MILL HILL MILE ( A PROXY RUN?)
As anticipated, there was a great turn out on Tuesday night for my favourite race of the year, the Mill Hill Mile, in Castlewellan. with entries just below the 100 mark. As you will notice my name doesn’t appear in the results which is down to the fact that I got my daughter to run it for me this year, RHIP or better AHIP (Age Has Its Privileges) as I am still incapacitated by my ongoing left knee problem. But not wanting to miss out on the fun of running up the Mill Hill, my daughter Karen kindly volunteered to step into my shoes, so to speak.
LAST MINUTE
It was very much a last minute thing as we arrived at the last minute before the race started, Karen hopped out halfway down Ballybannnon, where we were stuck fuming in the traffic while another of those damned road races was holding up all us angry drivers. So at the last minute Karen reached the back of the pack of runners just as the whistle / hooter? sounded.(Thanks again to the traffic jam I didn’t get close enough to hear what it was that started the race) and then she was off.
EVEN I WAS TIRED
It took me quite a while to overtake her (in the car) as she surged up the hill, trying to emulate me. I have to say it tired me out just watching all of the runners and I was indeed glad to see Karen cross the finish line in what was, for me, a very respectable 12.40. Well Done and Thank You Karen.
EDAC SUCCESS
But practically every other one of East Down’s 16 runners ended up with a winning place as, ably led by Paul Burns 4th overall in 6.06 and first M40, the Robinson and Foster families, made it their benefit night. Oliver Robinson was the first Under 12 Boy to cross the line in 7.11 brother Alex was the first Under 10 Boy in 7.54, and Mum Marguerite claimed the prize for first Female Over 50 in 9.25. Callum Kent was close behind Oliver in 7.26. Mackenzie Murray posted a superb 6.42 to take the Boys Under 14 trophy.
Paul Burns – First EDAC home and third male overall
Hot and sunny at Larne 10k (234 runners in total) (Pictured: Seamus Savage)
FAMOUS FIVE FOSTER GIRLS
The Foster family went even better led by Dad Davy who was 8th overall in 6.25 and 2nd M40, only deprived of a prize by Paul’s effort. And then came the avalanche. Kirsti was the first of the five Fosters to complete the race, and she set the standard high with a time of 6.57 to take the Under 14 Girls title and was 4th Female overall. Lucy clocked a splendid 7.01 for first Under 12 Girl, Jodi was next in 7.35 and first Under 10 Girl, with Kari only 24 seconds behind her and 2nd Under 10. Lily then kept her end up by crossing the line in 8.45 to claim the 1st prize in the Girls Under 8 category.
A big turnout from EDAC at the annual Mill Hill Mile in Castlewellan
JAY’S THE STAR on his DEBUT
However they were not done yet. One young man, a brother of all the Foster girls was still out there doing his first ever Mill Hill Mile, and boy was he enjoying it! With a smile as broad as the Main St. he ran the entire way, happily chatting to mum Joanne and later re-united with his dad as he came into the finish funnel to the roar of the onlookers who crowded around. His time was 13.15, so why is it worthy of notice? Well it was Jay’s very first official race and his first go at the mile AND he’s ONLY 3 YEARS old. So welcome to the world of competitive running Jay, you’re a star already. There should have been a special award for him as he was running in the Under 8 Boys category!!
Jay the star at Mill Hill Mile
GORDY TAKES 5TH PLACE IN LARNE 10K
EDAC had 3 runners head to the North Coast for the Larne 10k hosted by East Coast AC on Saturday. There were 234 runners taking part and Gordy Graham threw himself into the mix with pleasing results. He came 5th overall which is good going for a course with two fairly brutal hills on a hot day though Gordy thought that the weather conditions were almost perfect. He went out at a steady 5:30 pace and sensibly let the lead group go as they were closer to 5:00’s. He ran the whole way with Mark Smith (Mallusk Harriers) who finished sixth and was happy to outsprint him to the finish line even though both were given the same time 35.35. This was superb running bearing in mind that Stephen Scullion, just back from European action for Ireland had to set a new race record of 32.29 to beat second placed Ben Branagh 32.52 St. Malachy’s AC a winner of Jimmy’s Ten 2 years ago, and they are probably the top 2 road runners in the country right now. It was a new PB for the East Down man and as it came after a hard week’s training with no rest days, he had every reason to be more than happy with the result.
GAVIN and SEAMUS
Gavin McConvey was using the event as a birthday treat to himself and was happy to finish in 54.59. Seamus Savage went with no real aspirations as his training has been less consistent than he would have liked over the Summer but he managed to complete the course and said that he was glad that he had persevered. He found the second time up the hill a tough ask but said that it was a well organised event and he would return.
PAUL COMES UP SHORT?
Paul Lloyd was in Killyleagh on Friday night for the Atlas 10K and was 2nd overall which was an excellent result for this ever improving runner. Though his time 39.04 represented a new PB he doesn’t want to boast about it as he reckons the course was “short”. I say just accept it Paul as it’s easier than trying to explain to the uninitiated the peculiarities of road running. Anyway I spent 25 years trying to find a marathon route that was “short” so that I could break the 3 hour barrier and never found one!! Nowadays even the 10Ks are all “long” However he was thankful that he ran fast enough to beat the fading light as some of those tackling the Half marathon were finishing in the dark. George and Noreen Kerr took to the roads for the first time in a while and got round comfortably in the middle of the pack of 10k runners.
DECLAN STAYS IN THE LIGHT
Declan Teague took on the Half Marathon and was placed 12th overall in 1 hour 27 minutes which nevertheless was only just before the light disappeared. Given that, like Gordy in the Larne race he had a hard week’s training in his system and that the course was challenging enough, this was in impressive result, Declan! He has a fairly strenuous few weeks ahead as he prepares or the Belfast half Marathon on 23 September the Budapest Marathon on 7 October and the Dublin version on 28th. Good luck in all of those.
LEFT IN THE DARK
It was noted with some concern on Friday night that with the swift onset of Autumn the evenings are drawing in and it was always going to be touch and go about whether the slower runners would complete the half marathon before it was actually dark. I left Kilyleagh round 8.20pm and it was quite dusky even then. That was 80 minutes into the race and with well over half the runners taking over 100 minutes to complete and the last runner taking 3 hours and 20 minutes to cross the line it must have raised serious concerns for the organisers about their safety.
24 HOUR RELAY IN SUPPORT OF AIR AMBULANCE NI
None of the EDAC members took part in the 24 Hour Run in the Park Relay on Saturday and Sunday in aid of Air Ambulance Northern Ireland. It began at 12.00noon on Saturday and was well supported. Our contribution to the proceedings was we supplied our large digital clock for keeping everyone appraised of the total running time throughout the full 24 hours.
Joe Quinn & Alison Carroll
10 September 2018