under 14 and despite running extremely well had to settle for 3rd
place, which is not a position that he is accustomed to, but no doubt will increase his resolve to win in Dungarvan
in 3 weeks time. Thomas Lynn was next in, followed by Philip
Giles, Odhran Daly and Stephen Lea
who grouped well but due to a computer problem, at the time of going to press we don’t know if the team finished in
the medals or not.
Amie Giles and Arlene Coughlan
took to the line with the Leinster team in the girls under 16, but even though they ran good races and finished
well up the field, they finished out of the medal places on the Leinster team. The unluckiest
man in the Curragh had to be Jake Byrne who had to contend with a recent injury
that put paid to his medal chances in the boys under 16. Clearly hampered, Jake contested bravely but when
the race began to hot up, he had to drop back but still managed to finish a respectable 12th place in
the end. Jake was well supported by Shane Fagan, Warren
Walsh and David Moran but the team finished out of the medals.
Shane Boggs and James Eagles
ran well in the boys under 18 but the age difference took its toll and both finished out of the medals, but
Dungarvan will be different. Likewise for Lee Stenson and Paul
Flynn who are under 19 but competed at junior (under 20). They also ran well but finished out of the medals.
Pre-race press commentary had Mark Christie favourite to retain the Senior
Inter-County title he won last year and before the race, Mark himself expressed quiet confidence. However, athletics
is an intriguing sport and there can be few certainties. For the first four laps of the five lap race, everything was going
to plan for Mark as he looked very comfortable and in complete control in the leading group. As the leader changed from time
to time, Mark always remained just on the leader’s shoulder. With about one kilometre remaining, the race began to heat
up as Sligo’s Gary Murray broke away, with Mark in pursuit. The lead slowly increased
with little realistic prospect of Mark closing it, but cruelly, with barely 500m remaining, Gareth Turnbull overtook Mark
and despite a rallying effort, Mark had to concede and finished in 3rd place. It was a good run by Mark
– enough to win the under 23 title – but he had set his sights higher, on retaining the senior title, and was
obviously disappointed such is the highest standard he sets himself. Also competing were Noel
Kelly who had a great race, followed by Tomas Navickas and the
fast-finishing Ben Vaitkavichius, and by Justin Murtagh
who was running his first race in about 10 years, having only recently taken up running again.
Overall, it was a good Championship for the Club, but how much better it would have been if all teams were at full
strength. As always, thanks to the many parents and others that gave great vocal support and encouragement to the athletes.
We now look forward to the uneven age Championships in Dungarvan on 16th December.
Martin Fagan in the USA
Martin Fagan had a magnificent race in the USA in a top-class Thanksgiving
Day 4 mile road race (Thursday 22nd Nov) where he finished a close second to a very well regarded winner, proving that
Martin is certainly enjoying his time State-side.
Leinster Cross Country 2007, day 2 - 11th November
Click PHOTOS on the toolbar to see pictures
from Abbeyleix
Just
how much better can the juvenile cross country runners of Mullingar Harriers get? If we thought the results from Wicklow two
weeks ago were too good to beat, our young athletes turn in more magnificent performances at the second round of the
Leinster Cross Country Championships on Sunday 11th November on the testing course at Haywood Community School,
Ballinakill, Abbeyleix. There was competition for boys and girls under 11, 13, 15, 17 and 19 and for Intermediate men and
women. On offer for the juveniles were places in the AAI National Finals in Dungarvan in mid-December.
In addition to four individual titles, Mullingar
teams won three Club gold medals, three Club silver medals, and we had gold,
silver and bronze medals won by County teams. Mullingar also had 3
other juveniles who finished in the top twelve and qualify on Leinster teams, which means that over 50 athletes have qualified
to compete in Dungarvan. These results are a fine testament to the great work being done by Joe Ryan and
by Tommy Carr who has been doing some additional conditioning work with the older juveniles. Joe and Tommy’s
efforts are certainly paying a significant dividend.
Struggling with a bout of illness, Aisling
Bracken was clearly distressed in the latter stages of the
first race of the day, the girls under 11, but bravely fought her way to the end and finished a great 5th place
to book her place in the National finals. Aisling was well supported by Claire Fagan,
Faye Walsh, Emma Glynn, Niamh Quinn, Jennifer Coughlan and Laura Whitelaw to finish 2nd Club and join Aisling in the Finals. Also
running well were Jessica McCormack, Kelly Molloy,
Niamh Nolan and Grace Walsh but finished
out of the County medals. The boys under 11 went one better by winning gold medals for 1st Club,
being led home by Glen Gaffney in 4th place, followed by Kevin
Giles 12th, Oisin Quinn, Michael Moran,
Patrick Shaw, Cormac Dalton, Jack Stuart, Eoin O’Brien, Iarlaith
Daly, Conor Coughlan and Conor Duncan
who packed well to finish 3rd County, so the whole team now qualifies for the National finals.
Elizabeth Carr
came up against someone who thought she might have the beating of her, but when the crunch came, Elizabeth just upped a gear
and shook off the challenger with ease to record another fine victory in the girls under 13, and with good
support from Lorraine Daly, Lauren Casey,
Linda Conroy, Caoimhe Shaw and Beth McGuire led her team to gold medals for 1st Club. Also running well
in support were Niamh Byrne, Sinead Nolan
and Stacey Darby but unfortunately missed out on County medals. What turned out
to be the finish of the day came in the boys under 13 where Shane Fitzsimons
was in characteristically sparkling form and finished first, followed closely by Thomas Lynn
in 2nd, Padraig Moran 4th and Liam O’Reilly
5th to easily win gold medals for 1st Club by a wide margin. Four athletes in the top five is an amazing
result, but Philip Giles was keen to get some of the action too and with a terrific
finish sprint he placed 9th, so Mullingar will have five athletes on the Leinster team in the National finals. Next in came
Odhrain Daly, Alan Cox and Leigh Walsh to secure the gold medals for 1st County and the whole team now
deservedly qualifies for the National finals.
Amie Giles
ran extremely well and finished 4th in the girls under 15 with Arlene
Coughlan finishing 10th, thus guaranteeing their places in the National finals. Lisa Darby, Cliodhna Daly and Eadaoin
Daly ran well but such is the standard of competition at this level, no team medals were won. We had a sole
representative in the boys under 15, but as that was Thomas Fagan
confidence was high of a medal and Thomas delivered with a great 3rd place finish to qualify on the
Leinster team and will join his Club mates in Dungarvan.
Another sole representative was Aoife
Hogan, in the girls under 17, but despite a good run and a fast finish, was unlucky to finish
out of the medals but has to be pleased with her race. We had a full team in the boys under 17, led home
by Shane Boggs who ran a really good race and ran clear with over 300m to go and
didn’t even look pushed at the finish. Jake Byrne stayed with the leaders
all the way and it looked like we would have a one-two for Mullingar but a heavy fall on the second lap cost him valuable
distance and he had to settle for 3rd place in the end. Shane Fagan, Warren Walsh, James Eagles and David
Moran provided valuable support and deserved their medals for 2nd Club and 2nd County.
Lee Stenson
made the most of his last race in an under-age Leinster Championships by winning the boys under 19 in great
style. Building steadily on an early lead, Lee made it very difficult for anyone behind him to close the gap, though a mid-race
stomach cramp hit him badly and it looked for a short while that he might be caught but such is his determination that he
shook the problem off and came home a clear winner. Buoyed by Lee’s performance, Raymond
Brennan, Paul Flynn and Johannes Von
Canal ran very well in support to secure silver medals for 2nd Club and we’ll
see these boys in action in Dungarvan.
The final races were for intermediate men and women.
Wendy Bates put in a great performance in the 6,000m for intermediate
women where she ran a really solid race and was clearly very pleased with her 9th place finish.
In the corresponding men’s event over 10,000m Tomas Navickas was in great
form and finished 10th, followed by Ben Vaitkavichius, Paddy Kelly who clearly enjoyed his first outing over 10km in a cross country, and it was good
to see Aidan Gorry back from injury and running well to make up the foursome.
Finally, it is fitting to pay special tribute to the
very many parents who travelled to provide much needed and welcome support, who were rewarded by incredibly kind weather as
well as a great day’s competition.
Mark Christie on International Duty
It was good to see Mark Christie back
on International duty in the prestigious annual International cross country meeting in Tilburg, The Netherlands on Sunday
11th November. Competing against some top class opposition, Mark finished 6th and led the Irish team home in the
senior men’s 10km race. This is a good early season test for Mark, which he passed with flying colours.
Leinster
Cross Country 2007, day 1 - 28th October
Clean Sweep of Individual Titles for Mullingar Boys
Padraig
Moran (under 12), Shane Fitzsimons (U/14), Jake
Byrne (U/16) and Shane Boggs (U/18) made a clean sweep of the
individual boys titles at the first round of the 2007 Leinster Cross Country Championships on Sunday 28th October at Avondale
House, Rathdrum, Co. Wicklow, and made history into the bargain as Mullingar is the first Club to achieve this. Together with
the individual title won by Elizabeth Carr (U/14), that brought to 5 the number
of individual titles won on the day.
However, cross country racing is also about team effort,
and Mullingar athletes excelled themselves once again by winning several team prizes, which is a great testament to the hard
work put in by the juvenile athletes under the expert eye of Joe Ryan. This is Joe’s first full year
taking charge of the juvenile cross country/middle distance squads, and he has guided them expertly during this time, training
them well and passing on his knowledge of race tactics to get some brilliant results from his young charges.
First in action were the under 12 girls, racing over 1,000m, where Aisling
Bracken was our first finisher, in an excellent 6th place. Aisling was very well supported
by the rest of the team and was followed in closely by Ann Marie Kennedy (15th),
and newcomers Lauren Casey (16th) and Linda
Conroy (21st) to secure the gold medals for 1st Club. Emma
Glynn and Faye Walsh were next in and ensured 4th place
for Westmeath. Also running well in support were Edel Glennon (who had
to contend with being spiked, twice), Rachel Glennon, Niamh
Quinn, Stacey Darby, Leanne Duncan,
Jennifer Coughlan and Jessica McCormack.
This team now qualifies for the National finals in the Curragh.
Padraig Moran
was the pre-race favourite in the under 12 boys 1,000m and duly delivered on that, but had to contend with
close competition from a Club mate, newcomer Liam O’Reilly from Milltownpass
who had a marvellous run and gave Padraig a real race in his first Leinster Championship to finish 2nd. With Glen Gaffney, Oisin Quinn, Brendan
Keaveny and Thomas Fitzgerald packing well in support, no surprise
that this team finished 1st Club and 2nd County, booking places in the National finals.
Also running really well in support was newcomer Jack Stuart, and Iarlaith Daly and Conor Duncan.
Elizabeth Carr
left off where she finished last year and was majestic as she pulled away easily in the under 14 girls 1,200m
to win yet another Leinster title. Beth McGuire and newcomers Lorraine
Daly and Niamh Byrne ran well but such was the standard of competition,
unfortunately, the girls finished out of the team medals. Elizabeth now advances to the National finals alone.
If we thought a one-two was not going to be repeated,
no one told the under 12 boys team. Competing over 1,500m, Shane Fitzsimons
ran a clever race, running comfortably along with Thomas Lynn in the leading group
but when the time came, the two boys took off and gave us another one-two, Shane winning and Thomas a close 2nd. Philip Giles and Stephen Nea ensured the gold medals
for 1st Club, and Odhrain Daly and Alan
Cox ensured the bronze medals for 3rd County, only narrowly missing out on silver. Newcomer
Dean Baker and Leigh Walsh completed
this fine team that also advances to the National finals.
Unfortunately, we had no team in the under
16 girls 2,000m, where Amie Giles really made her mark and after a great
race where she stayed close to the leaders most of the way, finished very strongly to take 4th place. Arlene Coughlan was not going to be denied a place in the National finals and also finished
very fast in 12th place, to earn her place along with Amie on the Leinster team. Good to see Cliodhna Daly running well but without a fourth girl to capitalise on her good finish place,
there was no team medal.
Jake Byrne
made a winning return to cross country running in the under 16 boys 3,000m, leading the team to silver
medals, thanks to the efforts of Shane Fagan, Thomas
Fagan and Warren Walsh who packed well, and were well supported
by David Moran and newcomer Brian Faughnan.
The last juvenile race of the day was the under
18 boys 5,000m, where Shane Boggs ran an inspired race and kept to his
careful pre-race plan, which paid dividends as he ran away a clear winner and give Mullingar its fourth individual boys winner
of the afternoon and a place in the history books. Shane is only under 17, so this victory was particularly significant and
will give him great confidence in the under 17 race in the next round of the Leinsters in Abbeyleix. Also competing and running
very well was James Eagles who finished in 13th place, only one
agonising place outside the top 12 and just missed automatic selection on the Leinster team in the National finals.
Wendy Bates
was our sole representative in the novice women 3,000m and showed real class as she finished with a terrific
sprint in 5th place, less than 10 seconds away from a medal. Wendy has a real talent and one must suspect
that we’ve only seen the first glimpse of it. In the corresponding novice men 6,000m over the gruelling
Avondale course with its seriously challenging hills – both up and down – Tomas Navickas
showed real grit and determination as he finished in 8th place, with newcomer Paddy
Kelly also running well, but admitting that he suffered on the hills, though his finishing time was still
good. However, this was Paddy’s first real race, and he will improve with race practice and experience.
The master men 6,000m race
was the last race of the day and Ben Vaitkavichius paid for his early exuberance
in staying with the leaders for the first lap, and was forced to ease back but still finished well up the field and win his
master age-category. Finishing not far behind was Matt Glennon who ran a more
even-paced race and reaped the reward with a fine performance and a good overall placing in his master age-category. Third
man home for Mullingar was Greg Duggan, better known as a sprinter, who found
the hilly course very tough and was just very glad to finish.
Thanks to the many parents that travelled to
Avondale to support the athletes and enjoy a great day of cross country running for Mullingar, as the Club won a total of five
individual gold medals, a further six top-twelve places, 3 Club team gold medals
and a Club team silver, a County team silver, team bronze and a team
fourth place, which means that Mullingar will be well represented across most age-groups at the National finals in
the Curragh on 25th November. Judging by the fine results in Avondale, it also looks like Mullingar will be able to field
some great relay teams this year.
Mullingar Harriers bestows honour of Life Vice-President on Seamus Gibney
At the Mullingar Harriers AC Annual General Meeting
held on Friday 14th October in the Newbury Hotel, Club Chairman, Bobbie Begley, had the pleasure of announcing to those present
that in recognition of the contribution made by Seamus Gibney to Mullingar Harriers AC since the Club was founded in 1975,
that the Club’s Executive unanimously endorsed a recommendation to bestow the honour of Life Vice-President on Seamus.
In tribute, Bobbie said that Seamus is one of the founder members and a former President of the Club, and remains a loyal
supporter and continues to work tirelessly in the background on behalf of the Club. Seamus was clearly delighted and warmly
tahnked the Club for the honour.
Annual General Meeting
2007
Honorary Secretary, Greg Duggan, reported on the
highlights of the past year and outlined the success of the Club across the board at juvenile, junior, senior and master level.
The juvenile section continues to dominate at Leinster and National cross country, and in
the last year increased the numbers qualifying for National finals in indoor and outdoor track and field championships. The
standard bearers for the Club continue to be Martin Fagan and Mark Christie. 2008 is an Olympic year and both are reported
to be currently in great shape and running extremely well, so perhaps 2008 will be the year they make the really big breakthrough
to the top flight? The small group of master athletes also enjoyed good success, with many Leinster,
National and even a British title being won, as well as much success on the road race circuit. Greg gave a short slide show
presentation on the improvement works at the Club grounds and though there will be short-term pain with some inconvenience
caused, the long-term gains will be significant. The principal works are a new entrance, improved parking, a new long jump
pit, soil will be deposited on the areas outside the track improving its use as a jogging or running trail, and a new security
fence will be erected.
In his Treasurer’s Report, Sean McMullin confirmed that the Club is in a sound financial position with a reasonable
surplus of income over expenditure and a healthy bank balance, reflecting Sean’s excellent stewardship of the Club’s
finances.
The Chairman’s Report, presented by
Bobbie Begley, covered a lot of topics, including the perennial issue of coaching. Acknowledging the work of the current team
of coaches, there is a need for more parents to get involved, even if only in a small way such as assisting the current coaches
at training, especially now that there are a very large number of juvenile members. Bobbie told the meeting that he would
like to provide an all-weather tartan runway at the new long jump pit, and start a programme of annual trips abroad to cross
country and/or track and field competitions, to reward the success of the older juveniles and to encourage their continued
participation in the sport. The Club was founded in 1975, when it didn’t even have grounds or any premises to call its
own, but with the current improvement works, Bobbie considered that as well as a new entrance, the Club could consider that
2008 will see a new start too. Bobbie concluded by thanking the outgoing Committee for their work during the year and wished
the incoming one success.
Club President, George Bell, paid tribute to
all associated with the Club, particularly the athletes who continue to do themselves and the Club proud. He also thanked
the outgoing Committee and wished the incoming Committee every success.
World Military Games 2007
The world military
games in Hyderabad, India
drew competitors from military personnel all over the world, among them our own Noel Kelly representing
the Irish Defence Forces. Noel acquitted himself well in the heats of the 5000m on 14th October but failed to qualify in what
was an extremely well contested race, despite running not far off his personal best.
Westmeath
Cross Country 2007, day 2 - 14th October
There
was quite an international flavour at the second round of the Westmeath cross country championships last Sunday (14th October)
in Belvedere, with athletes from Spain, Italy,
Lithuania and South
Africa taking part alongside athletes from all across Westmeath. This round was for boys
and girls under 9, 11, 13, 15, 17 and 19 years of age, and junior, novice, senior and master men and women. There was a noticeable
increase in the number of under age athletes taking part compared to the first round, which was most welcome. Thanks
to all who helped on the day with assembly, starting, recording details of finishers, medals, etc and to the many parents
who provided vocal support and encouragement. The results are:
Under 9 girls 800m – 1. Claire Fagan (Lynn),
2. Nicole Gorry (Coralstown), 3. Niamh Quinn (Bracklyn), 4. Laura Whitelaw (Mullingar), 5. Aimee Jo Higgins (Kinnegad), 6.
Niamh Moore (Gaybrook), 7. Susan Glennon (Coralstown), 8. Sarah Glennon (Coralstown), 9. Cliodhna Caffrey (Annaville), 10.
Julie King (Mullingar), 11. Hannah Quinn (Coralstown), 12. Aoife Quinn (Coralstown), 13. Shauna Dalton (Lynn).
Under 11 girls 800m – 1. Aisling Bracken (Kinnegad), 2. Faye Walsh (Mullingar), 3. Emma Glynn (Killucan),
4. Rachel Glennon (Coralstown), 5. Jennifer Coughlan (Moate), 6. Tara Dennehy (Castletown-Geoghegan), 7. Jessica McCormack
(Moate), 8. Lana Creegan (Castlepollard), 9. Karen Gaffney (Delvin), 10. Eleanor Quinn (Mullingar), 11. Grace Walsh (Mullingar),
12. Róisin Fagan (Crookedwood), 13. Síofra Molloy (Rathcoleman), 14. Lucy Murray (Castlepollard), 15. Jenny Kiernan (Castlepollard).
Under 13 girls 1,000m – 1. Elizabeth Carr (Kilpatrick), 2. Linda Conroy (Kilbeggan), 3. Lauren Casey (Mullingar),
4. Isobel O’Neill (Moate), 5. Orla Tubridy (Mullingar), 6. Edel Glennon (Coralstown), 7. Caoimhe Shaw (Lynn), 8. Lorraine Daly
(Tyrrellspass), 9. Niamh Byrne (Mullingar), 10. Stacey Darby (Kinnegad), 11. Jennifer King (Cullionmore), 12. Aoife McAnaney
(Mullingar).
Under 15 girls 1,500m – 1. Amie Giles (Kinnegad), 2. Arlene Coughlan (Moate), 3. Lisa Darby (Kinnegad),
4. Clíodhna Daly (Ballinagore).
Under 17 girls 2,000m – 1. Aoife Hogan (Moate), 2. Caraceli Aizpurua (Wilson’s
Hospital & Spain).
Under 9 boys 800m – 1. Dillon Fitzgerald (Mullingar), 2. Simon Carr (Kilpatrick), 3. Cormac Dalton
(Lynn), 4. Joseph Moran (The Downs),
5. Jonah Kelly (Mullingar), 6. Jack Moran (Multyfarnham), 7. Eoghan Bracken (Kinnegad), 8. Tom Maguire (Mullingar), 9. Christopher
Kiernan (Coole), 10. Gerry Byrne (Rochfortbridge), 11. Eoghan Fagan (Crookedwood).
Under 11 boys 800m – 1. Kevin Giles (Kinnegad), 2. Glenn Gaffney (Delvin), 3. Eoghan O’Brien
(Mullingar), 4. Jack Stuart (Mullingar), 5. Oisin Quinn (Bracklyn), 6. Patrick Shaw (Lynn Cross), 7. Michael Moran (Multyfarnham),
8. Eoghan Moore (Mullingar), 9. Conor Duncan (Gaybrook), 10. Conor Coughlan (The Downs),
11. Ciarán Bracken (Kinnegad), 12. Iarlaith Daly (Ballinagore), 13. Cormac Dalton (Lynn),
14. Tom Molloy (Rathcoleman), 15. Alan Fagan (Castlepollard).
Under 13 boys 1,200m – 1. Shane Fitzsimons (Collinstown), 2. Thomas Lynn (Milltown-Empor), 3. Padraig
Moran (Multyfarnham), 4. Liam O’Reilly, 5. Philip Giles (Kinnegad), 6. Patrick Fagan (Lynn), 7. Odhrain Daly (Ballinagore), 8. Brendan Keaveny (Kinnegad), 9. Alan Cox (Delvin),
10. Conor Dolan (Delvin), 11. Joshua Kelly (Delvin), 12. Leigh Walsh (Rochfortbridge), 13. Dean Baker (Kinnegad), 14. Shane
Nugent (Wooddown).
Under 15 boys 2,000m – 1. Thomas Fagan (Mount
Temple), 2. Viachra Martinez (Wilson’s
Hospital & Spain), 3. Stephen Nea (Mullingar), 4. Ignacio Miranda (Wilson’s
Hospital & Spain).
Under 17 boys 3,000m – 1. Shane Boggs (Lynn Cross), 2. Jake Byrne (Rochfortbridge), 3. David Moran (Multyfarnham).
Under 19 boys 3,000m – 1. Lee Stenson (Mullingar), 2. Paul Flynn (Multyfarnham), 3. Jesús Garvido (Wilson’s Hospital & Spain).
Senior women – 1. Wendy Bates (Mullingar & South Africa), 2. Eva Ross (Slanemore), 3. Karen
Malone (Mullingar), 4. Sharon Bates (Mullingar).
Master women – 1. Nuala Moran (Multyfarnham), 2. Geraldine Walsh (Mullingar), 3. Breeda McDonnell
(Irishtown), 4. Brigid McCabe (Marlinstown).
Novice men – 1. Paddy Kelly (Mullingar), 2. Aidan Gorry (Kinnegad), 3. David Fagan (Mullingar), 4. Brian
Boyle (Mullingar), 5. Pat Nugent (Mullingar), 6. Douglas Bates (Mullingar), 7. Sebastiano Spolaire (Italy), 8. Lennie O’Mahony (Mullingar).
Senior men – 1. Tomas Navichius (Mullingar & Lithuania), 2. Tom McGrath (Mullingar), 3. Patrick Muldoon Jun. (Mullingar).
Master men – 1. Matt Glennon (Coralstown), 2. John Carty (Mullingar), 3. Pat Muldoon Sen. (Mullingar),
4. Liam McGlynn (Mullingar), 5. Seamus Moran (Multyfarnham), 5. Christy Creagh (Monilea), 6. Tommy Carr (Kilpatrick), 7. Greg
Duggan (Mullingar), 8. Nicky McCabe (Marlinstown).
Silver Medal for Shane Heffernan at 2007 Special Olympics World Games
Congratulations to Shane
Heffernan who won a silver medal in the long jump at the Special Olympics World Games in Shanghai, China. Shane has worked hard
in training since early in the year, focusing all the time on Shanghai,
and it is terrific that all his hard work has paid off with a well-deserved medal. For the record, he was 5th in the
final of the 200m. He can be justifiably proud of his achievement.
Excellent run for Martin Fagan in Boston Half-Marathon
Martin Fagan was in top form when finishing
3rd in a very competitive half marathon in Boston
on Sunday 7th October. He recorded a super time of 63:04 in only his second attempt at the distance.
Competing alongside 3,600 starters in warm but overcast and breezy conditions, the field include a number of good Keynan athletes so
it really was an excellent performance by Martin who actually led the race for the first seven miles.