Harry Rewrites History at Navan
The mind of a young person is very impressionable. More open to learning and being shaped by outside factors. Also a young mind does not have the life experience to put up natural barriers to reaching their full potential when it seems the sky is the limit. For one young athlete, Harry McVeigh, he found the limit and smashed through it as he soared into the stratosphere on Sunday past, at the National Cross Country Championships to find himself on the podium as one of the best U11 runners in the whole island.
On Sunday, he toed the line at Navan Racecourse, only two weeks after a 7th place finish in the U12 National Championships. With temperatures struggling to get past zero, it was a massive change to ground conditions from the Ulster qualifiers back at the start of November that required you to wade through bogs. The past few days of frost had afforded runners and spectators harder ground though Harry had faced problems of his own mid week after picking up an injury in school which threatened a DNS at one point.
Although he was feeling fit to do the race the injury mid week was playing on his mind as he admitted for the first time ever that he was nervous for the race. This wasn’t helped by the appalling traffic management to the venue that morning which had many young participants scrambling to the start line as roads around Navan where gridlocked.
Nerves settled as he got into his warm up and he was reminded that yes it is the National Championships but it is like any other race. Just go out, keep running forward and do your best. He took his place on the line with the grit and determination we have all come to recognise when this young man shows up to race. With the whole family in attendance and extra support from club members dotted around the course, there was no point on the course without encouragement to push him on.
His slight frame was not one to be overlooked on the start line. He set off knowing he had to give that bit extra on the first hill to navigate the turn and not get caught up in traffic. Leading for parts of the race, he couldn’t shake off the eventual winner. It was clear he was toying with his pain threshold in the closing stages as he dug even deeper for more. With 200m to go he gave everything he had left, up the final straight to take 3rd place.
Delighted with his run, he sported a proud smile from ear to ear. Proud parents, Connaire and Patricia, watched on with admiration as their youngest son collected his medal and can claim to be the 3rd fastest man in Ireland.
Four races later, it was Fahlin Murphy-McKibbin who was the only other Yellow and Red vest from Newcastle running against the best Ireland had to offer. After a far from ideal race in Kilkenny a fortnight ago within his own age category of U14, Fahlin was quick to put wrongs to right and run this race with a smart race plan after taking lessons learned and adjusting to suit the field ahead. After qualifying as 8th in Ulster in Donegal, he sat for the first lap in amongst the middle of the pack. He maintained his pace throughout the middle section of the race and as he entered into the final lap he began to move up the gears and pick off each runner in front, one by one as they tired. The long climb to the finish played to his advantage and he finished in spectacular style to take 31st place.
What is more impressive about this performance is that Fahlin still has another year within this age category. With his sights firmly set on School Districts in January, this performance will go a long way to build his confidence and reaffirm the talent that he has not just within cross country but across all disciplines as he continues on the ANI Rising Stars programme.
Both boys also earned themselves Regional team Medals as top finishers for Ulster and contributed to the Provincial element of the event. Harry maintained his season’s performance as first Ulster runner across the line in the U11 race leading the squad to a 3rd place finish. Fahlin joined neighbouring East Down AC runner, Alex Robinson, in the 3rd place provincial squad securing fifth runner across the line. This was a notable achievement for Fahlin as he gained 3 places on his performance at the Ulster Championships.
Amongst all the hype and excitement as post race analysis took place, it seemed that Navan wasn’t ready to let the McVeigh go, just so soon. As the ice thawed, so did the ground and getting out of the grass car park was proving another obstacle for many drivers. With the help of a big John Deere and some helpful men on hand, the ‘white yoke’ made its bid for freedom and for the safety of tarmac for an onward journey home.
The quality of talent that has been on display over the first half of the Cross Country Season from Newcastle AC has been inspirational to other club members. Representing the club from smaller events like McGrady’s to being on the largest race platform in the country is something to be very proud of. Both young men, whilst humble in their achievements, have paved the way for other clubmates to aim beyond the sky and join them in the stratosphere.
Harry McVeigh on his way to 3rd place in the U12 Boys race
Fahlin Murphy-McKibben in the final stages of the U14 boys race