On Saturday morning it was off to Bangor for the Aurora 10K, with registration in the new Aurora Aquatic and Leisure Complex. What a facility that is!! But it was to Castle Park for the start of the road race that almost 700 pairs of feet were heading for the 11.00am start in ideal running conditions. East Down’s Brendan Teer was among the favourites for the race, but with Belfast Half Marathon winner Eddie McGinley in the field it was not going to be easy. A late entry from the Waterside Half Marathon winner Gary Murray upped the ante even more but Brendan ran an excellent race, his first real test since his recovery from a recent chest infection, to claim 3rd place behind Murray and McGinley.
Liam Keenan continues to amaze and inspire in equal measure, consistently turning in top class performances, this time clocking 38.58, just behind second placed woman Cathy McCourt. Peter Morgan 43.38 continues to chip away at the 40 minute target while Kieran McMahon 44.06 has to be delighted with his time too. Colm McNeill is another consistent performer finishing in a respectable 55.52.
ULTRA COASTERS
I thought I had a fairly long day in Bangor on Saturday but it was nothing compared the time our intrepid threesome of Phillip Vint, Simon McGrattan and Linda Cunningham, spent touring the beauty spots of the North Antrim coast on Saturday while competing in the Causeway Coast Ultra marathon – 40 miles no less. It was Phillip’s first attempt at anything beyond marathon distance and he fairly strolled round in 7 hours 40 minutes, obviously doing far too much sightseeing by far so we’ll be expecting a sub 6 hour effort next year.
Linda and Simon have completed 2 shorter ultras, the sprint distance 30 miles of the Titanic Quarter race for the past 2 years and had experienced the conditions on the Coast last year in the marathon so were not surprised by the terrain or the early morning start. They used their experience to good effect and enjoyed an emotional crossing of the finish line some 8 hours and 46 minutes after setting out.
HALF COASTERS
In the Half Marathon race staged in conjunction with the Ultra and Marathon distances, Brian Hamilton in the Over 65 category ran an incredible 1.55 to secure a top 50 finish. Helen Vint 2.26 had a smooth passage round as she prepared to join the elite age category later in the week.
Pride of place this week however has to go to Eithne McGrattan whose 2.56 was a massive 31 minutes inside last year’s time and Mickey Cunningham 2.10 over 45 minutes better than his 2013 time. It just goes to prove that it pays to keep at it.
I take my hat off to them all – in fact if it weren’t for the decency laws I would take everything off – such is the scale of these achievements. Well Done everyone.
NEXT WEEK
A record 7 teams of men and women from East Down AC together with many of the junior members will be in Victoria Park next weekend for the NI Relay Championships.
Joe Quinn
30 September 2014