STORMONT CROSS COUNTRY on SATURDAY
Storm Ciara was causing great concern in the build up to the Stormont XC hosted by NICSAC on Saturday. The forecast was daunting but also fluctuating and so the indomitable Mags Mathieson aided by Michael Kelly, and the rest of the team kept hoping for the best, while preparing for the worst. The day before race day, they set up the course regardless of potential park closure and having arrived early on Saturday to see if it had remained intact, they announced that it was all systems go.
JUNIORS OUT in FORCE
The Junior Races were held first with a well attended Primary Girls and Primary Boys Race to get proceedings underway. EDAC was represented by Alex Robinson, Matthew Doran, Kelsey Murray and Maeve McNeill. Finn Gibney also ran but on this occasion was part of the St Macartan’s Primary School Team. All ran to their utmost and finished in the mix. Finn Gibney had a great race to come 9th overall while Alex came 26th out of the 141 boys who took part. Matthew Doran was running for the first time in an official race since joining EDAC and he coped extremely well and finished in 47th place. Well done Matthew and welcome to the world of running.
Matthew Doran and Alex Robinson at Stormont Primary XC
GIRL’S RACE
There were the same number in the Girls’ Race so Kelsey and Maeve were happy with their 51st and 52nd places. In the U15/17 race Mackenzie Murray, Emily Burns and Ollie Robinson set off at a fast pace. The 3 laps were demanding but they all showed determination in battling their way to the end. Mackenzie timed it to perfection as he fairly flew in the last half lap, to move up from 4th to take 2nd in the U17 Boys. Ollie was running in the U15 category and managed a 4th place finish while Emily also in the U15 was 5th in her category.
Mackenzie Murray, Ollie Robinson and Emily Burns who took part in the U15/17 XC Race
The Senior Ladies followed with a healthy turnout of 181 but sadly no EDAC interest to report. It was won by Clare Tonry of Dub Runners and then with the course nicely chopped up, it was over to the men.
MEN’S RACE
EDAC had a 5 man team and they lined up in the swirling wind ready to set out on the 4 lap run. The wind had been picking up as the day went on and there were strong gusts whipping at the runners as they got underway, one advantage of which was that it had dried out most of the ground underneath the trees. The long slog up from the gate end towards the Carson Memorial was a leg sapping stretch despite the fact that it was aided by a strong tailwind. This was followed by the twists and turns in the trees with a full on headwind to spoil any benefits of the downhill sections. There was also a lot of debris from trees so care had to be taken when choosing a path forward.
The Men’s Team – Paul Lloyd, Neil Curran, Gareth Reilly, Martin Willcox and Dee Murray
The race was taken out by a small group of men who rapidly became a train of individuals with the placings staying more or less the same until the finish. The overall winner was Philip Goss of North Belfast Harriers in a time of 23.43 for the 4.4 mile course. First man home for EDAC was Neil Curran, who just missed out on a top 10 by one place (25.26). He said afterwards that he really enjoyed the race, despite the windy conditions, and he had started towards the front of the field and hung on to gradually work his way forward into 11th place. He is training hard for Lisbon Half Marathon at the end of March and is happy with his current form. Martin Willcox, complete with eyecatching luminous yellow gloves to keep the chill at bay, was 30th in 26.37. Dee Murray, the current EDAC Men’s Captain leading by example in turning out regularly, finished in 69th position. Paul Lloyd used the mud as endurance training, and was happy with 86th place (29.35) while Gareth Reilly, was well content to finish in 113th place as he works his way back from the Achilles tendon injury that pulled him up in the Seeley Cup at the start of December. Even more importantly there was no sign of the injury which caused his near 3 months lay-off.
Neil Curran leading the EDAC men home in the Men’s XC at Stormont
THANKS TO ALL WHO HELPED
The course was dismantled by marshals and NICSAC members (with the aid of some of the Annadale men on their wind down) and within 15 minutes of the last man finishing, the grounds were almost clear of runners and officials leaving the coast clear for Ciara to do her worst. Perfect timing and well done to the organisers and volunteers for getting the job done so quickly and efficiently.
THREE FIRSTS FOR JOHN IN DEAD SEA HALF MARATHON
EDAC’s John Taylor was in Israel, well away from the clutches of Storm Ciara, when he discovered that the Dead Sea Marathon and its younger sister the Dead Sea Half Marathon were taking place. So not wanting to miss out on some warm weather training he promptly entered the Half distance and was delighted to report that it was his most enjoyable Half to date and also his slowest! He also reported that this was only the 2nd year of this event, not all that surprising when you consider the route was in a military border zone which is only opened once a year – for the race!! – and runs alongside minefields for most of the way. John thus became the first EDAC runner to have to look out for landmines during a race. This was a great incentive, he said, not to dart off to the side for a pit stop/ toilet break! The temperature was around 22 or 23 degrees and the route mostly on hard packed salt and gravel, along the border with Jordan, and a little paved road near the end, making it much more like a trail, rather than a road race. He completed the race in just under 2 hours, according to his watch it was 1.55.57 but which he reckons is better than his actual time, as he stopped to take photos along the way. He was however, definitely, the first EDAC runner to finish, added to which he takes additional pride from knowing that he has now trumped Donal Smith, at least for the present, in the #havevestwilltravel competition.
Mines warning sign from Dead Sea Half marathon
John Taylor at the Dead Sea Half Marathon
HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT!!
Donal may have been surpassed by John in the realms of travel, but he is definitely the winner when it comes to cakes. It has become tradition to mark parkrun milestones (50/100/250 etc) with cake and on the occasion of his 50th parkrun which took place on Saturday at Castlewellan, Donal was presented with a magnificent cake from The Cake Station, Newcastle who incidentally are one of the 12 sponsors of this year’s Jimmy’s Ten on March 15th. The rumour is that there is going to be a special EDAC cake that day, so hurry up and get your entry in if you want a “piece of the action”! We will be revealing all the sponsors in the next couple weeks so look out for the shout outs. We hope that since they are supporting us, you will all support them in return.
Donal Smith and his mum Lily – 50th parkrun celebration
JIMMY’S TEN
Finally, remember that the signature race T-shirt for Jimmy’s Ten on 15 March is only available to the first 800 entrants (including online and direct entry) and they are being snapped up fast. Enter at https://online.athleticsni.org/ps/event/JimmysTen2020 now to avoid disappointment.
NEW DATE FOR 2020 ROLLERCOASTER RACES
This year’s Rollercoaster Races will be held on Saturday 6 June at Downpatrick Race Course. Why the change of date? Well the organisers are hoping to find a better spell of weather and while nothing is guaranteed weather wise even in June, it is anticipated that the chances of a reasonably mild and dry day are much greater than in January /February. They reckon they have had enough of the cold, wet and windy Winter conditions associated with this event and have taken the decision to move it to a later date. They are convinced that the children will support this view too. All schools will be invited to send along as many children as they like, as there will be races on the perimeter road for children from P3 upwards, and great viewing for the teachers and parents in a totally traffic free environment. This notification has already gone out to the schools which normally support the Rollercoaster races and further information about entering teams etc. will be sent in the period before the races are due. Further information available from Joe Quinn on 07395814122 or by email at jaykwin69@gmail.com.
Joe Quinn & Alison Carroll
10 February 2020