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  1. Weekend Report – November 8th

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    This weekend, a rather dismal one weather wise, was dominated by the 81st McConnell Shield Cross Country race at the Sixmilewater Park in the heart of Ballyclare. However, some Orangegrovers were further afield. Jill Long is in the United States taking part in the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon, and birthday girl Verity Cornford, home for the weekend, took the opportunity to run in a nighttime race in the lovely Delemere Forest Park near Frodsham in Cheshire. Paul and Lyndsey Tyro were in South Armagh for the Forkhill 10k. Meanwhile, Helen Charlton had a successful weekend in the Emirates in the Dubai Aquathlon.

    The cross country circus moved to Ballyclare this weekend and with it a host of athletes wearing orange vests, young, old and very old.This was the third round of the Athletics Northern Ireland Cross Country League and so there was a degree of necessity to get as many pairs of trail shoes/spikes on the ground, or rather in the mud, as possible, ideally sixteen ladies and sixteen gents, in pursuit of both team points and participation points.

    Read the full race report here.

    Verity Cornford, the lovely Cheshire lass with a name straight out of a Thomas Hardy novel, was back home this weekend in her home county for her birthday celebrations. As well as wining and dining she also took part in the Delemere Forest Night Run on Saturday evening, a fairly difficult 10k jaunt around a local forest park.

    She has described the route as ‘boggy, dark and very narrow in places’ despite the obligatory head torch. I am glad to report that Ms. Cornford survived the ordeal and finished the race, despite its 400 feet elevation gain, in what she describes as a ‘leisurely 56.50’. Well done Verity! Take a bow!

    Jill Long is in Orlando, United States, this weekend taking part in the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon which takes place in and around the main Disney complex. However, I understand that very high temperatures and severe thunder storms have disrupted the event and that it has been reduced to a 10k race instead for the safety of both participants and spectators. So, the race will be in the vicinity of the Disney Hollywood Studios only and the Disney Animal Kingdom section will be excluded on this occasion.

    As yet I have heard no news from Jill. However, the attached photographs are proof that she is on site, in orange vest and ready to go, and that the race has been run and the wine is flowing! Time?….haven’t heard yet but who cares! Well done Jill Long. See you eventually!

    And Jill’s result is now finally in. Jill finished the shortened version of the race in a chip time of 1.16.40 to finish in 3796th place out of the nearly thirteen thousand who took part. She was also 284th in her age group. Well done, Jill! You can now get on with the wining and dining!

    Helen Charlton is certainly not a lady with which to trifle. Helen is currently in Dubai preparing for next weekend’s Dubai International Triathlon, a half ironman event. As part of her preparations she entered this weekend’s Dubai Aquathlon at the Fairmont on the Palm, at Olympic level.

    This involved a 1500m swim followed by a 10k run in fairly high temperatures. Helen completed the swim in 27 minutes and, following what she describes as a ‘pedestrian transition and a positively sedate 10k’, timed in in 1 hour 23mins for fifth place overall and third place in her age group (40-49). The swim in the Triathlon is 1.9km…..so Helen has laid down a good marker for next weekend’s greater challenge.

    We at Orangegrove wish her all the best! Helen is based in Dubai and offers a warm invitation to call to anyone from OAC who happens to be passing through!

    On Saturday morning they were in Co. Meath taking part in the Oldbridge parkrun. On Sunday they were in South Armagh competing in the Forkhill 10k race in brutal weather conditions. Heavy driving rain and gale force winds provided a considerable challenge to the eighty or more who set out from the Peadar O’Doirnin GAA Club at 1pm on Sunday. The race was over road, trail and bare hillside.

    However, Paul and Lynsey Tyro were unfazed by the deteriorating conditions and finished well up in the results, as you might expect. Paul crossed the line in 41.30 to secure fifth place overall and Lyndsey was a further five places behind in tenth place in 44.16 (second lady). Well done! Courage displayed beyond the call of duty! The race was won by Martin Quinn in 35.06 and Hannah Oldroyd was first lady in 41.08.

    The patter of heave rain on window panes probably put a few people off parkrun this Saturday morning. Nevertheless, 162 runners started at Victoria Park, Belfast, and just as the klaxon sounded the rain abated. Well done to Martin Doherty (first OAC male) who achieved a personal best 22.21. Sam Rainey (JM10) crossed the line in a personal best of 24.24. Eoghan Rainey wasn’t too far behind with a personal best time of 24.26. Great running from Hilary Bradshaw this morning! Hilary crossed the line in a personal best time of 28.02 looking as fresh as a spring daisy.

    Sile Brennan was first OAC lady over the line in 20.41, a lady getting back to the great times she used to set about two years ago before the children arrived. Well done too Adrienne Savage, who is a better runner than she thinks, who got close to her personal best time of 29.30. Adrienne has the potential to be a fine runner and it is only a matter of time before she realizes her potential.

    Parkrun started at Victoria Park on 7th May 2011 and today’s run was the 237th. During the week, Belfast City Council presented an award to the core parkrun team at a reception in Belfast Castle. The team can be justly proud of their achievement. Victoria Park parkrun is one of the success stories of East Belfast and further afield and has offered priceless opportunities for exercise and social interaction to thousands of ordinary people, many of whom, otherwise, would never have made the effort or had the opportunity. A lifeline for many, and one that should not be underestimated.

    Well done Poppy McGonigle (JW 11-14) at Ormeau parkrun on a personal best of 23.49.

    Paul and Lyndsey Tyro were in Co. Meath on Saturday and took the opportunity to run in the Oldbridge parkrun which starts and finishes at the Battle of the Boyne Visitor Centre. And run very well they did too! Paul finished in 3rd place in 19.25 and Lyndsey was 14th (5th lady) in 21.46. Well done!

    And there was a little ‘one year on’ subplot in this morning’s parkrun at Victoria Park, involving Neal and Deborah Killen, Kirsty Buchanan, Adrienne Savage, Ann Devlin and Hilary Bradshaw. A year ago this Saturday morning they graduated from Jog Belfast and made the wise decision to join Orangegrove Athletics Club. This morning they met up, despite the rain, to mark their one year on anniversary. The photograph is evidence they enjoyed not only the run, but the fraternity and friendship too that membership of OAC has provided.

    But, don’t forget! If it is still to be going in another five years it will need you to help out occasionally rather than run. To do so email Gerry Ward on belfastvictoriahelpers@hotmail.com. Don’t put it off or you will not do it.

    Thanks to NiRunning for the use of their photos.

  2. 81st McConnell Shield XC

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    The cross country circus moved to Ballyclare this weekend and with it a host of athletes wearing orange vests, young, old and very old. This was the third round of the Athletics Northern Ireland Cross Country League and so there was a degree of necessity to get as many pairs of trail shoes/spikes on the ground, or rather in the mud, as possible, ideally sixteen ladies and sixteen gents, in pursuit of both team points and participation points. The gazebo was erected and the proceedings began with a set of junior races in which Orangegrove was well represented by Iseult Fahy and Rory Hall-Thompson.

    The ladies race (with men over 60) began at 1.30pm (5k) and the McConnell Shield proper (the men’s race (8k) began at 2pm). Conditions were fairly soft underfoot after the morning’s deluge, but were probably better than might have been expected. At least it wasn’t raining, it was extremely mild for the time of year and the sun even cast a few weak rays as the ladies race began.

    The East Antrim Harriers’ Club do a great job with this race. Organisation is slick and there is always a warm welcome. The crimson leaves of Autumn were still largely on the trees and it was a pleasure (of sorts) to be able to run in the park, amongst the leaves that had fallen, with some great people! Even the splatter of mud on the back of ones legs felt perversely satisfying on this fine day. And so to the Orangegrove results:

    Ladies

    Julie McKimm 22.43 (58th/186)
    Lisa Fleming 23.32
    Emma McWilliams 23.51
    Jill Holland 24.14
    Zoe Ni Dhuinn-Bhig 24.45
    Alison Hall-Thompson 24.53
    Kirsty Buchanan 26.21
    Eleanor Acheson 26.47
    Sarah Malcolmson 26.49
    Jenny Powell 26.59

    Men Over 60

    Brian Todd 20.57 M60
    Gerald Harvey 23.12 M60
    Reg Sanlon 25:14 M65
    Jim Harris 25.47 M65
    Hugh Young 27.24 M75

    Men (McConnell Shield)

    Thomas Leitch 31.52 (59th/220)
    Andy McIntyre 32.37
    Paul Woodman 33:41
    Robin Montgomery 34.07
    Des Fahy 34.54
    Tim Robinson 35.00
    Darren Houston 35.49
    Stephen Anderson 36.05
    Stephen Hamilton 36.40
    Ian Grant 37.14
    Rodney Corrigan 37.26
    Michael O’Donoghue 37.46
    Ian Wilson 42.15

    Well done to the men this week on managing to turn out more runners in the race than the ladies. Super running from Thomas Leitch, Andy McIntyre, Robin Montgomery, Julie McKimm, Lisa Fleming and Emma McWilliams at the head of their respective gender packs! It was great to see Sarah Malcolmson turning out for her first cross country race and so obviously revelling in the mud! Indeed, well done to all the ladies and gents from OAC who braved the mud at Ballyclare on Saturday. Great to see Jenny Powell turning up for cross country for the second time. If you turn up twice you are usually hooked!

    Orangegrove had two junior athletes running in the Under 14 races. In the Boys U14 race Rory Hall-Thompson had a great run to finish in 4th place on 6.13. In the girls’ Under 14 race Iseult Fahy ran superbly well to finish in 7th place on 6.55. Very well done indeed to both athletes, their coaches and their parents!

    Very well done indeed to all who competed at Ballyclare on Saturday afternoon. The was a great club atmosphere as well as some great running.

    The main McConnell Shield men’s race was won by Paddy Hamilton (Slieve Gullion Runners) in 26.39. The ladies race was won by Emma Mitchell (Banbridge AC) in 17.35.

  3. Weekend Report – November 1st

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    This is the spooky season and there were a number of Hallowe’en themed runs around the place, such as the East Coast Monster Dash 5k at Carnfunnock on the Antrim Coast Road and the Enniskillen Spooktacular 5k in Co. Fermanagh. However, whether any OAC members were ghoulish enough to partake remains to be seen, but Carnfunnock was within easy striking distance!

    Certainly there were some fantastic outfits at Victoria Park parkrun on Saturday morning and some photographs of the antics have been published with this report. The older brethren amongst us, including myself, tend not to dress up as ghosts or skeletons at Hallowe’en as we will be ghosts and skeletons soon enough without wishing it upon ourselves early. However, the main races on Saturday were at Shaw’s Bridge for the Run Forest Run Minnowburn 10k, at Annalong for the Mourne Runners’ Run 4 Rescue 10 mile race in support of the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team and, on Sunday, the spectacular King of Gullion 10k near Newry, in support the Southern Area Hospice.

    Well, yes, a number of our members were ghoulish (and daft) enough to make their way to Carnfunnock for the 5k East Coast Monster Dash around the lovely Carnfunnock Country Park at Ballygalley, near Larne. I have included one or two photographs of those from OAC who partook, but I can’t tell who they are or what they are doing. A quick look at the results might shed some light on who is who and what is what. After that it is up to you, although I think I see Lisa Rodham in there, but I can’t be certain! See what you can make of it!

    Mairead Napier 47.26
    Shona Pryde 48.00
    Mary Boyd 48.02
    Lisa Rodham 48.03

    There is also a mysterious Gavin Browne (M45) listed under Orangegrove in the results (26.38/11th/77), but nobody seems to know anything about him….maybe just a ghostly presence, a passing spirit, an apparition, just a wisp of mist that set off the timing mat (if there was one)! A fairly speedy spirit, nevertheless!

    The Carnfunnock race was won by Justin Maxwell (East Coast AC) in 21.23 and Allyson O’Toole (East Coast AC) was first lady in 25.16.

    A number of Orangegrove members made their way to the Mary Peters Track on Saturday morning for the start of the Minnowburn Run Forest Run 10k race over a lovely route in the Lagan Valley Regional Park which takes in the Lagan towpath, Shaw’s Bridge, Minnowburn Bridge, Gilchrist Bridge and the many trails on both sides of the Lagan which are connected by them. Not the easiest 10k in the world, because once you descend down to the towpath you have got to get yourself back up again. Rumour has it that a group of Orangegrove ladies, accompanied by Reg Sanlon (who else!), will start the race. The ladies are Sarah Malcolmson, Karen Russell, Shona Pryde and Mairead Napier, two of whom were racing the previous evening at Carnfunnock. Time will tell, we wish them well and we await the results with anticipation. The rumours were correct and the results are in:

    Reg Sanlon 54.54
    Sarah Malcolmson 59.36
    Karen Russell 1.01.03
    Mairead Napier 1.03.10
    Shona Pryde 1.11.40

    Very well done indeed to all who raced at Minnowburn. The Minnowburn 10k was won by Don Travers (Newry City Runners) in 36.06 with Roisin Hughes (North Belfast Harriers) first lady in 42.08.

    The other Saturday race is the Mourne Runners’ Run 4 Rescue 10 mile race in support of the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team. The race starts in Annalong village and takes the runner on a gentle start along the coastal path before a long difficult climb up to the Dunnywater for the turn and a more pleasant downhill run to the finish and food in the village hall. And what a great cause for which to run! The Mountain Rescue Team do their work in all kinds of weather and conditions and with the recent proliferation in fell running, hill and dale and skyline it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that the services of the Team will be increasingly on standby for our sport. I understand that Andy McIntyre and Catherine Fearon will be starting in Annalong; Andy in the 10 miler and Catherine in the parallel 4 mile race. We wish them well!

    4 miles Catherine Fearon 37.19 (13th)
    10 miles Andy McIntyre 1.07.46 (7th/55)

    The 10 mile race was won by William McKee (Mourne Runners) in 57.31 with Laura Graham (Mourne Runners) first lady in 1.04.55.

    The 4 mile race was won by James Smyth (East Down AC) in 24.42 and Virginia Ervine (Mourne Runners) was first lady in 29.36.

    Sunday will see the iconic King of Gullion 10k race in South Armagh. This is not one for the faint-hearted. The race starts and finishes in the Courtyard/Café area of the Slieve Gullion Forest Park which is at the heart of the Ring of Gullion. The race is initially over well designated trails which then deteriorate into much more difficult terrain which takes the runner to the summit of Slieve Gullion at 573m, in the process offering magnificent views over the beautiful countryside straddling the border in South Armagh and Co. Louth. Rumour has it, and it is only a rumour, that Reg Sanlon will give this one a go as well, despite having raced at Minnowburn the previous day. We wish him well if he does!

    Reg Sanlon 1.25.00

    Well done, Reg! The King of Gullion race was won by Sean McIntyre in 49.40, with Laura Devine first lady in 56.29.

    Chris Downey is in New York City this weekend. Although he is not running in Sunday’s marathon he took the opportunity to run in one of the 5k curtain raisers, the famous Dash to the Finish Line 5k from the United Nations building to the Marathon Finish Line. The race was won by Donn Cabral in 14.19! Chris finished in exactly 20.00. Well done! Over 9000 runners took part in the Dash.

    Anne Moore was a little closer to home on Saturday, in East Tyrone to be exact, at Davagh Forest near Cookstown where she was taking part in the first round of the superb Sperrin Harriers’ Winter League Trail Series. Anne covered the 10k in exactly 50.00 to finish in 81st place out of 179. Well done, Ms. Moore! If it wasn’t for the travelling involved more of us would be making our way west of the Bann for this great series of trail races. The next round is Lough Fea on 14th November (5K).

    There was one big event during the week at Victoria Park Pavilion, the Annual General Meeting of Orangegrove Athletic Club on Thursday evening. A large crowd gathered for the proceedings, which also included presentations to those who excelled in the Club Championship and other internal competitions such as the Victoria Shield, the Stormont Cup and the Titanic Trophy. A new committee was elected and I can name the main office holders for the year 2015-2016:

    Chairman Thomas Leitch
    Vice Chairman Darren Marshall
    Secretary Sharon Dickenson
    Membership Secretary Beverley Martin
    Treasurer Andy McIntyre
    Ladies Captain Eleanor Acheson
    Men’s Captain Robin Montgomery
    Social Media Manager Fintan Hurl
    Kit Manager Mairead Napier

    The outgoing committee was thanked sincerely for its hard work and commitment in what was a challenging year. The incoming committee was wished all the best for the year that lies ahead.

    The following awards were made:

    The Victoria Shield – Paul Buchanan (runners up Kerris Hamilton and Martin Doherty)
    The Stormont Cup – Stephen Anderson (runners up Robin Montgomery and Lisa Rodham)
    The Titanic Trophy – The Ladies

    Men’s Championship
    Winner – Thomas Leitch
    Second – Andy McIntyre
    Third – Robin Montgomery

    Ladies Championship
    Winner – Julie McKimm
    Second – Emma McWilliams
    Third – Verity Cornford

    Championship medals for eight or more events were awarded to:

    Julie McKimm, Emma McWilliams, Verity Cornford, Catherine Fearon, Thomas Leitch, Andy McIntyre, Robin Montgomery, Chris Downey, Brian Todd, Michael O’Donoghue, Stephen Hamilton and Eoin Woodman.

    Special awards were also made to Lyndsey Tyro, Emma Smith and Stephen Orr in recognition of club records set by them during the course of the year.

    Probably the main trophy of the year, the President’s Trophy, was awarded to Gillian Sykes in recognition of her untiring and unceasing work with the Junior Section. In Gillian’s absence the trophy was accepted by her husband.

    Saturday fell on the 31st October this year and inevitably there was a spooky feeling to the proceedings. Thankfully, the organizers decided not to use the dark recesses of the inner trail on this occasion and the numerous ghosts, ghouls and apparitions who turned up were restricted to three outer laps. There was plenty of colour about the place, most of it black and blood splattered. It was a beautiful autumnal morning. Not much sunshine but plenty of gold and crimson nevertheless, and temperatures for the end of October that were hard to believe. Those wearing base layers, jackets, hats or heavy Hallowe’en apparels were, literally and appropriately, cooked in their own juices. Now, three outer laps is traditionally faster than the usual layout.

    So how did it go for OAC personal bests? Well, there was only one, the new Chairman, Thomas Leitch, who was flying this morning and set a personal best of 17.56 for 4th place overall. Very well done indeed! Martin O’Brien set a pb of 22.17 at Stormont parkrun and Darren Houston (21.38), Stephen Anderson (21.40) Chris Woods (24.14) and Deborah Killen (41.07) were first timers at the same location. Pauline Bayliss (the lady with the blue tinted Oakleys) continues to excel at Stormont. Yet another pb of 22.38. She was also first lady this morning. Will we ever see her back at Victoria Park? Well done Pauline! Robin Montgomery was a first timer at Ormeau where he scorched around in 18.28 (fifth place). Well done too, Iseult Fahy (JW11-14), on a great time of 23.39, a personal best for this venue. Michael O’Donoghue was on his travels again and took in Cassiobury parkrun near Watford in Hertfordshire where he recorded his best ever parkrun time (20.27) which gave him 26th out of 236. Well done Michael and very well done indeed to all who ran parkrun this weekend!

    It was quite a sad morning at Victoria Park parkrun as parkrun said farewell to Sweatshop sponsorship after many years. The parkrun community owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Sweatshop for their vital contribution to the concept that is parkrun. From lowly beginnings in 2004 parkrun has expanded enormously, and most Saturday mornings, throughout the British Isles, more than 70,000 hopefuls gather to run the trails and paths of their local parks. This enormous expansion would not have been possible without the generosity of Sweatshop and it was appropriate that Orangegrove’s Antra Balcuna (Manageress of the Belfast Sweatshop) spoke at the start of today’s parkrun to say farewell and thank you. It allowed us too to say an even bigger thank you in return.

    Don’t forget the volunteering bit! It is a bit unfair to leave it to the same people every weekend! The ethos of parkrun is that you both run and volunteer. Many do the former, but not the latter! It will only take a second or two to send an email to Gerry Ward to offer your services at belfastvictoriahelpers@parkrun.com. Do it, and do it now!

  4. Weekend Report – October 25th

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    The Club weekend was dominated by one major event, the Bobby Rea Cross Country races at the University of Ulster at Jordanstown. At least one member ran in the Oktoberfest 5k race in Newry on the evening of Thursday, 22nd October, and Robin Montgomery will be the only Orangegrove representative in Monday’s SSE Airtricity Dublin Marathon. We wish him well!

    The Bobby Rea Cross Country races constitute the second round of the Athletics Northern Ireland Cross Country League, so it is important that we have strong participation from both the men and ladies, at least up to the magic figure of sixteen finishers in each case to maximize points. Each finisher scores a single point which is then added to the team score, if there is one. The first six club teams of four (each club’s best four) score points from 12 points down to 2 points, after which the participation points are added. The Orangegrove ladies had a super turnout for the first round of the Championship which was at Comber, the men less so. There is also the internal Titanic Cup to think about, presented to the winning cross country team from Orangegrove, either the men or the ladies. The ladies are the current holders.

    And the following times were achieved by OAC members at Jordanstown on Saturday:

    Ladies and Vets M60 and above (5k, but probably considerably less on the day)

    Julie McKimm 21.30
    Jill Holland 22.14
    Lisa Fleming 22.27
    Lisa Rodham 22.49
    Verity Cornford 23.46
    Alison Hall-Thompson 23.51
    Sharon Corken 24.03
    Kirsty Buchanan 24.13
    Patricia Magill 24.35
    Hannah MacLeod 24.52
    Jenny Powell 25.20
    Karen Russell 27.14
    Hilary Bradshaw 27.32
    Linda Craig 27.33

    Very well done Julie McKimm on a great run and well done too to Jenny Powell, Karen Russell and Hilary Bradshaw who were taking part in their first cross country race. Particular congratulations to Karen Russell who, in addition, was wearing the orange vest for the first time.

    Vets Men (M60+)

    M60 Brian Todd 19.41
    M75 Hugh Young 26.04

    The ladies race at NUU was won by Emma Mitchell (Banbridge RC) in 16.49.

    Men up to M60 (8k)

    Andy McIntyre 30.07
    Tim Robinson 32.59
    Darren Houston 33.10
    Michael O’Donoghue 34.21
    Ian Grant 34.31
    Rodney Corrigan 34.47
    Ian Wilson 39.54
    Adrian Sproule 40.57

    Yet another very good run from Andy McIntyre, and great to see Adrian Sproule running in his first cross country race and getting back to business after injury. Spare a thought for Stephen Anderson who was going well but miscalculated the laps in the men’s race and stopped early and was not included in the results.

    The men’s race was won by Paddy Hamilton (Slieve Gullion Runners) in 24.37.

    The races for children aged U10-U18 were run in the morning during the worst of the weather conditions. We warmly congratulate the following members of the Orangegrove Junior section, their coaches and parents for their efforts on the day:

    Children’s Races

    U10 Girls Victoria Clugston 05.38
    U12 Girls Alice Browne 06.54
    U14 Girls Iseult Fahy 11.44
    U14 Girls Reegan Neill-McKenzie 13.19
    U14 Girls Chloe Browne 13.29
    U12 Boys Matthew Sykes 07.02
    U14 Boys Rory Hall-Thompson 10.31
    U14 Boys Adam Sykes 10.58
    U14 Boys Aaron McCord 11.16
    U14 Boys Tom Smith 12.15

    By the way, the races at Jordanstown are named in commemoration of Bobby Rea who was Chairman of the Northern Ireland Athletic Federation at the time of his sudden death in November 2006. He had spent a lifetime in athletics, first as a competitor with Albertville Harriers in North Belfast and then as a coach and administrator. He was secretary of the NIAF’s Cross Country Committee for almost twenty years from 1983 and was heavily involved in organising many of the high profile events hosted by the NIAF at this time, against the backcloth of serious civil disorder. These included the Belfast Marathon from its inception and the World Cross Country Championships of 1999 for which he was a key member of the technical organising committee. He had also acted as manager for many NI Cross Country and Track and Field teams, culminating in his role as manager of the Athletics team at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in March 2006. He deserves more than a passing thought on the day.

    Last Thursday evening saw the running of the Oktoberfest 5k race in Newry on a route in the north-west of the town centring on Monaghan Street. Birthday girl Antra Balcuna was in the town and took the opportunity to enter the race. Antra has recovered well from the foot injury she sustained in the Belfast Half Marathon and was pleased with her time of 21.00, fifth lady. The race was won by Paddy Hamilton in 15.08 and Breege Connolly was first lady in 17.24.

    The October Bank Holiday Monday in the Republic of Ireland traditionally brings the SSE Airtricity Dublin City Marathon and Orangegrove this year is ably represented by Robin Montgomery who is coming towards the end of a superb running year in which he has been extremely competitive at every distance. The route is a single lap one which starts and finishes in the city centre. The first few miles are in a north-west direction towards and through Phoenix Park before the turn south and west towards University College prior to the return to the city centre. The forecast is for cloud with some rain, but that will not worry Robin. The race starts in three waves at 9am, 9.10am and 9.20am. Best of luck Robin, although I suspect luck will play very little role in what happens on the day!

    And the news from Dublin is good, at least at the half way point. Robin passed through the 13.1 marker in 1.29.32 and is averaging 6.50 per mile. He passed through the 10k point in just over 42 minutes which seems a tad speedy with another 32k still to run! He is clearly well on his way to a great time. Hopefully it will all hang together!

    In the end Robin crossed the final timing mat in 3.01.25, a superb time and a new personal best by about eight and a half minutes! Robin being Robin was a little disappointed he didn’t finish sub three hours and at one point it seemed that he would. He managed to hold on to the 3 hour pacers to mile 23 but, in his own words, ‘struggled with the last three. Nothing worse than seeing a wee red pacer balloon move off into the distance’. Nevertheless, he remains happy with a time with which the majority of us would be ecstatic! Robin will now have to wait to London to get into the 2.50s. Very well done indeed! Your club wishes you well and is proud of your achievement and the endeavour that led to it!

    The Dublin City Marathon was won by Alemu Gemechu (Ethiopia) in 2.14.01 and Nataliya Lehonkova (Ukraine) was first lady in 2.31.08.

    It was an uncharacteristically dismal morning at Victoria Park for the start of the parkrun on Saturday morning. Nevertheless, 143 runners braved the elements for their three laps of the track and as the proceedings progressed the elements began to relent. Hopefully there will be a few Orangegrove personal bests to report from this morning’s run, unlike last week when they were restricted to Stormont. Well done Sam Rainey (JM10) on your personal best of 24.53, and Eoghan Rainey too was flying on the same time of 24.53. Well done Anna Rankin on a personal best of 26.11. Neal Killen had a personal best of 29.06 and Deborah Killen too of 36.14…a fairly buoyant Saturday evening in the Killen household, I suspect! Diana Porter circulated in a personal best 29.58. Well done all! Mark Williamson was a first timer at Stormont in 22.42 as were Louise Browne (32.01) and Fintan Hurl (32.02) at Ormeau.

    ‘No volunteers, no parkrun’. How often have you heard those profound words at Victoria Park about 9.30am on a Saturday morning? Well, familiarity should not breed contempt! We can only continue the good work at Victoria Park if there are abundant volunteers, and there aren’t. So, email Gerry Ward on belfastvictoriahelpers@parkrun.com to offer your services and do your bit. Your parkrun needs you, and it needs you soon!

  5. Stormont Cup 2015

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    A group of bleary eyed Orangegrovers gathered at the gates of the Stormont estate at 10am on Sunday morning for the running of the annual Stormont Cup, a Club handicap cross country race amongst the trees on the left hand side (west side) of Prince of Wales Avenue as you face the building.

    The current holder of the magnificent trophy is Pauline Bayliss, the lovely lady with the blue tinted Oakleys, although she was not wearing them on the day. Runners set off according to a delicately calculated handicap chart based on recently recorded 5k and 10k times and possibly on the whim of the Club Captain.

    The slower runners start first and the challenge is for the faster runners to eventually catch and overhaul them. Rarely does it work that way and every year the competition throws up an unexpected and deserving winner. This year the following members made the deadline for entries… Robin Montgomery, Sarah Steer, Alan Montgomery, Stephen Anderson, Fintan Hurl, Ian Grant, Ian Wilson, Brian Todd, Eoin Woodman, Pauline Bayliss (defending champion) and Lisa Rodham. My money is on Lisa Rodham if she has a good run on the day! So, what happened this year?

    Well the race was run in almost perfect conditions. It was a beautiful morning and there was that ‘good to be alive feeling’ amongst most of us as we warmed up on what was a fairly challenging course. Rarely does the considerable downhill section reward the hard climb up to the turn.

    Leaves falling from the trees in abundance laid a carpet of gold on the downhill section. Well, to cut a long story short, we have a new and well deserving champion. Stephen Anderson, despite running very well in yesterday’s GR8 Dundrum Run, overhauled Lisa Rodham on the home straight to win the trophy. Very well done indeed.

    Robin Montgomery, despite starting at the back of the group with the largest handicap, was second and Lisa Rodham was third. Spare a thought for Lisa Rodham. As she came round the turn and headed down towards the finish she was in the lead but was overhauled in the end, with the finish in sight, by both Stephen and Robin. The rest of us were there, or thereabouts!

    On the day Stephen won the trophy with Robin second and Lisa third. Well done to all who competed in this morning’s Stormont Cup!

    12052631_10208058564892157_3878304479706851878_o

      Finish time Race time
    1 Stephen Anderson 47:40 33:15
    2 Robin Montgomery 47:59 31:19
    3 Lisa Rodham 48:14 37:59
    4 Ian Grant 49:04 35:04
    5 Fintan Hurl 49:13 39:28
    6 Ian Wilson 49:32 40:17
    7 Pauline Bayliss 49:55 35:55
    8 Alan Montgomery 50:08 38:53
    9 Brian Todd 50:41 36:16
    10 Sarah Steer 53:07 42:22
    11 Eoin Woodman 55:18 55:18

    Grateful thanks to Chris Woods, Darren Moan, Carole Bell and Kirsty Buchanan for their hard work which contributed to the smooth running of the event and which made it such a pleasure in which to run.

  6. Weekend Report – October 18th

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    This weekend was dominated by two main events, the GR8 (Great!) Dundrum Run and the Northern Ireland Masters’ Athletics Association cross country race at the Dub, Queen’s University, Belfast; two very different races.

    The GR8 Dundrum Run (‘Not Your Average Road Race’) is a great favourite with many. This was the 6th running of the GR8. This event has a little bit of everything.

    Read the full race report here.

    The other main event this weekend is the Northern Ireland Masters Athletics Association cross country race at the Dub. The route encompasses the playing fields above the Dub Pavilion with one or two changes of elevation en route. The recent dry weather will, hopefully, contribute to ideal conditions on the day. There is a little extra pressure on those of us who are members of NIMAA as this particular event is used to select members to constitute the various age group teams to represent Northern Ireland in the international masters cross country match against England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland.

    This year the match is at Santry in Dublin on Saturday 14th November. At the Dub the Ladies (F35+) and males 65+ race on Saturday is at 11.30am with all males over 35 up to 64 going at 12.15pm. By the way, you don’t have to be a member of NIMAA or have international pretensions to run at the Dub on Saturday. It is an open race and all are welcome. However, only those who are members of NIMAA can be selected for the Northern Ireland international team. Best of luck to all those from Orangegrove competing on Saturday.

    Absolutely perfect conditions welcomed the runners to the Dub on the day. There was not a puddle of water or a sheugh of mud to be seen anywhere. The sky was blue, the grass was very green and the temperatures were high. Even the leaves were still largely on the trees. Spectacular and unfamiliar conditions! Orangegrove was represented by five members, Jill Holland (F45), Lisa Fleming (F40), Thomas Leitch (M40), Robin Montgomery (M45) and Brian Todd (M60). A novelty feature of the race was being required to wear one’s age category as a number on the back of the vest, a bit disconcerting for those of us who have spent a lifetime trying to keep our ages a secret.

    The following times were achieved by the Orangegrove five:

    Ladies (6k)

    F40 Lisa Fleming 27.52
    F45 Jill Holland 29.18

    Men (8k)

    M40 Thomas Leitch 29.25
    M45 Robin Montgomery 30.49
    M60 Brian Todd 33.42

    In due course it will be revealed by NIMAA whether any of these times are good enough for Northern Ireland representation. Details as soon as they are available, but competition is fierce particularly in the age groups from 35 to 55. Regardless, this was a lovely day out in good company and we sincerely thank the members of NIMAA for the hard work which made it possible.

    A group of bleary eyed Orangegrovers gathered at the gates of the Stormont estate at 10am on Sunday morning for the running of the annual Stormont Cup, a Club handicap cross country race. Read the full race report here.

    While many of us were running around the Stormont Estate in East Belfast, Lyndsey and Paul Tyro were making their final checks in the rain before the TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) Amsterdam Marathon. Lyndsey and Paul have been working hard together in preparation for the race and we wish them well on the day. Over 16,000 runners will be taking part in what is one of the great marathons of Europe. Last year the race was won by Kenya’s Bernard Kipyego in 2.06.22.

    By lunchtime the results were in:

    Lyndsey Tyro 3.12.33 PB
    Paul Tyro 3.11. 36 PB

    Well done, you two!

    The TCS Amsterdam Marathon was again won by Bernard Kipyego (Kenya) in 2.06.19 with Joyce Chepkirui (Kenya) first lady in 2.24.11.

    A group of Orangegrovers also flew to Palma in Mallorca this weekend. They have claimed that their main objective in doing so is to take part in the half marathon and 10k races on the Sunday. However, they have also booked into an upmarket hotel and taken with them sun lotion, bikinis and loads of Euro. It has also been reported that they bought a considerable amount of duty free at Belfast International Airport before departure. As such it is not certain whether the running is merely a means to an end or the end in itself. Time will tell. However, I suspect this trip will not be one for the faint hearted or the squeamish. Hopefully, there will be some results to publish by the end of Sunday!

    At 9.45pm on the evening of Sunday 18th October in the Year of our Lord 2015, no news of times or positions from Palma other than a photograph of runners which is no evidence whatsoever that a race took place or that those in the photograph actually took part in it. Report will be amended on receipt of indisputable evidence!

    And the results are in (at last)

    Palma 10k

    Mairead Conlon 56.53
    Hugh Young 1.04.13
    Jackie Grant 1.04.34
    Sharon McFarland 1.07.38
    Tania Rothwell 1.12.13
    Paula O’Reilly 1.12.14
    Mary Boyd 1.12.14

    Palma Half Marathon

    Trish Magill 2.08.01
    Sharon Corken 2.13.15

    Well done ladies and Hugh!

    Saturday morning means parkrun and with high pressure still dominating on the weather front there was no more attractive place to be than Victoria Park at 9.30am on the day. With considerable Orangegrove participation in the GR8 Dundrum Run and at the Masters cross country at the Dub it might have been expected that personal bests would be few and far between. Well, let’s have a look at the results! Stone the crows, there were no Orangegrove personal bests at Victoria Park, Belfast, parkrun, where Chris Downey was the first club member home in 19.11.

    However, thankfully it was a different story at the new Stormont parkrun where a number of Orangegrove personal bests were recorded. Well done once again to Pauline Bayliss who recorded a 22.39 personal best for this venue; two consecutive personal bests, this one and Victoria Park last Saturday! Well done too Melinda Wilkinson (who bakes the best carrot cake in the country, although I have yet to sample it) who also registered a 27.37 personal best at Stormont. Louise Browne was a first timer at Stormont and so her time of 30.11 (running for two) was a personal best. Well done, the two of you! Fintan finished on the same time; obviously keeping an eye on things. Neal Killen too recorded a 30.43 personal best at Stormont.

    Beverley and Alan Martin were in Co. Mayo this weekend and took in the local Westport parkrun where they were first timers. Beverley finished in 27.57. Alan finished in 27.58. I am not sure who the JM10 Ben Holmes was who got between them but he appears to have made a nuisance of himself and Alan really shouldn’t have kicked him up the backside!

    The whole parkrun extravaganza depends on volunteering and you must do your bit, either on the track or in the kitchen. To play your part, email Gerry Ward at belfastvictoriahelpers@parkrun.com. It is the right thing to do! You know it is!

  7. GR8 Dundrum Run

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    The GR8 Dundrum Run (‘Not Your Average Road Race’) is a great favourite with many. This was the 6th running of the GR8. This event has a little bit of everything. The run starts in the centre of the village of Dundrum where the sense of community spirit adds to the occasion.

    The route is superb. The runner heads south on the main road to Newcastle for a few hundreds yards before turning right on to Old Road to continue parallel with the main road for the section to the Twelve Arches Bridge over the Ballybannon River. This section of road, Old Road, contains the only significant hill on the route, but it is early on in the race and should present no real difficulty.

    After the Twelve Arches Bridge the route is across the main Newcastle to Belfast road. You will not have to dodge the cars, however, as the police will stop the traffic to allow the runners to pass. Fine, as long as you are not a motorist! On the other side of the road you then enter the trail known as The Cut for a lovely one mile section along the side of an arm of the beautiful Dundrum inner bay. Just short of the Downshire Bridge there is a right turn along Keel Point Road towards Murlough House. Near the House the route takes you right on to undulating boardwalk down to the beach. The beach section is magnificent as long as the tide is right and you have sand on which to run. On this section the wind may be helpful or otherwise. The beach section is about two miles long. You will be able to see Newcastle in the distance.

    At a point just short of the most northern extremity of the magnificent Royal County Down Golf Course you will be guided on to the boardwalk which will take you through Murlough National Nature Reserve to the car park on the main Newcastle Road. After that you take a sharp right turn for the long, fast sweeping section back to Dundrum where a warm village welcome will await you. You will then eventually make your way to the church hall for a spectacular array of sandwiches, cakes, buns, tea, coffee and soup. The prizes will be distributed at this point.

    However, don’t worry if you are not in receipt of a prize. Your reward will be in knowing that you have competed in a really wonderful event over road, trail, boardwalk and beach. You will take away with you a warm inner glowing feeling and a medal to treasure. Hang it somewhere prominent and it will remind you on a daily basis of one of the most enjoyable days of your life!

    A very large contingent of Orangegrovers made their way south to Dundrum on Saturday morning for the 11am start. For none was the journey more special than for Sarah Malcolmson who was brought up in the village and where her parents still live. Last year Sarah was a spectator at the race and vowed then to give it a go one day. Being a determined young lady she purchased a pair of trainers, began to run and eventually joined Orangegrove Athletics Club. Sarah will don the orange vest on the day and we wish her well in her hometown race. Rumour has it that she has already embarked on one or two recce runs on the route in preparation! Good running to everybody from Orangegrove. May the tide be out and the wind with you!

    So, how did it go in the end for the Orangegrove contingent, fourteen in number? Very well, may I say, and I am glad to report that Ms. Malcolmson did herself proud on her home patch. The following are the times for both men and ladies:

    Men

    Andy McIntyre 52.54
    Mark Williamson 59.04
    Stephen Anderson 1.00.06
    Martin O’Brien 1.01.16
    Gerald Harvey 1.06.38
    Martin Doherty 1.09.51
    Ian Wilson 1.10.48
    Eoin Woodman 1.31.46

    Ladies

    Heather Shanks-Miller 1.10.21
    Alison Hall-Thompson 1.14.11
    Sarah Malcolmson 1.18.54
    Verity Cornford 1.19.35
    Linda Craig 1.19.35
    Catherine Fearon 1.24.46

    Great running from every Orangegrover at Dundrum. Particular congratulations to Andy McIntyre on a fantastic time which secured 27th place overall out of the nearly 900 who ran. Mark Williamson too did extremely well to finish below the hour. Great running from Gerald Harvey, a senior citizen like myself, who did well to finish in 1.06.38, fifth gent home. Well done too to Stephen Anderson; Stephen, you will bag a sub hour time next year. Good running too from the two Martins, O’Brien and Doherty, and from the ever improving Ian Wilson.

    Heather Shanks-Miller led the Orangegrove ladies home in 1.10.21, an excellent time and well done too to Alison Hall-Thompson who is a better runner than she thinks she is. Well done Sarah Malcolmson, once again. There was considerable club and local pressure on you to do the business, and you did. Sleep easy! Good running too from Verity, Linda and Catherine.

    The GR8 Dundrum Run was won by Andrew Annett (North Belfast Harriers) in 45.29. Breege Connolly (North Belfast Harriers) was first lady in 49.09.

  8. Weekend Report – October 11th

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    The nights are drawing in, the temperatures are dropping and there are already swathes of crimson leaves on the ground. So, it must be time for cross country and so it is! It all began early on Saturday afternoon at the Billy Neill Playing Fields on the Comber Road for the Ballydrain Harriers’ Comber Cup, this year also incorporating the inaugural John McKeag Cup for the best women’s team. However, there was Orangegrove participation elsewhere. Michael O’Donoghue was having none of the local stuff this weekend. He was in Chicago for the marathon and on Sunday some of our members were down in Armagh for the Armagh 10 mile road race. Never a dull moment!

    Traditionally the Comber Cup kicks off the cross country season. The races are run by Ballydrain Harriers at the magnificent Billy Neill football grounds on the Comber Road.

    Read the race report here.

    We wish Michael O’Donoghue well this weekend in the United States. Michael is in Illinois on the banks of Lake Michigan taking part in one of the great marathons of the world, the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Michael will be one of many thousands of participants on a course which starts and finishes in the city’s Grant Park. The course passes through 29 local neighbourhoods and the runners, from every state in America and from no fewer than 100 different countries, will be cheered on by almost two million spectators on the ground! The route is very, very flat. It is one on which to set a personal best and one on which four world records have been set. Best of luck Michael! We are with you all the way and, as always, we admire your endeavour.

    And the news is coming in more quickly from Chicago than it is from Armagh. I am glad to report that MOD is alive and well and currently basking in the glory of a time of 3.59.14 in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Very well done indeed! I am sure that further details will emerge in due course! Michael is bound to download his entire race statistics in the next few days, so you might need to consider increasing the random-access memory of your device in preparation.

    Sunday also brought the Adidas Armagh 10 mile road race, generally regarded as a preliminary warm up run for the Dublin City Marathon at the end of the month. The race starts and finishes at the iconic Navan Centre, a royal site of pre-Christian Gaelic Ireland, capital of the Ulaidh and home of the famous Red Branch Knights. I am not certain how many of the runners were aware of that or cared less, but amongst them were Orangegrove’s Eoin Woodman and Zdzislaw Malkinski.

    Results from Armagh would appear to be taking an extraordinarily long time to appear for some reason. Eoin has posted that his Garmin showed 1.50.23 for his race, a significant 10 mile personal best for the senior Woodman, despite the numerous undulations. Well done Eoin!

    Zdzislaw Malkinski 1.17.44 126th/311
    Eoin Woodman 1.50.21 303rd/311

    Well done gentlemen!

    Saturday evening brought a significant social event in the OAC calendar. Dozens of club members gathered at the CIYMS complex for a general knowledge quiz in support of the AWARE (Aware Defeat Depression) charity.

    Grateful thanks to all those who attended, and particular thanks to Sharon McFarland who took the lead in organising what was a magnificent and very enjoyable social occasion which raised over £600 for the charity. The winning team was ‘Chairman Miaow’ consisting of Thomas and Liz Leitch together with Louise Browne and Fintan Hurl.

    Parkrun at Victoria Park today attracted 223 runners on what was a perfect morning for a 5k run. As always, we were grateful for the volunteers on the track running the event and those manning the kitchen to provide the vital afters. Due to construction work in the park which has disrupted the inner trail, this morning’s run was over three outer laps. There were a number of Orangegrove personal bests.

    Rodney Corrigan was at it again, circulating in 20.04. Rodney is getting seriously fast these days! Stephen Craig was flying too on 26.03 and Nicola Downey also set another personal best of 27.03 for this venue. Karen Russell too, a lovely lady with great potential, also ran a personal best of 27.39. Well done Deborah Killen on getting around in a personal best of 36.48. Paul Tyro was the leading Orangegrover on the day in 5th place in 17.50 with Thomas Leitch in 11th place in 18.55. Well done Pauline Bayliss on being first lady in 21.10, only a second off her personal best of 21.09 for the Victoria park course.

    Mark Williamson, a veritable parkrun tourist, was in West Belfast today for the inaugural, seriously hilly, Colin Glen parkrun. Mark had a great run and finished in 11th place out of 98 in 21.33.

    Now, the volunteering bit. If you run parkrun regularly you should volunteer now and again. It is easy and you will meet nice people who will be appreciative of your efforts. To sign up email Gerry on belfastvictoriahelpers@parkrun.com. You should do it now! Don’t leave it until tomorrow or you will forget!

  9. Comber Cup

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    Traditionally the Comber Cup kicks off the cross country season. The races are run by Ballydrain Harriers at the magnificent Billy Neill football grounds on the Comber Road. Although the football pitches are comparatively flat, Norman Mawhinney always manages to find a drumlin or two for his race to make sure that we don’t have it too easy. The course is 6k for the ladies (three laps) and 8k (four laps) for the men.

    It is a picturesque course too, incorporating a lake and a fairly steep climb up the side of the said drumlin, which provides the runner with great views of the surrounding County Down and beyond. A sharp descent takes the runner back to the start and finish area. This race is always superbly well organised and directed by the Ballydrain club.

    Not only are we representing the club as individuals, but also as teams. Both the ladies and men are required, if possible, to field a minimum of sixteen runners to earn team points towards the Cross Country League. Essentially a team consists of a minimum of four runners and team positions up to sixth place will be based on best four runners (from 12 points for 1st team to 2 points for 6th team). However, in addition to whatever team points are scored, if any, each club runner up to a maximum of 16 will score a single point towards the team total.

    So, in the League both the men and the ladies need to be fielding a minimum of 16 runners to maximise their points and team position. However, males over 60 who elect to run in the shorter ladies race cannot earn points towards their team total. Essentially this means that old stagers like myself usually end up running in the less comfortable men’s race in which there is a grave danger of being lapped by at least the front runners. By the way, there is an internal OAC cross country competition between the ladies and men’s teams, the Titanic Cup. The OAC ladies are the current holders, or so they keep reminding us! The next round of the League is the Bobby Rea cross country at Jordanstown on the 24th October.

    Anyway, the day was perfect for cross country, dry with little wind and not too warm. Conditions underfoot were fine. Only on one part of the course was there a softness in the turf. There are two fairly steep climbs on this course, but both are short at least and the runner is adequately rewarded by a significant downhill section at the end of the lap. This allows for a very fast finish if you are willing to throw caution to the wind. There was a lot of orange scattered about the place today. Getting a seat in the OAC gazebo was almost impossible, but we were glad to have it nevertheless and thank you to those who organised its transport and erection. The generally jovial mood was contributed to by the appearance of a cake with candles in celebration of Jill Holland’s twenty-third birthday. The ladies set off at 1.30pm. Three Orangegrove gents set off with them, Brian Todd, Jim Harris and Hugh Young. All three of us were severely jostled at the start by the bevy of lovely ladies but we didn’t complain and even hoped for a little more jostling further around the course! The men went at 2.30pm and, from a spectator’s point of view, it was incredible how strung out the field became after less than half a lap with Mark McKinstry (North Belfast Harriers) and Brian Campbell (Willowfield Harriers) setting an astonishing pace at the front.

    So, how did it go for Orangegrove today on the Comber Road?

    Ladies Race (6K) and Male Vets (60+)

    M60 Brian Todd 26.50.2
    Julie McKimm 28.03.5
    Ashleigh Collim 28.54.6
    Lisa Fleming 29.18.4
    Emma McWilliams 29.36.0
    Jill Holland 29.45.7
    Kerris Hamilton 30.59.1
    Verity Cornford 31. 07.4
    Sharon Dickenson 31.52.8
    M60 Jim Harris 32.05.6
    Kirsty Buchanan 32.55.6
    Alison Hall-Thompson 32.55.6
    Eleanor Acheson 33.03.7
    M70 Hugh Young 35.03.5
    Trish Magill 33.06.9
    Sharon Corken 33.36.0
    Hannah Macleod 34.22.8
    Linda Craig 37.47.9
    Mairead Napier 38.02.3
    Sharon McFarland  39.02.2
    Paula O’Reilly 39.42.4

    A super team turnout by the Orangegrove ladies. Well done Julie McKimm and a very inspired run too from Ashleigh Collim who seems to revel in the mud. Let us hope we can get her muddied up on a few more occasions. Well done all! The ladies race was won by North Down’s Jessica Craig in 22.49.7.

    Men’s race (8k)

    Robin Montgomery 32.14
    Andrew McIntyre 32.20
    Tim Robinson 34.13
    Des Fahy 34.16
    Stephen Anderson 35.42
    Fintan Hurl 42.15
    Ian Wilson 42.24

    As per usual, great runs by Robin Montgomery and Andy McIntyre and, indeed, all the men, although spikes on the ground were not as numerous as those of the ladies. The men’s race was won by Mark McKinstry (North Belfast Harriers) in 26.18.

    Presumably team results will be published in due course.

    However, it wasn’t just the adults that were running the cross country at Ballydrain on Saturday. A considerable number of our junior club members were in action as well and very well they did too:

    P6 Sam Rainey 5.06
    P7 Matthew Sykes 4.45
    P7 Andrew Corken 5.10
    U13 Rory Hall-Thompson 11.53 2nd place
    U15 Andrew McCord 12.57
    U15 Adam Sykes 13.12
    U15 Ben Hall-Thompson 13.26
    U15 Iseult Fahy 13.31
    U15 Tom Smith 13.51

    Well done to the junior members, their coaches and parents on a fine display on the day. The future is clearly orange!

  10. Weekend Report – October 4th

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    This weekend is almost completely dominated by the NI & Ulster Road Relay Championships at Victoria Park, Belfast, traditionally hosted by Orangegrove Athletics Club. However, there was also the Belfast Telegraph Runher 5k and 10k races in the Titanic Quarter and there was Orangegrove representation too at the Monaghan Phoenix AC Half Marathon, also on Sunday.

    The action at Victoria Park will begin at 11.10am on Saturday with a series of races for primary school children and older children at U13, U15 and U17 levels, with distances ranging from 800m to 3000m. The relays proper will begin at 12.30 with the Masters’ Ladies Relay. At this level three ladies will each run two outer laps of the course (3380m) with the change over point in the vicinity of the hut where parkrun begins. The Masters’ Men have teams of four, with each team member running two laps. Later, the younger athletes from each club will run in the Senior Men’s and Senior Ladies relay races, the ladies with three members and the men with four. All the top Clubs in the province will be represented and certainly many of the fastest local athletes will be taking part and showing us how it should be done.

    Read all about it here.

    The Belfast Telegraph Runher 10k and 5k races took place in the Titanic Quarter on Sunday morning. Indeed, part of the course took in Victoria Park where Darren Moan and Carole Bell and a number of helpers provided a water station. Runher, a race exclusively for women, celebrates the enormous contribution that women have made to our sport in recent years. From only limited participation a few years ago, the running fraternity today benefits from a rapidly increasing percentage of females taking part in every aspect of the sport and at every level.

    Orangegrove had three ladies in the 10k race on Sunday, Lisa Rodham, Hilary Bradshaw and the indomitable Elaine McAlister. And very well they did too! Lisa, unfazed by her run in the NI & Ulster Relay Championships the previous day, toured round the course in 50.17. Hilary enjoyed her run and recorded 59.44, while Elaine crossed the mat in 1.11.22. It was a perfect day for running and I know the ladies appreciated both the craic and the fraternity that Runher inevitably generates. Over 1600 ladies took part in the two races.

    The 10k race was won by Laura Graham in 36.29 and the 5k by Jessica Craig (North Down) in 18.29.

    Orangegrove’s Eoin Woodman travelled to Co. Monaghan for the Monaghan Phoenix AC Half Marathon this morning. Eoin’s report of the race organization and route, which apparently included some sections in the beautiful Rossmore Estate, posted on our closed Facebook site, makes interesting reading. I haven’t seen any official results yet but I understand that Eoin completed the race in around 2.45. Well done Eoin! It has not been revealed yet whether he finished ahead of or behind North Down’s Pat O’Driscoll.

    And just a reminder to all and sundry…the cross country season begins next week, on Saturday 10th October, with the Comber Cup, hosted by Ballydrain Harriers, at the Billy Neill Playing Fields on the Comber Road. Registration is from 11am. The female race (the inaugural John McKeag Cup Race), also incorporating males over 60, will start at 1.30pm. It is 6k. The male race, the Comber Cup proper, (8k), will start at 2.15pm. Cheap at the price, £7. There are also primary school and juvenile races starting at 12.00.

    So, sort yourselves out over the next week. Get your old spikes or trail running shoes out and check them. Don’t leave it to the last minute or you will miss the start of your race! If the weather is dry between now and then you might get away with trainers….but there are significant climbs and descents on this great course. So, be warned! If you are uncertain about anything or new to the club, ask and we will sort you out for Saturday. Cross Country is enjoyable and this particular event is always very well organized with great post event catering!

    Of course the running of the NI and Ulster Relay Championships at Victoria Park did not preclude the usual dose of parkrun at 9.30am. Despite the restrictions on car parking and a lack of catering in our clubhouse some 169 park runners turned up for the usual foray on what was a beautiful autumnal morning.

    Many were taken aback by the appearance of Victoria Park on this particular Saturday morning, with its tented village, flags, marquees, timing mats and other race paraphernalia. Those of a nervous disposition or those coming to this venue for the first time may have been forgiven for thinking that they had landed themselves into the middle of a very professional event and that park running at Victoria Park was a more serious business than they had assumed.

    Yes, Victoria Park looked its very best this morning, not only for the relays but for our bread and butter event too, Belfast Victoria Park parkrun. However, unfortunately it did not run to plan and we were let down by our timing device which decided not to do what it was manufactured to do, record times. Consequently, all our runners finished within the hour and any personal bests achieved this morning will have to remain between the runner and his or her timepiece. Sorry!

    Nevertheless, not all Orangegrovers were at Victoria. The Tyro couple were in my home town of Dundalk where they stormed the local parkrun which recently started on the south side of the town in the grounds of the Dundalk Institute of Technology. Paul finished in second place in 18.03. However, his thunder, as usual, was stolen by his wife Lyndsey who finished in 6th place as 1st lady; in the process Lyndsey set a new female course record of 19.47. Well done, indeed! Gerald Harvey, who is taking this running lark worryingly seriously, was at Ormeau where he ran his best ever 5k time of 22.25 (28th/225).

    Two consecutive personal bests! Reg Sanlon was at Stormont where he ran a personal best of 26.54 and Neal Killen was a first timer at the same location in 31.22. The ever improving Nicola Downey was at Bangor where she set a personal best of 27.07. Well done, Nicola! It is probably near time you were donning that orange vest! And great to see Hugh Young back in action again at Comber parkrun after his recent injury. Well done everybody and anyone else I may have failed to spot.

    And remember the volunteering bit. You will not be blamed for anything if it goes wrong, as it did on Saturday. We always blame the technology or the weather or the runners or just plain bad luck. Contact Gerry on belfastvictoriahelpers@parkrun.com. Don’t delay, do it now!

    (Thanks to Ryan Maxwell and Gareth Heron from NiRunning – nirunning.co.uk for some of the photos below)