Seamus and Mark secure honours

4 January 2017

OH yes it was, oh no it wasn’t – pantomime season it is and after the heavy indulgences of Christmas and Boxing Day, the throngs descended on Castlewellan to run off some of the Christmas excess.

The race started on the Main Street, close to the mini-roundabout, up past the Market House and a right turn past the GAC ground and straight on to the brow of the hill before plunging through a field onto the Newcastle Road and back into town at the mini-roundabout.

After a mile and a half done and back to the starting point, the field turned left for Kilcoo and Newcastle’s Seamy Lynch took it as a sign to start to turn the screw.

As the runners turned into the park, Lynch and his partner Mark McKinstry were being chased by North Belfast Harriers’ pair Andrew Annett and Lindsay Gordon and Dromore AC’s Russell White and Slieve Croob’s best Zak Hanna.

It’s worth mentioning again that the Christmas Cracker with it’s much loved pairs format was the brainchild of Deon McNeilly’s uncle, Jim Hayes, a stalwart of Ballydrain Harriers.

Hayes organised the first Cracker back in 1985 that started and finished in Comber and took in the foreshore of Strangford Lough and Scrabo Country Park.

Fittingly, for the watching Hayes, the first all female team home were from his home club in the guise of Amanda Perry and Denise Logue in 60th place overall in 65 minutes and 32 seconds.

The fastest woman of the day, Irish Women’s Marathon and Half-Marathon 2016 Champion Laura Graham teamed up with club mate William McKee to come home in 14th place overall, well inside the hour.

Meanwhile McKinstry and Lynch were powering ahead, climbing up to the front of the castle and then heading almost due north in the direction of Leitrim.

Full credit goes to course designers Audey McVeigh, Jerome McCrickard and Dominic McGreevy. These things don’t just happen overnight and the work put in by the team over the past two months was a superb effort by all involved.

A massive thank you to the landowners who gave their permission for the race to cross their land. The from the back of the park was fantastic, complete with plastic cow, surprising the runners just around a tight corner.

The Bannonstown and the Ballymaginaghy Roads were negotiated and all along the way there were families out supporting the throngs as they toiled away through lesser know highways and byways.

Weeks of hard graft by McCrickard had seen the route of the GNR (Great Northern Railway) being mainly cleared of brambles to make it passable to the runners.

So, it was a historic journey as the 1,000 plus runners made their way along the 0.7 miles of flat, but muddy ground – an absolute delight and what the Cracker is really all about – the runners emerged into Clarkhill Wood and eventually out onto Oldbridge Road and returning to the Forest Park via the Drumbuck Road and the first sting in the tail climbing through another field to Mitchell’s Lake.

A quick finish ensued – or so the runners thought as they plunged through the forest to the finish area and the runners reached the gathered large crowd only to be directed left to a lap of the big field and the second sting in the tail.

A brilliant setting for the finish to a brilliant race and it was all glory for Lynch and McKinstry as they came home in under 50 minutes – not hanging around given the climbing and the tough terrain.

It was Lynch’s and McKinstry’s first pairing and win in the Cracker – congratulations to them both. They were a minute ahead of Annett and Gordon who stayed clear of fast finishing White and Hanna.

In keeping with the pantomime theme the Cracker traditionally attracts all sort of attire, from the sober club vests to the outrageous.

Back in the club afterwards, spot prizes of fine Chilean Wine were handed out to many beautiful princesses and other similar themes with the star prize went to Donald Trump and the 3 Mexicans (trowel in hand) who stole the show – much love between them and let’s hope this extends into 2017.

As well as the course designers, markers and landowners, there is thanks also due to the Forestry Service and Newry, Mourne & Down Council for access to the Forest Park.

The marshals are also heroes too, dotted all around the course including some Mountain Rescue personnel, Shimna Wheelers and the vintage motor bike fanatics.

Thanks also to the police for closing the roads in Castlewellan for the early part of the race. Once again a superb job by Frank and Mary at the well-oiled finish, plus scanner Gwenda McNeilly.

Queues were managed well at registration and thanks everyone for their understanding and to the 12 volunteers who staffed the desks for an hour and a half before the race.

Thanks to everyone who made this year’s event a success, especially the runners and sorry to anyone not mentioned by name.

As is traditional with the Cracker in previous years or so a charity donation has been made to the Neo-Natal Unit of the RVH Belfast, this year’s donation is £1,095.

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