East Antrim Harriers Trails Series 4 – Woodburn

The club had been a big presence in this series of trail races. Across the 4 events approaching 30 athletes had attended, and on this finale there were 11 of us attending this event on the Southern part of Woodburn Forest, with the scenic backdrop of the reservoirs as the start and finish.

It was a fairly drizzly evening with lots of local midges to keep the 82 athletes company and the strong support from East Antrim Harriers, but spirits were high and there was a pretty fast start from the top of the dam into the trees. The race director mentioned that this was his favourite race of the 4 and it was easy to see why. There were some tough hills to start off with, (marked with playful “now it begins” writing on the ground) with gentler ones later on and a lovely downhill stretch. Distance was 4.1 miles, which was longer than some of the others, but still comfortable for a fast race.

Times were pretty close for the front runners including OAC. Joe Craney was 7th with a time of 24m37s, less than a minute from a podium position. Brian Todd was first in the M60 category with a time of 28m13s. Louise Lemon was 3rd lady with a time of 29m05s.

Remaining times were:

Michael O’Donoghue 31m10s
Alan Montgomery 32m10s
Paul Gruhn 32m22s
Jill Holland 32m58s
Sharon Dickenson 33m09s
Sarah Steer 34m03s
Lisa Fleming 35m45s
Melinda Wilkinson 36m52s

There were some good results in the series category wins. Sharon Dickenson, Jill Holland and Brian Todd all won their age categories. Overall, it was a great series with friendly support and good marshalling and hospitality from the East Antrim Harriers. We’ll be sure to return next year.