Offaly athletes in the medal winners at the All Ireland Juvenile B Cross Country Championships

A dozen Tullamore Harriers athletes travelled northwards on Sunday, February February 11 to compete in the Juvenile B Cross Country Championships at the DKIT venue in County Louth.

There were some great performances on the day in what were very challenging conditions with the course mucky throughout. In addition many athletes were competing out of their age but still acquitted themselves well.   

First up were Cara Cummins and Annabel Donegan who were really competitive over the 1000m they raced. There were 129 finishers in the race and Cara finished 16th, while Annabel raced well to finish 31st. The Under 11 Boys race was also 1000m and James Hynes had a tremendous run to medal, finishing 12th, while Max Ivasenko racing out of his age, had a fine run to finish in 26th place.

The U13s raced over 1500m. Sarah Whitaker is a very talented young runner and out of her age she finished 42nd. Joe Daly and Shane Cummins were also out of their age but competed well to finish 25th and 46th respectively. 

The U15 Girls raced 2500m and the three Tullamore Harriers athletes that competed were really impressive with Adelyn Walsh 5th, Mia Gallagher 9th and Elise Cusack 17th.

Leinster Schools Cross Country

A large group of Tullamore Harriers athletes travelled to Dublin last week to compete in the Leinster Schools Cross Country for their schools. We are very grateful for the hard work of the teachers involved. On the day the weather was good and although cold it was dry and there was little or no wind throughout. The course was a simple out and back run just behind the Papal Cross in the Phoenix Park and with no hills or obstacles the pace in most races was fast from the starters gun. There were some great results and with qualified for the All Irelands in Tymon Park, Tallaght in early March, we have another race ti look forward to. 

In the Minor Girls race Elise Cusack led home the Killina Secondary School squad in 28th and the team finished 10th. Also competing in this race was the duo of Adelyn Walsh and Isabel Mooney. Adelyn finish 17th, while Isabel was 45th. 

Next up were the Junior Girls and Mia Gallagher of Colaiste Iosaghain Portarlington was first home in 14th with Emma Mooney competing for Tullamore College ran well to finish 

45th. 

In the Junior Boys Darragh Stewart and Conor Murtagh of Coláiste Choilm raced over the two miles and both did well to finish 38th and 55th respectively. 

In the Intermediate Girls race Niamh Garvey of Killina was near the front from the start and finished a creditable 6th place not far off the leading pack. Eva Rose Kelly and Lucy O’Rourke also ran well for Killina coming home in 50th and 55th. 

In the Senior Girls race the Sacred Heart School just missed out on victory by four points as Andrea Ryan in 6th, Rachel Donegal 19th, Eabhadh Multaney Kelly 20th and Meabh Rouse 39th combined to finish second. 

In the Senior Boys race Luke Duffy of Coláiste Choilm raced well and comfortably qualified for the All Irelands in 11th place.

Donegan's in London

Brother & Sister, Jack and Danielle Donegan, headed to London last Friday evening to take part in " Friday night under the lights 5k" an event which is held in Battersea Park, in South West London. 

This event brings together a lot of fast 5k runners of international standards. 

Danielle was up first in the Elite Ladies and was always very close to the front of the pack . Eventually, Taryn Rawlings ( USA) made her move and went on to win in 15: 54 with Danielle just finishing off the podium in a fantastic 4th place in a time of 16: 11.

Jack was soon to follow, running a great race in a time of 15: 36 to take 1st in his age group of under 20.

Well done!

Paul McGowan was in action once again at the Annual 10 Summit Challenge in Piestewa Park, Colorado.

  Just two days after completing an inspiring 3.31 marathon where Paul pushed a wheelchair, Paul embarked on an even more daunting challenge, scaling a total of 12 repetitions, each exceeding 1000 meters in elevation gain. This incredible effort resulted in a staggering cumulative climb of 13,000 meters, spanning a distance of 26 miles. Starting his endeavor at 5am and persevering until 8pm, is indeed a testament to his extraordinary endurance and determination.

Incredible achievement in one week Paul!

Fixtures

3rd March. McNamara 5 mile 

10th March Tullamore Harriers 5K

Senior Training

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

For any enquiries contact club captains Sean 0851742418 or Rita 0868386687