Flahavans Primary School XC, 20/10/25
Round 1 of the County Down Flahavan’s League took place last Monday in Newtownards.
In the boys’ race 2, Daly Seaton (Glencraig), Casey Seaton (Glencraig) and Harrison Mair (St Comgall’s) were 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively and were also the fastest three to finish. Also in race 2 were Thomas Close (St Comgall’s – 14th), Nathan Shankleton (Glencraig – 17th) and Fox Neill (St Comgall’s -18th). In the boys’ race 1, Rory McCullough (Ballyholme) was 3rd and Finn McCullough (Ballyholme) was 7th.
Scottish XC Relay Championships, 25/10/25
At the Scottish XC relay championships in Cumbernauld Luke McDowell (13:16) and Ollie Playfair had good runs both on leg 2 over a hilly, twisty 4k. Luke helped Glasgow Uni B finish 24th and Ollie helped Stirling Uni B finish 34th.
Chablis Half Marathon, 25/10/25
Jamie Andrews and Simon Robinson might not have run their fastest times on Saturday, but they had a far more enjoyable race experience than their clubmates at muddy XC courses or cold, wet and windy roads elsewhere, as they tackled the Chablis Half Marathon. Passing through vineyards in the Burgundy region, the Chablis half unsurprisingly kept runners hydrated with far better options than simply water or energy drinks!
Bobby Rea XC & NI & Ulster Even Age Group Championships, 26/10/25
The Bobby Rea cross country races, including the NI & Ulster even age group championships were held over challenging laps at the Billy Neill MBE Country Park on Sunday afternoon. In the junior races Casey Seaton won the 1000m U10 boys’ race leading the scoring 4 of Casey, Fox Neill, Thomas Close and Ezra Blanc to a team 6th place.
The Under 14 girls’ team of Sophie Rankin, Catherine McBrinn, Eve Sloanand Lara Cheatley finished 8th.
At U16 the North Down girls, Coco Smith, Maia Johnson, Isla Wiltshire and Freya Lowry were 6th while the boys were 4th with Ethan Constable, Carter Rolston, Sebastian Mair and James Blease taking the scoring positions.
Rebekah Laffin was 7th in the U20 girls’ 6000m race in 28:10.
Simon Boyle won the over 60s 6000m race in 24:12 with Terry Eakin finishing 13th (although technically in a higher age group) in 28:55.
The NDAC womens’ team were 4th overall over their 6000m course with Rachel Gibson, Claire Tonry, Lois Harkin and Fiona McVicar collecting the points.
The individual results were Rachel Gibson 24:34, Claire Tonry 24:56, Sarah Connolly 27:06, Lois Harkin 27:43, Fiona McVicar 27:43, Stephanie Graham 28:30, Abby Andrews 28:52, Glynis Boyle 28:53, Heather Beattie 29:03, Zara Fulton 29:52, Emma Fox 30:52, Katlyn Massey 30:57, Marion Beattie 31:15, June McMinn 31:27, Kim McCourt 31:42, Karen Keery 32;05 and Beth Mulree 32:38.
The mens’ team were overall winners led by Craig McMeechan 26:16, Daniel Dines 26:37, Kyle McLellan 27:43 and Jamie McMeechan 28:34. The other men who put in strong performances in the 8000m race were Josh McDowell 30:34, John Ewing 31:02, Kevin Harkin 31:58, Nick Irvine 32:02, David McKeague 32:06, Jason McMinn 32:06, Colin Walker 34:50, Kirk Sloan 35:11, Jeremy Tomalin 36:18 and David Balmer 47:54.
https://www.championchipireland.com/index.html#results
Valencia Half Marathon, 26/10/25
Lynne Kerr raced the Valencia Half Marathon on Sunday. One of the Super Six European elite half marathons, the 12000 available places sold out in less than 3 hours several months before race day! Lynne’s comeback continued with an excellent 2:15:16.
Frankfurt Marathon, 26/10/25
On a day where many of the club’s marathon runners switched from their long weeks of marathon training into race mode Garry Morrow recorded the fastest time of the day in Frankfurt. Battling strong winds throughout, Garry clocked 2:30:16, just 6s outside his overall PB.
Marine Corps Marathon, 26/10/25
Cliff and Noreen McCausland made a return trip to Washington DC for the 50th edition of the Marine Corps Marathon. The route took runners past the Pentagon, and iconic Washington, D.C. landmarks including the Lincoln Memorial and the U.S. Capitol.
Both recorded PBs with Cliff finishing in 4:53:06 and Noreen completing the course in 5:29:12.
Dublin Marathon, 26/10/25
The biggest running event on the island always attracts a good number of North Down AC athletes and this year was no exception. Cold, clear conditions at the beginning of the race quickly gave way to wind and rain as almost 20000 runners tackled the route from the city centre through Phoenix Park and south Dublin back to the finish line near Merrion Square.
Ashley Dixon was the club’s first finisher in 2:32:17 followed by Dale Murray in 2:32:52, a minute ahead of Matty McParland 2:33:53. Ross Murray 2:35:07 was followed by Aaron Beggs with a 7 minute PB in 2:43:50. Ricky Jordan 2:47:15, Finn Johnson 2:49:14, Andy Lowry 2:55:41, Alasdair Mair 2:55:50 and Steven Donegan 2:56:43 were ahead of Stuart Anderson 2:57:26 who set a new PB to join the sub-3 hour finishers.
Sarah Gibson 3:10:13 was North Down AC’s first lady and 2nd F55. Donald Smith took 7 minutes off his PB to finish in 3:20:30 followed by Helen Byers 3:29:56, Sarah Wilson 3:55:02, John Ferguson 3:56:14 and Richard Garrad who was missing last week’s Palma sunshine finished in 4:19:34.
Congratulations to the top 3 scoring men, Dale Murray, Matty McParland and Ross Murray secured 2nd place for North Down AC in the Athletics Ireland national marathon team championships!
