He did the ‘Hucklebuck’! A brief review of the Dolly’s Brae Road Race
Despite the modest number of runners, the Dolly’s Brae Race and walk was a roaring success. Most of the roaring was done after, when Morgan, as predicted in this very column last week, took to the floor and did the ‘Hucklebuck’! I asked my good friend Niall Carson if this cataclysmic event was caught on camera. He replied, ‘Sure we were all on the floor in fits of laughter and no-one could’ve held a camera’. This was clearly one of those moments that had to be experienced live. Before the merriment came the sweat and toil. First out were the walkers, around 70 in number who enjoyed the family atmosphere and banter along the way. Twenty-six brave souls took to the line for the race itself, with Newcastle AC well represented in support of their man Morgan who has been a stalwart in supporting others for longer than most remember, thus proving that Frank is much older than he looks. The ever cheerful McVeigh twins (Martin and Audey) were also there and both were surprisingly chipper and full of words of encouragement as the runners passed by!!! The pace was steady early on, a fact evidenced by the presence of Paul Rodgers in the leading group – albeit for the first 300 yards! With his new found confidence Aidan Brown kicked on and came home first in a very respectable 41:33 for the 6.5 (or 6.6 depending on the calibration of one’s Garmin!) mile course. He was followed by Dee Murray, just over a minute in arrears and John Kelly a further minute back. Lauren Hackney recorded an impressive 50:48 to finish first lady and her day was made all the better, when, en route, she was told the epic saga of the ‘Armagh 10’ by one of the quickest athletes in the history of the event!!! Debbie Kendall was second lady to finish closely followed by Leitrim’s own ‘Prophetess’ Monica McCrickard. At the post race ‘tay’ anecdotes were exchanged and it would appear that in the telling the hills got steeper and longer. The hospitality was first class and this race had all the hallmarks of a community event with a local feel to it – I am now looking forward to the Royston Vasey Twelvty!!!