Club Report, 9th – 15th April 2018

BALLYMENA BELLES 5 MILE RACE, 10th April. [Comments by Gillian Logan]
‘It was all about the ladies on Tuesday evening at the annual Ballymena Belles 5 mile road race, hosted by Ballymena Runners.

The course starts close to Galgorm Community Centre and features a 2 mile climb into Ahoghill which is well rewarded on the downhill back to Galgorm.

Gillian Logan was the sole OAC lady running and clocked 37:14 for 14th place.

Thanks to Ballymena Runners for yet another great event with super post-run spread. We look forward to The Fairhill 5 in June!’

Gillian did very well to finish 14th out of a field of 365 runners. The race was won by Gemma McDonald (Ballymena Runners) in 32:15.

HILL & DALE SERIES, Race 1, Castlewellan, 12th April.
Perhaps one of the easier events in the series, but with 8K to run and over 330m of ascent, it was certainly a challenge.

Seven OAC runners took part in the race which was won by William McKee (Mourne Runners) in 32:46 and first lady was Karen Wilton (Jog Lisburn) in 37:47, 21st overall.

OAC Results:
Michael O’Donoghue, 46:11
Verity Cornford, 50:38
Lisa Fleming, 55:57
David Doey, 1:01:14
Judith Dalzell, 1:05:48
Selina Myles, 1:06:04
Stephen Craig, 1:07:08

LAGAN VALLEY AC, FAB 5 T&F SERIES, Meet 1, 12th April.
Jacob McKittrick won the U13 Boys 800m in 2minutes 31.98 seconds. Matthew Sykes was 4th in the U15 Boys 100m in 13.54 seconds. Patrick Willis was 5th in the U13 Boys long jump and 7th in the 100m. Reegan Neill-McKenzie was 12th in the U15 Girls long jump and 14th in the 100m.

THE MOURNE HIGHLINE, 14th April. [Comments by Andrew Tees]
‘The route for the Mourne Highline was a new one, designed specifically for the British Championships. It included 6 peaks: Slievenamuck, Meelbeg, Meelmore, Bernagh, Slievenaglogh and Commedagh, finishing in Donard Park, 10 miles in total, with 1300m of ascent. Conditions were far from ideal, wind, rain and thick fog meant visibility was only about 50 metres.

My race didn’t exactly go to plan… before reaching the Mourne Wall, a navigation error in the mist meant I took a circuitous route to the summit of Meelbeg, costing me an extra 15-20 minutes. It was a tough course in difficult conditions and certainly felt longer than 10 miles! It was also a sharp reminder of the dangers of complacency when it comes to navigation, I should have had my bearings worked out in advance. Even though I was familiar with those mountains, it is very easy to get disoriented when the visibility is poor’.

Andrew finished 196th in an elite field of 283 runners with a time of 2:28:01. The race was won by Joshua Jardine (Helm Hill) in 1:35:02. Jasmin Paris (Carnethy) was first lady in 1:51:49, 49th place.

BORN 2 RUN GLENARM FOREST CHALLENGE, 14th April.
Steven Gilliland in his first run for the club, opted for the half marathon distance. On a course with nearly 220m of elevation, he finished in a very respectable 1:50:47.

The race was won by Don Travers (Newry City Runners) in 1:23:04. First lady was Karen Wilton (Jog Lisburn) in 1:26:01, 3rd overall.

PARKRUN, 14th April.
Well done to everyone who volunteered or ran or both.

Judith McCann set a PB time of 26:47 at QUB. There were just a few first timers: David Quigg (Belfast Victoria Park); Brian McFarland and Ben Magee (Comber).

Remember to volunteer when you can by contacting Gerry Ward at: belfastvictoriahelpers@parkrun.com

GARVAGH FOREST HALF MARATHON, 15th April. [Report by Michael O’Donoghue]
The Northern Velocity Garvagh Forest 21K was the final race in their lengthy trail series and consisted of 3 loops of the forest. Starting and finishing at the pyramid, which was designed as a burial chamber but never used, it was a reasonably challenging affair with several hills dotted throughout the forest. Because it was 3 laps, the total amount of climbing was 1100 feet (335m).

There were 85 athletes in the race and Michael O’Donoghue was 22nd with a time of 1:40:28. The winner was Seamus Bradley with a time of 1:21:50 and first lady was Veronica Nellins 1:38:14.

Photos: Gerald Harvey, Andrew Tees, Michael O’Donoghue, Steven Gilliland.