NCR athletes shine at Born 2 Run, Bobby Rea XC and Leukaemia & Lymphoma NI 5K Blood Run events

Born 2 Run – Run Forest Run – Minnowburn

There was a spooky feel to the air as the first race of the Born 2 Run, Run Forest Run series took place in Minnowburn on Halloween, as many donned fancy dress, as ghouls, witches and various Halloween characters lined to take on the 5K or 10K races, writes Una Campbell.

There was change this year for ‘start’ times. Normally the 10K race started around 11am and the 5K about 15 minutes later, but this year the 5K commenced at 10:15am

It was not only ‘picture perfect’ but the weather was perfect too, especially for the last day of Autumn.

As the familiar ‘anthem’ of ‘Born to Run’ resounded around the Mary Peters Track, Patricia Brown, Patricia Simpson and Gareth Carroll lined up with about 270 other runners to take on the 5K course.

Commencing on the track for a short distance they veered to the right for a sharp, steady climb on a tarmac path, flattening out before a decline of approximately a kilometre or just over half a mile. They were then into the beautiful, undulating and meandering forest trails. It was incredibly scenic, with a fabulous surface of a carpet of leaves underfoot, although caution had to be taken for any protruding tree roots, that might have been hidden under that carpet. There were some sharp turns to negotiate too, but before long the miles were clocked up, and they were making their way toward the finish line. There were however two final hills to conquer, and they were the sharpest too, just before hitting the track for the final 200 plus metres. With both legs and lungs burning, they all sprinted across the finish line in a fine fashion. Gareth Carroll 21:26 (1st in age category), Patricia Brown 24:29 (1st in age category) and Patricia Simpson 25:36 (2nd in age category).

Barry Bannon was part of a 742 crowd who took part in the 10K distance at 11:15. With just over one lap of the track under his belt, he headed out the same route as the 5K before they took a different turn around the trails, eventually rejoining the same route as the 5K race and back to the finish line on the Mary Peters Track. Barry completed the course in a time of 55:58.

Bobby Rea XC

Roisin Rocks, Pat Rocks and Patricia Brown were in Billy Neill Country Park in Comber for the first XC race of the Athletics NI Winter League, the Bobby Rea XC.

The weather was beautiful, especially considering it was the first day of winter, being both bright and sunny and only occasional wind in parts.

Some 135 runners lined up for the 6K race at 12:40, a route that consisted of 3 x 2K laps. The conditions underfoot were excellent, though hard work, grit and determination was still required. It was a tough start to each lap with a few steep uphill sections. Thankfully there were good downhills to help them recover and gain any momentum that may have been lost and drive up the next hill.

All three ran with prowess resulting in superb times. Roisin Rocks was 15th female overall out of a large group of over 100, with a time 25:16, Pat Rocks 29:27 and Patricia Brown had another great race following yesterdays' Born 2 Run, finishing in 30:27.

Leukaemia & Lymphoma NI 5K Blood Run

Martin O’Hanlon was in Stormont on a beautiful Sunday morning for the ‘Leukaemia & Lymphoma NI 5K Blood Run’.

The two-lap course was a mixture of terrain; tarmac paths, gravel paths and trail paths through woodland where it meandered quite significantly and parkland in the shadow of Parliament Buildings. Martin had a great run, finishing in a time of 21:49.

TCS New York Marathon

It was a beautiful autumnal day in New York for the TCS New York City Marathon. A chilly and cloudy morning with temperatures of around 4 degrees, cleared to mostly sunny skies with light, variable winds as temperatures climbed to about 16 degrees, making it as ideal you’ll get for a winter marathon.

Mark Clements and Neil McMurray headed over to the ‘Big Apple’ for the 50th New City Marathon and were part of close to 60,000 strong crowd taking part in the race that covered five-boroughs across the 26.2-mile distance, that started in Staten Island and finished in the iconic Central Park, crossing 5 major bridges in the process too.

For the first time in 15 years there was a slight change to the route, it was the 50th anniversary of the 5-borough route, although the actual NYC marathon has happened every year since 1970, with the exception of 2012 due to Hurricane Sandy and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After the start line at Ford Wadsworth on Staten Island they crossed the first of five major bridges, Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge into Brooklyn, which was the highest elevation of the entire course, running north for 11 miles, where they had flat stretches along 4th Avenue and through neighbourhoods Fort Greene and Williamsburg. They were at the halfway point when they reached Queens. They entered Queens via Pulaski Bridge with Queensboro Bridge being among the toughest climbs.

Crossing over the Queensboro Bridge they descended onto First Avenue as they entered Manhattan for the first time, making a short trip into the Bronx, where there was a slight course adjustment this year. It was then back to Manhattan for the second time coming down Fifth Avenue into Central Park and the finish line.

There were five waves, with Mark Clements in Wave 4 which started at 10:55 and Neil McMurray in Wave 5 at 11:30. The marathon truly is a beast, and you never know what the day will throw at you or indeed each mile. It was a hard-fought battle for both, but they battled through and won out by crossing the finish line with very good times.

Neil finished in a time of 3:54:44, despite cramping at mile 22, feeling at one stage he might not finish, but picked up the pace and battled on. Mark, now has his fifth major completed, finished in 4:45:25.

Sunday Bun Run: Our last ‘Bun Run’ before Christmas took place on Sunday, and it was another very successful turnout. This one was extra special as it was to celebrate our ‘Chairman’ Damien Maguires upcoming birthday, and he requested that there was a collection in aid of ‘Evora Hospice.

The next Sunday Bun Run will take place after Christmas, as the excellent ‘Willies Winter Training’ commences on Sunday 08th November, 09:30 in Kilbroney Park – which is open to everybody, and all are welcome.

Parkruns

City Parkrun, Craigavon: Ruairi Donnelly was at City Parkrun in Craigavon on Saturday, running with his young son Tiernan (10 years old) who was doing his first parkrun (29:11), he finished in 29:14.

Hazlehead Parkrun, Aberdeen: Ruth Black was in Aberdeen, she completed the Hazlehead Parkrun in 29:13.

Hillsborough Forest Parkrun: Ryan Corrin was at Hillsborough Parkrun, finishing in 19:35.

Inch Beach Parkrun: Hayley McAteer completed her fourth beach parkrun in Ireland on Saturday, Inch Beach Parkrun. Hayley finished in 21:17.

Newry Greenway Parkrun: A group of five from NCR were at Newry Greenway Parkrun; Daryl Bogues 19:51, Tayo Idowu 25:41, Aisha Topia 26:59 (Course PB), Karen McElroy 33:30 (Course PB) and James McEvoy 34:33.

Upcoming events

Willies Winter Training

We are delighted to announce that Willies Winter Training returns next Sunday, 08th November in Kilbroney Park, Rostrevor at 9:30am.

Meeting in the lower carpark of Kilbroney Forest Park, each session lasts for approximately 90 minutes, consisting of warm-up, drills, hill work and finishing with a cooldown. This is excellent strength and conditioning for runners, and all are welcome.

The sessions are free of charge and will continue through to January, with the only exception where it clashes with an athletics event.

Training: Club Training continues each week St Colman’s Running Track on Tuesday evening at 7pm.