LVAC Fab 5, 21/08/25
The fifth and final Fab Five meeting took place on a slightly overcast Thursday evening at
the Mary Peters Track in Belfast. There were some great performances and a lot of PBs from the competing North Down AC athletes.
In the u14 girls’ 1 mile race, Eve Sloan was 9th in race 1 in a PB of 6:17.09.
Travis Truesdale was 1st in race 1 of the U16 boy’s 200m in a PB time of 25.21, the 2nd equal fastest time in this event. In race 2 Dominik Lipowski finished 5th in 28.13. Dominik was also busy in the field events, winning the hammer with a throw of 35.62m and coming third in the long jump, clearing 4.97m.
Zac Fox won the long jump with a PB jump of 6.07m, which put him in the top 10 UK u15 rankings for this
discipline.
The club had two runners in the u16 girls’ mile; Caitlyn Dickenson was 4th in 5:53.36 and
Maia Johnston one place behind in 5:54.50, both achieving PBs.
In the u18 and senior men’s events, John Ewing was 3rd in race 1 of the mile in 4.52.53.
Francis Marsh was 10 th in the same race in a time of 5.09.47. In the 2nd 1 mile race, all three
club competitors achieved PBs: Jamie Coulter-Smyth was 5th in 4:31.36; Kyle McLellan 7th in
4:31.99; and Luke McDowell 15th in 4:40.01. Finally, in the senior women’s long jump, Eve
Walsh-Dann was 5th with a jump of 2.98m.Thanks to Lagan Valley AC for putting on another successful series.
Scrabo Hill Race, 21/08/25
Scrabo Hill’s iconic tower once again kept watch over an electric evening of racing as runners from across Northern Ireland gathered for the 2025 Scrabo Hill Race. With warm late‑summer sunshine and a gentle breeze sweeping across Strangford Lough, the conditions were near‑perfect for fast times – and for enjoying the views that make this event so special.
The route served up everything hill runners love: lung‑busting climbs, twisty woodland trails, open grassland, and that exhilarating final push to the summit. For many, the reward was as much about the panoramic sweep of sea and countryside as it was about the clock.
The 7.2k course with over 365 m of climbing saw runners take on the trails in Killynether Forest before the final lung-busting ascent through the quarry to the finish line at the tower.
Mickael Lenu was the first NDAC finisher in 10th place in 33:03 followed by Jason McMinn 34:21, Gareth Hardy 35:47, Justin Black 38:47 and Mitchell Brown 42:46. Claire Scott led the NDAC ladies in 46:21. Willy Hoey reached Scrabo Tower in 47:59, while Kim McCourt 51:12 pipped Sophie Hamilton 51:16 to the line by 4 seconds with Trevor Patterson 56:50 completing the club line up.
https://www.nimra.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Scrabo-Hill-Race-2025-Results.pdf
Sophi, Kim, Claire Justin, Jason, Mickael, Gareth, Mitchell
Portrush 5 Mile Road Race, 22/08/25
Eamonn O’Reilly raced along the north coast on Friday night at the Portrush 5 mile road race. Following the promenade and coastal roads the runners raced out and back from Portrush, turning around at Portstewart. Eamonn finished 27th overall and 1st M50 in 32:57.
https://www.championchipireland.com/index.html#results
Strangford Festival 5k and 10k, 22/08/25
The 5k and 10k road races at the Strangford Festival took in the picturesque surroundings of Strangford and the Castle Ward grounds. Unfortunately in the 5k race marshals misdirected the leading 5 runners, including Sebastian Mair, onto the 10k course. Credit is due to Sebastian who completed the unaccustomed distance despite having his 5k race spoiled through no fault of his own.
Maol Larkin finished the 10k 3rd in 38:26. Sarah Gibson was 2nd lady and 1st W55 in 42:14 and Emma Hegarty completed the 10k in 55:47.
https://www.championchipireland.com/index.html#results
Rathlin Run, 23/08/25
While many of North Down AC’s runners headed to Victoria Park for the flat, fast road relays, 3 club members took the ferry from Ballycastle to Rathlin Island for the annual 10 mile road race on the undulating island roads out to the turnaround point at the seabird sanctuary at the West Lighthouse.
Donald Smith was the first of the trio back to the finish line at the flattest part of the island, conveniently located in front of the village pub, in a course PB of 1:21:12. He raced a 100 mile ultramarathon last weekend with a total elevation of just over 320m; the 10 miles on Rathlin accounted for almost 400m! Sarah Connolly was close behind in 1:24:57 1 place ahead of Andrew Muir in 1:25:35.
Belfast Victoria park Road Relays, 23/08/25
This year’s Belfast Victoria Park Road Relays once again incorporated the NI Senior and Masters’ Championships.
Teams of 4 runners raced 2 laps each, approximately 2 miles, around the outer permimeter of the park and NDAC were well represented in both the senior and masters’ age groups, as well as fielding under 17 teams.
*** DRAFT – TO BE UPDATED***
https://www.championchipireland.com/index.html#results
Antrim Coast Half Marathon, 24/08/25
The Antrim Coast Half Marathon has quickly established a reputation as one of the flattest and fastest half marathons in the UK and attracts a top quality field of international runners and club runners in search of a personal best time.
Starting in Larne Town Centre, runners enjoy coastal views as they head out to Balygalley before returning with the Irish Sea on their left to the finish by the Chain Memorial Tower back in Larne. This year’s men’s race was won by 2019 New York City marathon winner, Geoffrey Kamworor in 59:17 while Ethiopian Mizan Alem won the women’s race in 1:05:37.
Craig McMeechan, showing no fatigue from the road relays yesterday, was the first NDAC runner to cross the line in 34th place in 1:09:35. Ashley Dixon was 46th in 1:11:35 with Alan McConnell 1:24:15, Finn Johnson 1:26:34, Alasdair Mair 1:27:40 and Andy Nixon 1:28:21 all recording strong sub-90 minute performances on a warm, humid day for racing. Laura Christmann 1:41:14, Stephen Wise 1:47:59, Olivia Cumming 1:48:04 and Emma Fox 1:48:28 were followed by Katlyn Massey in a new PB of 1:50:29 and Susan Black in 1:51:51.
https://myrunresults.com/events/antrim_coast_half_marathon_/5733/results
