ARMAGH INTERNATIONAL ROAD RACES

The Armagh 5K International Road Race with accompanying 3K is a date eagerly awaited by both runners and spectators alike and this year with it celebrating its 30th anniversary, was no exception . Race day miraculously fell between the snow showers earlier in the week which postponed the Ulster Schools’ Cross Country and Storm Dennis which was forecast for the following weekend. Conditions on Thursday Night were milder than usual which was appreciated by all.

JUNIOR RACES

The Junior Races were a thrilling warm up act within the route the seniors would run later. The first races were per birth year with a 400m dash along one side of the Mall. The final 6 races combined 2 birth years running over a distance of 1400m. Alex Robinson ran in the 6th race of the evening in 2008/2009 race. He was young in this category but fared well coming 37th out of a field of nearly 150 runners. Ollie Robinson had a great race in the 2006/2007 group taking 10th slot out of 60 entrants with an impressive sprint from 400m out. All in all 1075 children under 13 took part!

MEN’S 5K

The headline act is of course the Men’s 5K and with strict entry criteria based on previous bests, for many it is one to watch rather than race. EDAC had no runners involved although Neil McCartan with the aid of a car got a great view of the action as videographer for the night. The result stats speak for themselves – 21 runners broke 14 minutes, 140 broke 15 minutes and the slowest time overall was 16.49 with only 10 runners failing to break 16 minutes. The winner Adam Clarke from the aptly named Team Real Runners ran 13.42. Local interest was provided by Ryan Forsyth of Newcastle AC who was 16th in 13.57.

WOMEN’S 5K

EDAC spectators had 3 runners to cheer on in the Ladies’ 3K. Sinead Sweeney having got a last minute call was representing Northern Ireland as part of a team which was placed 4th. She ran a pleasing 10.03 which put her 56th in the category and they ended up not far apart at the finish line having swapped the high calibre field. Catherine O’Connor despite running a solid 10.14 was disappointed with her performance as she had hoped to improve on last year’s time. Katie Neary who is coming back after a bout of illness was content with 11.39 which put her 111th. Well done to the ladies as this is a daunting event to enter and there were some bad falls in the mass start so it a relief to report that all our runners survived intact to take part in the Senior Cross Country this weekend in Coleraine. There could not be a greater contrast than the pancake flat sprint pace of Armagh versus the mud and marsh of cross country so it will be interesting to see how they fare.

MEN’S OPEN 3K

The final race of the evening was the Open Men’s 3K event. Neil Curran was in this race as was Mackenzie Murray running in the Junior B lead throughout the race. Mackenzie was delighted with his race and felt that he was able to control his pace well. The super fast start can be disconcerting and it is hard to judge yourself by those around you. He finished as the 9th Junior B boy in a time of 9.41. A promising run all round. Neil Curran was home in 9.46 which was a 15 second PB for him at this distance. Despite improving on his time, he was non committal about his performance, feeling that a lack of speed work had left his legs wanting. Runners can be hard on themselves and should remember that performances that they think lack sparkle, may be times that others may only dream of achieving.

UNDAUNTED BY DENNIS

A call had gone out to our members to take part in a recce of the course for the rapidly approaching Jimmy’s 10. It was decided to open this up to all comers and it was a popular move. With representatives from Tels Fitness, Murlough AC, Crossgar Harriers and Down Triathlon Club and some solo runners joining our own crowd, there was a jolly band of nearly 50 runners hitting the streets. Storm Dennis was a bit of a concern but having consulted the weather charts it was decided to proceed with caution. In actual fact although there was a taxing head wind at some points, it was dry until after all returned so Denis was not able to put off these hardcore folk. They soon warmed up with hot drinks and snacks and the general feeling was that it was a good job, well done. All reported that they were looking forward to the real event with even more anticipation having had the tester.

WOULD DENNIS BE THE LAST ONE STANDING?

As usual on this weekend every year, the Last One Standing take place in Castleward. Admittedly the organisers don’t usually have to consider the elements to any great extent as it is an endurance test of the individual against whatever arises, but the warnings about the arrival of Storm Dennis meant that extra caution had to be exercised this year. With most of the course on grass or muddy forest tracks and with much of it also under the usually benign shelter of the many trees, then consideration of the likely effects of the much heralded Storm Dennis had to be a priority. However, cometh the hour cometh the Man (or Men and Women) who were undaunted by the prospect of storm force rain and wind in their attempts to attain the coveted title of Last One Standing 2020.

I personally have to take my hat off to every one who set out on the journey, which no one knows how long it will take or how far it will be, depending as it does on the persistence and bloody mindedness of those participating. The format is basically that every runner has to be on the start line at 12 noon on Saturday and they then have to complete the course of 4.2 miles within the hour and be on the start line again at 1.00pm and so on for every hour thereafter. Anyone who fails to finish within the hour or who fails to be on the start line when the next hour begins is automatically excluded from further participation. So then it develops into a poker game of who will keep going the longest as hour after hour the field gradually reduces until only one person begins what will be the final lap, which he/she has to complete to be declared the Last One Standing.

THE WINNER

So in theory, anyone can win, though there are, like in every branch of sport those who will attract greater support as favourites because of their previous experience at this type of physical activity. Among those would be the likes of previous winner, Peter Cromie from Omagh and Cork man Eoin Keith who has won many long distance events both in Ireland and abroad, including setting records over 24 hours endurance races, where the emphasis is on how far one can travel in the allotted time, unlike this one, where it’s a case of how long can one keep going for, knowing that all one hour will yield will be 4.2 miles! But they have the stickability factor which is so important in this type of event. And so it came to pass that after completing 41 laps and 172.2 miles that the winner was Peter Cromie, following Eoin’s retirement at the end of lap 40. What a battle this proved.

In the absence of any results it is not possible to comment further on how any “locals” fared but hopefully I’ll have more information next week.

JIMMY’S TEN on 15 MARCH 2020

If you haven’t yet signed up to Jimmy’s 10 2020 then you should put it on your to do list asap as it is only 4 weeks until Race Day.

Some of the people who turned up to try out the route for Jimmy’s 10K to be held on Sunday March 15th

Some of the people who turned up to try out the route for Jimmy’s 10K to be held on Sunday March 15th

Entries online at https://athleticsni.org/Fixtures/Jimmys-Ten-2020 or email info@eastdownac.co.uk for further information. You will miss out on a great day if you delay!

Joe Quinn & Alison Carroll

17 February 2020