[Not a valid template]It was pleasant and sunny out of the wind but freezing cold in the open as Castle Park played host to the British Masters Cross Country Championships, supported by North Down Borough Council. The Vets International has been held in Northern Ireland but this was the first time that these Championships have been held here and there were visitors galore even though many elected to fly in and out on the day. Fields were big and the standard was high. There were emphatic winners of the three main races – Kate Ramsey of Charnwood AC in the Womens 5K, Michael Hagar of Tipton Harriers in the Mens Over 50 10K and Brian Rushworth of Sunderland Harriers in the Mens Over 40 10K.
North Down athletes have travelled far and wide to these Championships in the past but ironically when they they were held on the doorstep, there were injuries and illness everywhere. We had four runners, all in the M50-69 race and all ran well. George Bell was 14th overall in 38.25, 11th Over 50 and 2nd Northern Irish athlete home (1st Over 50). Pat McMullan, also Over 50, was 66th overall in 45.30. Fred Murdoch was 68th in 47.01, 12th Over 60 and 2nd Northern Irish Over 60. Hugh Young was 73rd in 50.20, 6th Over 65 and 2nd Northern Irish Over 65.
Excellent Northern Ireland results came from Terry Eakin who had a great run to finish 2nd Over 55, from Jim Metcalf who won the Over 75 category and from John McKeag who won the Over 80 category. Newcastle AC had a good team result in the Blue Riband Over 40 race with Deon McNeilly 10th and 4 in the top 32.
Organisationally, the event was a huge success with contributions from the Council and from the Veterans and Officials Associations and thanks to meticulous preparation from the Organising Committee, Trevor Alderdice and Pat O’Driscoll among them.