The Craic 10k in Belfast on St Patrick’s Day proved to be the highlight of the week’s racing with snow and icy conditions causing the cancellation of Jimmy’s 10k In Downpatrick on Sunday.
The third annual Craic 10k took place on Saturday morning, starting outside Belfast City Hall and finishing behind the Titanic building. In cold, windy conditions this popular race saw 1250 finishers, including 47 representatives from the Harriers.
In the men’s race, Philip Goss stayed close to the front from the start and pressed home his advantage in the closing stages to take the win in 33:10, 8 seconds ahead of Noel McNally of Beechmount Harriers in 2nd place.
The ladies’ race saw Gladys Ganiel produce another classy performance to win comfortably in 36:34 with Sinead Sweeney of QUB AC runner up in 37:01.
Further down the field there were many fine performances by club athletes. Sergi Saez Damas ran strongly for a new PB in his first race for the club to claim 5th place overall in 35:40, while there were age category wins for Louise Smith (F45) in 39:58 and Conor O’Rawe (MJ) in 41:57. Loretto Hawkins also ran well to claim the runners up spot in the F65 category.
The hard winter’s training paid dividends with a total of no less than 8 PBs among the 47 NBH athletes despite the difficult conditions. Big PBs included Diane Taylor taking over 4 minutes off her previous best and Coleen Thompson and Thomas Norton both lowering their marks by over a minute.
Full results were:
| Pos | Name | Cat | Time | PB |
| 1 | Philip Goss | MO | 0:33:10 | |
| 5 | Sergi Saez Damas | MO | 0:35:40 | PB |
| 12 | Stephen Walker | M35 | 0:36:29 | |
| 13 | Gladys Ganiel | F40 | 0:36:34 | |
| 58 | Louise Smith | F45 | 0:39:58 | |
| 96 | Conor O’Rawe | MJ | 0:41:57 | |
| 134 | Paul Williams | M50 | 0:44:20 | |
| 174 | Terence McAtamney | MO | 0:45:33 | PB |
| 216 | Gerard Sowney | MO | 0:46:46 | |
| 274 | Christopher Hicks | MO | 0:47:59 | |
| 279 | Gerry Anderson | M50 | 0:48:21 | |
| 287 | Maurice Palmer | M55 | 0:48:33 | PB |
| 291 | Andrew Taylor | M35 | 0:48:19 | |
| 293 | Diane Taylor | F35 | 0:48:39 | PB |
| 302 | Sarah Jane Stewart | FO | 0:48:32 | |
| 362 | Katrina McAuley | F35 | 0:49:53 | |
| 364 | Coleen Thompson | F35 | 0:50:26 | PB |
| 409 | Matthew Carleton | MO | 0:51:37 | |
| 411 | Thomas Norton | M40 | 0:51:54 | PB |
| 514 | John Beggs | M50 | 0:53:31 | |
| 529 | Geraldine Murphy | F40 | 0:53:46 | |
| 535 | Joanne McAllister | F40 | 0:53:54 | |
| 552 | Gillian Sommerville | F45 | 0:54:13 | |
| 568 | Paul Sommerville | M50 | 0:54:29 | |
| 597 | Eimear Nugent | F40 | 0:54:58 | |
| 598 | John Burns | M50 | 0:55:10 | |
| 757 | Cailein Curley | FO | 0:57:52 | |
| 774 | Megan Beggs | FO | 0:58:04 | |
| 777 | Joanne McGurk | F35 | 0:58:12 | |
| 782 | Paul Armstrong | M50 | 0:58:15 | |
| 786 | Catherine Seawright | F40 | 0:58:18 | |
| 846 | Jacqueline McLaughlin | F55 | 0:59:33 | |
| 847 | Nuala Mahon | F55 | 0:59:33 | PB |
| 909 | Bronagh Conlon | F50 | 1:01:23 | |
| 910 | Monica O?kane | F55 | 1:01:24 | |
| 912 | Joan Grieve | F55 | 1:01:25 | |
| 918 | Anne Marie Clarken | F40 | 1:01:33 | |
| 974 | Gail Hill | F35 | 1:02:23 | |
| 975 | Sonia Millar | F40 | 1:02:24 | |
| 1007 | Bernadette Duffy | F60 | 1:03:22 | PB |
| 1077 | Ciara Barnes | F45 | 1:05:57 | |
| 1135 | Paula O’Reilly | F50 | 1:07:54 | |
| 1158 | Clare Morgan | F40 | 1:09:39 | |
| 1237 | Caroline Hill | F40 | 1:16:36 | |
| 1238 | Helen Grimley | F45 | 1:16:48 | |
| 1239 | Loretto Hawkins | F65 | 1:16:41 | |
| 1240 | Eileen Keenan | F50 | 1:16:43 |
Thanks to the SPAR Craic 10k facebook page for the photos.
In brutal weather conditions the latest EAMS event saw runners attempt to run 4.2m laps from the Loughshore Park at Jordanstown to Gideon’s Green and back. Runners could choose to run any number of laps or see how many they could complete before the 6 hour cut-off time. There were also options to complete a half marathon or a full marathon. The hardy Thomas and Lorna McKinstry took part in the race with Lorna completing 2 laps for 8.4m and Thomas completing the half marathon distance.
Thanks to Thomas McKinstry for the photo.
The cold, windy conditions on Saturday morning didn’t deter a good number of club runners from completing a parkrun. Full results were:
| Waterworks parkrun, Belfast # 386 – 17/03/2018 | ||||
| Pos | parkrunner | Time | Note | Total runs |
| 5 | Piaras MCSHANE | 18:53 | PB stays at 00:17:56 | 172 |
| 8 | Simon REEVE | 19:34 | PB stays at 00:17:48 | 197 |
| 13 | Sam CARR | 20:34 | PB stays at 00:20:24 | 100 |
| 17 | John Gerard MURPHY | 21:23 | PB stays at 00:18:49 | 347 |
| 25 | Orla CASH | 23:11 | PB stays at 00:22:32 | 46 |
| 30 | Gary BLYTHE | 23:35 | PB stays at 00:21:14 | 112 |
| 36 | Jim CLINTON | 24:15 | PB stays at 00:21:37 | 361 |
| 45 | Greg MCCLURE | 24:45 | PB stays at 00:18:41 | 313 |
| 46 | Matt SHIELDS | 24:46 | PB stays at 00:17:44 | 277 |
| 47 | Tony REID | 24:57 | PB stays at 00:21:50 | 355 |
| 51 | Joe WILSON | 25:26 | PB stays at 00:24:26 | 54 |
| 64 | Philip MCILWRATH | 26:17 | PB stays at 00:25:21 | 135 |
| 70 | Kevin MCCANN | 26:35 | PB stays at 00:21:54 | 68 |
| 84 | Marian HAYES | 29:05 | PB stays at 00:24:30 | 106 |
| 94 | Stella HARRISON | 29:54 | PB stays at 00:26:30 | 241 |
| 110 | Heather WILSON | 31:21 | PB stays at 00:26:53 | 19 |
| 112 | Sandy CARR | 31:38 | PB stays at 00:22:55 | 194 |
| 113 | Michael LAWLOR | 31:40 | PB stays at 00:25:44 | 112 |
| 123 | Kerry MCSHANE | 34:17 | PB stays at 00:25:04 | 111 |
| 124 | Sean MCSHANE | 34:18 | PB stays at 00:18:34 | 160 |
| 128 | Angela ROGAN | 36:12 | New PB! | 2 |
| 134 | Matthew HIGGINS | 38:00 | PB stays at 00:24:26 | 109 |
| 140 | Rosy RYAN | 43:40 | PB stays at 00:36:00 | 134 |
| Inverness parkrun # 338 – 17/03/2018 | ||||
| Pos | parkrunner | Note | Total runs | |
| 8 | Ray CAMERON | 20:29 | PB stays at 00:20:04 | 107 |
| Belfast Victoria parkrun # 357 – 17/03/2018 | ||||
| Pos | parkrunner | Note | Total runs | |
| 3 | Matthew LAVERY | 17:56 | New PB! | 64 |
| Queen’s parkrun, Belfast # 308 – 17/03/2018 | ||||
| Pos | parkrunner | Note | Total runs | |
| 4 | Philip Patrick DONNELLY | 19:32 | PB stays at 00:18:34 | 130 |
| 42 | Ciaran HUNTER | 25:54 | PB stays at 00:20:24 | 229 |
| Livingston parkrun # 115 – 17/03/2018 | ||||
| Pos | parkrunner | Note | Total runs | |
| 46 | Vincent BRADLEY | 24:20 | First Timer! | 21 |
| Larne parkrun # 217 – 17/03/2018 | ||||
| Pos | parkrunner | Note | Total runs | |
| 3 | Paul HUTCHINSON | 21:03 | PB stays at 00:19:07 | 14 |
| 13 | Nat GLENN | 24:36 | PB stays at 00:17:48 | 76 |
| Carrickfergus parkrun # 203 – 17/03/2018 | ||||
| Pos | parkrunner | Note | Total runs | |
| 7 | Drew KNOX | 21:23 | PB stays at 00:19:24 | 235 |
| Valley parkrun, Newtownabbey # 183 – 17/03/2018 | ||||
| Pos | parkrunner | Note | Total runs | |
| 7 | Jack MCCREADY | 23:43 | PB stays at 00:22:21 | 59 |
| 13 | Clare HOLMES | 24:24 | New PB! | 101 |
| Falcarragh parkrun # 114 – 17/03/2018 | ||||
| Pos | parkrunner | Note | Total runs | |
| 38 | Kevin LAVERY | 29:14 | PB stays at 00:23:02 | 91 |
