ARDGLASS FESTIVAL 5 AND 10KS
The weather remained warm and sunny for the revival of the Ardglass Festival 5 and 10K road races and attracted sizeable entries from a number of local clubs, though the entry from East Down was somewhat disappointing as it was later in the week for the Co. Down 5K in Downpatrick. No doubt a number of valid excuses were available for these, namely it’s the middle of the holiday season, it wasn’t known about or was forgotten about, or it didn’t fit in with my training schedule or I have an injury. Whatever the reason word has it that you missed a super community event with 2 challenging distances and the pleasure of kippers from the BBQ afterwards!!
Jonny Holmes undertook the 5K and was more than happy with his second place given that he is on the way back to fitness after a layoff from consistent training. Declan Teague was the best placed finisher for East Down in the 10K which took a very different route on the way out of the village via Ardtole before re- connecting with the shorter route on Crew Road. 
He finished in 12th place overall in just under 44 minutes, his target time, while Patrick Smith also undertook the longer distance and completed in 51.54 which was 35th place overall. Patrick commented that he found the hills in the first half and then the climb into the village from Coney Island particularly difficult in the heat but was full of praise for the organisers for the hospitality on offer afterwards and for the support of the marshals all the way round the course.
CO. DOWN 5K
There was a full program of events on offer with 4 races on the night (including a kids fun run at 6:45pm). There were lot of little legs in that one all trying to be the first to sample the Mabel’s Ice Cream, which was on offer to all participants.
The first of the main races was at 7:00pm and was for runners expecting to run 22 minutes +. The course is 7 ½ laps of the town centre circuit, starting at the library and finishing just past the St Patrick’s Centre. The race venue and format are well nigh perfect as there are lots of opportunities for supporters to check up on the progress of their hero/loved one, with the motivating music blasting out and burgers at the end to satisfy every need! There were 3 East Down runners taking part in Race 1.
Ryan McVeigh was our first finisher in 10th place in 22:04, Sharon Madine was 14th overall in 22:21 and 2nd female bagging herself yet another podium! 
Patrick Smith out for his second outing in 3 days finished in 27th position in a time of 24:26. After the hills of Ardglass the flat 5K should have been a breeze but the pace was fast and furious so it was just as much of a challenge.
There were 60 entrants in the 17 – 22 minutes race with 3 more EDAC runners taking part. Catherine O’Connor was 18th overall and 3rd placed female in a time of 18:08, while one of our junior athletes, Jacob Crawford, was just a few seconds in her wake placing 21st in a time of 18:11 – a good effort considering that he had only returned home from holiday at 3am the same day. Seamus Savage finished 44th and was probably the happiest competitor on the night as his time of 19:57 fulfilled a long held ambition of breaking the 20 minute barrier for the 5K distance. At times during the race he really looked like he was suffering but he gritted his teeth and kept going and got his reward. Well done to him.
The final race of the night was a spectacle for all as it was the sub 17 min race and each and every one was primed for speed. Neil Curran finished 19th in 16:37 which is a PB for him. He said that he was hurting from early on but there was nothing for it but to keep going. The race was won by Brhane Gebrebrhan of Annadale Striders who sat in behind Newcastle AC’s Patrick McNiff for most of the race and then sprinted past him in the final 200 metres for the victory in a time of 15.00 exactly. Young Emer McKee star of the future who is rising fast through the ranks was the first female in 16.23.
Just as there were ice creams for the kids so there were burgers for the adults which rounded off the evening nicely. Well done to the organisers for putting on a great event!
CARLINGFORD 5K
Ben Branagh of St Malachy’s AC, a previous winner of Jimmy’s Ten, set out at the head of affairs in Carlingford on Friday making it an honest race from the start. The remainder of the elite group which included East Down’s Neil McCartan tried to go with him for the first kilometre but he had already established a lead of 25 metres or so by that point with Kieran Kelly in second place about 5 metres in front of the chasing group of 6 athletes now led by our East Down runner. The wind was on their backs on the way out on the carriage way which made the return for home (the last 2.5km into the wind) difficult, to say the least. The chase group slowly disintegrated to leave just Neil and Annadale’s Luke Dinsmore in contention for 3rd place and when Neil made a move with 800 metres to go it was enough to secure 3rd place, crossing the line in a time of 15 minutes dead, just 12 seconds outside his best for the distance but nevertheless a satisfactory outing given his current level of fitness and the prevailing conditions. Well done to him.
FEILE 10K
Paul Lloyd headed to the Feile 10K in Finaghy on Sunday. He found it tough going, with the first half made up of climbing from Finaghy to Andersontown, the Glen Road then up into the park. Once out of the park he was faced with a head wind most of the way home. He was still glad to have entered despite the challenges and to have a 10K race under his belt. He had set himself sub 43 as a doable target and managed that comfortably in 42.12. Well done to him and on to the next one.
Joe Quinn (08/08/22)