Hill and Dale Series reaches conclusion

Hill and Dale Series reaches conclusion

29 June 2022

DAMIEN Brannigan is a legend. He may have stepped down as club treasurer after decades but he wasn’t letting go of his race director reins for the traditional final race of the Hill & Dale Series – Drinnahilly. 

All the races now have a ‘director partnership’ and Brannigan’s trusty partner was none other than Rita Devlin who provides the perfect foil.

Traditionally Brannigan is infamous for his post-it lists detailing the race’s battleplan – blow by blow. 

In the modern era he has replaced it with the carefully crafted email novel which he admits he finds useful as it’s more easily stored than post-its for next year’s race. 

Part of the uncertainty in his plan though is whether he will race himself. In fact, in 2017 he was so uncertain that when he did decide to race he actually set off one minute behind the field. 

No such uncertainty this year though as he made that decision early during registration in O’Hare’s classic wedding venue.

Drinnahilly is the shortest race of the ten in the series reaching 3.4 miles and climbing only around 750 feet. 

It was shortened some decades ago to provide a more timely series prize-giving back in the days when pens, papers and abacuses were used to calculate the overall winners. 

These days results can be produced and uploaded for public viewing within minutes of the final runner crossing the line. Not only that, but on the final night it also means that the series results are almost automatically produced.

Mourne Runners’ Jonathan Scott dominated proceedings, not for the first time this season, romping to victory in 23:11, 39 seconds ahead of Josh McAtee with BARF’s Andrew Tees in 3rd in 24:18. 

Newcastle AC’s Connaire McVeigh finished in eighth with a time of 25:22, just behind Rory McMullan who came home in 25:20.

Ethan O’Kane, in his first ever hill race, was the first junior home in sixth place overall (25:16) with his proud dad Donal declaring that it was 21 years to the day that Shileen and he raced over Drinnahilly the day before their wedding.

Newry AC’s Esther Dickson dominated the women’s race winning in 28:01 with the faster going not suiting Dromore’s Diane Wilson, second in 29:18. 

First female junior was Rebecca Magee in 32:30. There were 193 runners in total who started the race, which is the highest ever for Drinnahilly.

Full praise to the route markers who as the series ended demonstrated that even in route marking, practice improves efficiency. 

In only one and a half hours on Thursday evening, Jerome McCrickard and Francie McAlinden sawdusted the course with every twist and turn marked to perfection with appropriately deposited red and white tape too. 

A good time to thank all the volunteers, not just for Drinnahilly but for the whole series. An honourable mention again to David Smyth, he of ‘Beechers Brook’ fame from the Luke’s Race, for clearing the briars during the week from the cobbles by the river – no doubt contributing to his solid ninth place performance on the night.

Among the volunteers were a range of ‘sweepers’, those souls who volunteer to accompany the runners at the back of the field to help ensure the safety of indeed the whole field. 

Finishing the race where we started with the race director Brannigan himself, coming home in a racing finish in 69th overall in 30:15.