MALCOLM CUP ACTION FROM BALLYCLARE ON SATURDAY

East Down took advantage of the relaxation in the Cross Country League Rules which allow Veteran runners i.e. those over 35 years old, to run in the shorter distance race with the Female runners, to count towards the overall turnout from a club to help teams achieve the total required for a team score.

EAST DOWN WINNERS 

So as many of the East down contingent are in the Veteran categories they quite rightly opted for the shorter distance. And what an impression they made with Gordy Graham taking overall 2^nd place and 2^nd in the Over35 Category and Neil Curran gaining just reward for his dedication to an almost weekly racing regime by taking overall 4^th place and first place in the Over 40 category.

Backing up this record setting duo was mens’ captain Dee Murray who yet again ran an exemplary race for 25^th place followed by another excellent clubman Gavin Hynds in 41^st and Tom Dowey 128^th , who it was great to see back running on the grass again after a spell of inaction, and Donal Smith coming home in an eye catching 137^th out of 269 finishers!

JIMMY OUT ON HIS OWN

The result of this defection to the Veterans ranks meant that only Jimmy Sloan got to run in the Malcolm Cup proper and a right good job he made of it too, placing a very creditable 31^st out of 182  finishers in 24.14, taking the scalps of several notable runners in the process.

An excellent afternoon’s work in preparation for the club’s Annual Awards Night Dinner which took place a few hours later in Denvir’s Hotel.

JUNIOR RACES

Earlier in the afternoon Kelsey Murray set the tone for the seniors by taking an excellent 7^th place in the Under 13 Girls race and she was the sole Junior to appear as most of the othe regulars were in Abbotstown near Dublin for the All Ireland Even Age Group Championships.  Those who weren’t appeared on Sunday in the McGrady’s Junior Cross Country Series Round 4 at Dromore.

McGRADY’S FINANCIAL SERVICES JUNIOR X/C SERIES ROUND 3

Due to the absence of many of the juniors at the All Ireland as mentioned above, the number of East Down AC runners who travelled to Dromore on Sunday was much smaller than usual. However small in number though they were, the boys and girls who did turn out more than made up for that by their fighting spirit and never say die attitude.

P4, P5 AND P7 BOYS AND GIRLS & YEAR 8 GIRLS

Setting the scene and displaying much of this attitude as an example to the others was the first EDAC runner Charlotte Mulhall who ran very well in the opening P4 Girls race, to take 11^th place out of the 20 finishers. Next to field were Jarlath Kearney and Luke Napier who were 4^th and 6^th respectively in the P5 Boys race.

 

 

The P7 Boys saw 4 EDAC runners take to the turf and yielded the best results of the day with a win for Kieran Trainor and 3^rd and 4^th places for Finn Gibney and Adam Mulhall respectively while Aaron Mullan showed loads of the never say die attitude which is so important in cross country running, by battling his way to 7^th place. 

 

In the P7 Girls race Cara Napier and Erin Moore were an excellent 3^rd and 4^th to a strong Burren duo, while in the Year 8 Girls race, Cara McVeigh had also to contend with another very capable trio from Burren and did well to hold of the challenge for 4^th from the fast finishing Charlotte Evans from the host Dromore club.

YEAR 11 BOYS AND GIRLS

The last race of the day saw 3 EDAC runners take to the line for the combined event, Thomas Brown, Declan Hampton and Iona Bunbury. It was Thomas who led the way from the start but he nearly paid the penalty late on for his too aggressive attack on the early pace in an attempt to stay with the leaders. However, he hung on to 2^nd with 3^rd place going to Declan Hampton. 

Iona battled through the effects her recent absence from events to take 4th place. in the Girls race,

Well Done Dromore For An Excellently Organised Event!! From All at East Down AC

ALL IRELAND EVEN AGE GROUP CHAMPIONSHIPS AT ABBOTSTOWN

Having qualified at the NI&Ulster Championships a few weeks back, a number of EDAC Juniors made their way to Abbotstown for the All Irelands Evens XC. It is known as “the Evens” as it incorporates the U12, 14, 16 and 18 age groups. For some it was a first race at this level and others travelled knowing all too well that it would be a challenge as the level of competition is the best of the best. There are many strands to the event as each race is broken down into Club, County and Provincial tallies therefore every place counts as athletes try to contribute in these areas as well as get the best individual finish position that they can. The large numbers in each age group require the athletes to be put in pens and the start is akin to watching greyhounds hit the race track at a dog park. Many a race has ended in the first few metres in the jostling for position. Luckily weather conditions were good for running and spectating, unlike recent xc events, but rain over the previous few days had made the ground very heavy and it was described by some as like glue.

UNDER 12 BOYS 

The U12 Boys ran 2000m made up of two shorter loops of the course so there were a few good spots to spectate. With 172 runners it was a hardy battle. Aaron Lennon coped admirably to achieve 154th just passing team mate Alexander Robinson (157th) in the last few metres. Matthew Taylor came in 169th in his debut at this level. 

THE UNDER 14 BOYS AND GIRLS

The U14 Girls had 3000m to do and their course was made up of 2 bigger 1500m loops which involved a very muddy, heavy section out of view of most spectators, through trees. Anna Gardiner ran a most impressive race and although she missed out on podium, should not be one bit disappointed with her performance as she gave it her all. Her strong finish saw her pass a few athletes in the home straight and coming 4th in an All Ireland is a huge achievement. The rest of the EDAC team toiled hard too with Kara Trainor 110th, Emily Burns 128th and Anna Kearney 155th. Then it was the U14 Boys’ Race where Oliver Robinson was the sole EDAC runner. He finished 127th out of 164 runners. He was hemmed in at the start due to pen allocation and found it hard to get back into the race.  But he’ll surely learn from his experience.

THE U/16 GIRLS

The U16 Girls had to complete  a testing 4000m. Lauren Madine had a superb run and came 11^th out of 139 runners and given that she has another year at this category it was good to see her in the top 12, who all get medals. She was also a counter for both the Down county team which won gold and the Ulster squad which topped the Provincial Table so it was a very satisfying afternoon all round.

THE U /16 BOYS

Mackenzie Murray felt that he never really found his rhythm in the U16 Boys and was disappointed with 96th out of 128 but is mature enough to realise that experiencing such top quality races is never a waste of time and he will benefit from it in the long run. 

THANK YOU

The officers and the Committee of EDAC are as always proud of  the juniors and grateful to the coaches and parents who provide transport and support in equal measure.

GREAT FUN FOR ALL AT EDAC AWARDS NIGHT

The EDAC Annual Awards Night is a great chance to praise the efforts of our runners and pay tribute to those who help keep the Club in good order. It provides an opportunity to catch up with others in a relaxed environment as opposed to having the type of conversations that punctuate training runs and also confirms that our wardrobes are not entirely made up of running gear! And so on Saturday evening past, the members assembled in Denvirs’ Hotel all spruced up and eager to hear how the voting had tallied up for the 5 Awards on offer.  The evening got off to a pleasant start with a welcome drink and buffet meal. Tom McClean as Chair of the Club then paid compliments to the chef and staff before making a short speech touching on the good progress of the club in general. It was fantastic to see how many names were nominated in each category as it underlines just how many determined and talented athletes we have in our ranks. The winners of the 2018/19 shields are as follows;- EDAC Male Athlete – Gordy Graham, EDAC Female Athlete – Catherine O’Connor, EDAC Most Improved Male – a tie between Kevin Kelly and Niall Gibney, EDAC Most Improved Female – Patricia Galloway and finally EDAC Club Person – Paul Burns.

SPECIAL AWARDS

All the announcements were greeted with enthusiasm but perhaps the loudest cheer was given when the EDAC cake crafted by Brenda Small of the Cake Station Newcastle was presented to Joe Quinn who is an honorary life member of the Club. The cake didn’t last long but the photos will show how good it looked. Many thanks to Brenda for this kind gift to the Club. Niall Gibney and Gavin Hynds were then called up for an Award for special achievement. This intrepid duo had completed the Denis Rankin Round earlier this year and as the first in the Club to do so, it seemed only right to mark this in public. 

Photos are at the link below

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmJCNhLU

LONDON MARATHON CLUB PLACE

Just before the dancing broke out, there was a draw for the EDAC slot in the London Marathon 2020. Janine Murray was the name pulled out and, as a result, will have to eat her words that one marathon is enough and get back to the Sunday long runs in the near future. Hearty congratulations to all the Award winners and a big thank you to Deirdre Weatherall and Gavin Hynds for organising an event that was enjoyed by all. 

Photos can be seen at

NEXT WEEK

It’s Seeley Cup time again and we’re back to the Ormeau Park on Saturday for one of the top road races of the year.  If you haven’t got an entry by now then see below the following information provided by event organisers Willowfield Harriers on your prospects of getting in now!

PACK COLLECTION

As there is only a small room available for on the day pack collection, we strongly recommend that all runners collect their race packs at the times below or send someone to collect for you if possible. Pre-event collection will be at the Mary Peters Track (this is not the race venue), on Thursday & Friday, 28th & 29th November:

Thursday 28th November – 12.30pm until 8.00pm (last admission 7.45pm)

Friday 29th November – 11am until 4.30pm (last admission 4.15pm)

Saturday 30^th November – 12.30pm until 2pm (Ozone Arena, Ormeau Park)

Late Entries

It is very unlikely that on the day entries will be available and will not be offered if the capacity of 1000 athletes has already been reached. If the capacity is not reached entries will be accepted at advance pack collection on 28th, 29^th (Mary Peters Track) & 30th November.

You cannot run under someone else’s name otherwise your result will not be counted.

Joe Quinn & Alison Carroll

25 November 2019