The cross country season is now in full swing and with both men’s and ladies riding high in their respective leagues the latest event in Ballyclare attracted a big turnout on Saturday. There were also harriers competing in Benidorm on Sunday and at the V36 play park on Thursday.
EAMS FATLAD WashUp Day Marathon (Thu 21st Nov)
The latest EAMS event took place on Thursday at the V36 play park in Newtownabbey. Competitors faced a challenging course with the marathon comprising 19 laps ! Colette O’Hagan from Dundalk completed her 700th marathon, with our own Thomas McKinstry also completing the marathon in 04:44:56.
Malcolm Cup, Ballyclare (Sat 23rd Nov)
Going into this race the NBH men’s team sat top of the NI Cross Country league with the ladies in 6th spot in their league so good turnout and performances were essential. These were delivered aplenty with a total of 32 club athletes donning the vest for competition.
Following the recent wet weather the course was pretty mucky, though happily the morning’s rain had eased somewhat by the time the racing started. First off were the ladies and veteran men, a total of 269 runners competing over 3 laps (approx 3m). The NBH ladies were led home by Sarahjane McFadden, and with 13 ladies completing, full participation points were guaranteed. In the male vets there were age category wins for Neil Carty and Laurence Johnston. Full results were:
| Pos | Athlete | Time | Note |
| 5 | Neil Carty | 16:57 | M50 1st |
| 12 | Laurence Johnston | 17:50 | M60 1st |
| 43 | Sarahjane McFadden | 19:46 | |
| 66 | Helen F Weir | 20:38 | |
| 73 | Orla McCambridge | 20:59 | |
| 100 | Sandy Carr | 22:17 | |
| 114 | Catriona McCambridge | 22:53 | |
| 115 | Ita McCambridge | 22:56 | |
| 116 | Fionnuala O’Hare | 22:57 | |
| 122 | Emma Taylor | 23:07 | |
| 183 | Elaine Holmes | 25:19 | |
| 215 | Karen McClean | 26:18 | |
| 251 | Gillian Roden | 30:26 | |
| 252 | Clare Boyle | 30:52 | |
| 253 | Jennifer Butcher | 30:52 |
Next up was the men’s race over 4 laps, with a number of male vets joining the senior men competing for the Malcolm Cup itself. A total of 17 harriers completed in a field of 182 runners, again ensuring maximum participation points and consolidating the league position. Philip Goss was the first harrier home, with new member Gavin McCaffrey running strongly to also achieve a top 20 finish. Full results were:
| Pos | Athlete | Time |
| 7 | Philip Goss | 22:07 |
| 17 | Gavin McCaffrey | 22:56 |
| 20 | John Black | 23:12 |
| 30 | Aidan McCormack | 24:12 |
| 52 | Paul Butcher | 25:42 |
| 67 | David Curran | 26:42 |
| 97 | Ray Cameron | 28:16 |
| 103 | Jack Wasson | 28:24 |
| 127 | Brian Armstrong | 30:10 |
| 130 | Greg McClure | 30:21 |
| 138 | Thomas Taylor | 30:59 |
| 140 | Colin Simpson | 31:08 |
| 148 | Andrew Taylor | 31:37 |
| 153 | Gary Blythe | 32:08 |
| 155 | Ciaran Browne | 32:14 |
| 157 | David Hurst | 32:27 |
| 172 | Lyle Carleton | 34:06 |
Benidorm 10k (Sun 24th Nov)
Thomas McKinstry preferred the sunshine of Benidorm to the muck of Ballyclare as he completed the popular Benidorm 10k on Sunday. (Results not yet available).
All Ireland National Cross Country Championships (Sun 24th Nov)
Isaac McCollum made the trip to the Sport Ireland Campus at Abbottstown to compete in the Junior men’s event. Isaac finished 50th in a strong field of 128 runners, completing the course in 22:20.
parkrun (Sat 23rd Nov)
Some of the parkruns were fairly wet affairs on Saturday morning though that didn’t stop 5 NBH athletes setting new PBs with Sinead Toal (Waterworks), Kent Swann and Kevin McCann (Victoria), Luke Kelly (Ormeau) and Mark McAvoy (Valley) all lowering their previous marks.
There was some drama at Bedfond Lakes as Rosy Ryan and Phil McIlwrath arrived in the early hours on a flight from Berlin, and following a fast taxi ride from Heathrow, managed to complete the parkrun, only for Phil to realise he had no barcode with him.
Full results for club athletes were:
| Bedfont Lakes Event #536 | |||
| Pos | parkrunner | Time | Note |
| 151 | Rosy RYAN | 50:33 | First timer ! |
| Waterworks Event #476 | |||
| Pos | parkrunner | Time | Note |
| 19 | Greg MCCLURE | 21:33 | |
| 39 | Martin MC NICHOLL | 23:18 | |
| 41 | John Gerard MURPHY | 23:28 | |
| 48 | Karlene GRAHAM | 23:48 | |
| 54 | Ivan MCALLISTER | 24:09 | |
| 61 | Laurence ROGERS | 24:30 | |
| 62 | Gordon GLENN | 24:34 | |
| 110 | Lyle CARLETON | 27:32 | |
| 113 | Jack CARBERRY | 27:37 | |
| 126 | Stella HARRISON | 27:57 | |
| 135 | Padraigin BINGHAM | 28:49 | |
| 142 | Jim CLINTON | 29:08 | |
| 143 | Heather WILSON | 29:31 | |
| 147 | Fergus JAMISON | 29:52 | |
| 154 | Matt SHIELDS | 30:24 | |
| 180 | Sinead TOAL | 33:26 | New PB |
| 181 | Margaret STEPHENS | 33:28 | |
| 184 | Matthew HIGGINS | 34:47 | |
| 190 | Simon REEVE | 35:18 | |
| 194 | Bernadette DUFFY | 35:25 | |
| 196 | Sile HANNON | 35:36 | |
| Belfast Victoria Event #445 | |||
| Pos | parkrunner | Time | Note |
| 1 | Kent SWANN | 16:20 | New PB |
| 29 | Kevin MCCANN | 20:58 | New PB |
| Ormeau Event #327 | |||
| Pos | parkrunner | Time | Note |
| 1 | Luke KELLY | 17:33 | New PB |
| 203 | Janie BLACK | 28:20 | |
| 280 | Trisha MURRAY | 31:43 | |
| 281 | John BEGGS | 31:43 | |
| 326 | Lynn MURRAY | 33:50 | |
| Valley Event #273 | |||
| Pos | parkrunner | Time | Note |
| 1 | Mark MCAVOY | 17:41 | New PB |
| 3 | Gabriel MCAVOY | 20:08 | |
| 62 | Lucinda MCAVOY | 30:45 | |
| Stranmillis College Event #41 | |||
| Pos | parkrunner | Time | Note |
| 40 | Tony REID | 33:38 | |
| Third Creek Greenway Event #5 | |||
| Pos | parkrunner | Time | Note |
| 2 | Conal MCCAMBRIDGE | 17:09 | |
