Lagan Valley AC Fab 5 meeting, 10/04/25
The first major track and field meeting of the season took place on a sunny Thursday
evening at the Mary Peters Track in Belfast. These meetings are always popular, with the
next one on the 24 th of April already closed for entries in certain events. A good number of
club members took part with some impressive results.
In the u12 boys’ 600m, Harrison Mair was 9th in 2.00.67. Sophie Rankin won the u14 girls’ 1500m in 5:01.54 and Eve Sloan was 21st in 5:45.63. Isaac Hall took part in the u14 boys’ 1500m, finishing 8th in 5:06.18.
In the u14 boys’ shot putt, Adam Downey picked up the first medal of the evening by
finishing 3rd with a throw of 5.89m.
In the u16 girls’ 100m, Caoimhe Fenlon was 3rd in race 2 in 13.95, whilst Nyla Hughes was
5th in race 4 in 14.22. In the u16 boys’ 100m, Travis Truedale was 2nd in race 2 in 12.45. In
the u16 girls’ 1500m Caitlyn Dickenson was 9th with a 25 second PB of 5:14.50, whilst Seb
Mair was 12th in the u16 boys’ 1500m in a new PB of 4:53.14. There were two more medals for North Down athletes
in the u16 girls’ discus, where Emma Reid continued her great form from last season by winning the
event with a throw of 27.45m. This was a PB for Emma and the first time she had thrown a
1kg discus and competed in this competition while Caoimhe Fenlon finished 2nd with a throw
of 17.73m.
Moving on to the u18 and senior events, Jamie Moffatt was 1st in race 3 of the 100m and 3rd
fastest finisher overall with a time of 10.98. In race 2, Conor Adair was 2nd in 11.38.
Four club members took part in the u18 and senior men’s 1500m with overall positions as follows:
Josh McDowell 2nd in B Race (4:22.44) after surging from 6th to 1st in the last lap before being passed at the end, Dean Varley 14th in B Race (4:34.37), Francis Marsh 7th C Race (4:44.40) and
John Ewing made a solid return to track racing after 6 years, finishing 8th in the C Race (4:45.55.)
Ema Reid & Caoimhe Fenlon
Thanks as always to Lagan Valley AC for putting on this event.
Irish University Championships, 12/04/25
At the Irish University Championships hosted by DCU in Dublin Daniel Dines, representing QUB, smashed his 5000m track PB in the A race final placing 11th in 15:17.74.
Hill & Dale, 10/04/25
The first race in this year’s Hill & Dale race series organised by Newcastle AC took place on a stunning spring evening in the beautiful grounds of Castlewellan Forest Park. There are 10 races in the series and runners will venture further into the Mournes as the races progress with more elevation and technical terrain. They must complete at least 6 of the races to be in contention for Hill & Dale prizes. The 7.5k Castlewellan route was modified from previous years while storm damage the park continues to be cleared up, but runners were treated to plenty of climbing, superb views of the High Mournes and a spectacular sunset as they tackled the trails.
David McKeague was the first of the NDAC finishers in 17th place overall in 30:37. Gareth Hardy finished in 33:40 and Clair Quigley was 1st F45 in 36:57. Ben Jenkins crossed the line in 38:38 with Jeremy Tomalin 40:18, Abby Andrews 40:30, Kevin Mulligan 41:35 and Glynis Boyle 42:21 followed by Claire Scott 42:56, Cameron Jenkins 43:11 and June McMinn 1st F65 44:14. Willy Hoey 47:40, Trevor Patterson 50:21, Jennifer Johnston 52:22 and Kim McCourt 57:25 completed the NDAC line up.
https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=385954
Jeremy, Kevin, Claire, June, Abby, Gareth, Clair, Kim, Jennifer, Glynis, Trevor, David
Dundalk 10k, 09/04/25
The annual 10k race hosted by the Dundalk Institute of Technology follows a flat fast course out of the town with coastal views on the return leg. Two North Down AC runners made the trip to Co Louth with Sarah Gibson 1st F50 in 42:53 and Paula Simpson continuing the final stages of marathon training in 52:34.
Paula & Sarah
Larne 10 mile road race, 12/04/25
24 club members headed to Larne on Saturday for the 10 mile road race. Several of them were racing for the seconf=d time this week having raced in Dundalk or Castlewellan 2 or 3 days earlier, Starting and finishing at the leisure centre the Larne 10 mile runners followed the coast out beyond Ballygally before turning back into the headwind as they returned to Larne. Declan Magee was the first NDAC runner back to Larne in 21st place in 59:33. Along with the next 4 NDAC men Aaron Macauley 1:00:59, Aaron Beggs 1:01:05, David Massey 1:03:21 and Simon Boyle 1:07:54, North Down AC finished first to collect the men’s team prize.
Fiona McQuillan finished between David Massey and Simon Boyle, claiming 1st F40 honours in 1:07:11. Philip Mulligan 1:08:04 was 2nd M60. Steven Boyd continued his excellent form running 1:09:47 while Sarah Gibson showed no fatigue from Dundalk taking another age group win in 1:09:59. Clair Quigley also made a quick recovery from Hill & Dale and finished in 1:10:23 ahead of Brian Geddis 1:12:57, Keith Gilmore 1:13:54, Matt Ormesher 1:14:09 while another Hill and Dale runner, Glynis Boyle was 2nd F60 in 1:14:59. Kevin Mulligan 1:18:52 swapped the hills and trails of Castlewellan for the flat coastal road followed by Olivia Cumming 1:18:38. Abby Andrews not only raced hilly trails on Thursday evening but she set a 10 mile PB sharing her 1:18:57 time with Jamie Andrews. Another of the H&D crew, Claire Scott ran 1:20:35 while Wendy Neely’s 1:22:26 was ideal race preparation for the London Marathon. Heather Beattie 1:23:02, Sarah Wilson 1:26:20, Emma Hegarrty 1:29:46 and Lisa McMeechan 1:34:03 rounded off a great morning of running.
https://www.championchipireland.com/index.html#results
Here’s a selection of photos from the NDAC Member’s Facebook page, beginning with Philip Mulligan’s frankly disturbing attempt at a photoshop to show the men’s scoring 5…
Castle to Castle Ultra, 12/04/25
Ultramarathoner Jill Connolly tackled a double marathon on Saturday 12th April running from Carrickfergus Castle to Belfast Castle and back, covering over 52 miles with more than 1800m of elevation, mostly on trails between the castles. Not only did she finish as 1st lady, but she also smashed her time from last year, taking more than 1 hour and 52 minutes off her 2024 time to complete the ultra in 10:04.
Centra Run Together 10k, 13/04/25
Robert Duncan raced at the Centra Run Together 10k in Ormeau Park on Sunday morning in 41:10.With 5k and 10k options and over 460 runners in each race, Robert finished 11th in the 10k in 41:10.
Christchurch Marathon, 13/04/25
Jamie Coulter-Smyth ran one of the fastest marathons by a North Down member, taking 6th place at the Christchurch Marathon on New Zealand’s South Island (as well as 6th place in the all time NDAC marathon stats.) In only his second marathon he took 6 minutes and 11 seconds off his first marathon time over the looped course. With marathon, half marathon and 10k runners starting together Jamie pushed hard in the first mile to ease ahead of the crowds, and pushed hard, running mainly alone weaving past runners as he lapped them. Pushing through pain in the final 5k he dug deep to finish in 2:33:11.
Run Armagh 10k, 13/04/25
There was a fantastic turnout in Armagh on Sunday 13th April for a series of races to celebrate Clive Nesbitt’s 250th marathon. Clive is one of the race directors for the Run Armagh/East Antrim Marathon Series, and well known across the island of Ireland and further afield for his marathon running achievements. In order to allow even more of Clive’s many running friends to attend the event a half marathon and 10k options were added to the marathon.
Pat O’Driscoll represented North Down AC in the 10k, tackling the undulating loop through the Co Armagh countryside before returning to the city to take the win in a superb time of 1:11:55.
http://www.runarmagh.com/marathon/2025-run-armagh-clive-nesbitts-250th-marathon/
Pat & Clive