The week after Easter saw the athletes from North Belfast Harriers tackle races in Whitehead and Armagh, and Sunday saw a large contingent of runners and supporters take to the streets of London for the marathon.
Whitehead 5-mile Road Race (Mon 22nd April 2019)
The traditional Easter Monday race in Whitehead attracted several harriers to contest the tough 3-lap course. Conditions were sunny though a little breezy as the 280 strong field set off just after midday. Mark McKinstry was first to show and by the end of lap 1 he had built up a useful lead over John Black in 2nd place, with Kent Swann and Davey Clarke having a ding-dong battle for 4th and 5th places. Not far behind, Vernon Shiels, Nat Glenn and Luke Kelly were all vying for a top ten position.
Meanwhile, April Clarke was holding 2nd place in the ladies race, a position she held on to till the end. Mark McKinstry held on for the victory in a speedy 25:41 with John Black taking 2nd just 1 minute behind. With Vernon Shiels taking 7th place and winning the M40 category, and strong running from the other NBH athletes it proved a great race for the club.
Full results for the NBH athletes were:
| Pos | Athlete | Cat | Time |
| 1 | Mark McKinstry | M35 | 25:41 |
| 2 | John Black | MO | 26:41 |
| 4 | Kent Swann | M35 | 28:37 |
| 6 | David Clarke | M50 | 28:53 |
| 7 | Vernon Shiels | M40 | 29:13 |
| 9 | Nat Glenn | M50 | 29:36 |
| 12 | Luke Kelly | MJ | 30:11 |
| 29 | Ray Cameron | M40 | 34:18 |
| 40 | April Clarke | FO | 34:56 |
| 58 | Fionnuala O’Hare | FO | 37:24 |
| 70 | Carol Clarke | F50 | 38:17 |
Run Armagh 10k (Sun 28th April 2019)
The popular Armagh 10k took place on Sunday morning, the latest race in the Novosco Grand Prix series. Amongst the 321 runners taking part, the club was represented by Gareth Lyons and Louise Smith. Gareth ran a strong race to claim overall victory in 34:28, while Louise continued her fine form of late to claim 2nd place in the ladies race and 9th overall in a time of 39:09.
The results for the NBH athletes were:
| Pos | Athlete | Cat | Time |
| 1 | Gareth Lyons | M40 | 34:28 |
| 9 | Louise Smith | F45 | 39:09 |
London Marathon (Sun 28th April 2019)
Conditions in London were pretty good for long distance running as 14 club athletes took on the challenge of the famous London Marathon on Sunday. The atmosphere in the English capital, the support from family and friends around the course and the vast crowds inspired everyone taking part as they raced the 26.2 miles, many also raising money for charity.
In a race which saw an incredible 42,438 finishers, the club’s fastest finisher was Lawrence O’Hara who was mixing it with the elites from the start and came home with a new PB of 2:31:20. Many congratulations also to Paul Hutchinson who set a new PB by over 2 minutes, finishing in 3:00:10, to Thomas Norton who took over an hour off his PB in 4:36:23 and to Michelle McLoughlin who completed her first ever marathon in 4:31:51.
Full results for the NBH athletes were:
| Pos | Athlete | Cat | Time |
| 107 | Lawrence O’Hara | M40-44 | 2:31:20 |
| 2273 | Paul Hutchinson | M40-44 | 3:00:10 |
| 4004 | Jim Benson (pacer) | M50-54 | 3:14:53 |
| 11676 | Ellen Mary Holmes | F50-54 | 3:50:30 |
| 14494 | Greg McClure | M60-64 | 3:59:09 |
| 14578 | Stephen Walker (pacer) | M40-44 | 3:59:22 |
| 17624 | Paul Carlin | M45-49 | 4:11:07 |
| 20259 | Gordon Glenn | M45-49 | 4:21:20 |
| 22317 | Patricia Bingham | F40-44 | 4:28:37 |
| 23163 | Michelle McLaughlin | F18-39 | 4:31:51 |
| 24309 | Thomas Norton | M40-44 | 4:36:23 |
| 30926 | John Beggs | M55-59 | 5:03:21 |
| 33746 | Megan Beggs | F18-39 | 5:19:07 |
| 42165 | Rosy Ryan | F40-44 | 7:24:58 |
parkrun (Sat 27th April 2019)
Results from Saturday’s parkruns involving NBH athletes were:
| Bushy parkrun # 786 – 27/04/2019 | ||||
| Pos | parkrunner | Time | Note | Total runs |
| 667 | Lynn MURRAY | 27:34 | First Timer! | 140 |
| Hackney Marshes parkrun # 462 – 27/04/2019 | ||||
| Pos | parkrunner | Time | Note | Total runs |
| 150 | Philip MCILWRATH | 25:21 | First Timer! | 189 |
| 293 | Rosy RYAN | 48:56 | First Timer! | 188 |
| Waterworks parkrun, Belfast # 446 – 27/04/2019 | ||||
| Pos | parkrunner | Time | Note | Total runs |
| 1 | Simon REEVE | 19:41 | PB stays at 00:17:48 | 228 |
| 2 | Idiris WABBE | 19:47 | PB stays at 00:18:06 | 7 |
| 5 | Sean MCSHANE | 22:09 | PB stays at 00:18:34 | 184 |
| 8 | Paul WILLIAMS | 22:21 | PB stays at 00:20:23 | 297 |
| 20 | Sean MCSHANE JR | 23:37 | PB stays at 00:20:53 | 72 |
| 22 | Ray CAMERON | 23:48 | PB stays at 00:19:15 | 140 |
| 27 | John Gerard MURPHY | 24:36 | PB stays at 00:18:49 | 408 |
| 29 | Ivan MCALLISTER | 24:59 | PB stays at 00:21:38 | 48 |
| 34 | Jack MCCREADY | 25:30 | PB stays at 00:19:53 | 76 |
| 51 | Gerry ANDERSON | 27:24 | PB stays at 00:22:13 | 129 |
| 61 | Orla CASH | 28:28 | PB stays at 00:22:32 | 69 |
| 62 | Tony REID | 28:30 | PB stays at 00:21:50 | 414 |
| 76 | Matthew HIGGINS | 30:28 | PB stays at 00:24:26 | 132 |
| 77 | Nuala MAHON | 30:29 | PB stays at 00:27:02 | 153 |
| 83 | Philomena DONALDSON | 33:04 | PB stays at 00:27:50 | 202 |
| 84 | Bernadette DUFFY | 33:04 | PB stays at 00:29:29 | 203 |
| 89 | Grainne STEPHENS | 35:07 | PB stays at 00:30:59 | 40 |
| 90 | Margaret STEPHENS | 35:08 | PB stays at 00:28:23 | 240 |
| 92 | Sile HANNON | 35:48 | PB stays at 00:33:11 | 25 |
| 94 | Angela ROGAN | 38:19 | PB stays at 00:35:37 | 23 |
| 98 | Matt SHIELDS | 44:07 | PB stays at 00:17:44 | 328 |
| Mile End parkrun # 377 – 27/04/2019 | ||||
| Pos | parkrunner | Time | Note | Total runs |
| 10 | Nat GLENN | 18:05 | First Timer! | 103 |
| 28 | Patrick MCAULEY | 19:20 | First Timer! | 44 |
| 247 | Katrina MCAULEY | 25:53 | First Timer! | 57 |
| Queen’s parkrun, Belfast # 366 – 27/04/2019 | ||||
| Pos | parkrunner | Time | Note | Total runs |
| 12 | Ciaran HUNTER | 21:46 | PB stays at 00:20:24 | 280 |
| Wallace parkrun, Lisburn # 297 – 27/04/2019 | ||||
| Pos | parkrunner | Time | Note | Total runs |
| 28 | John MCCONNELL | 23:45 | PB stays at 00:18:24 | 284 |
| Ormeau parkrun # 300 – 27/04/2019 | ||||
| Pos | parkrunner | Time | Note | Total runs |
| 91 | Jim CLINTON | 27:25 | PB stays at 00:23:10 | 422 |
| Sligo parkrun # 219 – 27/04/2019 | ||||
| Pos | parkrunner | Time | Note | Total runs |
| 1 | John MCGUIGAN | 19:15 | First Timer! | 58 |
| Stormont parkrun # 192 – 27/04/2019 | ||||
| Pos | parkrunner | Time | Note | Total runs |
| 7 | Colin SIMPSON | 22:30 | PB stays at 00:21:06 | 244 |
