Weekend Report – July 19th

Recent weekends have been very busy. This one, less so, but nevertheless busy enough with the Sea2Sky 10k at Newcastle on Friday evening, the Dervock Half Marathon and 10k on Saturday and, of course, our Energia 24 hour relay team in action at the Mary Peters’ Track from 6.45pm on Friday to 6.45pm on Saturday, attempting to complete as many laps of that illustrious surface as they can in twenty-four hours. And Michael O’Donoghue was on his travels again, this time in Scotland. So, a fair amount to report.

The fourth annual Sea2Sky 10k race took place in Newcastle on the evening of Friday 17th July at 7.30pm. This was a Born2Run event which promised an ‘awesome route on road trail and promenade’, stunning views and a gradual climb to the 3 mile mark! Read the full race report here.

The Dervock Half Marathon and 10k, part of the Kennedy Kane McArthur Festival of Running and a round of the Pure Running/ChampionChip Ireland Half Marathon Series, took place on Saturday morning. Read the full race report here.

After weeks of arduous training our Energia 24 four gathered at the Mary Peters’ Track in the early evening of Friday 17th July for the start of their twenty-four hour relay race. Running three two hour stints each, the aim was to achieve as many laps/miles as possible in the next twenty-four hours. Laps were counted by chip device and there was a change of direction every four hours. Runners must stick to their allocated lane and the distance differential is then factored in to the final result. Our team consisted of Stephen Anderson, Eleanor Acheson, Robin Montgomery and Martin Doherty. We wished them Godspeed on Friday and thanked them sincerely for taking on this enormous challenge and for training so diligently for it. There were ten teams altogether in the relay event, so success was far from a formality. Read the full race report here.

Newcastle Athletics Club recently published their final overall standings for this year’s Hill and Dale Series, for those runners who completed at least six of the eleven race series. Orangegrove participants featured significantly in the final tally:-

F35 Category…7th Sharon Dickenson

F40 Category…6th Emma McWilliams
F40 Category…8th Lisa Fleming

F45 Category…11th Jill Holland

M40 Category…6th Thomas Leitch
M40 Category…37th Michael O’Donoghue

M45 Category…6th Robin Montgomery

M60 Category…4th Brian Todd

The Club also published an overall male list which contains 195 names. This indicates overall finishing position amongst males, regardless of age category:-

Thomas Leitch 26th
Robin Montgomery 51st
Brian Todd 128th
Michael O’Donoghue 172nd

The overall ladies list contains the names of four members of Orangegrove:

Emma McWilliams…27th
Sharon Dickenson…28th
Lisa Fleming…30th
Jill Holland…43rd

Very well done indeed to all those from Orangegrove who contributed to what was a memorable series, run mainly in the best of weather conditions for nearly every race. Particular congratulations to Thomas Leitch who clearly enjoys the challenge of the mountains, the ridiculous running inclines and the fast treacherous descents. Very well done too to Robin Montgomery who, this year, was finding his feet in Hill and Dale. Next year he will, undoubtedly, be a force to be reckoned with. Others too ran one or two of the Hill and Dale events: Verity Cornford, Zoe Ni Dhuinn-Bhig, Louise Browne, Tim Robinson and Ian Grant. Well done to them as well!

The intrepid Michael O’Donoghue was in Glasgow this weekend where he took part in the Clyde Stride 40 Mile Ultra Marathon, which follows the course of the River Clyde from the centre of Glasgow through Hamilton, Strathclyde Park to New Lanark. En route Michael passed Bothwell Castle and woods, the David Livingstone Centre, Strathclyde Country Park, the Palace Grounds and Mausoleum at Hamilton, the Barons Haugh Nature Reserve, before crossing the finish line at the UNESCO World Heritage village of New Lanark. Runners were allowed 10 hours to complete the 40 miles. It is described as a relatively fast and straightforward course for experienced ultra runners and as a reasonable introduction to ultra running for those who are not. It did, nevertheless, offer a significant challenge to those stepping up from road or trail running to ultra marathon. Our Michael, with his experience of ultra running and doing difficult things, should really find this one no bother at all; but time will tell and best of luck anyway, even though luck usually plays very little role at all in these ultra affairs.

Well, according to Michael it wasn’t nearly as easy as was published. He has described it as a ‘tough old boot of an Ultra;’ with its nearly 2000 feet of elevation; one that made Connemara and the Mourne Way seem like parkruns! It was certainly not for the faint hearted; but then MOD doesn’t have a faint heart. As usual Michael uploaded his Garmin data for the run which makes interesting reading:

Distance…39.26 miles
Time …8.44.52
Pace…13.22 min/mil
Elevation…1848 feet.

Very well done indeed Michael and well within the 10 hour cut off; I still think you are a little mad, nevertheless!

Just a reminder! Tuesday evenings Portaferry 10 mile road race (not the relay) is a round of the Orangegrove Club Championship for 2014-2015. It is getting towards the end of this year’s campaign, so be there to earn a few points if you can!

And it was parkrun as usual at Victoria Park, Belfast, on Saturday morning at 9.30am. The holiday period has reduced the numbers in the last few weeks but, nevertheless, 273 runners gathered for the start and it was expected that there would be a few Orangegrove personal bests when the ‘race’ was run. In the end there was only one. We offer our congratulations to new member Gerald Harvey who circulated in 22.36. Catherine Fearon and Andy McIntyre were in London this weekend for a wedding (not their own) and took the opportunity to run the Mile End parkrun in Tower Hamlets. Andy was feeling particularly energetic and completed the course in 18.57 (10th place). Catherine decided on a much more sensible and leisurely pace and got round in 29.17. Congratulations to both Orangegrovers. Sharon Dickenson was in Windemere over the weekend and took part in the Fell Foot parkrun at Newby Bridge where she skipped round the fell like course in a very respectable 24.37 (37th overall). Well done.

The volunteering thing still applies. Don’t just take what is being offered without giving a little back. Once or twice a year will suffice and you can offer your services as a volunteer by emailing Gerry at victoriaparkhelpers@parkrun.com. You know it makes sense and, above all, you will actually enjoy it! You will, you will, you will…you will!!!