'A great course and a great day'

Statement by the Mullingar Half Marathon organising committee.

What an incredible day last Saturday when the Mullingar Half Marathon was live again on the streets of Mullingar. After going virtual in 2020, it was great to see the town busy with runners from all over the country.

The race kicked off at 9am on Pearse Street, where runners were led by the new Seat Leon e-hybrid, the car supplied by MHM Car partners, Colton Seat. They ran out the Dublin road, through Curraghmore, The Downs and back along the Royal Canal to the finish line in Mullingar Town Park ,where family and friends were waiting to cheer them on.

First place in the men’s category went to Mick Fogarty from Athlone in a great time of 1:10:38. Second was Timmy Murphy of Mullingar Harriers and third was Paul Buckley, Ferbane AC.

Mick Fogarty said: “I ran Mullingar in 2016, it’s a nice course, I forgot about the gravel part along the canal, zaps all your energy, but it’s a great course and a great day.”

First place in the women’s category went to Áine O’Reilly with a fantastic time of 1:25. Cora Reegan was second and Cathryn Brady was in third.

Áine said: “I really enjoyed the race, there was very good support on the course, cheering us on. It’s brilliant having this half marathon in Mullingar today.”

There was a great atmosphere with friends and family out to support along the route and at the finish line. Runners were kept hydrated at the finish with the help of this year’s hydration partner OR Hydration Tablets.

Nuala-Anne Curley, Mullingar Half Marathon secretary, said: “Congratulations to all our runners, it was fantastic to see such a buzz in Mullingar on Saturday. Well done to our winners, achieving great times, it was great to see Mullingar Harriers represented in the top three of the women and men’s categories. We would like to thank all our sponsors, AON who are title sponsor again this year, we thank them for their continued support. To Colton Seat our Car Partner and to ORS Hydration Tablets, our hydration partner.

“We would also like to thank the many volunteers and supporters who help make this event what it is, the stewards, marshals, Civil Defence, gardaí and WCC. And the MHM committee who volunteer their time for the event for months in advance – a lot of work goes on behind the scenes to make this event happen so we thank every one of you. Of course we do this event for the love of running and also to raise as funds for our charity partner T.E.A.M. (Temporary Emergency Accommodation Midlands). We look forward to welcoming you all back to Mullingar for MHM 2022.”