NI & ULSTER SENIOR CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS
This time last year I wrote, “I believe that East Down could give any club a run for its money if they can field all their top runners – roll on 2020!!” These comments applied to both the men and women so you can imagine my disappointment at having to report that we failed to field as intended. While we did manage to put out a Male team there was no one from the Female members to compete at all. It should be said that there is no one to blame for this state of affairs by the way, it’s simply a fact that several of our best runners have been sidelined for up to a year and longer, mostly through injury and all are looking forward to better luck in 2021.
WELL DONE NEWCASTLE AC
Despite our own frustrations, we congratulate our close friends and rivals from Newcastle AC who won the Male team trophy for the second time in 4 years. In fact had they had another runner, their ladies’ team would have featured in the top three as well.
THE INITIAL AIM
As it was, Aaron McGrady had travelled home specially to test his fitness against the best NI had to offer, on the back of two fairly disappointing runs over the past 2 weekends in the London area where he now lives and works. However he had decided that he would try to start a bit more conservatively on Saturday and then try to work his way as far as he could up the field over the course of the 6 lap race, which was over a 12 K distance. In the absence of some of our top runners it was very much a case of getting a team of 6, the minimum required to register a score in the team competition, to the start line. In fairness all of those who couldn’t turn out on the day had genuine excuses, whether through work commitments or injury or pressing issues at home. On the other hand those who did make the long journey to Coleraine certainly deserve credit for abandoning their plans for Saturday to go and represent the club. Gavin Hynds was planning a day in the mountains but when the call came to help make up a team, he pitched in and admitted that he actually enjoyed the run as he took it steady and counted down the laps till the job was done.
THE RACE ITSELF
In addition to Aaron and Gavin, the team comprised Dee Murray, the never say die club captain in what was his last duty in that particular role, Martin Willcox, Neil Curran and Gareth Reilly. The field was a sizeable 214 runners strong, and although it was dry as the whistle sounded to start the race, it was thought that it would be unlikely to remain like that until the race was over. After lap 1, Aaron was tucked in comfortably in 11th place, letting last year’s winner Mark McKinstry cut out the pace at the front with Neil Johnston Springwell Running Club and Eskander Turki Annadale Striders completing the top three. Behind them came Newcastle’s formidable trio Patrick McNiff, Zak Hanna and Seamus Lynch, with City of Derry’s Declan Reid and Allan Bogle being joined by Craig McMeechan North Down and Acorns Vincent McKenna to complete the top 10.
Lap 2 brought a nasty shower of sleet and hail, which was given an even icier edge by the strong swirling wind, but at the end of it the leading positions had only changed by one place as Aaron Mcgrady moved into 10th place though McKinstry appeared to be under pressure to maintain his lead from the duo in 2nd and 3rd places.
Lap 3 saw Johnston and Turki move ahead of the North Belfast man with McGrady moving up one place into 9th.
THE FINISH
After that Johnston moved ahead of Turki to establish an ever increasing lead over the Annadale youngster, while McGrady, who had really found his mojo, was targeting those in front and proceeded to carve his way through the field. He was up to 6th place at the end of the 5th lap and quickly moved to 5th early in the final lap. His target was then Newcastle’s recently crowned Intermediate champion McNiff, who although he was feeling the pressure and had his lead reduced by the East Down man’s charge, nevertheless held on to take 4th place comfortably, with McGrady about half a minute back in 5th. Another eye catching performance came from Mourne Runners Timothy Johnston, who like Aaron carved an impressive track through the toiling front runners late on, to nail 9th place.
TEAM SCORERS
Next East Down man home was the ultra consistent and hard working Neil Curran, who crossed the line in 50th place, followed by Martin Willcox, another who fought his way through the heavy traffic to 83rd place. Dee Murray also ran cagily pacing it to take 113th pace. He was followed by Gavin Hynds in 127th with Gareth Reilly completing the team scorers in 143rd place. As stated above there were 214 runners in the race and the EDAC men can be proud of their efforts which resulted in them taking 12th place in the Team event with a score of 521. Compare this with Newcastle’s score of 76, to win the title again with their 6th scoring runner in 23rd place and it’s clear that the East Down men have a considerable challenge ahead of them to make their mark at this level. But Roll on 2021!!
MCGRADY FINANCIAL SERVICES JUNIOR CROSS COUNTRY
The last of the series of races organised by Newcastle AC and sponsored by McGrady Financial Services took place in Tollymore Forest Park on Sunday. Each race is hosted by a different club in this case Murlough AC. They have only recently joined the series so this was their first call to host. They did a great job and ran a slick event. Well done MAC!
EDAC Juniors turned up full of enthusiasm and took their turn as the different age groups were called to the start. Results will follow and a report by the host club but in the meantime thanks to all the EDAC parents and coaches for their support and well done to ALL our runners. It is great to see so many complete the series and get points for EDAC. Good work Juniors!
BORN2RUN FOREST SERIES FINALE
There was another good turnout for the final race of the Born2run Series. This one took place in Castlewellan Forest Park on Saturday past. It was a bright and breezy morning with a heavy shower at the start of the 5k but thankfully it only lasted a couple of minutes and then the sun came out again. The course started off flat, taking the runners past the Castle and then headed into the forest with climb after climb for at least 2k. The reward for the hard effort was a lovely long hill descent and a flat last 2k around the lake. Throughout the series Lauren Madine and Anna Gardiner have managed a first and second place on every occasion and this was the case once more. Lauren won the sprint to the line for First Female in a time of 18.57 to Anna’s 18.59. Not far behind was Sharon Madine as 4th Female (21.30). The Series Prizes were also awarded with Anna getting the overall Ladies Prize, Lauren the best Junior and Sharon taking home her age category with a clear margin. An impressive haul for the EDAC trio.
GORDY HAS A BUSY MORNING
Gordy Graham had to forgo the trip to Coleraine for the Senior Cross Country as lambing duties meant that he couldn’t be too far from home for any prolonged period of time. He turned up in Castlewellan however just in time for the 10k and made short work of the course finishing in First place in 35.33. He then rushed back to deliver a couple of healthy lambs. A sound morning’s work!
BARRIE BACK AT IT
Entered as Down Triathlon Club but still worth a mention is Barrie Atkinson’s participation in the Galco Duathlon at Punchestown Race Course at Naas last Sunday. The 2 mile run -20KM bike – 2 mile run suited him well and he thoroughly enjoyed being back in racing mode. With injury hampering his run training, this is a great alternative. He came an impressive 44th out of 158 and is looking forward to the next one.
JIMMY’S TEN
As the 15th March draws nearer we are giving a big shoutout to the local businesses who support us in putting on a top class event. This is not just lip service as without the financial back up and the supply of complimentary goods and services, it would be impossible to host a quality race so look out for our backers and aim to give them your business in return. We also give back to the community by donating a £1 of every entry to The Men’s Shed – a great facility for those who attend.
M.B. MCGRADY & CO MAKE IT 11!
Our headline sponsor M.B. McGrady & Co is with us for the 11th year in a row. It is a great relationship that we hope to see continue as it is the backbone of our planning. We are delighted to have other returning names featured on our race t-shirt ie Bells Supervalu Crossgar, P. Gardiner Carpets and Gordons Chemist. This vote of confidence means a lot to us and guarantees an impressive Prize Fund.
For as long as most can remember the water has been supplied by Wrap and Roll and all our advertising needs have been sorted by Plus 2 Print. McDonalds in Downpatrick are opening their facilities to runners for the 3rd time in a row and providing free coffee pre race. We are delighted to welcome new names to the list with Mash Direct, The Cake Station Newcastle and the Minerstown Tavern all coming on board. We also thank Soaring Productions for their backing once more. We are obligated to provide a traffic management plan which is a costly and complicated process due to the legal requirements. McVeighs Traffic Management did a great job last year and have given us a significant reduction as a form of sponsorship which is much appreciated. All contributions help us to help you.
GET IN BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!
And finally thanks to the runners who make the atmosphere on the day – we have a good mix of top ranking names and those who are competing their first 10K. We have those seeking a PB and those who are just wanting to be in the mix on the day. We have runners who do it as a relay for double the fun! The entry will stay open online https://athleticsni.org/Fixtures/Jimmys-Ten-2020 until March 6th. After that you can come to the Club Rooms to sign up if the quota has not been reached. Remember entries will not be taken on the day. The fetching green t-shirts were revealed this week and a surge of entries followed as only the first 800 of all entered (including the relay) will get one. As they say in all the best advertisements – when they are gone, they are gone!