Saturday was Bangor Classic 10K time again, on a fine if chilly day with another record entry for the modern version of the event, 974 entrants and 834 finishers. Sponsorship from North Down Borough Council, Bloomfield Shopping Centre and Tipperary Water ensured a generous prize structure and the race was one of the first to be held under the new Athletics Northern Ireland kitemark scheme. After early leader Paddy Hamilton went astray, the race turned into a close three way battle between previous winners with Paul Pollock winning in 31:24 min from Joe McAllister in 31:31 and Brian Campbell in 31:32. The womens race saw a win by Breege Connolly in 36:21 from Anne Paul in 38:16 and Judi Graham in 39:06. A tight team race saw North Down (Niall Robinson, Francis Marsh and James Budde) third in the mens” event with 29 points behind Willowfield and St Malachys. With five in the top ten North Down dominated the womens’ race with a win from the “A” team (Jessica Craig, Roberta Dornan and Julie Balmer) and third for the “B” team (Stephanie Hambling, Ali Robinson and Louise Tognieri), Lagan Valley taking second. It was a good day for the host club with pbs down the field, a first 10K for Glen Willis with 36:31 and a M65 category prize for Fred Murdoch
North Down AC