TULLAMORE HARRIERS: Athletes perform well in National Indoor League Final 2023

On Saturday February 11th, 14 of our ladies travelled to the NIA in Dublin for the 123.ie National Indoor League Final. The Tullamore Harriers team, which was a relatively young team with 10 athletes 16 years of age and one 18 year old, all outperformed in their individual events. Despite missing four of the more experienced athletes who were unfortunately unavailable to compete, the ladies contributed valuable team points finishing in a very commendable 8th place overall.

Performances on the day were;

Alisha Maher - 60m sprint - 7.97 secs - PB

Emily Grennan - 1500m - 4:48 seconds - SB

Eimear Cotter - 60mH - 9.79 seconds.

Imelda Lamb - 3000m - 10:27 seconds.

Faith McDermott - 200m -28:10 seconds.

Andrea Ryan - 800m - 2:20 seconds.

Lucy Champ - 400m - 63.00 seconds.

4x400 Relay- Andrea Ryan, Polly Duffy, Rachael Donegan, Emily Cunningham- 4:32 seconds.

4x200 Relay - Alisha Maher, Faith McDermott, Teagan Delaney, Faye Dunne - 1:49 secs

Joyce Stevenson -1500m Walk-10:57 seconds PB

Eimear Cotter - Long Jump- 526cm PB

Eimear Cotter - Triple Jump- 10.55m - PB

Joanna Deverell- Shot putt - 6.79m - PB

Alisha Maher - High Jump- 150cm - PB

Joanna Deverell- Weight Throw - 4.55m - PB

An outstanding result for such a young team. The experience of competing in such a high-quality competition will no doubt prepare all the athletes for their individual indoor competitions in the coming weeks and also help develop the team for the next league campaign. Well done to all the athletes and coaches involved in a very successful result.

123.ie National Intermediate, Masters Cross Country Championships.

Well done to the club athletes who travelled to Gowran Demesne, Co Kilkenny last Sunday 12th of February, for the last cross country championship for the season. Wicklow Athletics hosted the 123.ie National Intermediate and Masters Cross Country Championships on a fresh dry day with excellent underfoot conditions.

First to tow the line were the Master Ladies where the O50 and O35 teams lined out along with the O65 men for the 4000m.

The Tullamore ladies were led by Sarah Flanagan (11th), with her team mates Evelyn Herlihy (58th), Lynn Mooney (76th), and Charlotte Abbott (105th) taking the 11th club position in the O35 category. Caroline Donnellan from Edenderry AC joined the ladies on the county team, boosting their placing to 6th overall.

Jim Langan competed in the same race as the ladies and earned a super silver national medal in the O80 group.

The O50 ladies - Rita Daly (79th), Marie Donegan (119th), Hilary Duncan (130th), Mary Galvin (134th), and Martina Conlon (137th) finished 6th club and 5th county.

The Master Men were up next, and here the distance was 7000 m. Killian Nolan, newcomer to the club finished a commendable 43th place followed by Padraig Berry (76th), Liam Byrne (157th) and Alan Mitchell (173rd).

Daniel Molloy was the sole club athlete in the 8000m intermediate race where he had a great run to finish in 54th place.

Well done to all who lined out for the club. The cross country spikes can be put back on the shelf now for a little while!

3000m Club Record for O’Connor in Boston

Ava O’Connor flew from Colorado to Boston last Wednesday as part of the Adams State track and field team competing at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational hosted by Boston University.

Ava raced the 3000m and once the starting gun went, she was among the leaders. Ava passed the first kilometre in 3:08 and the pace was steady for the next kilometre too with 37 second laps and she passed the 2000m mark at 6:15. In the final third of the race Ava, still only twenty years of age dug deep and was able to hang on to the leaders. She finished with a fast 34 second last lap for a new PB of 9:18.76. This is almost twenty seconds faster than her previous best of 9:37.86!

Ava’s time is .07 of a second faster than the previous Tullamore Harriers club record set by Laura Mooney last year at the same meet.

Indoor Records Fall in National League

In round two of the National League Campaign two club records were beaten by our track and field ladies. Eimear Cotter raced to 9.77 secs in the 60m hurdles beating the previous indoor record by Aine Brennan held since 2008 with 10.36. Katie Deverell on the same day cleared 155cm in the high jump to take Katelyn Farrellys record of 143cm held since 2018. Katie now holds both indoor and outdoor records. Well done to both.

Leinster Schools Cross Country

Almost thirty or so Tullamore Harriers athletes travelled with their schools to compete at the Leinster Schools Cross Country in Santry Woods, in Dublin last Wednesday. There were mixed results with five runners qualifying for the All Irelands, but a couple of teams just missed out with illness and exams having an effect.

The Tullamore College squad in the Minor Girls race had been hit by illness but still raced brilliantly to finish fifth. Emma Mooney led the way in 22nd with Eloise Kamalandua and Monika Stopka not far behind. The team was completed by Robin O’Reilly, Katie Guinan and Eva Marie Lowndes. These girls are a talented bunch and should be proud of their races this year!

In the Minor Boys race the only athlete in action was Conor Murtagh representing Colaiste Choilm. Conor raced well and was near the front from the starters pistol. He came home 18th only three places off All Ireland qualification.

In the Junior Girls race

Eabhadh Multaney-Kelly if the Sacread Heart School raced well over the 2000m to comfortably qualify for the All Irelands. Her ninth-place finish is a good return considering she was very sick early in the week! In the Junior Boys race Patrick Duffy of Colaiste Choilm started well but after the first lap the effects of a virus earlier this month could be seen, and he dropped out of contention for the All Irelands.

Tullamore Harriers had eight athletes racing in the Intermediate Girls race representing Killina SS, the Scared Heart and Gallen CS. Niamh Garvey and Andrea Ryan were in the leading pack right from the off and despite a very fast pace were able to stay with for the full 3500m. Niamh crossed the line in 6th with Andrea not far behind in 9th, both comfortably qualifying for the All Irelands. The Killina team of Niamh Garvey, Aoibhe Moore and Polly Duffy finished fifth just ten points off medals, while the Sacred Heart weren’t too far back in seventh with Andrea Ryan, Rachel Donegan, Saoirse Murtagh and Meabh Rouse competing well. Kara Daly a track specialist also raced well to finish in 36th.

In the Intermediate Race Luke Mahon representing St Marys Edenderry had a great race. He finished 15th to qualify for the All Irelands. Tadgh O Comraidhe raced well too representing Dunamase College.

In the Senior Boys race Luke Duffy and Jack Donegan raced really strongly. Luke finished in 8th after being in the lead pack from the start. Jack Donegan finished in 21st in what was possibly his best cross-country performance to date.

Of course, the athletes had great support from Sinead Fox (Tullamore College), Kate McCann (Killina Secondary School), Ellen Godley (Sacred Heart School) and Grace Balfe (Colaiste Choilm) and are now looking forward to the track and field season after Easter.

PB for Murphy at Armagh 5k

Michael Murphy was in action at the iconic Brooks Armagh 5k where he clocked a superb time of 14.38 taking 6 seconds off his PB for the distance. This event, hosted by Armagh AC is one of the most famous road races and attracts athletes of the highest elite standards from all over the world. The winning time was 13.33 by Henry McGluckie, UK with 16 other men breaking the 14 minutes. On a perfect night for running, the streets were thronged with onlookers for a spectacle of fast racing. Congratulations Michael on your great run. Danielle Donegan UCD, was also on form in her 3000m race. She raced very well to finish in 26th place with a time of 9.31. Well done, Danielle.

Milner PBs in Early Season Races

National senior medallist Mark Milner has kicked off his Indoor season with mixed results in races in Ireland, in Dublin Athlone, and in Ghent in Belgium. The standout performance of the indoor season so far was his opening 800m race at the National Indoor League in Dublin. Mark stormed to a new indoor PB of 1:49.44 as he chased John Fitzsimons of Kildare all the way to the finish line.

In his next outing a week later Mark raced powerfully for the first three laps but had gone out too hard and stopped before the finish! Undeterred by this Mark travelled to Ghent in Belgium at the weekend where he raced in the FAM Gent Indoor, Topsporthal Vlaanderen. The race was poorly paced but Mark raced well to finish 5th against a top-class international field in a time of 1:52.14.

800m PB for Mangan

Aaron Mangan travelled to Pittsburg, Kansas with the Fort Hays State track and field team to compete at the eighth annual Indoor Gorilla Classic.

Aaron raced to a new PB in the 800m as he placed sixth in 1:51.09 against a top-class field.

Tullamore Harriers 5k Road Race

We are back!! The annual Tullamore Harriers 5k race is on 12th of March @10am. A race not to miss – a flat fast course and on closed roads for added safety. This is Race 1 in the Offaly 5k Road Race Series 2023. Register at www.popupraces.ie

Fixtures

18-Feb National Indoor Senior Championships (Feb 18th & 19th

Training 

Senior Training

Training Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6.40pm to 8.30pm.

For any enquiries contact club captains Sean 0851742418 or Anna 0868248928