ONE OF the most iconic marathons in the world, the New York Marathon, was held on its traditional date of the first Sunday in November.
From the opening strains of Frank Sinatra’s ‘New York, New York’ as runners set off from Staten Island with views of the Manhattan skyline, they are greeted by a wall of sound as they run through each of the city’s five boroughs.
Three North Down AC athletes headed to the Big Apple with Sarah Gibson first of the trio to finish in 3:12:52 followed by Paula Simpson in 4:15:44 and Cliff McCausland with a new personal best in 4:38:31.
Run Forest Run series
TEN North Down AC runners took to the trails at Minnowburn on Saturday in the first of the Run Forest Run races, the winter series operated by Born 2 Run.
Brian Geddis was the first to finish in 45:48, winning the M65 age group in the process. Christopher Ballentine 50:12, Ben O’Driscoll 50:50 and Abby Andrews 53:18 were followed back to the Mary Peters Track by Jill Aiken 54:49, Cadey Moore 55:30, Stephen Moore 55:30, Nicole Bell 1:05:55 and Sinead Mooney 1:05:56.
The final NDAC finisher, Pat O’Driscoll, not only completed this 10k, but achieved the incredible milestone of finishing his 200th competitive 10k race in 1:21:36 as he took second place in his M75 age group.
Montalto 12-hour challenge
REGULAR ultrarunner Jill Connolly was in overnight action at the Montalto Estate near Ballynahinch on Saturday.
The challenge saw runners tasked with completing as many 5k laps through the estate grounds as possible within three, six or 12 hours. Naturally, Jill opted for the 12-hour challenge where she completed 17 laps for 85k finishing first female and third overall.
Ulster & NI Uneven Age Group Championships
AT THE Ulster & NI Uneven Age Group Championships at the Finn Valley in Co Donegal on Saturday, Daly Seaton came seventh in the under-11 category and therefore qualified for Ulster.
In the under-13 girls, Sophie Rankin finished sixth and also secured Ulster qualification. Also running in this race were Eve Sloan (34th) and Molly Rankin (79th, despite losing a shoe). In the under-13 boys, Isaac Hall was 36th and Adam Downey 54th while in the under-15 girls Caitlyn Dickenson was 39th.
Ollie Playfair was eighth at under-19 boys and Holly Blease had another good run for 19th in the under-17 girls, while Alex Downey was a solid 20th in his first venture moving up into the under-17 age group.
McConnell Shield XC
FURTHER good performances were had by the club’s young members at the McConnell Shield cross-country in Ballyclare.
Robin Anderson was first in the under-12 boys, with Logan Fowles also picking up a medal by finishing third. In the under-12 girls’ race, Sophie Wiltshire was fifth and Isla McQuillan came ninth. Isla Wiltshire was first home in the under-14 girls and Jessica Fowles just missed out on a medal by finishing fourth. Carter Rolston meanwhile finished first in the under-14 boys’ race.
In the senior women’s race over three miles, Fiona McQuilan was the club’s first finisher and first F40 in 20:32. Clair Quigley finished in 21:43 ahead of Olivia Cumming 23:04, Glynis Boyle (first F60) 23:08, Claire Scott 23:25, Marion Beattie 23:45, Beth Mulree 27:06 and Lisa McMeechan 28:59.
For the second year running, North Down’s men placed as the third team. Racing over five miles, the team was led home by Craig McMeechan (fourth, 26:43); Daniel Dines (11th, 28:32); Francis Marsh (26th, 31:17) and Dean Varley 32:26 in 35th.
Jog On Cancer 10k
THE rescheduled Jog On Cancer 10k took place in Lurgan Park on Sunday, the original proposed date having had to be cancelled because of last month’s storms.
Beth Mulree took on the race completing a back to back weekend of running after cross country the previous day, finishing in 54:03.
Scottish Short Course XC
RUNNING for Stirling University, club member Mark Carberry placed a very respectable 46th in 12:08 at the Scottish Short Course 4k Cross-Country Championships held at Kirkcaldy.
Mark’s time was less than a minute behind the race winner, with Luke McDowell – representing Glasgow University – experiencing this packed race for the first time and placing 172nd out of 467 finishers in 13:29.
Tommy Run 5k, Co Durham
ON Sunday at Seaham in County Durham, Rachel Gibson placed third overall and first female in the Tommy Run coastal 5k (measured at 5.3k), clocking 21:03.
The course followed the beautiful sea front at Seaham on a mixture of road, paths, promenade and some trail paths, starting at the Tommy War Memorial statue of a First World War soldier by artist Ray Lonsdale.
