Mill Hill Mile, 02/09/25
Most races described as “hilly” at least offer some flat or downhill sections to give runners some relief; not so the Mill Hill Mile into Castlewellan. The race starts at the bottom of the hill in Annsborough and the finish line is 1 mile and several hundred feet away in the centre of Castlewellan. Nicola and Chris Downey celebrated their wedding anniversary by running up the hill together. Nicola finished in 8:42.20 and Chris crossed the line in 8:43.
https://www.webscorer.com/racedetails?raceid=403856&did=541704
Ards 5 Mile Road Race, 05/09/25
A good number of North Down athletes headed for Ards on Friday night for the annual 5 mile road race organised by Scrabo Striders. The race has been renamed the Heath Graham Ards 5 Mile in memory of an inspirational runner and coach, and great friend to many in the running community, who passed away last year.
Starting and finishing in Londonderry Park, runners headed down the Portaferry road into a strong headwind before the slight relief of turning inland out of the wind and into a couple of miles of rolling hills. Ballywatticock failed to reprise its brief glory as the warmest place in Northern Ireland before runners turned left at Loughries back towards Newtownards.
Jamie McMeechan was the first NDAC runner to cross the line, taking 2nd place after a strong solo run, in 27:58. Jonathan Gibson was 6th in 30:00 followed by Carter Rolston 30:23 and Alan McConnell 30:25 in 11th and 12th place. David Massey was 15th in 31:06 followed by 4th female Sarah Gibson 33:18. Mitchell Brown crossed the line in 34:02 ahead of Brian Geddis running his first race in 6 months in 35:01. Donald Smith claimed a PB taking down a 10 year old PB in 35:26 closely followed by Matt Ormesher 35:29 and Ben Macrory 36:25. Kevin Mulligan 37:03 lost out in a sprint finish to a runner wearing flip flops! Paul Lynas 37:54 was followed by Sarah Wilson 38:40, Emma Fox 38:48, Marion Beattie 40:11, Paula Simpson 42:29, Lisa McMeechan 42:33 and Caroline Gilmore 42:57. Emma Hegarty 43:08, Graham Massey 43:16, Stephanie Butler and Christina Hanna, both 45:10 were narrowly in front of Julie Preston 45:35 and Valerie Blayney 46:01. Ian McCreary 50:31, Jennifer Brook 52:04 and Pat O’Driscoll 55:45 rounded off the strong North Down contingent.
https://www.championchipireland.com/index.html#results
Break 4 the Border 10k & Half Marathon, 06/09/25
Born 2 Run’s latest races offered 10k and half marathon cross border options from Newry, along the newly completed Carlingford Greenway to the shared finish area at Carlingford Marina.
Selina Patchett raced her first 10k of the weekend completing the distance in 1:00:50 while Jill Connolly 1:41:43 and Steve Wise 1:44:58 (2nd M65) opted for the half marathon.
https://www.born2runevents.com/break-4-the-border-results/
Laganside 10k, 07/09/25
A wet and windy Sunday afternoon, with thunder and lightning beforehand awaited the North Down runners at this year’s Laganside 10k race. From the start line in Ormeau park runners raced down the Ravenhill Road, over the Albert Bridge and round the embankment across the Ormeau Bridge before completing a second lap to the finish line in the park. Headwinds greeted the runners as they raced in both directions along the River Lagan!
Oliver Playfair was the club’s first finisher in 12th place in 34:02. Finn Johnson was 27th in 36:19 while John Ewing ran a superb 36:19 to take 36th place. Nick Irvine joined them in the top 50, finishing 44th in 37:20. Dean Willis who set a PB of 42:01 was followed by Lisa Tomalin and Donald Smith who both recorded chip times of 42:33, a PB of over a minute for the latter, while Neil O’Driscoll 43:20 was narrowly ahead of Ben O’Driscoll 43:44. Nigel Playfair 44:50 was chased in by Sarah Connolly 45:12, Emma Hegarty 53:20 and Pat O’Driscoll 1:05:59. Donna Sinclair 1:08:08, Julie McCready also 1:08:08 and Selina Patchett 1:08:11 worked together for strong finishes on a difficult day for racing.
In the junior 1 mile race preceding the 10k, Sebastian Mair was 5th in 4:37 followed by younger brother Harrison (17th) in 5:13 with another pair of brothers, Daly and Casey Seaton cleaning 18th and 19th places in 5:15. Caitlyn Dickenson was 5th girl in 5:33 and Eve Sloan was the 13th girl across the line in 5:54.
https://www.championchipireland.com/index.html#results
Waterside Half Marathon 07/09/25
Fourteen runners headed to Derry/Londonderry for the Waterside Half Marathon on Sunday morning. The hilly route began in Ebringtom Square and headed out to Strathfoyle before looping back to cross the Foyle Bridge and returning to Ebrington Square via the Peace Bridge.
The first 4 speedy North Down runners took 4th place in the NI & Ulster Championships behind Letterkeny AC, City of Derry Spartans and Foyle Valley AC.
Ashley Dixon 1:13:19 was 8th with the remaining 3 scorers being Garry Morrow 1:13:24 (10th,) Dale Murray 1:15:36 (16th) and Ricky Jordan 1:20:29 (27th.) Steven Donegan 1:22:42 was 38th with Kevin Harkin finishing in 1:29:15 followed by Lucy Cheatley 1:39:08, Sarah Wilson 1:46:43, Christopher Ballentine 1:41:11, Denis Stewart 1:54:59, Jill Aicken 1:55:42, Sinead Mooney 2:01:00, Nicole Bell 2:24:08, a course PB, and David Milligan 2:36:23.
https://myrunresults.com/events/waterside_half_marathon_2025/5550/results
Great North Run, 07/09/25
The Great North Run remains word’s biggest half marathon. From its iconic start in Newcastle city centre across the Tyne Bridge where the Red Arrows treat runners a fly past to the finish line in South Shields, almost 60,000 runners take to the streets of the north east raising millions of pounds for charity in the process. Millions more are glued to the TV coverage looking out for friends, family members and clubmates. Keen eyed NDAC TV viewers spotted Heather Beattie sporting North Down AC colours among the throng, Heather completed the race in 1:51:04.
Budapest Half Marathon, 07/09/25
NDAC runners were spoiled for half marathon choices this weekend, and in addition to the Waterside Half and the GNR, 2 club members took off to the Hungarian capital for the Budapest Half Marathon. Ivor and Sarah Dempster ran in the 2 person relay completing the scenic course in a combined time of 2:38:41.
Stirling 10k, 07/09/25
Mark Carberry put down a solid 10k on his injury comeback trail to place 23rd in 32:47 in the Stirling 10k on a fast and scenic route with fantastic views of Stirling Castle, the Wallace Monument and the Ochil Hills.
Home Countries Combined Events International, MPT 06-07/09/25
Joshua Liggett was representing Northern Ireland at the Home Countries Combined Events International at the MPT over the weekend. He finished 2nd in the U18 Decathlon with results for the 10 disciplines below.
