Juniors out in force again

13 February 2019

AFTER the storms and rain of Friday night and amid fears of sporting cancellations across the country, what turned up as weather at Stormont on Saturday was little short of miraculous, to say the least.

Bright, warm sunshine with only the slightest breeze left the entire estate, with Parliament Buildings apparently bathing in the almost tropical temperatures.

For the hundreds of runners and their supporters who turned up for the annual Stormont Cross Country League fixture organised by NICSAC, it gave a mouthwatering foretaste of what runners in the 2019 renewal of the Belfast City Marathon on Sunday, May 5, will experience.

It will be from the same wide expanse of the Prince of Wales Avenue that the anticipated record numbers of marathon runners will depart on their 26.2 mile journey across and through the City on their historic journey to the finish line in Ormeau Park.

I’m sure that many will have been inspired by the beauty of Saturday’s setting to enter the marathon or at least to run a leg of the relay, just to be a part of the great occasion, as not only will the runners be travelling along a much flatter and faster route, but the race this year is being held on a Sunday, bringing it into line with all other great city marathons around the world.

So, please try to be there on what will be a momentous and truly historic occasion.

East Down juniors contributed significantly to the huge numbers in the junior races which set the programme of races in motion.

With 108 boys and 130 girls in the primary school races, race director, Mags Mathieson, could hardly hold them back long enough to get her whistle blown and the fierce determination was evident as both races saw the runners do an impression of the Charge of the Light Brigade, from just before she managed to blow.

Anyone attempting to do a false start and recall would have been trampled underfoot by these unstoppable forces.

When the girls eventually returned to the finish line the first East Down runner to appear was Jodi Foster in third place, followed by sister Kari in 17th and Lily in 36th.

They were well supported by Cara Napier in 49th and Maeve McNeill in 77th, all their combined efforts were sufficient to give them third place out of 17 in the team competition. Well done girls

Alex Robinson was the sole East Down representative in the boys’ race and should be very proud of his 27th place in the 108 runner field.

Ollie Robinson was prominent throughout the U-13 boys’ race over a 2k distance and did extremely well to take third place behind the highly-regarded Willowfield pair of Colm McKee and Finn Cross.

Emily Burns, who impresses more every time she runs, was unlucky to miss out on a podium position, though was well worth her fourth place and another up and coming star Kara Trainor was hot on her heels in 6th place — out of 22 finishers.

Mackenzie Murray was again a lone wolf in the U-15 boys’ contest over 3k and he ran a controlled race to take an excellent third place

The U-17 girls’ race, which was run simultaneously with the U-15s, was a tough race and Edie Carroll was pleased to finish first in her age group, though she still has some way to go to achieve peak fitness.

Her result meant that East Down AC comprising Edie, Emily and Kara from the U-13 competition placed second junior girls team across the age groups. So, well done everyone again.

The feature of the U-17 boys’ race was the performance of Newcastle AC’s Christopher Neill who took the race by the scruff of the neck from the beginning of the second lap to positively run everyone else into the ground. Well done to him. Another star in the making?

The East Down Ladies continued their quest for honours in the Cross Country League with Niamh Kellett leading from the front and coming home in 10th place, supported in 17th place by Deirdre Weatherall and Joanne Foster, a fast finishing 21st.

The vital fourth scorer was to be a toss up between Clare Carson and Janine Murray with Clare continuing her recent good form crossing the line in 58th place to give the club fourth place on the day, in the league competition.

While Janine, despite struggling in the last lap, crossed the line in 108th place out of 169 finishers, for another valuable participation point.

A feature of the day for me and indicative of the camaraderie engendered by cross country running, was the activity of the Murlough AC squad who as each one finished returned to the run in area to loudly cheer home their club mates, some of whom were experiencing cross country running for the first time.

Such were the ovations that it must have seemed as if each had won the race. And the club have fully embraced the cross country genre and had a full 12 runners out, ensuring maximum participation points. Well done and welcome to the mud.

Men’s captain Dee Murray managed to field five runners in the open league race and they all performed well in what was a tough challenging course.

Tom Dowey had already ran in the masters and did commendably well to take 10th place just behind Davie Seaton, so he was an interested spectator as the open race unfolded.

Neil Curran made another impressive appearance, working his way through the field from 44th on lap one to 32nd at the tape.

He was followed home by Davy Foster (57th) with Dee Murray close behind in 63rd. Paul Lloyd and Gareth Reilly packed in well behind this trio finishing in 97th and 103rd places respectively, in what was a massive field of 217 runners.

This year’s Jimmy’s Ten, sponsored by M B McGrady and Co Chartered Accountants, St Patrick’s Avenue, Downpatrick and a variety of local businesses takes place on Sunday, March 17, at the earlier starting time of 10am due to the festival parade which will begin at 1pm.

There will be traffic disruption throughout the morning caused by both of these events and residents and churchgoers are asked to note the details to avoid hold ups on that Sunday morning.

Runners are encouraged to enter now at www.athleticsni.org as entry numbers are limited and none will be taken on the day as the event will reach its limit before then.

Pacers will again be provided to help runners achieve their target times.

This year’s Rollercoaster Races will be held on Saturday, March 2, at Downpatrick Racecourse beginning at 11 am and will again be sponsored by Phoenix Natural Gas.

All schools are invited to send along as many children as they like, as there will be races on the perimeter road for children from P3 upwards, and great viewing for the teachers and parents in a totally traffic free environment.

Even if schools do not send in teams, individuals can enter on the day. Medals and goody bags provided by event sponsor will be presented to every competitor.

Further information available on www.eastdownac.co.uk or by contacting Joe Quinn on 07395 814122 or by email at jaykwin69@gmail.com.

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