East Down AC at the Cross Country Races

The Malcolm Cup XC hosted by Annadale Striders took place on Sunday at the Queens Playing Fields. There were 550 odd runners spread over 5 races – 3 senior and 2 junior. Apart from a moderate hill at the start, the course was fairly flat as it went round the pitches. There were muddy patches and a few slippy corners but much of the terrain was very runnable. The sun tried hard to stay out but it was chilly when the clouds came over and there was a blustery breeze to contend with. The Masters Men (35 and over) went off first. There was a field of 80 and East Down AC had 6 runners. Paul Burns showed he was up for some hard racing right from the start. He forged ahead of the rest of his club mates and was consistent over the 3 laps (5K). He even put in a sprint finish to cross the line in 13th place in a time of 17.59. Neil Curran (18.14), Martin Willcox (18.36) and Joe Napier (19.01) all traded places throughout the race but finished in this order at the end. They placed 18th, 22nd and 29th. Neil mindful of a recent injury was not prepared to aggravate it with the Seeley Cup coming up next weekend. Martin was his usual determined self. This was Joe’s first cross country race in years and it remains to be seen if the bug has bitten but he seemed to enjoy it.  Mark O’Connor was a solid 41st in 20.53 and Wayne Giles was happy with his time of 25.40 which placed him 75th.

The Junior Races

Next up were the U13 Boys and Girls who raced over a one mile lap. East Down had Luke Napier and Freya Cushnie in the running. As always there was a stampede when the whistle went. Both juniors settled in well, keeping out of trouble at the start. On the boggy downhill Luke slipped and fell, losing a spike in the process. He had to run back up the hill to retrieve it before continuing for the second half holding it in his hand until he could off-load to his dad on the finishing straight. Luke, you are following in the steps of great runners. Ciara Mageean lost one of her spikes in her race last weekend. Despite his detour, he finished in a time of 7.24 and placed 37th out of 45 boys. Freya, who is relatively new to cross country running placed 22nd out of 25 in her class, smiling her way round the course.

U15-U17 Age Groups

As is often the case in junior xc, there was a combination of age groups and gender in the next race. The U15 and U17 Boys and Girls all ran together which meant that 55 athletes made up the field. EDAC had Jacob Crawford in the U17, and Sarah Gilchrist, Evie Cushnie and Alex Robinson all in the U15. Both boys got great starts and were able to get well up the pack. Alex held Jacob off for about a quarter of a mile before being overtaken. Jacob ran smoothly and finished in 9th overall in a time of 11.42 claiming 5th in the U17 ages category out of 11 runners.  Alex Robinson finished in 14th overall in a time of 12.04 and 8th in the U15 despite having another year in that category.  Sarah finished 11th out of 14 girls in a time of 14.32 with Evie coming in shortly after. They all enjoyed their outings and gained useful experience from the event.

Catherine gets another Win

Both Seniors and Masters Ladies ran in the same race with 166 entrants on the start line. Catherine O’Connor got away cleanly and was sitting in 2nd position for the first of 3 laps ready to make her move when the athlete in front of her suddenly swerved to one side. Whether she was injured or had gone off too hard was unclear but Catherine focused on her own race and found herself out front with a big gap back to Kerry Bamber of Ballymena who was now in second place. In cross country anything can happen so Catherine didn’t let up. She pushed on hard and crossed the line in 18.35 with a 20 second cushion. Her fine form continues with another win to add to the tally. Well done, Catherine! There were only 2 other EDAC females racing, mother and daughter Alison and Ella Carroll. Ella slipped ahead of Alison in the first few metres and while Alison did her best to catch her it was not to be. Ella finished in 134th in 27.27 while Alison was 144th in 27.43. This was the first cross country race of the season for both and they commented that it felt good to be out there.

The Malcolm Cup

That left only the Senior Men’s Race – The Malcolm Cup which gives the event its name. Daniel Giles and Adam Morgan entered knowing that the competition would be fairly stiff. The front end of the race exploded on the whistle and it looked more like a sprint as the runners charged forward to get their positions. The 2 EDAC men sensibly took a more measured approach and then worked their way past athletes who ran out of steam. It was 4 laps, roughly 4 miles and Adam had a really strong showing. He has been training hard and including both speed and endurance in his plan and it showed. He edged past Daniel at the midway point and finished well up in 123rd position in 28.11. Daniel paced very evenly as was his aim and was 130th in 28.40. With 190 in the race these are commendable performances. 

The next race in the Athletics Northern Ireland League is on the 10th of December – The Irwin Speirs Memorial hosted by Acorns AC in Cookstown. Details can be found at https://athleticsni.org/Fixtures/2022-Cross-Country-League.