Saturday brought the club together for the annual multi terrain Hawtin Shield around the picturesque but extremely demanding Crawfordsburn trail route.
Thirty six runners of all abilities, young, middle aged and old participated in the handicap event which was regulated by the senior handicap committee – Davie Seaton. Starting positions were awarded according to recent park run pb’s.
The course was comparatively very dry which is testament to the recent dry weather which made the route slightly easier on the legs. Julie Patterson coped best with the conditions and ran closest to her park run credentials with a well run race. Julie acknowledged that as she approached the finish she was in 2nd and the 1st place runner, Caroline Crothers, slipped and fell. Best wishes to Caroline on her recovery.
Colin McEvoy was second past the post putting his triathlon strength to good use over the course and young Hollie Massey was 3rd, managing to keep ahead of her father David who was able to watch Hollie complete the final hill from behind.
The fastest gross time of the day came from the aforesaid David Massey. Starting with a 12 minute handicap David made it round the 5k route in 19:59, great running over a course which bears no resemblance to a Saturday morning park run.
Ken Hawtin not only presented his prize but made a great bash at running the course. Great stuff and an achievement we would all like to equal.
Well done to all the participants and also to the numerous members who helped marshal and contribute to the event. Even though our Secretary Clare Russell was not there, her planning and foresight in providing briefing packs for each of our support group was invaluable to the success of the event.
hawtin-shield-entries-dec-16-v2