APOLOGIES FOR LAST WEEK’S OMISSIONS
I must right away say that I was wrong to allege last week that most of our Club runners had succumbed to the excesses of the season and were in a state of hibernation. It turns out that there was quite an East Down turnout in Castlewellan for the New Year’s Day Parkrun, at least a dozen in fact, so my sincere apologies to anyone who felt that their efforts were being overlooked.
CROSS COUNTRY FIXTURE AT MALLUSK
The Mathieson Cup and Shield in honour of our good friend Mags Mathieson aka volunteer extraordinaire was held on Sunday at the City of Belfast Playing Fields at Mallusk. Two years ago the snow that lay turned the event into something of an Artic expedition and last year was bitter with grey clouds and showers, so the bright blue skies on race day were a welcome sight to those arriving to sign up. The fact that there was an icy wind took the edge of that slightly and if the pictures appear to almost hint of Spring, do not be deceived – it was a day for layers and plenty of them. Despite this EDAC had a good showing of Juniors who seemed undeterred by the low temperatures.
PRIMARY SCHOOL & UNDER 12 BOYS RACES
The race schedule started off with a mixed, crowded 800m Primary school race. EDAC had Alexander Robinson, Kelsey Murray, William and Alice Taylor all running. This was Alice’s first taste of cross country outside of the McGrady Series and she did extremely well at the tender age of 6. Hopefully the stampede hasn’t put her off future runs. Alex came 8th boy which was impressive. He had to work hard and also stay calm in the jostling. William finished in 60th among the boys and Kelsey 17th and Alice 39th also made it to the finish line unscathed and still smiling to make it a very successful start to the day.
Kelsey Murray – Primary race
Matthew Taylor took on the Under 12 Boys race, over a 1K course, and finished in 23rd place.
The Taylor Family who all took part in the day’s racing.
Alex Robinson in the Primary Race
UNDER 14 BOYS & GIRLS
Oliver Robinson, Lauren Madine, Anna Gardiner and Emily Burns ran in the U14 2K mixed race. Ollie bravely led the race from the front for over a lap before being overtaken by the eventual winner. He managed to hold onto second place and was chuffed to receive a plaque as a result. Due a clerical error, Lauren Madine ended up running in the wrong age category so although she came 1st girl, she sportingly handed the trophy to team mate Anna who crossed the line on her heels. It was disappointing for Lauren but she took it with good grace and felt that the good run out meant that the morning was not a waste. Well done to you Lauren!
Emily was 12th and like all her clubmates is to be commended on the way they tackled the tricky course.
Ollie Robinson, Anna Gardiner, Lauren Madine and Emily Burns
UNDER 17 BOY
McKenzie Murray ran in the U17 race which was a full 4K. He had a strong committed run and placed 4th – unlucky not to get on the podium as he was only 1 second behind the third placed athlete.
Mackenzie Murray after the U17 race
EAST DOWN LADIES
There were only two brave ladies representing our club – both of them mothers of aforementioned Juniors keen to show their offspring that they could match their efforts. Sharon Madine and Nuala Taylor set off in tandem and stayed that way for the first 2 laps of 3. This was a new experience for Nuala but Sharon who seems to have caught the XC bug this season was able to convince her that they would manage rightly. The pack was led out by 2 runners who changed positions several times before Karen Wilton from Jog Lisburn made the break to win in 23.50 just 2 seconds ahead of Amy Bulman from Willowfield. Further back in the thick of things, the EDAC ladies had worked their way up through the field with their steady approach. Sharon then edged away in the last kilometre to finish in 43rd position in 28.16. It should be noted that the number of Female competitors overall was actually greater than that of the Men which is quite unusual. 215 Ladies spread out over the long loop was quite an impressive sight and when Nuala came in in 52nd place 29.01, the 2 EDAC runners were delighted to see how many were in their wake. To be in the top quarter is a great result. Well done indeed!
Sharon Madine and Nuala Taylor after XC at Mallusk
MEN’S SENIOR RACE
The Men’s race went off at a frantic pace with Mark McKinstry forging his familiar path to the front and staying there. He went on to take the win in 26.41. We look forward to see him defend his title in Jimmy’s 10 in March as on his current form he seems unstoppable. East Down’s Gordy Graham managed to get hold of a bunch a little further back and use the momentum to keep a strong pace. He came 13th out of the 206 men in a time of 28.51. Just under a minute later Neil Curran finished in 22nd place.He wasn’t altogether happy with his run as he felt that his legs weren’t giving him the speed that he had trained for. Dee Murray is always keen to use cross country as a good training session and was content with his efforts, coming in 77th in 33.21. John Taylor, who made the final showing for the Taylor family on the day, thought that 4 laps was a big ask but he completed in 41.26 and was still able to pose for a family photo at the end which made it all worthwhile! To see all 5 of them out making good use of the day was an inspiring sight. Last but not least of the EDAC troop was Donal Smith 42.46. He was using the race as a way of clocking a few miles on his build up to his debut marathon in Belfast this May. As good a way as any and a bit of camaraderie appeared to ease his pain.
John Taylor with Donal Smith at the finish line
Neil Curran, Dee Murray and Gordy Graham glad to have completed their 4 laps
WELL DONE & THANKS
The race organisers managed to keep the race schedule on time and the warm food post race was most welcome. Thanks to all involved especially the marshals who had a long stand out round the course. It wasn’t clear if they were clapping simply to keep warm but their support was appreciated!
Joe Quinn, Alison Carroll & Marguerite Robinson
13 January 2020