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  1. Weekly Report Monday 20th May – Sunday 26th May 2019

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    Report by Gerald Harvey

    ‘Shut up legs, we are doing this!’ (Belfast Marathon banner)

    HILL & DALE SERIES, RACE 6, LUKE’S MOUNTAIN, 23rd May, 2019.
    Full emergency kit was required here, in case somebody ended up spending a night on the bare mountain and that would not have been music to anyone’s ears. Andrew Tees finished in 00:42:06, 5th out of 221 runners and Robin Montgomery finished in 00:50:14, 80th place. Well done.

    The race was won by Seamus Lynch (Newcastle AC) in 35:43 and first lady was Esther Dickson (Newry AC) in 00:42:42, 12th overall.

    BERMUDA HALF MARATHON DERBY, 24th May, 2019.
    The Bermuda Half Marathon took place on a hilly route between St. George and the city of Hamilton. Eric Fairfield and Alison McConnell were there, looking tanned and toned. Eric came 28th out of 531 runners and 6th in his age category, in 1:29:45 and Alison came 168th overall and 2nd in her age category in 1:53:50.

    The race was won by Lamont Marshall in 1:11:38 and first lady was Rose-Anna Hoey in 1:27:58, 25th overall. The winners’ results are gun times.

    BALLYCLARE MAYFAIR 5K & 10K, 25th May, 2019.
    The 10K race was the 5th round of the Orangegrove AC club championship and 21 OAC runners competed on quite a difficult course with a couple of long uphill stretches. The first shock to the system is on the Rashee Road, passing Ballyclare High School, to the highest point on the course at the junction with Cogry Road and the second one is on the main road from Doagh village to the outskirts of Ballyclare, where a lane leads downhill to the finish at the rugby club. Much of the route is on quiet rural roads, apparently in deepest countryside, but in fact never far from Ballyclare.

    The race was won by Eric Koech (Project Africa) in 31:06 and first lady was Gemma McDonald (Ballycastle Runners AC) in 39:22, 26th overall.

    Michael Broadhead was the fastest OAC runner with a time of 37:10, 14th out of 294 runners and first OAC female was Gemma Blake in 42:56, 48th overall.

    OAC Results: 1. Michael Broadhead, 37:10; 2. Keith Weir, 37:24; 3. Danny Bradley, 39:35; 4. Robin Montgomery, 40:39; 5. David Montgomery, 40:47; 6. Ryan Kerr, 41:19; 7. Gemma Blake, 42:56; 8. Chris Woods, 43:26; 9. Michael O’Donoghue, 43:26; 10. Julie McKimm, 44:03; 11. Heather Flint, 45:46; 12. Verity Cornford, 51:01; 13. Jacqueline Maxwell, 51:18; 14. Anna Rankin, 51:53; 15. Adrienne Savage, 52:09; 16. Elaine Weston, 54:36; 17. George Gribben, 56:19; 18. Conor Walker, 58:34; 19. Gillian Fisher, 59:28; 20. Martin Walker, 59:50; 21. Marcia Sharkey, 1:04:33.

    In the 5K race, Brian Todd and Reg Sanlon continued honing their 5K skills in the Baker McKenzie Super Fives series. Brian finished in 21:21, 30th out of 231 runners and Reg finished in 24:14, 52nd place. The race was won by Gareth Lyons (North Belfast Harriers) in 16:13 and first lady was Ann Terek (City of Lisburn AC) in 19:31, 12th overall.

    Well done Orangegrove AC and thanks to County Antrim Harriers who organized the race and the excellent refreshments afterwards. ChampionChip Ireland provided the chip timing.

    PARKRUN, 25th May, 2019.
    It was a quiet Saturday with only one PB: Robert Hill, 20:55, at Carrickfergus and two first timers: Joshua Gibson at Belfast Victoria Park and Alison Canning at Poolbeg, Dublin.

    At Ormeau Park, Belfast City Council have continued to resurface the park paths, but not in a way that park runners are likely to approve of since the new surface is rough with a lot of loose stones.

    Remember to volunteer at least three times a year by contacting: belfastvictoriahelpers@parkrun.com

    NEWRY CITY HALF MARATHON, 26th May, 2019.
    On a warm and windy day, the race started from the Albert Basin, opposite the Quays Shopping Centre, then followed a canal side route towards Warrenpoint as far as Narrow Water Castle and back to Newry. With a flat course and pacers every 5 minutes from times of 1:30:00 to 2:15:00, the aim was to help as many runners as possible set a personal best time.

    There were 3 OAC runners, but no personal best times: Jonathan Weston, 1:32:19; Carolyn Beattie, 1:49:13 and Steven Gilliland, 1:49:17.

    The race was won by Tommy Hughes in 1:11:57 and first lady was Louise Smith in 1:25:03, 21st out of 653 runners. The event was part of the Pure Running Half Marathon Series.

    MULL OF KINTYRE HALF MARATHON & 10K, 26th May, 2019.
    The Mull of Kintyre Run Weekend has been voted the best running event in the UK by Runner’s World. Andrew and Catherine McIntyre were at Campbeltown for the half marathon. Andy did very well with a podium finish, 3rd out of 191 runners, in 1:20:02. Catherine was 94th in 1:58:44, not bad at all, especially as this was a multi-terrain race.

    The race was won by Garry Muir (Campbeltown Running Club) in 1:18:20 and first lady was Jennifer Reid (Campbeltown Running Club) in 1:37:17, 24th overall.

    Ballyclare Mayfair 10K photos by Bill Guiller.

     

     

  2. Weekly Report Monday 13th May – Sunday 19th May 2019

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    Report by Michael O’Donoghue

    Woodburn Forest Series, Race 1. Tuesday 14th May, 2019 by Brian Todd

    The first race in the three race Woodburn Forest Series took place on Tuesday evening in the hills above Carrickfergus. The sun was shining but, most importantly, the temperature was low enough to keep the midges at bay. This series has been off the calendar for a year or two but has now returned courtesy of Seapark AC. Competitors were asked to pay up front for all three races, each a fortnight apart. This, maybe, kept numbers a little lower than expected (about 60) as there were no entries taken on the night. This first race was exactly three miles long. The start was on the path adjacent to Woodburn Presbyterian Church. The initial half mile or so was comfortably downhill to the lower reservoir after which the reservoir was skirted before a long cruel climb back to the timing mats. This took a toll on most of us and conversations were muted until some considerable time had elapsed after the finish!
    There was a good sprinkling of OAC members and friends on the start line at Woodburn and the following times were achieved:
    Edwina Ternan…21.08
    Brian Todd…21.16
    Verity Cornford…24.03
    Lisa Fleming…25.20
    (Cathy Fraser)…25.27
    (Emma McWilliams)…26.12
    Jill Holland…26.23
    Adrienne Savage…26.45
    The first Woodburn Forest Series race was won by Jordan Heron (Larne AC) in 17.11 and first lady was Allyson O’Toole (East Coast AC) in 20.09.
    The next race (4miles) is on Tuesday 28th May.
    PS…I understand that registration has opened again for the final two races at a cost of £25.

    Hill & Dale Race 5 – Rocky – Thursday 16th May
    One of the more runnable Hill & Dales, making use of extensive trails in the open mountains, it attracts good numbers each year. In common with several of the races it alternates between clockwise and anti-clockwise to keep things fresh. This year it went clockwise taking in the summits of Rocky, Tornamrock, Tiernans Castle and Altataggart.
    We had strong performances from our athletes at this one. Andrew Tees made 4th place (35.49) in a closely fought battle with Barry McConville (Newcastle AC), making use of the downhill path instead of open mountain, a strategic choice that paid off.
    In addition, Jake Dalzell won the junior category with a time of 45.40.
    Also present was Robin Montgomery (45.20)
    The winners were Seamus Lynch (Newcastle AC) in 31.36 and Esther Dickson (Newry AC) 36.29.

    Les Jones 10k 17th May
    A relatively unassuming 10k, it has little hype attached to it, but has been going on for 28 years and is a great race. Organised by Athletics NI themselves, it travels up from Mary Peters Track, going down into Lagan Meadows onto the towpath, before heading back up a brutal climb (which I can never run up the whole way without stopping) through Barnett’s Demesne onto the finish back at the track. It was quite a warm evening, but pleasant enough in shade along the towpath.
    There were a hardy quartet from OAC up for the challenge, most of which were new to the race, and their results were as follows:
    Michael O’Donoghue 43:21
    Verity Cornford 51:07
    Catherine McIntyre 54:40
    Elaine Weston 57:21
    The winners were Stephen Wylie (VPCAC) 33.26 and Gemma McDonald (Ballycastle) 39.47.

    Annalong Horseshoe – Saturday 18th May by Andrew Tees
    The 2019 iteration of the Annalong Horseshoe race saw major changes as the organisers moved the start and finish area from Dunnywater in the Annalong Valley, where it had been for the last 37 years, to the adjacent Silent Valley. This alteration, along with an added checkpoint on the summit of Donard, meant that the total ascent increased massively, from 1300m to over 2000m, and the distance was increased from 13 miles to anything between 14 and 18 miles (depending on the route choices of the runner).
    With a new route, the added height and distance, and thick cloud enveloping the summits, it was always going to be a tough day out. And so it proved. Back at race HQ, finishers could be seen sitting around in silence with a cup of tea and a thousand-yard stare. Thankfully BARF had laid on a great spread of buns and sandwiches to help ease the trauma and eventually there was much chat and craic had about route choices and navigation errors.
    Newcastle’s Mark Stephens, formerly of Lagan Valley Orienteers, showed his navigation prowess to win the race by a country mile, in 2:38:39, 14 minutes ahead of second place. Ciara Largey of Omagh Harriers (also an orienteer) was first lady and 23rd overall in 3:49:32.
    Andrew Tees was, perhaps unsurprisingly, the only Orangegrover on the start line, finishing in 3:16:14 for 9th/68.

     

    Ulster Schools Athletics Championships – Saturday 18thy May by Gillian Sykes
    Wow….. what a day yesterday at the Ulster Schools Athletics Championships.
    Exhausting and emotional day for the athletes…parents and coaches.
    The superstars of Orangegrove were out in force yesterday after qualifying for this competition in their recent district championships. For those that don’t know…the Ulster Schools Champs sees the best of School age athletes compete out of their club vests and in their school vests.

    Rosa Gillespie was competing in Long jump. Unfortunately on the day she wasn’t able to bring home a medal. But it’s a fantastic experience for her…and there a big things to come from this young athlete in the future. Well done Rosa.

    Sean McLaughlin was also competing in Long jump after his medal success in the district qualifiers. After having a tough year of injuries this was not to be Sean’s day. But still a great experience for him. Well done Sean.

    Anna McKinty showed great form in her Triple Jump…….and true to form she again brought home the Ulster Schools Championship Gold medal 🥇
    This girl is just fantastic for her age …..and many thanks to Adam McMullan for coaching her to success yet again. Looking forward to seeing what she does in the all-Ireland finals.

    Hakim Berrada who medalled in District Championships put in a gutsy performance in the Junior Boy’s 200m race. This race was seriously fast and unfortunately Hakim couldn’t bring home some bling. But as a new member of OAC’s sprint squad I know he’ll have more success next year.

    Next up was Matthew Sykes….in the Junior boys category.
    Matthew ran a massive PB in the 100m heat …surprising himself… and putting him in the top spot going into the final…..and he did not disappoint….! Blasting out of the blocks Matthew went from a 6th place finish last year to 2nd place silver medal 🥈 in a PB time of 11.71..!
    Not content with 1 medal…..Matthew also brought home a bronze medal 🥉 by running a storming last leg in Grosvenors 4x100m relay team…just missing out on Silver..!
    Fantastic performance from Matthew who for the first time has qualified for the all-Ireland finals in June.

    The Intermediate Boys 200m title was hotly contested ….with 3 Orangegrove athletes making the final…! and gaining PB’s. A first for OAC..!
    Adam Sykes, Nathan Stewart & Rory Carson.
    All strong 200m runners….but on the day Adam found something extra (on his 5th race of the day) and just pipped the other 2 boys on the line to take the Championship Title in 22.88. Rory and Nathan took home silver and gold respectively.. in 23.18 & 23.24..! What a proud coach moment to see them all on the podium. Adams and Rory will be through to the All-Ireland finals in June.
    It should be noted that Rory is only 4th year…so is a year young in this category..!

    Intermediate Boys 100m.
    Adam Sykes and Aaron McCord both easily qualified through their heats and stood on the start line for the final….rivals that day …yet the best of friends and club mates…! Always hard….but always nice to have a friendly face. There was just a 100th of a second in it….but Adam again brought home another championship gold title….in 11.18 and Aaron a superb bronze medal 🥉 in 11.42. Fantastic improvement for Aaron who didn’t even qualify last year for the Ulsters. 2 OAC boys on the podium …! 1st and 3rd (2 out of 3 ain’t bad…!) 😁

    Minor Boys Relay
    Noah, Patrick and Oliver….defending Ulster Schools Mini Relay Champions from last year easily qualified through their heats for the final. Unfortunately this year they couldn’t repeat last years success due to some much larger teams. This is a difficult age with boys going through growth spurts at different times……but I have no doubt these determined & tight knit boys will train hard and come back fighting next year. Well done boys on your 5th place finish…5th in Ulster is a great achievement 🌟.

    Last race of our day was the Intermediate Boys 4x100m Relay. Adam Sykes, Nathan Stewart, Joseph McNaughten & Lewis Hamilton made up the Grosvenor team…….and Rory Carson was the final leg runner of the Sullivan team. All 5 boys qualified from the heats earlier in the day. Lewis and Joe were on their 2nd race of the day…Nathan and Rory on their 4th race of the day…and Adam on his 6th race of the day. Yip…I’m tired just typing that..!
    Lewis (a demon on the starting bend) took them out in the lead…Nathan also made ground on the back straight….making sure his changeover to Joe was slick to take him round to Adam to run the finish straight. There was no way anyone was going to catch them….! Adam crossed the line in 44 seconds flat bringing home the teams championship title….and breaking the 21yr old Ulster Schools record. 🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

    Off to the Irish Champs they go now..!

    Rory also battled well on the last leg of his Sullivan Upper team….securing 5th place..!!
    The Grosvenor boys Adam, Joe, Lewis, Nathan & Matthew also helped their school with their medal haul…to win the overall Ulster Schools Boys title & Harald Layland Memorial Cup.
    What a fabulous day for the OAC athletes and their Schools…..especially since they are bang in the middle of school exams and GCSE’s. Their dedication to their training over the last year has paid off.

    Thank you to all the parents who came along to support.

    Portadown Marathon – Sunday 19th May
    It must be a daunting prospect for a running club to organise a new marathon, especially when it involves a 10k, a half marathon and junior races as well, but that’s what Kernan Running Club managed for the Portadown Running Festival.
    Starting at the People’s Park in the centre, it went around the town before heading out towards the town of Gilford before heading back along the flat towpath that goes between Portadown and Newry. Being County Armagh, rolling hills can’t be avoided and there were a few on the way to Gilford. As it was 2 laps the total climb was over 700 feet. Not a particularly flat marathon, but manageable.
    Particularly after the glitches surrounding the Belfast Marathon, it was striking how well organised the event was. The mile markers were precise to the point where my watch would beep like clockwork as I passed the markers on a route that wasn’t particularly straight, and there were plenty of marshal posts manned by scouts. The goodie bag was packed full of items I’d want and there was a big catering effort from the club at the end. Massages were also on offer.
    64 runners did the marathon distance including me. My time was 4.07. The winner Michael McGrinder finished in a time of 2.56.46 and first lady was Natalie Bowbanks with a time of 3.32.26.
    The event was also part of the Pure Running Half Marathon Series, and had a much bigger turnout of close to 250. Keith Weir made the journey down and finished in a time of 1.43.57.
    Parkrun
    Parkrun is a timed run and not a race, but we had solid results at Victoria for the girls. Edwina was first lady (20.06) Gemma Blake (20:35) 3rd Heather Flint (21:15) 4th. We were also out in numbers at Stormont, Queens, Orangefield and Ormeau. Results at
    https://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/…

    Thanks to Keith McClure, Charles Beaumont, Bob Given and Newcastle AC for the photos.

     

  3. Weekly Report Monday 6th May – Sunday 12th May 2019

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    Report by Andrew Tees

    After the marathon heroics of Belfast, the majority of the club was taking a well earned break. However, the Orangegrove reporting team ensured that there was no shortage of material by enthusiastically (or dutifully?) toeing the line at various races around the province over the weekend. Many thanks to Gerald, Brian and Michael for their contributions to this week’s report.

    ‘Run the Runways’.
    Newtownards Flying Club, Friday 10th May, 2019.
    Report by Brian Todd
    A number of OAC members gathered at a sunny Newtownards airfield for this unusual series of races hosted magnificently by the local running club, Scrabo Striders. There were a number of distances available, a 1k ‘funrun’, 5k and 10k. All the races were on the runways and aprons of the airfield. The wide main central runway has a number of shorter feeder runways and taxi areas. For the two longer distances all available runways were utilised to make up the distance with some sharp turns at each end. The 5k required one lap of the course and the 10k two laps. Inevitably, inclines were not an issue although the sharp turns required care and tended to eat into times. There was a slight breeze too which affected some parts of the course. The rather featureless aspect of the airfield was also a slight issue in that there were no distractions to take one’s mind off the pain of trying to run as fast as possible. Nevertheless, conditions were perfect, dry and sunny, and it was a pleasure to explore the extremities of the airfield in this novel and innovative way. The 5k race was a round of the Baker-McKenzie Super 5s series so Brian Todd, the writer, plumped for the shorter distance as did Ross Robinson. Jenny Powell, Elaine Weston and the indomitable Michael O’Donoghue chose the longer distance. There was music round the course, the skirl of a lone piper and much food at the close of the running bit. All in all, a great evening, a memorable series of races and superb hospitality from the host club. The following results were achieved by OAC Members…
    5k
    Ross Robinson…19.39
    Brian Todd…20.19
    10k
    Michael O’Donoghue….42.03
    Jenny Powell…51.50
    Elaine Weston…52.50
    The 5k race was won by Gareth Lyons (North Belfast Harriers) in 16.12 and the first lady was Ann Terek (City of Lisburn AC) in 19.04.
    The 10k race was won by Ross Moore (Saintfield Striders) in 36.23 and the first lady was Amanda Perry (Ballydrain Harriers) in 40.25.

    Slieve Donard Race
    Saturday 11th May
    Surely one of the longest-standing races in the Northern Irish calendar, the Slieve Donard race took place for the 74th time on Saturday 11th May. The course has seen different variations over the years, but traditionally it has always started from outside the Newcastle Centre on Main St. From the start, the route led up the Glen River path to the first checkpoint at the saddle, then on to the main goal of Donard summit. From the top, runners had to negotiate the steep descent down the ‘front side’ of the mountain to the third checkpoint beside the quarry at the top of the Granite Trail. From there it was free reign to find the fastest route down through the forest to finish on the playing fields of Donard Park.
    This year the race was not part of the NIMRA championship, but it was the first race in the Irish Championship, so a large number of IMRA runners had made the trip from various parts of the island (mainly Dublin) to compete. The weather was fine on the day, but wet conditions in the preceding weeks meant that the conditions were still boggy underfoot when off the main trail.
    Newcastle AC’s Seamus Lynch continued his dominance of Irish mountain running, winning the race in 56.50, almost 6 minutes ahead of second place. Esther Dickson of Newry AC was first lady, and 10th overall, in 1:05.42.
    For Orangegrove, Andrew Tees finished in 1:07:01 for 17th/167.

    Downpatrick Lions 3 Lakes Challenge 15K & 7K
    11th May, 2019.
    Report by Gerald Harvey.
    In the 7K race, it was gradually uphill almost from the start to the left turn into a leafy minor road, then undulating through deepest countryside, until the right turn onto the Buck’s Head Road hill. Unlike two years ago, I did not grind to a halt this time – honestly! The top of the hill is the highest point on the course (31m). With that little local difficulty overcome, it was an easy run to the halfway point and water station at the right turn into Drumcullan Road (the 15K race went straight on towards Loughinisland Lake). Getting some water helped and it continued to be an easy run for the next 2K, passing the northern tip of Magheralagan Lake where a really nice house sits close to the water. After the church in the last 1.5K, there is an uphill drag that hurts a lot more in the longer race. The hard work is done when you see Ballydugan Lake through the trees on the old railway embankment, prompting a downhill sprint to the finish in the car park opposite the quaint Lakeside Inn.
    Downpatrick Lions Club and Atlas Running organized the event with proceeds in aid of Mainstay DRP, a local charity that provides supported living and respite care for people with learning disabilities. ChampionChip Ireland did the chip timing. The marshals were very good and a reassuring presence all around the course. The PSNI were out on the roads as well. Unfortunately only 114 runners in total showed up this year for the two races. Come on Orangegrove AC, we should be doing this!
    The 7K race was won by Nigel Greer (Dromore AC) in 26:39 and first lady was Lorna Chambers (Murlough AC) in 31:08, 5th out of 51 runners. Gerald Harvey (Orangegrove AC) was 15th in 35:00.
    The 15K race was won by Gareth Lyons (North Belfast Harriers) in 52:44 and first lady was Roberta Dornan (North Down AC) in 1:08:02, 11th out of 63 runners.

    Carrickfergus Marathon
    Saturday 11th May
    Report by Michael O’Donoghue
    We Run Wild is a new local organisation that aims to offer something a bit different for local runners. It takes some ideas that have been tried elsewhere that the organisers, who have done a lot of ultras, have found adds to the experience. I first heard about their ventures when they announced “On the Run from the Crum” a 24 hour self-navigating race which is based upon an English event, Escape From Meridan.
    The Carrickfergus Marathon on Saturday 11th May was their first event. The idea that made it different from other local events is a “road book” where instead of a marked course, or map, you’d have written directions at each junction indicating the way to go. The route started in Carrick Castle before climbing up through minor trails all the way up into the hills towards Woodburn Forest and Reservoir before heading back down.
    It was an unusually hilly course for an event that starts in an urban setting, totalling over 2000 feet of climbing. Much of it was trail though, and it made extensive use of Woodburn forest, meaning that overall it was as much trail as a number of events in The Mournes. It was a mile long, which nobody seemed to mind. After Belfast last week everyone is an ultra runner now! It would have been very difficult to mark an accurately measured course on that terrain in any case!
    It was a familiar sight at the start of the race, with many curious ultra runners from all over Ireland and England. The winner was Bobbie Irvine whose time was 3.56.49. First lady was Fiona Prue (4.43.51) My time was 5.46.27

    Parkrun
    Consolidated club report here: https://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/…

     

  4. Weekly Report Monday 29th April – Sunday 5th May 2019

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    Report by Martin O’Brien

    Yes, Sunday 5 May is the main focus of this report and it was the day we’ve all been waiting for with months of effort, scrutiny, dedication, head-scratching and attention paid in the build-up to the climax of…Line of Duty…or, I mean, Belfast City Marathon!

    BELFAST CITY MARATHON Sunday 5 May

    Yes, coming hot on the heels of superb club performances in last week’s Virgin London Marathon the home-birds were now set the challenge of not ‘floating up the Lagan in a bubble’ by emulating their clubmates in the 38th Belfast City Marathon and the first to be held on a Sunday.

    The course was by no means flat but was certainly changed and after starting from Stormont in ideal conditions, it made sure that we graced North, East, South and West Belfast with plenty of support and goodies along the way. After we came back into town, the Big Fish really did mean we were all at sea and no turning back before keeping it together to get on to the Towpath and make it up THAT Ormeau Road hill before a downhill swoop into and then through Ormeau Park and towards the finish line in the Ozone via the Embankment.

    There were a total of 30 well-prepared athletes who took on the 26.2 mile challenge in the line of duty for Orangegrove Athletics Club and, ahem, the long and short of it is…that they were all a credit to themselves and their club with PBs galore, brilliant times, first times (or 2 in a week!), improvement or just sheer grit and determination!

    As you are aware a Marathon can be a daunting challenge and is always a great achievement. Indeed, some of the best marathon advice I ever received was to ‘never under-estimate a marathon’ and to ‘respect the marathon distance’ but…never did I think that this Belfast marathon would be officially over-estimated and/or so publicly disrespected!!

    Despite initial post-race confusion and delay, an apology was made and the official finish times were adjusted to compensate for the extra distance covered on the day (new club record for so many OG Ultra-Marathon finishes…?!).

    Runners can be a fickle bunch and precious about their times so I would like to regain some context and on behalf of the Club thank, and not overlook, the wonderful volunteers and supporters on the day and we were ultimately just glad to all be in a position of health to have conquered whatever challenge was thrown at us on the day. Here is how they all, impressively, got on:

    Andy McIntyre 2:48:00 PB (MO 23rd/9th NI)
    Keith Weir 2:53:29 PB (M40 14th/11th NI)
    Danny Bradley – 2:54:36 PB (MO 32nd/15th NI)
    Eric Fairfield – 2:59:54 PB (M45 19th/14th NI)
    Michael Broadhead – 3:04:33
    Ryan Kerr – 3:14:56 PB
    Dave Gribben – 3:25:53
    Michael O’Donoghue 3:26:06 PB
    Johnny Weston – 3:27:11 PB
    Gemma Blake – 3:27:41 PB (F40 11th/8th NI)
    Rodney Corrigan – 3:31:27 PB
    Julie McKimm – 3:33:59 PB (F40 17th/12th NI)
    David Carberry – 3:34:49
    Steven Gilliland – 3:35:52 First timer
    Pauline Bayliss – 3:42:33
    Martin O’Brien – 3:43:40
    Barry Burns – 3:43:43
    David Roberts – 3:54:06
    Kerris Hamilton – 3:54:09 PB
    Darren Houston – 3:54:35 PB
    Heather Shanks-Miller – 3:54:52 PB
    Sharon Howe – 3:58:23 PB
    Kimberley Reynolds – 3:58:31 PB (F50 16th/14th NI)
    David Gilliland – 3:59:18 – PB
    Victoria Irving – 4:05:25 First timer
    Jacqui Maxwell – 4:06:26 (F55 7th/3rd NI)
    Emily Paisley – 4:18:07 PB
    Darren Moan – 4:22:24
    Jason Lanyon – 4:55:58
    David Doey – 5:00:12

    Special thanks go to Jacqui Maxwell and Stuart Kennedy for the personalised marathon plans, coaching, advice and support and to the Club Captains, Heather and Chris, Chairman Robin and Committee.

    The Club and its runners really excelled and even on the day itself the difficult and stressful preparations, participation and recovery were all eased and aided by this extraordinary Club by either pre-race housing and toilet-furnishing, bag transport, on-course support, gazebos, seats, photography, a plethora of refreshments and even a massage! I actually thought my hallucinations had kicked in early when I seen the same supporters a multitude of times around the course!

    Thanks also extended to the various Churches on the day who got on board with their support and to the other pillars of society, Sharon and Brian McFarland, who sleekly organised and very enjoyable after-party in Stokers Halt.

    Believe it or not, the Belfast City Marathon wasn’t the only Club event this week:

    ORANGEGROVE JUNIORS Wednesday 1 May Report by Gillian Sykes

    Wednesday seen the start of the Ulster Schools Athletics competitions…. with Orangegrove Juniors competing out of their club colours …and in their Schools athletics vests. District A & District B for Inters and seniors (4th to upper 6th year) were first up. For anyone that doesn’t know…these district competitions are the qualifiers for the Ulster Schools finals…and then the All-Ireland finals in June.

    As usual the Orangegrove juniors excelled in these hotly contested events…and for the first time ever we took 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th place in 2 events…! Quite a talking point on the day!
    The first of many medals of the day went to Anna McKinty. A silver medal in hurdles…!! Anna is a bit of a rising star in Northern Ireland’s Triple Jump field…and she did not disappoint…with a Gold medal this time! Her first jump smashed the District record and put her well into the lead…not happy with that…her 2nd jump broke the record she just set…! Amazing… 🌟🌟🌟. I can’t wait to see what Anna will do at Ulsters and Ireland’s this year.

    The next medal of the day went to Joseph McNaughten…who took on the dreaded 400m…bringing home a fantastic Silver Medal ..! Well done Joe… 🌟🌟

    Reegan was next up in a very competitive 100m sprint ….with against the 2 fastest U17’s in Ireland! Fantastic effort…. 🌟🌟
    Mia Montgomery was also flying for the flag for the girls field events…competing in the shot put. Also very competitive field. Unfortunately no medal….and we are currently still waiting for the results of placings to come through.

    Luke Harte … competing for district B in Antrim also brought home a 3rd place and bronze medal in 3000m inter boys a year young in this age group. Fantastic result and his 1st qualification for Ulster Championships (time to be confirmed).
    Next up was the intermediate boys 100m…we had a total of 5 athletes competing in this event. Tom Houston, Adam Sykes, Aaron McCord, Nathan Stewart, Rory Carson. Unfortunately, this time Tom didn’t make it out of the heats…even though he ran a fantastic race.

    The final seen Adam, Aaron, Rory, Nathan on the start line competing for the 3 places going through to the Ulsters. This is the point where their coach Gillian felt like hiding behind the stand until it was all over. What a race…! Adam Syke took the win and gold medal in 11.06! Followed by Nathan then Arron then Rory…! Top 4 Orangegrove boys across the line…Adam, Nathan and Aaron home with medals and places at the Ulster Championships.

    Next up was the Inter Boys 200m….and would you believe it…? All 4 boys were the top 4 boys from the heats in this race 2…! This race was incredibly close….and Gold could have gone to any of them….but Adam again with a fantastic lean at the line took gold….and Nathan Silver..! This time it was Rory in bronze and Aaron in 4th..! Great result as all 4 boys are through in either the 100 or 200m at Ulsters..!

    Last race of the day for the Orangegrove crew was 4x100m relays… this time on the line we seen 5 of the Orangegrove boys on the line…4 for Grosvenor Grammar…and 1 in Sullivan Upper. For the 4th year in a row the Grosvenor/Orangegrove Boys Lewis, Nathan, Joe & Adam took home gold…smashing the District record and securing their place in the Ulster Championships. Next team in and, also qualifying, were Sullivan with Rory running the final leg…!

    What a day…!
    7 Gold medals
    4 silver medals
    3 bronze medals
    And a bit of sunburn on what turned into a glorious day.
    Well done Orangegrove juniors…you never fail to impress us.

    IRISH RUNNERS SERIES Report by Ian Wilson

    Saturday saw six OAC’ers make an early start to travel to Dublin with one even travelling on the ferry overnight from Holyhead to take part in and support the first race up in the Irish Runner 3 race series an undulating 5k set in the beautiful surroundings of Phoenix park.

    With Alan’s car filled with enthusiastic runners, supporter and picnic we swiftly arrived for registration in a sunny but chilly Phoenix park… The chilliness had totally disappeared as the race started and the race was ran in perfect conditions even though there were a few hill climbs to test the legs ahead but these were easily negotiated with the thoughts of a Carlsberg picnic awaiting us… Good runs by everyone in a very well organised and enjoyable event. Dublin’s Fair City crew were:

    Alan Martin 25:34
    Brian McFarland 26:24
    Ian Wilson 26:25
    Sharon McFarland 28:25
    Beverley Martin 29:52

    Here’s to the next one…the 5 mile on the 15th June and the next medal in the interlocking set of three… Big thank you to Dawn Wilson for the photos and for looking after us…

    PARKRUN Saturday 4 May

    MICHAEL O’DONOGHUE’S 250TH PARKRUN – Stormont Parkrun

    Well done Michael on your 250th Parkrun and for the huge cake! Also celebrating in style was Jessica Skillen with a tasty PB of 27:28.

    It was VICTORIA PARKRUN’S 8TH BIRTHDAY on Saturday and…to celebrate…the fantastic Luke Harte achieved a PB with 17:03 and 2nd place whilst Senior Captain, Chris Woods, after having just attained a PB at London Marathon the Sunday before, also copped a 5k PB with 19:10! Great running.
    Elaine Weston got in on the PB act at Orangefield Parkrun with 26:48. The consolidated club Parkrun page can be found here: https://www.parkrun.com/

  5. Weekly Report Monday 22th April – Sunday 28th April 2019

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    Report by David Fletcher.

    Sitting here penning this week’s instalment of the OAC report watching the world go by, sipping a cool freshly squeezed orange juice in a most beautiful plaza in Seville winter training seems but a distant memory and thoughts turn to the delights of spring and summer of racing with fine weather, longer evenings and especially some post-race refreshments to look forward to! The week certainly began this way in sunny Whitehead but took a bit of turn as Storm Hannah battered NI over Friday and Saturday leading to some cancelled parkruns and the shortening of the Mourne Skyline race. There was however once again a bit of a noticeable warm Orange glow come Sunday evening!

    Whitehead 5 mile

    Monday, 22nd April, 2019
    Swayed by the beautiful Easter Monday weather and the prospect of some great post-race hospitality 7 OAC athletes made their way to the lovely seaside town of Whitehead to take part in a 5 mile race that is one of the longest running events on the racing calendar. As the train slowly pulled out of Central it was shaping up to be one of those memorable OAC outings but soon things took a more serious turn when Mr Todd mentioned the infamous and aptly named Slaughterford Road. Its ‘Awful’ exclaimed Gerald, ‘and you have to run up it three times!!’ Incidentally on the train journey we learnt from our resident OAC historian that there are no streets in Whitehead. With a base at the Whitehead Community Centre the race run by Whitehead Runners starts in Cable Road before turning into Kings Road down over the railway and then 3 laps of the Village to cheering crowds and grandstand finish down the main drag! Despite the unseasonably hot April weather everyone survived the Slaughterford Road hill and there were some decent OAC performances despite Brian even being distracted by the sight of the Steaming 186 Whitehead Easter Eggspress train mid race! Finishers were rewarded with a unique medal a Cadburys crème egg and a bountiful spread in the Community Centre. Elaine Weston in her first race as an OAC member conquered the course in 45:04 and Andy McIntyre 44:27 being careful before the Belfast Marathon took the opportunity to help pace his better half Catherine to a time of 44:26. Other OAC times are as follows David Fletcher 33:59, Michael O’Donaghue 34:40, Brian Todd 36:38, Gerald Harvey 43:38.
    Mark McKinstry of North Belfast Harriers stormed to victory in a mere 25:41 and Allyson O’Toole of East Coast was 1st Female in 34:37.

    Firmus Fab 5
    Report kindly provided by Gillian Sykes

    On a cold Thursday night 6 Orangegrove athletes were competing at the 2nd meet of the Firmus Fab 5. It was a very successful and exciting night….with medals clinking their way home in the cars of cold parents who came along to support.
    Issac Orr…came a fab 4th in the U11’s 600m in his heat in 2.11.52. And 2nd in the cricket ball throw with a throw of 21.07…(could we have NI Cricketer in Issac with that throw…?)Zoe Van-der-line took on U11 Girls 60m…coming a respectable 6th in her heat in 11.39. She went on to compete in Long jump against a very large field and came 21st. Well done Zoe.Sarah Van-der-linde (the big sister) came 11th in the U13 Long jump….and 1st in her heat over the tough distance of 200m.Martha Orr was also competing in the Long Jump and 200m. And she came a very respectable 14th in Long Jump …and 3rd in her 200m heat.Aaron McCord took on the Senior Mens 200m (only 16)…coming 4th in a great time 23:97….get prep for his upcoming District Schools comp.Matthew Sykes also took on the 200m race in the U17’s category (only 14)…coming home with a silver medal after a spectacular fall across the finish in a huge PB of 24.85. The medal made the skinned arm.leg and back much more bearable. Well done to everyone.

    Run Armagh 10k.
    Sunday, 28th April, 2019
    Report kindly provided by Brian Todd

    While many from Orangegrove were running the streets of old London town, Brian Todd was literally ‘on his Todd’ in the Orchard County for the Run Armagh 10k for the latest installment of the Novosco 10k Grand Prix series. The race started on the main Belfast road adjacent to the Planetarium and race HQ was in the gymnasium of The Royal School. Brian was impressed that they provided an abundance of spotlessly clean ablutions prior to the race….something that is unfortunately becoming a rarity these days! The race itself was a single loop incorporating College Hill, Portadown Road, Drummnamore Road, Ballybrannon Road, Loughgall Road, Railway Street and Lonsdale Road, finishing amidst the Georgian splendor of The Mall. This was not an easy race. The first 5k, in particular, were particularly challenging and it seemed there was very little compensating downhill in the second half. Gerald Harvey would not have liked this one! Nevertheless, the conditions were perfect for running, the countryside was beautiful and both the welcome and race organization were second to none. Tea was taken afterwards with some fellow runners in the Armagh City Hotel. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon at the end of April!
    The Run Armagh 10k was won by Gareth Lyons (North Belfast Harriers) in 34.28 and Faith Viney (unattached) was first lady in 38.30. Brian Todd…45.09 (43/321)…and still standing (just about!).

    Virgin London Marathon
    Sunday, 28th April, 2019

    While everyone at home bracing themselves for a wet and windy weekend with the onslaught of Storm Hannah a magnificent 11 of OAC athletes and the support crew made their way south to London for what has become the marathon that almost everyone wants to have on their running CV! While the entrants were doing last minute prep, carb loading and checking out the amusements of the now obligatory marathon expo some members of the OAC support crew took the opportunity to do a bit of parkrun tourism in Southwark Parkrun. Brian McFarland and Beverly Martin ran the course as first timers in 27:53 and 30:36.
    As the sun rose over London on Sunday morning and our intrepid 11 gathered themselves and made their way to the start line at Blackheath and Greenwich the weather conditions were looking promising for some great running compared to the roasting received a year ago! All the talk in the lead up had been about the battle between Eliud Kipchoge and Mo Farah but our own athletes were out to prove a point themselves and capitalize on a very tough training program over the last 16 weeks with performances that would make all the blood, sweat and sometimes tears well worth it!
    As the drama unfolded on our TVs, computer, tablet and phone screens it became clear that this years VLM would go down as one of notable vintage. Our runners excelled in the great conditions and put in some great performances to record several PBs and some strong runs. In the end all 11 OAC starters crossed the finishing line on the Mall and the times are as follows:
    Pauline Bayliss 03:36:09 PB
    Des Fahy 03:28:32
    Robin Montgomery 03:07:41
    Heather Flint 03:35:49 PB
    Ian Grant 03:46:50
    Gillian Logan 03:41:50
    Alison McConnell 03:47:30 PB
    Gavin McGuckin 03:12:01 PB
    Edwina Ternan 03:29:26 PB
    Chris Woods 03:33:39 PB
    Alison Canning 04:06:44 PB and 1st time Marathon
    As the London Crew made for the airports and ferry terminals recovering from running and a few post marathon celebrations thoughts turn to an exciting week ahead with the main event being the 1st ever Sunday Belfast Marathon this coming weekend. With no less than 26 OAC Athletes toeing the line for the full marathon and 2 relay teams it promises to be an exciting weekend ahead!

     

  6. Weekly Report Monday 8th April – Sunday 14th April 2019

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    Report by David Doey

    With large numbers of Orangegrove AC members preparing for marathons, the main event this week was the ¾ marathon at Craigavon. There were however other events with club representation.

    HILL AND DALE SERIES RACE 1

    The ever popular series hosted by Newcastle AC returned for the first of its ten races in the picturesque setting of Castlewellan Forest Park. Starting in front of the castle, the route takes runners over Slievenaslat. With a distance of over 5 miles and climbing of over 1000 feet it makes for a challenging run. 324 runners took to the start and two members made the journey to Co Down with the following times
    160th Jake Dalzell 45-08
    316th Judith Dalzell 62-47
    The race was won by Jonathan Scott (Mourne Runners) in 30-54 and Esther Dickson (Newry AC) in 35-02.

    BORN TO RUN GLENARM CHALLENGE (Report by Brian Todd)

    You know, sometimes it is good practice to forget about time and pace and just run leisurely for the sake of running, enjoyment and the surrounding scenery. And, so it was with me at Saturday’s Glenarm Challenge half marathon around the beautiful Glenarm Castle estate, ancestral home of the Earls of Antrim. What a magnificent location for running. Miles of track, trail, minor road and river side pathways. Conditions were near enough perfect. It was dry underfoot, sunny and cool. Indeed, it was very cool and a stiff breeze off the sea made the going tough at times. There were 5k and 10k options but the great advantage of tackling the half marathon was that its route took you to the far distant recesses of the estate which you would not otherwise experience with the shorter distances. It is not an easy half marathon. There are many changes of terrain and in total 711’ of height gain….but the magnificent scenery, the beautiful bird song, the thunderous cacophony of the Glenarm River and, not least of all, the silence of the many cool forest glades, made up for the inevitable pain. I haven’t done too many Run Forest Run events in the past, but I must do a few more. Maybe a little bit expensive, but well worth the money. Organization and execution were second to none and nothing was left to chance. The half marathon route was an intricate one but there were marshals and clear signage everywhere, even at the most distant points. I didn’t look at my watch once during my run and sometimes that makes sense. In the end my time wasn’t too bad for ‘an oul’ fella’…….but I might have speeded up a bit had I had glanced at it just occasionally!
    The half marathon was won by Wesley McDowell (Dromore AC) in 1.19.41. First lady was Karen Alexander in 1.27.08.
    Brian Todd (Orangegrove AC) 1.44.46 (30/214).
    The 10k race was won by Ben Morrow (Ballymena Runners) in 36.30 and Gemma McDonald (Ballycastle AC) was first lady in 40.01.
    The 5k race was won by Rachel Gibson (North Down AC) in 20.13 and the first male was Dwayne McMullan (Glenlough Running Club) in 20.15.

    CRAIGAVON LAKES ¾ MARATHON

    All roads led to Mid Ulster on Sunday morning as a number of the Belfast marathon participants took the opportunity to do their last long run three weeks before the main event. This was a new event organised by Stuart Kennedy and was resounding success according to those who took part. The course was just over six laps of Craigavon parkrun- a mainly flat course with a couple of short sharp climbs. There were ample water stops every 5k and excellent support from the marshals on what was a very cold and blustery morning. An admirable 362 runners took on the challenge including 17 from Orangegrove. Keith Weir was first finisher from the club in a fine time of 2:15:04 to claim 17th place. The race was won by Brendan Guiney (Beechmount Harriers) in 1:57:55 and Tara Malone (1Zero1 Enniskillen) in 2:20:39. The full list of places and times for Orangegrove AC is below. Enjoy the tapering folks (one week behind al the London crew)

    17 Keith Weir 02:15:04
    27 Eric Fairfield 02:19:25
    65 Ryan Kerr 02:32:05
    90 Michael O’Donoghue 02:39:36
    91 Gemma Blake 02:39:39
    109 Jonathan Weston 02:40:52
    129 Darren Houston 02:46:25
    134 Julie McKimm 02:48:25
    135 Steven Gilliland 02:48:25
    191 David Gilliland 03:03:46
    203 Kimberley Reynolds 03:07:20
    204 Kerris Hamilton 03:07:20
    205 Sharon Howe 03:07:20
    206 Jacqueline Maxwell 03:07:20
    220 Victoria Irving 03:08:33
    255 Emily Paisley 03:19:13
    298 David Doey 03:36:33

    PARIS MARATHON

    Club secretary Michael Broadhead returned to Paris for another attempt at their marathon and claimed a course PB of 3:09:00. Well done Michael.

    CONNEMARATHON
    On Sunday, Andrew Tees travelled to Connemara to take part in the Half Marathon of the Connemarathon festival. With two significant climbs, nearly 600 feet of elevation and in tough conditions Andrew finished an excellent 6th place in 1:26:00.

    ORANGEGROVE JUNIORS

    FIRMUS FAB 5 (REPORT BY GILLIAN SYKES)

    Well done to everyone who was competing at Firmus Fab5 on Thursday. Some great performances
    Senior Mens 100m.
    Both the boys competing for the first time as summer birthday 16yr olds in the senior category.
    Adam Sykes 3rd – (11.54)
    Aaron McCord – 11.62 PB
    U17’s 100m
    Nathan Stewart 2nd – 11.63 PB
    Matthew Sykes 3rd – 12.44 PB (only 14 in a tough U17 Category)
    U17’s Girls 100m
    Reegan Neill-Mckenzie – 14.66
    U15’s Boys 100m
    Noah Johnston 4th – 13.09 PB
    U15’s Boys 800m
    Robert Hill (to be updated with results)
    Great results on a cold night…and after a long day at school for everyone. Brilliant outdoor season opener.

    Also, good Luck to one of our juniors Adam Sykes (16) who was selected to go to Portugal with the Athletics NI Staff and Coaches for 2 weeks warm weather training in preparation for the upcoming outdoor season.

    MINIS PRIMARY SCHOOL COMPETITION

    Great to see many of our young athletes competing in Bangor on Wednesday, several for the first time, and everyone did great and had fun. Special shout out to Sarah who was joint 1st in the 80m and 2nd in the long jump. We’ll hopefully see even more athletes participating at the next Bangor meet on May 8th.

    PARKRUN

    As always the largest turnout was at Victoria Park. John Gribben was a first timer at Ally Pally and Michael O’Donoghue ran his 247th parkrun as a first timer in Malahide. Team Tyro along with buggy tackled the sand of Portrush (thankfully there was a low tide) and Jill Holland was there too for the first time. Gemma Blake warmed up for the ¾ marathon by running a PB of 21-33 as she finished second female at Stormont. A full consolidated list can be found below.
    https://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/…

     

  7. Weekly Report Monday 1st April – Sunday 7th April 2019

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    Report by Gerald Harvey

    DEEP RIVER ROCK QUEEN’S 5K RACE AROUND THE RIVER & NI & ULSTER CHAMPIONSHIP, 3rd April 2019.
    After pleasant weather at the Larne Half Marathon in late March, early April had turned changeable and cold (some might say awful). At least there was a lot more daylight than last year. Despite the conditions, Orangegrove AC were out in strength for round 4 of the club championship with 54 runners on the start line and 53 finishers after Rachel Woodman had to stop after 3K through illness.

    Maybe the film Ben Hur (1959) made a big impression on me at a young age, but it comes to mind at the start of this race as hundreds of runners go off at a hectic pace along Annadale Embankment. If you remember the famous chariot race in the film, Messala (the badie) played by Newtownabbey man Stephen Boyd, comes to a sticky end under wheels and horses’ hooves – I suppose that is the danger of not having top billing. After reaching the shadow of Dunnes Stores in one piece, you can breathe a bit easier and take in the view of the runners flowing over Ormeau Bridge and turning left along Stranmillis Embankment towards King’s Bridge. There are no DRS zones in this race, but human muscle power is still impressive. However, people were running in the cycle lane and on the riverside footpath, instead of on the road where the course had been measured. A bit more marshalling is needed here next year I think.

    Luke Harte won the Orangegrove battle in an impressive time of 16:50, 68th out of 731 runners. Andy McIntyre was second in 16:58, 79th place. Michael Broadhead was third in 17:17, 97th place and Andrew Tees was 4th in 17:20, 98th place. Gemma Blake was first Orangegrove lady in a personal best time 20:29, 281st place. Edwina Ternan was second in 20:58, 310th place. Julie McKimm was third in a personal best time of 20:59, 318th place and Pauline Bayliss was 4th in 21:10, 335th place. In the NI & Ulster Championship, the OAC ladies came 11th and the OAC men came 16th (first 4 scoring).

    The race was won by Neil Johnston (Springwell Running Club) in 14:50. Declan Reed (City of Derry Spartans) was second in 14:58 and Chris Madden (City of Lisburn AC) was third in 15:02. Nakita Burke (Letterkenny AC) was first lady in 16:49, 63rd place. Kelly Neely (City of Lisburn AC) was second in 17:01, 82nd place and Sarah Lavery (Beechmount Harriers) was third in 17:06, 83rd place.

    Thanks to Queen’s University and ChampionChip Ireland and all the supporters, especially the ones from the club. Orangegrove AC put in a strong effort and no doubt will be back to try even harder in 2020.

    OAC Results:
    Luke Harte, 16:50; 2. Andrew McIntyre, 16:58; 3. Michael Broadhead, 17:17; 4. Andrew Tees 17:20; 5. Gavin McGucken, 17:34 (PB); 6. Keith Weir, 17:46; 7. Jonathan Weston, 18:47; 8. David Gribben, 18:52; 9. Robin Montgomery, 19:10; 10. Ryan Kerr, 19:18 (PB); 11. Rodney Corrigan, 19:20 (PB); 12. David Fletcher, 19:26 (PB); 13. Michael O’Donoghue, 19:45; 14. Des Fahy, 19:53; 15. Darren Houston, 19:59; 16. Tom Smith, 20:02; 17. Gemma Blake, 20:29 (PB); 18. David Montgomery, 20:40; 19. Ian Grant, 20:45; 20. Brian Todd, 20:56; 21. Edwina Ternan, 20:58; 22. Julie McKimm, 20:59 (PB); 23. Martin O’Brien, 21:02; 24. Pauline Bayliss, 21:10; 25. Robert Hill, 21:30; 26. Chris Woods, 21:42; 27. Gillian Logan, 21:48; 28. Caroline Beattie, 23:00; 29. Andrew Bennett, 23:07; 30. Kimberley Reynolds, 23:09; 31. David Gilliland, 23:18; 32. Alison Canning, 23:48; 33. Jacqueline Maxwell, 24:09; 34. Verity Cornford, 24:14; 35. Gerald Harvey, 24:21; 36. Anna Rankin, 24:24; 37. Jill Holland, 24:27; 38. Peter Grimley, 24:45; 39. Harriet Anderson, 24:51; 40. Adrienne Savage, 24:54 (PB); 41. Reg Sanlon, 25:00; 42. Judith McCann, 25:10; 43. Jenny Powell, 25:17; 44. Conor Walker, 25:20; 45. Emily Paisley, 25:21; 46. Martin Walker, 25:26; 47. Iseult Fahy, 25:49; 48. Selina Myles, 26:17; 49. George Gribben, 26:35; 50. Roy Skillen, 26:56 (PB); 51. Jim Harris, 27:55; 52. Hannah Montgomery, 30:09; 53. Lisa Nevin, 30:29.

    PARKRUN, 6th April, 2019.
    Saturday was the day of the Grand National Steeplechase. On the flat, a 6.9K course is no problem to a race horse, but the jumps are a different matter. Luckily, there are no really large obstacles in the way at parkrun, just the odd dog or pram or puddle.

    At a sunny Victoria Park, Luke Harte ran very well to finish second and was fastest of the OAC group. Excellent 5K running for the second time this week.

    PB times this week: Belfast Victoria Park: Danny Bradley, 18:47; Roy Skillen, 26:46. Stormont: Gillian Logan, 24:08. Orangefield: Ross Robinson, 20:22.

    First Timers: Waterworks: Selina Myles; Stretford (England): Verity Cornford; Hasenheide (Germany): Brian McFarland, Beverley Martin and Sharon McFarland.

    Remember to volunteer at least several times a year by contacting: belfastvictoriahelpers@parkrun.com

    PATSY KELLY 5K, DUNDALK, 6th April, 2019. [Report by Brian Todd]
    Saturday evening saw the eighth running of the Patsy Kelly 5K race in the Co. Louth town of Dundalk. Patsy Kelly was a stalwart of the local Clan Na Gael Gaelic Athletic Club and the North East Runners AC. He died before his time in 2010 while out running with his friends. In recent years this race in his memory has become one of the premier 5K events in the Republic of Ireland. The course is a quite speedy single loop to the west of the town comprising a very fast start and finish with a moderate incline in the middle.

    Over 800 people ran in what is, unusually, a Saturday evening race. Brian Todd (a local boy) and Michael O’Donoghue made the trip south by train. The start line is a short distance from the magnificent Victorian Dundalk Railway Station. Michael had spent the earlier part of the day on a treadmill raising money for Combat Cancer, which was probably not the best preparation for a speedy 5K.

    In the end the Patsy Kelly 5K was won by Darragh Greene (Dunleer AC) in 15.24. Hazel Hughes (Shercock AC) was first lady in 18.47.
    Brian Todd…20.49 (3rd Over 60 category prize).
    Michael O’Donoghue…21.45.

    As usual there was a magnificent culinary spread in the Clan Na Gael clubhouse following the race and both Brian and Michael enjoyed a pint or two in the Railway Tavern before catching the last train back to Belfast. A long old day! Next year we may well need to apply for a visa to run the Patsy Kelly 5K!!! Proceeds from the race were donated to the North Louth Hospice.

    SPAR OMAGH HALF MARATHON, 6th April, 2019.
    Well done to Emily Paisley, the only OAC runner in a field of 2,297 runners, on finishing in a time of 2:13:11. The race was won by Gary O’Hanlon (Clonliffe Harriers) in 1:07:40. Laura Graham (Mourne Runners) was first lady in 1:16:31, 13th overall.

    IRISH LIFE HEALTH JUVENILE INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS, ATHLONE 6th April, 2019. [Thanks to Gillian Sykes for her comments]
    In the U18 4x200m Relay final at the InternationaI Arena, Athlone, the OAC team (Nathan Stewart, Roy Carson, Adam Sykes and Joseph McNaughten) finished third after an up and down battle, setting a personal best time of 1:33:31, nearly 4 seconds faster than their previous best. Those bronze medals must have made the 3 hour journey home a bit easier. Great running.

    GENERALI BERLIN HALF MARATHON, 7th April, 2019.
    Five OAC runners took part in aid of the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust. The race was won by William Wanjiku (Kenya) in 1:01:00. The male podium finishers were covered by 2 seconds! First lady was Sifan Hassan (Netherlands) in 1:05:45. There was a total of 28,444 runners competing.

    OAC Results: Alan Martin, 2:05:48; Brian McFarland, 2:15:48; Ian Wilson, 2:17:04; Mairead Napier, 2:25:55; Beverley Martin, 2:33:15. Well done folks.

    Photo of Luke Harte at the QUB 5K by John Glover.

     

  8. Weekly Report Monday 18th March – Sunday 24th March 2019

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    Report by Andrew Tees

    One event dominated the race calendar last week as far as Orangegrove athletes were concerned. Larne Half Marathon is a favourite among the club and obviously many clubs, as it sold out months in advance.
    This year, the race featured as the 3rd race in the OAC Club Championship and as such was a target race for many of those who were not partaking in spring marathons, but also provided an ideal opportunity for those on marathon training wanting to gauge their progress.
    Conditions were perfect on the day with mild temperatures and sunshine, as 48 Orangegrove athletes toed the starting line. There were many outstanding performances across the club, producing a ridiculous number of HM PBs, a testimony both to the quality of the training plans being provided by the coaching team and the commitment of club members in executing them.
    The race was won by Vincent McKenna of Acorns AC in 1:09:40 and the first lady to finish was Mourne Runners’ Laura Graham in 1:15:46. Danny Bradley led the OAC men home in an excellent 1:21:24, and Gemma Blake was the first OAC lady across the line in 1:36:41.
    The full list of OAC results is below:

    Danny Bradley 01:21:24 PB
    Keith Weir 01:21:55 PB
    Eric Fairfield 01:23:33 PB
    Robin Montgomery 01:29:21
    Jonathan Weston 01:29:31
    Ryan Kerr 01:29:36 PB
    David Gribben 01:30:04
    Des Fahy 01:32:30
    David Fletcher 01:33:20 PB
    Rodney Corrigan 01:33:19
    Chris Woods 01:34:57 PB
    Gemma Blake 01:36:41 PB
    Pauline Bayliss 01:37:15 PB
    Brian Todd 01:37:32
    Darren Houston 01:38:07
    David Roberts 01:38:08
    Martin O’Brien 01:38:05
    Julie McKimm 01:39:31
    Ian Grant 01:41:33
    Steven Gilliland 01:41:07
    Gillian Logan 01:42:52
    Heather Flint 01:43:05
    Alison McConnell 01:44:24 PB
    David Gilliland 01:44:55
    Carolyn Beattie 01:45:26
    Heather Shanks-Miller 01:47:48
    Kimberley Reynolds 01:49:49 PB
    Sharon Howe 01:51:18
    Kerris Hamilton 01:51:58
    Jacqueline Maxwell 01:52:10
    Alison Canning 01:52:10 PB
    Adrienne Savage 01:54:39 PB
    Anna Rankin 01:57:10
    Jenny Cochrane 01:57:45
    Chantal Hemphill 01:57:47
    Catherine McIntyre 01:58:54
    Gerald Harvey 02:00:43
    Jackie Grant 02:01:09 PB
    Jenny Powell 02:01:28
    Judith McCann 02:02:22 PB
    Gillian Fisher 02:03:16
    Conor Walker 02:06:40
    Marcia Sharkey 02:08:48 PB
    Brian McFarland 02:10:00
    David Doey 02:11:40
    Martin Walker 02:15:48
    John Ferris 02:20:39
    Hannah Montgomery 02:22:45 PB

    Elsewhere last week…
    Andrew Tees completed the Maurice Mullins Ultra in Co Wicklow, a 50km course through the Wicklow Mountains encompassing 1900m of ascent, finishing in 5:12:55 (40th/236).
    Michael O’Donoghue ran the Colchester Half Marathon in 1:36.
    The parkrun consolidated report is here http://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/…

  9. Weekly Report Monday 4th March – Sunday 10th March 2019

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    Report by David Fletcher.

    Weekend of PBs and Podiums!

    Despite the sometimes wintery and unpredictable March weather there was evidence of a Spring in the step of Orangegrove AC with a large number of athletes turning out for Addiction NI Race to Recovery and the Sprint Squad heading to Tullamore for the Irish Master Indoor Championships.
    Due to a number of members being side lined due to injury or illness a smaller than usual OAC sprint contingent travelled to Tullamore on Sunday to compete in the Irish Masters Indoor Championships. As ever the OAC team acquitted themselves well and put in some strong performances to come away with several medals. George Gribben (M60) bounced back from the disappointment of missing out on a podium by the closest of margins (0.01 seconds) in a very close 60 metres final by taking a bronze medal in the 200 meters. Returning to competition on the track David Quigg (M60) finished 4th with a strong run in the 400 meters. Making his debut at Irish Championship level Ross Robinson (M40) came a very commendable 5th place in a very competitive field in a hotly contested 400m race. Following on from his success at the Scottish Indoors a couple of weeks ago the always vivacious Jim Harris (M70) put in a series of strong performances to add to his 2019 indoor medal haul by taking silver in 200 and 400 metres and a bronze in the 800m.
    As a precursor to running in the Club Championship Race on Sunday this week our Running Travelogue Michael O’Donaghue had a bit of staycation at Shanes Castle County Antrim to take on a trail marathon run by Atlas Running. This is Michaels report on what seems to be an interesting and varied run that other members may be interested in next year. Probably best known for being extensively used in the Game of Thrones series, Shanes Castle is a ruined castle on the edge of Lough Neagh surrounded by extensive gardens. It leads onto Randalstown Forest, which is itself dotted with lots of pretty trails next to the Maine river. Combined, the area makes a great location for trail races. Atlas Running, who specialise in challenging ultra events organised half marathon, marathon and ultra marathon distances around a 13.1 mile loop taking in both Shanes Castle and Randalstown Forest.Although it wasn’t as hilly as many trail marathons, it wasn’t without its difficulties. The rain held off, but it was pretty windy, quite mucky and waterlogged in parts, and it was tricky to run on the roads wearing trail shoes after extensive muddy trail sections. Overall, though it was a great course, which seems relatively underused for events or for general public use in comparison to Castlewellan or Tollymore. In the event, I started off strongly, doing the first half in under 1.45, but struggled a bit in the later sections as the 40 mph winds took their toll. Overall I finished in 15th place with a time of 3.47.57. The winner was Enda McNulty with a time of 3.22.08.
    As mentioned earlier the main OAC event of the weekend was the Addiction NI Race to Recovery 10km race held at Ormeau Park on Sunday. This was race 2 in the Orangegrove Club Championship and once again there was a large turn out from the club competing and supporting this charity race. With Orangegrove athletes making up almost a quarter of the field there was an air of anticipation that with tough marathon and half-marathon training programmes paying dividends there would be some extra bling on show come the end of the race. Despite the tough wintery conditions there were some great performances and OAC as predicted dominated the race standings with five of the top six wearing the orange vest. In a tightly contested race for the podium positions in the men’s race Danny Bradley stole the show with a PB performance of 36:45 mins to beat Lagan Valleys Brian Young to top spot. The always cheery Michael Broadhead despite a strong showing for the majority of the race was happy to let the more youthful guys battle it out for the top spots and settled for a well deserved 3rd place. Keith Weir, David Montgomery and Gavin McGucken followed with great runs in close procession to take 4th, 5th and 6th spots respectively. Not to be outdone by the OAC men’s success Gemma Blake put in a strong performance to take 3rd place in the ladies section (44:28) behind Niamh Kellet (East Down) and Kyla Henderson (unattached). Julie McKimm and Pauline Baylis followed Gemma in 4th and 5th spots and Edwina Ternan came in 6th returning refreshed from her long holiday in New Zealand. In the 3Km Fun run, Junior member Elijah Blake also ran well to take 2nd place.
    The following members achieved some fantastic 10K PBs on the day. Danny Bradley, Steven Gilliland, Sharon Howe, Keith Weir, John Ferris, Ryan Kerr, Gavin McGucken, Emily Paisley and Roy Skillen taking part in his 1st 10K race for the club.
    Despite many members having to take to the roads shortly after the race to complete a further 10 marathon training miles in awful conditions, OAC athletes once again displayed the fantastic competitive and friendly nature the club is well known for. Next week sees a bit of a break from racing for many on the Marathon or Half Marathon programs leading into the next Club Championship Race at Larne the following weekend but as always there will be a number of races on over the St Patricks weekend such as the Spar Craic 10K and the new Forestside 5 mile trail race. As always we had members taking on ParkRun events. A full list of OAC runners can be found here:http://www.parkrun.com/results/consolidatedclub/…
    Photo credits Addiction NI, George Gribben, Jenny Powell, Michael O’Donaghue.

  10. Weekly Report Monday 25th February – Sunday 3rd March 2019

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    Report by Gilian Logan

    With the meteorological start of Spring commencing this week, a large proportion of OAC athletes began their racing season to support marathon campaigns at events across the country and across the water. Read on for a full round up of results and action.

    Stranraer Half Marathon – Saturday 2nd March

    After the disappointment of travelling to Malta only for the marathon to be cancelled due to a storm last week, our seasoned travelling competitor Michael O’Donoghue (MOD) took a ferry trip to the small town of Stranraer in Western Scotland for the annual half marathon.

    The wet and windy weather along with an undulating course and on set of a chest infection did not deter our hearty MOD from the race!

    It turned out to be a very worth-while excursion with Michael producing a remarkable PB time of 1hr 32 mins 58 seconds and bringing home an age category prize to boot! Well done Michael!

    We look forward to watching your progress through your up-coming marathon and ultra marathon season!

    Carlingford Half Marathon – Saturday 2nd March

    OAC had a significant southern bound travelling contingent to the picturesque coastal town of Carlingford, Co. Louth for the annual half marathon organised by 26 Extreme.

    The course is described on the event website as scenic and mainly flat with only a few small hills, taking in the beautiful Cooley Peninsula and Carlingford Lough.

    The conditions, course and weeks of hard winter training seemed to suit and pay off for many of our 14 entrants with no less than 8 personal best times produced!

    Below is a full list of OAC results:

    Andrew McIntyre 01:18:40.1 (PB 9 seconds and 8th male)
    Robin Montgomery 01:26:19.5
    Rodney Corrigan 01:32:52.7 (PB by 3 mins)
    Colin Simpson 01:34:17.7 (2nd Claim Member)
    Pauline Bayliss 01:37:19.3 (PB by 2 mins)
    Julie McKimm 01:37:34.2 (PB by 4 seconds)
    Brian Todd 01:39:18.9
    Stephen Anderson 01:39:27.0
    Steven Gilliland 01:40:04.6 (PB)
    Ian Grant 01:40:54.9
    David Gilliland 01:44:54.2 (PB)
    Sharon Howe 01:48:09.3 (PB by 2 mins)
    Catherine McIntyre 01:57:13.7 (PB by 5 mins)
    Gillian Fisher 01:57:51.8

    Congratulations all runners! Training seems to be paying dividends.

    SSE Walled City 10 Mile Road Race – Saturday 2nd March

    We had two OAC participants make the trip north over the Glenshane pass for the annual SSE Walled City 10 Mile road race.

    The event starts and finishes on the race track in Saint Columb’s park in the Waterside area, with good pre and post race facilities in the adjacent Foyle Arena. The route takes competitors along both sides of the River Foyle and includes a sharp ascent over the notoriously windy Foyle Bridge before a fast descent into the Bay Road area. The final flourish takes runners across the iconic Peace Bridge and back to the park to finish on the track.

    Weather conditions for the 10am start were dry and favourable, however the weather quickly deteriorated with strong winds and rain descending, making the last 2 miles of the route particularly difficult to keep pace.

    It was the Belfast based Larne woman Gillian Logan who was first across the line for OAC, clocking a time of 1:16:27. Native Coleraine man David Doey was next, producing a solid run time of 1:40:28.

    So unlike the previous evenings Irish Cup Quarter final football match, it was Larne who won this battle over Coleraine and she didn’t need any extra time to do it!

    Next weekend the focus for OAC will be back to our 2019 Club Championship Series as almost 50 members take on the Race to Recovery 10k on Sunday 10th March in Ormeau Park.

    We look forward to another week of hard training and good racing.

    Photo Credits: Verity Cornford and The Inspirational Runner (Robbie Marsh)