CARLINGFORD 10K & HALF MARATHON
Sharon Madine was rewarded for her decision to opt for the 10K distance at Saturday’s renewal of the Carlingford Half Marathon event, with a fine run in 45.30 which placed her 17th overall and 2nd Female finisher, in a field of 275. The route left Carlingford Sailing Club and went straight through the village with a few hill climbs at the start but nothing too steep. The runners then made their way into the countryside to the halfway point mostly on level ground and some smaller climbs though the last 5K was all downhill onto the Main Road and back into the village.
DONAL EXACTS REVENGE IN HALF
The half marathon took the runners further out providing scenic views of Carlingford Lough and the Cooley Mountains including Ballagan Point and the Mourne Mountains with the same finish as the 10K. A much larger contingent from East Down took on the challenge and were rewarded with some excellent finishes. Leading the way in 366th place (out of 926 finishers) was John Taylor 1.51 securing the bragging rights in the Taylor household for at least a week anyway ahead of Nuala 442nd in 1.55, with Hallie Jennings proving the filling in the gap between the pair in 403rd 1.52, followed by Mags Flynn 46th 1.57, and Donal Smith, 491st 1.57 who exacted a measure of revenge on his daughter Kelly 590th 2.02, who left him behind in the Belfast Half last September. As the old saying goes “Long runs the fox…..”
SHANE’S CASTLE HALF, FULL & ULTRA MARATHONS
It seems like this was one of those weekends when almost everyone took part in a long distance race and where such activities were on offer at several venues. East Down’s Paul Lloyd and Declan Teague opted for the relative comfort of the Atlas Running organised Shane’s Castle events with Paul choosing the Half Distance while Declan took on the 26.2 miles classic full Marathon. Paul completed his run in 1.33 which gave him an excellent 5th place overall while Declan finished his in 3.39 which placed him 2nd . All in all an excellent days work, given the windy, cold and showery conditions. It was also noted that Oonagh Breteche took part in the Ultra Marathon (39.3 miles) crossing the finish line in 7.39.
ALL IRELAND SCHOOLS’ CROSS COUNTRY C/SHIPS 2020
OLLIE GIVES IT A GOOD GO
For those who read the EDAC reports weekly, the progress of the Juniors through the Districts to the Ulsters and on to the All Ireland’s has been of great interest with this weekend being the finale. Those who travelled to Santry were treated to a fair day and a runnable terrain. Ollie Robinson had earned his place in this event through the Ulster Schools at Mallusk where he took a courageous lead out from the gun and finished 3rd. He adopted a similar tactic on Saturday but found himself unable to hold off the pack and was swallowed up by the chasing athletes. It is no disgrace to show a committed approach and he will have gained some insight into the level of talent to be found at the All Ireland’s and it is highly probable that he will be back for another go. His last push gained him 38th place out of 109.
A HISTORIC FIRST AND SECOND!
At the Ulsters Lauren Madine took the win in the Junior Girls with a spirited charge in the final straight. In the same race Anna Gardiner finished fourth which was a bitter pill to swallow as only a narrow margin stood between her and a medal. On Saturday the stars aligned for both EDAC Juniors with Lauren (St Mary’s ) clinching a triumphant win and Anna (Assumption GS) snatching a glorious silver which more than made up for her previous disappointment. Lauren when asked how it went gave a full insider account which is worth a read.
“I got a really good start. The first lap was 1000m at a strong pace with 7 girls leading the pack. By the last 1500m the pack had dropped to 5 contenders, with Lucy Foster (Down High) and Nicole Dinan (St Angela’s Cork) holding the lead. With 800m to go Anna went to the front, followed by myself and Nicole. Coming round the back of the course it was 3 in a line, then Nicole Dinan made a 5 metre gap with myself and Anna following. We then closed on her with 300m to go. Back to 3 in a line again and as soon as we got to the bend we both opened up and sprinted. I managed to make a pass to finish in 1st place! Anna was right behind me in 2nd then Nicole took 3rd”
GREAT ROLE MODELS
It cannot be emphasised enough how hard won an All Ireland Medal is – for the historians among readers, 2 previous All Ireland Cross Country wins by Downpatrick athletes include the well known athlete turned coach Tom Breen, who took Gold in the Intermediate Boys in 1977 and James O’Hare who won the Senior Boys’ Cross Country in 2009. Both these talented runners have also All Ireland Track titles to their names as well. For 2 girls from the same club (albeit running for their schools) to get a first and second is phenomenal! The club is extremely proud to have them in the ranks. They are good role models in terms of commitment and enthusiasm. Heartfelt congratulations to both.
DERRY 10 MILER
EDAC had runners far and wide on Saturday with Clare Carson, Kevin Kelly and Neil Curran heading north to Derry for the popular 10 miler. Neil Curran was treating it as a way of clocking pre marathon training miles and was not too fixated on time. The fact that he was listed as East Coast meant he nearly got his wish to go under the radar but the EDAC report writers have spies everywhere. Clare finished in 1.18 which was only a few seconds slower than the previous year but as the course was slightly different it was hard to compare. Kevin on the other hand came home in 1.22 taking 2 minutes 30 off his last time so considered it a significant improvement. They noted that it was a brilliant event as always and they expressed disappointment that the marathon due to take place later this year was shelved for a number of reasons. Hopefully it will return next year.
RUN TO RECOVERY 10K
The following day Clare and Kevin were out and about again. Taking the name of the Addition NI race to heart, they decided to“ Run to Recover” from the 10 Miler the day before. Not what most would call recovery but it was for a good cause. Clare was 7th Female in 47.55, Kevin ran 48.56 and was followed by fellow club mate Seamus Savage who was only 3 seconds behind and by finishing in 48.59 he broke the 49 minute barrier for the first time. Well done Seamus!
JIMMY’S TEN
Jimmy’s 10K is all geared up and ready to go on Sunday March 15th. The weather looks reasonably favourable and the entry numbers are increasing by the day. By the time this goes to press the online entry will be closed (Wednesday 11th March at noon). If the quota has not been reached there will be Late Entry at the East Down Athletics Club in the Ballydugan Industrial Estate on Fri 3-8pm or Sat 10am – 3pm. THERE WILL BE NO ON THE DAY ENTRIES. Contact 07825 314079 for details.
ROAD CLOSURES
Road Closures will be in place for this event as per previous Council notifications (see below for details) on a rolling out as required basis, and while every effort will be made to keep disruption to a minimum, the traffic management is necessary for the safety of the runners and in fact is now a legal requirement. EDAC would like to apologise for this once a year inconvenience. The influx of runners is also a positive as they most certainly avail of services in the area.
*EDAC Annual Road Race on Sunday 15th March 2020 starting at 11.30 am from its clubrooms at the Ballydugan Industrial Estate. To facilitate the safe running there will be road closures which will affect the following streets between 10.30am and 12.30pm on the day; Market Street from Asda to the Ulster Bank, Irish Street from Ulster Bank to the Art Centre, English Street- Mount Crescent-Bridge Street, Church Street from the Down Recorder building to the roundabout at the Belfast Road and the Killyleagh Road from the roundabout to the old Quoile Bridge.
J Quinn & Alison Carroll
9 March 2020