The Weekly News 02/04/18

LARNE HALF

Larne took place on the eve of Jimmy’s 10 and as such was overshadowed in the aftermath but on the day itself it was a Red Letter Day for many club members who had been training hard. The course is one of the tough ones with a heartbreak hill which strikes at 8/9 miles just as fatigue kicks in. The subsequent sharp downhill ensures that the legs are left in a jelly like state to ensure that the last 3 miles are a challenging slog. Dee Murray ran a great race coming in at the front of the EDAC troop in 1 hour 24. Deidre Weatherall who hasn’t yet decided if she likes half marathons managed 1.34. Gavin Hynds wasn’t far behind. Liz O’Hagan, Catherine Gilchrist, Gareth Amos and Janine Murray completed the travelling party and finished in that order. Janine has yet to get back to full strength and suffered badly with blisters as well so is unlikely to retain this as a good memory but the rest were satisfied with their labours. It is worth noting that all apart from Gavin (who had marshalling duties to keep him busy) managed to give the 10k a whirl the next day so plenty of miles clocked up.

BALLYGALGET COMMUNITY 10K

After the excitement of the re-organised Jimmy’s Ten last weekend, it was almost as though Easter took over the running fraternity’s thinking this weekend, as thoughts of unseasonal weather and being indoors with an unhealthy supply of chocolate eggs seemed to dominate even the hardiest of outdoor pursuits devotees.

Nevertheless , Mark O’Connor took advantage of the sun on Sunday to travel to Ballygalget for the Annual Community 10K and 5K Fun Run and Walk. I had intended to go myself but seemed to have picked up the same bug as last year so stayed at home to avoid infecting the peninsula. Mark in fact was the only East Down runner there, on what turned out to be a lovely day, and he finished in 43.02, 1^st Over 50 Male and overall 15^th place in a field of 122 runners.

ULTRA MARATHON ON 1 APRIL

On the same day, Easter Sunday 1^st April, also known as April Fool’s Day, almost 100 turned up at 8.00am at Greenisland Golf Club for the Knockathon, another in the EAMS Series of Ultra marathons, this one involving 3 x 10 mile laps up to Knockagh Monument and back. Quite why I referred to Fool’s Day in the opening lines of this I don’t know, but again East Down had one runner in the 30 mile race, Declan Teague, who reported that they got 4 seasons weather in the course of his 4 hours 37 minutes stay in it, starting off sunny but chilly, turning to snow on he way up the hill on the second lap, incidentally his fastest of the three, to positively Spring like on the third. though with present climactic changes I’m not too sure exactly what that means!

And at the finish he was a secure 4^th place finisher, 12 minutes behind the 3^rd placed man and 15 ahead of the 5^th So we wish him Bon Voyage as he heads off for a well earned break and some weather watching in the South Atlantic.

BERAGH 5 MILE

Barrie Atkinson invited Sinead Hanna away for the Easter Weekend and managed not only to clock 28.55 in the Beragh 5 Mile which gave him 8th place but also to encourage Sinead to complete her first official Parkrun choosing Derry as the venue. She was delighted to record this milestone but may watch herself as she may find herself recruited to take part in the XC next year if the EDAC ladies get to hear about it.

ODDS AND ENDS FROM JIMMY’S TEN

Last week’s report inadvertently missed out on some very important performances by Junior club members with the hurly burly of finalising things afterwards. Hopefully what follows will put the record straight and allocate honour where it is due.

The winning Mixed team in the Relay comprised Oliver Robinson and Emily Burns, who combined tremendously well to cross the line in 44.23, 90^th place overall. That was a superb bit of running as they are both still at Primary School and augurs well for the future. Also to be commended are Aoife Burke and Jack Carson 49.08, Rian McShane and Ben Carson in 53.44, Cormac and Shane O’Hare, 54.05 and a special word of Congratulations to Tia Baniff, a former junior, who completed her first ever 10K in 71.58

And there were several others who I have been unable to identify who also ran, so Well Done to all of them too.

NEXT WEEK

On Saturday it’s the turn of Omagh to host its annual Half Marathon and on Sunday it’s back to Belfast for the Titanic Quarter 10K.

Joe Quinn

Finally – don’t forget that MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL is in full swing. Well done to those of you who have completed the paperwork and paid. Your ANI number will no longer be valid if you have not so call down to the club asap or contact Gareth at membership@eastdownac.co.uk