At least 14 of our runners toed the Prince of Wales Avenue line in anticipation of 26 miles running around the streets of Belfast. There was also club relay teams and members from the club running in an assortment of teams.
The race itself started off damp but as the day wore on the skies brightened and became an enjoyable days running for most.
First man home was Gareth Watton who took over half an hour off his previous best time when he recorded 2:43:40 which was 21st place. Ricky Jordan continued his impressive form with 2:46:55 which was an improvement of slightly more than 3 minutes and positioned him in 29th.
Ben Caughers continued the trend when he sliced 12 minutes off his best clocking 2:47:07, 33rd. Paul Floyd achieved another sub 3 hour trip despite feeling the effects of his early strong pace, 2:59:42. Marathon specialist Andy Belshaw added to his portfolio with a time of 3:09:00 and came within a minute of his pb.
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Eamon O’Reilly returning to form after recent injuries finished in a respectable 3:19:32 and Alan Massey wasn’t far behind recording 3:22:23 while a minute and a half later Nod O’Driscoll completed in 3:23:53. Kevin Mulligan was next as he arrived at Ormeau Pk in 3:44:31.
Lisa Tomalin was running in support of her son Jodi who has this weekend just finished his cancer treatment, so Jodi’s Giants was a deserving recipient of her efforts and 3:48:34 a great time to finish with.
The last of the sub 4 hour finishers appeared in the form of Robert Eadie on 3:49:24 and 12 minutes later Cliff McCausland came close to breaking 4 hrs as he returned in 4:01:07. Gerry O’Boyle recorded an 8 minute pb as he clocked 4:04:39 and is considering making the “Clifton Coastal Run” his priority now in preference to the non stop nature of official marathon running.
Noel Eager was also running for a charity close to his heart, The National Autistic society and made it home in 4:29:37 followed by pacer, Donald Smith who warmed up for the Belfast event with an EAMS marathon the day before, 4:31:24.
Our best placed relay team was the NDAC Over 40’s. Chris Moran, Jamie Smyth, Colin Walker, Daniel Scollan and David Massey who placed a magnificent 4th, 5 minutes ahead of their nearest rivals. Jamie and Daniel were disappointed to be labelled as over 40 but were honoured at the same time to be in the same team as such mature quality.
The highly powered ladies team of Chair – Clare Russell, secretary Lisa McMeechan, committee member Glynis Boyle, assistant secretary Cara Jeffrey and Paula Simpson finished quicker than they expected in 3:33:58, were placed 9th ladies team and also had the honour of beating prestigious teams like “Speedy Paws” and “5 pints of stout”.
Well done to everyone who competed and made it a great day for North Down AC.
Relay results
Self search marathon results