THE biggest mass participation sporting event in Northern Ireland, the Belfast City Marathon, continues to grow in size year on year. This year’s event saw more than 22,000 marathon runners, relay runners and walkers taking in parts of the east, south west and north of the city.
Several North Down AC runners including Jenny Keery, Heather Beattie, Sarah Wilson and Jill Eager ran one of the relay legs along the full marathon route and many more completed the full 26.2 mile-course where amongst the crowds a hardy team of club members popped up throughout the route to support and cheer on their clubmates.
Johnny Elliott was the first NDAC finisher in 33rd place in 2:44:36. Finn Johnson was 40th in 2:46:09 and Jamie Toole was 52nd in 2:48:14. Aaron Beggs’ 2:55:07 saw him take 99th place, just a week after his seventh place marathon finish in Connemara. Mickael Le Nu ran an incredible debut marathon after logging more than 1,000 miles in a tough 18-week training plan, to finish in 2:56:33. Aaron McAuley 2:57:20 (PB) and Sam Lloyd 2:58:38 also ran superb sub-three hour marathons.
Darren Edgar finished in 3:14:22 followed by Sarah Gibson who was running her third marathon in three weekends – Boston, London and Belfast. Sarah finished in an impressive 3:15:11 and was first F55. Laura Christmann recorded a 22-minute PB, six years after her last marathon, crossing the line in 3:26:06. Pacer Andy Belshaw ran a superbly paced marathon to lead home a group of runners chasing sub 3:30 PBs in 3:29:21. Helen Byers was the next club finisher in 3:30:07 narrowly ahead of Neil O’Driscoll 3:30:29 and another Boston finisher, Paul Floyd, 3:31:48.
Douglas Gordon ran his third marathon in four weeks in 3:33:57 and Una Kilmartin 3:35:14 was followed by ultramarathon runner, Jill Connolly, who swapped her usual long, technical mountain trails for the streets of Belfast and finished in 3:36:29 for a 20-minute PB.
Jamie Andrews 3:41:25 was followed by another first time marathoner, Luke Hamilton, who smashed the four-hour barrier in 3:54:24 and Katlyn Massey also set a new sub-four-hour PB of 3:56:27.
Zara Fulton ran 4:01:51 followed by David Balmer 4:06:26, Angela Fawthrop 4:19:51 and 4:30 pacer Donald Smith who finished in 4:26:55. Kim McCourt was the next finisher in 4:52:25, and Paua Simpson who ran the Boston Marathon, completed her second marathon in a fortnight in 5:03:18 with Courtney Thompson completing the NDAC line-up in 6:15:30.
Mark Walker, Anglo-Celtic Plate
Ultrarunning specialist Mark Walker was selected as a member of the Northern Irish team at the Anglo-Celtic Plate British and Irish 100k Championships at the Mallory Park near Leicester on Saturday.
Athletes completed a shortened lap and then 20 full laps of the undulating motor racing circuit. He finished 17th male and won the British Masters M55 Championship Gold Medal in 8:06:50.
Nick Anderson, Prague Marathon
While most of North Down’s marathon runners were in action in Belfast, Nick Anderson headed to Prague and a course voted as the most beautiful marathon in the world.
The route took in much of the old city crossing its six bridges, including the iconic Charles Bridge. Nick completed the marathon in 3:44:58.
Minis shine at primary school event
North Down AC’s youngest athletes made an encouraging start to the 2025 Mini Meets series at Bangor Sportsplex on April 30. In the P5 girls, Isla Little (St. Comgall’s PS) had an impressive night, securing gold in the long jump, silver in the 80m, and bronze in the 600m. Teammates Lucy Kane and Orin Moorhouse also performed strongly. P5 boys saw strong performances from Ezra Blanc and Rory McDonald, while Casey Seaton won the 600m and Rory McCullough took gold in the long jump.
In P6 girls, Holly Shields and Aria Wright were closely matched across all events. The P6 boys had standout runs from Daly Seaton and Harrison Mair, both sharing third in the sprint. Rose Reavy (Towerview PS) dominated the P7 girls, winning both the 100m and 600m, while Alani Santos topped the long jump. In the P7 boys, Ben Dumigan won the 100m before injury cut his evening short. Sam Beattie earned long jump bronze and gold in the shot put with a 7.05m throw.
The event was a fantastic showcase of emerging talent. Sponsored by Active Youth NI, the next meets will take place on 28th May and 18th June at Bangor Sportsplex.
Hill & Dale 4, Binnian to the Top
Beyond track distances, the fourth Hill & Dale Race of the series is traditionally the shortest race that any North Down athletes, particularly the hard core mountain runners, take on. The distance may only be 3.4k but the elevation of 560m makes it one of the shortest, sharpest climbs in the Mournes.
Thirteen club members raced to the finish line at the top of Slieve Binnian where they had to briefly admire the views before making their way back to the car parks at the start. Three NDAC runners, Abby Andrews, F50, June McMinn F65 and John Adgey M80 won their age groups in the mountain race.
David McKeague was the first North Down man on the summit in 18th place in 30:06. Gareth Hardy 34:02, Ben Jenkins 37:16 and Abby Andrews 38:52 were followed by Jeremy Tomalin 38:57, Kevin Mulligan 40:143 and Lisa Tomalin 41:47. June McMinn 42:38 finished ahead of Glynis Boyle 43:01, Claire Scott 45:04, John Adgey 49:20, Cara Jeffrey 49:58 and Trevor Patterson 54:03.
Ulster Schools’ Track & Field
Club athletes impressed at the opening of the Ulster Schools Track & Field season, with standout performances and Ulster qualifications. District records were recorded by Jessica Liddle (1.50m high jump), Roger McMullan (6.46m long jump), and Cameron McCracken (14.38s, 110m hurdles). Double golds went to McCracken, Matthew McKnight, Oliver Playfair and Anna Moran. Eva Patton helped Glenlola set a relay record, and Caitlyn Dickenson qualified in the 1500m. Other notable podium finishes came from Erin Coard, Eva Patton, Josh Liggett, Harry Jackson, and Tilly Tweedie. The competition continues next week with minis, minors, and juniors in action.
