Club Notes by Joe McCann
The traditional run over the Hill and Dale course that has become synonymous with Monday evenings spiralled out of all proportion this week. After an array of enquiries from those keen to discover the challenge that this race posed, it was agreed to run at 6pm on Monday. It would appear that most were ‘out the door at four’, judging by the numbers in Donard Park by 6. They came from far and wide thus immortalising the line ‘in motorbikes and Hiace vans, with bottles, barrel, flagons and cans.’ There was ‘mighty craic and loads of frolicks’, but at the business end of it all Audey was, as usual, the first to summit. He was closely followed by Paschal who somewhat foolishly decided to tackle the mountain in a t-shirt and shorts while others were more suitably attired. This might explain his desire to get up and down as quickly as possibly – once a townie always a townie and that applies to both men!!!
Hill and Dale Race 6
The sixth race in the 2011 Hill and Dale series witnessed a turnout of 179 athletes. As predicted last week Dominic McGreevy and Anne Sandford from the host club recorded victories that meant they were unassailable in their respective categories. Similarly our congratulations extend to Sileen O’Kane who, by virtue of winning each race to date, is the new Ladies’ champion. It will be interesting to see if she can do the seemingly impossible and complete an unprecedented clean sweep by winning all eleven races. In the absence of her major rivals, this would seem in all probability a certainly if the diminutive Belfast athlete can avoid injury and sustain the fine form she has shown to date.
Confusion for the Champion Elect
Another fine performance from Woods means that barring a mathematical nightmare he is home and dry, with five wins and a second place thusfar. Someone with an existing second place would need to win the five remaining races to force a share of the title or the winner of race 1, an athlete who resides on the mainland could still deny Woods the title. A source of greater confusion was the ‘John Kelly’ drama that unfolded before the race. Woods, who has recently taken residence in the village was bemused to find that there were two ‘John Kelly’s’ form Bryansford. The matter was soon resolved when both men appeared in to spectate in Donard Park, ‘Hen’ in his confirmation suit and ‘Kelly, the mouthy magpie’ in his work duds. Woods was heard chanting ‘there are only two John Kelly’s’ as he descended of Millstone. Residents of Kilcoo will be mourning their loss and one can only speculate where his loyalties lay when the rival parishes met on Friday night!!! Now that this matter has been cleared up, Woods can concentrate on wrapping up the title at Loughshannagh, where hopefully a third ‘John Kelly’ will not confuse the proceedings.
McKibbin edges closer to a win
Twenty-six Newcastle athletes took to the line for Millstone. The ever-improving Alan McKibbin was once again the leading man and despite not climbing to his true ability was good enough to secure second place overall, edging ever closer to securing his first race win in over two years. The last time McKibbin recorded a victory was on Binnian in 2009 and despite being the clear leader (by some considerable distance one might add!) in the all time race winner’s roll of honour, he remains as determined to add to his already outstanding CV. My sources were once again spurious as twin brother David failed to toe the line; however he was a source of inspiration to his identical sibling, chanting words of encouragement that undoubtedly proved heartening.
Incognito O’Flaherty scares the bridesmaid
David O’Flaherty, looking suspiciously different as the result of an unflattering and ostensibly waterproof stick-on ginger beard, had an outstanding run and narrowly failed in his attempt to secure a podium place as Neil Carty just managed to hold on to third place by a short head. Having tasted victory in previous years, David is another who is capable of winning a race before the series ends.
Shoely he knows which footwear is best!
David Steele came home in an equally impressive 6th place overall, a result that is all the more remarkable that this athlete was not finishing in the top 100 a year ago and secured the first team victory of the season in the virtual competition that arouses the interest of NIMRA each week. David attributes his success to two equally important factors: Firstly, since being trimmed by the bacon slicer, he has learned to sit a little further back from the table at mealtimes and secondly he also follows the shoe selection of champion elect Des Woods. Those familiar with motorsport will realise that tyre choice is vital and is often the discriminator between success and failure. Each week Steele arrives with a van full of shoes (I do not exaggerate as this man would make Imelda Marcos envious) and skulks around the registration, waiting for Woods to get a glimpse of his footwear. Then it is a hasty retreat to the van and hey presto as if by magic he returns in similar shoes to the man from Mourne. One shudders to think what would happen if Des arrived to register in a pair of pink 6 inch stilettos!
The ideal preparation for any race
Deon McNeilly finished 9th this week and looked particularly exhausted at the finish. Had he been altitude training? Was he spending too much time in the thermal baths? All remained a mystery until, in act of altruistic club charity, I waited for him on the climb across Gribben’s Field on Sunday morning (I should add that he was late and that if I were waiting on him, he would be in real trouble!). Rather unwisely, the ‘Big Fella’ had decided to engage in a bit of DIY on race day; not something out of the training manual (and perhaps more unwisely he told the story!). After demolishing a nine foot wall with a kango hammer, he broke the pieces up into suitably manageable and transportable chunks. He then filled the trailer four times, unloaded the debris at the dump before shovelling three cubic metres of concrete. Finally he attended Billy the Builder as he erected a replacement wall. By 6.30 he was on the sofa, totally spent. However, he picked himself up and in true McNeilly fashion toed the line. When the story was recounted later in the Sunday run, the ‘Big Fella’s Fella’ (without being one bit disrespectful to his mentor) shrugged and said, ‘sure I do that every day lads.’
Get out of the way
Of the twenty-six Newcastle athletes that took part the closest battle was between Bob ‘elbows’ Brown, Jack O’Hare and Damian McDaid, with only a second separating the trio in 45, 46th and 47th places respectively. Damian has certainly made great progress in recent weeks and continues to grow in strength and confidence as the series unfolds. Bob had perhaps used the elbows upon realising that the time needed to try to get around Jack could result in the loss of several more places!
A great success
This new race in the Hill and Dale series proved very successful and the positive affirmation proffered in the race aftermath was a fitting tribute to the work of the course designers (the Big Fella and his Fella) and the race organisers. A final word of praise for the Big Fella’s Fella’s Fella, who at the age of 11 made a great contribution to the whole proceedings, especially in light of the task he was given. He was assigned the role of liaising between ‘Grumpy’ Morgan who was managing the results and some even grumpier member who was processing the results on the laptop in the car. Such was the skill and diplomacy of the young man that the results were processed smoothly and quickly, making an early declaration possible on Monday morning. The recently acquired Spirit was certainly at work.
Junior Quadrathlon
The Junior Quadrathlon which began on Monday 9th May was completed on Monday 16th May. The competition consisted of sprints, middle distance running, throws and jumps and was enjoyed by all 68 competitors that took park. Best in the throws were Megan Rodgers, Jack Quinn, Ross McCrickard, Roisin McCabe, Andrew Watson and Ellie Parkhill. The time spent recently in coaching Long Jump technique has obviously paid off and there were excellent performances in this discipline from Jack Quinn, Ciara Gibson, Gabriel Corrigan, Michaela Quinn, Lucy Hallissey and Kate McCauley. The sprints were all very closely contested, with little to choose between any of the competitors in the various age categories. Finally Dearbhla Magee was the notable performer in the middle distance running event, showing a great style and rhythm in her running.
Annalong Horseshoe celebrates its 30th birthday
The Annalong Horseshoe is one of the longest NIMRA races and there have been no course changes since it was first run in 1982. Consequently Saturday 21st May witnessed the 30th running of this race. The existing course record was set way back in 1996 by Newcastle AC’s Robbie Bryson in a remarkable time of 1:56:57 although Stephen Cunningham came very close last year with the second fastest time ever of 1:57:43. In fact only two other athletes have ever completed the course in under two hours, Brian Ervine (second to Bryson in 1996) and Adrian Philpott (winning in 1990). The ladies record stands at 2:28:50 and was set by Fiona Maxwell in 2007.
The race was the seventh in the NIMRA Grand Prix series. This year the race was won by Mourne Runners’ Clive Bailey. In miserable conditions, Bailey stuck to his task and navigated the mist most competently to record a great victory from Dale Mathers of Newry City Runners. Jonathan Graham, a talented Mourne Junior claimed third. Ciara Largey was victorious in the Ladies’ race. Newcastle AC was represented by two athletes. Eugene McCann was 11th in a time of 2 hours and 49 minutes. Times were generally slow due to the harsh head wind from Commedagh to the finish. Poor visibility did little to make life easier for the athletes either. Paul Fegan was Newcastle’s second finisher in a time of 4 hours and 2 minutes and says that he say no-one all day; an overwhelming endorsement for any race!
Eoghan qualifies for All-Ireland Schools’ 5000m final
Promising track runner Eoghan Totten followed up on his victory in the Down Schools’ 5000m race with a bronze medal in the Ulster Championship. The race was won by favourite Ryan McDermott in a very fast 15.19. Eoghan ran a season’s best 15.31, knocking 12 seconds on his previous best set at Bangor, but was just out-kicked in the final straight by surprise package John Paul Williamson, who finished stronger to grab a silver medal. All three athletes will represent Ulster in the All-Ireland event later in the month.
Kerry’s steeplechase debut
After her period of intense altitude training, Kerry Harty made her much anticipated debut in the 3000m steeplechase at Loughborough. In a howling gale, Kerry won in 10.24, but ran conservatively in her first race over the distance and the 35 barriers. Having said that she obliterated the Northern Ireland record by a whopping 1 minute 39 seconds! Obviously there will be much more to come in the near future, when the conditions are more conducive to running Olympic qualifying standard times.
Looking ahead
There is much competition ahead for athletes in the coming week. On Wednesday evening the Banbridge 10k affords the opportunity for the road stars to stretch their legs, while on Thursday evening the Hill and Dale moves to the central Mournes for the Loughshannagh Horseshoe. This is arguably the most difficult and demanding race of the series with runners tackling Carn, Doan, Loughshannagh and Ott before returning to from whence they came. On Saturday morning the weekly 5k from the Gasworks in Belfast offers an ideal opportunity for a fast workout. This race has the added attraction of free entry for everyone. For those wanting something a little hillier, the Sperrins Challenge offers a suitable test.