NI & Ulster Evens Age Group Cross Country Championships

On Saturday 22nd October East Down AC Juniors and Seniors descended en masse on the Billy Neill Playing Fields in Comber for a full program of competition. There was plenty of action with the NI & Ulster Age Group XC Championships combining with the Bobby Rea Memorial XC and an International element added into the mix. An advance party of coaches and volunteers were there early on to set up the EDAC gazebo and refreshment tables to ensure that the athletes were able to shelter and have post race snacks. The mixed forecast was accurate and the day started windy and wet so their efforts were much appreciated. Drier spells did ensue with the odd glimpse of watery sunshine as the day went on but the base camp was well used throughout the day.

U10 and U12 Races

The event kicked off with Alice Taylor and Ozzy Ferguson in their respective U10 races. They got the brunt of the rain and wind but toughed it out to finish still smiling, setting a good example for those who followed. They raced a shorter distance (1000m)  in keeping with their age but there was nothing easy in the hectic pace throughout and a steep uphill finish. In the U12 Girls EDAC was able to field a team of 6. Aoife Gilchrist led them home with Xena Pleasants, Freya Cushnie, Orlaith Gill, Alicia McCaugherty and Anna Fleming finishing after her in that order, handling their first experience of proper xc racing with determination. As they finished, the U12 Boys lined up and EDAC was represented by Luke Napier and Dillon Hynds. Both boys held their nerve and when the whistle went they stuck to their own pace. It is easy to get carried away and suffer badly as time goes on. They were still looking strong as they climbed to the line. Well done to these younger athletes.

U14 Runners face longer course.

As the age of the runners increases so too does the length of their event. The U12 had run 1500m but the U14 who ran next had to complete 2500m. As it is a lapped course this means that every hill is run multiple times. It also gets more difficult with each race as the ground is churned up by each set of runners so the U14s faced a real challenge. Cara Napier is proving to be a gritty racer. She is not afraid to push herself hard and on Saturday she forced her way well up the field and raced right to the line coming 42nd out of 96.  Jessica Martin fought hard too to place 67th. They had barely time to catch their breath before the whistle blew for the U14 Boys. EDAC had a team of 4 ranging from the seasoned Alex Robinson to David Morrissey who was trying xc for the very first time. Alex shot into an early lead showing commitment to do his very best. He was overhauled as the laps went on but he hung on to finish a very commendable 12th out of 110. This qualifies him as an individual for the All Irelands in Donegal in November. Freddie Ferguson, David Morrissey and William Taylor all made it over the gruelling course and none of them seemed the worse for wear as seen by the post race team photo. The camaraderie of running with buddies is a huge part of events such as these and it is what brings back athletes again and again.

U16s – 3500m

The Club was pleased to have a large number of U16s prepared to face the 3500m course. For many this was a baptism of fire with it being their first ever cross country race. The hills at Comber put off even some seniors from taking part and it is definitely one of the most difficult courses that is on the fixture list. The U16 Girls had to draw on their inner strength just to keep going, but keep going they did. Abigail Elliott dug in to finish 53rd out of 91. Sarah Gilchrist was next to haul herself past the flag. She was followed by Evie Cushnie, Rebekah Wilson, Amelia Spick and Kate Jackson in that order, all deserving praise for their efforts. The U16 Boys ran the same course with Thomas Magee first EDAC junior home. Eoin Rooney wearing an EDAC vest for the first time acquitted himself well and Conan Pleasants was right behind him. The coaches were there to congratulate them on their fine performances.

U18s face the cream of the crop

EDAC only had one entrant in each of the Girls’ and Boys’ U18 events. Jacob Crawford stepped up to the plate in the 5000m Boys’ Race. He was up against the best runners from far and wide and it would have been very easy to feel outranked but he stuck to his race plan and ticked off lap after lap and hill after hill at a steady pace. He coped well with both the distance and the terrain and finished 25th – midway in the pack of 50 entries. That is a good performance and should boost his confidence for when he races in the Unevens in Stranorlar at the start of November.

Anna reigns supreme!

The U18 Girls also had a smaller field but every runner lining up was a quality athlete with a string of previous achievements. Anna Gardiner after a prolonged layoff and not having raced since 2019 was primed for action. She herself has many medals and championship podiums to her name but she is aware that a runner is only as good as they are on the day and she was facing uncharted territory with having been off the scene. She had been advised that she should tuck in, see how the race played out and then in the last lap make a move if she felt she could. Anna however had other ideas and as soon as the whistle went she fairly flew across the opening stretch fighting for position. Her speed was such that she found herself up front and forced to take the lead. With no hesitation, she asserted her position and set a pace that created a gap behind her. Spectators were glued to what they could see and straining to hear the announcer who was giving updates based on the cameras around the course. What followed was a master class in tactics. Every time a runner (Lucy Foster of Willowfield and Annabel Morrison of Enniskillen RC being the other contenders) tried to close the gap, she surged just enough to burn them off. She skilfully negotiated the twists, turns and hills both up and down until the final chicane when the crowd was roaring for her and at her.  At no point was her lead in serious danger as she raised her pace to ascend the final hill in style and cross the line with a 7 second lead over Lucy who in turn had 7 seconds over Annabel. A thrilling race to watch and well done to the top 3. Welcome back, Anna, that was some return to racing! 

Seniors in the Bobby Rea Memorial RaceThe Senior Men and Women finally had their turn and the big entry in both senior races provided a great spectacle of colour with exciting racing at the pointy end and grit and determination at the other. The Women “got away lightly” with 6000m. It doesn’t sound much especially to those used to the 5K of parkrun but running on grass is a whole different sport and then add in hills and mud and it becomes a challenge. Sharon Madine loves to test herself so she was in her element. She ground her way up the hills and flung herself down the other side to complete the course in 27.08 in 48th place out of 181. Niamh Kellet 62nd in 27.48)  had to convince herself to take part but once it was over she was glad that she had. Leanne Spick another game athlete trying her hand at all types of competition was 75th in 28.46. Aoife Cochrane  made it in to the top half in 90th place and Carmel Ross trying xc for the first time was 126th. With the first one under her belt she knows what to expect and is keen to go again.The Men had 6 entered but through illness and injury they were whittled to 3 none of whom regretted giving it a go even though mid race they might have said otherwise! Daniel Giles, Gavin Hynds and Adam Morgan finished in that order having suffered through 4 full laps and 8K so hats off to them for starting let alone finishing. Hopefully they will have more men to bolster their team in the next race.  Details of upcoming XC races on https://athleticsni.org/Fixtures/2022-Cross-Country-League.

Aaron gets an Irish Vest and a trip to Italy

Last weekend Aaron McGrady travelled to the Italian Alps as part of an Irish team to take part in the Trofeo Vanoni, a three-leg relay race, in Morbegno. Getting to the race was a challenge in itself, with all flights to Milan cancelled on Friday and a mad dash to rearrange a flight for Saturday, via Manchester but he wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to pull on the Irish vest. The new travel arrangements allowed no time for a course recce but he got a feel for what was in store with extensive pre-race analysis the night before. The course covers 6.5km with 470m of steep climbing over rough terrain and an infamous high speed wall jump into a 40% off camber downward slope. Not one for the faint hearted. Competitors consist of both local and national teams, with France, Italy, Wales, GB, Slovenia and Ireland all fielding teams. Aaron was the lead out running the first leg for the team and had to cope with a ferocious stampede through the narrow, cobbled streets of the old town, with runners fighting for position into the first rocky incline.That slope was so steep, it was a case of pacing it steadily and not using up all the reserves early on. This was followed by forest trails and continually changing terrain which prevented the athletes from setting any kind of rhythm. The 3.5km up was followed by a  ten minute 3k dash back into town. Unfortunately, rain meant the rocky surface was like ice and there were a few near misses with trees. Aaron’s time for the course was 33:50 and the team finished in 14th with a time of 1:44:26. In the aftermath the main sentiment was relief at getting round unscathed and the team was happy to rank in the top 20. Congratulations to Aaron on another international call up and a skilled performance on a tricky course.

Race Around the Brac

Alice Brear-Clarkson found a challenge of a different type when she took herself to Forkhill for a 10K race which takes its name from the route which goes around Slieve Brac. Hosted by Peadar Ó Doirnín GAA, it is a testing course which includes the ominously named Heartbreak Hill aka the Quilly Road. While it was on tarmac roads there was a lot of surface water due to the heavy rain and in fact Alice said there were streams forming at some points. The good news was that the rain eased off for the runners and while it was a hard race, the views were spectacular even with the mist. Alice enjoyed the run and was delighted to finish first female. She was presented with a paperweight as a prize and and rounded off the day with the club apple pie which is apparently as legendary as the big mid race hill. She declared it a great day out and encouraged others to give it a go.

Knutsford 10k – Hannah gets a new PB!

Having broken 3 hours in Manchester Marathon in the Spring, Hannah Somani found it hard to push on with the next block of training to maintain that in London Marathon and decided to defer her entry. In order to keep motivation levels up, she entered some shorter races including Knutsford 10k last weekend. It’s known as a fast course and with some decent speedwork in recent weeks she was keen to test her legs. When race day dawned with perfect conditions, she was even more hopeful of sneaking a new personal best time. The race went to plan, with her going through halfway in 19:06. She pushed on in the last few km and crossed the line in 37:53 – taking 41 seconds off her previous pb set at the Joe Seeley in 2019 and going under 38 minutes for the first time in the process. Great work, Hannah!