Minis, Marathons, Mountains, Madness and Montalto.

The week kicked off (literally) with a Minis Track Meet (P5-P7) at Bangor Sportsplex hosted by NDAC. There was a good showing from Ella Telford, Phoebe McCreesh, Lauren Madine, Lucy Foster and Jodi Foster.

Lauren produced a proficient hat trick of firsts with medals in P7 Long Jump, 60m and 600m. Jodi had a win in P5 600m and a third place in 60m. Ella also P5 got 2 silvers – 60 and 600m. Phoebe came 3rd in P6 60m. Well done all for representing EDAC in style!

Hill&Dale

The next event was in the Mountains  – Tollymore Forest to be precise on Thursday evening for the 2nd Hill and Dale of 2017. Apparently it was a lovely night but a challenging course and as is now the custom EDAC were out in force. It is great to see their enthusiasm. Davy Foster led the troops home in 37th place with a strong run – 37.14, Niamh Kellett wasn’t far behind (38.24) then Gavin Hynds and Joker Kelly were within spitting distance of each other – 40.11 and 40.29. Brian Hamilton, Janine Murray and Ian McCracken also completed the course successfully well up the field of 276 competitors. Next round is Slieve Martin – Joanne Foster’s favourite apparently! I am not sure that the word “favourite” and “mountains” go together in my way of thinking but each to their own…

London Marathon

It takes a hard man (or woman) to take on the Hill and Dales but the challenge of London Marathon takes things up a notch. Even gaining a race slot in the first place is extremely difficult as anyone who has tried to enter well knows.  Training as for any marathon is a roller coaster of mental and physical effort as the athlete tries to push for their best personal standard whilst avoiding illness and injury which is not easy over a prolonged period of time. Travel and accommodation needs to be sorted. Literally getting on to the correct start line is a logistical nightmare. Then the final hurdle is dealing with the pressures that the spectacular nature of this enormous event can cause. With all this is mind we are gratified that so many in our club succeeded in representing the club so well at this high profile event. Without even taking their times into account they have done the club and themselves proud!

Dee Murray was the first EDAC member across the line and his PB of 2.58 is well deserved as he has been singleminded in his approach and breaking the 3 hour barrier was never going to be easy. David Smith should be equally pleased with his time 3.14. Cheryl Denvir has been quietly toiling away and her time 3.50 is a sweet reward for juggling her training and studies in the last number of months. James Magennis came in in 4.06 taking it in his stride and Helen and Philip Vint crossed the line together in a happy 4.30 with the event living up to their expectations. Peter Morgan is to be congratulated on completing his first marathon (4.55) and what a marathon to have as a first memory. Colum Surginor (4.57) having had a less than ideal preparation through injury and illness was relieved to get to the end. In contrast to Peter’s first marathon Colum has stated that this is his last …but we have heard this before from others so who knows? Linda Cunningham is another one who gets the job done in a calm collected manner and  is to be congratulated on adding a London Marathon medal to her vast collection. Well done to one and all!

Michael and his Madness

Having covered the Minis, Mountains and Marathon we are now coming to the “Madness”. It is the only word which can describe the challenge that Michael Cultra undertook this week.  Sammy and Adrian Daye of Atlas Running specialise in setting up ultra courses which demand a determination that most of us can only dream of. The most recent event took 26 runners aka superheroes on a route starting from the Guinness Factory in Dublin and ending at  the Crown Liquor Saloon Belfast some 107 miles later. The start time was 11am on Friday and the runners continued through the night until they reached the destination. The winner was Alistair Higgins in an incredible time of 19 hours 50 minutes. Our own man Michael completed this amazing feat of endurance in 28 hours and 6 minutes. My admiration knows no bounds!

Ballynahinch 10k/5k

Finally on the domestic front the popular Ballynahinch 10k/5k event hosted by the Ballynahinch Lions in association with newly formed club Saintfield Striders took place on Saturday 22nd April. It incorporates a long hilly start followed by a scenic tour through the grounds of Montalto Estate. The bonus is you get to do this twice! It was a damp afternoon but spirits were high amongst the Juniors as they gave support to the adults taking part in the gruelling two lap 10k. Benny Teer on his way back to fitness had a tough fight on his hands losing out in the closing stages to John Craig from Victoria Park and Connswater AC. Their times were 33.38 and 33.48 respectively. Third man home also sporting Victoria Park and Connswater colours was Stephen Wylie. Martin Willcox had a good run coming 5th overall 36.16. On the Ladies’ front Heather Foley (Olympian Triathlon) made light work of taking top female in 38.28 with Jennifer Black (Victoria Park & Connswater AC) 42:12 in 2nd place and Ursula Campbell (44:06) in 3rd place. Back to EDAC members and Mark O’Connor ran well to record 42.46. Kevin Kelly showed that his training is paying off when he recorded a PB of 48 minutes dead. Roisin Gaffney smiled through the rain as she finished in 54.20 and Robert Miskelly, Eithne McGrattan and Bernice McCann also looked satisfied to have conquered the hills and finished in one piece. The Juniors then got the chance to have their support repaid as the adults lined up to watch them compete. The EDAC contingent didn’t take long to arrive back at the Montalto Gates as they made short work of the 5k course. The race was won by City of Derry track Athlete Conan McCaughey who clocked an impressive 15:05. Matthew McGrattan was 4th overall and then a trio of red and yellow vests saw Lauren Madine sneak first female from the pursuing Fosters Kirsti and Lucy as they flew across the line to take a 1,2,3 for EDAC – a wonderful sight. Well done to them and to the other Juniors who took part. There are no results available at this time but it was good to see so many EDAC members enjoying the event.

Alison Carroll