by Joe McCann
It should be a cracker!
Halloween is over, the leaves have vacated the trees and the dark evenings have crept up on us like a thief in the night. All of a sudden winter looms ominously on the horizon. This time of year has become synonymous with one thing for local athletes: discovering the course marked by Marty in a moment of melancholy and madness (see what I did with the words there!). Sunday morning this week meant the gathering of a posse in Castlewellan to get their first taste of what awaits those brave enough to take on the post-Christmas challenge that uniquely demands runners to run (and finish!!) in pairs. A few unfamiliar faces joined the ranks, many of whom had unwisely worn their best white gutties! The more seasoned athletes were festooned in their oldest and dirtiest apparel, mindful of what lay ahead. Frankie Toner had a grin like a Cheshire cat, perhaps occasioned by his wad, which to his credit he used to great effect in treating all and sundry to ‘tay’ and scones (just as well as the usual suspects had forgotten their wallets, again!!!)! John Kelly (nee Kilcoo) and Donal Ward were adorned in complementing knee strappings, Brendan Donnelly had obviously dressed in the dark and ‘Hen’ had received a day pass that would allow him to stay for the ‘tay’. All was set for a great morning.
The course itself is a myriad of road (not too much), fields (not too many), forest trails (quite a few), climbs (not too steep) and breath-taking scenery (a plentiful abundance) over a distance of 10 miles. The race has something to offer for athletes of all abilities and anyone who is anyway active would enjoy the challenge of the race. Hopefully readers will take up the challenge and join in the fun on December 27th. So how did we get on in our first outing? Well, since only the master (McVeigh) knew the course we, the pupils, were forced to be subservient and vigilant throughout. We were passed by a couple of snails out for a leisurely Sunday stroll and there were one or two dissenters in the ranks, but overall it was a good morning of entertainment! On a more serious note, we were joined by Stevie Cunningham of Mourne Runners, who is rehabilitating himself back into running. It was great to see him out, but my sympathy for the talented fell-runner, who has been suffering from long-standing injuries, diminished somewhat when, he, in response to my enquiry about how he heard of the run replied, ‘Deon told me yesterday at the top of Donard.’ Obviously the recovery is well under way and no doubt Cunningham will be returning to winning ways sooner rather than later!
Extreme 26 Winter Series boost for Quail.
Brendan Quail ran in the first 26 Extreme race of the 2011/12 series at Stormont Park last Thursday night (Thursday). He reported that conditions were perfect for the two lap trail run with steep climbs and fast, weaving descents. The trail and hills suited him well and made for a fast run which was close and competitive all the way. Brendan was joined at the head of the field by Stuart Paulin from Portadown, Paul Woodman from Orangegrove AC. Brendan ran strongly on the steepest sections making up ground on the two long hill climbs, dropping Woodman on the final ascent. Paulin secured the win with a decisive injection of pace 400 metres from the finish, leaving Brendan to take second place. Brendan was very pleased with his run and impressively ran a negative split. He can take great confidence from this run and no doubt will be a tour de force as the series unfolds.
More on the Marathon
Marathon man Mark Kendall, reveling in the glory of his recent sumptuous performance took time out this week to reflect on his exploits. He shared his thoughts with me over a carbohydrate bar!
“Like fourteen thousand other brave souls, I had been watching the weather forecast very closely on the run up to the Dublin Marathon and was delighted (after not having the best night’s sleep due to late night revellers on Camden Street keeping me awake) to see a dry morning. My race began steadily and I managed to negotiate the first few miles, at the pace I wanted, 6:30 per mile.
I managed to get onto a group of four runners from Dublin club Donore Harriers, and ran with them into Phoenix Park at five miles, where there was a bit of head wind; they seemed very relaxed chatting whilst the other three or four of us where focussed on the job in hand tucked in behind.
Three amigos
The Donore guys put a surge in on the hill at Chapelizod at mile eight and I decided to let them go as didn`t want to push hard too early and was happy with my pace and rhythm.
Consequently, I was left with a Garda runner called Paul (not to be confused with Pol Og!) and a Polish runner with a name that I dare not even try to pronounce let alone spell. We ran together from mile eight to mile nineteen which was fantastic as we worked together and kept the pace steady. We all took turns at the front and although not much chat was taking place we worked well together. The section from eleven miles to halfway is a tough part of the course with a gradual incline and this was made worse with a gusty headwind and rain.
I passed the Banbridge AC posse at mile 10 who give me a good callout and also had superb support twice en route from Joe Quinn and Brian Hamilton, Joe with a megaphone, giving it loads…thanks guys it helped a lot!
Last year I struggled between mile nineteen to twenty, after Roebuck Hill, but this year kept it steady on the climb and the Polish runner pulled away slightly on me. We had now dropped Paul. Once the summit was reached, the road descends slightly towards miles 21 and at this point I got back up to my Polish chum. We worked together again getting the pace back on track we lost on the climb.
Thanks Nige!
I got a shout of support from Nigel Proctor (a Hill and Dale regular) at mile 23 who made a comment this course was too flat; I had a little chuckle to myself at this comment!
Onwards past the RDS and with three miles to go, I was in a lot of pain and focused my mind by visualising a Newcastle AC 3 mile route we run regularly from King Street; anything to take away from the pain coming from my legs. I missed the 24 mile marker and split mile time on my watch due to the noise and physical volume of the support and so was delighted to see the 25 mile marker.
The end was near
I knew from my watch time I had to run the last mile and not to forget the last 385 yards in around 6:45 (it’s not easy to do mental arithmetic at mile 25 in a Marathon) to beat last year’s PB and luckily managed to do it with 1 second to spare to finish in 2.51.15 The event was superbly organised and supported by locals and tourists alike. On reflection it important to state the obvious, marathons aren´t easy, if they were everyone would be doing them. Having said that, the sense of achievement at the end of the race is over-whelming!”
Paul Fegan, competing in his 20th marathon was equally pleased with his time of 4:20:09. He was also delighted that his training partner Libby Morgan, in her first marathon recorded an impressive 4:20:08. Paul commented on the wonderful support that was continuous throughout the race and the only damper (pardon the pun!) on an otherwise memorable day was the heavy rain that fell during the last half hour of their run. Libby was unavailable for comment, but a close source revealed her jubilant delight in completing the course after 4 months of hard training.
50 Not Out!
An exclusive band of club members were invited to share in the momentous occasion of Billy and Edna McNeilly celebrating 50 years of marriage on Monday 31st October. Others who should not be named (aka Pol Og) blagged their way into the carousing and shamelessly imposed on the McNeilly hospitality. Other residents of the salubrious and exclusive Tollymore Road were conspicuous by their absence, due to a lack of invite, and are still recovering from the disappointment. I am led to believe, from secondary sources, that a great evening was had by all, with some staying out until the wee small hours, before boarding a plane destined for the Southern Hemisphere. My former friend Billy has threatened not to invite me to the 60th anniversary celebrations if the event was mentioned in the club notes; the silly boy should have known better than to tempt fate! When asked for the secret of such longevity Edna replied caustically, ‘I try my best not to listen to him.’ Many of the long-suffering wives of Newcastle AC were enthusiastically nodding in agreement. Despite my best efforts, no photographs of the happy occasion have been released to date. I have included the next best thing; a picture of Billy taken in 1991, when he was at his prime as an athlete, competing at Sierra Zinal.
NI & Ulster Uneven XC Championships
Well done to all our juniors who competed in the NI and Ulster Uneven Cross Country Championships at the Barnett Demesne on Saturday 5th November. The races were part of the Bobby Rea Memorial XC meet in honour of the great stalwart of Northern Ireland Athletics. All our junior athletes performed admirably in very muddy conditions.
Michaela Quinn was first off on in the U11 Girls 1200m race and finished in 44th place in a time of 4:32 in a field of 65. The race was won by Aine Cocoran of Shercock in a time of 3:50. Our boys U11 team were next to race over the undulating 1200m course.
In a field of 80 boys, first home in 25th place was Caolan Hawkins in time of 4.03. He was followed by Ben McGuigan in 43rd (4:14), Gabriel Corrigan in 46th (4:18), Conor Murray in 52nd (4:20), Josh Faulkner in 54th (4:21) and Aidan McCauley in 67th (4:36). The team finished in 6th place, though not too far off the bronze medal position. There was drama after the race as Caolan Hawkins got spiked in heel just as he thundered over the finish line. Initially the prognosis was not good, with paramedics diagnosing he might have ruptured his Achilles. As a precaution he was immediately rushed to the accident and emergency department of the Royal Victoria Hospital. Thankfully for Caolan his Achilles was not badly damaged and he just got some stitches to remind him of his day at the races!
Next competing was Eoghan Knight in the 2000m U13 boys. Eoghan finished in 66th place in a time of 9:14. Finally, Patrick Sheridan, Conor Jones and Jack Quinn competed in the 3000m U15 boys’ race. Our only medal of the day came when Patrick had a fantastic race to finish in 4th place in at time of 10:44. He has now qualified for the Irish XC Championships. Conor finished in 48th place (13:13) and Jack finished in 55th place (13:58).
More photos can be viewed in Junior Section.
There was a lone Newcastle entry in the Senior and Veteran races. Anne Sandford competed in the ladies’ race and finished 14th, just behind Virginia Ervine who was the only Mourne Runner to toe the line. Obviously the conditions were too favourable and the climbs steep enough for the teak-tough mountain goats of Newcastle and Mourne. One other theory is that they are all too busy honing their speed for the tough mountainous terrain of the Seely cup on November 19th!!!
Finding their sea legs
Seven of our juniors travelled to Andersonstown Leisure Centre to compete in a Youth Aquathon (swim and run) on 29th October. Despite the very early start at the unholy hour of 8:45am they all performed extremely well. Kate McCauley won gold in the 8 year old girls’ race; Laura Molloy won bronze in the 9-10 year old girls’ race and Megan Rodgers won silver in the girls’ 11-12 years girls’ race. Others competing were Daniel and Mark Molly, Aidan McCauley and Tom Rodgers. Could there be a few triathlon stars of the future among this group?
A ‘Harty’ schedule of training
Kerry Harty recently updated me with a progress from her altitude training. She writes: “Training out in Font Romeu is going really well. I am putting in 70miles+ each week. Endurance sessions have been tough, long & tiring but I am getting stronger. One of my endurance sessions includes 3 sets of (4x40sec hills + 8x200m) – with a jog back on the hills & 100m jog between the 200’s, there is also only a jog between the hills & 200’s, but I get 5min jog recovery between sets. On paper it may look like a nice session, and I am beginning to enjoy it but the session itself takes around 75min and that’s not including a 20minute warm up, running drills and then 20min cool down, so it’s a long time on your feet. This day is finished off with a 30 minute recovery jog in the evening. My time out here is flying in as I have linked up with Jenny Meadows and we have been meeting up for our long runs & recovery runs, which has been great company for us both.
I am looking forward to putting all this training into practice when I compete in a Cross Country race in Burgos (2 hours North of Madrid) in just over a week’s time.”
No doubt we will be reporting a great time and a fabulous result in a not too distant report.
Plenty to look forward to in the weeks ahead
Racing enthusiasts have much to look forward to in the coming weeks. Twelve Newcastle athletes have entered the Seely Cup on November 19th and many of them will also be in action around the ‘Griddle’ course organized by East Down a week later on November 26th. In between the juniors athletes have the third race in the McGrady Financial Services Junior XC series at Delamont Park, Killyleagh. Full reports on all of these in future issues.