M.B. McGrady & Co Beer and Bubbles

Last Wednesday evening close to 100 runners (perhaps tempted by the promise of “Beer and Bubbles”) turned out to run in a charity event which took place in the Finnebrogue Woods. This fundraiser was hosted by M.B. McGrady & Co in support of the Mary Peters Trust. The idyllic woodland setting by the lake was further enhanced by the warm glow of the slowly setting sun. Once the runners had lined up, the whistle blew and they set off on a circuit of the trails. It was not a fast or easy run as there were twists and turns and rough ground underfoot but the scenery made up for any extra effort required. East Down AC was well represented by young and old and carried off a fair few of the prizes. Joe Napier (22.28)  took the overall win with Mark O’Connor (23.09) on the third step of the podium. Sharon Madine was the leading lady and 6th overall in 23.32. EDAC Junior Cara Napier did well to get third female in 26.38. The rest of the club members came in interspersed with other runners all happy to have been part of the event and eager to claim their complimentary beverages on the finish line. Special mention to Carmel Ross who only joined last week and was out wearing the EDAC vest in what we hope is the first race of many. 

EAST DOWN’S RUNNERS at  THE LONDON MARATHON 2022

The London Marathon moved to the autumn in 2021 to accommodate the restrictions caused by the Covid pandemic and in 2022 followed that pattern but happily, next year, it will return to its traditional Spring/Easter date. A lot of people will be delighted by the move as they have always trained through often inhospitable Winter weather to peak at the early April date and have found it difficult to change their traditional body clock settings. However with conditions pretty close to perfect on Sunday and with the Men’s and Women’s races both recording new course records, it was difficult to blame the time of year for anyone doing less than their targeted time. It was not East Down’s leading marathon competitor, Gordy Graham’s, reason for dejection after Sunday’s latest completion of the 26.2 miles classic.

GORDY GRAHAM – He stormed to a fantastic 2.34.49 in the Belfast Marathon in October 2021 and immediately set his sights on Manchester Marathon in March 2022 with high hopes of edging towards the 2.30 mark. He was carrying a knee injury from weeks before that event and was glad to start and finish at all so he accepted his 2.38 time (brilliant by the measure of most)  with stoicism. Having aggravated his knee badly doing that race, he was forced to take a break and he has been gradually building back to strength since then with the London Marathon as his next goal. He was feeling optimistic until only a few days before the race when he had a freak incident when he knelt on a nail causing it to embed in his knee. He tried to persuade himself that the pain would ease in time but it was hard to ignore as the race went on,  adding to the collateral damage of racing hard. While to most of us a sub 2.40 marathon is an amazing achievement, from his perspective it was a bitter disappointment to finish in 2.39.19. In his own words it is “back to the drawing board again” as he targets next year’s London renewal as his latest attempt at the 2.30 time. After all it’s a mere 6 months away and comes at the best time of year. We all say “Well done anyway Gordy, it was a splendid run and better luck next time

In contrast ALICE BREAR CLARKSON could not have had a more perfect day.
 She had a fine run taking 2 minutes and more off her previous best by finishing in 3.08.04. She paced it very steadily at the start and unusually in a race of this length she actually upped her speed as the miles went on running her quickest miles at the end! Now that is impressive!  Well Done Alice, great running.

STEPHEN HEASLEY had won his place in the London marathon through the East Down AC ballot and was a worthy recipient as he is an experienced campaigner – indeed he has run several ultra distances so a marathon is like a mere warm up to him. He was delighted to tick this race off his bucket list and said that it was everything he had heard of and more. He found the organisation slick and he was blown away by the phenomenal support from the spectators lining the route. He made sure to enjoy every moment soaking up the atmosphere as he passed the city landmarks on the historic route and finished in 4.08. Well Done Stephen, Congratulations on a tremendous effort.

CONOR CRACKS AN IRONMAN

With all the talk of marathons it is definitely worthy of mention that one of our members Conor Rice representing Down Triathlon Club took part in an Ironman event in Barcelona on the same day as the runners were pounding the streets of London. He had to run a marathon as part of his challenge with the small matter of a 2.4 mile swim and 112 mile bike ride before his 26.2 mile run. It is hard to imagine how tired he must have felt before he started running but he managed to complete the whole thing in 12 hours 5 minutes and 58 seconds. Well Done. Superb effort, Conor!

NI & Ulster Road Relays 2022

The 2022 NI & Ulster Relay Championships hosted by Victoria Park and Connswater AC took place on Saturday. With a record breaking entry of 120 teams, there was an air of excitement from mid morning as runners warmed up, found their team mates, declared their running order and listened for the call to the start pens. There was also a large crowd of supporters milling around ready to line the circuit and watch the racing unfold. The relay is made up of team of 4 runners who each run 2 laps of the park. A lap is just over a mile so the total per leg is 3380m. As runner A crosses the mat, runner B is unleashed and so on. East Down AC had only managed to get together 2 teams due to other races, injury etc but those that were there soaked up the atmosphere and enjoyed being part of an exciting event. The EDAC Ladies’ Team in the Masters’ Race (for age 35 and over) was led out by Niamh Kellet and with a determined effort she came in 10th to hand over to Sharon Madine. Sharon who seems to have the ability to turn her hand to every distance as well as race hard and often, made easy work of her stint to then pass on to Leanne Spick. Leanne was racing the relays for the first time and clearly took heed of her more experienced running buddies who had warned her not to overcook the first of her two laps. With an even pace throughout she finished strongly to allow Catherine O’Connor to break on to the course ready to see what damage she could do. Catherine ran the quickest leg for the team and indeed was the 3rd quickest time in the Masters’ Ladies so it was no surprise that she managed to overhaul some other runners over her two laps. She crossed the finish line in 11.37 taking EDAC up to 5th place with her sterling efforts. While her speed was a useful asset, she was typically modest and quick to insist that this was a team achievement and that the end result was a sum of their combined efforts. Very well done, Ladies!

The EDAC Men had to enter the Senior Race as they were not able to get a full team of masters so they knew that they were going to be facing tough competition. Nevertheless they were enthusiastic about the race and each one went out with a goal of running as well as they could. As the pointy end of the race stretched out it became more difficult to see who was lapping who but the loud cheers of spectators egged the runners on no matter where they were in the overall standings. Martin Willcox was the lead man followed by Tom McClean, Adam Morgan and Daniel Giles. They all completed their individual sections without mishap and while they were further down the rankings compared to the Ladies, their representation of the Club was no less valued. Good work, guys.

East Down AC 35th Anniversary Dinner

A reminder to all members, ex members, friends and supporters of East Down that a Dinner to celebrate 35 years since the founding of the Club is due to take place on Saturday 5th November in the Burrendale Hotel. Tickets are on sale via info@eastdownac.co.uk at the very reasonable price of £25 per head. This includes a complimentary welcome drink, a 3 course meal, celebration cake and entertainment. It would be great to have as many as possible in attendance that night to indulge in a bit of nostalgia as well as celebrate where we are now. The more the merrier as they say!

Alison Caroll & Joe Quinn

East Down AC at the McGrady Financial Services Junior XC Series 2021/22

The prize giving for the 2021/22 series was held at East Down AC Clubrooms on Wednesday 28th September. The series was truncated as it started late due to covid restrictions and only 3 races took place rather than the normal 5.  Despite this there was still plenty to celebrate as the racing that went on was hotly contested and gave a chance for many to have their first real taste of running on grass and mud. Every runner gains points for their club simply by showing up and with 5 Clubs taking part there was much to play for. Newcastle AC had the greatest number taking part  overall followed by EDAC but even though Dromore AC, Burren AC and Murlough AC had fewer participants they still did well in the final tallies when bonuses for wins and podium placings were added on. A participation medal was awarded to anyone who did 2 out of 3 races and then there were impressive trophies for the podiums in each year group. There were 26 EDAC Juniors who got a medal and 13 who made podium ( see below)

Ozzy Ferguson 3rd (P4 Boys)

Luke Napier 3rd (P7 Boys)

Jessica Martin 2nd (Year 8 Girls)

Alexander Robinson 1st (Year 9 Boys)

Finn Gibney 2nd= (Year 9 Boys)

Thomas Magee 2nd=  (Year 9 Boys)

Adam Mulhall 3rd (Year 9 Boys)

Cara Napier 3rd (Year 9 Girls)

Aaron Lennon 1st (Year 10 Boys)

Rebekah Wilson 2nd (Year 10 Girls)

Ollie Robinson 1st (Year 11&Over)

Jacob Crawford 3rd (Year 11&Over)

Hannah Lennon 3rd (Year 11&Over)

There was also much jubilation when shields were awarded to EDAC for winning the overall Post Primary Section in both the Boys and the Girls’ Categories. Thanks to McGrady Financial Services for their sponsorship, to Darragh McCrickard for masterminding the entries and results and to all the other coaches and volunteers who make the races happen. And finally well done to all the runners (and their parents) for showing commitment to turn out for the competitions in all sorts of challenging weather. Here’s to the 2022/23 Series and some good racing ahead.