HILL AND DALE
Eleven East Down runners took to the hills again on Thursday night for the Millstone race, Round 7 of the 2018 Series. Neil Andrews was first EDAC man home, in 18th position, followed by Dee Murray in 38th Gavin Hinds 55th Niall Gibney 59th, with Deirdre Weatherall 91st heralding the arrival of the Ladies squad, with the ever improving Lisa Milligan next in 171st place followed by Cheryl Denvir 202nd, Janine Murray 214th and Oonagh Breteche 215th respectively, who enjoy themselves every week and are a great advertisement for Hill Running. Paddy McDonald 135th and John Manley 180th are another pair who have clearly caught the H&D bug.
Hill and Dale – Lisa Milligan, Janine Murray, Deidre Weatherall, Neil Andrews, Dee Murray, Gavin Hynds, Niall Gibney and John Manley – Missing from photo Paddy McDonald, Cheryl Denvir and Oonagh Breteche
WEATHER WATCHERS
I was due to spend last Saturday helping at the Special Olympics meet at Mary Peters Track, with a full programme of events scheduled as a final warm up for the athletes from NI , who will be competing in the Special Olympics in Dublin in 2 weeks time. I was very disappointed therefore to be informed on Friday night that due to warnings of severe weather received from the Met Office the meeting had been called off and as there was insufficient time left between this weekend and the Olympics themselves the meeting could not be re-scheduled. Now I know that while we all complain about the weather most of the time the forecasts are reasonably reliable so it begs the question in this case of whether those in charge of issuing the forecasts are over careful and just too fussy about letting people decide for themselves, in individual cases, what to do about pessimistic forecasts.
Certainly here in Downpatrick it was probably the best day of the year so far and I haven’t head of anyone anywhere experiencing the sort of conditions likely to have disrupted an important sporting fixture. It’s a pity that the squad were deprived of the chance to perform in front of their families and friends. The awful thing about this unfortunate incident is that the Weather Men had been warning that severe storms would potentially devastate practically everything in NI, from last Friday, only to keep rolling the date forward as the weekend approached. There are however 2 sides to this of course in that, it’s all very well being ultra cautious about potential dangers, taking all information into account, but the information needs to be spot on accurate, otherwise it just becomes another example of someone crying “Wolf” too often.
NO WEATHER WORRIES HERE
Having spent the Winter months commending the Juniors for their enthusiasm to wade through mud in all conditions it now falls to us to admire their approach to Track and Field. To line up on an athletics track is daunting as every metre of each event is open to scrutiny. No tree lined corners to take a breather! As well as that some of them have attempted disciplines that are new to them in Jumps and Throws in addition to experimenting with the different distances from sprint to longer events. It is fantastic to see and who knows what talent will be discovered. With the North Down Minis and Open Events and the Fab Five Series continuing throughout the Summer there are more opportunities for those who are still trying to pluck up the courage and they should take heart from the experiences of others as to date EDAC Juniors have done themselves proud.
FAB FIVE FIXTURE @ MARY PETER’S TRACK – THURSDAY
U13 Mile Lauren Madine came a blistering first with Lucy Foster 3rd -5.39 and 5.54 respectively.
U15 Mile Kirsti Foster was 2nd ( no time available).
U11 800m (out of 24) Jodi Foster won her heat in a time of 2.45 which placed her 3rd overall. Kari Foster placed 11th in 3.02 and Erin Moore finished in a time of 3.07 in 14th place.
Erin Moore also ran the 100m and had a go at the javelin and Kirsti tried the hurdles for the first time.
Caragh Moore and Erin Moore
NI & ULSTER T&F CHAMPIONSHIPS – FINN VALLEY
At the weekend a contingent travelled to Finn Valley in Donegal for the NI&Ulster Championships (U9-U13) known as The Children’s Games. It turned out to be a hot, sunny day which made for fantastic spectating conditions but was tough on the athletes especially those who entered multiple events. Caragh and Erin Moore, Alex and Oliver Robinson, Anna Gardiner and Kari, Jodi and Lucy Foster ran and jumped their hearts out and gained a lot of useful experience. Thanks are due to their parents for transporting them to the venue and as a result of this commitment we had athletes in every category U9/10/11/12 and 13.
They were worthy representatives of EDAC and while not all the placings etc are available at this time there were some promising performances. For Caragh Moore one of our youngest athletes racing as U9 it was a great introduction to the sport. It is also worth noting that it was the 9th birthday of Alex and he chose to spend it bashing out a 500m race. Such dedication! Oliver Robinson got value for money by getting to re run his 80m heat twice due to malfunction of timing equipment. Luckily he was first both times but the added exertion took its toll and he finished 5th in final. Erin ran in U11 60 and 600m with confidence.
Oliver Robinson slipping past Finn Cross (Willowfield) in U13 80m
Anna Gardiner, Alex Robinson, Oliver Robinson, Erin Moore, Kari Foster, Caragh Moore, Jodi Foster and Lucy Foster
The Fosters collectively declared the longer distances their preference but still tackled the sprints for good measure. Jodi was 2nd in her heat of the U12 600m and may qualify for the All Irelands in July as one of the top 4 fastest times when the results are collated. Lucy Foster and Anna Gardiner both ran in the U13 600m. Lucy had a strong race coming 3rd in her heat and Anna was delighted to come home with a Silver Medal placing 2nd overall with an exciting dip on the line. This will definitely qualify her for the All Irelands. Well done Anna!
Anna Gardiner – (on extreme left) silver medal in U13 600m
NEIL McCARTAN in POMPEY
As the lone Senior EDAC representative on the track Neil can pride himself on leading the way for the Juniors with his dedication to his sport. This weekend he travelled to Portsmouth to a British League Match and took part in the 1500m. It was a tactical race with a slow start leading to an inevitable charge to the finish. Neil did well to place 5th in 3.56.16. Next weekend will see him race in the NI&Ulster Senior Championships and we wish him well.
WALLED CITY MARATHON
Clare Carson having declared Paris Marathon a little hot probably never thought that the Walled City Marathon would offer a repeat of those warm conditions but on Sunday the temperatures gradually rose throughout the day to go from being pleasant to becoming a drain on energy. Despite this she managed a respectable sub 4.30 (4.29) in the company of Kevin Kelly and they both enjoyed the event. Linda Cunningham also added this one to her belt. With her tally now over 100 she will be needing a new belt very soon! 1033 competitors took part and the winner was Dan Tanui in a new course record of 2.19.44. The fastest female was Heather Noone in 3.05.
THIS WEEKEND
The big event this weekend is the NI and Ulster Open Senior Outdoor Track and Field Championships beginning at 10.00am on Saturday 9 June at Mary Peters Track.
Joe Quinn & Alison Carroll
4 June 2018