Mill Hill Mile, Castlewellan 03/09/24
I’ve read a few descriptions of this race over the years, but Cara’s remains the simplest and most accurate; “it’s a running race a mile up a hill with a mill.” Anyone who’s driven through Castlewellan towards the Mournes knows that long hill up towards the Old Market House, and on Wednesday 3rd September, Cara Jeffrey, Luke Hamilton and Sophie Hamilton donned their North Down AC vests and joined a hardy bunch of athletes to race up the hill. Luke was first of the family trio to finish in 7:53.01 followed by Sophie in 11:11.00 with Cara continuing her rehabilitation towards running in the mountains in 13:21.03.
https://www.webscorer.com/racedetails?raceid=364282&did=472708
Ards 5 Mile, 06/09/24
The Ards 5 Mile race follows a circular route from the start/finish area in Londonderry Park, along the Portaferry Road to Finlays Road where the climbing begins then turns back towards Newtownards via the ups and downs of the Bowtown Road and back to the park.
The enduring popularity of this race, superbly organised once again by our neighbouring club, Scrabo Striders was demonstrated by the fact that many of the 36 North Down AC runners who raced on Friday night were also in action at other races earlier in the week or later in the weekend!
The first NDAC runner to reach the finish line in Londonderry Park was Ashley Dixon in 3rd place in 27:10. He was closely followed by 4th place Matty McParland 27:36with Aaron McAuley 29:42 taking 6th place. 2 more NDAC runners joined them in the top ten with Colin Walker 8th in 31:15 and Darren Edgar 10th in 31:28.
Sarah Grant was the first female finisher in 13th position overall in 31:51.
Philip Mulligan 32:10, Tom Agnew 33:03 and Mitchell Brown 33:49 were closely followed by Clair Quigley 34:01, Sarah Gibson 34:24 and Steven Boyd 34:40. Luke Hamilton showed no fatigue from racing up Mill Hill 2 evenings earlier finishing in 35:00 just ahead of Tim Cooke 35:06, Kevin Mulligan 35:22 and Lindsay Doulton 35:51.
Marc Neil 36:36, Stephen Wise 36:40, Sarah Wilson 36:55, Glynnis Boyle 37:09 and Robert Martin 37:26 were followed by Heather Beattie 38:18, Emma Fox 38:49, Wendy Neely 38:58 and Nicla Ingram 39:14. Paula Simpson 41:02 pipped Jill Aiken 41:03 by 1 second on chip time with Lisa McMeechan 43:24, Beth Mulree 44:54, Hannah Dunne 46:35, Cara Jeffrey 47:12, Stefan Butler 47:18, Caroline Gilmore 48:42, Helen Beattie 49:05 and Nicola Stevenson 53:20 followed back to the park by Pat O’Driscoll 1:02:50, conserving some energy for Sunday’s 10k.
https://www.championchipireland.com/index.html#results
Belfast Victoria Park Road Relays, 07/09/24
The annual road relays, including the NI & Ulster Championships in the senior races were held at Victoria Park in Sydenham on Saturday 7th September, Teams of 4 runners ran anti-clockwise laps of the outer perimeter of the park, a fraction over a mile per lap, with the mixed relay team running 1 lap each and the masters and senior men and women running 2 laps each.
The Mixed Relay team of Steven Donegan, Rachel Gibson, Sarah Grant and Nick Irvine finished 4th out of 28 teams in 21:25.
As the cross country season approaches it was fantastic to see North Down AC put out 4 Masters teams in the men’s and women’s events, as well as 2 senior men’s and a senior ladies’ team. Excellent individual and team performances at the short, speedy road relay sessions bode well for continued success as racing moves to grass and mud. The team captains, Claire Scott and Steven Donegan were spoiled for choice with a large pool of talent to draw from as they selected their teams.
The 4 ladies Masters’ teams finished in 6th, 14th , 18th and 21st place out of 24 teams with the A team of Fiona McQuillan, Lindsay Doulton, Jodi Smith and Lisa Tomalin completing 2 laps each in 52:55. The B Team – Glynnis Boyle, Zara Fulton, Heather Beattie and Steph Hamblin finished in 58:17. Julie Beckett, Kate Ferguson, Marian Beattie and Paula Simpson made up the C Team and their finish time was 1:02:38 while the D Team of Nicole Bell, Agata Young, Lisa McMeechan and Claire Scott crossed the line in 1:07:01.
Gary Morrow, Marc Neil, James Graham and James Budde comprised the men’s Masters’ A team, finishing 2nd out of 51 teams in 41:35 while the B Team of Ricky Jordan, Jonathan Gibson, Alex Donald and Finn Johnson crossed the line in 6th place in 44:08. The C Team were just over a minute behind them in 10th place in 45:09 with Dennis Scott, Thomas Steele, Aaron McAuley and Andy Lowry all running fast relay legs. The strong D Team of Alan McConnell, Chris Couchman, Jason McMinn and Robert Duncan were 18th in 47:39.
The Senior Ladies team of Rachel Gibson, Sarah Connolly, Katlyn Massey and Lisa Tomalin finished 12th in 56:52 while the senior men’s team – Daniel Dines, Mark Carberry, Oliver Playfair and Josh McDowell were 6th in 41:41 and the B team, Mickael Lenu, Steven Donegan, James Stitt and Luke Dobson came 21st in 47:36.
https://www.championchipireland.com/index.html#results
Dingle Marathon, 07/09/24
The Dingle Marathon calls itself “the most scenic marathon in Ireland” and it would be hard to disagree with that epithet! Runners start and finish at Dingle Marina and tackle a hilly route around the Dingle peninsula in Co Kerry running around Slea Head and Dunquin Village with views towards the Blasket Islands made even better in the race day sunshine! North Down AC’s Donald Smith completed the marathon in 4:11:31.
https://www.myrunresults.com/events/dingle_half_marathon__full_marathon_2024/5082/results
Great North Run, 08/09/24
The Great North Run is the world’s biggest half marathon, attracting up to 60,000 runners . Spectators line the course from Newcastle to South Shields looking out for family and friends, clubmates and celebrities and TV viewers do likewise when coverage begins with Mark Knopfler’s iconic Local Hero theme. North Down AC viewers were trying to spot their own local heroes, Dean Varley and Glenn Frazer, in the Tyneside rain. Dean was first of the pair to finish in 1:21:14 and Glenn completed the course in 2:21:26.
https://www.greatrun.org/results/
Abi’s Butterfly Breeze 10k, Portaferry 08/09/24
Abi’s Butterfly Breeze has 5k and 10k options on routes around Portaferry starting from the local Gaelic Sports club, with proceeds from the event supporting mental health charities.
3 North Down AC runners took on the 10k option on Sunday morning, their second race of the weekend after the Ards 5 miler, to their Ards 5 miler on Friday, with Sarah Wilson leading the trio back as the first female finisher, and 8th place overall, in 46:14. Beth Mulree completed the course in 55:48 and Pat O’ Driscoll finished in 1:18:52.
