BELFAST HALF MARATHON
The fifth running of the Belfast City Half Marathon on Sunday morning was blessed with ideal conditions. Mother Nature sent a cool, sunny morning to the tranquil surroundings of Belfast’s Ormeau Park as the runners gathered in their thousands, unintentionally rousing the man in the sleeping bag outside the public toilets on the Embankment, which served as a reminder to many of us just out of comfortable beds, of how many of our fellow citizens have to live.
BARRIE LEADS WAY AGAIN
Barrie Atkinson 1.17.30 was first of the large East Down squad to cross the finish line 44 seconds faster than last year and was followed in the Male category by Andrew Telford in 1.29. 39 and Gareth Kelly 1.29.57, both of whom were absolutely delighted to break the 90 minute barrier. Gareth’s time was nearly 6 minutes quicker than last year’s. Liam Smyth 1.32 and Liam Keenan 1.33 worked well together and did the M50 category no harm at all. Gavin Hynds produced a 1.36 finish which indicates that his Hill and Dale action has paid off. James Magennis and Kieran McMahon came in on each other heels in the 1.44 mark and Tom McClean 1.46.42 was over the moon to have broken the 1.50 barrier in great style. Kevin Kelly made a welcome appearance too for the men,
Indeed many of the 23+ from the Club were rewarded with PBs and all looked happy enough when I last saw them making for the finish line as I stood on the Ormeau bridge. Subsequent photos indicated that everyone had enjoyed the experience. I also saw some familiar faces who haven’t appeared in the results and was glad to cheer them on their way.
NIAMH STARS FOR THE LADIES
Niamh Kellett 1.27.00 was in tremendous form and carved over 3 minutes off her 2016 time and with Joanne Foster 1.30.04 remaining strong to the finish line and Deirdre Weatherall 1.35.35 also going well in her debut at this distance, it augurs well for the forthcoming relays and Cross Country season ahead. Patricia Galloway 1.44 reduced her PB by a massive 15 minutes. I don’t know what she’s on but I wouldn’t mind trying it! Other ladies who turned out were Clare Carson (1.52) Catherine Gilchrist (1.54) and Janine Murray (1.56). Paul Savage ran well to duck under the 2 hour mark and Carmel Tumelty and Roisin Gaffney seemed to enjoy their outing.
PACEMAKER SUPREME
Mick McCreesh paced the 2 hour aspirants superbly as usual and clocked 1.58.08. Great work Mick, Well Done.
MILL HILL MILE
Q. What do you call an event where you can run much slower than last year, yet gain 40 places in your overall position? A. The Mill Hill Mile? This would appear to be the last answer you would come up with but I is spot on correct. Because of the wet and windy conditions and with the promise of even worse forecast for that evening it was little wonder that on the night considerably fewer athletes than last year turned up to run, 43 less to be exact, which resulted in my finishing place 84th out of 85 compared very favourably with that of 2016, 121st of 128, even though it took me a minute and 36 seconds longer to do it.!
However most of the times recorded ere slower, possibly because of the water on the road, though conditions were pretty good by the time the race began. I suppose running down to the start and seeing all the runners assembled on the road and ready to go while we were still 200 metres from joining them did not help our pre-race preparations, which usually includes a period spent hanging over the railings recovering and a lot of heavy breathing, before getting up and joining the rest of the runners. In fairness though they did wait for us to cross the road before setting the field in motion.
DIDN’T THE KIDS DO WELL?
As in 2016 Paul Burns was first East Down runner home in 6.25 ahead of James Smyth 6.34, both slower than 2016. However, there were some super performances by the East Down juniors. Mackensie Murray 7.10 and Lauren Madine 7.14 (7.30) won the Male and FemaleJ12 categories respectively. Oliver Robinson won the MJ10 category in 7.20 (8.01) and Jodi Foster 8.00 (8.10) took the FJ10 title. Perhaps the most noticeable improvement came from Kari Foster who took the FJ8 title in 8.41 (10.25) a massive improvement of 1 minute and 44 seconds. There were wins too for Laura Gardiner in the Ladies open race, Alexander Robinson 8.21 ( 8.56) in the MJ 8 and Adam Morgan 8.18 ( 8..07) in the MJ16. 2016 times shown in (brackets.)
EAST OF IRELAND MARATHON SERIES
Another weekend and inevitably our thoughts turn to the East of Ireland Marathon series, well at least that’s what those participating in them does. Phillip Vint was once again to the fore in the Duleek marathon which also included options for all distances from 5 miles to full marathon with wife Helen opting for 10 miles and Stephen Mc Cartan for the 20 miles. Phillip finished in 3.35, in 4th place while Stephen finished his race in 2.38. Sorry Helen but I couldn’t find a time for you but on the basis of the attached photograph you clearly finished. Well Done y’all
NEXT UP IS DARRAGH CROSS
The next local fixture is the Darragh Cross 10K and Fun Run on Sunday 24 September at 12.30pm Please note the change of time to that advertised. All entries will be taken on the day from 11.00am in the GAA Club premises.
30th ANNIVERSARY DINNER – 11th November 2017
Preparations are well under way to ensure that a good night out will be guaranteed for all. The Burrendale Hotel has a great reputation for the quality of their food and the date has been chosen so as to allow all the members who are tackling Dublin Marathon to let their hair down. Whether you have done a marathon or not it is a good excuse to get dressed up and have a night out. Tickets are now on sale. Contact Janine Murray 07821 698695 or come to the Club any training night to book your spot (£35 per head)
Joe Quinn
18 September 2017