Weekend Report – April 19th
For a number of us the weekend started very early; on Wednesday to be precise with the Bay Road 5k road race in Londonderry. For details see a separate report. Thursday 16th April, 2015, saw six members make their way south to Castlewellan Forest Park for the first round of this year’s Hill and Dale trail running series hosted by Newcastle A.C.
Perhaps one or two others would have made the journey if they had not been running the previous evening in the Maiden City. Only Emma McWilliams did the double and credit to her for finding the energy to travel to the Kingdom of Mourne after the night before. There are 11 races in the series and competitors are required to fulfil six of them to qualify for a final series place within their age category. Traditionally the first race is a taster and progressively the challenge gets greater.
The Castlewellan race was about 5.1 miles long and consisted of a fair number of inclines and descents and so was far from a breeze. Orangegrove participants enjoyed the challenge and appreciated the benign weather conditions. It could have been much worse! The results indicate that Thomas Leitch was the first Orangegrover to complete the distance in 37.53 (24th/278). The intrepid Michael O’Donoghue, presumably still warming-down after last week’s Connemarathon, was next on 47.24. Emma McWilliams completed the course in the very good time of 48.36 with Louise Browne not too far behind on 53.18. Lisa Fleming and Sharon Dickenson finished together on 54.03 and 54.09. Well done to all from the Club for making the considerable effort to get to Castlewellan for an evening race on a working day. The race was won by William McKee of Mourne Runners in an impressive 34.16 and the ‘first lady’ was Shileen O’Kane of Lagan Valley AC in 40.04. Next Thursday evening’s race is at Tollymore at 7.30pm. Maybe see you there!
A number of Club members also took part in the Castle Ward Challenge 10k race on Saturday in the beautiful National Trust Castle Ward Estate property on the shores of Strangford Lough. Verity Cornford recorded a very good time of 56.36 and proved once again that when she is in the mood for running, she can run very well indeed. Catherine Fearon crossed the line in 59.38, Reg Sanlon in 1:01:12, and Mairead Napier in 1:05:59. Very well done Elaine McAllister (1:15:35) and Anne Devlin (1:45:43) on making light of a course that was not without its challenges. The race was won by Ryan McHenry in 44.04.
Brian Todd, the Dundalk boy who can never quite get the Co. Louth town out of his system, decided to have a go at the lightening fast, chip timed, Patsy Kelly 5k race in his home town on Saturday evening, a race organised for the first time a few years ago by the local Clan na Gael G.F.C. and the town athletics club, North East Runners, in memory of an esteemed member. His hope was that home town luck, in conjunction with a pair of special socks bought for him by Verity Cornford, might spur him on to bag a sub 20 5k time for the first time on what is supposedly one of the fastest 5k courses in Ireland. If he couldn’t do it, then there was the very distinct possibility that his travelling companion, Herbie Herb (Terry Eakin/North Down A.C.), would.
This really is an incredible event which is billed as the biggest 5k race in Ireland outside Dublin. The weather conditions were perfect, Oakleys were obligatory, and with wide closed roads and a very fast single 5k loop, the omens were good. To cut a long story short the journey was worthwhile and the line was crossed in 19.48 (81st/811). Terry, as usual, distinguished himself with a fine 19.25. The icing on the cake for both of us was finishing 1/2 out of 18 in the M60 category and winning a few Euro each to purchase cans of Guinness for the homeward train journey! Credit to the organizing committee. The organization and marshalling were second to none and the after event catering and the race goody bag were the best I have ever seen. Definitely a return journey next year! The race was won in the incredible time of 14.34 by Project Africa athlete, Gideon Kizmosop.
Sunday brought the Airtricity 10 Mile Road Race in Londonderry which began and finished in warm and sunny conditions in Ebrington Square in the Waterside. This race is regarded by many as a significant preliminary to the Airtricity Walled City Marathon which will take place on 31st May. Orangegrove had one representative in this race, the hard working and ever improving Mark Williamson, who claimed 52nd place overall in a field of 141 in the very respectable time of 1:16:55. Well done Mark! The race was won by Paul Barbour of Omagh Harriers in 52:51 with Collette McCourt (Dub Runners) first lady in 1:08:19.
Meanwhile at the other end of the Province Kirsty and Paul Buchanan were running around the streets of Armagh in the Run Armagh 10k road race. Kirsty, who teaches in The Royal School, knows the highways and byways of Georgian Armagh better than most. The race began at the Armagh Planetarium opposite The Royal School, and took on a rural aspect before finishing in the beautiful Mall area. Paul finished the race in 47.40 and Kirsty in 55.57. Very well done indeed to the husband and wife team. Clearly their love for each other did not extend to running together to ensure they crossed the finish line together holding hands. And that’s the way it should be! In running love should never be allowed to interfere with an individual’s time. Particular congratulations to Des Fahy who was flying today at Armagh, finishing in 38.49 which secured 14th place overall in a field of over 330. A superb result for an athlete who runs in the M45 category. The race was won by James Loftus of Liverpool Pembroke and Sefton Harriers and Athletic Club in 33.48.
The Greater Manchester Marathon is traditionally one of the fastest in Britain. There are not too many hills in Cottonopolis! Rain is usually a problem in Manchester, but not on marathon day this year. Dry warm conditions prevailed and these brought their own problems. The race begins in the Salford Quays area and takes the runner as far south as Altrincham before returning to the vicinity of the Old Trafford football ground for the finish. At least two members of Orangegrove were taking part, Paul Tyro and Anne Moore. Information from the front is sketchy, but indications are at the Anne finished in 3:33:03 and Paul in 3:12:28. Very well done indeed to both runners on a job well done. Downtown Manchester on a Sunday evening can be fairly lively. Add to it! And the late news is that Zdzislaw Malkinski was also running in Manchester and completed the distance in about 4:15. Well done Zdzislaw!
Parkrun at Victoria Park continues to expand week by week. On Saturday 18th April, 2015, 346 runners turned up in what were perfect conditions for a Saturday morning timed run (race!), bright and cool. As always, the volunteers, both those on the track and those behind the catering, did a wonderful job and we are very grateful for their efforts. There were fewer than usual personal bests this week amongst Orangegrove members. Incredibly, Kirsty Buchanan didn’t record a pb; maybe she was saving herself for Sunday’s Armagh 10k road race! Well done to Darren Moffett on setting a pb of 21:30. If you can take on the stifling heat of Vienna, Victoria Park on a cool Saturday morning in April should be no trouble! At Ormeau parkrun Chris Downey set a new PB of 19.23 which brought him 6th place overall. Very well done indeed, Chris. Remember, no volunteers, no parkrun… and there are gaps in the rosters for the coming weeks.
