Super Saturday For NBH!

Conor is Top Man at Bangor

21 January 2007 | Results | Posted by Tony Dalton

At 19, North Belfast Harrier, Connor Flanigan is one of the youngest ever winners of the prestigious Northern Ireland Junior Championship. The last North winner of this event was Alan McCullough seven years ago.

It was a quadruple celebration with Dave Moorwood winning the Northern Ireland veterans championship. Things just got better for the club with NBH taking both main team events.

Full report below...

Junior and Masters XC Championships

The Veteran and Junior cross country championship were run amid changing conditions in Ward Park Bangor today.

First up and the biggest entry of the day was the masters run over three laps featuring an entry off over a hundred runners. From the first lap a group consisting of Dave Morwood, Paul Carroll and Allan McCullough broke clear of a second group including Cairan Kavanagh, Francis Marsh, Peter Smith and Mark Wright. The very blustery conditions discouraged solo efforts but going into the second lap Morwood made the decisive effort dropping first Carroll and then McCullough, meanwhile the second group continuously swapped efforts without any clear advantage and in fact were caught by Neil Carty.

Over the last lap the first three remained as is with Dave Morwood of North Belfast coming in first to win the 0-35. Allan McCullough second won the 0-40 and Paul Carrol third place and second 0-35. Behind this the second group eventually started to string out towards the finish with the North Belfast pairing of Peter Smith 0-40 and Neil Carty 0-40 coming in clear of Ciaran Kavanagh, Francis Marsh 0-40 and then Mark Wright 0-35. Next behind this Matt Shields from North Belfast came in to win the 0-50 and Dominic McCreevy won the 0-45 in 22nd place. North Belfast won the four men team event

Next out was the ladies race which included masters, intermediates and juniors run over one and a half laps. Louise McClean quickly established her superiority and never looked troubled winning the race and 0-35 masters. Second was Terresa McGlone winning the Intermediate followed by Ann Paul third winning the 0-40. The Junior class was won by Michelle Sturm in fourth overall.

The final race off the day was the men's junior race over four laps on what had become a heavy course although the wind had by now settled allowing more open racing. Straight away from the first half lap Connor Flanagan and Stephen Duncan opened a gap over the rest off the field and this set the stage for the best battle of the day.

The two leaders chased by Noel Collins ran together swapping the lead continuously to the last four hundred meters when Flanagan made a determined effort to get clear which he held to about twenty yards to go from Duncan. Race over, not so, with only a couple of strides to spare Flanagan came through to give North Belfast their second win of the day with Duncan second and Collins third.

Behind these three was an intense battle for the team prize between North Belfast and Omagh with constant changes in fortune as places changed however by the last lap North Belfast through Paul Blaney, Neil O’Rourke, Sean McCaffery, Michael Fitzpatrick and Declan Ligget came through to support Flanagan to win the team double.

Andrew Returns to Form in Cardiff

After a slightly below par performance at Stormont Andrew Doherty ran in an excellent 6th in the Under 17 category in the 4th of the UK Cross Challenge meetings. The race held on Sunday in Cardiff was Andrew's 3rd race in the series. As of today his overall placing in the series was not available but Andrew will now go on to run the 5th race in the series at Nottingham on the 25th February.

Special Feature

Local man and Ultramarathon club member Martin Rea tells his story of winning the Himalayan 100 mile race.

Click here to read Martin's Story

Stormont International XC

6 January 2007

Photoslideshow | Individual Results | Team Results | Posted by Tony Dalton

Download Media Player Slideshow of Stormont 2007 (approx 11mb)

The annual Stormont International Cross-country races took place last Saturday in near perfect weather conditions and enthusiastic crowds. These races are a step above the normal national events with participants coming from Ireland and all parts off the mainland boosting the numbers to 100 plus in most races. North Belfast had representation across a range of age groups.

In the under13 girls Sarah Gargan, Sinead Boyle and Rebecca Petigrew finished 57, 63 and 68 respectively and in the under15 girls Rachel Harvey, Emma Dougherty and Meave McCambridge finished 67, 72 and 74 good running against stiff opposition.

The under17 boys Celtic international race which is part of a series of four was run by Andrew Docherty finishing 18th to add to his 4th in Cardiff keeping his chances alive in the overall series.

Stephen Mc Commiskey also competed in the U17 race over a 5.6k course. Stephen was representing Northern Ireland in the Celtic countries’ international. This was Stephen’s international debut and he gave a good account of himself finishing well up with his Northern team-mates.

The under20 race also featured an international race with selected athletes running for club and country. Sean McCaffery finished 21st overall 2nd Northern Ireland with Declan Ligget 32nd and Chris McKeown 41st. Improving performances in this class.

In the Masters race North Belfast won the team with Dave Morwood 2nd, Peter Smith 8th, Paul Blaney 14th and Matt Shields 16th. They were followed by team mates Brendan Dumigan, Eddy Burns, Jim Newberry, Paul Murphy and Dave Clarke. Matt Shields also won the over50 age group.

Senior Woman were next and again this race was a international event with local athlete Jill Shannon finishing a credible 14th - 1st N.Ireland, Breege Connolly was 33rd - 2nd N.Ireland, Cara Girvan was 39th - 4th N.Ireland and Anne Marie Kane was 90th overall, excellent running by the girls.

Lastly in the under23 international Connor Flanigan finished 6th overall 2nd N.Ireland athlete home a performance which speaks for itself.

The overall event was deemed a big success by all concerned, helped in no small way by the weather, hopefully this will tempt others to become involved and all are welcome at our training sessions 6.00pm Mary Peters Track Tuesday and Thursday or 6.30 club house Old Park Terrace Tuesday and Thursday. In the meantime North Athletes will turn their attention to the up coming rounds of National Championships at home, Ireland and England where we will be represented.

Race report: Matt Shields

Happy New Year From NBH!

Click here to see some images from 2006 - Please allow blocked content.

Cracker Christmas for North

30 December 2006 | Posted by Tony Dalton

The annual Christmas Cracker race took place in Castlewellan on Saturday. The challenging seasonal event attracted a large turnout of over 70 teams who competed for the various categories. The overall winners were Fell specialists David and Alan McKibbon from the promoting club Newcastle A.C. This was their 3rd win on the trot and they have set a standard of 64 mins on the new 10.5 mile course.

North Belfast Harriers had 3 pairs competing in the event, Danny Magill and Paul Jenkins in the open men's event, with Breege Connolly and Kevin Shields going head to head with Cara Girvan and Tony Dalton in the mixed open pairs event.

Breege and Cara were toe to toe for the first 5 miles before Breege, minus her partner, opened up a 50 metre lead. It took Cara until the last mile to gradually close this gap but Breege did well to hang on and eventually took the sprint to the line and victory in the mixed open event. Cara and Tony made it a close 1-2 for the club in a time of 72 mins.

Phoenix Park Triumph for Breege

17 December 2006 | Posted by Tony Dalton

Five members of North Belfast Harriers, Sharon Trimble, Breege Connolly, Martin Rea, Gregory Campbell and Glenn McKendry participated in the annual AWARE 10k road race held in Phoenix Park, Dublin in aid of Depression Ireland. Conditions on the morning were excellent with all runners hoping for good times over the tough undulating course.

First home for North in 5th place with a time of 34.30 was Martin Rea. This was an excellent result considering the quality of the field with circa 1500 participants. Hot on his heels and finishing in 7th place overall in a time of 34.59 was Glenn McKendry. Gregory Campbell finished in 40.05.

True to form , North women displayed a fine performance with Breege Connolly taking the women's honours in a time of 37.27 followed closely home by Sharon Trimble, 2nd female in 38.03.

Great Win for North Ladies at the Seeley

11 December 2006 | Posted by Tony Dalton

The 25th running off the Joe Seeley 10k was held last Saturday in a blustery Ormeau Park and witnessed some great performances by North Belfast athletes.
The senior team was led home by Stephen Scullion (31.50 PB) in eighth place with Dave Norwood (32.01) and Conner Flannagan (32.40 PB) close behind. All three must be in consideration for international selection at Stormont in January.

The six man team which finished third in a close competition was completed by Paul Blaney (33.13), veteran Peter Smith (33.25) and ultra distance man Martin Rea (34.03 PB)

In the ladies event North Belfast easily won the team event with placing off 2nd 3rd and 4th by Breege Connolly (37.29) Cara Girvan (37.34) and Sharon Trimble (37.55)

Placed in the age group categories were Stephen Scullion 1st junior, Connor Flannagan 2nd Junior, Dave Norwood 2nd 0/35, Peter Smith 3rd 0/40, Matt Shields 1st 0/50, Nelson Cahoon 2nd 0/50, Reggy Hewitt 1st 0/55, Dave Clarke 3rd 0/55 and Drew Crawford 3rd 0/65.

Behind the scoring athletes were Peter Savage (34.14), Michael Fitzpatrick (34.26 PB), Neil O’Rourke (34.43 PB), Brendan Dumigan (34.52), Kevin Shields(35.42), Gareth Drew (35.48), Alan O’Hara (36.28), Neal Johnston (37.28), Declan Liggett (37.32), Raymond Ferguson (37.32), Paul Murphy (38.53), Angela Burns (39.27), Paddy Hamill (39.42), Brian Stewart (40.19), Gregory Campbell (40.25), Chris McKeown (40.49), Robert Irvine (41.29), Tony Forde (42.47), Kari Whitla (44.45), Andrew Shimin (46.23), Breege Kerr (47.44) and Alison McConnell (48.50).

In total North Belfast had 36 athletes competing and contested all categories a very good showing on the day. Training resumes Tuesday and Thursday 6pm at Mary Peters track (ask for Matt Shields) or Tuesday and Thursday 6.30 and Sunday 10.15 from club house (ask for Paul Murphy).

Club Dinner and Presentation

25 Nov | Photos | Posted by Tony Dalton

The Club celebrated their annual presentation in the Ramada Hotel last night. It was a very successful evening for all those involved in the awards ceremony. Dave McKibbon was compare for the evening with special guests, Tommy and Phyllis Walsh, Eddie Patterson, Jill Shannon and Joe McAllister presenting the awards. The top honours on the night went to, Stephen Scullion and Breege Connolly who won best male and female respectively. Special Awards went to Neil Carty, Martin Rea and Matt Shields.

Bangor 10k

30 Sept|Results

Congratulations to Stephen, Dave and Peter for winning the team prize and to Breege for finishing 2nd female just behind Jill Shannon. Dave and Stephen finished 4th & 5th respectively and Top Duathlete Peter finished 13th in 34:16. A great result in a very competive field with some of the best runners NI has to offer. The club had 15 athletes out in total including new members Michael Fitzpatrick and Kevin Lambe.

Haile Shows The Way in Berlin

Haile Gebrselassie won the 33rd real,- BERLIN-MARATHON in the German capital Sunday morning. But what looked until the closing kilometres like a successful assault on his great rival Paul Tergat’s world record of 2.04.55, set in this same race in 2003, evaporated, and the tiny Ethiopian finished one minute and one second behind the Kenyan’s time, with 2.05.56. The race was run in bright sunshine throughout, with temperatures rising from 20C at the 9am start, to more than 27 at the finish. 31,472 runners from 105 nations competed in the race in front of one million spectators.

30.235 runners finished the 33rd real,- BERLIN-MARATHON. For the third time in the history of the race more than 30,000 finishers were recorded. In 2005 the figure was at 30,382, and three years ago it was 30,709. The 2006 figure is divided in 24,098 men and 6,137 women. From a total of 39,636 registered runners from 105 nations 31,427 were running on Sunday. So 96,20 percent of all participants reached the finish. There were quite lot who dropped out but this has to do with the high temperatures – it was the warmest race day ever in Berlin.

North Belfast Harriers were also effected badly by the high temperatures with all participants well down on their best times. Nevertheless it was a fantastic event, well supported and extremely well organised. Aches, pains and many sorrows where well and truly drowned out in the post marathon celebrations. Much anticipated pictures to follow.

Details and full report to follow....

British Masters' XC Champions 2006

18 Sept|Photos

Winning the British Masters XC Relay Championships in Sunderland last Saturday, is without doubt one of the greatest achievements in North Belfast Harriers 100 year history. A team of 4 athletes, Matt Shields, Jim Newberry, Dessie Martin and Nelson Cahoon expected at least a top six finish. A fantastic and gutsy performance on the day exceeding all expectations and has put the club firmly on the map throughout the UK Masters scene.

Jim Newberry and Dessie Martin gave the team a great start putting them in contention from the gun. It was a mass start race that included the 35 - 40's competitors making the pace frantic and highly competitive. Matt Shields put the team in pole position by the 3rd leg, leaving Nelson Cahoon to bring home the gold medal.

Any podium finish would have been a notable achievement but to win gold was commendable.

In the 35 - 40 category an even more unexpected result came from the 6 man team of Tony Dalton, Paul Blaney, John Ferrin, David Brady, Brendan Dumigan and Eddie Burns. A British XC Championship silver medal was secured with yet another gutsy run from the team. Paul Blaney ran a highly competitive first 3k leg through the tough and undulating course. Paul crossed the line in 4th place but more importantly only 15 secs behind the leader. Many teams put their best runners out first so this gave the north team an added incentive to go for a medal. Tony Dalton was the next out putting the team into a medal position. Former Irish Champion John Ferrin ran a gallant leg to gain another place and the silver medal spot. David Brady battled all the way to maintain 2nd place and then hand over to Brendan Dumigan. Brendan held the silver medal position with a tough run before handing over to teammate Eddie Burns. By this stage harriers were all over the course lending their support to ensure Eddie finished the job. Eddie finished in style with 7 seconds to spare over the next team. Only beaten by the hosts Sunderland. It doesn't get much closer or much better than that.

A great celebration ensued that afternoon and then into the wee small hours. Except for Tony Dalton of course, who is running the Berlin Marathon next Sunday, he had only 1 glass of champagne and was in bed by 11. Good boy!

Results to follow.

NIVAA 5 Mile Road Race

7 Sept|Result |Photos

****The positions and times are unadjusted and do not take into account the additional distance (approx ½ mile) covered by those athletes who were mis directed along Park Road rather than back into Ormeau Park itself.

Irish National Half Marathon Championships

6 Sept|Results

The Irish National Half Marathon Championships were held in extremely blustery conditions on Saturday past in Letterkenny. Jill Shannon and Joe McAlistair were the clear winners providing double gold for Northern Ireland. North Belfast Athletes Dave Morwood, Jim Benson, Paul Blaney and Pat Doole were out in force and between them scooped Team Gold, Individual Gold, Individual Bronze and a PB!

First to cross the finish line was Dave Morwood in 01:10:47, a time which rewarded him with an individual Gold medal in the Masters category. Next was Jim Benson in 01:15:12, which secured him a Bronze. Paul Blaney was next in 01:15:31 and making up the winning team was Pat Doole who finished in 01:21:02, a PB for him. Congratulations boys you are a credit to the club.