A serious number of races and runs to cover this week folks so apologies if you don’t get a mention!

RATHFRILAND 10K on WEDNESDAY

First off the start line was Gavin McConvey who took on the hills around Rathfriland on Wednesday night and could be well pleased with clocking 55.26 for the 10K, which took him into the top 100, finishing in 97^th out of 163.

And could the Connaire McVeigh who placed 6^th in 38.14 really be the Connaire McVeigh who once starred as a junior with EDAC? I know he had taken part in a few cross country races recently and was always a competitive character.  So welcome back Connaire if it was you and if it wasn’t, Well Done to whoever it was!

 FRIDAY NIGHT PROSECCO 5K RUN

I know those words don’t actually go together very well but nevertheless that was the name of the event which took place on Friday evening in Castleward Estate, with what looked like well over 300 competitors. Competitors is a loosely applied term in this instance, as many may appeared to have just joined in at the mention of the aforementioned bubbly, while on their way home from some late night revels! At the time of writing there are no published results but suffice to say that the reason for my surmising about the character of the participants is purely on the information that East Down was represented by Chris and Aaron Smith, Roisin Gaffney, Hallie Jennings, Eithne McGrattan and Bernice McCann. So enough said!! It was great to see Hallie Jennings taking part in this event as like Connaire (see 2^nd para) Hallie is a former junior with the club. Even more pleasing to discover that she has rejoined the club and is turning out to be a regular at Club sessions. Good to have you in the ranks. The net result of the event was that sufficient funds were raise to purchase 2 defibrillators.

Roisin Gaffney and Hallie Jennings – Prosecco Run at Castleward

DAMBUSTER HALF MARATHON on SATURDAY

On Saturday Gordy Graham posted the most significant result of his ever improving season when he won the Dambuster’s Half Marathon in impressive style! This is by no means an easy route which makes his winning time of 1.19.50 all the more eyecatching, and taking into account that he beat two of the toughest half marathoners in the country, Chris McCaffrey and Don Travers, into 2^nd and 3^rd places respectively, it is certainly a noteworthy coup.

Niamh Kellett was 4th lady clocking 1.33.02 and Phillip Vint making an appearance in the relatively short, for him anyway, half marathon distance of 13.1 miles, was 34^th in 1.35.15.

Dambusters Half Marathon podium – Chris McCaffrey 2^nd , Gordy Graham  Winner  and Don Travers  3^rd

MARTIN and CALLUM KEEP EDAC in the FRAME in the SHORTER RACES

The Dambusters is now a 3 race  event with 10K and 5K distances also on offer and East Down also played prominent roles in both.  Martin Willcox was 3^rd in the 10K race in 37.11 and Callum Kent was 8th overall in the 5K in 21.34 as he continues to challenge the best in his age group and in the senior categories as well.

Stephen O’Gorman Dromore AC 2. Stuart Farmer The Pride of Fulham RC 3. Martin Willcox East Down AC – Born2run Dambuster 10k

Callum Kent – Dambusters 5k

 SUNDAY MORNING COMING DOWN

Lauren Madine left it to a more sober Sunday morning setting to undertake her latest outing and made it a successful one much as usual these days by placing overall 4^th but first female in the Connswater 5K on Sunday in 20.41. Katrina Hynds  also ran the 5K and was happy to record 25.12, while Roisin Gaffney, clearly searching for a hangover cure, turned out again and recorded 53.20.

Katrina Hynds Lauren Madine and Roisin Gaffney at the Connswater 10k/5k

I was on a spying mission to Waterford from last Sunday, that’s one of my excuses for not being at any of the events I have commented on, but don’t ask what I was spying on as it’s so top secret that even I don’t know what it was.

Joe Quinn

20 August 2018