Castlewellan Christmas Cracker

On Saturday, Newcastle AC hosted the 29th running of the annual Castlewellan Christmas in cold, blustery conditions. A total of 315 teams started the race, showing the continuing popularity of the approximately 10 mile event.  Runners compete in pairs over a variety of terrain and with course changes from year to year. The fastest North Down pair were Dennis Scott and Glen Willis in 19^th in a time of 67:21 min. It was good to see Glen back in club colours while on a spell of leave from the marines. The most successful in terms of hitting the prize list were the two category winning twosomes. Stephanie Hambling and Debbie Matchett were the 2^nd placed ladies team in 78:53 min and won the F90-99 category. Valerie McDonough and Michael Roberts were 1^st in the 100-109 mixed pair category.

There were 9 pairs running under the North Down labels with some not always renowned for their navigational skills. All enjoyed the well-organised event though and were glad to avail of the generous post-race hospitality at Castlewellan GAC..  As expected, last years winners Brendan Teer and Liam Venney, both of East Down AC entered on the day and  ran out clear winners, crossing the line in an excellent 59:38, thus retaining the title.  Outstanding winners of the mixed team category were North Belfast Harriers’ Martin Rea and Gladys Ganiel O’Neill, their 1:04:10 finish was enough to secure a 5th place finish overall

Results Link

North Down Results