Hill and Dale Race 8: Millstone
There has been a lot of bluster about Hill and Dale recently but the real thing happened in Newcastle on Thursday evening, June 4th. This week was the eighth round of the Newcastle A.C. Hill and Dale series and Millstone Mountain was the focus of our attention.
The race started in Donard Park and took the runner through Donard Forest and via the Granite Trail to the base of Millstone Mountain. Following a tough and very steep ascent of Millstone Mountain from its south side (1,300 feet) the route took us sharply, some of us on our backsides, down to Donard Forest to the finish in Donard Park.
The organisers did not list a distance for this race which is always a worrying sign. Nevertheless, we gave it a go and the prospect of a fish supper at the end of it kept us focused! At this point we should maybe pay a little homage to the small group of Orangegrove ladies who this year have made Hill and Dale their main focus, despite the severity of the challenge and the difficult logistics of travel and location.
With almost military precision and planning, Sharon Dickenson, Lisa Fleming, Jill Holland and, more recently, Zoe Ni Dhuinn-Bhig have formed a kitty, pooled their resources and transport and have become, over the weeks, an integral, respected and easily identifiable part of the Hill and Dale travelling circus. And it is social as well!
The ladies always seem to produce excellent victuals in the most unlikely of places, supplemented by chips where possible. Emma McWilliams and Sarah Steer are occasional members of the group. Emma, in particular, has excelled in Hill and Dale and always manages to post a fine performance despite the particular difficulties she encounters in getting to the location on a Thursday evening from her work in Co. Antrim. But a word of warning to Orangegrove Hill and Dale males who might be thinking of muscling in on this little coterie of lovely athletic ladies dressed in orange.
The Hill and Dale race begins at 7.30am and usually lasts less than an hour. However, with the obligatory post race festivities and craic you will be lucky to make it back to your partners, wives and families in Belfast before midnight. You will certainly spend more time eating and drinking and blethering than you will on the mountain!
Sadly, the ladies group will fracture a little after this race as Jill Holland, having completed the six races required to make the series, will don her mudclaws no more, at least not this year. However, the others intend to battle on to the bitter end, although there is a rumour going about that Jill may make one more guest appearance at Hill and Dale before the end of the series.
For the record, the Millstone round of Hill and Dale, the eighth of eleven, produced the following Orangegrove times: Robin Montgomery 47.55 (34th/ 193), Brian Todd 54.49, Michael O’Donoghue 63.00, Emma McWilliams 63.08, Zoe Ni Dhuinn-Bhig 65.05, Lisa Fleming 66.39, Jill Holland 73.54. Sharon Dickenson was in attendance but didn’t run due to her weekend commitments.
At Millstone the men’s race was won by Ian Bailie (Newcastle A.C.) in 37.33 and Shileen O’Kane (Lagan Valley) was first lady in 47.52. The next round is next Thursday at Hen and Cock.
