NO REASON TO GO TO RIO?
Not to be outdone with the glamour of the 2016 Olympics in Rio, I too have been to two venues right here on our doorstep, in the past week, not normally mentioned when exotic hotspots are being discussed. Copa Crossgar and Rio De Delamont may not have the same ring to them as their more illustrious cousins but believe me they’re every bit as scenic and attractive not to mention much more tolerant of our thermal needs as anything Brazil can offer.
MY HOW YOU’VE GROWN
The 5th running of the Kilmore Rec and Crossgar Community Association 5 Miles Road Race on Monday night showed that with a little TLC everything will grow. With the race organisation now in the very capable hands of Crossgar Harriers it has grown into a 10K, and a very well presented event it was too. The race itself was a ding dong battle all the way between Newcastle ACs Colum Campbell and Ballydrain’s Richard Coey with the seasider just holding on by one second at the line to leave Richard the runner up for the second year in a row. The Ladies winner, also in a closely contested battle, was Amy Bulman by just 2 seconds from North Belfast’s Mary Margaret Meade with Newcastle’s Sinead Murtagh in third.
DELAMONT DELIGHT
On to Saturday and up (or down, depending on where you live) the road a few miles to Delamont Country Park where another very different 10K was waiting. This one around the trails, roads and leafy glades of this beautiful settings, with the sun shining and the sea glistening. Could anything top this? I sometimes think we are blessed to live in such a stunning area of natural beauty. Perhaps we don’t always appreciate it but everyone who was there on Saturday for what was a very tough race, I believe, certainly did.
This one was won by East Down’s Martin Willcox with Ballydrain’s Richard Coey again in second place, while Mary Margaret Meade won the Ladies contest from East Down’s Joanne Foster, who is making a fine recovery from injury. I had the good fortune not only to get to run there but to have the excellent company of Robert Miskellly throughout, and met many more folks who all appreciated the excellent refreshments afterwards. The next one in this triple bill organised by the Daye brothers and Atlas Running is the Lecale Way 10K on Friday 19th August and I’m looking forward to this multi terrain race, I should add, much more than my legs are!
MORE THAN A MARATHON?
Simon and Eithne McGrattan spent the day out together on the North Antrim coast, enjoying the scenery and completing the 26.39 miles that makes up this ultra event between Portrush and Ballycastle. Their finishing time, though in this type of event largely irrelevant, was an impressive 6.32 and indicative of the degree of difficulty of the race. The other East Down representative was Sean Sealey, who should be more than happy with a time of 2.33 in the half marathon.
MOAN OF THE WEEK
Monday noon and still I am unable to find official results from the weekend races. This is a common occurrence which quite honestly is unsatisfactory. With the present technology in use and for which runners pay as part of their race entry fee, there is really no excuse for not having results available at this time. Also in spite of the amount of information asked for by organisers, which in some cases falls just short of asking what you’ve had for your breakfast, the names of the clubs to which runners belong are not included. It is not long ago that the officials used to take pride in getting the results published by the end of race day – using the old manual system of pencils paper and stopwatches! Sometimes progress is a backward step! So come on you techies, get your acts together – us ordinary mortals who are trying to pull together reports such are you are hopefully now reading, need this information.
COMING THIS WEEK
On Sunday next 14th August the annual Darragh Cross Charity 10K race and 4 mile Fun Run take place with registration from 11.00am in the GAC Club. The race begins at 12.30pm and it is hoped that the new day and start time will prove popular. The proceeds will be donated this year to Bloodwise. After the Darragh Cross race the next local race is the Strangford Festival 10K on Friday 26th August.
KILLYLEAGH HALF MARATHON and 3 PERSON RELAY for ALZHEIMERS SOCIETY
All energies have been focussing on the inaugural Half Marathon in Killyleagh on Saturday 27th August, which promises to be a top class exciting event which has caught the imagination of many local businessmen and traders who have come on board with a variety of sponsorships.
Online entry is open at www.athleticsni.org and a link to the route map is also available. If anyone needs any further information about this event please contact me on 07933214894 or by email on joemarathon50@btinternet.com.
Joe Quinn
8 August 2016