EAST DOWN AC JUNIOR REPORT
It was cross country all the way for the EDAC Juniors last weekend but one option was closer to home in Ballyclare while the other necessitated a long drive to Donegal. The home birds were running in the U14 race prior to the McConnell Shield XC in the Six Mile Water Park. It may only have been a mile but it was a tough mile. Matthew Taylor actually ran more than a mile as he arrived late thinking he was in the next race on the program and performed the quickest vest change and number putting on ever seen. He just made it to the back of the pack as the whistle blew. Undeterred he dug in and made his way through the small pack and was barely in his stride when he realised that it was time to sprint for the finish line. He couldn’t believe his luck when he was then handed a medal for 2nd Boy. Talk about a whirlwind experience – maybe the lack of time to consider what lay ahead was a good thing.
Even though he had no time to greet them at the start, he was able to congratulate the 2 other EDAC runners at the end. Amelia Spick was taking on her first cross country ever and seemed to enjoy the race. Her new spikes are now duly christened and hopefully she will return for another shot at this discipline. She ran an even pace as advised and finished 6th Girl and 9th overall.
Kelsey Murray was 2 places behind and closing in the latter stages. Her lightning sprint brought her within 5 seconds of Amelia and she was placed 8th Girl overall. The juniors then took on the role of supporters, cheering on the adults which was much appreciated encouragement. It is this element of whole club camaraderie that makes cross country so special.
NI & ULSTER UNEVENS CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
Further afield then were the Robinson brothers who had travelled to Stranorlar in Donegal for the NI & Ulster XC Championships (Unevens ie U11,13,15 etc). In Ballyclare despite some rain early on, the athletes raced in dry almost sunny conditions and there was very little mud to slow them down but Oliver and Alex were not so lucky. The rain the night before made the course very boggy and although the rainbows on the day suggested it might clear this was just a tease. Even during the dry spells the biting wind made conditions tough for the runners.
ALEX LOSES HIS SHOE BUT KEEPS HIS HEAD
Alex was first up running a distance of 2 kms in the U13 race. He started safely and quickly became part of the leading pack on the 2Km course; two loops around two fields. On the second lap he led the breakaway pack and looked comfortable as they disappeared into the second field. When he emerged he had dropped to fifth and was running with just one shoe having lost the other in the deep mud. The last 500m metres were heroic as he battled to hold his place only being overtaken in the last 100m. He was so disappointed with the outcome and on reflection said he should have ditched his shoe sooner instead of losing speed trying to keep it on. A hard lesson to learn but Alex showed his grit and has been rewarded with selection as an individual into the U13 Ulster & NI team for the All Irelands in Gowran, Kilkenny at the start of December. He was placed 6th out of 78 runners in a time of 7.29, only 19 seconds behind the winner. The wayward shoe was retrieved from the mud later.
His brother Ollie was in two minds whether to run at all. He was nursing an injury acquired at rugby but he showed commitment by putting his vest on to line up for the U17 4.5km. He knew he wasn’t at his best but didn’t want to withdraw without giving it a shot. He went out steadily, wisely treating it as a training run, but still finishing 23rd out of the field of 40 runners. When the times are analysed he may well end up at the All Irelands as part of the County Team. Either way he did the club proud and both boys are to be congratulated on their efforts.