In a busy week of club activity full of fast road and mountain runs, the fastest of all the club members were to be found on the track. At the Irish National U20 and U23 Championships in Dublin on Saturday, Daniel Constable set a new PB of 49.58 in his 400m heat, finishing 5th in the final in 50.38. The highlight of the entire championships was a new 4x400m relay championship record of 3:26.00 set by the winning North Down AC team of Daniel Constable, Euan Monro, Harrison Jamison and Tomas Montgomery. The North Down team finished more than 5 seconds clear of the silver medallists.
Daniel, Euan, Harrison & Tomas
Jamie Moffat ran a season’s best 6.92s at the Irish U23 indoors to win his heat in the 60m and went on to win a silver medal in the final with a time of 6.95s.
Rachel Gibson was back on the track on Sunday in the Irish Masters’ Indoor Championships where she took the 1500/800m double W35 gold in 4:40.69 and 2:20.01, holding off all the W40/45s too in the 1500 and W40s in the 800m to win both mixed age-group races outright.
http://results.athleticsireland.ie/results_2026/03_14_in_u20+u23/menu.html
At the Friday Night Under the Lights 5k races at Battersea Park, Thomas Patterson took a big chunk off his PB placing 3rd in the C race in 15:14.
Ed Mezzetti raced for his local club, Cambridge and Coleridge Athletic Club, completed the Cambridge Half Marathon last Sunday in 1:26:17.
Ed Mezzetti
The Queen’s 3k and 5k always draws some of the fastest local runners seeking to put down a marker after winter training and cross country races on the flat fast course around the Annandale and Stranmillis Embankments between the Ormeau Bridge and King’s Bridge. In Wednesday’s cool night time temperatures the athletes battled a strong headwind as they approached the finish line outside the Queen’s PEC. The first race of the evening was the 3k, containing many younger athletes before the sub-20 minute and open 5k races. The first athlete home from the club was Seb Mair who put on a superb run to finish 4th in 9:40. He was followed in 11th place(and 2nd female) by Sophie Rankin 10:22, Jacob Castles 11:01 and the ever competitive Caitlyn Dickenson 11:29. Maia Johnston set a new PB of 11:52 before Molly Rankin 12:48 and Adam Downey 13:17 rounded off excellent performances.
In the elite race Craig McMeechan settled for 8th place in 15:04, just days after racing 10k in the inter counties XC Championship in Nottingham. Jamie Coulter-Smyth set a new PB of 15:04 to finish 14th followed by Marc Neill 16:01, Luke McDowell 16:05, Garry Morrow 16:09 and Jordan McClean 16:19. Aaron Beggs ran a 58s PB to finish in 16:30, chased to the line by Finn Johnson 16:34, Carter Rolston 16:47, Jamie McMeechan 16:48 and Ricky Jordan 17:05. Tara McDonough who also ran in Nottingham last weekend was the first of the clubs female finishers, 5th overall with an incredible 80 second PB in 17:06. Nick Irvine 17:27, Joel Wray 17:32, Steven Donegan 17:35 and Declan Magee also 17:35 were followed over the line by 1st M60, Francis Marsh 17:36, Maol Larkin 17:38 and Jason McMinn 17:46. Rachel Gibson 17:57 dipped under 18 minutes again ahead of her indoor races. David Massey 18:10, Simon Boyle 18:30, Jamie Toole 18:34, John Ewing 19:14 and Matthew Best 19:25 completed the NDAC line up.
While the sub-20 minute racers were cooling down outside the PEC, more of their North Down club mates lined up on the opposite side of the river to begin their 5k; Dean Willis was the club’s first finisher in 7th place in 18:38 ahead of Ben McCrory who set a PB of 18:56. Colin Walker ran 19:18 ahead of Paul Carson whose 19:41 was also a PB. Christopher Ballentine 19:37 and Chris Couchman 19:57 completed the sub-20 minute finishers. Mitchell Brown 20:09, Jeremy Tomalin 20:19 were followed by the first NDAC woman, Sarah Connolly in a PB of 20:24. Alan Massey 20:44, Keith Gilmore 20:48, Luke Hamilton 21:14 and Fiona McVicar 21:16 were followed by Seán Nickell in 21:25, a remarkably quick time for the ultrarunner in his 3rd race of the year dropping down to 5k from 268 miles and 50k! Sarah Wilson who ran a 5k PB in Antrim last Sunday took a further 7 seconds off her time finishing the Queen’s 5k in 21:34. Lisa Tomalin 21:43 finished ahead of a battle for positions behind her with Simon Robinson’s chip time of 21:52 placing him 2 seconds ahead of Philip McDonough 21:54. Paul Lynas 21:58, Gerard Adair 22:10, Heather Beattie 22:23, Olivia Cumming 22:37, Marion Beattie 23:46, Jonathan McWhinney 24:11 were narrowly ahead of June McMinn 25:09, Dave Press and Christina Hannah who both recorded PBs of 25:18 and 25:23 respectively. Michael Stevenson 25:53, John Thompson 26:27, Lynne Kerr 27:22, Lisa McMeechan 28:22 and Cara Jeffrey 28:37 were followed in by John McGarvey, making a welcome return to racing – running his first race for 8 years, in 28:38. Jill Eager 29:07, Jennifer Best 29:15 and George Emerson 31:20 were followed over the line by the M75 winner, Pat O’Driscoll in 36:19.
https://www.championchipireland.com/index.html#results
Several North Down AC members headed to the most scenic of all the Glens of Antrim on Saturday, but it wasn’t just the beautiful springtime views from Waterfoot up through Glenariff that left them breathless! The first race of the NI Mountain Running Association season, the Glenariff Spud Run was superbly organised by Glens Runners and supported by Glens of Antrim Potatoes.
Several more North Down AC runners were in Londonderry for the annual Derry 10 Mile Road Race on Saturday. Ricky Jordan was the first NDAC man across the line in 25th place in 58:15. Alasdair Mair 1:00:43 and Thomas Steele 1:01:19 were followed by 2nd FJ, Lucy Cheatley 1:09:23. Sarah Wilson continued her excellent form running her 3rd PB in a week in 1:16:10. James Gage ran 1:27:29 with Sandra Hall 1:30:03 and Mick Hall 1:30:35 followed by Emma Hegarty 1:31:34. Elaine McDonnell 1:34:49 was ahead of Andrea Green 1:31:34, Gabrielle Logan-Hermon 1:34:13, Nicola Stevenson 1:37:41, Heather Matchett and Glenn Frazer who both ran 1:53:04.
https://newdesign.myrunresults.com/events/derry_10_mile_road_race/6024/results
Despite the concentration of events at this time of year, the Jimmy’s 10k in Downpatrick held on the closest Sunday to St Patrick’s Day remains a firm fixture on the race calendar for many.
North Down AC had one relay team in the race comprising 2 young athletes who regularly compete against each other, often swapping 1st and 2nd place, but this time the dream team of Carter Rolston and Seb Mair worked together to win the relay in 35:00.
Garry Morrow was 3rd in the 10k race in 33:59. David Massey, Maol Larkin and 1st M60, Simon Boyle 39:29 showed no fatigue from Wednesday night. Fiona McQuillan ran 41:45 with Daniel Conway the club’s next finisher in 43:36. Clair Quigley barely back from Glenariff ran a strong 47:14 with Jonathan McWhinney 49:51 finishing ahead of 1st F70 Valerie Blayney and Allister Patton 1:13:22.
https://www.championchipireland.com/index.html#results
At the Barcelona Marathon on Sunday Ashley Dixon overcame recent injury to smash his PB and break 2:30 for the first time, completing the iconic course past the Catalonian Capital’s landmarks in 2:29:51, the third fastest marathon time by a North Down AC runner.
