Ollie Robinson at the All Irelands

At the weekend Ollie Robinson travelled to County Offaly for the Irish Schools Track & Field  Championships where he was representing Down High School. He had qualified in style with a superb run at the NI & Ulster School Championships in Antrim last month. At that event he won a gold in the Inter Boys 400m in a new personal best time of 51.67 so he arrived in Tullamore nervous but keen to see what he could do at this level. It was a bright but chilly day and there was a good crowd of spectators gathered eager to see quality racing. Unfortunately Ollie had a long wait as his event wasn’t until late afternoon but finally the athletes were called to the blocks. After a nail biting delay due to a technical hitch, the starter fired the gun and they were off. Harnessing his pent up energy, Oliver shot off on the first 200m and seemed to be holding his own but perhaps in retrospect he went out a little too hard. When he reached the finish straight, it was all he could do to reach the line.  He finished in a very creditable 5th place in 54.10. Initially he was a little disappointed by the time and wondered if he could have paced it better but the experience gained will pay dividends in his next competition. He also realises that being in the mix in an All Ireland Final is an achievement in itself. Well done, Ollie!

Fab Firmus Five

On Thursday 2nd June Lagan Valley AC hosted the third event in the Firmus Fab Five Track Series. East Down AC had two juniors and one senior entered. Neil Curran was in the Senior 3k event and ran a well paced 9.45 to come 7th in his heat. Not having raced on the track in nearly 2 years, he played it conservatively and has laid down a bench mark for the rest of the season. Alicia McCaugherty one of the recent juniors is fast establishing herself as a go getter. She is keen to take part and gives it her all. She was expecting to race the U11 hurdles but, due to an issue with getting hurdles of the correct height, it was changed to a flat sprint. She was 5th in 11.45. Jacob Crawford, another enthusiastic  EDAC racer turned up for the U17 3K only to find he was one of 2 boys entered. Disappointing but perhaps the low entry was due to athletes holding off for the All Irelands scheduled 3 days later. In any event Jacob ran well and clocked 10.23.65 getting a silver medal for his efforts. There are still two more of these events and it is hoped that some more of the EDAC juniors will be brave enough to give it a go. Track racing is an exciting way to test your fitness and these meets are aimed at all levels.

Hill & Dale – Race 7 Millstone

There were 185 participants at the 7th race in the Hill & Dale Series at Millstone. Niall Gibney had a good race over the challenging and technical course. He was 42nd overall in a time of 46.51. Next in from EDAC was Paddy Erskine just making the top 100 in 99th place with 54.38 on the clock. John Taylor almost fully recovered from the Donegal Skyline was back at it recording a time of 1.00.11 to put him in 138th position. Next week’s race will take place in Loughshannagh with entry online in advance – all details at https://www.newcastleac.org

Training on the trails

Monday Night Training for the seniors was moved to the trails last week by popular demand. With brighter nights it is good to mix things up and get further afield. The runners gathered and then split into small groups with each group running to their own speed and distance. Anyone who is interested in getting involved in club running should consider coming for a “try before you buy” session. All seniors are welcome. Please email membership@eastdownac.co.uk for further details. 

Congratulations!

Firstly to James Wright – for breaking the High Jump record at Down High Sports Day this week – he jumped a whopping 1.68 metres. The recent master class delivered by Wendy Phillips allowed the juniors to get some expert advice and this has clearly paid off.

James with Wendy Phillips at the session in EDAC Clubrooms

And finally big congratulations to Ryan McVeigh and his new wife Natalie – best wishes for the future to you both!