Largest field yet enjoys Sea 2 Sky

Largest field yet enjoys Sea 2 Sky

20 July 2016

THE fifth annual SEA 2 SKY took place in Newcastle on Friday evening and was by far the biggest field of runners this event has seen.

The race, which was organised by Born2Run Events, attracted 800 runners and over 40 walkers to Newcastle, not to mention their supporters. Many of those who took part booked into local hotels, hostels and B&Bs, and made a night of it.

The walkers started an hour ahead of the runners at 6.30pm. Temperatures soared on Friday afternoon reaching 25 degrees at one point.

The promenade was buzzing with runners warming up under the instruction of Adam Mitten from Go figure Newcastle.

The race was started by Rio Olympics-bound Kerry O’Flaherty with all 800 runners singing Happy Birthday to Kerry before the race start.

The course is a multi-terrain mix of road, forest trail and a touch of open mountain for good measure — a challenging run by any standards.

Runners took to their starting corals with the fastest runners ensured a clear run. At one point runners made their way in single file along a section of the route. This certainly didn’t seem to bother anyone and spirits were high as they weaved their way back down through the ferns. 

The men’s race was a close fought battle between St Malachy’s AC athlete Danny McLaughlin and Neill Weir, of Willowfield Harriers, who was the runner-up in last year’s race.

In the end, it was Danny who won, with a mere four seconds splitting the pair. Gerard Heaney (St Peter’s AC) completed the top three just over a minute later in 37:22.

In the ladies’ race, Amy Bulman again proved herself as one of the province’s emerging talents with an excellent display of front running, recording 42:28 for first place. A previous winner of the event, Amanda Perry (Ballydrain Harriers), took second place in 43:02, before last year’s runner-up, Mari Troeng, finished third in 43:15.

The event, which was sponsored by Active Financial, was supported by over 50 clubs, as well as hundreds of unaffiliated runners.

All finishers were rewarded with a beautiful commemorative bottle opening medal as well as a post race snack-pack supplied by The Barbican Super Valu & Free’ist.  Winners received vouchers for Pure Running in Belfast, Vita Coca crates and Born2Run T-shirts. The top three ladies were also presented with beautiful bouquets. 

Registration was held in the Newcastle Centre and post race refreshments were held in O’Hare’s Lounge Bars where everyone was treated to a free hotdog. Some of the finishers were seen leaving the premises in the wee small hours still sporting their medals. 

Born2Run would like to thank Newcastle Coastguard who helped out with the marshalling, as did the PSNI. They would also like to thank AJC electrical and Finnebrogue for their support on the night.

A great evening’s sport was enjoyed by all those who took part. The carnival atmosphere and support along the promenade was fantastic and the organisers look forward to doing it all again next year when it promises to be even bigger and better.

Born2Run’s next local event, Dambusters, takes place on August 20 in The Silent Valley. The half marathon is part of the Pure Running Half Marathon Series and there is also a 10K and a 10K walk. Early Bird closes tonight, July 20, at 11pm. To enter go to www.born2runevents.com.