A Preview of the 31st Castlewellan Christmas Cracker
by Bogusboy

The Christmas Cracker has gone from strength to strength renaissance since it was taken over by Newcastle AC and relocated to Castlewellan in the early ‘noughties’. It remains the most unique and one of the best attended popular races in the annual ANI calendar. On 28th December 2013 a record breaking 373 teams took to the line and 2014 promises to be bigger as the entries flood in. This year the race is on Saturday 27th December, by which time the turkey will be on its last legs and attention will be turning to New Year’s running resolutions. The race is a multi-terrain event over approximately 8.2 miles and is suitable for runners of all abilities and levels of experience. This year the race is very different and promises to be an enjoyable experience. Most of the action will take place in Castlewellan Forest and runners will have the opportunity to experience many of the recently re-constructed paths that have made the park a ‘must go to’ venue for walkers and cyclists alike.

Last Year’s winners O’Hanlon and McCloskey are back and both are in great shape. Gary O’Hanlon is one of the best known names in Irish running circles and has won most events he entered this year. His highlights include victory in a field of 8,000 in the Dublin City Half Marathon in a very good time of 67:34. He has competed over a range of distances from 5k to ultra-marathon, both at home and abroad. Gary also captured the Irish Ultra Marathon title and came 5th in the world Ultra Marathon in November, one week after completing the Dublin City marathon! All in all this is an impressive. Although extremely taciturn and modest, his partner is no slouch! North Runners’ Brian McCluskey has had an impressive year clocking times of 15:41 for 5k, 20:34 for 4 miles and 32:48 for 10k on the road. He was the convincing winner of the Louth Senior and Masters’ Cross Country titles and was named Louth Senior athlete of the year. With his club, he was instrumental in securing the All Ireland B Grade team gold medal. Both athletes compete in this race year on year because they love the unique atmosphere and the challenging course that the organisers come up with.

Part of the beauty of the race is that the race is run in pairs, so you are only as good as your partner; a harsh fact of life that I learn every December and somehow forget by the following year. Runners like Deon McNeilly, Paul Rodgers (when he was a good runner!) Damien Brannigan, Eddie Hanna, Mark Kendall, Audey McVeigh and more recently Niall Carson have all been unfortunate enough to have been my partner and all cursed the fact as they hollered from the top of the hills that I should hurry. Needless to say that a cheerful individual like Audey, imbued with the Christmas spirit, was always more than charitable in his thoughts and words as he trundled along at a snail’s pace waiting for me to catch up. This year I have developed the best tactic ever: pick a partner who is far slower than I am in the hope that for once I can stand at the top of the hill and smugly request that my partner moves along faster!!!! I hope this proves more successful than last year’s tactic of picking a boy who never runs since he left me for dead on the first climb; cheers Oggy, mate!!!
Equally fascinating is the fact that, while the race remains around 8-9 miles in distance, the course is always different and runners have come to expect the unexpected. With Commandant McVeigh having plenty of time to ponder the most arduous and painful route possible, he has certainly a few surprises up his well-worn sleeve. They say (who exactly are ‘they’ – one of life’s great mysteries!) that he has been unusually benevolent this year and the course, while hilly in places, is uncharacteristically fair and in his own words ‘is one for the roadies’, though am not sure if the Bon Jovi stage crew will be attending!!!
Predicting a winner of this event has proven notoriously impracticable given the promises that are made and broken in the weeks leading up to the race and due to the fact that many runners keep their fragile alliances close to their chests: paranoia creeps in when one’s partner is observed talking to, never mind running with another athlete! This year, to save me from tears, I am not going to bother! Suffice to say that and one who beats the defending champions will stand on top of the podium and will certainly have earned their craft beer!
Numbers can be collected in the clubrooms of Castlewellan GAC from 11.30am, with the race starting at 1pm. There will be a warm up in preparation for the race led by Adam Mitten of ‘Go Figure’, pipers piping along the route and refreshments in the clubrooms after the race. The presentation is scheduled for 3.45pm. Online registration is free and the entry fee of £25 per team will be collected on the day. Online registration will close at 6pm on Boxing Day and there may be some limited spaces on the day at an increased fee (£35 per team); however as registration is free, there is no reason for not signing in advance and helping the organisers in ensuring that there is plenty of food and water for everyone. Register now at newcastleac.org. There will be numerous vantage points for spectators and a walk of less than a mile will enable you to see your favourites at three different points in the race.