It has been several years since I last ran the Larne Half Marathon and in that time there have been several changes to the route, specifically much more running through the streets of the town before making its way along the beautiful coast road to Ballygally. As I had noted from the position of the Finish Line Arch that the race ended in the same place as in days gone by I was naive enough to think that it must be shorter now, that perhaps it had been incorrectly measured before and that the changes were to eliminate that discrepancy. But of course it wasn’t and hadn’t been, the “longer” town bit was compensated for by taking a different route up the “Ballygallly Hill” And since the top of the Hill is where it always was the ascent was no easier. However the out and back route enables us more sedately paced runners to meet our faster club mates and friends on their way back. I was briefly alongside the subsequent winner and last year’s Jimmy’s Ten winner, Gideon Kimosop, he approaching 10 miles and me the halfway point, with East Down’s Barrie Atkinson not too far behind in 5th place. Barrie subsequently finished 7th in 1.15.53, an eyecatching achievement in this early part of the season

Next man from these parts was Matthew Tumelty, who posted a very commendable 1.41.48 and clearly his performance was not lost on his Mum Carmel, who clocked a superb 1.56.50 for a new PB and, if not quite guaranteeing the bragging rights, chez Tumelty, then certainly, a position of considerable respect and authority which I suppose is the proper order of things.

RISING STARS IN THE LADIES
Meanwhile Clare Carson took over 2 minutes off her previous best for the distance1.47.27 and she should improve on that over the course of the coming road racing season. With Carmel’s ever improving performances and Linda Cunningham having benefitted from a rest following a punishing schedule of long distance training and ultra marathon races in recent months to record a PB of 2.01, a formidable Ladies Cross Country team should be in place come the beginning of the next season’s League.

INSPIRATION and PERSPIRATION
The pairing of Eithne McGrattan and Bernice McCann continue to inspire and astound in equal measure and completed the course in 2.45 and for me they’re both winners. They showed remarkable courage afterwards too by heading for an ice bath! As for me, well having given my legs their first open air outing of the year, and they delivered me across the finish line in 2.17.47 (not a PB and a positive split by almost 9 minutes), I reckoned that was enough exposure for one day and had my ice bath delivered hot through the shower head. Age has its privileges after all.

SPANISH STEPS?
After unsuccessfully scouring the results of Jimmy’s Ten and the Larne Half marathon for traces of Michael McKeown I discovered the reason for his absence. He was in Barcelona running the marathon and complaining of the heat!! His time of 3 hours 29 minutes was possibly the reason for that.

McDONALD’S JUNIOR JIMMY’S
On St Patrick’s Day the Club took advantage of the closed roads and the lull before the arrival of the Parade to lay on some street entertainment in the form of Primary School races. 73 children delighted the captive audience as they gave their all in distances ranging in distance from 400 to 800 metres, running from the entrance to the bus station to the top of Market St and back. The event was sponsored by the local McDonald’s outlet and our thanks to them. It is hoped that this activity will become a regular feature of the festivities and will be improved and perhaps expanded for 2017.

NEXT LOCAL RACES
On Easter Sunday 27th March the Ballygalget 10K Road Race and 5K Walk is again the local event to look forward to and with free return transport from the ferry to the start many from this side of the Lough will no doubt take advantage to sample the scenery and hospitality of our friends in the Peninsula. Race begins at 12 noon and online registration is open at www.athleticsni.org and on the day in the Gaelic Club premises.
Joe Quinn