Speedy rabbits and mountain hares
An eventful week of races in a variety of running genres ensured plenty of opportunities for harriers to test themselves in the mountains, on the trails and on the streets. Also came news of selections to NIMRA teams for two of the club’s mountain runners.
NIMRA Donard Challenge (Sat 8th April)
On Saturday 8th April, NIMRA hosted the opening round of the British Fell Running Championships. The race started and finished in Donard Park in Newcastle. It covered 10k in distance and a total ascent of around 900m which included the summit of Slieve Donard. In warm, sunny conditions, a quality field of around 250 athletes took part including many mountain specialists from mainland clubs. Shane Donnelly and Simon Reeve represented the club, both recording strong performances and finishes in the top half. Results were:
| Place | Name | Time | Cat |
| 57 | Shane Donnelly | 1:07:01 | MO |
| 123 | Simon Reeve | 1:18:13 | MV40 |
Simon Reeve in Action
NIMRA Team Selections
Congratulations to Martsje Hell on her selection for the NIMRA women’s team for the Inter Counties Championships which take place at Broughton Heights, Scotland on Saturday 13th May. Also to Shane Donnelly on his selection as reserve for the men’s team.
Born 2 Run Castle Ward Half Marathon, 10k & 5k (Sat 8th April)
The Castle Ward estate near Strangford was the setting for the latest Born2Run events. The routes were mostly off road with forest trail and grassy sections and paths affording good views over nearby Strangford Lough. Marty Rea claimed a fine runner’s up spot in the half marathon in 1:27:20 with Gerard McNamara also demonstrating good form to claim 6th place in the 10k finishing in 44:20. Full results for club athletes were:
| 10k | Place | Name | Time | Cat |
| 6 | Gerard Mcnamara | 0:44:20 | M40 | |
| Half | Place | Name | Time | Cat |
| 2 | Martin Rea | 1:27:20 | M40 | |
| 70 | David Kennedy | 1:53:38 | MO | |
| 180 | Megan Beggs | 2:30:18 | FS | |
| 181 | Cailein Curley | 2:30:18 | FS |
Half marathon podium (photo courtesy NI Running)
Hazelbank Run Rabbit Run and Bunny Hop (Sun 9th April)
Held in aid of the NI Hospice the 5k rabbit run offered chip timing and a picturesque course in Hazelbank park in Newtownabbey. It proved popular with local runners and all 450 available places were snapped up well before race day. In fine running conditions a total of 20 club athletes took part and their results were:
| Place | Name | Time |
| 18 | Gary Blythe | 22:41 |
| 53 | Niamh Toal | 25:52 |
| 112 | Joanne McGurk | 30:45 |
| 114 | Megan Beggs | 30:46 |
| 129 | Sonia Millar | 31:36 |
| 135 | Elaine Crawford | 31:47 |
| 136 | Gemma Lowe | 31:44 |
| 142 | Cailein Curley | 32:02 |
| 148 | Caroline Hill | 31:52 |
| 161 | James Toal | 33:18 |
| 178 | Ruth Anderson | 33:48 |
| 179 | Pauline McKeating | 33:48 |
| 186 | Clare Corey | 34:01 |
| 188 | Andrew Grimley | 34:09 |
| 190 | Sinead Toal | 34:43 |
| 194 | patricia braniff | 34:49 |
| 240 | Leeanne Magee | 38:47 |
| 251 | Aideen Toal | 40:12 |
| 262 | Eileen keenan | 40:42 |
| 264 | Helen Grimley | 40:42 |
Great Ireland Run (Sun 9th April)
The Great Ireland Run, which also incorporated the Athletics Ireland National 10k Championships took place on Sunday morning in Dublin’s Phoenix Park with a large field of athletes from Ireland and further afield. Three harriers made the trip to compete in the event with Ed Cooke finishing 32nd overall with a time of 33:17. Full results for NBH athletes were:
| Place | Name | Finish |
| 32 | Edward Cooke | 0:33:17 |
| 1337 | Christopher Hicks | 0:50:10 |
| 3954 | Padraigin Bingham | 1:16:06 |
Titanic 10k (Sun 9th April)
Warm and typically windy conditions prevailed for the runners in Sunday’s Titanic 10k promoted by Athletics NI as a preparation race for the upcoming Belfast City Marathon. 18 harriers produced solid performances with Marc Jennings dipping under the 35 minute barrier in 17th place; there was an age category win for Davey Clarke in the M55 category, and a welcome return to racing for Laurence Johnston. Full harrier’s results were:
| Place | Name | Time | Cat |
| 17 | Marc Jennings | 0:34:45 | MO |
| 28 | David Clarke | 0:36:12 | M55 |
| 67 | Piaras McShane | 0:38:46 | MJ |
| 77 | Rory Kane | 0:39:05 | M40 |
| 90 | Laurence Johnston | 0:39:50 | M55 |
| 94 | John McConnell | 0:39:59 | M40 |
| 120 | Mark Shields | 0:41:04 | M50 |
| 200 | Una McConnell | 0:44:54 | F35 |
| 207 | Frankie Smyth | 0:45:07 | MO |
| 229 | April Clarke | 0:46:21 | FO |
| 237 | Jason Reid | 0:46:53 | MO |
| 382 | Odhran Stockman | 0:51:19 | M55 |
| 415 | Conleth Conway | 0:52:36 | MJ |
| 416 | Philip McIlwrath | 0:52:13 | M40 |
| 419 | Terence McAtamney | 0:52:50 | MO |
| 436 | Liam Smyth | 0:53:22 | M50 |
| 597 | Fiona Magill | 0:58:17 | F35 |
| 741 | Emma Toner | 1:04:09 | F40 |
Brighton Marathon (Sun 9th April)
A total of over 12,500 runners took part in the Brighton marathon on Sunday and with warm conditions on the south coast of England it was sure to be a tough test. Thomas (Tucker) McKinstry flew the flag for NBH, cutting 19 minutes off his last marathon to finish in 4:19:52.99.
Tucker in Brighton
Rotterdam Marathon (Sun 9th April)
The warm weather of Brighton extended as far as Rotterdam in Holland for the 13,000 participants in the annual Rotterdam marathon. As temperatures reached 20 degrees Ciaran Browne represented the club and reaped the rewards of his consistent spring training to record a new PB taking over 14 minutes off his previous mark to finish in 3:28:37.
parkrun (Sat 8th April)
Large numbers of club athletes participated in the weekend’s parkruns. Among the highlights were milestone runs for Ita McCambridge (100) and Padraigin Bingham (50) at the Waterworks. Results were:
| Nonsuch parkrun # 292 | |||
| 26 | Matt SHIELDS | 19:24:00 | New PB! |
| Waterworks parkrun, Belfast # 339 | |||
| 5 | Conor O’RAWE | 18:13:00 | PB stays at 00:17:32 |
| 7 | Amando BAMISILE | 18:38:00 | PB stays at 00:17:14 |
| 11 | Matthew LAVERY | 19:45:00 | New PB! |
| 12 | John Gerard MURPHY | 19:57:00 | PB stays at 00:18:49 |
| 13 | Drew KNOX | 20:15:00 | PB stays at 00:18:42 |
| 15 | Greg MCCLURE | 20:29:00 | PB stays at 00:18:41 |
| 16 | Niall ARMSTRONG | 20:38:00 | PB stays at 00:19:10 |
| 18 | Paddy MCCAMBRIDGE | 21:03:00 | PB stays at 00:20:36 |
| 22 | Daniel O’CALLAGHAN | 21:15:00 | New PB! |
| 25 | Ita MCCAMBRIDGE | 21:24:00 | PB stays at 00:20:55 |
| 28 | Kevin MCCANN | 21:54:00 | New PB! |
| 37 | Tony REID | 22:45:00 | PB stays at 00:21:50 |
| 39 | Piaras MCSHANE | 22:52:00 | PB stays at 00:18:27 |
| 60 | Catriona MCCAMBRIDGE | 24:31:00 | New PB! |
| 78 | Eadaoin DONALDSON | 25:19:00 | PB stays at 00:24:26 |
| 79 | Sandy CARR | 25:20:00 | PB stays at 00:22:55 |
| 109 | Nial O NEILL | 26:51:00 | New PB! |
| 113 | Jack CARBERRY | 27:09:00 | PB stays at 00:21:14 |
| 119 | Bronagh CONLON | 27:27:00 | PB stays at 00:27:20 |
| 122 | Marie-Louise LOWRY | 27:49:00 | PB stays at 00:25:55 |
| 130 | Roisin HUGHES | 28:12:00 | PB stays at 00:19:26 |
| 132 | Joanne MCGURK | 28:20:00 | New PB! |
| 140 | Orla MCCAMBRIDGE | 28:53:00 | PB stays at 00:23:58 |
| 154 | Gabrielle MALLAGHAN | 29:27:00 | PB stays at 00:27:25 |
| 158 | James TOAL | 29:51:00 | New PB! |
| 159 | Clare O’HARA | 29:52:00 | PB stays at 00:27:08 |
| 160 | Margaret STEPHENS | 29:57:00 | PB stays at 00:28:23 |
| 163 | Gemma LOWE | 30:10:00 | PB stays at 00:29:02 |
| 169 | Magdalena BISEWSKA | 30:53:00 | PB stays at 00:26:16 |
| 178 | Nuala MAHON | 31:21:00 | PB stays at 00:27:02 |
| 184 | Dermot MCGRATH | 32:04:00 | PB stays at 00:28:46 |
| 198 | Jim CLINTON | 33:49:00 | PB stays at 00:21:37 |
| 209 | Padraigin BINGHAM | 37:23:00 | PB stays at 00:26:52 |
| Belfast Victoria parkrun # 312 | |||
| 6 | Martin COX | 19:09:00 | First Timer! |
| 19 | Lauren COX | 20:52:00 | New PB! |
| 24 | Colin SIMPSON | 21:14:00 | PB stays at 00:19:23 |
| 28 | Laurence JOHNSTON | 21:21:00 | PB stays at 00:17:44 |
| Queen’s parkrun, Belfast # 264 | |||
| 13 | Ciaran HUNTER | 21:26:00 | PB stays at 00:20:24 |
| 15 | Damien GILL | 21:36:00 | PB stays at 00:20:03 |
| Livingston parkrun # 68 | |||
| 191 | Bernadette DUFFY | 32:27:00 | First Timer! |
| 192 | Philomena DONALDSON | 32:27:00 | First Timer! |
| Wallace parkrun, Lisburn # 203 | |||
| 3 | John MCCONNELL | 19:13:00 | PB stays at 00:18:24 |
| Preston Park parkrun, Brighton # 204 | |||
| 206 | Thomas MCKINSTRY | 26:57:00 | First Timer! |
| Ormeau parkrun # 198 | |||
| 16 | Eva KISSENPFENNIG | 20:55:00 | PB stays at 00:19:54 |
| 67 | Mark SHIELDS | 23:31:00 | PB stays at 00:19:08 |
| 119 | Clare HOLMES | 25:56:00 | New PB! |
| 121 | John GRIBBIN | 26:02:00 | First Timer! |
| 306 | Lynsey FLEMING | 33:04:00 | PB stays at 00:31:01 |
| Larne parkrun # 171 | |||
| 5 | Ethan GLENN | 20:39:00 | PB stays at 00:19:14 |
| 8 | John STEELE | 21:23:00 | PB stays at 00:21:02 |
| 18 | Sandy PLUMB | 24:09:00 | PB stays at 00:22:17 |
| 30 | Nat GLENN | 27:28:00 | PB stays at 00:17:48 |
| Stormont parkrun # 84 | |||
| 6 | Helen F WEIR | 20:45:00 | New PB! |
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