It started in bright sunshine, was very cold, got very dark and ended in heavy rain. Monday evening at Mary Peters Track saw the opening of the 2008 outdoor track season with the Londonderry Trophy, a match between the University of Ulster and Queens University which was open to guests where practical. There was quite a good attendance and some encouraging performances. The UU team included Francis Marsh and Stuart Brown and they were convincing winners over a Queens side that included John Saulters, Gemma McAnirn and Nicola Simpson. There were also several competing as guests particularly from the middle distance squads while Amy Foster had a good sub 40 second clocking when she won the rarely-featured 300m.
John Saulters was 2nd in the Universities 300m and had a good win in another rarely-run event, the 600m. The open 600m was a good quality event with Mark Patterson, Niall Robinson and John Carlisle all handy and also had the U17"s Jordan Stokes and Matthew McMullan with Nicola Simpson Simpson and Lauren Scott going strongly in the womens race. In the 300m Peter Glass, Tom Lyness and James Niblock all went well. At 3000m Francis Marsh ran to his 2007 form and Michael Patterson had a pb. There was no place on the programme for Gemma McAnirn"s favoured discus but she collected pb"s at shot and hammer. All in all, winter training looks to have gone well.