[Not a valid template]22 year old American Dathan Ritzenheim sprang a surprise at The Belfast International by going off early and establishing a lead that a quartet of fancied Kenyans could not overhaul. Probably the Kenyans were unsettled by the late inclusion of Fred Murdock in the International after he missed the start of the veterans race (he lives closer to the course than anyone). A very close finish to the womens race saw less than a second between winner Etalemahu Kidane (Ethiopia) and joint second Merima Denbola (Italy) and Meselechi Melkamu (Ethiopia).
By far the strongest fields of the season saw the age group races dominated by cross Channel and cross border visitors, attracted by the inclusion of the races in the Reebok series. The North Down kids stood up pretty well to the invasion and ran some excellent races all round. Under 15 girls in particular had a great day with Jessica Craig first Northern Ireland in 12th overall. Lauren Scott was 24th, Katie Hewitt was 40th and Rachel Hughes 55th. Nicola Simpson was also well placed with 23rd in the Under 17 race. while Emily Heyburn and Leigh McWha were 35th and 45th in the Under 13 race.
For the boys Josh Lowry and Darren Kelly ran well for 22nd and 30th in the Under !3 race while Thomas Simpson was the pick of the Under 15′s with Mark Patterson, Karl Brown and Michael Patterson packed well behind. Karl was a revelation with no endurance training behind him at all. Jamie Stewart was well placed in the Under 20 Championship in 31st.
In the vets race George Bell was 29th, John Quiery was 41st, Tony Wall 45th and Hugh Young 78th. George was 1st in the Over 50 category and Hugh 2nd Over 65. As mentioned, Fred missed the start and went on to cause shock waves in Nairobi.
It may have been brutally cold but the course, while obviously heavy, was in pretty good shape. It could have been much worse after the wild weather beforehand. There were some pretty big puddles but not so much on the course.