Podiums, PBs, ultramarathons, road races, national championships, track and field, mountain races and even the Commonwealth Games – it’s been another week where North Down AC athletes represented their club magnificently!
The fifth of Lagan Valley AC’s Super 6 series took place on Thursday evening at the Mary Peters track in Belfast with a strong contingent of North Down AC members putting in excellent performances.
Cillian Armstrong won gold in the U10 boys 400m finishing in 1.15.19. In the same race, Soren Neill finished 6th in 1.29.32. Cillian then got silver in the shot put, with a throw of 4.82m, whilst Soren came 6th (2.56m).
In the u10 girls’ 400m, Willow Cram completed the lap in 1.21.43. Willow also took part in the shot put, finishing 4th with a throw of 3.77m.
Harrison Mair was 3rd overall in the U12 boys’ 150m in 22.75. In the u12 girls’ 150m, Isla Little finished in 25.30. Isla also competed in the shot put, finishing 4th with a throw of 4.79m. In the u12 boys’ shot put, Fox Neill was 7th, throwing 4.87m.
In the u14 girls’ 2000m, Molly Rankin was 5th in 7:36.92. Woodie Cram finished the u14 boys’ 200m in 32.03.
At under 16 it was a gold medal for Seb Mair in the boys’ 3000m with a finishing time of 9:54.43, and in the girls’ 3000m it was silver and bronze respectively for Sophie Rankin (10:54.97) and Lucy Brown (PB of 11:04.03). There was another gold medal for Zac Fox, who won the u16 boys’ long jump clearing 5.86m. In the u16 girls’ long jump it was silver and bronze respectively for Jessica Liddle (4.46m) and Sky Eggleton (3.73m). There were more medals in the u16 girls’ 400m, where Lara Cheatley finished 2nd in a PB of 1:04.87. Eve Sloan was 4th with a PB of 1.07.60.
In the u18 boys’ 400m, Tomas Montgomery picked up another gold medal, winning the race in 50.33. It was also gold for Emma Reid, with a PB throw of 27.57m in the u18 girls’ javelin. Dominik Lipowski picked up a silver medal in u18 boys’ javelin, with a throw of 30.27m, and a bronze medal in the long jump, with a jump of 5.20m. James Blease was 8th In the u18 boys’ 3000m in 10:25.78.
In the seniors, Harrison Jamison won a silver medal in the 400m in 50.69. Ethan Isles was 5th in the 3000m in 9:13.29 and Francis Marsh was 13th in 10:33.40. In the u18 and senior women’s 3000m, Holly Blease was 6th (3rd senior woman) in 11:28.05.
Eve-Walsh Dann put in a final performance before competing in the Commonwealth Games, finishing 4th in the long jump (1st in the T38 category) with a jump of 3.08m.
Amongst the incredible variety of attractions and events during the Portaferry Gala Week, the highlight for runners is always the superbly organised 10 mile road race following an undulating route from the town around Qunitin Bay to the finish line in the Square. In addition to starting the race, Portaferry’s own Olympian, Ciara Mageean also presented prizes, with North Down AC’s runners featuring on the podium and across the age groups. Jamie Coulter-Smith was a clear winner in 53:34 with Ashley Dixon 3rd in 55:34. Garry Morrow was 6th and 1st M40 in 56:55. Finn Johnson also broke the hour in 8th place in 58:38. Jason Mackenzie 61:33, Thomas Steele 61:36, Declan Magee 62:10, David McKeague 62:38, Kevin Harkin 62:59, Andy Lowry 63:56, Ben Macrory 64:35 and Dean Willis 66:55 were followed by 1st M60, Simon Boyle 68:44 running his second 10 mile race in less than 10 days. Claire Tonry 70:50 was the first North Down lady. Eamonn O’Reilly 71:41, James Kamau 72:55, Donald Smith 74:20 and Keith Gilmore 74:25 were closely followed by a man with more experience of running along the coast than anyone in the club; Gerry O’Boyle recently returned from the latest stage of his Irish coastal run in Co Cork to record 74:47. Una Kilmartin 75:48 was ahead of Helen Byers 76:10, Sarah Wilson 77:18, Philip McDonough 77:21 and Kevin Mulligan 78:42, Heather Beattie 82:01 and Allister Patton 82:02. Claire Scott 82:04 was 1st F50 leading Emma Fox 83:47, Sophie Hamilton 86:15, Beth Mulree 87:54 and Emma Hegarty 93:47. Cliff McCausland was in marathon training mode in 94:21 followed by Caroline Gilmore 103:04 and Noreen McCausland 110:51.
The North Down relay duo of Lisa Tomalin and Lindsay Doulton were the first female team in 74:49.
Thanks are due to Gerard Adair and Mags Mathieson for their roles in the continued success of the Portaferry 10 miler.
North Down AC was well represented the following evening at another well established local race, the Donaghadee 5k. The fast 2 lap course from the lighthouse and around the Commons.
Carter Rolston was 4th in 17:42 followed by John Ewing in 5th in 17:52 and Joel Wray 6th in 18:01. Chris Couchman finished in 18:42. Sophie Rankin was 18th overall and 1st female in 19:06 followed by Keith Sloan 20:01 and 2nd female, Jodi Smith in 20:04. Andrew Strutt 20:12, Sarah Connolly 20:58, Paul Lynas 21:12, Abbie Small 21:20, Mathew Elliott 21:23, Fiona McVicar 21:39, Colin Lowry 22:09, Philip Cairnduff 22:32, Michael Barr 23:00 and Jordan McClean 23:07 were followed by Phil Archer 25:13, Gareth Jackson 25:15, Dave Press 25:36, Joanne Elliott 25:52, Christina Hanah 26:03 and John Thompson 26:19. Simon Brown 28:51, Cliff McCausland 29:04, Glenn Frazer 29:09, Charlie Miller 29:33, Julie McCready 30:08, Jennifer Brook 30:22, Lorraine Lowry 31:33 and Ivor Dempster 31:57 rounded off excellent NDAC performances.
NI Mountain Running Association regulars, Abby Andrews and Trevor Patterson took on the Mullaghcarn Giant Race on Saturday. Their 12k course, including more than 500m of ascent, took runners over the summit of the most southerly of the Sperrins, Mullaghcarn, and past the Giant statue at the top. Abby was first F55 in 1:16:08 and Trevor finished in 1:43:26.
Portaferry wasn’t the only available 10 mile race this week. Paula Simpson and Sarah Gibson nipped across the border to Co Monaghan for the Castleblaney 10 Mile Race following a scenic looped course around Lough Muckno. Sarah was 1st F55 in 1:11:40 and Paula ran 1:38:47.
The annual Hillsborough Castle and Garden Running Festival saw 3 North Down AC runners take on the 10k option; Andrew Strutt was the first finisher of the trio in 46:24 with Michael Barr finishing in 49:48 and Anna McKee completing the 10k in 55:43.
Some of the club’s ultrarunners were in action over the weekend; the 24 hour race in Belfast’s Victoria Park also included 10k, marathon, 50k and 100k options. Michael Stevenson ran in the 100k but race day misfortunes meant that he sensibly called it a day at a little over marathon distance. Aaron Beggs ran strongly from the start of the 50k, quickly taking and consolidating the lead to win in 3:38:12, the second fastest 50k time for a NDAC member.
Kim McCourt was also in ultramarathon action, tackling an even longer distance at the Edinburgh Castle to Glamis Castle 100 mile race. Ably supported by club mate Claire Scott Kim crossed the Firth of Forth and tracked round the coast of Fife before finishing at Glamis near Forfar in 29:05:52.
It was a clean sweep of podium places in the U12 boys’ 600m race at the ANI Open Meeting on Sunday with gold for Daly Seaton, silver for Casey Seaton and Fox Neill claimed the bronze.
In addition to strong club representation at so many local events, 2 of North Down AC’s elite athletes were racing in the Irish National Championships in Dublin and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. On Sunday Rachel McCann claimed victory in the 400m, producing one of the standout performances of the weekend’s Championships as she claimed the women’s 400m title, overcoming pre-race favourite Sophie Becker in a thrilling final.
Sophie had built up a significant lead by the 200m mark, but McCann produced a superb finish down the home straight to close the gap and take the title. The victory marked Rachel’s first outdoor senior title, and she also achieved a personal best of 52.96, breaking the fifty-three second barrier for the first time.
Eve Walsh-Dam was representing Northern Ireland in her second Commonwealth Games, racing in the T38 100m. She narrowly missed qualification for the final on Monday afternoon despite running a season’s best 14.18 to finish 5th in heat 2.
