Noreen & Cliff McCausland, Dopey Challenge
Noreen and Cliff McCausland left Bangor’s snow and storms behind as they headed across the Atlantic to the Sunshine State of Orlando to tackle the Dopey Challenge at Disney World, Florida. Most runners might be content with a 5k or 10k race and maybe even a half marathon or full marathon during their holiday, and be thrilled to bring home a piece of shiny race bling, but the marathoning McCauslands tackled 4 races each, earning 6 medals apiece over 4 days. Their epic running adventure began on Thursday 9th January with a 3 am start for the 5k race. They repeated their increasingly challenging schedule over the next 3 days as they raced a 10k, half marathon and finally a marathon taking in all the theme parks with plenty of opportunities for photo stops with Disney characters along the way. They received a medal for each race as well as a separate medal for the Goofy Challenge – the half and full marathons and the Dopey Challenge – all 4 races.
Born 2 Run, Loughgall
4 North Down AC runners took to the trails of Loughgall Forest Park for the latest race in Born 2 Run’s Run Forest Run series own Saturday 11th January.
Ben O’Driscoll was the club’s first finisher in the 10k race in 49:57 followed by Stephen Moore 52:59, Cadey Moore 53:21 and Chris Connolly 49:53.
Mathieson Cup XC, Mollusk
The latest race in the Athletics NI Cross Country League took place at the Mallusk Playing Fields on Sunday 12th January. Although the thaw over Saturday had melted most of the ice, runners endured some challenging conditions on a course that always seems to be colder and more exposed than many others around Northern Ireland.
The North Down AC senior mens’ team placed second in the cup with superb individual performances, in particular Craig McMeechan who won the 8k race in 26:21, 61 seconds ahead of 2nd place! Dale Murray was 14th in 28:55 ahead of Matty Mcparland (16th) 29:12, Jamie McMeechan 29:55, Garry Morrow 30:19, David McKeague 31:07, Steven Donegan 31:27, Ricky Jordan 31:47, Dennis Scott 31:48, Alasdair Mair 32:49 and Simon Boyle 33:57.
In the senior wonens’ 6k race Fiona McQuillan was the club’s first finisher in 25:55 with strong performances from Clair Quigley 27:44, Olivia Cumming 28:49, Lindsay Doulton 29:10, Glynis Boyle 29:15, Clare Scott 29:57, Sarah Gibson 30:10, Heather Beattie 31:09, Marion Beattie 32:12, Wendy Neely 32:51, Cara Jeffrey 38:23 and Kim McCourt 38:28. Kim’s commitment, performance, and even her attendance at the cross country was remarkable as she dashed straight to Mallusk after completing a marathon in Carrickfergus in the morning to ensure there was a full ladies’ team!
In the Veterans’ 6k race Terry Eakin was 1st M75 in 28:24 ahead of Pat O’Driscoll 42:53.
The junior races also saw excellent performances from the NDAC representatives; in the P5 girls race Molly Rankin was 10th and Isla McQuillan 26th, Robin Anderson was 3rd, Harrison Mair 9th and Daly Seaton 10th in the p5 boys. In the U13 girls it was another victory for Sophie Rankin and Eve Sloan was 21st. In the U13 boys race Isaac Hall finished 6th and Adam Downey was 15th. Caitlyn Dickenson was 9th in the U15 girls with Carter Rolston 7th and Sebastian Mair 9th at U15 boys. In the U17 6k race Alex Downey took another podium spot finishing 3rd.
Kim McCourt, Carrickfergus Marathon
Strava data showed most of the North Down AC runners warming up before the XC on Sunday afternoon with a series of drills, strides and easy paced runs for a few minutes before they raced their respective cross country events on Sunday afternoon; Kim McCourt’s warm up was a little more unconventional – she ran a marathon in Carrickfergus on Sunday morning and dashed straight to Mallusk afterwards to represent her club in the cross country race! The marathon organised by the fantastic local running event organisers We Run Wild NI, started and finished at Carrickfergus Castle taking in road and trail routes around the historic County Antrim town. Kim used the marathon both as a warm up for the cross country race and an upcoming ultramarathon trail event and finished in a very respectable 5:39.
Rachel McCann AAI Games & National Indo0r Combined Events
Rachel McCann raced in the indoor 200m at the games at the National Indoor Arena in Abbotstown on Saturday 11th January in 24.92 sec, which equalled her outdoor 200m PB from 2024.
Mark Carberry, Scottish Inter-District XC Championships
Mark Carberry had his best cross country race so far placing 26th in the super-competitive Scottish Inter-District XC champs at Alexandra Park, Glasgow on Saturday. Racing over a testing undulating 8km course, Mark came home as 6th team counter for the Scottish Universities select that earned him and his teammates team bronze.