THE LADIES SHINE IN THE SUNSHINE

East Down met North Down on Saturday past when EDAC athletes headed for the Bangor 10K hosted by NDAC. This event was the NI&Ulster 10K Championships so it was a stacked field and a mass participation all in one with 926 taking on the challenge.  The sky was blue with none of the forecast rain to be seen and the town of Bangor looked at its best.

As always the organisation was slick and a clean start saw the stream of runners navigate their way out of Castle Park onto the main street. A downhill sharp righthand turn required a bit of care but once on the roads the runners spread out and found their own rhythm. The route heads to the coast which is very scenic but a harsh headwind on the road at Groomsport was cited by many as the reason why they were a few seconds down on their predicted finish times.

THE TOP MEN

The winner Gideon Kipsang (1Zero1) was hoping for a hat trick of Bangor wins and possibly to go sub 30 minutes. While he was never in danger of being caught, he had to settle for 30.15 which is impressive nonetheless. Second placed Declan Reed of City of Derry Spartans finished in 30.57 beating Conan McCaughey of North Belfast by one second in a savage sprint for the line which also included Finn McNally (Brighton Phoenix). McNally was given the same time as McCaughey but designated 4th overall. As first NI Runner Declan Reed was awarded the Championship Title.

 

THE TOP WOMEN

The women’s race was also hotly contested. Again the leader was out in front from the gun.  Emma Mitchell (Clonliffe Harriers) was 34.44 to Glady Ganiel’s 36.31 but the race for 3rd saw EDAC’s Sinead Sweeney (37.13) edged off the podium by a small margin by Lauren Wilson (Edinburgh AC). With Sarah Lavery of Beechmont one second behind her, Sinead did very well to focus on the finish line and keep her 4th place. As there were also team medals at stake, attention immediately turned to the remaining EDAC ladies making their way into Ward Park and the finish line. Caroline MacNabb though slightly under the weather was battling hard and managed 12th Female in 41.12. Well done to her for sticking at it. Deirdre Weatherall as usual was a trooper coming in 15th in 41.57. That left Edie Carroll who was press-ganged in to make up a team. She finished strongly and was pleased with her time of 45.13 which was more than enough to make her the fastest Junior Female on the day. Beechmount Harriers had clearly taken the top female team spot as they had 3 runners in the top 10 but it was close between our girls and North Belfast Harriers for the remaining honours. In the end 2 points split the two teams and EDAC were awarded the bronze medals. The team were delighted to get just reward for their efforts. A fantastic result!

 

WHAT ABOUT THE EDAC MEN?

Meanwhile EDAC men had not been able to field a team which was disappointing but there was nothing lacklustre about the individual efforts. Neil Curran gaining confidence all the time ran a convincing race and was 3rd in the M40 category in 36.28. Mr Consistency, Dee Murray (38.50) and Gareth Reilly (42.43) both were happy with their performances. All agreed that the course was challenging but it was good to run in a full crowd and enjoyed the competitive element of the run.

 

WHY DO WE RUN?

Runners are often asked by non runners, “Why do you do it?” and sometimes it is hard to explain as running can bring both joy and pain in equal measure and it only with experience that runners learn to deal with what happens in any one run or race and to enjoy the highs or cope with the lows that occur. Sometimes it can be a combination of both and so you can get a good result from a run that makes you suffer or is particularly hard or you can have a mediocre result but really get a sense of satisfaction by simply battling through or because the surroundings or company make up for the other flaws. This weekend had all this for EDAC judging by the comments that were relayed back. For the Ladies’ Team any discomfort mid race was forgotten when they realised that they had achieved a podium result. For others there were very different reasons to celebrate post race.

BERLIN MARATHON TAKES ITS TOLL

Stephen Heasley aka Mr Motivator is the one who is often the encourager of others, helping them to push themselves or simply to keep it going both in training and in the races that they enter. He is also very modest when it comes to publicising his own efforts and achievements and contrary to the belief that most runners only run marathons so they have something to brag about, he kept it to himself that he had entered Berlin Marathon! Along with 44,000 other athletes this weekend, he lined up at this event which is one of the World Majors and much loved due to being a flat fast course. It is also the course where the fastest ever time 2.01.39 for the distance was recorded in 2018 and which resulted in the 2^nd fastest time ever this year 2.01.41, only missing out on the record by 2 seconds!!  Stephene produced a time of 3.37 which is more than respectable but he then admitted that he had to take time out midway in a medical tent as an old injury had flared up causing him considerable pain. Did he take this as an excuse to bow out? No, he did not – he lived up to his own nickname and motivated himself to plough on to the finish. Well done Mr M! Now take a rest?

BROWNIE POINTS FOR GORDY?

Also in Berlin was Gordy Graham who has unfortunately been sidelined with a niggling injury over much of the summer. From the highs of his performance in the London Marathon last year when he recorded 2.38 as a PB, to the realisation so many weeks ago that he wasn’t going to able to push that boundary in this event has been a mentally draining time. He could have acted in many ways but his decision was to run anyway but as a pacer for his girlfriend Steph Girvan of City of Lisburn AC. With his help she managed a brilliant PB of 3.17 and he had the satisfaction of not wasting his slot. It may not have been how he hoped, but hopefully karma will repay him with a return to both training and racing in the very near future. I hope I have a niggle like that when I return to running!!

A NOT SO RELAXING DAY BY THE SEA?

Another EDAC runner who doesn’t know when to stop is Keith Reilly. A mere 2 weeks after his last Ultra he drove to the North Coast for a start so early that he was not sure if it was night or morning. The Causeway Ultra is always tough due to the undulating route and the mixed trail and sand terrain. He found himself struggling with almost every aspect – fatigue, nutrition as well as lack of motivation due to being solo in a strung out field. Maybe Stephen was sending him vibes though because just as a DNF looked possible, he managed to pull himself out of that mindset and aim to get to the end. He duly arrived, in 10.12, and the fact that he was not last was enough for him. 24 hours later he is mumbling about the Tollymore Ultra. Refer back to what was said above – how can this make sense to a non runner? Or even to a runner?

START OF CROSS COUNTRY SEASON?

With the road running season still in full swing, the opening fixture, admittedly a brand spanking, new one, in the 2019/2020 Cross Country League kind of sneaked up on most local clubs. Certainly it was almost totally overlooked by East Down’s traditional mud lovers with the exception of Tom Dowey who turned up on Sunday in the regal surroundings of the Palace Demesne in Armagh for the Tj McElmeel Cup races organised by Armagh AC. And though a lone representative Tom as ever delivered a commendable result, placing 61^st in the Open Men’s race in 49.47. However, in the absence of any other members it won’t count towards a league placing.  But well done Tom for spotting it and travelling to take part.

WHAT LIES AHEAD?

On Sunday next, a day later than usual, the NI & Ulster Road Relay Championships will be held in Victoria Park and expectations are high that EDAC will perform equally well as last year when the Ladies team took Bronze Medals in the Open race. However, several of the Club’s top runners have been suffering from illness or injury in recent weeks and it will be very much down to who turns up on the day. In any event the best wishes of everyone in the Club are with the 5 teams which are currently entered.

SAINTFIELD 10K

Saintfield Striders AC present the second running of their 5 and 10K races on Sunday 13 October beginning at 2.00pm. These races are organised by Atlas Running and given the level of support which Saintfield invariably give to all the local clubs, you are requested to go along and lend your support to them, please. I have heard that the post race refreshments are second to none!!

 

Joe Quinn & Alison Carroll

30 September 2019