BOB AND BERT’S 5 AND 10K RACE SERIES AT STORMONT

Sharon Madine headed to Stormont Estate on Saturday, no doubt encouraged by the attractive title of the event, and the fact that the title refers to the well known chain of coffee shops.  There was a 10K and 5K option but luckily she chose the 5K as it turned out to be “the toughest 5K she’d ever run”. The route took the runners past the play park and onto the trails which then led them onto a steep climb to the front of Parliament  Buildings.  Of course what goes up must come down so the consolation for Sharon was the long descent towards the finish line, though before she reached that there was another right turn onto another “killer” hill, which she reported with some relish the 10K runners had to do twice! She admitted that initially it caused her to stop momentarily, though she finished it off in style. She ended up an impressive 15th overall out of 100 runners, 2nd female and first in her age group with a time of 24.11. It is worth noting that this is her 4th race in 2 weeks and her third podium! That is an impressive record and great to see her leading by example as Ladies’ Captain. Keep it up, Sharon!

GALBALLY  5K AND 5 MILE RACES

Suzy Smith and Patrick Smith travelled back to Galbally to take part in the Galbally 5km tempted back by the hospitality experienced last time they were there. Suzy completed the undulating course in 27.01 which was over 4 minutes quicker than her previous run in 2019. Well done to her.

Patrick tried out the 5 mile option. A nice easy opening two miles to get into his stride before some treacherous climbs in the hills of rural Tyrone before a short descent back into the finish in the Community centre. Patrick’s time 43:38. Well Done to him!

His overall verdict:- This is an excellent event with the choice of 5k or 5 miles. The running was all wrapped up within an hour, then it was party time with free pizza, hot dogs, ice cream, chocolate, beers (non alcoholic available) and live music. Never before had I witnessed people jiving and dancing at 12 noon after a run. This is one for the bucket list and the hospitality offered soon makes the hills a distant memory. Entries for 2023 will open soon! For the record Kenyan athlete Peter Somba and Newcastle’s Olympian Kerry O Flaherty took the wins in 24:51 (course record) and 28:58 respectively.

JUNIORS BACK AT IT

After a Summer recess the Juniors returned to training with a trip to Mary Peters as the opening session. They were able to do a selection of drills, get the feel of running on the track surface, practise some starts,  and then run some intervals. It was an enjoyable way to get back in action.

NEW MEMBERS WELCOME

Throughout the Summer East Down AC members have taken the opportunity of better weather and bright evenings to mix up their normal training sessions. Their weekly runs have taken place in various locations such as Castlewellan, Castleward and Murlough and the variety that this affords has been welcomed by all. They have run on trail, up and down hills and on the beach and dunes and this Thursday they even ventured on to the track at Mary Peters Track in Belfast. East Down AC is a happy mix of competitive athletes and social runners and is always open to new senior joiners at ant time of the year. If you are interested, please send email to membership@eastdownac.co.uk to find out when and where they meet. With the offer to try a few sessions with no obligation to join up (annual fee is £35) you have nothing to lose!

Joe Quinn

1 August 2022