Totten impresses in the at the Great North Run

NAC Notes by Bogusboy

The eyes of the world were firmly fixed on the North East of England as thousands upon thousands of athletes took the line for the Great North Run, one of the greatest mass participation races in the world. Newcastle’s Eoghan Totten, running in the colours of Oxford University, was in the midst of greatness as the elite runners, including Sir Mo Farah, lined up at the start. For Totten this would be a fantastic day out as he finished the 13.1 (half marathon) course in 19th place, recording an impressive 67:21. This time represents a 30 second PB but left him wondering about what might have been. He was moving through the field when he took a stitch at 10 miles that he could not shift and believes that it cost him somewhere in the region of 45 seconds to 1 minute. Nonetheless he can be more than proud of his top 20 finish and 8th in the national rankings. Farah was in imperious form in the closing stages and romped to victory in a few seconds over the hour.

 

ALPS 10k and 5k

There were no NAC athletes in the ALPS 10k won by Ciaran Denvir from East Down (37:18). However, Newcastle brothers Ronan and James McVeigh competed in the 5k. Ronan was second overall in 18:40 and James was a very impressive 10th in 25:05, having set the early pace for his big brother.

 

Larne 10k

On Saturday the familiar racing faces of David McCann, Harry Russell and Nicky McKeag were evident at the Larne 10k. North Belfast’s John Black was first of the 211 competitors home, recording 33:12. David was 26th (40:53), Harry 61st (46:19) and Nicky 65th (46:35)

 

Ben Nevis 2017

As promised last week, we catch up with the exploits of the NAC athletes who travelled to Fortwilliam to complete in the annual Ben Nevis Fell Race. William Forte contributed the piece below which he titled, ‘Bugsy Bashes the Ben’.

“The annual pilgrimage to Fort William to participate in the Ben Nevis Race – 4406 feet up and down which is traditionally held on the first Saturday of September was undertaken by a number of Newcastle AC athletes; some for the first time and some definitely not for the first time.