Mash Direct Belfast Marathon

Belfast City Marathon as a “home race” is usually popular with members of East Down Athletics Club and this year was no exception. There was a bumper turnout from the club on Sunday May 1st between those taking on the full 26.2 mile distance and 3 relay teams. Sponsored by Mash Direct the event attracted a good entry with 3100 marathon finishers and over 1500 Relay Teams taking part on the day.  It started in the Stormont Estate and wound round all areas of the city before a grand finish in the Ormeau Park. Marathon morning dawned drizzly but mild with no wind to speak of. Before long the sun appeared and the roads dried up making it a pleasant day for the runners and spectators alike. 

Colin leads the Club home

Colin Shields takes the kudos for leading the club home. He has been training hard and very consistently and thankfully got the run that he deserved. This is not always the case, the best preparation in the world can go out the window on the day for no apparent reason but he had a smooth day with no hitches and he is smiling broadly in every photo to prove it. His time of 3.28 slashes 20 minutes off his previous best and gives him a solid base to continue working towards his ironman triathlon in the Summer. Congratulations Colin on a super run! Alice and Paul Brear Clarkson live in England but are signed up as EDAC members as they are regularly here for long stretches at a time. They ran in tandem and clocked 3.34. This is not a personal best for either of them but they enjoyed their first Belfast Marathon experience and the club support en route. They did say that they found the hills a bit of a challenge, particularly in the latter half and in fact stated that this was the toughest marathon that they had done to date. Declan Teague had a dual purpose as he set off from Stormont as he was running leg A for one of the teams as well as running the full marathon. He came in with 3.37 on the clock and was well satisfied as his training had been more disrupted than he would have liked. 

Not as easy as it looks!

To put these times into perspective even breaking the 4 hour barrier in a marathon is considered an above average achievement and these 4 placed in the top 20% on the day.  In order to complete the 26.2 miles in exactly four hours, you’d need to run consistently at a pace of 9:09 per mile (5:41 per kilometre). This is a quite an ask for the majority of runners even those who are fit and train often. It is often easy as a spectator to imagine that the runners look too comfortable and steady as they pass but this is the only way to run this distance ie always saving a bit for the last miles when fatigue hits like a hammer. The infamous “wall” at 20 miles is when many discover that the tank is empty and they have to dig deep to even finish. Fortunately all the EDAC runners who started made it to the end on this occasion.

EDAC supporters had plenty of people to cheer on as the 4 hour pack started to arrive in the park. Daniel Giles another new joiner completed in 4.08 with a comfort stop so there is likely a sub 4 for him if he decides to take on another marathon now that his debut is in the bag. Clare Forster, running under the Mash Direct flag was over the moon to get her goal of sub 4.30. She nailed it as her time was 4.19 and the long shifts that she put in at the Expo and in the week prior make this even more commendable. This was also her first time at the distance. She is very grateful to other club members (particularly to James Magennis) for keeping her company on the long training miles. Cathy Burke was along side her at the finish and as a seasoned marathoner was well able to encourage her to the line. Cathy in fact recorded 4.16 when the chip times were released. The rest of Cathy’s training group Mags Flynn, Joanne Carson and Sean Sealey are also old hands at this distance and they were not long in joining her to celebrate. Mags, Joanne and Sean came in in that order in 4.18, 4.34 and 4.45 respectively relieved that the whole crew made it round in one piece. Stephen Heasley was a last minute entrant and sensibly took a relaxed approach with no pressure to get a set time. He finished in 4.30.  Sam Anderson running with her daughter Maeve to raise funds for Bowel Cancer UK also competed the full distance.

Team Spirit

The relay is made up of 5 legs. Each runner records an individual time which is accumulated to give a finish total. It is a great way to take part without the need to do massive mileage in training and it adds runners to the field and enhances the atmosphere on the day. The 3 EDAC teams were randomly selected from those available and the biggest challenge was the logistics of having the right runner at the right place at the right time. All went well on that score and judging by the smiling faces in their photos a great time was had by all. Bragging rights went to the Team of Tom McClean, Martin Willcox, Maureen Kelly, Eamon Kelly and Roisin Gaffney. They had a combined time of 3.22.52. EDAC C finished in 3.30.51 and EDAC B clocked 3.32.10. All 3  finished in the top 100 teams which was a great placing considering there were 1563 teams. Go Team EDAC!

As the dust settles on another Belfast Marathon the comments from participants were very favourable. Well done to the organisers, to Mash Direct as the sponsors and thanks to the many marshals and volunteers who delivered a fantastic event for 2022. Get it in the diary for 2023!

Liverpool Spring 10K

Aoife Cochrane took part in a 5K race in Liverpool at the weekend. She was happy take part in a competitive race and pleased with her time of 23.36. She was 15th female out of 472 and 45th overall in a big crowd of 730 entrants. This run marks the end of her time at university in Liverpool and it will be great to have her back training with the club for the next while. 

London Vitality 10K

Another EDAC junior turned university student is Olivia Mooney. Studying and living in London she took the chance to run in the London Vitality 10K. This is a mass race in the city and it attracted over 13,000 runners at the weekend from those out to complete a 10k to the elites at the front of the race. The headlines centred on the fact that Mo Farah was beaten by club runner Ellis Cross. The two men were locked in battle to the line with Cross getting the win in 28.40 to Farah’s 28.44. This shock defeat has signalled the end of Mo Farah’s comeback and provided a great spectacle for the crowds watching at home and on TV. Olivia soaked up the atmosphere and also produced a personal best of 46.46. She was 387th female out of over 6000.

Looking ahead

Saturday May 14th East Down AC are planning a club day at the Dunleath Playing Fields parkrun. It will be a chance for our members to support this local event and also to showcase the benefits of joining a running club. East Down AC is made up of runners of all abilities. We have a wide ranging membership; those who run for fitness and well being and those who focus on competition of all types from track to trail, from road to mountains. If you are interested come along on May 14th and say hello. While junior membership is capped and currently at capacity, we are always open to new senior members. If you are taking part for the first time in parkrun, remember to register in advance (https://www.parkrun.org.uk/register/). you then need to bring your barcode (either printed out or on your phone/watch). You can also help out on the day by doing a volunteer role –  contact dunleathplayingfields@parkrun.com for more info.