BELFAST HALF MARATHON

The 7^th running of the Belfast City Half Marathon on Sunday morning was welcomed by 5500 runners and a distinctively Autumn feel to the weather which resulted in several heavy downpours of rain before and during the race.  Kenyan Gideon Kimosop had little trouble in defending his crown and led all the way to come home in 1.06.58, well ahead of 2^nd place Eoin Hughes 1.08.30 and John Black in 3^rd in 69.12 .An interesting fact about Hughes is that together with his famous father Tommy, the Marakesh Express, now 69 years old,  he was attempting to set a new world record for a father and son’s combined time total and although Tommy ran extremely well to claim 7^th place in, their combined total was a mere 31 seconds outside the existing record!!

EAST DOWN PERFORMANCES

Aaron McGrady carried the hopes of all his clubmates in East Down on the foot of his 1.12 time in last year’s Amsterdam Half Marathon and he came into the race in the form of his life. He had planned to take things conservatively for the first 10K and then pick up the pace but though he looked in excellent shape at 3 miles when he was lying in 4^th place he found that he had nothing when he asked for the extra pace. He had to just hang on and hope for a second wind. On this occasion it didn’t happen and although he finished in an admirable time of 1.14 he was nonetheless disappointed even with a Top 15 placing. Experience will tell him that sometimes this happens, for no apparent reason, perhaps it was the unnoticed pressure of the weight of expectations?  He had however, set his sights higher and he will have another chance to slay his demons over the same distance in Oxford in 3 weeks time. Meantime those who saw him yesterday are in no way disappointed with his excellent showing.

BEST OF THE LADIES

While Aaron did not set a new PB he did provide an unexpected bonus for the Club when his girlfriend Hannah Somani decided that if she was going to compete on their trips home from London, she may as well sign up to the Club. She had run a handy sub 40 minutes in Jimmy’s 10K in 2019 and felt that wearing club colours would add to the enjoyment. So in her debut in EDAC colours she ran 1.25.15 which was an 80 second PB for her. She was 8th lady home! Well done Hannah. Do you think the vest was the secret ingredient?

A TALE OF TWO CITIES

Clare Carson and Kevin Kelly went for the double by nipping down to Dublin the day before and running the Half Marathon there. The weather was warm and dry for Dublin and they enjoyed the run through Phoenix Park. Kevin recorded a time of 1.45 which was a PB for him at this distance. Clare got 1.43 which was a good time but not a PB. Not to be outdone she managed 1.42.36 the very next day in Belfast, and in the blustery rain too! That now stands as her best time to date. Kevin, being happy with his Saturday time nevertheless posted 1.49. Well done you two!

 

WELL DONE EVERYONE

The following reflect the excellent performances from the other East Down runners :-

1.19.49 Neil Curran – found it a hard grind but set a PB.

1.29.03 Joanne Foster who set herself a goal of running a sub 1.30 and nailed it. PB  Super run Joanne

1.29.26 Paul Lloyd PB delighted

1.30.11 Conor Rice PB delighted

1.30.37 Gareth Kelly PB delighted

1.32.25 Deirdre Weatherall Strong run but only a few seconds quicker than last year which didn’t please her- She had to accept that Dublin is the main aim.

1.34.42 Gavin Hynds – struggled a bit but again Dublin is the A Game so hopefully he will have gained good mileage by slogging on.

1.42.36 Clare Carson – PB and chuffed to bits

1.42.46 Stephen McCartan – always looked strong and in control

1.44.30 Edie Carroll  – Debut at the distance did the training and ticked the box. Happy but found it hard.  2^nd Female Junior to finish

1.44.50 Paddy McDonald  PB

1.47.25 John Taylor – looked happy enough throughout.

1.53.25 Eamon Kelly  Another Debut – very happy

1.54.24 Ryan McVeigh Debut – glad to finish but happy with his time.

1.56.02 George Kerr  Excellent run PB

1.57.10 Kelly Smith – A debutante and a good one at that. Passed her Dad Donal inside last 2 miles!

1.58.00 Donal Smith – chuffed for Kelly but will seek revenge!

1.59.48 Gavin McConvey – Quietly chipping away and got the job done. Slightly quicker than on the same course last year.

2.02.35 Janine Murray – Good steady run as part of the build up to the Dublin marathon

2.03.04 Helen Vint – very pleased

2.05.30 Gillian Grant Debut – Over the moon, set a good pace throughout

2.05.30 Nicole Laverty Debut – Over the Moon to finish, enjoyed every minute of it but will NOT be running a marathon.

Phillip Vint decided to pull out when he felt a stiffening of his calf muscle after just 7K. Purely a precaution as Dublin marathon is his main aim.

HARDEST WORKERS

In case any of your runners decide to retire and become spectators next year, here’s a word of warning/advice. It’s not an easy task, having to be in position long before any runners come along and in some cases long before they’re even up! Having to stand about for 3-4 hours with only the occasional cup of coffee to sustain you is a difficult task at the best of times, but when the rain is pouring down and the water begins to seep into your shoes, then devotion to duty is tested to the full. Not only is is difficult to stay afloat in one place but a few choose to follow their runners progress on a bike! Talk about multi-tasking! Riding a bike, watching runners, and staying above the waves is a job best left to women. I think I’ll stick to watching on foot. It’s not as easy as running but it’s easier than on the bike. So all of you who are tempted to take up the practice of  spectating please ensure that you do all the Health and Safety training first.

Niall and Gavin get their Certificates 

Gavin Hynds had to keep moving after the race on Sunday as he had to attend the presentation for the Denis Rankin Round. Along with Niall Gibney, he had tackled and completed this challenge with great determination. The club was proud to note that they were the first members to do so. The certificates were presented by Denis Rankin’s widow. Certainly something to put on display – congratulations again you two!

 

Joe Quinn,  Alison Carroll

23 September 2019