A round up of other races by Bogusboy
Whilst the Slieve Donard race was arguably the flagship race of the weekend, there were many other events to attract local athletes. Two Newcastle athletes travelled to Newry to join the 181 others in the 10k. Noel Gallagher finished 5th overall, completing the course in 39:10. On social media that evening, Noel was full of joy and happiness at his achievement. Coach Rodgers had to bring him back down to earth by telling him that there was still work to be done. CIaran Óg Mussen continued his improvement by finishing 16th in a new PB of 42:20. CIaran was particularly interested in the turkey and ham sandwiches on offer after the race – clearly a man with more pressing issues on his mind. On the same day, 473 took part in the half marathon and 206 doubled the distance, completing the full marathon, won again by Don Travers.
Running mania replaces Beatle mania
Some of the NAC faithful travelled a little further to race. Since its inception three years ago the Rock ‘n Roll Liverpool event has grown exponentially. This year there were four races on offer; 5k at 9:30am on Saturday morning, the half marathon at 9:00am on Sunday, the full marathon at 10:00am on Sunday and finally the 1 mile race at 1pm on Sunday. In total 16,000 participated in at least on of the events with many completing the 5k, half and 1 mile to secure some extra bling. On Saturday morning two athletes were up and at ’em early to run the 5k. Joe McCann was 58th in the race in 19:18. Not too far behind was young Tom Crudgington in a very impressive 21:53 – not bad for an 11 year old. Tom was delighted as he beat his dad, Dave, by almost a minute!
Conditions were less than ideal
The weather was beautiful, but conditions were less that perfect for long distance running on Sunday morning. With temperatures at 18 degrees and rising by 9am and the sun splitting the stones, hydration would be an issue for all taking the line for the marathon. Joe McCann ran a sensible race, sticking close to the 1:30 pace maker and crossing the line in 1:28:59. By this stage Philip Murdock, aiming for a sub 3:15 to secure a Good For Age for London 2017 was already through 5 miles in the searing heat. Philip would run the race of his life and produced a 5 star performance, running a lot of the race with few competitors around him. He was very steady in the first half, passing the mid-point in 1:35:18. The course rises for around 4 miles around the halfway stage and he continued to maintain his pace and keep the dream of joining the posse for London alive. The heat did begin to take its toll, but buoyed by some last minute coaching in the closing stages he rallied superbly and recorded a sub 7 minute 26th mile to romp home in 3:13:55 and book his seat on the plane to London, with 65 seconds to spare! Having said that he was less than enthusiastic upon crossing the line commenting, ‘all that hard work and my reward is to do another marathon – there is no justice in the world.” 24 hours later, his mood had changed, the hotel is booked and he is now planning his training for the next adventure.