SCHOOL DISTRICT CROSS COUNTRY
For many of the Juniors it was a busy week with the Schools’ District Cross Country on Wednesday as well as weekend races. District A which incorporates most schools in County Down was contested in Delamont Country Park with a large entry across the age groups. Runners are there to represent their school team with qualification for the Ulster Schools event as the main aim. As well as qualifying as part of a team, runners can also get selected as an individual if they come in the top 15 of their race. Well done to all our juniors who took part and congratulations to those who are proceeding to the next round which takes place in Mallusk on 9th of February. Apologies to any who were missed from our summary due to being in school vests rather than their customary red and yellow East Down AC colours.
Year 8 (Minis) 119 GIRLS Maeve McNeill (St Malachy’s- 40th)
Year 9 (Minors) 129 BOYS Alex Robinson (DHS – 5th individual qualifier), Finn Gibney (DHS – 46th)
YEAR 9 (Minors) 126 GIRLS Cara Napier (Assumption- 12th individual qualifier), Erin Moore (DHS – 66th)
Year 10 (Juniors) 113 BOYS Conan Pleasants (St Patricks, Downpatrick- 22nd)
Year 10 (Juniors) 99 GIRLS Abigail Elliott (DHS- 43rd), Rebekah Wilson (DHS-56th)
Year 11 (Intermediate) 89 BOYS Oliver Robinson (DHS- 7th individual qualifier), Jacob Crawford (DHS – 13th individual qualifier), James Wright (DHS – 23rd)
Year 13 (Senior) 33 BOYS MacKenzie Murray DHS –10th individual qualifier)
McGRADY FINANCIAL SERVICES JUNIOR XC SERIES
Sunday the 23rd of January saw the welcome return of the popular Junior Cross Country Series sponsored by McGrady Financial Services and co hosted by a number of clubs (Newcastle AC, Murlough AC, Dromore AC, Burren AC, and East Down AC) as inter club competition. After an enforced break of nearly 2 years due to the pandemic, the first race of the Series was hosted by Dromore AC. Although normally 5 separate events, there will be only three this year as a result of prior COVID restrictions.
It is fair to say that all runners, parents and coaches were delighted to be there. Despite the sharp wind the day remained dry with many spectators staying to cheer on all runners long after their own athlete had finished. The races recognise participation with every runner gaining points for their club irrespective of their finishing position. In short, every team member counts and it is a great way for young runners to gain experience in an informal and relaxed atmosphere. The distances around the playing fields of Dromore Leisure Centre increased in length according to age.
P4 – P7 Races
The Primary 4 and under started the proceedings with 14 boys and girls running 500m over two shorter laps of one playing field. For many these children, this race was not only their first cross country race, but their first race ever. All finished with smiles on their faces supported by their parents and cheered on by spectators. Rachel Mulhall P3 who is only 7 was the sole EDAC runner and coped brilliantly on her first race. P5 and P6 races continued the trend of running the boys and girls combined with the distances increasing to 750 for P5 and to 1000m for P6. 
Alice Taylor was again a lone EDAC entrant and ran a very evenly paced race to come in 3rd out of the 7 girls. The P7 race separated the boys from girls due to the large number of girls entered and 
Luke Napier placed 2nd out of 6 boys in a time of 6.10 over the 1200m distance. William Taylor was not far behind placing 4th in 6.27.
Post primary races
EDAC fielded 2 girls in the Year 8 race. Jessica Martin had a fantastic run and came 2nd on her first outing for EDAC in a time of 6.06 with Maeve McNeill coming 5th in 6.56. 
As the distances increase so does the experience of these runners with many having represented their schools just 3 days beforehand at the Schools’ District XC. 
Alex Robinson comfortably won the Year 9 Boys’ race in a time of 6.09, with Finn Gibney coming 3rd in 6.42 . Adam Mulhall was 4th in a time of 7 minutes for the 1700m course. 
Cara Napier came second in the Year 9 Girls’ race (7.08) and Sarah Gilchrist, in her first race for EDAC clocked 7.45. 
The girls also ran 1700m. The distance for the year 10 runners increased to 2000m. Aaron Lennon won with a clear lead in 8.19 
and Matthew Taylor was 4th in a time of 8.55.
Rebekah Wilson was the only EDAC girl in this race and finished strongly in 9.30. 
Last race of the day
The final race of the day was the Year 11 and over. This race was 2400m with 13 runners (8 boys and 5 girls) covering three large laps & one small lap of the course. 5 of the 6 Down High District Intermediate silver medallists’ team were running against each other in this race but this time for their individual clubs rather than as a school team so it was all out for glory. In the EDAC corner Oliver Robinson led from the start pacing his race well to win in 8.10 followed by Jacob Crawford in 3rd in 8.35 and James Wright in 5th. Their DHS team mates Ethan McMullan and Yasin Brannigan running for Newcastle placed 2nd and 8th respectively taking their share of the spoils. All good natured rivalry and great to see. Hannah Lennon came 3rd out of 5 in the girls race finishing strongly in a time of 11.01.
Thanks to Dromore AC for hosting the event & McGrady Financial Services for their continued sponsorship. The next race will be hosted by EDAC at Delamont Country Park on the 6th February. Racing starts at 1pm and all spectators are welcome.
(Junior Report Marguerite Robinson with photos by Marguerite/Richard Robinson )
NORTHERN IRELAND INTERNATIONAL CROSS COUNTRY
On Saturday 22nd January the Northern Ireland International Cross Country was held at Billy Neill Playing Fields in Comber. The main event was the elite racing mid afternoon when the top athletes in Northern Ireland and Ireland went head to head with runners from England, Scotland, Wales and those from further afield. There was a full team of Italian athletes and olympic and world record standard entrants so the spectators were kept fully entertained. Before all this however there was a mixed 4K club race for both male and females of all age categories. EDAC had 5 runners who took part. Neil Curran had a decent run to lead his club mates home in 7th place. With 14.14 as the total time run, he found it rather short and sweet but challenging nonetheless due to the hilly route and the leg sapping mud. Mackenzie Murray really enjoyed his outing coming 10th in 14.31. His dad Dee was 18th in 15.55 and Adam Morgan paced it well to come 37th overall. 
Catherine O’Connor was the only EDAC female but despite the back up of a team, she went out hard and after a mid race tussle for the lead in the Female category she settled into 2nd place which she held until the line. Those who took part saw it as good practice for this weekend coming when the club will turn out in force for the NI & Ulster Masters and Intermediate Championships which take place at Queens Playing Fields in Belfast.
IN MEMORY OF AISLING MURPHY RIP
When Aisling Murphy lost her life in tragic circumstances whilst out running – something that she loved and where she should not have been at risk – it struck a note with the running community both near and far. Runners were shocked that one of their own was so cruelly and tragically taken and in an attempt to find a positive in the depths of despair there have been some gatherings over the past week to allow them to express solidarity. One such event was organised by Ballygalget AC on Sunday and a large number gathered in the Exploris Car Park in Portaferry to run 10K together in her memory. Runners were invited to donate to Women’s Aid instead of an event fee and as a result a significant amount was raised for this worthy cause. Suzy Smith accompanied by her brothers Donal and Patrick made the trip and Mags Flynn also took part. RIP Aisling.