Mountain Men
It was an action packed weekend with members both Junior and Senior involved in races of multiple types and distance in several different venues. Saturday was all about the hills with Ollie Robinson and Jacob Crawford trying out for selection in the NIMRA U18 trials and Aaron McGrady taking on a fell race in England. Continue reading
St Patrick’s Day Out
With St Patrick’s Day offering a midweek holiday for many, what better way to spend it than running in a race? A few EDAC members travelled to Belfast to take part in the Craic 10K which is described as an urban road race taking in the city sights. It was an early start at 9am and while it was nippy at first, it soon warmed up. The route wasn’t too hilly apart from the last couple of kilometres leading into the finish at the Ormeau Park and there was good support for the crowd so it was an enjoyable event.
Deirdre Weatherall had a storming run in 43.28 which placed her 173rd out of 1750. Clare Carson came in in 49.03 breaking 50 minutes with ease. 
Donal Smith who is in the midst of running every day for 50 days in the lead up to his 50th birthday was happy to have company to tick a day off and was pleased with his 56.42 as part of his comeback venture. Kevin Kelly was out as a pacer and encourager and finished comfortably and smiling. All agreed that it was a good day out. Continue reading
JIMMY’S 10 2022
Jimmy’s 10K is hosted annually by East Down AC in memory of Jimmy Murray for his devotion to the sport and is usually tied in with the St Patrick’s Day festivities in the town of Downpatrick. In 2020 Covid called a halt and no race was held at all. In 2021 it was decided to move both date and venue to have the best chance of fitting in with covid restrictions. While the event at Bishopscourt Racing Circuit last June was well received, many were glad to see the race brought back to its origins as a road race taking in the iconic sites of East Down’s home town. Continue reading
Coleraine Campus 5K 
Coleraine Campus 5K appeared on the fixture list for the first time and quickly attracted a speed orientated field keen to test their time and pace over the shorter distance. The race, well organised by Ryan Galway, is one that will build into a popular event. It was held on Friday evening and there was a good buzz in the night air. The flat fast course was made up of almost 4 laps in the grounds of the Ulster University Campus and for many it was a welcome change from the hills and mud of cross country. Continue reading
NI & ULSTER SENIOR XC CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Senior XC Championships on Saturday 26th February proved a fitting climax to the NI & Ulster Cross Country League. The event took place at Gransha over a challenging 12K route – the longest race this season. For many this distance was just too big an ask and as a result there was no EDAC team entry for this one. However Neil McCartan, feeling buoyant after his bronze medal in the Intermediate Championships, decided to go solo and see if his purple patch would stretch to another good performance. Continue reading
STORMY WEATHER AHEAD
With storms Dudley and Eunice menacing throughout the week, it was hard to predict if any racing would go ahead at the weekend. Some events called a cancellation early on based on the forecast and others adopted a wait and see approach.
BORN2RUN CASTLEWELLAN
Born2run were hosting the last event of the Run Forest Run Series in Castlewellan Forest Park on Saturday and were greeted with a carpet of snow but the winds were somewhat lighter than had been anticipated. After a course inspection the organisers decided to go ahead. The runners who showed up in good number were obviously keen enough to take on the challenge and further flurries of snow did not dent their enthusiasm. Much of the route was on trail so it was wet underfoot and there were slushy areas with torrents running along the tracks – definitely not conducive to fast times.
GO TEAM GRAHAM!
Photo credit – My Sports Photo
Gordy Graham was the only EDAC runner in the 10K and he traversed the loops in determined fashion. The eventual winner, Tudor Modova, proved too strong for him on the day but Gordy held a clear 2nd place and was pleased to see that his time (34.53) was quicker than the previous running of that same course by over a minute. Another race and another podium to reward his consistent training. His wife Steph also representing EDAC went one better when she took the top spot on the Female Podium in the 5K. She has run strongly in the recent cross country races and this obviously was good practice as she fairly flew over the undulating course finishing in 20.38. Both of them are training for Manchester Marathon so having a race to break up the relentless mileage was welcome. Well done Team Graham!
Photo credit – My Sports Photo
Ollie Robinson and brother Alex were accompanied on the start line of the 5K by Finn Gibney. Having regularly run the Castlewellan parkrun, they felt that they knew what lay in store but in actual fact the route included more climbing which tested their legs. Ollie came in 5th overall in 19.18 and Alex also managed sub 20 with 19.52. Finn Gibney was 12th in 21.11. With a field of 205 this is a commendable performance by all 3 especially on a day when most looked outside and chose to stay home. The pictures reveal how gruelling it was but at least it was a memorable outing.
FELL RUNNING
Aaron McGrady sees the end of the cross country season as a signal to target the mountains but perhaps regretted his enthusiasm to switch disciplines when he found himself in wild conditions at the weekend at the Doctors Gate Fell Race in the Peak District. The driving hail and blustery wind was an unwelcome addition to the 450m ascent over a 10K route. Most of the climbing was in one section of 1.5 Km so it was a hard ask and Aaron found himself in a close battle for the lead. He got a slight gap on the ascent and launched himself down the other side hoping to hold his place but he was overhauled on the final bit of descent and had to settle for a worthy 2nd place.
JIMMY’S 10 
Preparations continue at a pace for the flag ship East Down AC 10K road race. A group met on Sunday to recce the course. It brought back happy memories to be on familiar ground as last year’s event had to be held at Bishopscourt Racing Circuit due to Covid 19 restrictions. Entries are selling fast and with 600 already registered, you need to get a move on if you want to be part of this fantastic event! All entry is online https://athleticsni.org/Fixtures/Jimmys-Ten with NO on the day registration available.
ULSTER SCHOOLS XC AT MALLUSK
On the 9th of February some of the East Down AC juniors headed to Mallusk for the Ulster Schools Cross Country Championships. On this occasion they were running in school colours rather than the red and yellow of East Down AC but several of the club coaches were in attendance and watching with interest. The athletes had to qualify for the honour of racing at this level through an individual top 12 place or as part of a team that came in the top 3 at the District Qualifiers. Continue reading