BELFAST HALF MARATHON
The fourth running of the Belfast City Half Marathon on Sunday morning saw the fourth different start location, though only marginally different from last year, a little further back along the Ormeau Embankment to try to avoid last year’s disruptive “lapping” of back markers by the frontrunners. In the event a potentially disastrous situation was avoided – but only by about 5 seconds as the leaders exited Ormeau Park just after the tail-enders passed the gates, running in the opposite direction.
Barrie Atkinson 1.18.14 was first of the large East Down squad to cross the finish line, a spirited effort and one which indicates a return to full fitness is not far away.
Declan Teague, 1.27.21, while not in pb mode was nevertheless in fine form and may have suffered from the absence of company to maintain a pace when the field broke up in the second half. Raymond Milligan 1.33.02 looked strong throughout, enjoying what appeared to be an injury free run.
Gareth Kelly also showed good form and the benefits of sticking to a structured training plan, his 1.35.37 nearly a minute quicker than last year’s timing while David Smith’s 1.36.35 improved his 2015 time by over a minute and a half. The ever reliable Michael McKeown clocked 1.38.42 while James Magennis 1.40.42 maintained his recent consistent form.
Gavin Hynds, 1.42.05 only just stayed ahead of his fast finishing clubmate Gareth Fegan 1.42.18 and Ian McCracken 1.59.13 would have been happy too with a sub 2 hours total, which was probably his best race for some time and a real morale booster.
NIAMH STARS FOR THE LADIES
Niamh Kellett has been in pretty good form recently, taking 3rd place in the Killyleagh Half 2 weeks ago and improved her last year’s time here by almost 2 minutes in 1.30.19 and taking a top 200 place overall. Paula Savage cruised round in 1.58.16 to set a new PB
Clare Forster might have been disappointed with her time of 2.00.06, just failing to dip under 2 hours by 7 seconds, but this was a good run from her and must give her the confidence to break through next time. Sharon Carew, who hasn’t been in competitive mode for quite some time finished in 2.13.24 and while by no means her best, she still had 700 runners behind her.
FAMILY DAY OUT
The race marked an Erskine family first with Ellen, running the distance for the first time ever, aiming for a sub 2 hour time. In the company of her very experienced Dad Jim, she comfortably achieved her target, recording 1.52.33 and looking fresh as a daisy at the finish. Well done.
PACEMAKERS SUPREME
The superb pacing of Andrew Telford and Mick McCreesh should be noted as they brought their respective groups home within seconds of their target times. Mick pacing the sub 1.45 aspirants clocked 1.44.21 and cajoled many of his followers into new pbs while Andrew 1.59.28 performed similar heroics with the sub 2 hour contingent, even to pulling one of his charges out of the crowd inside the last mile as she tried in vain to give up. Well done you guys, Who would have thought just a few short years ago that you would have attained this status?
MILL HILL MILE
With 128 entrants this year, 13 more than last year and including 29 from East Down, this unique event continues to grow in popularity.
There were some super performances, most notable of which was James Smyth’s 4th place overall in a magnificent 6.02, followed closely by Paul Burns whose 6.10 won the Over 40 award. Matthew McGrattan turned in a great time of 6.22 to take second in the MJ16 category, with Owen Edwards third in 7.02. Lauren Madine 7.30 won the FJ10 category with Mackenzie Murray 7.33, and Kirsti Foster 7.48 taking the honours in the J12 categories respectively. Oliver Robinson won the J10 category in 8.10 while Jodi Foster 8.10 took the FJ8 title. Roisin Gaffney was the top lady in the F50 category with a 10.17 clocking.
IT’S ONE FOR ALL!!
The beauty of this race is that everyone can have a go at it, as demonstrated splendidly by the Foster family, meaning Mum, Dad and their 5 daughters all reached the top long before I did. Thank goodness their little boy isn’t old enough to take part yet, though no doubt he’ll be there next year to slip me further down the pecking order. I managed to knock 19 seconds off last year’s time, yet somehow lost 9 places in the process. Given that my target time was 12 minutes, I’ll have to do a lot of work on my pace judgement for next year.
COMING UP SOON
Next Saturday’ morning brings the popular Aurora10K in Bangor, with the Relay Championships in Victoria Park the following weekend. By their nature the Relay races are not mass participation events and while virtually every club in the country and beyond will be represented by one or two teams, that only amounts to 6/8 athletes per club.
JOG AROUND THE BOG?
Why not try out this excellent alternative, an off the roads 10K called “Jog around the Bog” a multi terrain race on the same date as the Relays in the scenic and beautiful Peatlands Park near Dungannon, starting at 1.00pm. organised by Guide Dogs for the Blind, in conjunction with East Down AC, which will involve something different while helping support an excellent cause.
If you are free, not participating or watching at Victoria Park, please come along to this event. Excellent refreshments and a special medal are provided – and it’s only up the road., exit at Junction13 off the M1.
Online entry is open at www.jogaroundthebogni.eventbrite.co.uk
Joe Quinn