Roady MacTar reports from windy Craigavon

Worldwide there were 594 parkruns at 9:30am local time on Saturday 4th July. From humble beginnings in Bushy Park, Teddington with 13 competitors and 4 volunteers in October 2004 , 732,937 runners of all abilities have clocked up an amazing 37,082,400km in 346 locations throughout the UK. 

Inspired by such statistics, five of Newcastle AC’s finest and one member-elect travelled to City Park Craigavon to take part in the 150^th event in that location. Despite the torrential rain on Friday night, the course was in great condition and 101 athletes, undeterred by the threat of rain, took to the line. The rain threatened, albeit momentarily, and at just after 9:30am the run was under way. The course is flat, fast and furious, with great potential for a PB. This was evidenced by John Brogan of Falkirk Victoria Harriers who ran a very strongly, recording 17:13.  This was all the more impressive in light of the fact that the third mile was into a very strong head wind.

The Newcastle contingent performed well; some better than others, but, as ever, there was no shortage of mitigating circumstances!

The Prophet, in an unlikely twist of fate, suffered from overheating bones, thus raising his core body temperature above the optimum racing level. That combined with too much caffeine in the days leading up to the race were deemed plausible reasons for not making his target time. His excuses were not lost on the road captain who cited an extensive and exhausting racing programme on his failure to break 19 minutes. Others proffered the suggestion that regular visits to Nugaletto were possible causes of one wheel falling of the SW wagon leading to slower times. DJ Normski and Carson were applauded by their peers for their fine return to form and expectations will be high on their next outing. Murdock suffered from extreme ‘glamping’, complaining that the duck and goose feathers in the quilt were not to his liking.  Additionally he claimed that the four-poster in his tent was softer than he is used to. Moreover, the butler took too long in serving the breakfast which left insufficient digestion time! Following his great performance, it now looks likely that Horrox will be joining the club, subject to finalising personal terms. Negotions are at an advanced stage and my sources tell me that the ‘cut of the shorts’ could be the deal breaker! Ron had a great run, finishing just 3 seconds outside the Prophet’s projected time. His former mentor John Curry is very excited about Ronnie’s future potential. ‘I am very excited about Ronnie’s future running potential’, he said in an an extremely rare interview.

Post run refreshments were taken in Gilberry Fayre just outside Laurencetown to bring a great morning to a fitting conclusion. We recommend everything on the menu! We thank the parkrun volunteers for organising the event so diligently and smoothly. Our next visit to Citypark is Saturday 26^th July. For those interested and not yet registered, log on to parkrun.org and register (it’s free!!). Meeting in Castlewellan Lower Square @8:15am to arrange car-pooling.