ULSTER SCHOOLS CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Ulster Schools’ XC took place midweek exactly 2 weeks after the Districts XC with a good number of EDAC Juniors having qualified to take part. In this event they are representing their schools and the standard is high as only the top 15 of each age group go forward from the Districts event. It was another pleasant day weatherwise without the biting cold that is associated with the open landscape of the playing fields at Mallusk. The course is on the perimeter of the pitches and relatively flat apart from where the athletes climb to the upper flats. This makes it fast and suited to those who do not particularly like hills. The standout results were – Minor Girls Lucy Foster was 4th and Anna Gardiner 6th in a highly competitive race in which both girls showed great determination to race right to the finish and the Junior Girls where Kirsti Foster came 2nd overall with a gutsy performance. Unfortunately Lauren Madine was unwell and unable to take part in the Minor Girls but would most certainly have been in the mix. Edie Carroll was 14th in the Senior Girls and along with the 3 already mentioned earns a slot in the All Irelands on March 9th.

LONDON CALLING

As an added bonus Lucy, Anna and Kirsti have all been invited to represent NI in the London Mini Marathon – an event that takes place before the London Marathon. This is Kirsti’s second time at this. This is a great opportunity to race along the Mall in front of a huge crowd. Good luck from us all.

Well done to all the other EDAC athletes who took part in Mallusk – Oliver Robinson, Emily Burns, Anna Kearney, Kara Trainor and Mackenzie Murray. Getting to this stage was an achievement and you did the club, your school and yourselves proud.

KEIRA FLYING THE FLAG IN SCOTLAND

Another Junior who deserves a mention is Keira Proctor-Amos who ran XC in Scotland at the weekend with her team mates from the Cadets NI  and qualified to represent N.I. Wing in England later this year. Good luck in that!

ARMAGH INTERNATIONAL RACES

Thursday 14th February was a standout night in the calendar for many and not as might be expected from a romantic point of view! No, this was the date for the highly anticipated Armagh 5K International Road Race which attracts a huge field of PB seekers hoping to benefit from the fast flat course and the high standard of entrants which creates a force field of energy resulting in times that are truly sensational. The winning Male Topi Raitanen clocked 13.43 and was only 3 seconds ahead of Adam Craig whose time was equalled by Sam Stabler. And so it went on, a stream of finishers flooding in to break the 14 minute barrier. 12 in total made that break.

NEIL BACK TO FORM WITH A SUB 15 MINUTES 5K.

There were 6 athletes from Northern Ireland who broke 15 minutes one of whom was EDAC’s Neil McCartan who had a clean run to set a time of 14.48 which is a PB..

After a bout of ill health he was glad to get the chance to race and knows that there may be a few more seconds in the tank in the future when he is in full form. It is worth mentioning that the man who came last was timed as 16.29 so this is not a race for the faint hearted!

DAVY AND CATHERINE IN FINE FORM TOO

Davy Foster chose to do the 3K race which was also on offer and he finished 10.00 bang on the button putting him 57th out of 126. A creditable result indeed. The 3K for the women was held as a separate race and Catherine O’Connor lined up with this high class field and ran a 10.12 which was 13 seconds quicker than last year and also a PB. Well done!

ALEX THE STAR FOR EDAC AT ARMAGH

However young Alex Robinson was the star of the night’s action packed and world class International Street Races in Armagh when he placed 4^th in the Boys Primary School race around the Mall in a field of almost 200 runners. Big brother Olly was a more than creditable11th out of 57 in his race, which unfortunately for him, was staged just the day after the Mallusk X/C meeting, which may have taken the edge off his performance.

TRAIL RACES IN CASTLEWARD

Come the weekend Castleward was the place to be – there was a trail race which preceded the Last One Standing (LOS) Event. A warm up act if you like. As warm up acts go it was well attended and EDAC was represented by Marguerite Robinson – perhaps inspired by her sons’ performances midweek. She was placed 8th out of 42 females on a tough course which was 2 loops to make up an 8.4 mile distance. As part of her build up to London Marathon she was pleased to put the miles in the bank.

There was also a one loop 4.2 mile course and the EDAC flag was flown by 5 athletes – Matthew McGrattan who ran strongly to come top ten, Callum Kent who was 12th and Eithne McGrattan and Bernice McCann who successfully completed the challenge in 48th and 58th place respectively. Gavin McConvey was delighted to have knocked over a minute off his 2018 time for the single lap race so a good morning’s work by all.

And then came the headline event.

THE LAST ONE STANDING (LOS)

The 2019 Last One Standing endurance event which began on Saturday at 12.00noon in Castleward Estate was the first one I have missed in the 4 years it has been going. Now while I have been unable to run anywhere or any distance for 10 months, it was still quite an emotional memory for me on the day. Strangely, I wasn’t even in the vicinity, having been assigned some “clearing up” duties on a food mountain in the Spa area of Ballynahinch on Saturday morning, but my heart and thoughts were in Castleward.

THE RULES

Basically the format is that everyone starts at 12 noon and runs or walks or a mixture of both, a 4.2 miles circuit in and around the beautiful surroundings of the Castleward Estate, within the 60 minutes stipulated. Then everyone has to be on the start line again at 1.00pm to repeat the route again, and every hour thereafter. It is not a distance race. It is purely and simply a test of endurance stamina, bloody mindedness and an ability to tell the time! No exceptions are made for anyone who does not cross the finish line within 60 minutes or who fails to cross the start line again at the beginning of the next hour. Automatic disqualification results for anyone who fails either of these criteria. And so it will happen every hour until there is only one runner at the start line, who will be the last one standing. However to actually be crowned the winner this last runner must complete a solo loop inside the time limit. So you can see that nothing is handed out easily in this contest.

 STEPHEN and OONAGH CLOCK UP A HALF TON EACH 

East Down was well represented by Stephen Heasley who went on to complete 13 laps, 54.6 miles, all  in the company of the very experienced ultra specialist Oonagh Brétéché, an inspired choice of partner, and a tremendous effort by both.

Catherine Miskelly of Ballydrain Harriers clocked a super 25 laps X  4.2 miles per lap = 105 miles to lift the title of the Last Woman Standing.  Well done to you,  Catherine, this was a truly inspirational effort.

WHO WON?

When I went to bed on Sunday night, after midnight as it turns out, so it was actually Monday morning, there was still 5 runners out there, heading off into lap 37 and it was to be another 4 hours later before Andy Persson who was 5^th last year finally succumbed, having completed 40 laps and 168 miles he did not start the 41^st lap. It was left to last year’s winner, the tough as nails Peter Cromie, from Roe Valley Cycles to complete the lap alone. I reckon that must be the most difficult one of all but it proved no bother to Peter, a worthy winner after 41 hours and 172.2miles.

It is worth noting that he won the 2018 test in 35 hours, a distance 25.2 miles shorter than this year which is indicative of the calibre of contestant who are now throwing their hats in the ring.  What will 2020 bring? Will it take the full 48 hours permitted under the rules and 200 plus miles to claim the coveted title? We can but wait and see.

NEXT WEEK

Next Saturday in Lurgan Park the Cross Country season reaches its climax with the Senior Mens and Womens Championships to be decided. As an additional incentive there are double points on offer for the final round of the League.  And don’t forget it’s Jimmy’s Ten on 17^th  March.  Have you entered yet? Online www.athleticsni.org before it’s too late!

CALLING ALL LOCAL SCHOOL PRINCIPALS

In case you should forget, with the onset of mid term breaks in most of the schools, your  entries are eagerly awaited for the Rollercoaster races on 2 March at Downpatrick Racecourse. If you have any queries or wish additional information, please contact me Joe Quinn at www.jaykwin69@gmail.com or by calling 07395814122

Joe Quinn & Alison Carroll

18 February 2019