CIYMS 5k, 26/12/25
The annual Boxing Day 5k run from the CIYMS sports complex in Belmont Park showed that some of NDAC’s speediest runners didn’t overindulge in turkey and mince pies, as Oliver Playfair won the race in 16:23 with Carter Rolston taking 2nd place in 17:22. Nigel Playfair ran 22:45 while Sarah Gibson was saving her legs for the Christmas Cracker, completing the 5k in 26:48. Lynne Kerr took 22 seconds off last year’s time to cross the line in 28:42 and Pat O’Driscoll rounded off the NDAC Boxing Day runners in 36:26.
https://www.championchipireland.com/index.html#results
Castlewellan Christmas Cracker, 27/12/25
Always one of the favourite races of the year, the 750 pairs of entries to Newcastle AC’s Christmas Cracker sold out in a matter of hours. Prizes are awarded according to the combined ages of the pairs in male, female and mixed categories ensuring strategic entries as teams try to stay under an age group or use a recent birthday to target the next group! Others eschew their usual club vests and the quest for cash prizes and PBs with fancy dress and the chance of a spot prize proving a greater attraction! The NDAC runners performed well in each category with plenty of bottles of Prosecco making their way back to North Down as compensation for slower than average run times! Sophie Hamilton celebrated her 18th birthday accompanied by a North Down Nutcracker themed balletic troupe dancing their way through the park!
The route and distance varies each year, starting somewhere in the town before exploring the hills and trails by the lake, behind the castle and occasionally through muddy farmland. After a loop through Castlewellan the 2025 edition kept runners on trails within the forest park for approximately 8.5 on an unusually mud-free course.
North Down AC runners comprised or were part of over 30 teams. Daniel Dines and Josh McDowell were 8th overall in 56:29 and Luke McDowell and Jamie McMeechan were 10th in 56:49. Mark Carberry and Jack Muir were 12th in 57:30 with Jonathan Gibson and Simon Hodge 15th in 59:02.
Tara McDonough and Amelia Tyler were the first female team to finish, 16th overall, winning the female under 80 category in 59:19.
Alasdair Mair and Andy Lowry finished 18th in 1:00:33 one place ahead of Maol Larkin and Fergal Magee in 1:00:43. The Cossack combination of Gareth Hardy and Mickael Lenu finished in a presumably very warm 1:01:31, narrowly in front of Thomas Steele and Finn Johnson 1:01:38. David Massey and Chris Downey 1:05:21, John Ewing and Jordan McClean 1:06:54, Tom Agnew and Colin Walker 1:09:54, Declan Magee and Florian Mada 1:11:01 and Philip McDonough and Seán Nickell 1:11:47 were a few places ahead of the 2nd place mixed 100-119 combination of Simon Boyle and Sarah Gibson 1:11:47. The Mulligan brothers Philip and Kevin 1:13:13 were followed by Robert Eadie and Tim Cooke 1:14:40, George and Simon Robinson 1:17:06, and Jeremy Tomalin and Gareth Flanagan 1:18:16. Sarah Wilson and Lindsay Doulton, 2 of Sophie’s Nutcracker soldiers, crossed the line in 1:19:17.
June McMinn and Glynis Boyle won the F120-129 age group in 1:21:32 ahead of Gerard Adair and John Braniff 1:23:08, Zara Fulton and Katlyn Massey 1:26:58, Hollie Massey and Luke Hamilton (Clara and the Nutcracker) 1:27:08. Lisa Tomalin and Helen Byers 1:31:03, also known as the Good Witch Glinda and Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West deservedly picked up spot prizes. Denis Stewart and Philip Stewart 1:31:21, Neil Scott and Joanne Scott 1:31:56, Jamie Stevenson and Mick Hall 1:35:44, Karen and Jenny Keery 1:36:14 finished ahead of the Gingerbread Men combo running as fast as they can – Nicola Ingram and Wendy Neely 1:38:45 and a pair of bananas bearing a resemblance to Stephanie Graham and Alan Massey 1:40:50. Kim McCourt and Joanne Gillam 1:47:34, Claire Scott and Paul Kennedy 1:47:46 were followed by another Sugarplum fairy and the Prince, Paula Simpson and Donald Smith 1:52:22 and Flower Fairies Sophie Hamilton and Cara Jeffrey 1:52:23. John Adgey and Ian Taylor 1:54:46 were 2nd in the M140+ category.
Club members relaxed afterwards with hot soup and refreshments back in the Castlewellan GAA club with a wide variety of running club tops and barely recognisable athletes in their costumes as planning began for next year’s team combinations and fancy dress themes!
https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=416875
Here’s a small selection of race photos from the day:
Hawtin Shield, 29/12/25
The club’s annual winter handicap 5k time trial was held over the original Crawfordsburn trail race route – an even tougher challenge than the regular parkrun course, on Monday morning. Here’s Brian Smith’s account of the of the genesis of the race, taken from his obituary of Ken Hawtin, a stalwart of NDAC who passed away in 2024.
The Hawtin Shield has its origins in the cross country runs organised by the late Ken Hawtin. Every Boxing Day from 1963 Ken invited members and past members of the Belfast Royal Academy XC team to come down to Dufferin Villas and take part in his challenging 8 mile run taking in Ballymacormick Road, through the deep mud to Springwell Road, Lower Balloo Road, Kylestone Road , Orlock and all the way back to Ballyholme by the coast. During the 1980s Ken very generously extended an invitation to NDAC senior members to join in the run. It was a wonderful occasion to look forward to every year and not an insignificant challenge depending on the weather conditions. Ken took the health & safety of participants very seriously and we received a full course briefing. I can still see him standing in front of his blackboard which showed all the potential hazards including wind speeds and tide times. The latter of particular importance because if there was a high tide when you reached the end of Ballymacormick beach you were probably facing an early bath!! Ken’s extended family marshalled the route and Lynn
provided the most amazing post race hospitality for all involved.
The 8th of January 2003 was the 40th anniversary and the last of the iconic Boxing Day Runs from Dufferin Villas. NDAC members presented Ken & Lynn with a momento to mark the occasion and pledged to organise a competition albeit with a different format to be called the Hawtin Shield and to be held around the Christmas holidays.
The 2025 edition of the race took place in cool but dry conditions in Crawfordsburn Country Park and Valerie McDonough assembled a crack team of marshals to guide the 54 runners around the course. Runners set off at 30 second intervals according to a handicap based on recent 5k times with the overall winner being the first runner to cross the line.
This year’s Hawtin Shield was won by Kevin Mulligan in an aggregate time of 26:36. Donald Smith was second in 26:47 and Isaac Hall third in 27:14. The fastest male and female net splits of the day came from Mark Carberry 16:26 and Tara McDonough 18:06. North Down AC were delighted to welcome Mrs Lynn Hawtin to present the Hawtin Shield to the winner.
In addition to a fun morning of racing, club members contributed generously to the North Down Storehouse.
