Club Report 2nd April – 8th April 2018 by Michael O’Donoghue

North Down AC Track & Field Open Meet – Thursday 5th April

It was the opener for NDAC’s season of track events at the Bangor Sportsplex and we got some great results from the juniors.

U17’s Boys 150m
1st Aaron 18:99
2nd Adam 19.34
4th Nathan 19.57
5th Lewis 19.78
6th Leo 20.55
7th Oscar 21.69
U15’s Boys 150m
3rd Matthew 20.88
U15’s Girls 150m
10th Reegan 23.76
U13’s Boys 150m
2nd Patrick 23.79
U13’s Boys 600m
4th Patrick 2:00.76
U13’s Boys Long Jump
1st Patrick 3.73
U15’s Girls Javelin
1st Reegan 19.10
3000m. (Times to be confirmed)
19th Ronan 2nd yr…. (overall against lots of Adults…!!)
21st Tom 5th yr…. (overall against lots of Adults…!!)

Slieve Gullion Fell Race – Saturday 7th April

The Slieve Gullion Fell Race is one of the oldest races in NI. Organised by Armagh AC it has been running for 45 years. Mountain races don’t get rescheduled very often, but due to the harsh winter that meant many of the roads around Slieve Gullion were inaccessible, this event was moved from its usual date in early March. This weekend also had other mountain events such as the Maurice Mullins Wicklow Way Race and Cooley Legends, so there was a diminished turnout of 42 runners.

This race had a very different route from the popular Slieve Gullion 10k trail race which goes from the country park up through the forest to the mountain peak. It approaches from minor country roads to the north and is very nearly all on grass/muck.

Conditions at the top of Slieve Gullion and its surrounding peaks are rarely completely dry, but we were treated to fairly mucky conditions and some deceptively deep bogs to negotiate. In addition there was very little visibility on the open mountain due to the mist which caused some navigation challenges in finding the checkpoints at the cairns and in finding the best route back to the finish.

Michael O’Donoghue and Verity Cornford were up for the challenge and recorded the times of 57.21 and 60.45 respectively. Verity won 1st prize in the V40 category. We then navigated our way to a local community hall for tea and sandwiches.

The winners were Maurice Harte (Newry AC) 36.19 and Esther Dickson (Newry AC) 38.08

Maurice Mullins Wicklow Way Trail/Ultra – Saturday 7th April

A rather scenic race set in the Northern part of the Wicklow Mountains, it starts in Ballinastoe Wood going past Lough Tay, otherwise known as the Guinness Lake. Apparently owned by the Guinness family but also resembles a pint of Guinness. It then heads up the mountain of Djouce using a helpful boardwalk before passing the Powerscourt Estate with its picturesque Waterfall. It then heads over another hill called Prince Williams Seat and finishing in the village of Glencullen. It features around 5500 feet of climbing, so challenging enough for a trail race. The trail race is around 16 miles with double that for the Ultra option.

The trail race was hotly contested this year as it was a selection race for the World Mountain Running Championships. Eoin Lennon won 1st place with a time of 1.45.00.

Andrew Tees did well in the trail race in damp conditions coming ahead of the first lady Martsje Hell (North Belfast) in 19th Place overall with a time of 2.12.19

Omagh Half Marathon – Saturday 7th April

Figure of eight course that goes around the town. Its not part of the Pure Running Half Marathon Series, but its still attracts large numbers with a striking 1800 entries on the day.

In what was a star studded field with several international class runners, Lyndsey Tyro was 6th lady with a time of 1.26.29

Stephen Scullion was first with a time 1.07.01. Ann-Marie McGlynn was first lady with a time of 1.14.28.

Rotterdam Marathon – Sunday 8th April

Being almost entirely flat, the Netherlands is a great place for fast marathons, and it’s been a popular location for OAC marathon runners in the past. Chris Woods made the journey to Rotterdam, the Netherlands second city after a season of hard training. Conditions were bright and sunny with no wind.

Our very own Chris Woods did well with a time of 3.50.

Paris Marathon – Sunday 8th April

Few marathons would have as many world famous buildings as part of the course as the Schneider Electric Marathon De Paris. It follows the course of The Seine and passes the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre and The Trocadero. One of the biggest marathons in the world that isn’t a world major, this year it had 45000 entries.

Michael Broadhead is an experienced veteran of the Paris Marathon, and was rewarded with a great time of 3.15.47.

Titanic Quarter 10k – Sunday 8th April

Organised by Athletics NI and part of the Novosco Grand Prix, the TQ10k is always one of the most popular 10k’s in the province, this year it had over 930 entries. Following the usual route of starting next to the Titanic building and heading up the Airport Road and back, we were treated to good conditions this year with no wind or rain on the exposed course. This year it was part of the club championship so got a good turnout from the club. There were many personal bests.

Danny Bradley 37.02 PB
David Montgomery 38.19 PB
David Gribben 40.57
Robin Montgomery 41.25
Michael O’Donoghue 42.16
Stephen Hamilton 43.17 PB
David Fletcher 43.45 PB
David Roberts 44.06
Tony Liken 43.51 PB
Brian Todd 43.58
Ali McConnell 47.08
Kerris Hamilton 47.25 PB
Stephen Anderson 47.56
Julie McKimm 48.19
Pauline Bayliss 48.27
Gillian Logan 48.40
Reg Sanlon 49.12 PB
Gerald Harvey 50.59
Edwina Ternan 50.25
Jacqui Maxwell 50.59
Sarah Wilson 51.19 PB
Kim Reynolds 52.18
Lisa Fleming 54.12
Adrienne Savage 54.28 PB
Jackie Grant 55.14 PB
Judith McCann 55.17
George Gribben 55.19
Anna Rankin 55.31
Jenny Powell 55.36
Selina Myles 57.34
Verity Cornford 57.34
Brian McFarland 57.53
Marcia Sharkey 58.09
Alan Montgomery 58.18
Ben Magee 59.00
Sharon McFarland 59.16
John Ferris 59.39
Stephen Craig 1.01.59
Jason Lanyon 1.02.04
Anne Devlin 1.02.15
Jean Stone 1.08.57

At the front of the field Stephen Scullion made it 2 victories in 2 days after winning the Omagh Half Marathon with a time of 30:29 and Laura Graham won for the 3rd year in a row with a time of 35.27.

Parkrun
At parkrun this week we had members running at Belfast Victoria, Ormeau, Stormont, Comber and Cookstown. No PB’s this week, though its likely people were saving themselves for TQ10k

Thanks to Athletics NI and NIMRA for the photos